Opening
Glory to the Lord. We thank God that He has given us life today as well, and that we are before Him.
May the Lord be glorified, dear sisters and brothers. May the Lord help each one of us, strengthen us, and give us strength and ability. May we also carry out in our lives, in our families, and everywhere we are, the words we hear. Let us remember them and, by the power of God and through the working of His Holy Spirit, become doers of what we have heard.
May the Lord be glorified, dear sisters and brothers.
With God's help, today I would like to speak about daily bread—but a second idea. Last time, we mainly spoke about “Give us this day our daily bread” as the bread, the work, and the course of our lives. But that is secondary: we should ask for the bread that God gives, the living bread. And today I would like to speak about this daily living bread, dear sisters and brothers.
But we will speak about that at the end. I would like to begin, as it were, and reach that point. We will start from Genesis—Genesis chapter 1, verse 26.
Creation and the Garden
God creates man on the sixth day. And it is written:
“And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image and according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the livestock, all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”
And God created man in His image. In the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them:
“Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, and every living thing that moves on the earth.”
We see that God creates man, male and female, and gives man a great commission: to rule over the earth.
In chapter 2 the account becomes more focused, because God creates in sequence. Here the general picture is presented all at once, but this passage shows the order: God first created Adam. In verse 7 of chapter 2 it is written:
“And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east, and placed there the man whom He had formed. And the LORD God caused every tree to grow from the ground—pleasant to see and good to eat. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
God creates Adam and plants the garden of Eden. He plants every kind of tree, and it is written that these trees were pleasant to see and good to eat. But there were also two trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Continuing from verse 15, it is written:
“And the LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden, to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may freely eat from every tree of the garden, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day you eat from it you shall surely die.’”
Here God gives a command. This command has both a positive side and a negative side. The first part is blessing and abundance:
“I have created everything; freely eat from all the trees.”
The trees that are pleasant to see and good to eat—eat freely from all of them. He says, “But there is one tree; do not eat from that tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. On the day you eat from it, you will die.”
After this, we see that Adam gives names to all the animals. But no helper is found for Adam, and God creates Eve from Adam's side. And it is written that she is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh; she shall be called woman, and the two become one.
How Abundance Is Distorted
Beginning in the first verse of chapter 3, we see someone new enter this story. I would like us to read Genesis chapter 3, verses 1–7:
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Did God really say that you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden. But from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God said, “You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.”’ And the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will certainly not die. For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to look at; so she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
We see that the serpent comes and presents God's word incompletely. First, he asks a question. When God gave the command, it was a command of abundance. It was a command of blessing. It was not a command of deprivation, not an incomplete command, not a command about only a few things. Rather, they could freely eat from all the trees. In the English translation, it says they could eat freely from all the trees.
Satan, the serpent, comes and says, “Did God really say that you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?” He takes Eve's attention away from the abundance that had been given freely and abundantly, and places her attention on the one thing that was forbidden.
Then Eve answers. She answers, but she does not present the whole command as God had given it to Adam, because doubt had already been placed inside her. The command of abundance became, for Eve, simply a command: “Yes, we eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden.” Not, “We freely eat from all the trees of the garden,” but two important words—“all” and “freely”—are missing. The command of abundance becomes a command of scarcity, lack, and slavery. God is left as if He had said, “Just get by.” The command of abundance is gone.
“But from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.’”
We see that she presents the command again, but she removes more than two words—two important words. She turns that abundance into something else.
And the serpent says to the woman, “You will certainly not die.” He is now openly lying. “For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
He places doubt in the human being, and doubt arises: God is keeping something from me. There is something hidden from me, and God is not giving it to me. He does not want me to have it because He does not want me to be like Him.
But God had already given Adam and Eve the command. He had already created them in His image and likeness. He had already placed them in authority over everything. They already had abundance. But darkness came, and in Eve's mind it turned abundance into scarcity and dryness, as though they were living in a desert—not in a garden full of water, where water flowed from different places. Water was flowing. There was abundance.
But darkness could change the human mind. And it is written:
“And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to look at; so she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.”
We see that the first two things were not sin. God had created those trees, and it is written that all those trees were pleasant to see and good to eat. God had given that to man as a gift. The beautiful trees were pleasing to the eyes and sweet and tasty. That was not sin. God had given them to man to enjoy.
But man was not satisfied with that. He wanted something else that God had not yet given them. We will soon see that God had a purpose of bringing man to it, but man tried to become like God and equal to God without God.
As we know, Lucifer lifted up his throne. It is written that he raised it above the other stars and set his throne equal to God. Because of his beauty, Lucifer corrupted his wisdom.
The Way of Wisdom
We see that this had not been given to Lucifer. There are things that have not yet been given even to the angels. But man had been given the privilege of bearing the image and likeness of God. Yet darkness said, “God does not want you to be like Him.” And man tried to solve these matters by his own hand.
After this sin, their eyes are truly opened. They truly gain the knowledge of good and evil. But because they sought this great thing without God, that knowledge and that new sight became shame for them. It became disgrace. They were ashamed of one another, and they hid. They did not hide only from one another; they hid from God as well. They moved away from God.
And it is written in verse 20:
“And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she became the mother of all living. And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. And the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...’ Therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden, to work the ground from which he had been taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden He placed the cherubim and the flaming sword that turned in every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”
When we read this, it says that Adam really ate, really became like God, and with that knowledge would reach out his hand, eat from the tree of life, and live forever.
Now a question arises: did God not want man to be like Him? We know that He did, because He had already created man in His image and likeness. Did God not want man to have wisdom? We know that God wanted man to have wisdom; many places in God's word speak about wisdom. Did God not want man to live forever? This is exactly why Jesus Christ came, so that we would have eternal life.
But here we see that God closed the way to life, so that man would not reach out in his sin and become immersed in that darkness forever. By sending Adam and Eve out, God showed them mercy, so that they would not enter even deeper into darkness in their sin.
We know that even the flood, the tower of Babel, and all of God's judgments are actions through which God calls man back. Through the flood He saved Noah. He stopped the building of the tower of Babel because man again wanted to become like God, so that man would not reach that darkness.
God sends judgments not to destroy man, but to turn man back. As He says to the people of Israel every day:
“I sent prophets and I sent My judgments so that you would turn back. Then I will heal you and receive you, because I have loved you with an everlasting love. But if you go this way, you will fall into everlasting condemnation.”
All of God's works are mercy, goodness, and love. But man must wake up; man must understand.
We see that Adam and Eve were deprived of the tree of life. But Eve's name means the mother of all living, the giver of life. Life was to come through Eve. People were to have life. God deprived them of that life for a time, but He changed the means by which that life would come to the earth.
Through Eve, Jesus Christ—the Son of God, the author of life, the giver of life, the resurrection and the life Himself—would come. Then Christ was born through Mary, Holy Mary, dear sisters and brothers.
What was Adam and Eve's problem? God wants man to have wisdom, to have life, and even more, to become like God. But what is the mistake, dear sisters and brothers? It is that man tries to do all these things by his own means.
We see that Proverbs, the whole book of Proverbs, and the book of Job speak about God's wisdom. They explain how a person can have wisdom and knowledge. Where is that wisdom?
Job chapter 28 presents it in different ways. He says, in effect, “I went to the depths; I did not know wisdom. I searched through the corners of the whole creation for wisdom, but I did not find it.” Where is wisdom found? It is found in the fear of the Lord. Here is God's means by which man can know good and evil and have divine wisdom: through the fear of God.
But man does not want to wait. He wants everything to happen quickly. He wants to adjust everything to himself. He wants everything to be easy for him. How easy it would have been to reach out our hands, eat from the fruit of the tree, become like God, and be finished with it.
God has made a way for us, dear sisters and brothers. The way of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Concerning Christ it is written:
“The Spirit of the fear of God was upon Him, and His delight was in the fear of the Lord.”
There is a way, and the fear of the Lord is the way God has placed before His people, so that we may be led by that fear, dear sisters and brothers. But this fear is not easy. It is not convenient for us.
If Adam and Eve had walked in the fear of the Lord, if they had walked in the Lord's life, God would have opened that way for them. But we see that they chose what was easy, peaceful, and comfortable—where there was no trouble or difficulty—and because of that they entered into the darkness, trouble, and difficulty itself.
Christ's Humility and Temptation
It is written about Christ in Philippians chapter 2, verses 5–11:
“Although He was in the image of God, He did not consider equality with God something to be seized.”
Although He was equal to God—He was far greater than Adam and Eve; we could say that He was the One who created Adam and Eve, as God's word says—even having all of this, He did not consider it something to exploit, abuse, or use for His own benefit. Instead, He humbled Himself and took the form of a servant. He obeyed even to death, and even to the shameful death of the cross. And what is written?
“God exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow—in heaven, on earth, and under the earth—and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
That is the way.
Dear sisters and brothers, let us go together to Matthew chapter 4, verses 1–11, and read about Christ's temptations. It is written:
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And the tempter came to Him and said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.’ But He answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Then Satan took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written that He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will never strike Your foot against a stone.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written: You shall not test the Lord your God.’ Again Satan took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and said, ‘I will give all these to You if You fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go away, Satan, for it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone.’ Then Satan left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”
The God who can make sons of Abraham from stones—could He not make bread from a stone? Of course He could. Satan showed Jesus the easy way. “In this hardship of yours, you have authority; choose the easy way. Turn that stone into bread and eat, and you will become strong. Throw Yourself down from the temple; the angels themselves will lift You up. The people at the temple will see that, according to God's word, You are the prophet whom the angels lift up. They will not let anything happen to You.”
“I will give You the kingdom and authority of the whole world; worship me.” There was only one thing: all of those things belonged to Christ. But when Christ became human, He set aside His rights over all those things. He trusted His Father and the Holy Spirit who was working through Him. As the Son of God, He had the right to all of it, but He set those rights aside and trusted God.
Adam and Eve also had rights, but they did not set their rights aside. Instead, they reached for what God had not yet set apart for them. There was a time for it.
Contentment and Daily Bread
The tenth commandment says, “You shall not covet”—these things, those things, the things that do not belong to you; do not desire them.
You know, God has given us the commandment of abundance: love the Lord your God, love your neighbor as yourself. It is abundance. It is blessing. It is a miracle.
But together with it there are things He says, “Do not desire that; it is not yours.”
We see that the people of Israel desired things in the wilderness. They desired, desired, desired. And the apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, “I write these things to you so that you will not desire evil things.” Dear brothers and sisters, let us be careful. Let us walk in the fear of God so that we reject evil. For if we do not walk in the fear of God, we will not reject evil; instead, we will desire evil things. And by desiring them, we too will fall into a bad condition.
Now someone may say, “You know, I live in a desert. If you knew how bad the situation of my life was. I have no other way out of this desert condition. I cannot worship God as I should. I am in a desert.”
But Adam and Eve were not in a desert. They were in abundance, dear sisters and brothers. Whether a person is in abundance or in poverty, his worship of God should not be broken by that. If today I have financial lack, then, metaphorically speaking, my life is not the garden of Eden. I cannot enjoy life as I would like. And I say in my mind, “Lord God, if You would solve this financial problem, I would worship You better. If You solved this family problem, I would worship You better. If You gave me another house, I would worship You better. If You gave me another job, I would worship You better.”
My dear sister, my dear brother, Adam and Eve desired even while they were in abundance. They sinned.
Whether we have abundance or have nothing, the apostle Paul says, “In everything I have learned to be content.” There is abundance in worshiping God in every condition. That is true, real life.
We see that whether in the garden of Eden or in the dry, waterless wilderness, God's people sin. What is the problem? It means that our possessions, our money, and our surroundings are not the main issue. Through the Spirit of God within us, we must decide to humble ourselves before God. We must fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Otherwise, whatever God gives us, we will be ungrateful. We will still desire more. And I will say that the ungrateful desire the most—the most—because they have trained their bodies to have, have, have; to eat and drink; and never to stop themselves, but to stop others, impoverish them, lower them, and humiliate them so that they themselves may grow.
You know, Jesus taught us to pray:
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
He did not teach us to say, “Give us abundant bread today,” or “Give us overflowing bread,” or “Give us many, many things.” He said, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
The people of Israel despised God's daily bread. They said, “You brought us into this wilderness and gave us this manna.” They despised that mercy from God—that daily bread.
Dear sisters and brothers, let us not despise God's daily bread. Because if we do not thank God for that daily bread, if we are not content with that daily bread, and if we do not advance in faith and life through that daily bread, then whatever God gives us will not satisfy us.
We must ask for that daily bread. We have a song, don't we?
Let a little sun come inside,
Then... sometimes we sing...
Let abundant sun come inside.
A little sun, abundant sun, a little sun.
One person says, “No, let the abundance come.” Another says, “A little sun.”
Whether it is abundant or little, God knows. But there is a very interesting thought in that little bit of sun: even that little daily sun is God's life for me, salvation, mercy, healing, and renewal.
Dear sisters and brothers, let us not despise that daily bread. Let us not say that the daily life God gives us is boring, uninteresting, or sad. It is written:
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Let us be content in that daily bread, let us rejoice, give glory to God, and walk with God, dear sisters and brothers. And we will see that God will bless us and have mercy on us.
You know, the bread of Communion that we eat—that is the daily bread. When the world looks at it, we say, “We have come to a feast. There is abundance on this table.” When the person of the world looks at that table, he may say, “There is one piece of bread and one cup of wine. What kind of abundance is that? There are so many people—how is that abundance?” For the world, it is scarcity; it is a small thing. The person of the world may come to our feast and say, “You have not yet seen my table.”
But that person does not understand that in this daily bread there is life, blessing, power, strength, and ability.
Therefore, dear sisters and brothers, let us not go with the current of the world. Let us not go with the current of the earth, thinking that we must always have more and more and more in order to worship God correctly. “Let us have more and more so that we can devote ourselves to God more.”
If you cannot devote yourself to God in the thing to which God has called you today, you will never devote yourself to God. Whether He has given you wealth, hardship, poverty, or whatever condition you are in today, worship God correctly in that condition. Be sincere. Be pure. There is blessing in that.
The Way of the Cross
Do not despise the way of the cross. What did He say to Satan? “Get behind Me, Satan.” And when Peter was thinking according to the world's ideas and human counsel, he was trying to be kind and do something good for his Teacher and his Lord. Jesus said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan. You do not want the things of God, but you are setting your mind on human thoughts.”
And then what does He say?
“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. Whoever does not do this is not worthy of Me.”
Dear sisters and brothers, the world attacks day and night, as our brother spoke about the world. It attacks in different ways and by different means. The world persuades us not to choose the way of the cross. Day and night, that is its persuasion.
And day and night our body also persuades us not to choose the way of the cross. That is why Jesus said to the sleeping disciples, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Which one should we obey—our body or the Spirit? We should obey the Spirit, so that the Spirit may strengthen us.
Let us choose that way of the cross. If we do not choose it, dear sisters and brothers, it will be bad for us. May God help and strengthen us, so that when the world tries to persuade us and pull us away from the way of the cross, we can say, “Get behind me, Satan; I must go in the will of the Lord.”
May God help us and do this for His people and His church, for His glory. Amen.
Prayer
Let us pray.
Glorious God, powerful God, for everything and in everything we give You glory. We give thanks, we are grateful, and we glorify You. We thank You, blessed God, for this daily bread.
We give You glory and thanks, Lord God. For everything, glory to You, glory to You, glory to You.
We ask only that You open the eyes of our spirits, so that in You we may see the commandment of abundance. Let us see that You are an abundant God, a blessed God, a good God, and that in You are life, wisdom, understanding, glory, honor, blessing, and every good thing that exists. Everything is in You.
Open the eyes of our spirits, Lord God, so that we would not look, Lord Jesus Christ, at the things that are not for us. So that we would not desire evil things, blessed God. We have desired them until today, and we are bearing their punishment.
Have mercy on us, forgive us, cleanse us, sanctify us, help us, and raise us up, so that we, Lord Jesus Christ, may choose the way of Your cross and choose Your way.
Blessed God, glorious God, King God, we give thanks for this daily bread. We ask that throughout the days of our lives You create that same heart within us. Renew a steadfast spirit within us, so that we will not despise this daily bread, Lord God, but eat it with gratitude, joy, and gladness, and glorify You.
Let us live Your life on earth as it is in heaven. Glory, honor, thanks, and greatness belong to You. We thank You and glorify Your great and precious name. May the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be glorified in all these things.
Hallelujah. Amen.
