When Pigs Fly: Miracles of Provision - November 23, 2025

It is my privilege to invite you to today's sermon podcast.

I have made the Apostle Paul's prayer request my own.

When he states in Ephesians 6.19, Pray also for me, that whenever I open my

mouth, the words may be given to me, so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.

May today's sermon come alive to you and aid you in your understanding of God's plan for your life.

Fear not, there were no pigs harmed in the making of that cartoon there.

You know, I had a really great idea Steve and I, Brashears and I were talking

about this I looked everywhere for a remote-controlled Mylar balloon That was shaped like a pig,

And I really wanted while I was preaching For Noah to be in the back flying that over your head,

I don't know if that would have been distracting But like I said,

told Steve this morning In about seven years when y'all forget what I preach

Well, maybe seven days, you forget what I preach We'll bring that pig out,

we'll find one of those things And we'll fly it around the sanctuary here.

When pigs fly, something that seems impossible that will never happen is,

However, we know with God, all things are possible. And so we've been talking about miracles.

We've been talking about miracles of deliverance when God sets you free,

sets you free from sin, sets you free from oppression, sets you free from the

demonic influence in our world.

We've talked about healing when God miraculously steps into our existence and

heals us of our ailments, of our conditions.

And we've just been praising the Lord. We prayed over some of y'all for healing,

and we're continuing to pray, especially for these in our bulletin,

for the healing that God provides.

We talked last week about miracles of protection, supernaturally,

how God comes in to protect us.

And today I want to talk about something that's very timely,

that is miracles of provision.

And I can't help think about miracles of provision to think about what we're

going to celebrate in our American culture on Thursday, and that is Thanksgiving.

When the first Thanksgiving was held around 1621, before that,

there's an incredible series of events and a complex, really,

story of a guy, a Native American named Squanto.

And I know it's perhaps been sanitized down the years. Who knows what the true

story is, but I'm going to tell you as I understand it.

Squanto, the name that we understand him as, he, I'm sure, had a longer,

much more difficult name to say.

But he was a native to this continent. And there in the east,

he was kidnapped by English sailors around the year 1614.

And Squanto was taken away to Spain and then later escaped to England.

And it's during this time something amazing happened.

Some Christians had some influence on Squanto, and he came to know Christ.

Not only did he come to know Christ, but he also learned English.

Well, tired of the enslavement that went on in Europe, it was finally able to

return to what our founders called the new land.

What our founders called the New World. And here he came back,

and upon coming back to his homeland, he found that his village of the Pawtuxet

was wiped out by disease,

a disease that came from the explorers that came to search out.

And then in 1620, we know that the pilgrims arrived.

I've got to tell you, we got a free subscription to this Apple TV.

Most shows on there are garbage, but there's one I can't wait to watch.

Because it's a tradition, and that is Charles Schultz Peanuts Thanksgiving, right?

Quality programming amidst all the garbage in there. And I always love that,

how they go through and they tell the story.

And later on, we'll watch the Christmas version of that.

But here in 1620, not only did the Peanuts characters celebrate the first Thanksgiving,

but here was Squanto, and Squanto helped the pilgrims as they came to communicate

with the other Native tribes,

to communicate with the Massasoitian and other tribes that are indigenous to

this region and to help them trade, to help them survive,

to help them learn the farming practices they would need to survive right where

they're at, especially to survive the winter.

And so Squanto, the complex story, it's much more deeper than I've shared with you today.

But God used him in a major way, even through all the hardship that he suffered,

even through all the injustice that he suffered in his life,

even to come home to find his whole village wiped out.

He still went about to help this group of people as they came,

searching for religious freedom, the freedom to serve God without any interruption.

And, you know, the pilgrims, they had a hard time. If you go through and you

read John Smith's writings, some, if you can, or at least the transliterations

to modern day English, you read some of that and it's just It's fascinating,

and Squanto is mentioned in some of that.

You know, I bring this up not just because it's Thanksgiving,

it's because it's an easy illustration to start with, but definitely because

for some people in this day and age, they kind of feel like the pilgrims just trying to survive.

I mean, really, just trying to make ends meet. When we think about it,

some are single parents. They're on a very, very limited income.

They don't have any margin whatsoever. If that big bill comes,

it takes away from their food supply.

I mean, we're talking about some grandparents raising their own grandkids,

again, on a fixed social security, perhaps, just trying to make those end meets.

And for a lot of people, there's more month than there is money to go around.

And so there's a real thing today of people struggling just to survive.

And it's not just those that have just a limited income, but even those with six figures today.

I'm going to tell you, when you think about what housing costs are and how they

continue to rise and what food costs are, And as they continue to rise,

it almost just makes everything an even playing field.

Even with a strong income, there's still some struggle that goes on.

People got medical bills. They've got college debt to pay for,

insurance, braces, kids' activities. Man, money is tight.

But I want to encourage you today, when we think about miracles of God's provision,

that there are countless examples in Scripture that.

That those who feared that they would not have enough were saved by the miraculous

provision that God provided.

And so I want to start with this this morning, that in every story of need,

especially in the scripture, there is a miracle of provision.

God provides. We think about the story from the New Testament.

Thousands of people out on the hillside gathered there to hear Jesus speak.

It was getting on in the day, and the people were getting hungry.

I don't know, when you start getting hungry, you don't pay attention to the preacher very much.

You start dreaming of pot roast or the pizza buffet or whatever you dream of when you become hungry.

We don't have little Snickers in the pew. Maybe that would help just to tide you over.

I'm sorry that we don't, but there are some nut allergies. We don't want to

cause anything that happened here, but all these people were gathered.

The disciples began to get a little worried.

Jesus said, I want you to feed them. The disciples looked at one another,

said, but we don't have any food.

And then they found a little boy. You remember this story?

Five loaves and two fish. And what did Jesus do with that?

Not only did he bless it, prayed, he multiplied it. And guess what?

The whole countryside was fed there. Not only that, but there were 12 doggy bag baskets left over.

Some people think, well, maybe that was one for each of those disciples,

so they would not doubt what Jesus could do.

Jesus himself showed that there was a need, there was a provision that was made.

We think about in the Old Testament, the prophet Elisha. He encountered a widow

who was very worried about her future.

She didn't have anyone to take care of her.

As time went on, she would try to make money by selling oil,

but she was scared, scared of what she was going to do.

Elisha asked her, what do you have? And she says, well, I've got some jars.

I don't really have anything. I've got this little tiny jar of olive oil.

Elisha said, okay, go and get all the containers that you can find.

And the prophet Elisha began to pour that little thing of oil into every single

container that she could find.

And guess what? As long as she had containers, the oil kept flowing.

The lady had a need. God had a miracle ready for her. And the prophet facilitated that.

As she went and found what she could find.

We think even about other stories in the Old Testament.

Think about manna from heaven for the children of Israel. As they left Egypt,

they were out there in the wilderness.

God did not leave them out there in the wilderness hungry or even thirsty for

that matter, but he provided the manna.

He provided the quail. He provided the water for them to drink as they wandered

through the wilderness.

Now, the predecessor of Elisha was Elijah. When Elijah was in need,

God brought him food to eat.

Even when he was in the midst of a pity party, having had a great victory.

Still sulking, God still provided for him, gave him food to eat.

You know about Jonah, when he was in need, when he was running away from God, what did God do?

He provided a great fish to swallow him up in the midst of his drowning,

Vomit him back up on shore And set him on the right path again,

Just remember, in every story of need, there is a miraculous provision that is waiting to be made.

And I want to tell you today, in your time of need, God stands there ready to

meet that need according to his glorious riches.

And that's the verse I'd like to read this morning as our key verse today.

Would you stand with me? It's only one verse. You won't have to stand long,

if you're able to and willing to.

It is Philippians 4.19.

And hear the word of the Lord. Lord, it says, and my God will meet all your

needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Father, thank you for your word. May this one morsel of your word,

this one piece, this one rich verse here, God, may it satisfy our soul today.

Lord, may we think about it and dwell on it this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving,

as we visit with friends and family.

Lord, as we hear of needs met and needs that have not been met yet.

Lord, may we take your word to heart, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

You know, God is the giver of all things. That's what the scripture tells us.

God provides abundantly. As a matter of fact, Jesus said he came to bring life

and to bring it most abundantly or in the greatest abundance possible.

It's important to notice that God promises to meet all of your needs,

not necessarily all your wants.

Did you catch that? There's a distinction there.

Sometimes there's a confusion that happens when we confuse our needs for what

we need versus what we really want.

I saw a video, I don't know, Facebook or Instagram.

Anyway, it was a girl that got a brand new Tesla. Whoa, young girl,

probably no older than Emma, probably a lot younger, but her family got her a Tesla.

You'd think she would be so excited. You would think, I know the parents were

excited because some kind of collision avoidance that thing would have.

But the girl was furious because it was not the exact model that she wanted.

The doors opened like regular doors. They didn't flip up and look,

you know, like the car from Back to the Future.

The doors didn't come up the right way. It was a base model of a Tesla. Wow.

Yeah. Talk about entitled.

She had a need for a vehicle to get her back and forth to school and work.

And a vehicle was provided, but it just wasn't what she wanted.

I will not ask for a show of hands how many of you have experienced something like that.

I don't want to have true confession times now, but it kind of goes like this. We need clothes.

Winter is just about here. We need clothing to keep us warm.

But maybe we want that designer brand of clothing We want those designer sneakers

We want the designer parking to wear up when we go to Bogus Basin to go skiing

So we could show off a little bit what we got We need clothes,

but sometimes we want something that is clothes plus something You know,

we need rest The Bible says even, you need rest.

God will give you rest, but it doesn't say he's going to give you that all-inclusive

Cancun vacation, everything provided, including transportation.

Boy, you really want me to rest, Lord. Why don't you bring that along, right?

You're not going to have that round-the-world cruise where all of your meals

are provided and everything's included. You don't even have to tip.

No, that'd be some kind of rest, maybe. I mean, we have our wants and we have

our needs. You know, we need shelter.

We know that. We need to have a roof over our heads, especially in the bad weather

months. We need to have a place that will protect us from the heat and the cold.

But we want the granite countertops. We want the wood floors.

We want the 4K TVs in every room and maybe two in the bathroom,

one especially in the shower.

We got to have that three-car garage for our two vehicles and our boat we're

still trying to pay off. I mean, we've got our needs and we've got our wants.

It's okay to want, but God doesn't say, oh, I'll give you your wants.

Sometimes he does, but you've got to understand there's a difference between our needs and our wants.

And so this morning, I just want to talk to you really quickly about the three

principles of God's miraculous provision.

Three principles that talk about this miracle of God providing for you.

First and foremost, when God guides, he always provides.

Say that with me. When God guides, he always provides. Always.

When he is guiding you, when he has called you to something,

he is going to give you what you need.

When God, if God has called you to something here in the church to be a Sunday

school teacher, you're like, man, ain't no way I could teach.

But you know, God's called you to that. Then guess what? He's going to provide for you.

He's going to equip you with what you need to do, what he's called you to do.

When I was first called to preach, I'm like, ain't no way.

I hate talking in front of people. God's got a great sense of humor, does he not?

Mike, I'll equip you. I'll take away your anxiety.

I'll take away that nervousness. I'll help you prepare.

And God did that. He continues to do that even to this day.

In Isaiah 58, 11, the scripture says this, the Lord will guide you always.

He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land.

God will provide your needs. God will give you what you need as he is guiding you.

God doesn't always provide for your dreams now, but he provides for his will

and his plans for your life to be accomplished.

So I just want to say, be satisfied with what God is giving you.

Some of you might say, well, God's not coming through for me.

Man, I got a house payment. I got a car payment. I got a vacation payment.

Man, I'm still paying off Christmas from 2014.

Well, that was a great year.

But God's just not coming through for me. Well, maybe some of us need to recognize

that God has met our needs, but we spent it all on our wants.

God gave us what we needed, but our eyes were big over here and the lust of

the eyes chased after something else rather than what God provided.

We've got to recognize that in our own life. God, we trust that you're going

to give us what we need, but man, I really want this over here.

Boy, to temper that, to say, okay, what do I need? You know,

God's provision isn't a get out of jail free card for our stupid decisions.

You got that? We can't make dumb choices, but there's good news even in that.

When God guides you, he provides for you.

If God is guiding you to something, he's going to provide, he's going to make that clear to you.

When you think about this example from the Bible, you go back to the Old Testament

again, when it talks about in Genesis, Abram.

Or Abraham. You remember, more than anything else, he wanted a son.

He and Sarah prayed for years. They prayed.

They waited. They practiced. They prayed. They waited. They practiced some more.

The son never came. They wanted that son. They wanted more and more to have

this son because of a promise that was made.

Well, we know the story, how it goes. God finally gives him a son,

and he's raising his boy. Thanks be to God.

God gave him what he needed for God's will to be done in Abraham's life.

There it was. The promise was going to be fulfilled.

But then what does God do?

He puts Abraham to the test.

I want you to take your son, Isaac, and I want you to go up to the mountain

and I'm going to have you sacrifice him. What?

God, what are you talking about? I'm raising my son, you've given me this,

you've called me to this, now I'm doing it.

And now you want me to sacrifice this one who will be the promise that you're unfolding before me?

Well, there they go, walking up the mountain. No doubt, young Isaac says,

Daddy, where's sacrifice?

He knows how sacrifices go. Where's the lamb? And in Genesis 22a,

Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb.

God will provide. Abraham was obedient, was faithful to do what God had asked him to do.

Even how horrific this sounds, God was saying, go.

Well, they reached the mountaintop. If you're familiar with this story,

they build the altar there.

Abraham courageously, reluctantly maybe, but he goes through with it,

ties his son to the altar, takes the knife, raises it up.

And as he was going to bring it down, an angel appears. Thank the Lord.

Do not lay a hand on that boy, the angel said. I know you fear God.

Verse 13 of Genesis 22 says, Abraham looked up and there in the thicket,

he saw a ram caught by its horns.

He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

So Abraham called that place, the Lord will provide or Jehovah Jireh, God will provide.

And the Lord provided there.

See, God called Abraham to what seemed like a when pigs fly kind of task.

Go and sacrifice the son Invalidate the promise that I've given you That you

will become a great nation.

And in obedience, Abraham went up to the mountain, did everything until the very end.

Abraham was living his life fixed on the will of God.

But folks, so many times we fixate on what we lack instead of what God can provide

and instead of the will of God.

If we pursue his will, if we pursue God's plan for our lives,

the provision will follow.

God will give us what we need.

God's provision always follows obedience to his calling, not our own ambitions, not only what we want.

So you trust the Lord for what he wants to do in your life. Even if it's a pig's

fly moment, there's no way that's going to happen. How can that be?

Well, just trust the Lord. You don't got to know all the way to the end how

it's going to happen, but you just need to know what's right in front of you.

What's the next step you have to take?

And then what's the next step after that? and just follow as God leads you,

because as God leads you, he will provide.

I may have told you about this before in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.

There's a scene there where Indiana Jones has to go across this great cavern,

and he can't see how he's going to get across it.

And the riddle that he has to live by is he's got to take a step of faith or a leap of faith.

And he is looking for the golden chalice, they call it, the cup that Jesus drank

from at the Last Supper because it's purported to give you eternal life.

Well, there's a stretch there. It's not the cup that gave you eternal life.

It's Jesus that gives you eternal life.

But Indiana Jones said he's got to get that cup. And so as he looks over the

chasm, he just can't figure out how it's going to happen because he's going

to fall to his death if he takes a step.

Well, in the dramatic Spoiler alert here. If you don't want to hear this part,

plug your ears. You can watch it later. Okay, just check in.

In a dramatic turn, as he decides just to do what the wise offering,

the wisdom of the text said, he takes one big step. Ah!

Nope, that doesn't happen. He doesn't fall to his death.

Instead, as he takes that step, he notices he could stand. He takes another

step and he notices he could stand.

And when the camera pans this way, you can see there's a ledge that's perfectly

camouflaged right into what looks like the abyss.

He's able to walk across and to try and search for what he's been searching for.

Folks, we just got to trust that as we take a step of faith,

God's going to provide right there.

We don't have to know how he's going to provide the big picture.

Let him take care of that. He's a big God and he can do that.

But you just trust him that one step at a time. God will provide.

Take another step. God's providing.

And then just see how that unfolds. That's the miracle of God's provision there.

God miraculously provides. When God directs your steps, he always puts provisions in your path.

When God guides, remember, God always provides.

Secondly, this morning, God miraculously multiplies what is given.

This is amazing. Sometimes God does it all alone, all by himself.

He sent, like we said, the great fish to save Jonah. He sent the bread from

heaven or the manna from heaven, the quail.

Sometimes God just does that. But sometimes God wants to build your faith,

and so God will use others to do that.

God will invite you to be part of the miracle.

What does he do? He asks you to give, and then he multiplies what is given.

Remember the widow's oil? When did God multiply the widow's oil?

When it started getting poured, when she started to give of that oil.

And it never stopped until she ran out of containers.

When did God multiply the loaves and fishes?

It wasn't until the boy gave his lunch, and Jesus took it from him.

And then it began to multiply and multiply, and pretty soon,

12 baskets of food left over.

The miracle of God's provision.

When did Abraham become the father of nations?

Well, when he offered his one and only son to the Lord. And then God provided

a substitute sacrifice.

You see, it's in the giving that then the multiplication happens.

It's when we give that God does amazing things. Now, I don't want this to come

across as a prosperity gospel, okay?

I'm not one of those flashy preachers. I know I got a bright and shiny shirt

on, and I had to wear a vest today to tone down all the shininess,

all right, for our camera.

But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about you put $100 on

the offering plate when you walk out of the parking night, there's a big BMW

with a nice bow on it that has your name on it. I am not talking about that, okay?

Hey, God can do that if he wants, but that's not what I'm preaching today.

Okay, what I'm preaching is that we need to recognize this, that God miraculously

multiplies what is given.

It's God that does the multiplying.

God, when you decide that this is God's, then he can do amazing things with it.

Let me read this verse, 2 Corinthians 9, verse 10.

2 Corinthians 9:10

Now, he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and

increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

A newer translation put it this way, the Passion Translation.

This generous God who supplies abundant seed for the farmer,

which becomes bread for our meals, is even more extravagant towards you.

First, he supplied every need plus more. Then he multiplies the seed as you sow it. Man, amazing.

Amazing how God does that.

This principle goes all the way back to the tithe. You understand that the tithe,

the principle of the tithe of the 10%, it predates the law.

Predates the law of Moses. It was in place already before that law was given.

And there's a lot of people today, oh, you don't tithe. We're free from the law.

Well, nothing to do with the law. It's a scriptural principle that carries with

it an incredible blessing.

We can debate that later if you want. We can talk about it. But I just got to talk about this.

The tithe is returning 10% to God of the increase that he gave you.

It's just that 10%. That's what tithe means.

The tithe is his anyway. It's all his. But that tithe, Scripture says it belongs to him.

You're like, 10%? No way. You know how much I got to pay the government?

Well, I'll tell you this. The government don't do the whole lot for you, but God does.

Scripture says, if you don't believe me, God says, put me to the test in Malachi.

Test me in this. See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven.

Just pour out them blessings.

I know that everyone has a tithe story, how God takes the 90% that's left and

stretches it farther than the 100% would even go.

God multiplies as you give in faith, but not before.

Well, there's been some times in our family's life where those old tires lasted

a little bit longer than maybe they should have.

That old beat up minivan that we used to drive It lasted a little longer than it was supposed to.

There's been other instances where God made things stretch, where God gave more

than we needed in hopes and in trust that we would give too.

God multiplies what we give. Remember, in every story of need,

there's a miracle of provision.

God is there and God is waiting to give that. So what do we know so far?

First, we talked about when God guides, he always provides.

If we pursue his will, his provision will follow.

Secondly, we said, God miraculously multiplies what is given.

What you keep is all you have, but what you give, God takes and he multiplies to bless others.

And I got to tell you, that blessing comes back on you a lot of times.

And so third, what I want to say this morning is that you might be a part of

God's miracle provision.

2 Corinthians 9, 11, just tagging off the verse I read just a few moments ago.

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.

And through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

God wants to use you to be a miracle to someone else, to be part of someone else's miracle.

Now, you've heard the story before that I told.

Some variant of it, preachers change it all the time. But it's the story of

the old lady that was a devout Christian, followed Jesus, loved Jesus with her

whole heart, trusted him completely.

And she was in need of food and next door

lived an atheist who was totally against god who mocked

this lady for her faith and for all her invitations for this man to come to

church with her and so he overheard her praying through the kitchen window one

day how she needed food and that she was out and that she was not going to have

enough food for the next week and she prayed and prayed and prayed and well she heard a knock and,

on her door. And she went and she opened the door and there was three bags of

groceries right there for her.

She looked up to heaven and began to praise the Lord and to begin to shout praise

and say, thank you, Jesus, for all that you've done.

And just about that time, the creepy old atheist neighbor jumped out of the bushes.

God didn't provide that. I did. I went to the store and I got you that stuff.

Well, the lady started jumping up and down more. So thank you, Jesus.

Thank you. The guy was bewildered and perplexed. I prayed for food you provided,

and you provided it through the devil.

Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord.

God will provide, and God will provide in miraculous and amazing ways if we trust him.

God enriches us so that we can be generous. And our generosity,

just like the lady, results in thanksgiving that we give to God,

saying, thank you, Jesus, for what you've done. Thank you, Lord.

Now, where the atheist was perplexed and bewildered, the application here is

that faithful giving and action can make you the answer to someone's prayer.

You want to be an answer to someone's prayer? Just be open to letting God use you.

Maybe you've heard those stories that someone was just emotionally distraught.

They're at the end of their rope.

And then you came along and you had a conversation with them.

And later on, they told you, hey, I really needed you just to smile at me that

day and talk to me. And you did.

Thank you. I was about to do something drastic.

But you came along and you encouraged me and you brought a little ray of hope

and a little ray of light into my life.

It's not always financial. It's not always tangible with stuff.

Sometimes it's just the gift of your time, the gift of your energy,

of your presence with them.

We could spend the rest of the afternoon here just listing off miracles of God's

provision, how God provided on the mission field through gifts that you gave.

Pastor Bob has shown you photos. The mission council has shown you pictures

of the mission trips they went on and how you gave for wells,

and you don't know the impact of giving for that well that's drilled in a foreign

land is made in that community, and how they don't have to worry about dirty

water and walking miles,

miles more just to get some water to bring back to their family several times a day.

In our own nation, not just this example from U.S. history, but we've seen how

God has provided, and God has protected, and God has healed,

and is healing our nation.

And we pray that God is delivering people in our nation.

We think about here in our own community, how God has come through,

how God has blessed, and how you've been part of that blessing.

We think even in our own families, in our own neighborhoods,

how God has given us so much that we can bless others with.

This is amazing that God will enlist us for this. And so as we wrap it up today,

I just want to encourage you in this.

Christian, you've got to operate out of faith, not fear.

Don't let fear get the best of you when it comes to God's provision, especially.

Fear asks, what if I run out? What if I don't have enough for me and my family?

But faith asks, what do I have to give, even if I don't have that much to give?

Fear says, I don't have enough. Faith says, my God is more than enough, and he will provide.

Fear says, I can't afford to give.

Faith says, 90% with God's blessing goes further than 100% without it.

In every story of need, there is a miracle of provision waiting to happen.

Scripture said, and God will meet some needs according to his glorious riches.

What did the Scripture say? my God will meet all.

He will meet every need according to his riches and glory.

Sometimes he gets to miraculously meet that need through you.

Will you be open and willing and ready for him to do that?

What do I want you to do this morning as we get ready to leave and check out

the angel tree and sign up to volunteer in children's ministry and whatever

else we do when we fellowship out there.

Three things I want you to do this week as you go and continue to make this

a part of your life if it's not.

First and foremost, trust God. Even when it seems like you don't have enough,

even when you're not sure how you're going to make those ends meet,

when it seems like the debt pile keeps going and going and the income pile keeps

shrinking and shrieking, trust God in that time.

Say, Lord, what do you want me to do here? How can I trust you best?

Secondly, put him first.

Prioritize with your time, with your talent, with your treasure,

with all those things. Put God first.

You've done that this morning by coming to worship. You realize that?

It's the first day of the week, the first part of the day of the week,

and you've chosen to come to go to Sunday school, to learn, to encourage one

another in fellowship, to come in here to worship together and to receive the Word together.

You've done all this.

You've trusted God. You've put Him first. Put Him first in your talents,

in what you do. Some of you were serving this morning.

You received the offering. Some of you taught Sunday school.

Some of you have done other things throughout the course of this morning. Thank you.

You put God first with your time, saying, God, you're important to this day,

I'm showing up and I'm going to serve.

And of course, with your treasure, with your stuff. You gave of an offering

this morning. You gave of your tithe.

And so the third thing that I want you to do is this, be willing to be a part

of his miracle in someone else's life.

Hey, even if it doesn't look like all your needs are met, ask the Lord,

God, what have you given me that I can share?

I don't have much, but would you bring someone in my path that I can share with.

Maybe he doesn't need to bring anyone in your path because you already know

who that person is or you already know what a need is.

With these three things, trusting God, putting him first and be willing to be

part of someone else's miracle. Let God move in you this week.

I want to thank you for those of you who offered me some of your bounty last

week with the little cookies and the fudges and everything you gave to this

poor pastor who ended up with an abundance afterward.

I don't know where it all went because I only got one piece of fudge.

But the blessing was in your giving.

Folks, God's ready to provide everything that you need. Will you trust him in that?

Trust him even when it seems like there's no way this is going to happen.

Even when you say there's no way that pigs can fly.

Well, stand back, wait upon the Lord and watch it happen.

I sung a song today, God will make a way where there seems to be no way.

Remember, that's the business that God is in.

It didn't seem any way that broken, sinful, repugnant human beings could be

saved out of their own sin, out of their own trespasses.

But God made a way through Jesus where no other way could happen except through

the only begotten Son of God.

And Jesus willingly died for your sin so that you could be freely forgiven and

so that you could really know what it's like to live and to live a life,

not only that you're blessed, but that others are blessed.

And so I'll ask you this morning, first and foremost, what I asked you to do

is to trust God. Are you trusting God for your salvation?

Have you a relationship with Jesus Christ? Jesus is the way to peace with God.

Have you made that peace with God?

Maybe this morning, yeah, I'm trusting him, but I really messed up, Mike.

Wouldn't it great that even if we mess up, we know we can come and we can say, God, forgive me.

God, cleanse me of all that unrighteousness. I confess that where I was at,

what I did was wrong. And Lord, I need your forgiveness.

And that God will provide it. That God won't say, nope, that was your one chance.

Sorry, sucker, you're going to hell.

No, we have a gracious God.

The trap door doesn't open and swallow us down. Now you continue in that sinful

behavior and I don't know how many chances.

What did God say? 70 times 7? I don't think that's a number.

Don't test that number. Okay? Don't do it.

But it shows us that God is gracious. He doesn't want us to go back and live

like we used to live. But instead, now he's got a better way.

He's provided a better way that we can live.

Let's live into that this week. This week, as we're celebrating eating our pie,

praying that confession of sin for gluttony and how many 10 pumpkin pies we

ate, whatever it's gonna be.

No, enjoy your family this week, but trust God, trust in his provision.

Let's pray together. Father, this morning, as you've talked to our hearts,

Lord, as we've heard from your words, several different passages,

Lord, help us to trust you that you will provide for us. Every need that we

have, God, you'll provide for us.

And Lord, we only have a little snippet of what heaven might be like from the word.

Our imaginations can run wild. And then I don't think we do heaven justice and

what you have prepared for us.

But Lord, I think there's something amazing that awaits us. Lord,

in the meantime, what you've given us here on earth is a blessing.

Another chance to live life to the fullest, to live it most abundantly.

And in doing so, living in the holiness, the forgiveness of sin.

Lord, we're allowed to bless others with what you give us. And you keep giving, God. It's amazing.

Lord, help us to trust you in that this week. And Lord, to be a part of a miracle

you want to unload on somebody else.

And Lord, we just trust you in that as we take it step by step today.

And Lord, into this week, be glorified, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

I want to thank you for joining today's sermon podcast. You can find a copy

of today's sermon, as well as other sermons, and the sermon outline from today

on our church's website,

www.mvcnaz.org.

It is my prayer also that you will seek out a church home that recognizes the authority of the Bible.