God Gives Us What We Need

Good afternoon everyone. Glorious day out there too, isn't it? A little bit cooler,

yeah. Much prefer that than 100 degrees out there. So, I was going to ask for a show of

hands, but any of us over the age of 30 will remember the tornado, the F5 tornado that hit

Moore, Oklahoma in 1999. I don't think any of us could forget that. And it's interesting that when

that happened, me and Darla weren't together at this point, but we were corresponding the

old-fashioned way, writing letters to each other across the Atlantic, and it made news in Britain

too.

And just the sheer size of it, the scale of it, how big it was and huge, and the death

and destruction it caused. Because in Britain, they don't get tornadoes. The only natural

type of things they get, natural disasters they get over there would be hurricanes. So,

I never once saw a tornado growing up, and I haven't heard of any over there. So, they

do get those and the occasional small earthquake. So, but it was a very...

memorable moment for a lot of people, especially those of us who live in Oklahoma. So, I want to

talk about that and my messages around that and about that, but some other points too. So, it was

May 3rd, 1999. An F5 tornado destroyed the town of Moore, Oklahoma. They were the worst hit out of

all the parts of Oklahoma, southwest.

And as it moved up.

The latest stats I've read about this are that 46 people were killed. Some say 44. I believe it was 46 was the final number.

Over 800 were injured.

10,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed.

1.2 billion dollars in damage, which you could probably double that with today's rates of inflation, but I think.

plus I believe it still holds the record,

somebody can correct me after if this is not correct,

of the highest winds ever recorded on Earth,

318 miles an hour.

Wow.

Absolutely incredible.

So, with this in mind,

I've got a couple of little videos here I wanted to play.

So, Brian, if you can play that first one.

It's just a three-minute clip.

Let's watch this.

Oh, my gosh.

This will be the sound of a five-minute music video.

Oh, my gosh.

The morning of May 3, 1999,

started out like any other spring morning in Oklahoma.

Temperatures were in the mid-60s,

and a thin layer of clouds,

hung overhead.

The air was extremely humid,

with dew points similarly in the low to mid-60s.

Forecasters that morning were in general consensus

that severe weather was indeed likely

across much of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas,

but there was uncertainty regarding more specific details.

This led forecasters at the Storm Prediction Center

in Norman, Oklahoma,

to issue a slight risk for much of the region.

As the hours progressed, confidence rose

as the possibility of a significant severe weather outbreak

became more and more probable.

Ahead of the dry line, the cloud cover

that protected much of Oklahoma from the sun's rays

began to disperse, leaving blue skies in its wake.

This allowed for extensive destabilization of the area

as peak daytime heating began.

By afternoon, this, combined with the ample moisture

and strong directional shear present,

made the atmosphere prime for explosive supercellular

development.

With the threat growing, the SBC elected to up the risk level

to the highest possible level, a high risk,

as more and more data began to flow in suggesting that something

major was about to occur.

And between 3 and 4 p.m., the first areas

of agitated cumulus clouds began to develop and mature

into full-blown supercells in southwestern Oklahoma.

It only took a matter of minutes for these cells to become severe

as hail up to a quarter size was soon reported

in the city of Lawn.

It wasn't long after that that the storms became tornadic,

with the first tornado warning being issued at 4.47 p.m.

for portions of Caddo, Comanche, and Grady counties.

Four minutes later,

the first tornado report of the day was submitted

to the National Weather Service Office of Norman.

By 5 p.m., it was clear a significant tornado outbreak

was underway.

NWS Norman issued a short weather forecast around this time,

highlighting the high possibility that some

of these storms may threaten the Oklahoma City metro area

within the coming hours, warning residents of the chance

for strong tornadoes.

With this information, the residents of OKC

and surrounding communities began to hunker down.

But nothing they could do would prepare them

for the horror they would witness that evening.

I didn't want to play the whole video,

because it's like 15 minutes, but you can find that on YouTube.

So it just gives you a taste of what was about to happen that day.

And we've all gone through that here in Oklahoma,

those of us who've been living here for any amount of time.

Every spring, from March through June, pretty much,

you're going to have severe weather.

And unfortunately, with that, twisters, tornadoes,

are a part of that, hail, hailstones,

and all kinds of things, and the torrential rain and so on.

So that was the first video.

But now I'm going to play a shorter one-minute video

and have a look at this and see if you remember this.

Go ahead, Brian.

© BF-WATCH TV 2021

So you remember that, that little girl?

She was known as, had gotten it named the Mud Baby.

And it's a very moving video because you see the little girl.

She was just 10 months old.

Her name was, or is, Aaliyah, or Aaliyah Crago, or Crago.

This video is amazing.

But you notice how the little girl needed to be checked out first by the sheriff's deputy.

She was found hundreds of feet away from the house,

which I guess had been blown off.

It's found.

But he was doing what he was trained to do.

He, coming on the scene of an accident or something like this,

he had to check the baby out first, see if she had any broken bones or anything.

And there she is.

She's caked and covered in mud.

And all she wants is to be picked up and held

because her mom had been blown away and grandmother.

But he had to check that she, make sure she was okay.

And then she got her.

She got her from the policeman, you know.

But it's a moving moment and one of the more memorable bits

in the sense of, not necessarily a day we like to think of,

but maybe a positive comes out of it,

that this little girl was saved.

She was almost killed by this savage tornado.

But God allowed her to live.

And this sheriff's deputy found her in amongst all the debris there.

So it's a moving moment.

And one, I remember seeing it several years ago.

I don't think I saw it after the tornado happened,

but maybe a decade ago I first saw it.

So God gives us what we need.

Baby Aaliyah needed help.

And this policeman gave her the help she needed there and then.

Sometimes the other details in a story can wait or will come later.

Now I can relate.

My own family's brush.

With the tornado to this story.

In May 2019, I've told a lot of you here what happened.

I don't know how many other people here have actually been hit directly by a tornado or their house.

You see, so you'll know.

May 2019, a couple of tornadoes went through Sepulveda where we live.

And it was only an F0 to F1, you know, speeds, wind speeds of 100 miles an hour.

But we hunkered down.

We don't have a shelter.

So we all got in the interior bathroom with a mattress and the pet bunny rabbit.

All four of us in there getting ready for it because we knew it was coming.

It had gone through Kellyville 20, 30 minutes before that on its route from the usual route, it seems,

to take up I-44 from the southwest to the northeast, nine times out of ten.

But that one Saturday night,

we lost the power first, that went out first, about midnight, shortly thereafter.

And then about, I want to say, maybe 30 minutes later, we got hit.

Was it less than that?

Yeah, then we lost it for good.

So you picture this, the house is pitch black, can't see anything, so we were using our flashlights, candles, and so on.

And we knew it was getting closer, then it actually hit.

And I kid you not, the whole house shook.

As it went overhead and did its thing.

And I honestly thought the roof was going to get lifted off, and who knows what would have happened then.

It is scary.

You cannot do anything.

You are completely helpless.

It doesn't matter how strong you are, how big you are, you know guys,

you can't do anything in this situation.

You're in God's hands, and that's it.

So, and that was just a little F-0, F-1 maybe.

Yes?

Was it?

Yeah, well there you go.

So, but that's my own personal story, our story, you can ask us for more details if you want, but

this little girl, this 10 month old baby, lived through an F-5.

You know, incredible, one of the biggest tornadoes ever, of all times.

So, it's a day I'll never forget, that's for sure.

But there are also many examples in the Bible,

where God reminds us where our hope, dependence, and trust provisions come from.

Now, I want to look at a couple of brief little things here.

One of them is the story of Elijah.

And, you know, Elijah went through a lot of situations.

You know, he resurrected the widow's son.

He rained down fire on King Ahaziah's men.

I'm not sure how you pronounce that.

Two times.

Not once, but twice.

The king sent out a captain with 50 men.

God rained down fire from heaven and consumed them, right?

Because this king was after Elijah, wasn't him?

Because he was a prophet and he was in doom for the king and everything.

Then, the king sent out another captain with another 50 men.

And they were consumed and destroyed by fire, rained down from heaven.

So, and then another story, another famous one.

Another famous one was when Elijah defeated the idol worshipers on Mount Carmel.

And that's a very, it's a humorous story, but also very interesting.

So, but I want to look at this, this one story we should look at in, hold on a second,

1 Kings, chapter 17, verses 1 through 6.

Just, let's have a look at this.

This is a very interesting story.

1 Kings, chapter 17, verses 1 through 6.

And Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab,

As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand,

There shall not be dew nor rain these years except at my word.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

Get away from here and turn eastward.

You know, God's telling Elijah to get out of there.

And hide by the brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.

And it will be that you shall drink from the brook.

And I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.

So he went and did according to the word of the Lord.

For he went and stayed by the brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.

The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning,

And bread and meat in the evening.

And he drank from the brook.

So that's very interesting, isn't it?

That God allowed ravens to feed his prophet.

They brought him meat in the morning, bread and meat in the morning,

And bread and meat in the evening. Incredible.

Only God could do that, couldn't he?

In our times of need, turning to the Lord in prayer,

And asking for help is what is needed.

And sometimes it may not be in our time frame,

As we well know, some of us have been through situations.

But he will provide, he will help.

Here about a month ago, I was traveling,

And Robbie will relate this, being a fellow truck driver,

I was traveling south from out of Wichita on I-35,

And I had two 53 foot trailers strung together.

So it's a lot of depth, it's 125 feet, you know,

Tracked in the two trailers.

It's a long old road train.

And I was heading south from Wichita on I-35,

And you ask any truck driver what his worst things he hates,

Ice, rain, and wind, in my books.

Rain, you can give or take, you know, it's not as bad.

But those three.

High winds are deadly, especially if you have an empty trailer.

Now, what we pick up from Johnson Controls in Wichita isn't very heavy.

So each trailer, there's only six, seven, eight thousand pounds in each one,

But they take up the entire trailer.

Because there's so many skids.

It's air conditioning units, and compressors, and it's not much,

But it takes up the entire length of the trailer.

And you can't double stack that stuff, because it will get damaged.

But anyway, I get to this point on I-35,

And there's a big open plain area with no trees, no cover,

And a really high, savage gust wind catches me,

And starts blowing me sideways,

And it's doing this number the whole way.

And you get that sometimes,

If you're on an empty tractor trailer, it'll push you.

Robbie knows, he's been there.

It will push you, and you're fighting against it.

And I can understand people who were wanting to get past a truck,

And they see it leaning.

You're not going to hold back as they were.

They were holding back a second.

I'm getting pushed like this for several miles.

It was doing that.

It was one of the worst winds I've ever driven through in a semi.

And I said a prayer there and then.

And a real brief prayer to God.

Help me out here, Lord.

See me through this.

Please get me through this.

This is not good.

And a few miles down the road,

Savage wind gone.

You know?

I've seen what wind does to semis.

A few months earlier, I was on a 412 getting blown every which direction.

And a semi had been flipped over.

It was in the center median up there near Billings on I-35.

So it's better to have weight in your semi,

Than no weight when you come across high winds.

But God will answer those prayers.

Even little things like that, you know?

So He will come to your aid no matter what.

So let's look at a couple of other scriptures here.

I'm going to look at real quick, briefly.

I don't have much time here.

So we'll just flick through some scriptures here.

Isaiah chapter 41 and verses 10 and 13.

Isaiah 41.

And verse 10.

Fear thou not, for I am with thee.

Be not dismayed, for I am thy God.

I will strengthen thee.

Yea, I will help thee.

Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand, my righteous master.

That's the King James Version.

I don't want that.

I want the NKJV Version.

And verse 13.

The Lord your God will hold your right hand,

Saying to you, fear not, I will help you.

God is with us.

We have nothing to fear.

No matter what situation.

Let's look at Matthew chapter 11, verse 28.

Matthew 11, 28.

It's all the old King James.

How's about that?

We'll practice up on our King James.

Matthew chapter 11, 28.

Come to me, all you that are labored.

This is Jesus speaking to himself.

One of the most famous things he ever said.

Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden.

And I will give you rest.

Jesus provides the rest and the burdens of our life.

Each and every day.

And let's look at John chapter 14, verse 27.

John 14, verse 27.

Here's Jesus speaking to his disciples.

Peace I leave with you.

My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you.

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Christ's peace is all-encompassing, isn't it?

He is in control of all circumstances.

He is.

Pray to him in those situations.

So, and I want to look at, um,

a famous scripture here.

The Lord is my shepherd scripture in the book of Psalms.

Psalms chapter 23 and verses 1 through 6.

That's the entirety of that actual chapter.

Some of the chapters as we looked at earlier with Matt in the Bible study.

Some of the Psalm chapters are very short.

This one's just six verses.

But let's look at this.

The Lord is my shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

So let's go through this.

Now this is reading from my New King James Version here.

So verse 1.

The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil.

For you are with me.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil.

My cup runs over.

Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord.

It's a very famous scripture.

One that's very comforting we can go to.

But,

let's talk about what a shepherd did in ancient Israel.

Because you've got to remember, this was written about 3,000 years ago.

That's ancient Israel.

1,000 years before Jesus came on the scene.

But it also parallels God and Jesus Christ as our shepherd.

And we as the sheep.

Because I've got a little bit of info here on what a shepherd in ancient Israel had to do.

This is written from my study Bible here.

Quote,

Ancient shepherds walked in front of their flocks.

A flock knew its shepherd's voice and would follow only him.

So, if an intruder came in and tried to steal the sheep, they wouldn't follow him.

They provided their flocks, the shepherds provided their flocks with water and food.

They knew each sheep and lamb.

When one was lost, the other was lost.

When one was lost, they went out to find it.

They stopped what they were doing and went to find that one sheep.

Which is what happened with Moses when he went to the burning bush.

One of his sheep got away.

He went to look for it and stumbled upon the burning bush.

And that's the way God found it, of course.

But then, small lambs, unable to keep up with the flock,

were often carried next to a shepherd's breast inside the fold of his outer garment.

And the shepherd also protected his flock, risking his life if necessary.

And, of course, David had a few instances where he had to fight a bear, I think, and a lion one time and killed them.

They always had that big staff, obviously, which was a good, powerful weapon.

But I'm sure they probably carried some kind of big dagger or knife as well to fend off the big animals.

But, um, so, how aptly this describes Christ as our shepherd.

He walks before us.

Doesn't he?

We know his voice when he calls to us through the Scriptures.

That's Jesus Christ talking to us.

Through the Gospels and through the epistles of Paul,

the words of Christ come to life here 2,000 years later.

And thank goodness we have these Scriptures to show us that.

The wisdom and the almighty, beautiful words of Jesus Christ.

But on verse 6 here, let's...

Let's read verse 6 again.

Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

And I've got this little quote here in my study Bible about verse 6.

This is interesting.

The use of both goodness and mercy to describe God's loyal love intensifies the meaning of the two words,

goodness and mercy.

What is described in verse 5 is God's overabundant mercy.

Love that is in no way deserved.

The Hebrew verb follow describes an animal in pursuit.

When the Lord is our shepherd, instead of being stalked by wild beasts,

we are being pursued by the loving care of the Lord.

Very interesting, end quote.

So, he gives us what we need.

God gives us what we need.

The sheep need water and grass.

The shepherd leads them to and protects them in the process.

Sometimes we'll need something.

Sometimes we may not even know what we need.

But he does.

See?

God does know what we need.

He always knows what we need and he'll lead us to it or he'll bring it to us.

Jesus Christ is the good shepherd, as John tells us, as Jesus tells us, in John chapter 10.

And we'll read that here in a second.

Because he will take care of his flock because he has an abundance of love and mercy.

So let's look at that real quick.

John chapter 10, verses 14 and 15.

John 10, verse 14.

This is Jesus speaking.

I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and I'm known by my own.

As the Father knows me, even so I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep.

He knows us and he absolutely knows what we need.

We can go to Christ anytime, anywhere, 24-7, 365 days a year.

He is always accessible.

Because of his sacrifice and what he did for us.

When that temple veil was rent in two, it changed for all time access.

Not only to Jesus Christ, but to the Father also.

And he is always accessible.

Don't think that, oh, it's 3 a.m. in the morning, I have to wait till the morning to pray to God.

No.

Anytime.

You can even go in a closet and talk to him.

Wherever you need to be.

Driving my truck that one time.

You know?

He is always accessible.

Thank goodness for that, too.

He's not some special idol God where you have to go to this one crazy Greek temple with

the idols standing up and the columns, this, that, and the other thing.

No.

He's always accessible.

Thank goodness for that.

So.

But the Lord is my shepherd is a wonderful scripture and I love that.

And it just really gives us an insight into not only God the Father, but what Jesus Christ

does for us.

So I also want to look at Romans chapter 8 and verse 28.

One verse here.

Romans 8, 28.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those

who are called according to his purpose.

We are called and chosen, and with the Holy Spirit working in us, he accomplishes his

plan.

We are redeemed and set apart from the world as his sons and daughters.

Amen.

And now we'll look at, I want to finish on the book of Philippians, which we looked

at last week in the final Bible study of the book of Philippians.

Go to Philippians, if I can get it here.

Philippians chapter 4, verses 19 and 20, Philippians 4, verses 19 and 20.

And this is the book of Philippians, chapter 4, verses 19 and 20.

is Paul talking to Philippians here from this letter and how he appreciates what they've

done for him. Philippians 4, verse 19. And my God shall supply all your need according

to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and

ever. Amen. So out of his abundant wealth, God will more than amply take care of the

Philippians in this instance, but of course this applies to us today. He does take care

of us. He loves us and cares for us and this is why it's also important to be thankful

when he blesses us. We pray for God to help us in many ways, sometimes every day, right?

But don't forget to thank him. That's the importance.

It works both ways. Okay, you've prayed to God and asked for help in something, some

situation. When he provides that, even if it's months down the road, thank him for answering

that prayer. Don't forget that part. That's very important. Does God need our thanks?

Not necessarily, but it should be something we should do. It's a Christian characteristic.

It's showing how we want to follow Jesus Christ.

Have that correct characteristic, character of a good Christian. Thank him for answering

that prayer. No matter how small or how big it is, if he answers that prayer, you know,

we pray, he replies, thank you, Lord. So now just to conclude with the girl.

She's very hard to get a hold of. The little baby in that video, Leah Crago, very hard to find out.

I believe that she's in her late 20s now. I think she had a child and I think I heard from another

source that she may be a teacher now, but she still lives here in Oklahoma as far as I know.

But that video is one that will live in the memory for a lot of people forever.

It's very moving, but it goes to show how God, he gives us what we need.

He sees us through. He answers our prayers. He comes to our aid, no matter what the circumstances.

God gives us what we need. Each and every day is there for us. He provides for us.

He keeps us safe. And we can have comfort knowing he will never leave us or forsake us.

And we can have comfort knowing he will never leave us or forsake us.