Hey Church! This week we are going to take a look at my favorite part of the song Jireh.

The last few weeks we talked about (1) How God loves us no matter what, (2) That He provides for us and how we can be content in Him, (3) oh wait we haven’t gotten here yet. Let’s do 3…

Ok, the last part of this song we are going to look at is just one of the many reasons WHY we can trust God and some practical ways that he provides for us. The song, well, rather Matthew 6, tells us…

If He dresses the lilies with beauty and splendor,
How much more will He clothe you?
How much more will He clothe you?
If He watches over every sparrow
How much more does He love you?
How much more does He love you?*
*this is a very lose translation of Matthew 6

Just think about this. Breathe. Uh-oh… thought train coming on…

God created the flowers and the trees and the birds and the…bees? (Well, yeah that too.) in Genesis 1. He looked at it all and said it was good.

Then he creates….drum rolllllll….us.

If you’re like me, you just rolled your eyes and thought to yourself, “Should have stopped at the grizzly bear”. (Thankfully God doesn’t see us that way.) In fact, He sees us the complete opposite. (One of the many reasons I’m glad I’m not God.)

Humans…we…you and me….are the pinnacle, the crown jewel, the main attraction, the tour de force, the height, the masterpiece as Ephesians 2:10 (my favorite verse) (Sorry for all the parenthesis.) (I’m not really sorry about all the parenthesis.) Where were we? Oh yeah… Ephesians says we are God’s MASTERPIECE. Everything God created he called good. But when he created humanity? WOW, He said this is VERY GOOD.

Don’t you think, that God, would provide then for us if even the lilies are clothed in beauty “beyond Soloman in all of his glory”?

Ask yourself this… Is my definition of provision the same as God’s? Take a peek at Matthew 6:25-33…

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 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? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:25-33

(I will restrain from writing 218 pages about this passage.)

For now, I just want us to think about our definition of provision.
I have clothes, and food.
Most of us do. (If you do not, please immediately email [email protected] and let us help you out.)

But so much of the time I frame provision as what I desire, not what I need. I have clothes, just not ones I want to wear today.
I have food, but honestly would rather be eating at No. 10 steakhouse right now.

And we come to expect God to provide what we prefer. And that leads to us believing, God can’t provide.
No? Just me? Aight see ya.

See this passage is telling us so much more about life than the fact that God will provide clothes or food. It gives us insight into what life REALLY is, and how to be content… “seek first the kingdom.” Listen, if you are a christian… this world isn’t your reality…the Kingdom is. And I think sometimes we forget that.

We look at what the world provides others and get disgruntled with God when he doesn’t provide the way we see the world does. (ultimately doesn’t… that’s what the Bible is about).

See trusting Jehova Jireh is not trusting him for a full bank account, status, that new job. (Please don’t get me wrong…He is such a good father and a lot of times he does bless us with those things.) But trusting Jehova Jireh… It’s about being willing to give UP all of those things. Remember Isaac?

Trusting Jehova Jireh and being content in every circumstance is about going against the grain of the world and seeing God for who he is… The creator, the giver of all good things, the sustainer, the author – and seeing us for who we are… His loved creation who he wants to spend eternity with. Not in this broken fallen, unjust world… but in a new kingdom. A perfect kingdom. The kingdom as it was intended. But we have to choose that. We have to seek first the kingdom. And the first step in that is recognizing God as Jehova Jireh.

So the next time you sing Jireh, sing with that in mind. Sing with the kingdom in mind. It.will.change.your.life.

I promise. (So does God).

Love you guys.

– Pastor Matt

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