Thank you for taking the time to read the sermon. I am sorry that I didn't get the rest of the book posted this week. I will try to do better this week. I am having a lot of health issues, and my schedule at work is making it hard to get things done. I hope that you are all doing well.
Today, we are going to continue with our series of messages where we are looking at some of the names and titles for the Lord that we find primarily in the Old Testament. I want us to focus on the title for God found first in Genesis 22 that God is the one who provides. In Hebrew, God is called YHWH Jireh--the Lord who provides.
Let's look at the context where we see this title for God. Abraham was given a child of promise, namely Isaac. One day, God asked Abraham to take his son and offer him up as a sacrifice. Abraham sets off with Isaac to the place of sacrifice. Along the way, Isaac asks where is the lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham tells his son that God will provide the sacrifice.
Abraham prepares to sacrifice Isaac, but before he can do it, there is a sacrifice provided by the Lord. Isaac is not sacrificed. The sacrifice provided by God takes his place.
There are several other places in both the Old and New Testaments that speak to the fact that God is our provider. For instance, Psalm 107:9 states, "For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things."
There are two great instances of the provision of the Lord that we see in the Old Testament. God provided manna in the wilderness so that the people would have what they needed to eat. When Elijah was fleeing from Ahab and Jezebel, God sent the ravens to Elijah with the food that he needed.
In the New Testament, there are several references to the provision that God provides. Philippians 4:19 tells us that, "And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." We also read in James 1:17, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."
The Lord Jesus tells us about the provision of the Father. In Luke 12:24 He says, "Consider the ravens, they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouses nor barns, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than birds."
Clearly, we see in the Bible that God is our provider. He provides for us in all ways. We have been given so many things by the hand of the Lord. We have food to eat, clothes to wear and places to live. Every good thing that we have in our lives we need to give thanks to God for for giving us these wonderful things.
Now, some will say that there are many that don't have enough. That is true. That is due to the fact that human beings don't take care of one another. God has made the provision. We as His followers must be diligent in helping those in need so that there is no need anywhere. We can do this. All of us, including me, are guilty of not doing enough to make sure the provision of God is distributed to all.
God has also provided for our spiritual needs. We needed forgiveness and salvation from sin. God provided us with the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. Jesus came into this world to show us the way. He bore our sins. He conquered sin, death and hell. And on top of this, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to be our comforter and to guide us into all truth. In addition, Jesus is always with us, and He promised never to leave us.
God is our great provider. Let us thank Him. Let us help others. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please keep praying that I will get to feeling better. To be quite honest, I am having a lot of pain. Keep praying. Thank you.
I want to thank the Lord that my brother is doing much better.
Continue to pray for peace. Ukraine, Sudan, Libya and Haiti need our prayers. The entire situation in the Middle East is unstable right now. We need to pray for peace. Pray that a larger war does not erupt in that part of the world.
For our prayer focus countries this week let us pray for those in the nations of Turkey and India. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue with our current sermon series. I will post the verses on Monday, and I really hope to get the final chapter of the book out this week. May God bless you all.
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