The providence of God part 4
April 10th 2016.
1st Chr. 29:11-12, Ps. 24:1, 115:3, and 135:6.
The Scriptures we just read all tell us one thing…
God is sovereign in this universe and in complete control of all things.
Nothing or no one in this universe is able to stand up to God, defy God, or defeat God.
Jer. 32:27 and Luke 1:37 tell us…Nothing is impossible for God.
The control of God encompasses every aspect of the created order.
From beginning to end…
From heaven and earth…
From animate to inanimate…
From individuals to nations…
From hours to ages…
From weeds to plants…
From birth to death…
From catastrophe to calm…
The:
Sun, moon and the stars…Ps. 104:2,19
Isa. 40:26, Jer. 31:35, Mt. 5:45
Celestial activity…Job 9:7, Ezek 32:7-8
Amos 8:9
Clouds…Job 37:15-16
Dew… Gen. 27:28
Frost…Ps. 147:16
Hail…Job 38:22
Lightening… 2nd Sam. 22:13-15, Job 36:30, Job 36:32
Rain…Dt. 28:12, 1st Kings 18:1, Job 5:10
Snow…Job 37:6
Thunder…Ex. 9:23, Jer.10:13
And wind…Ps. 147:18 Ezek 13:13
All are subject to God’s command and they all perform His work under both ordinary and extraordinary circumstances.
God works His will through:
Earthquakes, famine, drought, famine, fire, plagues, calamities, floods, and normal supply of water.
All forces of nature are subject to the sovereign Word of God who works His will through them.
Every aspect of human life, animal life and plant life is under the control of God.
- God knows the number of hairs on our head…
- God clothes the grass and the flowers of the field…
God is not only in control He has foreseen all that will take place in the course of time.
Nothing is left to chance or fate or karma.
Everything in the world and in our lives is within the loving presence and involvement of Almighty God.
Through His wisdom, power, righteousness and love…
God is slowly but steadily working out His eternal purposes for His own glory and our eternal good.
Our heavenly Father watches over us.
Knowing this should ease anxiety and strengthen and encourage us in the uncertainties of life.
Today I want to finish a message I started last week that answers many questions that I have had myself as well as many questions I have been asked throughout the years.
The first question dealt with the free will God gives every human being.
Since God is sovereign or in complete control doesit destroy our free will?
We covered that in detail so in order for me to keep moving I will just review quickly.
We do in fact have a free will but that free will has limits.
It is not an absolute freedom.
If there were no limits it would mean humans would be sovereign or as powerful as God.
If there were no limits barbarism would prevail universally and pandemonium would reign supreme.
The limits to our free will are much like our freedom in America.
We do not have absolute freedom we have freedom with limits.
The same applies as well to our free will.
The second question is where we left off last week…
If God is or since God is sovereign and in complete control and God sees ahead why doesn’t He stop bad things from happening?
And since God is in complete control does it mean evil is under the control of God?
We can find the answer to those questions in Romans 8:28.
It says…For we know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
Notice this verse doesn’t say things it says all things.
All things refer to both good things and evil things.
You will not find anywhere in the Bible where God causes evil or causes people to sin or do evil things.
If evil was traced it would not lead in any way to God.
But God is able to take control of the evil things human beings do and incorporate that into His plan to use it for a good end.
God is able to take the worse of human actions and bring out the best.
Sometimes the purposes of God are accomplished by God allowing evil to work itself out.
There are several examples of this in the Bible.
One example is found in the book of Ruth.
Naomi’s son was an Israelite he married Ruth who was a Moabitess.
The marriage was contrary to the revealed will of God and so it was evil in the sight of the Lord…
The reason was because Jews were not supposed to marry Gentiles.
The marriage made Ruth a daughter in law of Naomi.
By being a daughter in law of Naomi it enabled her to be exposed to the true God and eventually come to the place where she made a choice to serve God.
After her husband died Ruth married Boaz, through Boaz she entered in the line of descent of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Another example is David…
David was a great man but he suffered greatly because of the evil committed against him.
His own sons were evil and their acts of evil affected David greatly.
King Saul hated David and did all he could to have him killed.
But God worked through the evil he experienced.
As a result of the evil he experienced are many of the Psalms.
The best known example of God controlling evil and turning it into good is found in Genesis in the story of Joseph.
As you look at this story you will not only see the control of God over evil but how God used evil to get Joseph where He wanted him to be.
I referred to this briefly in the introduction of this series.
Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him because he was their father’s favorite.
So they decided to do away with him.
Their first thought was to kill Joseph but one of his brothers Reuben delivered Joseph out of their hands before they could kill him.
Reuben was used by God whether he knew it or not to spare Joseph’s life.
Reuben recommended they throw Joseph into a pit.
When they did there was no water in the pit.
This tells me God doesn’t keep us out of the pit but keeps what could be in the pit out of us.
After they threw Joseph in the pit they sat down to eat.
Joseph is in the pit and a company of Ishmaelites came by on their way to Egypt…
At that point another brother Judah spoke up and said what profit is in killing Joseph?
So they lifted him out and sold him to the traders for 20 shekels of silver.
A pit is not always a bad place at times it is a safe place.
This tells me the pits of life are only a holding tank that protects us until God makes His next move.
They sell him and the traders took Joseph to Egypt.
Watch the story close they didn’t carry him in the direction he came from…
They carried him in the direction God purposed for him to go.
Egypt.
Sometimes God uses the enemies money and evil to transport His people to where He needs them to be.
Like Paul on a ship to Rome at the governments expense.
Joseph is sold and then when he gets to Egypt he is resold as a slave.
But this time he is sold to an officer of Pharaoh.
The selling of a human being is always evil but God is controlling the evil by controlling who is buying him.
Gen. 39:2 says…The Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man.
Make sure you get this Joseph is sold and he is a slave and the Bible says he was a successful man.
He was successful because God was in control of his life and God had taken control over the evil that was trying to destroy his life.
If you had gone to Joseph and said how does it feel to be successful he would have probably looked at you like you were crazy.
But there is a lesson here…
When God is with us favor is on usso it means success is waiting for us.
This means with God success is waiting on us to reach it.
Joseph is bought by Potiphar an officer of the Egyptian army.
Potiphar watched Joseph and he saw that the Lord was with him and the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.
Potiphar put Joseph in charge or overseer of his house and he put all that he had under Joseph’s authority.
God is controlling the evil and making the evil work for him and not against him.
Then evil strikes again Joseph is wanted by Potiphar’s wife and he rejects her.
Actually he rejects temptation but she takes it as a personal rejection.
She tries to make him lie with her but when he doesn’t do it she accuses him of rape.
Evil once again tries to destroy his future and his life.
God didn’t make the evil happen but God allowed it to happen.
God didn’t stop her but unknowingly to her God used her actions against Joseph to help Joseph.
The evil actions of Potiphar’s wife results in Joseph going to prison.
Prison was exactly the place God wanted for him to go.
Gen. 39:21 says… But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper.
Joseph then becomes the overseer of the prisoners and whatever he did the Lord made him prosper.
Let me tell you just because where you are looks bad it doesn’t always mean it is bad.
It was in the prison that God was going to make His next move to get Joseph where He wanted him.
Evil tried to destroy Joseph but God took control over the evil.
God never intended for Joseph to stay at Potiphar’s house.
That was only a temporary thing, evil got him in there and evil moved him out but God was controlling it all.
God’s plan was for Joseph to go further than an officer’s house God had a place for Joseph in the Gov. house.
One night Pharoah had a dream and no one could interpret it.
And you know what’s next no one but one man and that was Joseph.
This tells me God can also control the dreams we have as well.
Joseph interpreted the dream and was made prime minister of Egypt.
Genesis chapter 41 verse 45 Pharoah called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah…
That means in Egyptian God speaks and God lives.
All of this is to show that God is not behind evil but God can control evil to work for us and not against us.
Evil actions were taken control of by God to get Joseph from where he was to where God wanted him to be.
But it wasn’t just for Joseph’s sake it was for the sake of millions of people because God used Joseph to save millions from starvation…
As well as his own brothers that sold him.
So why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?
Many times it is to get the person to where they need to be because they wouldn’t have gotten there any other way.
Many times God allows bad things to happen in order to save other people’s lives.
When evil is done to us or bad things happen to us we must remember God is control.
And if God allows it to happen God will turn the bad into a blessing.
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