There are certain things that every person needs in order to live on this earth. We
need food and we need water. We need clothing and we need shelter (some kind of a house). We
need some form of transportation (some way of getting from one place to another). These
are things that we need today and these are things that we will need in the future.
As I look ahead to the future I sometimes wonder if there will be enough of what I really need. Will there be enough food? There are people starving in the world even today. When I get older will there be enough food for me? Will there be enough water? In some places there is a shortage of drinking water. In other places the good water is becoming polluted and some day it may not be fit to drink. When I get older, will there be enough water? Will there be enough clothes? Articles of clothing are becoming more and more expensive. When I am older, will I have enough money to buy the clothes that I need and that I want?
Will I have enough shelter? Houses are very, very expensive. To buy a house a person needs thousands and thousands of dollars! Even to rent a house a person needs hundreds of dollars every month! When I grow older, will I have enough money to buy a house or rent an apartment? I could live in a tent, but that might be quite chilly in the winter! Will I have enough transportation? Cars are becoming more expensive every year. Thousands of dollars are needed to buy a new car. And if I am able to buy a car, will there be enough gas? There are so many cars on the road. Will there be enough gas for everyone? What would happen if the Arab nations should stop selling us oil? Will I have enough money to go to college? A college education is becoming more and more expensive. Most colleges cost thousands of dollars for just one year.
There are some things that I must have in order to live. These are called "needs." There are some things that I would like to have but which I could really do without. These are called "wants." A person must have food. This is a real need. A person might like to have ice cream after every meal. This person wants ice cream but does he really need ice cream? ______ Can this person do without ice cream after every meal? _________
What does a person really need to live? According to what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:8, what are two things that are needful? 1) _____________ 2)_________________ (clothing). Are there other things that you would consider very necessary in order to live? ____________________________________________________________________
Can you think of some things that you or your family purchased during the past month which you really could have done without? Consider your possessions (for example, the things that are in your room). Which of these things could you easily give away? Which of these things could you give away only with great difficulty and a feeling of great sacrifice? Which of these things would be necessary and needful to keep?
According to Philippians 4:19, does the Lord promise to supply all that the believer wants or all that the believer needs? _______________________________________ Does God know what our real needs are (Matthew 6:8 and 6:32)? _______________
What great possessions did the Lord Jesus Christ have? What was His home like (see Luke 9:58)? What kind of car did He own? Did He dine at the finest restaurants and stay in the best motels?
There is also a difference between "luxuries" (things that are nice to have but which a person can easily do without) and "necessities" (things that a person needs to have and which he cannot do without). God has blessed our nation and because of this we enjoy many "luxuries" that other people must do without. There are many people in the world who do not have bathtubs, running water, flush toilets and wash machines. Can you think of other things in your home that many people in the world do not have? Americans are also blessed with an abundance of good food. The garbage disposal of most Americans eats better than many people in the world. Yet, why is it that we do so much complaining about the food we eat? God says that we should receive our food with T_____________________________ (1 Timothy 4:4).
As I look at planet earth, I ask myself this question: Is there really
enough? Does the
earth have a big enough supply to meet the needs of the people? Are there enough resources
in the ground and under the ground and above the ground? Is there enough food? Is there
enough water? Is there enough oil? Is there enough lumber? Are there enough minerals (such
as copper and silver)? Will there be enough of these things when I am older? There may be
enough food and water and oil today, but will there be enough ten years from now?
twenty years
from now? fifty years from now?
There are more than six billion (6,000,000,000) people in the world. As I think about all of these people I begin asking questions. Who is going to get all of the food? Will there be enough food to feed all of these mouths? Who is going to get all the oil? The Arabs have much of the world's oil. Are they going to share it with the rest of the world or are they going to keep it for themselves? Will there be enough drinking water for all of these people? Does the world have enough supply and enough resources for all of these people? Suppose 20 candy bars are thrown into a classroom where there are 30 students. Will everyone get a candy bar?_____________ The number of students is greater than the number of candy bars, and unless some students share, there will be some who will have to go without candy.
I have looked at the world and I have looked at all the people in the world. Now I look at myself and I begin to get concerned and worried. I begin to get concerned about my future. Will I have enough? Will there be enough food and water and oil and clothing left for me? Will I starve? Will I be able to drive a car? Will I be able to own a house some day?
These are things that unsaved people worry about all the time. Jesus said that the Gentiles (the unsaved people) worry about what they will eat and what they will drink and what clothes they will put on (see Matthew 6:31-32). Do you ever hear people worrying about these things today? Do you ever hear people talking about how expensive everything is getting? People are concerned! The unsaved people are worried. But believers need to remember that there is a Heavenly Father who is very concerned about His children.
We need to see things as God sees them! Do you think God is worried about food or water or oil? ______________ Is God worried that His children will not have enough? ___________
1) Remember, God made this world and everything that is in it! God made the water, the plants, and the animals that we use for food. God knows exactly how much oil is in the earth. God knows what is in the ground and under the ground and above the ground. God made all of these things. All of these things were part of God's plan when He created the world. God made sure that there is everything the world needs until He is finished with the world. Our God does not sit in the heavens saying, "Oh what a mistake I have made! When I created the world I did not provide enough oil in the ground and I also forgot to provide enough food. I did not realize that there would be so many people!" Would the Creator of this world ever say such a thing?
2) Remember, God made all of the people in the world. God is not shocked that there are over six billion people in the world. God made each one of them and allowed each one to live. God told man to multiply and fill the earth with people (Genesis 9:1,7). God is in control of the world's population. God knows how much food and water and oil the world needs.
3) Remember, God made you and God knows just what you need. God is able to give you just what you need to be whatever God wants. The future is in God's hands too. God will supply whatever you need so that you will become all that God wants you to become. God has a special part and place for you in this life – in the world (the society you live in), in your family (your home life) and in your church (the body of Christ). The next time you look in the mirror, remember that God made the person you are looking at and God has a wonderful plan for your life. The God who saved you will see that you have all that you need.
- In the days of Jacob there was a great famine in all the land and food was very scarce (see Genesis 41:53—42:5). Was God able to solve this problem? _______
- In the days of Elijah there was no rain upon the land for three years. Was God able to take care of Elijah (1 Kings 17:1-16)? ____
- In the days of Moses the children of Israel wandered in a desert for 40 years. Was God able to provide these people (probably there were about two million of them) with food and water and all that they needed (see Psalm 78:17-20)? _________ During these 40 years how much did the people lack (Deut. 2:7)? ____________
- In Matthew 14:15-21 we learn of a real food shortage. There were only two fish and five loaves of barley bread for 5000 men (not including all of the women and children). Was this problem too great for God? _____________
- During the great tribulation no one will be able to buy or sell unless he has the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:17). How will God's people be able to survive during this future time of trouble and great difficulty? Is God able to provide for His people during the great tribulation (see Revelation 12:14)? __________
There is no problem or no shortage or no difficulty that is too great for God! There is nothing that can lessen God's ability to help those who put their trust in Him! As an old man, David said, "yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed ________________________ bread" (Psalm 37:25). God will never forsake those who belong to Him!
The person who is content is the person who is able to say, "I have enough! I have everything that I need! I am completely satisfied with what I have! There is nothing else that I need!" Did Paul learn to be content (Philippians 4:11)? ______________ Whether he was hungry or full, or whether he had little or much, he knew how to be content (Philippians 4:12). The Bible says, "Be C______________________ with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5). If a person has God then this person has all that he needs! He can say, "I have God, therefore I have enough!" If a person has God, what more does he need? If I really need a hundred dollars, will God see that I have this money? _______ If I really need a car, can He get me one? _______ If I really need a house, can God provide one? _______ If I really need something then God will make sure I have it! The most important thing is not whether I get a new boat or a new bicycle or a new computer game. Can live without a boat or a bicycle or a computer game? Can you live without God?
There is a much greater gift and a much greater possession that every person needs to have. "The gift of God is _______________________ through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). What is more important—having a bicycle or having eternal life? _______________________________________ My greatest need is to have LIFE and to live it! My greatest need is to trust God and put Him first (Matthew 6:33). If I put God first He will take care of all of my other needs! The Lord will meet every need I have all the days of my life until He decides to take me home to heaven! How long will God's goodness and mercy follow a believer (Psalm 23:6)? _____________________________________________________________________
Yes, we need food and water and clothing and shelter, but what we need more than anything else is the living God!
Said the robin to the sparrow; "I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beinqs rush about and worry so."
Said the sparrow to the robin, "Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father, such as cares for you and me."
– Elizabeth Cheney (Matthew 6:26)
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