Well, I invite you to turn tonight to Luke chapter 12, Luke chapter 12, and also one question and answer as we're continuing our study in the Lord's Prayer on page 256 in the back of those little prayers, forms and prayers book, you'll find the fourth petition. We'll start there, and then we'll read the well-known passage of Jesus' teaching on the provision of the Father. So this is Lord's Day 50, page 256, and there's one question and answer there, question 125. I'll ask the question, please respond with the answer, and then we'll read the scripture. What does the fourth petition mean? Give us this day our daily bread means provide for all our physical needs so that we may recognize that you are the only source of everything good. And that neither our care and work nor your gifts can do us any good without your blessing. Therefore, may we withdraw our trust from all creatures and place it in you alone. Beginning at verse 22, well-known passage in Luke 12, page 1035. And he said to his disciples, Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, they neither sow nor reap. They neither have a, neither storehouse nor barn. And yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about all the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock. It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And there will end the reading of God's word. Well, tonight we come to this great fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer. Give us this day our daily bread. And it is such a wonderful petition to preach. I think somewhat challenging, even though it's just a simple petition of what we're asking God. It's not difficult to understand what we are called to ask of the Lord. Boys and girls, it's such a wonderful thing when you have needs that you can talk to your heavenly Father. And you could talk to him right in your rooms at night. And he hears you. And he invites you to come and wants you to trust him that way. But it's difficult, I think, because for most of us, we have to confess, we just, we have not lived going without. We are accustomed in life to really having whatever, not only what we need, but really whatever we want. It has not been difficult even to get our wants in this life. And we can imagine, we can't imagine what it would be like to go without. We, of course, know that there are many places in this world where people are starving and hungry. And we should care about that. And we should pray about that. But here we have it, and still in our time in the United States, at our disposal, every possible luxury and every possible enjoyment at our fingertips, to the point that I think it's easy to become sort of numb to this petition and the importance of this little petition of the Lord's Prayer that he wants us to pray. So we want to understand and explore a little bit why it's so important that we make this a daily routine in prayer and something that we daily pray to the Lord. Notice daily is the emphasis in this little petition. It should be a daily request. It should be something we daily express to him. And this is important. The point is, is that give us this daily, our daily bread to think about that and to appreciate that. What does that mean? And why is that so important? Do we really live every day thinking about provision and how God orchestrates everything in providence and provides for us in a special way? Do we recognize that? Do we think about where food comes from, that it didn't grow in the supermarket? and that there was a lot of work that went into that. And this is even more challenging today because we live in a time where we have been absolutely, and maybe not so much us here, but the entire culture and society has been absolutely trained to trust the government for these things. That the government will provide these things. And we've had checks and checks and checks sent out. And what has it done to society? Has it created a thankful people? Or has it created a people who stopped working? Has it created a lot of lack of thankfulness? Something different about the kingdom ethic of our Lord as he provides for us, isn't there? In how we thank him and how we live. For when the government disposes money, when they don't even have it, by the way, they don't have unlimited resources. Very few people seem to be thankful. So I think what we're seeing, you know, we're looking at society right now, and we're looking at the things that are happening right now, and we're recognizing that the times, they are changing. They're not the same. We are now being faced with major problems. We're being faced with problems of where's the water? All this has come upon us. The water we flip on in our faucets, so been there. or our showers, and we just have water. Where's it going? And now we're being told about food shortages, and what will that look like? Look at how one war can utterly launch the whole wide world into a food shortage problem. And I think these are the kind of moments we have to stop, and we have to reflect and think about who is in charge. And maybe that's why these things happen. God has always shown us throughout history that he's in charge of economies, that he tips the scales, whatever way he wants. As the Psalms said, he cheers us with food, and then he pulls back his hand, and everyone's distressed. Why? Hopefully, they'll seek him. Hopefully, they'll come to him. Well, this is important. Even we saw with Genesis, with Joseph, you think of when all of a sudden there was such plenty in the world, And then one day the Lord decreed a famine. And all the grain was tied up in Egypt. And Jacob and his sons had to walk all those many miles just to get bread. Well, that's what I want to consider with you tonight. The importance of this prayer and why it's so important that we are actually, when we pray this, we're doing something very important for our minds and our walks with the Lord. We're training our minds to trust. That's why it's so important. We're training our minds to trust him. And that's why I want to approach this tonight, that Jesus told us to pray believing that he will provide for our needs, that he will care for us, that in life we are to trust him and that we are to give up trusting. You'll notice that great emphasis that is given all throughout the scriptures, not to trust in anything else, not to put our trust in anything else, governments or people or the things that are happening because they're not in control. They don't have the answer, and they don't supply the provision. And that's the main objective tonight, the purpose of praying this prayer, that we would learn to trust the Lord, that he would sustain us and provide for us so that his name would be honored, that his kingdom would be advanced, and that his will would be done. It all ties together in the Lord's Prayer. It's this single great petition of the Lord's Prayer that demonstrates our awareness of our dependency upon him. Truly, it would be the height of being ungrateful, wouldn't it? To have all of this and never stop and express thanksgiving and dependency. And that's what he's after in this particular petition. The glory of his name, the advancement of his kingdom, and that without daily bread, none of these things would happen. Think about what we've been considering in prayer. We've been praying for the advancement of the kingdom. praying that will, if we're not fed, if we're not cared for, none of that happens. And so you see how important this particular petition is tonight. The more that I study the scriptures and the more that you grow in the scriptures, what you see is a God who deeply cares for his people and a God who deeply cares and loves his people that he even intervenes into the most basic needs and necessities of this life in your lives. This came right out of the mouth of our Lord. How much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him? Those who ask him. The heart of faith comes with a childlike trust that he's going to provide for us as his children, everything we need for body and soul, and the Heidelberg has already said this so beautifully, that I trust him so much that I do not doubt that he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and that he will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this sad world. That's in the doctrine of providence. I think what's fascinating, and what we sang out in that psalm, and something that the Heidelberg captures is just how much the world lives in fear and anxiety. I was saying to someone today, you know, that little verse in Revelation that says, men's hearts will fail them because of fear. I never quite knew what that would look like, but I'm sure, it sure seems like we're living it right now. Everyone's afraid. And the news reports play on us this way. I just had a news report hit my phone that now there's a jumping worm that is going to jump and cause us all kinds of problems in the daily production of food. They just scare us endlessly. They live in constant fear. Well, in this particular petition, we're asking God to provide for all our basic needs so that human life would be preserved for his glory. We're asking that God would provide for our physical needs, that he cares and that we can approach him about this, that he cares all the basic needs and necessities that we have in life, food and for our health and for our bodies, that they would be maintained, submitting always to his good and perfect will for us, which we know is right. But if our needs aren't provided for, then what would become of the church on this earth? What would become of society? The Lord knows about this, and he cares about this, and I think that speaks volumes about what kind of God we serve. It's like R.C. Sproul used to say, if you want to really know the character of God, read the Old Testament. And if you want to really see it, read something like Psalm 104, where he's even caring for the little birds and the ravens and feeding them. And you notice they don't have storehouses. They don't have bank accounts. And there they are every morning flying around. He's fed every one of them. Every single one. And the Lord always wanted his people to be trained in this and understand this. This is why it's so important for the Jews to pray this particular prayer. There was a loaded history to this. We've been discussing in Hebrews the structure of the tabernacle a little bit, and we'll be getting into that and thinking about these things. But there was a long history of this concept of the Lord's provision of bread for Israel. It was so important to them, and something that the Lord constantly wanted them to understand. There were, as you entered, remember, the tabernacle, and you entered the holy place, and there was the most holy place. And there was this little table that was set there. And on that table were 12 loaves of bread. Do you know the priests were great bakers? Every week, they had to make fresh bread. It'd be like telling Pastor Gordon to make bread. Don't have to ask my wife how that would go. Every week, fresh bread would be put in there. Why? The Lord said, you shall always set on the table of showbread, bread before me always. You remember the meaning of that? Remember why that was so important? Every Sabbath, it was put in there representing the 12 tribes, and the priests would do that every week. And you remember there were 12 loaves. The sons of Kohas were in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath. Fresh baked showbread was always there. What do all the pagan nations try to do? Take Buddhists. What do they do? When we visited the temple years ago, I was amazed at this. Because we did a temple visit and we were there. and then they would present all the food up to the altar of the little Buddha. And then we had a big debate, should we eat it for lunch? Why were they doing that? Because the food was an offering to the Buddha. That's not what was happening in Israel. That is not what was happening in Israel. The reason the bread was set there, I mean, that would be idolatry. The reason the bread was set there, God didn't need bread. It was always a reminder to the little children who would sit and watch these loaves being carried in. And they would be told they were set right before the Lord. It was a reminder that the Lord would always provide for his people. And he would always care for them through their wilderness dwellings. And he did. He ran down bread from heaven. He dropped it on their doorsteps. He gave them manna. He gave them quail. They didn't starve. That's how good he was to them. And the Psalms celebrate this everywhere. You had commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven. He rained down manna on them to eat and given them for the bread of heaven. Men ate angels' food. He sent them food to the full. He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens. and by his power he brought in a south wind. He also rained meat on them like dust, feathered fowl like the sand of the seas, and he let them fall in the midst of their camp all around their dwelling, so they ate and were filled. For he gave them their own desire. He has made his wonderful works to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He's given food to those who fear him. he will ever be mindful of his covenant. That is a fundamentally different way we live than the world. The world lives worried about everything. The world looks to the government. The world looks to all these problems in the world for men to solve. And God is saying, I'm your God. I will provide. I will supply. Trust me. And that's what's at the heart of this little petition. Give us this day our daily bread. It's always to be a reminder. This was Israel's long perennial problem in Israel that they were always looking to other nations and other people and swords and strength and all these things other than the Lord. You see why it's so wrong to live stressed and worried and frantic about these things. It's absolutely wrong. It's wrong to live studying retirement accounts. It's wrong to live living for that and feeling strong in that and resting in those things. This is why Jesus said, I say to you, don't worry about your life. What you eat, what you will drink, nor about your body, what you'll put on. Life's more than this. Food and clothing. Look at the birds. Neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. You're way more valued than they. And when you worry, you don't do anything but hurt your own health, by the way. So why do you worry? Don't worry. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? That's what the Gentiles are doing. You're no longer Gentiles. You're my people. For after these things they seek, your heavenly Father knows what you need. What kind of father is one if the son asks for bread, gives him a stone? and God's just not like that. And remember the beauty of this prayer. You've already come to him as a father, as a good father. If we know anything about good parents who give us things, good gifts, it's wonderful to give our children good gifts. It gives us great joy. That's how your father is. It gives him joy to give you a good gift. And we need to understand that. Now, the reason is that we're praying this is to express this childlike dependency and recognizing that he is the provider of everything. And there's three good reasons tonight that exhibits trust in him. And here's the first. The catechism says something really important. It trains us to see God's goodness in everything. It trains us to see God's goodness in everything. You know, when the apostle was preaching to pagans, he was in Lystra and Iconium. And when they saw Paul and Barnabas, they started worshiping them as Hermes and Zeus. And the way that Paul preached was really interesting there. You did yet, he was preaching to them. He did not leave himself without witness. For he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. Pagans go through life and they never recognize the things that they have came from the hand of a God they hate. Isn't that something? What it should do, said Paul, was when you have all this goodness given to you, What it should do is lead you to repentance. That's what he said. Do you not know it's the goodness of God that leads you to repentance? We would think it's the hard hand of the Lord and the striking hand of the Lord that leads us to repentance. It's the goodness of God. And this trains us to see that in praying this. Here's a wonderful meal on my table. And how quickly we are just ready to devour it. And do we stop and take a moment of serious thanksgiving to the Lord? Lord, we don't deserve this. All this bounty from you, you provided it. You gave it. Thank you. We receive all this with thanksgiving. Because we see his goodness to us. It's training us in this. That's why we pray this. It's training us in this. Growth in faith, beloved, is, I'm convinced of this, that growth in faith also comes with seeing God's goodness, seeing how good of a God he is and how much he's provided for us. There's a second reason that we're trained to look at life, that everything, notice what the catechism says, everything operates under his blessing. there's nothing that doesn't. That's a remarkable claim. Everything in life operates under this blessing. So think about what this prayer says, Lord, I daily trust you, and I recognize that everything comes from your gracious hand, and how easily all this could be taken away, how easily all this could be gone, but you have upheld the world, and you have given, what did he say from the beginning. Springtime and harvest. There will always be seed time and harvest. There's always going to be this. What does the world want you worried about? We're in control. And there might not be. That's what they do to us. That's not what your God does. He provides. You uphold the world so that I'm able to work and you provide for my family. And it's your fatherly care that I have all these things. And I pray this day again that I would recognize your gracious provision. Thank you for it. Thank you for providing. See, all this without his blessing, it means nothing. It's the catechism emphasizes. It's training us in that. See his goodness and his blessing. And the third thing we pray in a day of plenty, because when our shelves are full or when our bodies are strong a day of dark providence might come. It will come. And what have we done at that point? We've already trained ourselves to look at life a certain way. See, if we go through life and we never pray this because we have everything not realizing that he's providing for us daily under his blessing, what happens when that day changes? What do people do? They get angry. They take matters into their own hands. They look for their own solutions. And these things happen, don't they? Jobs can be lost. Health can be taken. Strength can be zapped. Food can be removed. You see why it's so important to pray this. Pray it when the days are good. Because you're training yourself for the difficult days. I always like that little story of Elisha and the widow of Zarephath. It's a really amazing little story in the Old Testament. Sometime later, the brook dried up. It must have been California that I was thinking of. Because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him. Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I've directed a widow there to supply you with food, Elijah. So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, Would you bring me a little jar, a water in a jar, so that I may have a drink? As she was going to get it, he called, And bring me, please, a piece of bread. As surely as the Lord your God lives, she replied, I don't have any bread. Only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I'm gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. That's how bad it got. That's how bad it got. Elijah said to her, don't be afraid. See, fear. Go home and do as you've said, but first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land. So she went away and did as Elijah had told her, and there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. You can't help but to go to our Lord, can you? Who when the people were hungry could take a loaf of bread and break it and break it and break it. And feed thousands. You think anything's too hard for him? Oh, we do. That's why we worry. He provides. He gives. And notice in this case that he gave to his servants through a little widow who had nothing. And as she gave, it's a great blessing for the ministry. I always think there's something about the widow and her two mites. When she gave, having little, how the Lord sustained her and provided for her and took great eye of care upon that woman. In other words, it's training us not to live in worry, but to know that it is all under his sovereign direction and care. And that's why Psalm 146 was so important tonight when he cares for the widow and the orphan and the oppressed and the poor and the needy and the sick and the downtrodden, just go right down the line. That's where his eye is. He loves to do that. And that's why Matthew 6, 34, therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient is the day for its own trouble. Now one last little point tonight. When we're asking Jesus for our daily bread, when we're coming to the Lord and asking for provision we're also recognizing and we're expressing to him a request that we would not put our trust in anything else. I always think that little parable of Jesus the certain ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. He thought within himself saying what shall I do since I have no room to store my crops? I'm going to do this. I'm going to pull down my barns and build greater. And there I store up all my crops and my goods. And I'll say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. That's the opposite of praying in day of plenty, give us this day our daily bread. That's let me store up the bread for the future, for myself, to preserve my life. God said to him, you fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be which you've provided? So he who lays up treasure for himself is not rich toward God. Many live this way, beloved, with no recognition that all the good things that they enjoy in this life come from the Lord and are to be used for his glory and for the advancement of his kingdom. And so I think tonight you see how important it is to remember this particular petition every day in your prayers. It's so important. It keeps us from trusting in riches. It keeps us from looking to those things and looking to other, I mean, this is why Rockefeller said that there's never enough. I need more, I need more, I need more. And that's why people look to the government. It keeps us trusting in the Lord, and it promotes a proper relationship with our God. It's wonderful that he gives us this petition. Give us this day our daily bread. It's a bold petition, really. Give this to us. Provide this for us. And he desires that we would come to him and show great trust in him. And when he hears from you, I want you to know, boys and girls, when he hears from you, when you come to him, his ear, he has turned his ear to you. He loves to provide good gifts for his children. And so tonight, how wonderful it is to be able to pray, give us this day our daily bread for what you're saying is, Lord, I believe and I will trust that you will care for me in whatever way in this life. And even when things don't go the way that I want, I know that your plan is always right and always good and that nothing can take me away from your gracious fatherly hand. That's how good of a God we serve and that's why we should pray this prayer daily. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, thank you for supplying all of our needs. They all come from you. And so we say with one heart and one mind tonight, give us this day our daily bread. you've supplied every good gift in this life. May more and more our hearts be trained to trust you and to give up worry, to give up trusting in anything else, and to know that just as you have always cared for your people throughout history, demonstrated in the very songs that you inspire and have inspired, so you will care for us, for we are no longer Gentiles who live for this world and who live for what governments provide and people provide. But we look to the Lord, for with the Lord comes strength. With the Lord comes food. With the Lord comes great care for our bodies. And so we thank you for this. And even when the providence turns dark, we still will trust you. For we know, O Lord, that your plan is good and that you have already promised us to care for us forever in a resurrected body in glory. And there will be, as we say today, the Lord is our shepherd. We shall not want. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.