Biblical Prayer: Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

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This is part 10 of Biblical Prayer. We're up to the petition in the

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Lord's Prayer, give us this day our daily bread. We've examined the purpose of prayer, we've looked at false teaching on prayer.

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Currently we're looking at the model prayer in Matthew chapter 6 verses 5 to 13, and remember in this text

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Jesus gives us an inspired pattern for prayer, and notice there's a priority given to us in the order of the petitions.

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It starts off with everything focusing on God. The preface reminds us who we are praying to, our

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Father who is in heaven, and then we've examined the first petition, hallowed be thy name.

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Notice the priority here, the very first thing we should be doing in our prayer is focusing on God's glory.

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Then we've examined the second petition, thy kingdom come, and then we've also examined a third petition, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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So, so far the priority of our prayer has been the glory of God's kingdom, and rightly so.

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I mean, if I were to say something else you would probably be shocked. Of course we're going to start with the glory of God's kingdom, but now we begin to ask for our needs to be supplied.

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The next petition is give us this day our daily bread, and we shouldn't be surprised that after we ask

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God to make his name holy, and that his will be done, and that his kingdom would come, and then we start asking for our daily provisions, because he's already told us, in fact, just in the same chapter of Matthew, we see this, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

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That gives us the priority right there. We focus on God, on Jesus Christ, on the kingdom of this earth, and then we begin to ask for things, even our necessities.

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I'm not even talking about things that we want at this point, strictly the necessities. Notice the very first word of the next petition is give, and this word is significant.

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When we pray give, give us, it acknowledges the sovereignty of God.

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We come before, because everything we have is a gift from him, and so it's not inappropriate to ask for the things that he has already promised to give us, okay?

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Even the things we take for granted are gifts from him. How often do we see, especially in this world, and we've seen it in the lives of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar in our study in Daniel, taken for granted, looking at the things that we've accomplished, oh look what

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I've done, but we need that this petition starts to focus our minds back onto the fact that all these things are gifts from God, and so asking him for these things is a demonstration that we understand that he is

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God, and we are his people. He is the one who's in a position to answer our prayers. He's the only one who is in a position to answer our prayers, and so therefore it is appropriate and right that we ask him for things.

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This petition also tells us that it's okay to pray for temporal things, and you'll see that as we go what we're asking him for, but it's okay to pray for temporal things.

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Prayer is a spiritual discipline, but it affects the temporal realm, and one of the things that, well, if you've been in this church for any length of time, you know that we don't make a strong dichotomy between the temporal things on this earth and the spiritual because they are interconnected.

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Your spiritual birth, all right, now that's clearly a spiritual issue, the fact that you are born again.

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However, once you are born again, that affects the way you live your life every day on this earth, how you spend your money, the entertainment, the job that you take, what you do, how you interact with people.

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All of those things are temporal in nature, but they are affected by the spiritual realm, okay?

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So we need to understand that when we ask in this petition that he give us things, it's okay to ask not just for the spiritual things, which is the priority, and that's one of the things we're going to look at, but also to ask for the temporal gifts as well.

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James 117, every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the

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Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. Notice, every good thing bestowed, every gift is from God.

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Wealth comes from God, and we see that in 2nd Chronicles 112, and I will give you riches and wealth and honor such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed, nor those who will come after you.

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Wealth comes from God, and in fact, I'll say a few more things about wealth afterwards, but health also comes from God.

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I'm just picking out a couple of things to show you the fact that it's okay to pray for temporal things.

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You may say, well, that's rather obvious, isn't it? Well, no, because there are branches of Christianity where all they dwell on is spiritual, spiritual, spiritual.

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What happens on this earth doesn't matter, and that is wrong. I mean, the priority is in the spiritual realm, but that certainly affects the earthly realm.

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Health comes from God, Jeremiah 30 17, for I will restore to you health, and I will heal you of your wounds, declares the

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Lord, because they have called you an outcast, saying it is Zion, no one cares for her, but God does.

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Praying like this gives us benefits beyond the temporal things that we pray for. You're going to see what we're going to be praying for in a few minutes, but beyond those things, we're praying for daily bread, but beyond that, when we pray, even for temporal things, it has a spiritual impact, and because it gives us a proper perspective of who we are before God.

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Just the mere fact that we would get on our knees and pray to God for our temporal needs is a demonstration that we recognize that God is the giver of all good gifts.

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Let me just back up for a few minutes. Remember way back,

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I guess it's a couple of months now, when we started this series on prayer, we said that prayer is more than merely asking

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God for things, and there are spiritual benefits to praying when we pray biblically.

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This is one of those things that we were talking about. When you are praying according to the will of God, in God's name, for the things that he tells us to pray for, we get a benefit beyond the very thing that we are praying for.

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Does that make sense? Do you follow what I'm saying? Yes? Yes?

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Okay. If you're not, say so. Okay. When we pray like this, it tells us more about who

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God is. When we pray like this, it reminds us that temporal gifts are given for spiritual purposes.

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When we are to nourish our bodies for the benefit that we can advance the kingdom of God for the time that he has put his hair on earth, if we don't take care of our spiritual bodies and we let it decay, we're hindering our ability to spread the gospel, okay?

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And Paul tells us where he's telling us in Ephesians to put off the old man and put on the new.

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He says, you know, if you were a thief, let him who stole steal no more, all right?

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But rather let him labor with his hands. But the verse doesn't even stop there. What comes after that?

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Rather let him labor with his hands. For what purpose? To give to others, so that you have an abundance and you can give to others, so that we can practice generosity and taking care of other people and not just storing up for ourselves, all right?

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When we pray like this, it gives glory to God. But notice that the petition is not merely to give, but give us.

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We are to pray, give us. Now notice that it's a plural pronoun, which also is significant.

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It's not give me, but give us. That's the pattern that he gives us, all right?

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Ephesians 6, 18, with all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

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It's not just self -centered praying when we pray for give us this day our daily bread. We're praying that in a general sense, not even just for our own personal gain and personal comfort.

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So it's petition for all the saints. The Christian is always to be thinking of others.

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Even as you pray for the simple necessities of life, don't forget others. That's what's all wrapped up in this petition.

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Don't forget others. Yes, I need the daily needs to keep me alive, to keep shelter over my head, but we can never just pray strictly just for ourselves.

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The psalmist prays in Psalm 125, verse 4, Do good, O Lord, to those who are good and to those who are upright in their hearts.

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Just keeping in mind we're praying for all the saints. It is possible to be self -centered in praying, just like it's possible to be prideful in our praying, and we've gone over that in the past.

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There's no higher calling for a Christian than to be on his knees praying, and it's at that time that Satan sneaks in and can actually cause you to be prideful while you are in the biggest attitude of humility.

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So we need to be always on the guard. Even in our prayer life, we need to be on our guard.

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Praying in this way has some very practical benefits. One, it comforts others in the body of Christ.

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When you know that other people in the body are praying for you, for your daily needs, your daily bread, as well as other things, that's a comfort.

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It's a big comfort. Let me just pause here for a minute.

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I've been blessed over the years that I've been in ministry, which is 30 years now.

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Yeah, it's 30 years now. There have been four or five elderly women that I have had occasion to minister to in my ministry, and they make a point of telling me,

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Pastor, I pray for you every day. Now, one of them happened to be my mother, which was, you would figure that.

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But there's others, and to this day, there's a couple of women who are into their 90s, and when

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I touch base with them, they still tell me, I haven't forgotten, Pastor, I pray for you every day. You have no idea what a comfort that is, knowing that you're in the ministry and you have these prayer warriors.

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They can't do much else. They're not out, you know, running around.

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Maybe they can't even sing in the choir or anything else like that, but they can pray, and that's something that we all need to keep in mind, that we should be prayer warriors.

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And it comforts others in the body of Christ when they know that you're praying for them.

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By the way, I still get comforted that a lot of people who are not elderly also tell me that.

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I didn't want to make it seem like it's only elderly women that pray for me. Okay. It keeps you from depression.

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If you're one of the people who is prone to depression and whatnot, praying in this way has a very practical benefit because you recognize who

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God is and that he is going to meet your needs. You don't have to worry. Remember what David said, I've been old,

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I've been young. I've never seen the righteous forsaken or the righteous begging for bread.

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And so it keeps you from depression. Your faith will be strengthened when you know that not only you are praying, but you have all these other people praying for you.

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Notice the next words in the petition, this day, give us this day.

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This is another important phrase in the prayer because Jesus tells us how often we ought to pray for our daily bread.

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Jesus could easily have said, well, pray weekly, every Sabbath day, or once a month, or even just pray one time and that's good.

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But he didn't. He said, give us this day, which indicates you need to be praying every day, and especially for these petitions.

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He makes a point of telling us to pray every day. Why? Because our reliance on him has to be every day.

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There's a benefit that's received just if you're following what we're saying in this petition, there's a benefit that you need every day.

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We are forgetful people, and if we don't have

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God before us every day in prayer, we're going to forget, and even our faith can wane.

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I forget who it was who said, you know, we're all leaky vessels. You can't depend on yesterday's grace for today's problems.

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You need to pray every day. Yesterday's gone. Tomorrow isn't here yet, so pray for today.

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Jesus said it this way in verse 34 of chapter 6, therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself.

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Each day has enough trouble of its own. Do I hear an amen to that? I don't know about you, but every day has enough trouble for me.

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God taught the Israelites this lesson in dramatic fashion in the wilderness. The manna had to be gathered every morning, and what would happen if they gathered more than they could consume?

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What happened to it? It went bad. It went bad. So even if they tried to double up, it wouldn't last.

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It went bad. They had to every morning except the Sabbath day, but that's a different lesson.

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Could not be saved for tomorrow, which means don't put your trust in storing up for tomorrow.

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Now I say that, that's not to say you're not to make financial plans.

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There's plenty of biblical advice that we should be planning. In fact, one of my favorite verses is, to leave the righteous man leaves an inheritance for his children's children.

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Okay, so that's grandkids we should be even be concerned about. That's not what

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I'm talking about. There's a difference between being a good steward and planning financially, than putting your trust in the temporal goods.

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It should never be where our trust is. Again, I've just got ahead of myself.

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You shouldn't have a financial plan and save money. Those are all good things to do, and the Bible teaches us to be good stewards of the resources

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God has given his people. The lesson is not to put your trust in those things.

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Jesus taught this principle in the same sermon. He said, don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in or steal.

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For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So what are we to pray for?

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Give us this day our daily bread. Now, this is the object of the petition.

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What are we asking for? We're asking for our daily bread. And again, what is meant by this phrase, daily bread?

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Well, the biblical usage of bread is symbolic of all that is necessary to sustain life, not just a loaf of baked bread.

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That includes all of the temporal necessities of life. So this prayer is for all the necessities of life.

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It's not just isolated to bread. And this is clearly seen in the spiritual realm because Christ is called the bread of life.

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What does that mean? Christ is called the bread of life because he is essential to have spiritual life.

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And it also means that he is the bread of life because he is totally sufficient for spiritual life.

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So we just take that and we transfer it over at the same principle to praying for our daily needs, our daily bread.

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And you can see it's very clear. Christ completely fills us and nourishes us spiritually, and he will also do the same temporally.

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Notice the simplicity, yet the fullness of this petition. Every time

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I study this prayer, I stand back in awe of how it's very simple, yet very profound at the same time.

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Notice it's not a prayer for a daily cake, not even for oatmeal raisin cookies.

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Substitute anything else for bread, and it changes the meaning of the petition. So this prayer is not just for food, but for shelter, clothing, and whatever else you need for life.

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It's also a prayer for spiritual bread. Look at the summary of the things

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Paul prayed for for the churches. I'm going to go through this rather quickly. We don't have time to go through things, but what

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I did was I just went through a summary of Paul's prayers in Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and these are some of the things that Paul prays for.

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And these would actually be in the part of the prayer before, give us this daily bread, because this is spiritual bread.

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This is how he prays for his churches, that they would have a spirit of wisdom. Oh, as we go through this, this is a good checklist for you.

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See if you pray in this way, because that's what he's told us. When you pray, pray in this manner.

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So see how your prayer life stacks up to what Paul's life is. That they would have a spirit of wisdom, that they would have a knowledge of God, that they would know the hope of his calling, that they would know the riches of his glory, that they would know the greatness of his power, that they would understand the love of Christ, that they would be filled with God, that they would have discernment, that they would be sincere, that they would be blameless, that they would approve what is excellent, that they would have understanding, that they would walk in a manner worthy of him, that they would be fruit -bearing, that they would be strengthened, that they would have patience, that they would be content with what they had.

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And that last one I saved for last, because contentment is a sign of maturity in Christ, to be content with what you have.

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God gives gifts to his children in a measure that is best for us, whether that is very little, where that should be, or in abundance.

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Sometimes people have asked me as a pastor, Pastor, you know, I'm living a godly life as best

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I can, I'm striving and all, and yet I never seem to be able to get ahead financially.

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I just have, you know, and I don't understand why doesn't God give me more finances?

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And they don't usually like my answer. God gives you the finances that he will entrust to you, so if you don't have, if your finances are not the best, perhaps you should look at how you're treating the ones he has given you.

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That's the principle. He gives more, and there are believers who have an abundance.

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Obviously God trusts them with that, with those resources, but it's not necessarily an indication of spirituality, all right?

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It's a question of gifts and talents that God gives to various people. So Philippians 4, this is

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Paul talking about, you know, giving, praying for the daily needs and everything else.

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Look at what Paul says. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances

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I am. That verse right there is, the applications of that verse are so broad.

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It's not just regarding daily bread or finances, but it's spiritual contentment.

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For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. And notice what he says,

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I have learned. It's not something that's automatic, something that you have to learn.

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He says, I know how to get along with humble means. When Paul came to Christ, he had nothing.

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He says, I also know how to live in prosperity. In his past life, he had an abundance. He was probably one of the wealthy people in Israel.

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But then he continues, in any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, of having both abundance and suffering need.

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And those are the things that have taught him the secret of being content. And in verse 13, this is the actual context.

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This verse is probably one of the verses that is most often taken out of context. I can do all things to him who strengthens me.

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Doesn't mean we become spiritual supermen, and we can do anything, which is how it's used a lot.

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What he's talking about, I can do all things. I can live with very little, or I can live with a lot, whatever

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God sees fit to give me. It's contentment. God gives gifts to his children in a measure that is best for us, whether that is very little or an abundance.

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That's exactly what we have to look at. If you're dissatisfied with your lot in life, you've got an argument with God, not with your boss, not with anybody else.

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But God gives gifts in measure that is best for us. So if you're struggling a little bit financially, it's exactly what you need.

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God is teaching you something through it. So then, pray in this way.

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Give us this day our daily bread. Any questions?

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Yes? It reminds me of that passage from Proverbs 30, where it says,

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Don't give me too much, lest I forget who you are. Yeah, that's the

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Proverbs of Agur. I love that proverb. Don't give me too much, lest I forget who you are.

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Don't give me nothing, so that I don't become a thief. Good one.

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Any other questions? Yeah.