Vision and Giving
Sean Flanagan · Tidal Church Miramichi · September 13, 2026
Sean Flanagan walks through Genesis 1 to 3 and Matthew 6, picturing God as a generous party host. Even in hard times and scarcity, we can trust that He will meet our needs, and His generosity frees us to be generous with others.
Topics: Faith, Fear & Anxiety, Money & Generosity
Transcript
[0:00] If you've got your Bibles, you can turn to Genesis 1. I always love preaching out of Genesis 1, because it's just the first page of the Bible, right? If I'm preaching from Habakkuk, nobody knows where to go. But Genesis 1, we're all pretty familiar with Genesis 1. So this Sunday, we're gonna be starting a new sermon series in a couple weeks. We're gonna be going through the book of Philippians. We're gonna be walking right through Philippians. It's gonna be great. But this Sunday, it's just kind of a one-off sermon, and it's something that is on my heart that I wanna share with you. And so we can go in Genesis 1, starting in verse 27. But before I read that, I actually just wanna ask you a question.
[0:45] I want you to imagine you got invited to a party. You get a letter in the mail, it's got your name on it, and you're invited to a party. And you see who it's addressed from, and it's from God. And he's inviting you to a party, and he gives you the time and place, and you RSVP, you say, okay, I'll go. Now, what's going through your mind as you're going to this party? You might be a little bit nervous. You might be thinking, what is this party gonna be like? Should I wear a suit and tie or a fancy dress? Should I be really formal? You know, is there gonna be maybe like a lot of rules, maybe it's gonna be a very formal party, right? And I gotta brush up on my etiquette and make sure I know like which fork to use.
[1:34] Is there gonna be dancing at the party? That's controversial. Depends which Christian you ask, right? Is there gonna be dancing at the party, right? Is there gonna be food? Is there gonna be food at the party? Should you eat first before going? And so anyway, you go, you go to the party, and as you're walking into the party, you hear music, and you hear laughter, and you hear singing. You walk in, there's no entry, entry fee. There's no cost, it's free to enter. I think you would see people dancing. That's just me, you can maybe argue with me on that. I think maybe people would be dancing, but what you notice in the far end of the room is a huge table filled with food.
[2:20] Just piles and piles of the most delicious food you've ever seen, right? Imagine like the best wedding that you've ever been to, right, with meats and cheese and vegetables and fruits and desserts and all kinds of drinks, you know, non-alcoholic beverages, right, for your enjoyment. Everything that you could ever possibly need or want is provided for you, free of charge. And you don't have to like, you're not worried about like, oh, is there gonna be enough? Do I have to get this? Because there's plenty, there's plenty. You can just enjoy yourself, enjoy what God has provided for you, and just focus on other people, right? Just be, have conversations, bless other people. Because God is a good host. He's a good, generous party host.
[3:08] And I think when we go to Genesis 1, we're gonna see that's kind of a picture of what God is like when he created the world. That he's a party host, he's generous, and he's given us everything we need to meet all of our needs. So let's read in Genesis 1, starting in verse 27. So God created mankind in his own image. In the image of God, he created them. Male and female, he created them. God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.
[3:56] Then God said, I give you every seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground, everything that has the breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw all that he made and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. I think we say, if I were to give you like a Bible trivia and I said, what did God create on the sixth day?
[4:43] He had the final day of creation because the seventh day he rested. On the sixth day, what did he create? I think most people would say humans, right? Male and female, he created humans. That's right, but we've noticed he actually created something else, right? He said, it mentions all these fruits and trees and all this food that he's providing for them, right? There's this big paragraph saying, here's all this food, everything that you need. I guess he created it in previous days, but it really emphasizes it on the sixth day, right? That he created all this stuff. All our needs are met on the sixth day. And I wanna go to just a section in chapter two. If you turn to chapter two in verse eight, this is another section where if you've read this before, you think, what is this doing here?
[5:31] It's the strangest kind of moment. I've read this for years and years and just like, why is this detail in here in chapter two? So let's read chapter two, verse eight. Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east in Eden, and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground, trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. So again, God is just giving us food. He's giving, he's a good host. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now here's a bit that's just kind of strange to me. A river, in verse 10, a river watering the garden flowed from Eden. From there it was separated into four headwaters.
[6:18] The name of the first is the pishon. It winds through the entire land of Havela where there is gold. The gold of that land is good. Aromatic resin and onyx are also there. Verse 13, the name of the second river is the gihon. It winds through the entire land of Kush. The name of the third river is the tigress. It runs along the east side of Asher and the fourth river is the Euphrates. So it's this kind of bizarre description of all these rivers. Why is he talking about all these rivers? Like when's the snake gonna show up, right? Like what's going on here? And I think what the point is, is that first off, we need water to live. We need water to live and God's making sure that there's not just a little bit of water, there's all kinds of water.
[7:06] In fact, there's so much water that it's the headwaters of four major rivers, right? God has gotta say, hey, I'm gonna give you all this food, all these trees, all these plants, these birds and animals and everything you need and there's water. There is so much water. Everything that you need is gonna be taken care of. And in fact, this water is like so blessed with life. I mean, it says there is gold in this area and it almost seems to me, I don't know if this is true, it almost seems to me like the gold is there because of the water. Like there's just so much blessing and life out of the water that there's just this abundance of gold and treasure and all these things that God is giving to humans. Like he's inviting us to a party, right? And he's saying, look, I've given you all this stuff, all this abundance, food and water and gold, everything that you could ever possibly need.
[7:59] Here's a world of abundance. You don't have to worry because I'm a good host, I'm gonna take care of you, you just enjoy yourself. Enjoy what I've given you because you're in a world of abundance. But you know, I was preparing this message this week and thinking about preaching about God's abundance and his provision for us and I was driving to the church and I put my foot on the gas and a strange noise started to be made, like, and I was like, oh, the whole car is shaking and I thought, oh man, that's not good, that's not good. And maybe it'll go away and anyway, put the foot on the gas again and my engine light turns on and I'm like, oh boy, all right.
[8:50] And so I'm sitting at a red light and just like the car's just like bouncing and so I call my dad and I'm like, dad, what do I do? This is not good and Esther, my wife and I have had so many car issues and I'm just thinking, God, you really have a sense of humor. On the week where I'm talking about your provision, you providing everything we need, this is the week where you're gonna break my car, right? And I don't know if it was God, I don't know. But so we brought the car to the shop and I kid you not, it was Mice. Mice had made a little nest in the front of my car and it started chewing the spark plug and I thought these little messengers from Satan coming to test me, they're coming to test me, that's what it was and anyway, the Mice have been taken care of, they no longer exist and so.
[9:44] But you know, we're talking about abundance and God's provision, right, and his providing for us. But maybe you're thinking like, Sean, you talk about abundance, you talk about God providing everything we need, have you seen my bank account, right? Ooh, right, or have you seen what's on my credit card? How much I owe? I don't feel like God's providing for me abundantly. Or Sean, have you read the news this week? Ugh, oh man, I avoid the news like the plague but it's been hard, right? Everyone's talking about it this week, it's oh, there's trade wars and tariffs and all that stuff going on and you know, 50% on steel or something, I don't know. It's just, what I know is things are expensive, right?
[10:32] Things are expensive, right? Gas and groceries and stuff, it's like, God, I'm reading here, I'm reading here in Genesis about a world of abundance but when I look at our world, I see a world of scarcity, right? I see a world of scarcity, I see a world where there's not enough, right? I don't see big piles of food, I see some scraps and people are fighting over them and some people are hoarding food and other people don't seem to have enough food, right? And this is kind of this world of scarcity that we seem to live in. And it's easy when you see that to start doubting the host.
[11:21] Doubting God, are you really gonna provide for me? Are you really gonna provide everything that I need, right? We start to question whether we can trust God and that that's actually what the first sin was of Adam and Eve. If we go to chapter three here in Genesis, let's just read the first few verses of chapter three and we'll see that the first sin is really them questioning the host, doubting and disobeying the host. That God's prepared all these things, he's given all these things and Satan is saying, can you really trust God? So let's read in chapter three verse one. Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.
[12:11] He said to the woman, did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? The woman said to the serpent, we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say you must not eat from the tree that is in the middle of the garden and you must not touch it or you will die. You will not certainly die, the serpent said to the woman, for God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So you see that Satan's first lie or his temptation for Adam and Eve, it's about, did God really say that? No, no, no, God said this, but you can't really trust him, he's actually holding out on you.
[12:56] There's something really, really good, something that you really want and something that you really need and God is trying to withhold that from you. And so there's this doubt of can I trust the host? God's invited me to this party, but I think he's holding out on me. I don't think I can trust him to meet my needs. And now Adam and Eve were in the garden, right? And things were perfect and they had all these kinds of fruits and vegetables. I don't know if you've noticed, we're not in the Garden of Eden anymore, right? You know, we're in the Marintimes and have you heard this expression? Hard times in the Marintimes, hard times in the Marintimes, right? This is kind of just like a saying we have in the Marintimes and I was looking up some of the, just the numbers, some of the statistics about how we're doing as a province, New Brunswick.
[13:50] And I was looking up the gross domestic product, the GDP per capita. And I know that's boring and confusing, but basically what it means is like, if you took every human being in every company in New Brunswick and you said, all right, how much are we producing, right? What are we making? And then you divide it up per person, right? And so, okay, how much are we really producing as a province? Where do you think we rank in Canada? Yeah, depending on the year, it's either second to last or last. And we're in competition for the lowest rank with PEI in Nova Scotia. So it's like, yeah, hard times in the Marintimes, right? If you look at the average household income of New Brunswick, again, we're at the bottom, right?
[14:40] Competing with PEI in Nova Scotia. It's kind of hard times in the Marintimes, right? And I hope that that's not too depressing to you because I know that there's people here who've just moved to New Brunswick and I wanna say, I love New Brunswick, live here. This is a great place to live, right? I've grown up in New Brunswick 200 years ago. My ancestors came from Ireland down this river and we haven't left and we love it here, right? So anyway, I'm not trying to discourage you, but what I'm saying is there are some hard times in the Marintimes and I'm up here, I'm wanting to preach about God's provision, his abundance, but I really wanna recognize that things are tough for people.
[15:31] Things are tough financially. It's tough, it's tough to live now for a lot of people. And you know, some of you might be thinking like, okay, well, maybe there was abundance. There used to be abundance in the garden, but then Adam and Eve sinned and we're kind of after the garden. We're out of the garden now and now we live in a world of scarcity. There used to be abundance, but now we have scarcity. I think that that's sort of true. That's sort of true because you know, when Adam and Eve sinned and they ate the fruit and they were kicked out of the garden, God said to Adam, you're gonna have to work for your food now. It's gonna be by the sweat of your brow, right? And there's gonna be thorns and there's gonna be thistles.
[16:17] It's gonna be hard work. It's not gonna just come off trees anymore. You're gonna have to really work for your food. And after they left the garden, Cain and Abel were born and Cain killed Abel, right? So immediately we're seeing competition, right? Immediately we're seeing some people take and some people getting the short end of the sticker or not having what they need. And so outside the garden, there is a kind of scarcity. There is a scarcity, this world that we live in. And I was really wrestling with this this week and I was trying to think like, God, what is true? What is true that I can tell these people this Sunday? And I almost wanted to say, yeah, you know, there used to be abundance, but now there's not.
[17:03] And that's kind of almost where I landed. I almost thought, yeah, I think, you know, I just got to say, hey, it's tough out there, good luck. Right? But the more I prayed about it, the more I thought about it, the more I read the Bible, the more I thought, I just don't think that's quite true. I don't think that that's the full story. Yes, there's difficulty. Yes, there's scarcity, but there's a little bit more to it than that. And I want you to turn with me to Matthew 6 in the New Testament. This is in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6. And this is a teaching of Jesus to a group of people who knew what poverty was.
[17:51] 2000 years ago in Palestine, things were not good, right? We say hard times in the Marintimes. It was hard times in first century Palestine. Things were tough back then. There was a foreign government, the Romans who were occupying them, and just pulling out crazy amount of taxes, right? Just crazy amount of wealth. No pension plans, no insurance policies, no retirement savings plans, nothing like that. No hospitals, nothing like that. These are people who knew what poverty was. And this is what Jesus says to them. This is what Jesus says.
[18:36] Matthew 6, verse 25. Here's what Jesus says to these people. He says, therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. He feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? You're so much more valuable than birds. Verse 27. Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?
[19:24] And why do you worry about your clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God closed the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? So do not worry saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink? What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows you need them. He knows you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
[20:14] Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Jesus, a man who knew poverty, new poverty firsthand. He grew up in a family that seemed to be kind of poor, right? Around people who were poor and oppressed. And he's saying, you know, that same God, that same God who created the world, who provided food and water and clothing and everything that we need, that same God is still hosting the party. He's still hosting the party. He didn't end it. You know, when Adam and Eve sinned, there were consequences.
[21:03] They were kicked out, right? Kicked out of the garden. There's real consequences to that. But the first, you know the first thing Jesus or that God did for Adam and Eve? He made him clothes. He covered them. He made clothes for them. And then a descendant of Adam and Eve named Abraham was chosen by God. And God says, I'm gonna bless you and I'm gonna lead you into a land, a promised land. And you know how that land was described? As a land flowing with milk and honey, right? Like a great party. God's saying, hey, I'm still hosting. I'm still hosting the party and I'm gonna be taking care of you. And so the people of God move into this land flowing with milk and honey.
[21:51] And like, it's like they're being invited by God into this great party. And so what did they start doing? They start, you know, kind of fighting each other. No, I want this, I want that. They start disobeying God and they're killing and fighting one another and doing all this stuff. And you know, if I were God, I'm not. But if I were at that point, I'd say party's over. Okay, party's over. Okay, it's canceled. Okay, you've had your chances. Adam and Eve disobeyed. Now you guys are disobeying again. That's it, okay? We're done. He doesn't do that, actually. He's so gracious and loving that he actually sends messengers to the party. He sends prophets. And to tell them to reform, to come back to him, to turn back to God.
[22:38] And so often, not every time, but so often, the people just end up killing the messengers, right? They just end up ignoring the prophets. And so again, you would think that the host of this party is gonna say, okay, you've disobeyed me so many times. You've killed my messengers. Party's over. But no, God is still so gracious, so loving, provides so much that the host of the party sends his own son. He sends his only son. And you think, you would think at this point, when the son comes to the guests of the party, he's coming to condemn them. That's what you would think. It's like, you guys have had chances.
[23:23] You've turned your back on my father. You've betrayed him. You've rebelled against him. But it says that God so loved the world that he sent his only son. Not to condemn the world. Not to condemn them. But that anybody who believes in him, anyone who trusts in the son can actually have life, have even more life. And so the host sends his son to the guests of the party. And what do you think the guests of the party did? Did they welcome him? Did they celebrate? Oh, great, the host, he's here. His son is here. The guests of the party killed the son. They killed the son.
[24:09] And it's unbelievable. I mean, and you think, okay, at this point, the wrath of God is just gonna be poured out, right? God is patient, but he's not that patient, right? Like at this point, the party's over. The world is just gonna be just covered in darkness and just like, it's over, it's done. Once you kill the host's son, I think the party should be over, right? Yet God so loved the world. He was so compassionate, so forgiving, and had so much life in abundance that the son was raised back up to life. And he said, you know, this was actually part of the plan. This was part of the plan because since Adam and Eve sinned, and there's all these sins, there had to be a sacrifice.
[24:55] Someone had to die to cover all of those sins. And God said, I love you so much that I was willing to send my only son to take that punishment and that pain. And if you just believe in him, if you just trust in him, you can have provision in this life, but eternal life in the next. And in the next life, there's not gonna be any scarcity. There's not gonna be any curse. In the next life, the streets are paved with gold, right? There are trees that are always in bloom every season. There's gonna be an endless table of foods, of the light, a river, a river that flows, that heals the nations.
[25:44] So I just want you to think, just as I close now, do you trust that God, do you trust that host? That host who created the world and gave abundantly. That host who is so patient, right, and put up with all the evil. That host who loved so much that he would give his only son. If he would give us all of this, won't he give us everything else that we need? Won't he meet all of our needs? Whatever it is, he'll meet our needs. And I just wanna share this story. So I had these mice in my vehicle, and oh, we got a bill, and oh, man, God. Like, are you trying to teach me a lesson or something? I got a text message from someone yesterday, and there had been like a clerical error in something that I had done over the last month.
[26:36] And I found out that there's actually a large chunk of money that I thought I had lost that just came back to me. And it was like, it was almost 10 times the amount of the payment for the car. And I just thought, God, you do have a sense of humor. You do have a sense of humor, right, that God provides for us, right? And sometimes it doesn't happen just like that. Sometimes we've gotta be patient, right? But we can trust the host. We can trust him that he will meet our needs. He'll meet our needs. We've got this table, this table of food, and we can just enjoy ourselves. We don't have to worry, and we can be generous with other people. And I wanna leave you with this. I wanted to say, come back next week because we're gonna have an opportunity to be generous next week.
[27:30] And I don't wanna tell you any more than that, other than we are gonna have a special guest here next week, somebody we're actually flying in, and we're gonna have this kind of fun, exciting thing happen next week. It'll be a normal service, so you don't need to be nervous or anything. Well, you know, we'll sing songs and have a message, but we'll have a special guest here with an opportunity for how we can be generous. And I just wanna encourage you now to think about that, to think about how God has met all of your needs and how, because he's so generous to us, we can be generous to others, all right? So let's just pray now. Heavenly Father, I thank you that you're a good God who has provided all of our needs. And Father, sometimes it doesn't look like we have enough.
[28:15] Sometimes it looks like scarcity. But we trust you for our daily bread, that you give us our daily bread. And we're asking again and again for our daily bread, Father, that you would feed us, because you know we need these things, you know we need clothing, we need shelter, we need food, and we trust you, that you're a good God, a generous host. And Father, I'm just asking for a blessing on these people this week, that you would bless them to meet their needs, but also bless them, fill them with faith that they would trust in you, they would trust in your goodness. Pray all this, in Jesus' name, amen.