WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:01.419 Thanks be to God. 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:07.660 You know, one of the things about a crisis like this pandemic 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:11.580 that we're all living through right now is that it can be profoundly disorienting. 00:00:11.939 --> 00:00:14.700 It can be profoundly disorienting because everything is different. 00:00:15.540 --> 00:00:18.140 You know, everything in life is different. 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:22.420 Things that we took for granted now have completely changed. 00:00:22.740 --> 00:00:27.280 Things that mattered so much three months ago don't really matter anymore. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:29.540 And there are things that we never even used to think about 00:00:29.540 --> 00:00:33.179 that now occupy much of our waking time and energy. 00:00:33.939 --> 00:00:39.039 You know, I think that we're going to feel the ripple effects of this for years to come. 00:00:39.140 --> 00:00:45.140 This will be a major defining event for many of us for our entire lives. 00:00:45.540 --> 00:00:51.700 And we know that we are not going to go back to the old normal, 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:55.180 that we are all moving towards some kind of new normal, 00:00:55.179 --> 00:00:58.140 but no one's really sure what that means. 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:02.060 And so I think all of us feel a kind of disorientation. 00:01:02.500 --> 00:01:07.739 And a big question on many people's minds, including mine, is how do we get reoriented? 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:13.539 Are there solid things that we can hold on to to help us feel oriented 00:01:13.539 --> 00:01:15.439 when so much of life is different? 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:20.299 And that's why we've been looking every week for the past few weeks at the Lord's Prayer. 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:28.539 We've been looking at this prayer that Jesus taught His disciples and that He teaches us. 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:31.200 But it's much more than a prayer. 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:37.459 It's meant to show us how to live life in a world that God made 00:01:37.459 --> 00:01:40.299 and to have a relationship with that God. 00:01:40.819 --> 00:01:45.439 It shows us how to live in the world that God has made and have a relationship with Him. 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:50.359 And in particular this week, we're going to be looking at the petition in this prayer, 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:53.299 Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread. 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:58.219 And if you've been following along, you know that the Lord's Prayer is much more than just a prayer 00:01:58.219 --> 00:02:01.739 to be memorized and recited, that it's actually densely packed 00:02:01.739 --> 00:02:08.639 and is really a summary of much of the Old and New Testament, packed into a prayer. 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:16.219 And so this petition is about much more than just ensuring that we have enough food to eat every day. 00:02:17.019 --> 00:02:20.919 Anyone hearing this petition, Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread, 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:27.239 anyone hearing this in Jesus' day would have immediately thought back to a very defining time 00:02:27.239 --> 00:02:29.319 in the history of Israel. 00:02:29.579 --> 00:02:33.199 And that was the time when the people of Israel were wandering in the wilderness. 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:40.859 And God provided for them miraculously by giving them daily bread, what they called manna. 00:02:41.179 --> 00:02:44.659 And so we're going to look back at this place in Israel's history 00:02:44.659 --> 00:02:49.839 and we're going to ask what this has to do with us and how we understand this prayer. 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:52.379 And so we're going to be looking at Exodus chapter 16. 00:02:52.379 --> 00:02:53.659 We're going to look at the whole chapter. 00:02:54.099 --> 00:02:57.780 And we're going to see three things about life in the wilderness 00:02:57.780 --> 00:03:04.599 and how to orient ourselves rightly in such a life. 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:06.360 So we're going to see the truth about the wilderness. 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:09.120 We're going to see the fear of the wilderness. 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:12.439 And then we're going to see the invitation in the wilderness. 00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:13.640 Let's pray. 00:03:15.099 --> 00:03:16.659 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:03:16.659 --> 00:03:23.400 And we recognize that you promise that these are more than just words on a page, 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:27.879 that you actually, through your Holy Spirit, can illuminate these words, 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:31.180 can open our minds and hearts to receive these words, 00:03:31.379 --> 00:03:33.520 and that through these written words, 00:03:33.659 --> 00:03:38.040 we have an opportunity to come face to face with your living word, Jesus Christ. 00:03:38.259 --> 00:03:39.840 And it's in his name that we pray. 00:03:40.420 --> 00:03:40.700 Amen. 00:03:42.040 --> 00:03:46.379 So first of all, this passage shows us the truth about the wilderness. 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:48.340 A little context. 00:03:48.580 --> 00:03:50.780 Exodus chapter 16, as I said a moment ago, 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:54.620 at this point in the story, God has just miraculously freed his people 00:03:54.620 --> 00:03:57.379 from a lifetime of slavery in Egypt. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:02.680 And this happened climactically through the victory at the Red Sea, 00:04:02.780 --> 00:04:06.159 where God parts the water and the people cross on dry land 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:08.580 and the Pharaoh's armies are swallowed up. 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:12.180 And this is this amazing climactic moment. 00:04:12.420 --> 00:04:16.120 There's singing and celebration and praising of the Lord that happens. 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:18.879 And in Exodus chapter 16, 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:26.139 they're just at the very beginning of what will turn out to be a 40-year journey through the wilderness. 00:04:26.420 --> 00:04:29.480 Their entire lives are going to be lived in the wilderness. 00:04:29.980 --> 00:04:33.920 And it's 40 years of wandering in search of their permanent home. 00:04:34.019 --> 00:04:35.780 They know that the wilderness is not their home. 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:37.120 It's not a habitable land. 00:04:37.500 --> 00:04:41.800 And so their hope rests in one day finding their permanent home. 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:45.079 And the wilderness is a harsh place. 00:04:45.540 --> 00:04:48.000 And the people at this point in the story are starving. 00:04:48.540 --> 00:04:54.800 And so they're grumbling and complaining and shaking their fists at Moses and Aaron. 00:04:55.280 --> 00:04:58.740 And so God miraculously provides them with food. 00:04:58.840 --> 00:05:01.600 He gives them quail and He gives them manna, 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:06.500 which is described as a kind of flaky substance that appears on the ground in the morning. 00:05:06.620 --> 00:05:09.120 And so they have to go out every morning and gather it up. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:13.540 In other words, God miraculously provides them with daily bread. 00:05:13.740 --> 00:05:16.920 This is the association that people would have had with daily bread. 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:22.600 And at the end of chapter 16, verse 35 tells us that the people of Israel 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:26.699 actually lived off this daily bread for their entire time in the wilderness, 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:31.360 for 40 years, until they finally made it to the promised land of Canaan. 00:05:31.899 --> 00:05:35.819 So one of the main associations with the phrase daily bread 00:05:35.819 --> 00:05:40.240 is that this is what the Israelites ate when they were wandering in the wilderness. 00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:42.759 Now I want you to think about this for a moment. 00:05:43.719 --> 00:05:45.279 Just think about what's happening here. 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:48.719 When Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, 00:05:49.459 --> 00:05:51.959 when Jesus teaches us to pray, 00:05:52.219 --> 00:05:58.079 He says that we need to pray and ask God to give us this day our daily bread. 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:03.539 But if daily bread is clearly a reference to manna in the wilderness, 00:06:03.859 --> 00:06:05.279 then what is Jesus saying? 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:08.319 Jesus' point is this. 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:10.899 We are still in the wilderness. 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:14.199 The exodus never ended. 00:06:15.139 --> 00:06:19.079 All the hopes that God's people had that one day their time in the wilderness would be over 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:20.659 when they reached the promised land, 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:24.659 well, if you read, you know that when they finally arrived in Canaan, 00:06:24.660 --> 00:06:28.320 and in some ways it fulfilled those promises, but in other ways it didn't. 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:34.240 And what you realize is the story of Israel is actually a kind of microcosm of the story of the world. 00:06:34.380 --> 00:06:37.060 And that in the same way that they were wandering in the wilderness, 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:41.640 Jesus is saying that all of us are wandering in the wilderness. 00:06:41.640 --> 00:06:45.300 We are all in search of a permanent eternal home, 00:06:45.660 --> 00:06:47.080 and this is not it. 00:06:48.140 --> 00:06:51.580 And that's a big deal to realize that. 00:06:51.579 --> 00:06:55.240 It's a big deal to begin to see your life through that lens. 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:58.699 And so the truth of the wilderness is this. 00:06:58.779 --> 00:07:00.699 The wilderness is not actually a place. 00:07:01.719 --> 00:07:03.339 It's a spiritual condition. 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:07.000 The wilderness is a spiritual condition. 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:12.360 It is the Bible's way of describing life as it is now in this world. 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:20.699 And so Jesus is saying that that's why this world is full of uncertainty and full of suffering and death. 00:07:21.160 --> 00:07:27.060 That's why in this world we have to deal with things like viruses and economic collapse, 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:32.860 not to mention things like injustice or racism or poverty or violence. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.199 Those are the kinds of things that happen in the wilderness. 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:42.819 They were not part of God's original creation, nor will they be part of the world when God makes everything new. 00:07:43.159 --> 00:07:46.740 They are realities, however, that we have to face in the wilderness. 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:51.500 Now, I think some of us have probably lost touch with this to some degree. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:57.539 Wealth and technology insulate us from the harsh realities of the wilderness to a certain extent. 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:01.079 But this pandemic, I think, has kind of lifted the veil. 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:08.959 I think that this pandemic has in many ways reminded us how vulnerable we are, how vulnerable our society is. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:12.699 The reality is we're in the wilderness. 00:08:13.899 --> 00:08:19.399 And so no matter how much you own or how successful you are or where you live, 00:08:19.779 --> 00:08:23.839 spiritually speaking, we have to figure out how to live life in the wilderness. 00:08:24.339 --> 00:08:28.120 And one of the first things that we have to figure out how to deal with is fear. 00:08:28.979 --> 00:08:31.019 There is fear in the wilderness. 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:33.039 There's much to be afraid of. 00:08:34.019 --> 00:08:37.179 Now, the first thing I want to say about the fear in the wilderness is this. 00:08:37.939 --> 00:08:40.620 Fear is a perfectly valid response to life. 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:41.699 Okay? 00:08:41.779 --> 00:08:45.539 If you've never felt fear, then you're just not paying attention. 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:48.579 It's valid to feel fear. 00:08:48.659 --> 00:08:50.620 So I'm not saying that it's not. 00:08:50.620 --> 00:08:55.139 But the kind of fear I'm talking about is more like an existential dread. 00:08:55.139 --> 00:09:01.819 And I think that this pandemic has awakened in many people an awareness of that existential dread. 00:09:01.939 --> 00:09:05.939 We try to spend much of our lives not dwelling on this kind of thing. 00:09:05.940 --> 00:09:12.440 But it's this sort of fear of our own mortality, of the fragility of life. 00:09:12.800 --> 00:09:19.080 It's this fear that ultimately we're all alone in the world, that no one's looking out for us, 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:21.360 that we come into the world alone and we die alone. 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:23.360 It's a fear of scarcity. 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:29.379 It's this fear that ultimately we're not going to have enough of the things that we need. 00:09:29.379 --> 00:09:34.639 And this kind of existential dread is very present in the wilderness. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:39.519 And this kind of fear has this way of enslaving us. 00:09:39.580 --> 00:09:46.779 It has this way of defining how we live our lives and driving the decisions that we make. 00:09:47.059 --> 00:09:54.720 And as we see in Exodus chapter 16, this kind of fear takes over and creates all kinds of problems for God's people. 00:09:55.659 --> 00:10:00.379 One of the things fear does when it takes over is it really begins to distort our thinking. 00:10:00.379 --> 00:10:05.299 And by the way, for some of this, I have to thank my friend Greg Thompson and some of his insights. 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:08.399 But fear has a way of distorting our thinking. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:16.559 If you look at this point in the story, barely a month has passed before God's people are already grumbling and complaining. 00:10:16.700 --> 00:10:18.919 He has miraculously delivered them. 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:21.740 He has miraculously set them free. 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:24.059 And barely a month has passed. 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:27.960 And yet by verse 3, the people are saying this. 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:42.980 What you've got to understand is they're actually suggesting, some of them have actually come to believe that life was better back in Egypt. 00:10:43.420 --> 00:10:48.240 And they're saying, you know, I would rather we died as slaves in Egypt because at least we had food to eat. 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:51.920 And you realize how distorted their thinking has become. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:11:00.599 They have this kind of rose-colored picture of the past that is not in all line up with the reality that they actually experienced. 00:11:01.019 --> 00:11:02.459 You know, now some people tend to do that. 00:11:02.539 --> 00:11:03.860 They tend to idealize the past. 00:11:04.299 --> 00:11:06.459 Other people tend to idealize the future. 00:11:07.079 --> 00:11:11.959 And this reminds me of a quote one time I heard Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sachs speak. 00:11:12.219 --> 00:11:13.659 And he said this about our politics. 00:11:13.860 --> 00:11:18.159 He said, people on the right dream of a golden past that never was. 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:22.939 And people on the left yearn for a utopian future that never will be. 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:30.419 See, in both cases, you have fantasies that I believe are ultimately driven by fear. 00:11:31.620 --> 00:11:36.959 And it makes you wonder, how much of our politics is driven by fear underneath? 00:11:37.779 --> 00:11:41.740 So the first thing fear does is it distorts our perspective. 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:45.959 Another thing fear does is fear leads to accusation. 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:51.940 If you're driven by fear, it makes you more and more and more accusatory toward other people in your life. 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:56.139 Notice that the people are blaming Moses and Aaron in verse 3. 00:11:56.259 --> 00:12:01.259 They say, for you've brought us out into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:02.680 They're saying, I'm hungry. 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:04.019 I'm fearful. 00:12:04.300 --> 00:12:05.040 I'm suffering. 00:12:05.160 --> 00:12:06.040 And it's your fault. 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:08.139 You're the one to blame. 00:12:08.780 --> 00:12:10.240 And that's the thing about fear. 00:12:10.400 --> 00:12:13.280 Fear always looks for someone to blame. 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:14.379 This is your fault. 00:12:14.379 --> 00:12:20.899 If you had only done this, or if you had only not done that, then I wouldn't have to face this suffering and this fear. 00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:24.799 And it's amazing to see how this plays out with the pandemic. 00:12:25.179 --> 00:12:28.620 Everybody wants someone to blame for why things got so bad. 00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:29.720 Whose fault is it? 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:30.840 Is it China's fault? 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:32.820 Is it President Trump's fault? 00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:35.100 Is it the World Health Organization's fault? 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:42.360 So many articles are being written right now with people trying to make the case why their person is the person that needs to be blamed. 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:46.820 How many fights have happened? 00:12:46.820 --> 00:12:53.000 How many fights have happened between friends, between roommates, between families? 00:12:53.399 --> 00:13:01.080 How many fights have happened in marriages because someone was afraid that their needs were not going to get met? 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:03.940 And so they lash out with accusation. 00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:06.560 This happens all the time. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:08.639 Because this is what fear does. 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:12.020 Fear drives us and leads us to accuse. 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:17.060 A third thing fear does is it often manifests itself as control. 00:13:18.379 --> 00:13:20.660 Fear manifests itself as control. 00:13:20.659 --> 00:13:21.659 Fear happens. 00:13:21.659 --> 00:13:23.600 In verses 19 and 20, Moses says, 00:13:24.299 --> 00:13:26.500 Only gather what you need for the day. 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:27.519 He's talking about the manna. 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:31.039 Only gather what you need for the day and eat it and don't keep any leftovers. 00:13:31.659 --> 00:13:37.219 But of course the people disobey and they try to hoard it so that they can have enough for the following day. 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:40.659 But when they wake up in the morning, it's all rotted and worm infested. 00:13:41.219 --> 00:13:47.679 But what we see here is the instructions tell the people to only gather what they need for the day. 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:53.599 But the fact is, if you don't store any and you eat everything that you've gathered, 00:13:53.819 --> 00:13:56.620 it means that you're not in control of tomorrow. 00:13:56.819 --> 00:13:59.779 It means you're completely at the mercy of God. 00:13:59.899 --> 00:14:01.120 And you're not in control. 00:14:01.819 --> 00:14:04.939 And so what fear says is, fear says you must be in control. 00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:07.219 You can't trust anyone else. 00:14:07.719 --> 00:14:10.219 You can't trust things to happen if you're not controlling them. 00:14:10.339 --> 00:14:13.399 So fear says you must be in control of as much as you can. 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:15.000 Take matters into your own hands. 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:18.879 So if you struggle with being a controlling person, 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:22.799 underneath that, there's probably a lot of fear. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:29.000 Because fear says that the only way to be safe is to do all that you can to control your future. 00:14:30.059 --> 00:14:36.340 To do all that you can to control, to ensure that certain outcomes come to pass. 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:40.919 Or maybe to do all that you can to prevent bad things from happening. 00:14:40.919 --> 00:14:43.939 You have to think through every scenario, every possibility. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:46.039 That's the only way you're going to be safe. 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:51.360 Maybe fear drives you to try to control another person in your life. 00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:56.000 Or maybe fear drives you to try to control what other people think of you. 00:14:56.799 --> 00:15:00.699 But fear says the only way you're going to be safe is if you're in control. 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:07.580 And so, so much of our anxiety is the result of us trying to control things that we can't actually control. 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:09.720 And we drive ourselves crazy. 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:13.140 So this is one of the things that fear does. 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:15.340 It tells us that we have to be in control. 00:15:15.520 --> 00:15:18.900 And then the last thing fear does is fear robs us of rest. 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:21.040 It robs us of rest. 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:24.939 God says on the sixth day, gather enough for the seventh day. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:26.279 Because that's the Sabbath. 00:15:26.579 --> 00:15:29.120 And he says on the Sabbath, I'm not going to provide any manna. 00:15:29.319 --> 00:15:31.360 Nor should you go out and try to gather any manna. 00:15:31.620 --> 00:15:33.759 That's a day of rest and worship. 00:15:33.879 --> 00:15:36.919 And a lot of this passage is actually about observing the Sabbath. 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:39.059 So of course, what do the people do? 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:41.959 Well, they go out on the Sabbath to try to gather manna. 00:15:42.019 --> 00:15:44.860 And of course, just like God said, there's none to be gathered. 00:15:45.559 --> 00:15:47.419 But this is fear talking again. 00:15:47.579 --> 00:15:49.659 Fear says there's no time to rest. 00:15:49.659 --> 00:15:53.000 Fear says you can't ever stop. 00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:56.079 Because all of this ultimately depends on you. 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:57.559 And no one out there has your back. 00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:00.299 So fear says you can't ever rest. 00:16:00.899 --> 00:16:04.199 And that kind of thinking wears you down over time. 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:09.819 That kind of hypervigilance that we live with day in and day out wears you down over time. 00:16:09.899 --> 00:16:10.779 It exhausts you. 00:16:10.839 --> 00:16:12.059 It depletes your resources. 00:16:12.419 --> 00:16:14.539 So some of us are exhausted by this pandemic. 00:16:14.959 --> 00:16:17.259 Not necessarily because we're doing a lot. 00:16:17.259 --> 00:16:24.220 But because fear has this kind of churn going in our minds and our hearts where we can't ever allow ourselves to rest. 00:16:24.319 --> 00:16:26.319 We're reading and we're absorbing information. 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:28.179 We're thinking about catastrophic scenarios. 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:29.600 And we just never stop. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:37.200 So this is the kind of thing that shows us that we maybe have been enslaved by fear. 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:40.540 When fear starts to drive everything in our lives. 00:16:40.680 --> 00:16:43.899 And as I said before, there is reason to be afraid in the wilderness. 00:16:44.060 --> 00:16:45.879 There are legitimately things to be afraid of. 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:48.720 But there's also an invitation in the wilderness. 00:16:49.540 --> 00:16:53.879 There's something that can actually only be found in the wilderness. 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:58.799 And it's the kind of thing that when you find it, it will begin to set you free from fear. 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:02.879 There's a purpose behind the daily bread. 00:17:04.359 --> 00:17:08.019 There's a reason why God does this the way He does it. 00:17:08.279 --> 00:17:12.359 And you see that purpose in verses 4 and 6 and 12. 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:19.299 Where God says first that He wants to see whether or not His people will trust Him enough to follow and obey His Word. 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:23.379 He says, I want to test them to see if they'll actually follow my instructions. 00:17:23.959 --> 00:17:24.939 Which is an act of trust. 00:17:25.919 --> 00:17:29.319 And then God says He wants to teach His people something about Himself. 00:17:30.959 --> 00:17:34.439 Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God. 00:17:34.479 --> 00:17:36.000 And that word is actually Yahweh. 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:38.419 That I am Yahweh your God. 00:17:38.479 --> 00:17:40.299 I'm not just some vague deity. 00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:43.859 I'm not just some abstract idea of a divine higher power. 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:45.019 I'm Yahweh. 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:46.539 I'm your God. 00:17:46.619 --> 00:17:49.559 And you're going to see that when I provide for you in the wilderness. 00:17:50.419 --> 00:17:51.859 So what's all this about? 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:56.740 All these people have ever known is slavery. 00:17:58.139 --> 00:18:01.299 If you know their history, they were born into slavery. 00:18:01.659 --> 00:18:03.279 Their parents were born into slavery. 00:18:03.659 --> 00:18:05.139 Their parents were born into slavery. 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:08.299 Their entire culture is defined by enslavement. 00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:10.299 It's all they know. 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:17.279 And as a slave, they had to depend on their slave masters for their daily bread. 00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:18.539 Right? 00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:21.960 And they had to earn it by sweat and blood. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:26.039 And if they didn't work hard, and if they didn't earn their bread, they would starve and die. 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:28.940 And so this is the only reality they've ever known. 00:18:29.579 --> 00:18:38.379 And now that God has actually set them free from slavery and brought them into the wilderness, they have no idea how to live as free people. 00:18:39.220 --> 00:18:40.680 They have no idea how to be free. 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:42.859 They're slaves in their minds. 00:18:42.980 --> 00:18:44.839 And they're slaves in their hearts. 00:18:44.980 --> 00:18:46.220 They're slaves to fear. 00:18:46.639 --> 00:18:51.099 They're slaves to the scarcity mentality that has defined their existence. 00:18:51.099 --> 00:18:58.099 I can't remember who first said it, but someone said, you know, it took a day to get Israel out of Egypt. 00:18:58.639 --> 00:19:02.379 But it's going to take a lifetime to get Egypt out of Israel. 00:19:02.579 --> 00:19:02.699 Right? 00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:06.099 They've been formed by their life in Egypt as slaves. 00:19:06.099 --> 00:19:10.359 So the point of the daily bread is this, right? 00:19:10.379 --> 00:19:16.939 Some people say, well, why doesn't God just give all of the bread up front and make it non-perishable? 00:19:17.079 --> 00:19:19.279 And then they can just store it up and have as much as they want. 00:19:19.439 --> 00:19:21.379 Well, there's a point to this daily exercise. 00:19:21.699 --> 00:19:23.159 The point of the daily bread is this. 00:19:24.019 --> 00:19:34.819 God has brought former slaves into the wilderness to teach them how to live as free women and men who belong only to the God who made them and no one else. 00:19:36.099 --> 00:19:44.259 God is teaching them how to be free people who belong only to the God who made them and no one else. 00:19:45.059 --> 00:19:47.119 And so here's how God goes about doing this. 00:19:47.859 --> 00:19:50.279 God says, I'm going to show you how to be free. 00:19:51.219 --> 00:19:52.179 Here's how I'm going to do it. 00:19:52.679 --> 00:20:03.519 The first thing that's going to happen when you wake up every day, the first thing that you're going to do is you're going to wake up, you're going to go outside, and you're going to receive a gift from me. 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:07.039 Every single day is going to begin that way. 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:11.379 You're going to wake up, you're going to go outside, and you're going to receive a gift. 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:13.980 It's not something that you earned. 00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:17.660 It's not even necessarily something that you deserve. 00:20:17.879 --> 00:20:21.940 If you read, you know that all they do is complain and they grumble. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:26.920 And it says God hears the grumbling, and He responds not with indignation or judgment. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:28.440 He responds with compassion. 00:20:29.340 --> 00:20:32.200 God says you're going to wake up, you're going to go outside, you're going to receive this gift. 00:20:32.380 --> 00:20:33.600 And it's not a gift that you've earned. 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:35.320 It's a pure gift of grace. 00:20:36.759 --> 00:20:39.720 It's a gift that I'm giving you simply because I love you. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:44.039 And every day is going to be defined by that gift. 00:20:45.100 --> 00:20:51.759 So every day you're going to experience receiving this gift, and this gift is going to remind you that I am your God, 00:20:51.759 --> 00:21:01.720 and that I love you, and I am for you, and I am with you, and I will continue providing for you and taking care of you for the rest of your life. 00:21:02.420 --> 00:21:04.660 That's the meaning of the daily bread. 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:12.840 And that's the kind of gift that if you have it, if you have this gift, you will never have any reason to be afraid. 00:21:13.660 --> 00:21:17.180 You'll never have any reason to fear no matter what happens. 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:20.840 Because this gift will define your orientation to the world. 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:29.740 It will remind you that no matter how bad things get, there is a God who is for you, who loves you, who is with you, and who is taking care of you. 00:21:29.740 --> 00:21:31.859 That's the meaning of the bread. 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:39.839 And the good news is, as good as this gift was, there's an even better gift that is available to us. 00:21:40.579 --> 00:21:43.220 In John chapter 6, Jesus says, 00:21:43.220 --> 00:21:46.200 Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness. 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:53.779 But it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you, listen to this, the true bread from heaven. 00:21:54.420 --> 00:21:59.339 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 00:21:59.740 --> 00:22:01.059 In other words, Jesus is saying, 00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:06.740 The same God who gave daily bread so long ago to our forefathers has done it again. 00:22:07.660 --> 00:22:10.259 He's giving bread to the world once more. 00:22:10.420 --> 00:22:14.160 Only the bread that he's giving now is the true bread. 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:14.620 And he says, 00:22:14.779 --> 00:22:19.220 The true bread is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 00:22:19.299 --> 00:22:20.900 And of course, the people respond and they say, 00:22:21.120 --> 00:22:23.940 Where is this bread? Give us this bread always. We want this bread. 00:22:23.940 --> 00:22:25.460 And then Jesus responds, 00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:27.400 I am the bread of life. 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:30.580 I am the bread of life. 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:34.320 Whoever comes to me shall not hunger. 00:22:35.080 --> 00:22:36.980 Whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 00:22:39.620 --> 00:22:42.820 Jesus Christ is the true manna. 00:22:43.380 --> 00:22:45.039 He's the true daily bread. 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:48.720 He's the one who came to give his life to overcome death, 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:50.460 to secure our salvation, 00:22:50.460 --> 00:22:53.620 and to ensure that we would have life always. 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:55.299 He's the bread who gives life. 00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:58.140 So the invitation is this. 00:22:58.180 --> 00:23:00.019 If we want to live in the wilderness, 00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:04.500 but we want to live in the wilderness not as people who are slaves to fear, 00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:08.160 but if we want to live as free women and men 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:10.980 who know that we belong to God and no one else, 00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:15.180 God invites us to do what His people did so long ago. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:23.980 Begin every day by receiving the true bread, Jesus Christ, in prayer. 00:23:24.599 --> 00:23:27.319 One of the ways that we can use the Lord's Prayer 00:23:27.319 --> 00:23:29.420 is to pray this petition and to realize, 00:23:29.579 --> 00:23:31.380 even as I ask God for my daily bread, 00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:33.539 I know that God has already answered that prayer 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:35.680 by giving me the only bread I really need, 00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:37.440 Jesus Christ. 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:41.580 And when we receive Jesus anew every day, 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:43.460 we are receiving once more 00:23:43.460 --> 00:23:47.720 that ultimate gift that reminds you that God is your God, 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:50.100 that He loves you, that He is for you, 00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:51.240 that He is with you, 00:23:51.320 --> 00:23:53.120 and that He will always take care of you. 00:23:53.180 --> 00:23:54.480 No matter what your life looks like, 00:23:54.539 --> 00:23:55.500 no matter what it may seem, 00:23:55.740 --> 00:23:58.320 no matter what those voices of fear are whispering in your head, 00:23:58.460 --> 00:24:00.480 it reminds you that those things are true. 00:24:01.980 --> 00:24:04.220 And over time, that certainty, 00:24:04.220 --> 00:24:09.400 those daily reminders will begin to melt away the fear in your heart. 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:14.779 So your fear of scarcity will begin to give away 00:24:14.779 --> 00:24:20.299 to the recognition of the abundance of God's blessing in your life. 00:24:20.380 --> 00:24:22.440 And when you're focused not on scarcity, 00:24:22.620 --> 00:24:23.420 what you don't have, 00:24:23.579 --> 00:24:26.740 but when you're focused on the abundance of provision in your life, 00:24:26.819 --> 00:24:28.559 all of the ways that God has blessed you, 00:24:28.700 --> 00:24:30.860 all of the reasons that we have for gratitude, 00:24:30.859 --> 00:24:32.039 if that's your focus, 00:24:32.779 --> 00:24:34.859 then that is the seedbed of generosity. 00:24:35.539 --> 00:24:38.179 And you will become more and more and more generous. 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:42.379 You'll experience the joy and the freedom of giving things away. 00:24:43.379 --> 00:24:45.759 The more that this takes root in your heart, 00:24:45.879 --> 00:24:49.959 the more your distorted thinking will become clearer and clearer. 00:24:50.199 --> 00:24:52.859 You'll see things not through rose-colored glasses 00:24:52.859 --> 00:24:56.439 or through the dark pessimistic lens that some of us have, 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:58.159 but you'll see things as they really are. 00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:01.120 You'll be able to confront reality head-on 00:25:01.120 --> 00:25:04.080 without the need for any distorted thinking. 00:25:04.940 --> 00:25:06.640 The more this sets in, 00:25:06.700 --> 00:25:09.060 the more you receive the daily bread of Jesus Christ, 00:25:09.320 --> 00:25:12.100 you'll find that you become less accusatory 00:25:12.100 --> 00:25:15.220 and that you actually start to become more gracious 00:25:15.220 --> 00:25:18.540 and more patient and more forgiving 00:25:18.540 --> 00:25:20.300 toward the people in your life. 00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:24.799 The more the daily bread of Jesus takes root in your heart, 00:25:24.899 --> 00:25:28.559 you'll be able to accept the things that you can't control. 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:32.940 You'll find that you'll be able to surrender parts of your life 00:25:32.940 --> 00:25:35.159 that you used to have a white-knuckled grip on 00:25:35.159 --> 00:25:37.180 because you know that you're not alone in the world 00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:39.539 and you trust that your life is in good hands. 00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:41.139 And then lastly, 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:44.720 when we receive the true bread of Jesus Christ, 00:25:45.299 --> 00:25:48.000 that is the way to finally find rest for our souls. 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:50.259 It's the way to finally know 00:25:50.259 --> 00:25:54.180 that it doesn't all depend and hinge on us, 00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:56.079 that there is rest to be found, 00:25:56.319 --> 00:25:57.700 and it's found in Jesus Christ. 00:25:58.759 --> 00:25:59.460 Let's pray. 00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:02.880 Lord, we thank you for your word, 00:26:03.019 --> 00:26:04.839 and we thank you for the true bread from heaven, 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:06.160 Jesus Christ. 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:07.380 Lord, we thank you for your love, 00:26:07.380 --> 00:26:09.519 and I pray for those who know Jesus, 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:11.360 who have received this gift, Lord, 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:15.000 that he would remind them even now 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.019 that you are the God who loves them 00:26:19.019 --> 00:26:19.940 and who is for them 00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:21.700 and who is with them. 00:26:23.259 --> 00:26:26.460 Lord, I pray that for those who don't know Jesus, 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:30.340 I pray that you would awaken in them 00:26:30.340 --> 00:26:32.360 that hunger that we all have, 00:26:32.420 --> 00:26:33.560 that every human being has, 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:35.200 and that you would show them 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:36.679 how that hunger can only be met 00:26:36.679 --> 00:26:39.220 by receiving Jesus. 00:26:39.799 --> 00:26:41.059 And I pray that you would open your hearts 00:26:41.059 --> 00:26:41.759 to that truth. 00:26:42.299 --> 00:26:43.539 And Lord, we pray in all this 00:26:43.539 --> 00:26:45.299 that we would become the kind of people 00:26:45.299 --> 00:26:47.599 who are able to thrive in the wilderness, 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:49.619 who are generous and kind 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:51.500 and loving towards those around us, Lord, 00:26:51.539 --> 00:26:53.500 and that we would not be defined by fear, 00:26:53.819 --> 00:26:55.819 but by faith and hope and love. 00:26:55.819 --> 00:26:56.859 We pray this...