Well, I've worked in some tricky churches before
Never quite had These people are almost ready
to stone me But there's still time so You could
be the first let's see here we go How about we
pray and then let's get into God's Word together
and it'd be great if you've got a Bible there
to keep it in front of you Let's pray. Let's
ask God for help as we look at his Word now Heavenly
Father, we thank you that you are a speaking
God, that you are not silent, that you tell us
that you're there, that you tell us what you're
doing. And Father, help us to see what a great
God you are today, what a good provider you are
today, so that we'd be people who are thankful
and who depend upon you. We ask this in Jesus'
name. Amen. Well, I want to tell you today about
two mindsets that are at the kind of opposite
ends of the spectrum, but ultimately have a similar
kind of root outlook. The first mindset is Bart
Simpson. There's this great Simpsons episode
where Bart Simpson, he's sitting at the dinner
table and he says, Grace, and this is what he
says, he says, Dear God, we paid for all this
stuff, so thanks for nothing. Bart Simpson, that's
his outlook. And it's easy to dismiss it. You
know, it's just him being kind of silly and a
young kid. But I actually reckon he represents
how many people think and live. I mean, that's
why the joke works, isn't it? Bart is symbolic
of the self -made man. The man who lives his
life doing it themselves. Hey, you know, it's
not like there's a God out there. It's all up
to me to sort it out. And to be honest, I reckon
his sister Lisa is a lot like that too. She's
just much more successful. But they both stand
or fall on their own. The burden on them to provide
is theirs to bear. That's Bart. That's Lisa.
And I reckon even Christians think a bit like
that sometimes. We may not say it as explicitly
as Bart Simpson does. But sometimes I think we
slip into that outlook. It's all on me. We feel
like Atlas with the world on our shoulders, like
we have to carry it all ourselves. So that's
the first mindset. The second mindset is Piglet.
You know Piglet from Winnie the Pooh? Piglet
lives life anxious, frantic, hypervigilant. Piglet
represents the person with the outlook that's
crippled by fear and worry. Piglet needs great
reassurance and often help from others. He too
carries a heavy burden. He carries the burden
of being afraid all the time, always on high
alert. Now, both Bart and Lisa and Piglet, they're
both very different, aren't they? Yet, I want
to say to you, both struggle to see God as a
good provider. And I think that represents a
lot of us, too. Now, you might be here and I
don't know which one you are. You might think,
yeah, I'm more like a Bart and a Lisa. And some
of you might be thinking, no, I'm more of a piglet.
And those are words I never thought I'd say in
a sermon. But anyway, maybe you oscillate between
the two. Sometimes you have that self -made outlook.
Sometimes you have that more anxious, hypervigilant
outlook. I know I sometimes oscillate between
the two. But there's a better and a happier way
to live that frees us from the burden that both
outlooks carry. Now, I don't have some other
cartoon character I can show you, but the person
who doesn't carry that burden is someone who
prayerfully trusts God to provide for them. Someone
who thankfully and prayerfully trusts God to
provide for them. I want to show you today that
you can do that. And that you can do that because
God is a good provider. And that's what we see
in that little phrase, give us this day our daily
bread. Here's our big idea for the day. God is
a good provider, so pray for all our needs. Because
it's not just your needs, it's pray for all our
needs. And when we take this to heart, it shakes
our prayer life in one of three ways. Firstly,
We pray for life's necessities. That's the first
way. Secondly, we pray for other Christians.
And thirdly, we pray for this each day. We need
to do all three. We pray for life's necessities.
That's the idea of daily bread. We pray for other
Christians. That's the hour. And we pray for
this each day. Give us this day. So let's have
a look at these. Here's the first one, pray for
life's necessities. That's what we're talking
about with bread. It's worth noting that the
structure and logic of the Lord's Prayer shows
why this is important. The first three petitions,
which we've already looked at, are all about
praying for God's agenda. So we've done, hallowed
be your name, your kingdom come, your will be
done. We've talked about praying for God's reputation,
his rescue, his rule. They're all God's agenda
things. They're things that are meant to realign
our hearts with what God is doing in the world.
But the amazing thing about God is that he's
not a God who has no idea about what the real
world is like, is he? God's realistic. He knows
that we can't pray for and do his agenda if our
needs are not met. Christianity is not some bodiless
spiritual asceticism. It's grounded in the real
world, where people have real needs. We pray
for life's necessities. So what are those needs?
Well, we have needs that are physical and spiritual.
We need clothes, we need money, we need shelter,
we need food, we need water, we need medicine.
These are all good things that we should pray
for. These are all things that God recognises
that we need. But there is a priority within
those needs even. Jesus said, picking up on Deuteronomy
8, man does not live on bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouth of God. So there
are spiritual needs that are far more important
than our physical needs. But it's not like God
ignores our physical needs either. Life includes
both. We have spiritual needs of churches and
growth groups and Bible study and encouragement
and all of these things, but we have physical
needs as well. And we need to be people who are
responsible for those things. Yeah, we need to
be people who go, I need to take care of my needs.
I need to look after myself. That's a good and
right thing. But like wings on a plane, we're
both responsible dependent. We need to be both.
We need God's help. Now I know you Cairns locals,
you're all cyclone experts here. Our first one
we experienced was in Geraldton. We went through
cyclone Seroja. It barely hit Geraldton thankfully,
but sadly it wiped out Kalbarri. It was very
bad. But we did get affected. It knocked out
our power for five days. And it was eye opening
in those five days to see how fragile and vulnerable
we really are. Things we took for granted so
quickly gone. I reckon big disasters like that
are actually really good for the heart, aren't
they? They remind me of how small I am. How fragile
I am. How short life really is. I mean, one day
I am gonna die. As self -made as I can be, there's
only so much I can do. I need God's help. I need
big help. And thankfully, there really is a God
who meets my needs if I trust him. All through
scripture, we see examples of God answering prayers,
whether there's drought or rain, whether it's
opening people in prison cells, you know, getting
them out, whether it's appointing leaders in
churches, all sorts of things. God provides for
his people. And Christian history is full of
it as well. If you've ever read about George
Mueller, who was in Bristol, who cared for something
like 10 ,000 orphans. He was a funny one. I'm
not suggesting you go do this, but it's quite
Interesting what he did. He didn't tell people
his needs. He didn't say, oh, you know, we've
just got an influx of more orphans. We're going
to need another $5 ,000 or anything like that.
He just prayed. He just prayed. That's what he
did. And over half a billion dollars of our money
came in to provide for those orphans. That was
an answer to prayer. And I reckon there'd be
people here in our church who would testify that
they've prayed about things and these just remarkable
coincidences or amazing things happen that they
were never expecting. God is a good provider.
But you might be going, well hang on, hang on
Brendan, you know, that's all well and good,
but how do you really know God's a good provider?
Well... Even when there's times where God doesn't
answer my prayers the way I think I would like,
I know God's a good provider because he provided
his son. When I look to the cross, I see that
God is a good provider. He provided for my needs
before I even knew that I had them. And if he
gave up his own son for me, how can I not trust
that he will graciously give me all things? Now,
we need to ask God to provide for our needs and
we do that with faith and confidence that he
can, that he will. Now, God is so gracious and
kind, he still provides a lot if we don't pray.
You know, God's common grace, the rain falls
on the righteous and the unrighteous today, it's
a bit more than normal but, you know, his rain
still falls on everybody. He provides, but He
provides so much more if you do pray. And it's
not just that He answers your prayers. He gives
you extra, like humility and appreciation. It
makes your life so much richer when you have
that outlook, don't you? See, here's the truth
about self -made people. Self -made people often
become judgmental and proud if things go well.
Just look at Lisa Simpson. Or they get crushed
and bitter if things go poorly. Deep down, such
people often find life lonely and stressful.
They carry a heavy burden. But I want to show
you what it looks like not to be self -made.
to be someone who trusts God. In his book on
the Lord's Prayer, Richard Cokin shares a story
of a Christian businessman. He supported gospel
work for a long, long time, but he worked for
Enron. Do you remember the infamous Enron? They
collapsed over in America and this guy lost a
fortune when it collapsed. This businessman took
Richard Cokin on a tour of the empty Enron offices.
It was just eerie and ghostly. But Koken says
this, he says, this businessman was surprisingly
calm about his financial losses. The businessman
said, I've repeatedly acknowledged to God that
my wealth comes from him. I've asked that if
at any point he thought it would be spiritually
better for me not to have it, he would please
take it away. I trust that this is what he has
done and I am content with that. What an outlook,
isn't it? That's how you pray, give us this day
our daily bread. It's acknowledging that all
you have comes from God. It's asking him to provide
and trusting that he knows best with whatever
the answer may be. It's what makes you humble
and content. Are you praying about your needs?
Are you praying about your needs like that? But
praying for our daily bread doesn't just make
us humble and content. It actually makes us more
loving. So yeah, we pray for life's necessities,
but here's our second thing. We pray for other
Christians. We pray for other Christians. That
little hour pops up again in the Lord's Prayer
to break us free from our individualistic self
-absorption. It's not all about me. This little
hour expands our horizons. We're part of a family.
If you're a Christian, you're part of a family.
You've got brothers and sisters in Christ, both
here in our church, but also near and far. And
because we're a family, we love each other. We
love each other in practical ways, but also by
praying for each other's physical and spiritual
needs. It's a great thing to do. And it changes
you. Pray for the persecuted church. You know,
go onto Open Doors or Barnabas Fund and pray
for Christians in really horrible and difficult
places facing death, many of them. Pray for them.
It changes you. Pray for the members of your
growth group. It's amazing how when you do that
it changes who you are. Pray for Christians in
the bush with Bush Church Aid. There's so many
good things and God will often answer those prayers
because he's a good provider. He's able to but
often he will change you too. Sadly today when
there's a tragedy somewhere in the world, especially
when there's a shooting in places like America,
A lot of politicians will say things like, our
thoughts and our prayers are with you. And for
many people that generates a lot of anger. Because
it just becomes this empty platitude. You know,
they're sick of it. They're going, I want action
instead of thoughts and prayers. And you know
what? There's some truth to that. I think fair
enough. Yet sadly, Such outrage and such politicians
using it as an empty platitude distorts to us
how powerful prayer truly is. Praying for others
does change what happens. We've got a God in
heaven who is all loving and all powerful. He
can do anything and he will do what's best. Prayer
changes what happens. Praying to God for someone
else is an awesome thing to do. Don't underestimate
it. But prayer also changes us. It makes us more
like Jesus. It makes us more loving. I wonder
if those politicians were truly praying about
these things. I reckon they probably would take
action. And it's the same for us. Say you're
sitting there in growth group and you're praying
for different people, you're doing that thing
of sharing prayer points and then you pray for
one another and then you go home and you're praying
throughout the week for that person. Yeah, Fred,
okay, what was it I was praying for Fred? Yeah,
he needs a new job, okay, and Jane, she's sick
at the moment, I'll pray for her and you're just
going through different people, you're praying
for them. Now God often honours that, but...
He'll change you as you do that. You might even
go, hey, how can I become the answer to that
prayer? Do I need to, you know, go over and give
Jane a meal or Fred does, is there someone I
know at work who could maybe give him a job?
Prayer for one another, praying for Christians
all over the world, it changes us and makes us
more like Jesus. That's why we pray the hour.
Because as we do it changes who we are. But praying
for God's provision doesn't just make us more
humble and content and loving. It also calms
us down. And that's why we pray for this each
day. Give us this day our daily bread. Why not
pray weekly, monthly, or annually. You know,
like tax time. I'll just get it all loaded up
at once, you know? Well, can't I just outsource
my prayers? Maybe there's someone who'll just
do that for me? No, it's because we constantly
need reminding that we're dependent upon God.
That we have a Father who is there, who is in
control, and that He is good and loving, and
He's working out His good plans and purposes.
And when I do that, it helps me not worry. It
helps me not try to control everything, but to
just be calm. I remember seeing a psychologist
once say that anxiety is an over -concern about
the future. That's what it is, isn't it? Can
I make sure everything's okay? Can I just have
control? Praying daily, helps us stay calm and
grounded and focused on God's provision. And
it gives us a perspective as to what's important.
Here's what Jesus says later in the Sermon on
the Mount. Often you find many things in the
Sermon on the Mount linked back to the Lord's
Prayer, because you're meant to be praying about
those things and then having a new outlook living
them out. Well, here's what Jesus says. He says,
therefore do not be anxious saying, what shall
we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we
wear? For the Gentiles, the nations who don't
know God, they seek after all these things. And
your Heavenly Father knows that you need them
all. He's a good provider. He knew what you needed
before you even asked. But seek first the Kingdom
of God and His righteousness, and all these things
will be added to you. You know, when we pray,
it changes our outlook. We're seeking the right
things. We're on about the kingdom, and we go,
I trust the other stuff to God. He'll provide
for me. And so therefore, do not be anxious about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious about
itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
When we're praying like this, it allows us to
be present, calm, grounded. Now, I must admit,
sometimes my kids get really worried and stressed.
Some of my kids are autistic and often when they're
having an autistic meltdown, it's not just that
they're grumpy or angry, it's that they're really,
really anxious. But it is amazing how often,
if I can just get them a little calm and then
come and give them a big hug, how often that
soothes them, doesn't it? That warm, loving squeeze
calms them right down. Their hearts stop racing,
their breathing slows, and they're just in such
a better place. Well, prayer is like that for
us. It's a hug for your heart, for the everyday
chaos that we go through. It gives the piglet
in me, and I'm not talking about my belly, it
gives the piglet in me great calm and peace.
See, God often uses our prayers to meet our physical
and spiritual needs. He answers them. But He
also helps to meet our psychological needs through
prayer. When life spirals out of control, I don't
have to face it alone. I have a Father in heaven
who's looking out for me better than I can look
out for myself. And the cross is proof of that.
When I look at the cross, I see the Son of God
murdered by people, rejected by His own people.
It looks like total chaos. It looks more chaotic
than anything I've seen in my life. And yet God
was in complete control of all of it. It reminds
me His plans and purposes can be trusted. That
He's not asleep at the wheel, He's driving the
bus. Praying daily calms me down. But that's
not all it does for my internal world or yours.
There's a lot of debate among Greek boffins.
Is it give us today our daily bread or give us
today our tomorrow's bread? There's a good case
to be made, it's tomorrow's bread. because it's
a call back to Exodus 16, the passage that we
read earlier, to the Sabbath provision there,
to the way God provided for his people there.
There's even little hints at the Messianic banquet
that comes up throughout the Old Testament. I
think when we're praying this, it's not just
that we're praying that God will provide for
my needs. I think we're praying that God will
sustain us all the way home to the promised land,
all the way home to that eternal Sabbath rest,
all the way home to his forever kingdom. We're
praying that God will make sure I get home. And
when we have that eternal perspective, it reorients
to me what I need to be worried about and what
really matters. I had a friend who used to say
to me, don't sweat the small stuff. And here's
the thing, when you're a Christian, all of it's
small stuff. Once you know Jesus, you can see
that all these things in life, it's small stuff.
Because I've got eternity sorted. It's so freeing
when you can trust God every day. So let's draw
some threads together. Are you more of a bard
or a Lisa? Well, are you like bard and Lisa,
or are you more of a piglet? Whichever it is,
I hope you've seen a better way today. A better
way that's to prayerfully trust God and thank
him. God is a good provider. So pray for all
our needs. The big thing we see as we look at
give us this day our daily bread and there were
three things we need to do in response to it.
Pray for life's necessities, pray for other Christians
and pray for this each day. Now what's this mean
practically for us? Well you know if you're here
today and you're a Bart, Lisa, self -made kind
of person I get that this is hard to do. It feels
good being self -made, doesn't it? Not being
dependent on anyone makes you feel safe and accomplished.
Yet did you see today that the reality is you're
robbing yourself of so much more? Did you really
provide for yourself that great work ethic that
you may have? Was that you? Did you just... born
that way, or is that a gift from God? The education
you have, being born here where you are, having
the prosperity that you enjoy, is that you, or
is that a gift from God? It's a good thing to
recognise how much stuff actually comes, not
from you, but from the maker of everything. And
you know what, where will you turn when things
do go wrong? It's a miserable place to be, to
be self -made when everything is going chaotic
and things are just too big for you. I think
life is so much better when you're prayerful
and thankful to God. So if you're someone here
today and you've got that self -made kind of
heart, let me give you a tip of what I think
you should try doing. For a couple of months
Can I suggest you just get a piece of paper and
every week you replace it but just draw a big
line down the middle and a little line across
the top and you've got two columns, one that
says ask and one that says thanks. And you write
on that piece of paper, keep it by your bedside
table, write the things that you're asking God
for, write the things that you're thanking God
for and then just each morning or night or both
Pray about those things. Talk to God about those
things. Throughout the week, add to the list.
But I reckon if you try that for a couple of
months, do it daily, I think it will change your
outlook in a massive way. Especially if you're
there thanking God for the Lord Jesus and how
he graciously gives his people salvation. It
will bring joy, peace, calm, gladness to your
heart. It is a wonderful thing to do. But if
you're a piglet person, I know, too, your struggles.
I know you're just trying to protect yourself.
For you, you feel like if you can spot life's
dangers and get people to help you, you're going
to be safe. But surprisingly, what you're actually
doing is sabotaging yourself. I've struggled
with GAD, generalised anxiety disorder. And I
remember a few years ago when I started managing
it a lot better. And it was amazing how much
more joy and energy and how good life became
when I started getting on top of it. Now, how
do you manage it? Well, self -care. Sleep, get
enough sleep, hydrate, have a good diet, exercise,
belonging, all these things. They're good things
to do. But I want to add in there, also have
a new outlook. The verse of the week that we
had on our bulletin today, it meant a lot to
me. This is what it says. Look at the birds of
the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not of more value than they? God
provides food for the birds. They don't farm
the land and store it, yet they have full tummies.
I mean, God's so good, so powerful, so all -knowing.
He cares about the birds. And then, well, God
cares more about me and you, then he does the
birds, doesn't he? Well, how do you know, Brendan?
Well, I'm made in his image. That's what the
Bible tells me. But there's an even greater reason.
I look at the cross. At the cross, I see I'm
of more value than birds or any other creature
in the world. Because Jesus died for humans.
He died for me. I am so precious to God that
Jesus would endure the full force of God's anger,
judgment and wrath in my place so that I wouldn't
have to do it for eternity. There's no doubt
in my mind when I look at the cross that I am
precious and valuable. There's no doubt in my
mind when I look at the cross that God's in control
and he's working out his good plans and purposes.
If God provides you with eternal salvation through
the death of his own precious son, why do you
doubt that he'll provide you with lesser things?
If you're a piglet type, you don't need to be
on high alert. Remember what God is like. Look
to the cross and pray to him daily. Do the other
self -care things as well, like do it all. but
pray to Him daily and let it calm you down. See,
whether you like Bart or Lisa or Piglet, life
is so much better when we commit our needs to
God. Will you commit yourself to doing that today?
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for
your wonderful generosity. You provide for us
in the most rich, wonderful and abundant ways.
Father, we are sorry for all the times we've
taken those things for granted. Help us to be
thankful. Help us to be content. Help us to be
humble. And as we pray, Father, help us to become
more loving, more like Jesus. And as we pray,
Father, please help us to have our anxieties
soothed and calmed. Please, Father, we need your
help. Help us to depend upon you. And we ask
this in Jesus' name. Amen.