What is Your Life?
We need help each day to see our need
of God.
• If we are not renewed daily, we will think
like the world. (James 4:13-16)
We need help each day to see our need
of God.
• James 4:13-16 - Come now, you who
say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such
and such a city, spend a year there, buy
and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas
you do not know what will happen
tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even
a vapor that appears for a little time and
then vanishes away.
We need help each day to see our need
of God.
• 15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord
wills, we shall live and do this or that." 16
But now you boast in your arrogance. All
such boasting is evil.
We need help each day to see our
need of God.
• We are often arrogant in judging the world
and our future by the limited perspective
we posses.
• What if we could see life by how God sees
it?
We need help each day to see our need
of God.
• God wants us to see His actions in our
lives so that we will be bound to Him in
thanksgiving.
• We need to be rooting both in God’s word
and in a memory filled with knowledge of
God’s actions. (Col 2:6-7)
We need help each day to see our need
of God.
• Colossians 2:6-7 - As you have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in
Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and
established in the faith, as you have been
taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
We need help each day to see our
need of God.
• On one hand we see men claiming to be
“in Christ alone” but rejecting the Apostle’s
doctrine.
We need help each day to see our need
of God.
• On the other hand we may see men who
act as if they do not need God. Pride
and self-sufficiency can destroy us.
• Are you filled with the knowledge of how
God has provided for you?
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• There is an unconditional provision that
God makes for all men. (Acts 17:26-27)
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• (Acts 17:23-27 NKJV) - “And He has
made from one blood every nation of men
to dwell on all the face of the earth, and
has determined their preappointed times
and the boundaries of their dwellings, {27}
“so that they should seek the Lord, in the
hope that they might grope for Him and
find Him, though He is not far from each
one of us;
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• This knowledge ought to have caused
these men to rethink their lives.
• This goodness of God ought to make men
change. (Mt 5:45)
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• (Matthew 5:45 NKJV) - “that you may be
sons of your Father in heaven; for He
makes His sun rise on the evil and on the
good, and sends rain on the just and on
the unjust.
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• Worldly men will take the credit for the
things which God has done.
• The full provision of God comes to those
who love Him. (Rom 8:28)
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• (Romans 8:28 NKJV) - And we know that
all things work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are the called
according to His purpose.
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• This has a calming affect in difficult times.
(1 Pt 3:11-13)
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• 1 Peter 3:11-13 - Let him turn away from
evil and do good; Let him seek peace and
pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the LORD
are on the righteous, And His ears are
open to their prayers; But the face of the
LORD is against those who do evil." 13
And who is he who will harm you if you
become followers of what is good?
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• There is a dedication and devotion that
comes from such a commitment. This is
not to be feared as “legalism.”
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• The Lord will provide according to His
promises.
• Abraham knew this. Once he knew God’s
promise then he regarded the matter as a
certainty. (Rom 4:20-21)
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• (Romans 4:20-21 NKJV) - He did not
waver at the promise of God through
unbelief, but was strengthened in faith,
giving glory to God, {21} and being fully
convinced that what He had promised He
was also able to perform.
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• What promises has God given us? Can we
be like Abraham? (Rom 4:17)
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• (Romans 4:17 NKJV) - (as it is written, “I
have made you a father of many nations”)
in the presence of Him whom he believed;
God, who gives life to the dead and calls
those things which do not exist as though
they did;
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• The Lord will provide in His own time.
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• We must learn to “wait on the Lord.”
(Psa 27:14; 37:7-9)
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• (Psalms 27:14 NKJV) - Wait on the
LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall
strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the
LORD!
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• (Psalms 37:7-9 NKJV) - Rest in the
LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not
fret because of him who prospers in his
way, Because of the man who brings
wicked schemes to pass. {8} Cease from
anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it
only causes harm. {9} For evildoers shall
be cut off; But those who wait on the
LORD, They shall inherit the earth.
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• What we really need will be given in due
time. Suffering could be a gift!
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• We are blessed to have conditional
promises from God!
(Acts 27:21-22, 31-32)
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• (Acts 27:21-22 NKJV) - But after long
abstinence from food, then Paul stood in
the midst of them and said, “Men, you
should have listened to me, and not have
sailed from Crete and incurred this
disaster and loss. {22} “And now I urge
you to take heart, for there will be no loss
of life among you, but only of the ship.
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• (Acts 27:31-32 NKJV) - Paul said to the
centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these
men stay in the ship, you cannot be
saved.” {32} Then the soldiers cut away
the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• What if we do not meet the conditions?
Should we study carefully God’s
conditions?
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• What kind of faith are you building? Is this
the stand of the churches of men?
(Heb 3:18-19)
How the Lord will provide for our lives
• (Hebrews 3:18-19 NKJV) - And to whom
did He swear that they would not enter His
rest, but to those who did not obey? {19}
So we see that they could not enter in
because of unbelief.
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• While we know the Lord will provide, we
do not always how He will do it.
• Abraham learned this and so did
Mordecai. (Esther 4:14)
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• (Esther 4:14 NKJV) - “For if you remain
completely silent at this time, relief and
deliverance will arise for the Jews from
another place, but you and your father’s
house will perish. Yet who knows whether
you have come to the kingdom for such a
time as this?”
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• Paul would also grant the possibility of
God’s actions in meeting Onesimus.
(Philemon 1:15)
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• (Philemon 1:15 NKJV) - For perhaps he
departed for a while for this purpose, that
you might receive him forever,
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• Please be careful in attributing things to
God. We could be wrong.
• God may open a door of opportunity.
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• The only opportunities God will give us are
those that are for His purposes. He
does not provide things only for “our lusts.”
(Jas 4:2-3)
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• (James 4:2-3 NKJV) - You lust and do
not have. You murder and covet and
cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you
do not have because you do not ask. {3}
You ask and do not receive, because you
ask amiss, that you may spend it on your
pleasures.
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• What the child of God would see as an
opportunity the worldly man would see
as a hindrance. (1 Cor 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12)
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• (1 Corinthians 16:9 NKJV) - For a great
and effective door has opened to me, and
there are many adversaries.
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• (2 Corinthians 2:12 NKJV) Furthermore, when I came to Troas to
preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was
opened to me by the Lord,
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• What has God placed in your life? Start
looking at your family!
• God may allow you to hear His word.
• Cornelius knew that God gave him an
opportunity that he had sought.
(Acts 10:21-22)
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• (Acts 10:21-22 NKJV) - Then Peter went
down to the men who had been sent to
him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am
he whom you seek. For what reason have
you come?” {22} And they said, “Cornelius
the centurion, a just man, one who fears
God and has a good reputation among all
the nation of the Jews, was divinely
instructed by a holy angel to summon you
to his house, and to hear words from you.”
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• How many times have you been at a
service and heard from God’s word they
very thing you needed in a particular
matter?
• Are you here with the prayer that God
might show you things that you need to
change or do in your life? (Ex. Bored looks
in an audience)
• God may put you in a position of
responsibility. (Esther 4:14)
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• (Esther 4:14 NKJV) - “For if you remain
completely silent at this time, relief and
deliverance will arise for the Jews from
another place, but you and your father’s
house will perish. Yet who knows whether
you have come to the kingdom for such a
time as this?”
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• What is God’s purpose for your life? Do
you think this way?
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• When men seek ways to be useful to God,
then He will provide!
• God may allow trouble to come for a while.
• There were many years of trouble for
Joseph that resulted in great good. God
planned this! (Gen 50:19-20; Psa 105:17)
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• (Genesis 50:19-20 NKJV) - Joseph said
to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the
place of God? {20} “But as for you, you
meant evil against me; but God meant it
for good, in order to bring it about as it is
this day, to save many people alive.
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• (Psalms 105:17 NKJV) - He sent a man
before them; Joseph; who was sold as a
slave.
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• Paul needed to have a thorn in the flesh
for his salvation. (2 Cor 12:7)
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• (2 Corinthians 12:7 NKJV) - And lest I
should be exalted above measure by the
abundance of the revelations, a thorn in
the flesh was given to me, a messenger of
Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above
measure
Ways which the Lord may provide for our
lives
• How do you view your troubles; as an
opportunity or as a cause of worry?
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• He has done so through His Son and
offered it to us in the gospel.
(1 Cor 15:1-2)
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (1 Corinthians 15:1-2 NKJV) - Moreover,
brethren, I declare to you the gospel which
I preached to you, which also you received
and in which you stand, {2} by which also
you are saved, if you hold fast that word
which I preached to you; unless you
believed in vain.
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• We must accept God’s provisions in
responding to His promises for
forgiveness. (Acts 2:21, 38; 22:16)
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (Acts 2:21 NKJV) - And it shall come to
pass That whoever calls on the name of
the LORD Shall be saved.’
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (Acts 2:38 NKJV) - Then Peter said to
them, “Repent, and let every one of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins; and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (Acts 22:16 NKJV) - ‘And now why are
you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and
wash away your sins, calling on the name
of the Lord.’
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• We need to be comforted in the
faithfulness of God to forgive. (1 Jn 1:7-9)
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (1 John 1:7-9 NKJV) But if we walk in the
light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from
all sin. {8} If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us. {9} If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• We need the Lord to provide for our
faithfulness.
• We need His aid in our battle against
temptation. (1 Cor 10:13; Heb 2:18)
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV) - No
temptation has overtaken you except such
as is common to man; but God is faithful,
who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with the
temptation will also make the way of
escape, that you may be able to bear it.
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (Hebrews 2:18 NKJV) - For in that He
Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is
able to aid those who are tempted.
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• We need His aid in keeping ourselves in
the faith. (2 Tim 1:12)
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (2 Timothy 1:12 NKJV) - For this reason
I also suffer these things; nevertheless I
am not ashamed, for I know whom I have
believed and am persuaded that He is
able to keep what I have committed to Him
until that Day.
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• We need the Lord to provide help in
finding a mate.
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• Abraham sought God’s help in finding a
wife for Isaac.
• We need to trust God and be willing to
wait. (1 Pet 3:7)
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (1 Peter 3:7 NKJV) - Husbands, likewise,
dwell with them with understanding, giving
honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel,
and as being heirs together of the grace of
life, that your prayers may not be
hindered.
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• We need the Lord to provide for the
guidance of our families. (Judges 13:8)
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (Judges 13:8 NKJV) - Then Manoah
prayed to the LORD, and said, “O my
Lord, please let the Man of God whom
You sent come to us again and teach us
what we shall do for the child who will be
born.”
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• If we could only see how much we need
God, how our priorities would change!
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• Are you praying fervently for God help in
your home?
• We need the Lord to provide for our health
and life. (2 Cor 1:8-10)
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• (2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NKJV) - For we do
not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of
our trouble which came to us in Asia: that
we were burdened beyond measure,
above strength, so that we despaired even
of life.
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• {9} Yes, we had the sentence of death in
ourselves, that we should not trust in
ourselves but in God who raises the dead,
{10} who delivered us from so great a
death, and does deliver us; in whom we
trust that He will still deliver us,
Situations in which we need the Lord to
provide
• "God uses men who are weak and feeble
enough to lean on him."