1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,600 So we think about the importance of Palm Sunday in the entrance 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:07,680 of our King Jesus into Jerusalem. 3 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:12,240 We continue to learn this day about the prayer that he taught 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,520 us to pray. Our King of Kings were crown of 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:21,720 thorns, and he will return wearing his crown, and every 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:25,280 knee will bow, and every tongue confess his name. 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:28,080 But this is our future hope and something we long for. 8 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,040 In the meantime, we pray together. 9 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:35,920 As a mode of review, we can see where we've been so far in this 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:37,760 series. We've talked about the address, 11 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,200 talked about our Father. This is a term of intimacy and 12 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:45,080 care and love. Our Heavenly Father who is able 13 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:47,720 to do all that we can ask and more. 14 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:52,280 We have talked about the first 3 petitions of the Lord's Prayer, 15 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,880 which are all God centred and God focused. 16 00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:00,520 And by beginning with who God is and by praying for his 17 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:05,040 priorities, for His name, for His Kingdom and for His will, we 18 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,760 focus our hearts and minds and calibrate them with our Lords 19 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,720 and, and, and enter into a posture of prayer. 20 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,360 Now we are ready. Now we're ready to present our 21 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:21,120 needs and our requests that affect our daily life. 22 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,880 Very important to consider as we move into this second table, 23 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:30,880 this lower part of the prayer, and begin our petitions to 24 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:35,280 remember to whom we are praying, our heavenly Father. 25 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:40,200 And as we continue to go through this text, we'll just consider 26 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:43,120 what this means for us to say to Him. 27 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:49,160 Give us today Our Daily Bread. I'm probably not the only one in 28 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:56,960 here that has experienced stress related to finances, maybe 29 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,560 economic stress. The text has in mind our 30 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,720 subsistence, our very basic needs. 31 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,479 Many of us maybe have not lived in deep poverty, wondering where 32 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:13,480 our next meal will come from. But many of us can relate to 33 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:18,240 some types of economic stressors, scarcity, that this 34 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,920 can cause worry in our hearts and create associated 35 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:26,400 temptations for us. What's going to happen in the 36 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:30,240 future? What if I lose my job? 37 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:37,560 What will I do for my family? Very, very real need that is 38 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,000 raised. That is addressed by this first 39 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,200 petition. In the second part of the the 40 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:47,080 prayer, as in previous week weeks, I'm asking question 41 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:49,840 first, what does it mean? As we look at our exposition of 42 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,840 the text, we're going to carefully look at each part of 43 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:58,120 the text and also look at the relevant associated passages 44 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:03,280 that are behind this prayer as it is almost like a syllabus of 45 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,880 theology that we will work our way through together. 46 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,040 First, you can look at the prayer and see that it's saying, 47 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,120 give us this day. Who are we praying to? 48 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,760 Again, we're going to remind ourselves that we're praying to 49 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:20,360 a Father in heaven, somebody who is able and willing to give us 50 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:24,040 everything that we need. And this is very important for 51 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:26,960 us to remember. Jesus is obsessed with this 52 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,240 term. Father in this section of 53 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,800 Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount Matthew, chapters 5 through 7, 54 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:40,760 he mentions the Father 15 times. You thought I was a repetitive 55 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,000 preacher? Throughout the rest of the book 56 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,920 of Matthew, the word Father comes up dozens of times. 57 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:54,480 Very, very important theological concept that Jesus wants us to 58 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:58,720 step into and live from. It's not just in Matthew, it's 59 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:01,240 in all the Gospels comes up over and over again. 60 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,840 And John especially, who is this Father? 61 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,160 What can he give us? And it's an important thing to 62 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,800 understand. He is the one that will give us 63 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,480 this day, Our Daily Bread. We can look at the near context 64 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,120 that some of these other occurrences of Father and think 65 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:21,000 about what it means right before the prayer in verses 7 and 8, 66 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:25,640 Jesus says this. And when you pray, do not keep 67 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,320 up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they 68 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,600 will be heard for their many words. 69 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,520 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need 70 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:39,920 before you ask Him. You don't have to pray like 71 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,120 those pagans who don't have a heavenly Father, who repeat 72 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:44,600 themselves over and over and over again. 73 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,280 You have a heavenly Father. You don't have to keep repeating 74 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:48,960 yourself like that with those many words. 75 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:53,760 He's listening and He knows very assuring thing to hear. 76 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:59,480 If you look over on my Bibles in the next page, Chapter 7 down, 77 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:04,160 verses 7 through 11 says this. Ask and it will be given to you. 78 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:06,880 Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to 79 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,640 you. For everyone who asks receives. 80 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:13,040 The one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks, it will be 81 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:14,960 opened. For which of you? 82 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:19,160 If his son asks him for bread, we'll give him a stone, or if he 83 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,800 asks for a fish, we'll give him a serpent. 84 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,640 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your 85 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,120 children, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven 86 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:32,720 give good gifts, give good things to those who ask him? 87 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:38,360 So the prayer is framed by these beautiful images of a good and 88 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,720 kind and loving Father. This is the one to whom we pray. 89 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:51,200 What are we asking for bread? At first you could say, well, 90 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,840 literally we're asking for bread, the stuff that you eat, 91 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:55,560 not just bread, but all of your food. 92 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,520 You need food every day in order to survive. 93 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,920 And so bread stands in for all of the things that we need to 94 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:03,840 survive. Not just food, but water. 95 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,840 Not just food and water, but clothes and shelter. 96 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:15,480 Like the text that was read. But it can also and would make 97 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:22,800 the people who hurt him consider the feeding of the Israelites 98 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:24,840 daily with daily bread from heaven. 99 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:26,880 You see this, this day, Our Daily Bread. 100 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:29,600 It's going to make them think of their Old Testament stories. 101 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:34,160 Do you remember how the children of Israel were fed miraculously 102 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,000 every day, manna on the ground, They would gather it. 103 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,480 They would eat this bread fed daily. 104 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:46,880 Every day they are fed directly by God, by miraculous provision. 105 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,120 In this prayer, as we pray, it reminds us in some way that we 106 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:53,520 are fed by God in ways that are just as needy and just as 107 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,640 dependent. Give us this day. 108 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:00,800 Our Daily Bread focuses on one day at a time. 109 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,680 It reminds us that we're not praying for all of what we need 110 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,520 for our whole life, for a whole future, all those things that 111 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:12,240 worry us about our scarcity, but to take one day at a time, 112 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,000 praying daily for Our Daily Bread. 113 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:22,360 This idea, this bread, this daily bread. 114 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:24,240 Give us this day. Our Daily Bread would make them 115 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:26,840 think, as I said, of the children of Israel being fed 116 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:32,440 daily by God in the desert. But Jesus used that to refer to 117 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:37,560 Himself not only for physical needs, but for spiritual needs. 118 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:44,560 The text is in John 6, beginning in verses in verse 30 and 119 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:46,840 continuing. So they said to Jesus, What 120 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:48,600 then? What sign do you do that we may 121 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,760 see and believe you? What work do you perform? 122 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,880 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness as it is written. 123 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,320 He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 124 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:03,080 Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not 125 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:07,880 Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives 126 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,960 you the true bread from heaven, for the bread of God is he who 127 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:15,200 comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 128 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,920 They said to him, Sir, give us this bread always. 129 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:22,600 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. 130 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:26,080 Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in 131 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:32,000 me shall never thirst. So the text in this prayer in 132 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,720 this petition has most particularly in view our daily 133 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:38,039 needs, literally our food and our shelter and our clothing. 134 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:41,960 But by extension, and we follow our Lord in making us think 135 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:44,400 about Our Daily Bread. I also refight referencing him 136 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:46,240 directly for our spiritual needs. 137 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:49,600 This is an appropriate way to think and interpret the prayer. 138 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,000 Give us this day Our Daily Bread. 139 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,760 Finally, let's look at these plural pronouns once more to 140 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,200 remember, friends, that we are not just praying for our 141 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,720 individual needs. We're praying for the church 142 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,640 families needs. We're praying for our 143 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:10,200 community's needs, which include unbelievers. 144 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:14,240 We're caring and praying for the world's needs. 145 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:19,880 Christians care about hunger. They care about alleviating 146 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:25,720 hunger in as much as we care about delivering spiritual food 147 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,840 in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and his person. 148 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:32,800 We also care about delivering to hungry bellies literal food just 149 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:37,760 as our Lord fed the multitudes. Give us this day Our Daily 150 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,960 Bread. Help them, Lord, help them. 151 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:47,240 Use me to help them. Question is then after we've 152 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:51,880 kind of looked at what this means, we can kind of think 153 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:54,040 through some practical ways to pray it. 154 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,080 How do we pray it? And as I've said every single 155 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:00,640 week, we're not going to lose sight of Jesus as we are praying 156 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:03,120 this prayer to our Father. We're going to pray through the 157 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,680 agency, through the name of the Son. 158 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:09,520 The only reason I can pray our Father is because I am in 159 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,160 Christ. The only way I can pray for Our 160 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:17,480 Daily Bread is because I've been given daily bread by the Bread 161 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:23,000 of Life. It was ever nourishing not only 162 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:28,240 my body, but my soul as well. And we can consider that we're 163 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:30,760 not only praying to the Father in the name of Jesus, we're 164 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:35,040 playing by the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit is called living 165 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:37,760 water. You remember the story Jesus at 166 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:44,120 the well, this thirst that we have is not only a physical 167 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,400 thirst, it's a spiritual thirst. And Jesus says, if you ask me, 168 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:50,280 I'll give you living water and you'll never thirst again. 169 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:52,560 It's a reference to the Holy Spirit. 170 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,560 So when we come to praying this for praying to our Father 171 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:02,880 through the name of Jesus by the Holy Spirit, the living water 172 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:07,120 that is running like a river through our heart and our soul. 173 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,920 He intercedes for us. He groans for us with words that 174 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,920 cannot be uttered. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we 175 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,800 pray together, We pray together with the Holy Trinity. 176 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:20,800 We pray together as a church family as well. 177 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,960 But some practical things that we can consider as we go deeper 178 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,240 into the application of how to pray this, how it's going to do 179 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,120 surgery on our hearts and continue to form us into the 180 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:33,000 image of the Son by the Holy Spirit. 181 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:38,280 What does this prayer do to me? What does it do to you? 182 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:42,840 Well, first, it forces me. It forces me to consider 183 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:44,520 contentment. How do we pray it? 184 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:48,720 Hopefully with contentment. See, my friends, we have deadly 185 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,720 sins that are warring against our hearts and our souls, sins 186 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:57,240 of gluttony and greed. We have cares and concerns and 187 00:11:57,240 --> 00:11:59,320 worries. And all I have to do is take you 188 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:03,120 briefly back into the Garden of Eden to just think briefly with 189 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:05,600 me for a second of what started this whole mess in the first 190 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:11,440 place. The slandering snake took a shot 191 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:15,600 at God himself, slandered his fatherhood. 192 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:21,680 God is holding out on you. There's more and it's delicious 193 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:26,720 and it's good for knowledge. And so even to her husband, with 194 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,800 him, Adam, instead of receiving a gift from the Heavenly Father 195 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,640 that they had all around them, everything that they could ask 196 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,360 for or imagine his good gifts from their Heavenly Father 197 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,840 instead, the one thing that's prohibited, the one thing that 198 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:44,080 it was specifically not given them for their daily bread, they 199 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:52,600 reached out and took. Animated by gluttony, animated 200 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:57,520 by greed, animated by believing a lie from the serpent that God 201 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:02,920 isn't as good as he says he is. And friends, this is living in 202 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:08,720 all of our hearts. We have greed that wrestles with 203 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:10,840 contentment, that's wrestling with gluttony. 204 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:12,640 That's our war in our heart and our soul. 205 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:16,320 And we need the Spirit of living God to do surgery on us. 206 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:23,280 As we meditate upon His Word and we think about our lives and our 207 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,720 Father, we can look at these words together. 208 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:34,920 Contentment has two sides, worry on one side and greed on the 209 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:37,080 other. The text says do not be anxious 210 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:39,520 and talk about that for a second. 211 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:42,760 Some people actually have like a clinical level of anxiety. 212 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,040 When you reassure them and tell them it's going to be OK, it 213 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:48,120 actually backfires and gets worse. 214 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,760 They need a special type of care for the rest of us who are not 215 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:53,360 dealing with that levels of anxiety. 216 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:57,760 The rest of us have worry. We have anxious thoughts that 217 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,400 are not clinical. They need to be reassured and 218 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,800 these texts are so reassuring as we consider our Father providing 219 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:05,680 for our daily needs. Listen to what it says. 220 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:07,880 Look carefully Chapter 6, verse 31. 221 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:13,480 Therefore do not be anxious saying, what shall we eat or 222 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:15,760 what shall we drink or what shall we wear? 223 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:18,600 For the Gentiles Seek after all these things, and your heavenly 224 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:22,960 Father knows that you need them, but seek first the Kingdom of 225 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,680 God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added 226 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:27,600 to you. The Lord wants people, even 227 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:31,360 people who are living hand to mouth or paycheck to paycheck, 228 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:34,560 to be living with a sense of security in the Father's 229 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:41,680 provision. He's talking about an old theme. 230 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,280 Look with me at Proverbs 30. Sorry, this is what we just 231 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:51,600 read, Proverbs 30, verses 8 and 9. 232 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,760 The writer of the Proverbs recognizes that it's spiritually 233 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:58,600 dangerous to be too poor, because you're going to be 234 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:01,400 tempted to do things, even to feed your own family, like 235 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,040 steal. But it's also spiritually 236 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,800 dangerous to be too rich. There are hazards on both sides 237 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:09,840 of the road. So he asked Lord, just just put 238 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,360 me in the middle. Just put me, put me right in the 239 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:13,840 middle. Look what he says. 240 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,360 Give me neither poverty nor riches. 241 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:21,720 Feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full 242 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:23,680 and deny you and say, who is the Lord? 243 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:28,200 Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. 244 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:30,400 There's something good about the middle. 245 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:33,680 There's something that helps us to trust the Lord with a certain 246 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:36,920 amount of scarcity. So we continue to pray and mean 247 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,560 it. Give us this day Our Daily 248 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:43,040 Bread. So we're observing and aware of 249 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,920 the people who are in greater need around us so that we can 250 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:47,880 help them as well, which we'll get to. 251 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:54,040 But on the other side of this worrisome problem, there's a 252 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:56,520 greed problem that I already talked about. 253 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,800 And I just want to ask you some kind of surgical questions for a 254 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:04,480 minute, because greed and gluttony can kind of be hard to 255 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,080 notice. You think that it applies to a 256 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:09,320 certain type of eater or a certain type of rich person, but 257 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:10,640 it actually applies to all of us. 258 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:15,120 Hone in particularly on greed. These are questions, diagnostic 259 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,080 questions that help us ask whether or not we're struggling 260 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:23,760 with greed. Friend, do you find giving 261 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,920 difficult? Does tithing seem like a waste 262 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:31,800 at Christmas? Do you struggle with your 263 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:33,640 attitude when you're buying gifts? 264 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:36,840 When you go out? Do you hate tipping? 265 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:43,120 Do you have excessive tax angst? No, it's that time. 266 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:50,000 Do you spend inordinate amounts of time shopping and browsing? 267 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,520 Do you feel dissatisfied with your own possessions and long 268 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,720 for the day when we'll finally have the money? 269 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:06,880 Do you feel a bit sad after you go to a richer community and see 270 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:08,040 nice things that you can't afford? 271 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:09,680 Does it make you feel sad inside? 272 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,280 Do you size up potential dates based on their wealth, 273 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,880 appearance, or actual? Do you size up the people around 274 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,200 you based on their wealth, appearance or actual? 275 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:24,480 What comes out of your mouth? What do you love to talk about? 276 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:29,280 Salaries, price tags, stuff, deals. 277 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,000 Are you tempted to spend money that you don't have? 278 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:36,880 Are you overly concerned or worried to the point of 279 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,040 suspicion about getting ripped off? 280 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,680 Are you worried or suspicious or concerned about becoming 281 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:50,520 unemployed or having too low in an income or having to shop at 282 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:57,160 resale stores with those people? Do you hate the rich? 283 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:02,760 Are you personally proud of your own frugality and your own 284 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,920 stewardship when other people would just describe you as kind 285 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:11,000 of tight and stingy? Are you tempted to cut corners 286 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:14,200 to save money? And would you rather have your 287 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,920 husband or wife work a bunch more jobs in order to have a 288 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:21,560 higher standing of living than spending that time together with 289 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:26,400 your children? It's all kinds of ways that 290 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:28,520 greed can kind of hide in our hearts. 291 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:31,360 And we push against that when we pray. 292 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,360 Give us this day Our Daily Bread. 293 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:40,360 The Lord pushes against it. The Holy Spirit animates our 294 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:44,080 affections and rekindles our thoughts towards Him and his 295 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:47,720 riches so we can look up and have a different type of frame 296 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:50,120 all together, hopefully with contentment. 297 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:55,680 Contentment. But lest we think that praying 298 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:58,440 this prayer means that we should just sit back and relax and let 299 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:03,040 the food just sort of fall into our mouths, I'm ready. 300 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:07,800 Lord me, me, that the Lord is somehow recommending some sort 301 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,480 of passivity. Then we have another deadly sin 302 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:14,560 we have to deal with, which is the deadly sin of sloth. 303 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,640 When Jesus says consider the birds, they don't labor or spin. 304 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:22,680 He's not telling you to do nothing, not even telling you 305 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,240 to, that you should never save up your money or prepare for a 306 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:27,400 rainy day. All of that is wise advice. 307 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:31,040 But when it becomes obsessive, when we're kindled with fear and 308 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:33,600 worry, that's what he's pushing back against. 309 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:39,800 And he wants us to be working appropriately with diligence, to 310 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:44,080 provide for our needs and for those around us with diligence. 311 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:49,440 Look at this text from Ephesians chapter 4, verse 28, which is a 312 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,400 text I'll actually use for this and the next one because it's 313 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:56,240 two parts. Let the thief no longer steal, 314 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:01,320 but rather let him labor doing honest work with his own hands. 315 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:07,840 Be diligent, friends, work hard. That's one way the Lord provides 316 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,240 for your daily bread through your job. 317 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:18,000 However, not everyone can have everything that they need, and 318 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,120 it's up to those who have to share with those who don't. 319 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:24,320 Let's be honest and let's be generous. 320 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:28,360 How do we pray this prayer? We pray not only with 321 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:33,640 contentment and diligence. We also pray with benevolence or 322 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:37,200 with generosity. Remember the second part of that 323 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,800 text? Let the thief no longer steal, 324 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:43,360 but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands. 325 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:44,520 Why? Purpose statement? 326 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:49,920 So that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 327 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,760 Perhaps you yourself don't experience a lot of scarcity, 328 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:01,200 but we live in a county that's in the bottom 10% of all of 329 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:07,480 Indiana for food security. As high as 18 to 20% of people 330 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:12,520 in Grant County don't have what they need, food insecurity. 331 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:18,200 How are we going to, as people who have more, share with those 332 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:22,760 who have less? Well, one way that we can do 333 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:26,840 that is to be aware of the needs and be aware of the mechanisms 334 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,040 in our community to help with those needs. 335 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:34,600 I'm very, very glad and thankful that here at UCC, we have a 336 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,840 partnership with Helping Hand and once a month on Communion 337 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,720 Sunday of all times, we remind people that we've got this sack 338 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,920 of a month program and you can you can fill it with groceries, 339 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,160 bring it to the church, and we'll make sure it makes it to 340 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,280 where it needs to be, that the food pantry shelves are stocked. 341 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:55,640 It's an important thing. I'm thankful for your 342 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,920 generosity. Also on Communion Sundays, you 343 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:01,320 see the elders collect a benevolence offerings, usually a 344 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:04,960 cash offering of some sort because they're aware of needs 345 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,080 even within our church family and people who don't have 346 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,680 everything they need or they come across a hard time, so 347 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,000 thankful for their wisdom and their care and to distributing 348 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,000 those funds because that is gospel work. 349 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:21,920 And one way this prayer is actualized when we pray give us 350 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,360 this day Our Daily Bread. It's that the Lord uses us to do 351 00:22:25,360 --> 00:22:29,120 that for folks. We get to be his hands and feet 352 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:31,080 and it's like Jesus feeding the multitudes. 353 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:37,120 It's beautiful. It's also important to think 354 00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:43,360 about this benevolence, this generosity, reversing the stingy 355 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:46,360 heart. If you struggle with that, if 356 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:50,840 you struggle with that, that this, this giving can really 357 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:52,800 help reverse the polarity of your heart. 358 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,360 I struggle with this my whole life, and sometimes I still do. 359 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:04,920 Hard to do the tip at the end of the meal, hard to buy the gifts 360 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:09,320 at Christmas time. Doesn't feel like a happy thing 361 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:10,960 to do. I don't have a happy heart. 362 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:13,880 I don't have the cheerful heart that the Bible's talking about. 363 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,120 I remember. I remember a time after Deidre 364 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:19,080 and I were first married and we were so poor. 365 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:25,280 School loans, all the stressful bills and we were learning about 366 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:28,080 budgeting and how to handle our finances and setting up all the 367 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:34,680 lines and trying to do what the people told us to do to, to give 368 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,200 our money to the church. But also we had another line 369 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:40,960 which just had to do with benevolence, like helping people 370 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,200 in need that was separate from our church giving certain 371 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:47,320 amount. And so we're, we're doing the 372 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:50,280 budget and seeing the little numbers grow and all the little 373 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:54,280 lines and listening for needs. And we were able to help out a 374 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,640 few people. And then one time there was some 375 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:57,720 in there and we didn't know what to do. 376 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,520 And we were out to dinner on date night and say, hey, Deidre, 377 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,080 you know, there's some, there's money in that benevolence line. 378 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:06,200 We don't, we're not aware of any needs right now. 379 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:12,320 I've heard of people anonymously paying for other people's food 380 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:14,560 in a restaurant. What if we did that? 381 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:20,880 And for some reason, because the money was already designated, it 382 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:24,840 felt like fake money. It felt like Monopoly money. 383 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,160 And it changed my heart from feeling like this is really 384 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:29,200 hard. I don't want to do this. 385 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:35,000 Grumble, grumble, grumble too. Oh, who are we going to surprise 386 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,640 with a special secret gift today? 387 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:40,680 So we kind of scanned the restaurant and we look for the 388 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:42,840 table that had the fewest people sitting at it, that one. 389 00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:49,040 And we we told our server as they came over, like, look, we 390 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,560 want to we want to pay for those people too, but they we don't 391 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:54,720 want them to know. Tell them, don't tell them who 392 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,760 we are. And I think, you know, I was 393 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:01,000 going to church it up. I maybe I wrote John 316 on a 394 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,480 piece of paper. I said Christians did this 395 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,000 server got a big smile on her face. 396 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:23,800 Dan felt a little less stingy. And when it came to tipping the 397 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:27,320 server, Why? I'm always trying so hard at 398 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:32,760 this math to make sure it's not. It's exactly 15% to the penny. 399 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,640 Get a calculator out. Why does that matter? 400 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,400 What if it was 20%? What if it was 30%? 401 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:45,000 I'm going to go to war with my greed. 402 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,600 I'm stingy and tight. It's mine. 403 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,120 Is it? Is it? 404 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:03,960 Give us this day Our Daily Bread. 405 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:18,920 So with benevolence. Benevolence, and may you enjoy 406 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:27,480 the joy of giving as an aspect of being a way, a conduit from 407 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:30,520 through which God's resources flow. 408 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,200 Jesus had compassion on the crowds. 409 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,720 He knew that their bellies were hungry. 410 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:44,360 And he said to his disciples, give them something to eat. 411 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:47,240 And they're like, but we don't have anything at all. 412 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:51,880 He said, well, what do you have? Well, that guy's got just this, 413 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:54,040 some bread and fish. He's like, give it to me. 414 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,800 He takes the bread and fish and he gives thanks and he says, 415 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:05,440 pass it out and you know what? And multiply it and multiply it 416 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:08,280 again and again and again and again and again and again and 417 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:10,200 again. Take that, disciples. 418 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:12,400 That's what I think about your scarcity mindset. 419 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:25,720 Live with benevolence. My last with is with gratitude, 420 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:30,880 and you're going to hear Pastor Dan talk a lot about gratitude. 421 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:32,440 It's at the center of the Christian life. 422 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,120 This thankfulness is like a well inside of your heart that should 423 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:41,080 be brimming ever with praise. I know Saints like this. 424 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:45,360 So they're going through horrible health concerns, 425 00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:49,760 they're going through all kinds of scarcity and yet, and yet 426 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,000 there's genuine Thanksgiving coming out of them. 427 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:57,400 And I, I don't have any way to explain it except for the gospel 428 00:27:57,400 --> 00:27:59,680 of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that's flourishing in 429 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:01,280 their, in their heart, in their life. 430 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:08,520 And you seek to comfort them or empathize with their sorrow. 431 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,120 And you're trying to like do all the things as a good Christian 432 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:13,880 friend and they'll, and they'll just say stuff to you. 433 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,280 That's like, thank you. I appreciate your concern. 434 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:19,000 And it is hard. And I don't want to like ignore 435 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:20,920 the fact that this is really painful and it's a type of 436 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:22,600 suffering. But let me tell you something, 437 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:25,600 Dan, Jesus is with me in a way that I've never experienced 438 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:32,240 before in this part of the prayer where it says, give us 439 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,920 this day, Our Daily Bread. It means something different to 440 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:40,240 me than it did before because I'm experiencing need on a whole 441 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:50,580 nother level and I'm grateful. I'm grateful. 442 00:28:52,060 --> 00:28:56,260 Interesting too. Gratitude also has a type of 443 00:28:56,260 --> 00:28:59,580 delight embedded. And I want to show you this 444 00:28:59,580 --> 00:29:01,500 text, and we'll get close to closing here. 445 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:06,360 Text from first Timothy chapter 4, verses 3 through 5. 446 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:12,960 Paul here is pretty miffed about people in the local church that 447 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:17,520 are trying to be killjoyce with God's good gifts. 448 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:19,760 Cut it out. Don't do that. 449 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:24,080 There's people there who forbid marriage and require abstinence 450 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:30,240 from foods that God created to be received with Thanksgiving by 451 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,040 those who believe and know the truth. 452 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,640 For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be 453 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,800 rejected if it was, if it is received with Thanksgiving, for 454 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,000 it is made holy by the word of God. 455 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,160 Look closely. Oh, I'm sorry, you can't look. 456 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:46,280 Hopefully you're looking at your Bibles. 457 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:51,600 That's better for is made holy by the word of God and prayer. 458 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,480 It's the closest thing that we have to a proof text to why 459 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:58,360 people should pray before their meals to give thanks, right? 460 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:02,320 That you actually in some way make the food holy by having a 461 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:04,080 moment of gratitude with this prayer. 462 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,560 That's probably the text that that tradition's built on. 463 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,720 And it's super important as extension of the Lord's Prayer. 464 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:15,560 You're praying over your food. Give us this day Our Daily Bread 465 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:17,480 to be grateful. Lord, thank you. 466 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:22,200 I, I can't feed myself. I don't plant and sew and put 467 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,000 stock the shelves at the grocery store. 468 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,560 And here's this meal. Thank you Lord, thank you. 469 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:38,160 Receive it with Thanksgiving, receive it with delight and go 470 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:43,920 and try to find other people who you can help with their need who 471 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:51,480 very rarely experience such blessing with gratitude. 472 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:56,080 So those are our 4 hows. It's not an exhaustive list. 473 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:59,880 It's a list. Contentment against worry and 474 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:05,600 greed, with diligence against sloth, with benevolence, being 475 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:12,040 generous to those around us, and with gratitude, ever thanking 476 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:16,200 our Heavenly Father for His kindness to us, most 477 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:19,840 particularly in the gift of His Son, whom we will remember and 478 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:25,640 celebrate this Holy Week. So to conclude, our heavenly 479 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:31,920 Father provides everything we need one day at a time. 480 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:36,640 I've been concluding with an opportunity for us to pray 481 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:40,120 together the Lord's Prayer. When we get to the part about 482 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:43,760 sins or debts or trespasses, we've been saying trespasses. 483 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:44,960 If you don't know the prayer, it's OK. 484 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,240 You don't have to say it, but you can just listen. 485 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:49,560 But the rest of us, you may join me now. 486 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:56,560 Our Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be thy name, Thy 487 00:31:56,560 --> 00:32:02,000 Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 488 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:06,240 Give us this day Our Daily Bread, and forgive us our 489 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:10,680 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. 490 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:15,080 Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 491 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:20,160 For thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory forever 492 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:21,560 and ever. Amen.