|
DAILY BREAD
Matthew 6:9-13
Sunday Morning Sermon
June 27, 1998
Fair Avenue Baptist Church
Over the past 20-25 years we have heard a lot about this matter of eating right. When I went to high school we never studied about cholesterol or low-fat foods.
You couldn’t go to the local grocery store and find non-fat yogurt, or low-fat potato chips, or non-fat salad dressing.
And the fitness experts have been preaching to us now for these past 20-25-30 years about eating right and taking care of our bodies.
Eat right,
Don’t go on eating binges,
Eat from the basic food groups,
Eat a regular diet,
Avoid fad-diets.
Don’t eat fried foods,
Avoid too many sweets,
Watch your fat intake,
Be careful about high cholesterol food,
Eat more vegetables, raw or steamed,
Eat less red meat,
Get on a high-fiber diet,
Get on a low-fat diet,
Exercise more,
and so on and so on and so on ...
You can’t hardly turn the TV on anymore without seeing one of the info-mercials advertising the latest in workout equipment.
Or you turn it on and watch some woman with bleached-white hair talking about her diet plan and the catch phrase, stop the insanity.
We also learned about anorexia and bolemia. The anorexic person will just about stop eating and almost starved themselves to death, and some have. They either don’t eat or don’t eat the right foods and they literally starve themselves to death.
The bolemic person will eat right most of the time until one day they will eat and eat and eat and eat until they are about to bust, and then go and make themselves throw up.
Both anorexia and bolemia are bad for your body.
We’ve learned a lot in the past 30 years, haven’t we?
NOW, the Christian life is so very much similar to our physical life.
Jesus, in this simple prayer from Matthew 6, tells us to pray for our daily bread.
Within that short little verse, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we find the key to the Christian life.
“Daily Bread”
Our physical body works best when it is on a regular diet, on three square meals a day.
Our physical body works best when it is on a regular diet, not ice cream one meal, chocolate cake the next and a Big Mac the next.
“Daily Bread”
Notice the wording, “Give us THIS day, our DAILY bread.”
THIS DAY ...
Lord, I need to get something from you TODAY!
Lord, TODAY I need to hear from you.
Lord, TODAY I need to get something from your Word.
THIS DAY ...
DAILY BREAD ...
Are we getting something from God every day?
Did we get something from God THIS day?
Are we depending on God on God from day to day, or week to week?
Are we getting something from God everyday or week to week?
Are we going to God DAILY for His help and guidance?
Here is this short verse is the answer for 99.9% of our problems,
“Daily Bread”
You and I will not make it in this life without daily bread.
I’m not talking about bread on Sunday and then skipping Monday and Tuesday and then just a little bread on Wednesday and then skipping Thursday and Friday and Saturday and then back to Sunday.
“Daily Bread”
The number one reason most Christians cannot stay right with God is this matter of daily bread.
The reason you can’t put away those cigarettes is this matter of daily bread.
The reason you can’t stay faithful to God’s house is this matter of daily bread.
The reason your kids have gone to the devil is this matter of daily bread.
“Daily Bread”
Bitterness, no daily bread
No joy in your Christian life, no daily bread
No enjoyment in the things of God, no daily bread
The Christian life is dull and mundane, no daily bread
You don’t sing the congregational songs, no daily bread
You don’t enjoy the preaching anymore, no daily bread
Your marriage is not right, no daily bread
And the list goes on and on and on.
“Daily Bread”
There’s the answer to your problems,
There’s the answer to your discouragement,
There’s the answer to your lack of joy,
There’s the answer to your depression,
There’s the answer.
“Daily Bread”
The reason some of you won’t come back tonight is daily bread.
The reason some of you won’t come back on Wednesday night is daily bread.
The reason some of you won’t come on Thursday night is daily bread.
The reason you’ll come to a ladies meeting on Tuesday night and stay home on Wednesday night is daily bread.
Our spiritual lives depend upon this daily bread.
The Christian life depends upon this daily bread.
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35)
“I am that bread of life.” (John 6:48)
“I am the living bread.” (John 6:51)
Young people, listen to me, you’ll never make it in this life without that daily bread from Jesus Christ.
If you forget that daily bread, here’s what is in store for you:
unhappiness,
divorce,
abuse,
poverty,
tears,
heartaches,
heartbreak,
pain,
misery,
and disease.
How do I know?
Just look at most of the adults around you.
They are:
Depressed,
Discouraged,
Despondent,
Divorced,
Disillusioned,
Despairing,
Discontented,
Dissatisfied,
Disagreeable,
Disappointed,
Disgusted,
Disintegrating,
Disinterested,
Dismayed,
Doubting,
Distanced,
Divided,
Most are not happy in the Lord,
They don’t sit around and talk about the goodness of the Lord and the things of God,
They don’t go home and talk about the message the preacher preached, unless, of course, they’re complaining,
They don’t talk about the souls won and baptized,
They don’t get excited about what God can do,
They don’t listen to sermon tapes by Dr. Hyles or Dr. Boyd,
They won’t go to Men’s Conferences or to hear some outstanding preacher preach,
WHY?
No Daily Bread
Is that the kind of life you want?
That’s the kind you’re going to get if you ignore your daily bread.
No more than your physical body can make it without regular food, your spiritual life cannot either.
“Daily Bread”
Just as much as it is necessary for us to even exist,
Just as much as it is necessary for us to even live,
Just as much as it is necessary for us to stay alive,
It is necessary to get that daily bread.
Don’t feed your physical body and it will die.
Don’t feed your spiritual body and it will die.
And that is where so many people are today,
they are dead spiritually,
and it is because of this matter of “Daily Bread.”
|