What Control Does God Exercise in Our Lives? A study in providence

Providence - Foresight or plan to accomplish a desired end, Has to do with God working in the affairs of men

Providential Misconceptions 1.Providence was limited to Israel

Amos 9:7-8 Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?” declares the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir? God “moved” the Philistines and the Syrians

Jonah 4:11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” God had compassion for 120,000 Ninevites

Exodus 14:18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” God was glorified in the Egyptians

Genesis 15: Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. … 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. God wouldn’t take the Amorite’s land from them

Providential Misconceptions 1.Providence was limited to Israel 2.Providence was limited to miracles

Genesis 45:5-8 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Joseph to Egypt? NOT miraculous.

Romans 15:30-32 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. Paul to Rome? NOT miraculous.

Providential Misconceptions 1.Providence was limited to Israel 2.Providence was limited to miracles 3.Everything is providential !

Ecclesiastes 9:11 gain I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. Time and chance overtake us all.

The fact is, God IS in Control 1.The OT says to have faith. God controls it all

Ecclesiastes 8:16-9:1 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one's eyes see sleep, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out. 1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. We’re in the hands of God.

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. We cannot change what God does.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. We cannot know God’s working

Ecclesiastes 3:15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. Even historic repetition is in God’s hand.

The fact is, God IS in Control 1.The OT says to have faith. God controls it all 2.Specifically the Messiah was prophesied to rule

Psalms 2:7-9 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; Today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

Psalm 110:1-2 he Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” 2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. rule in the midst of your enemies!

Isaiah 11:3-5ff And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

The fact is, God IS in Control 1.The OT says to have faith. God controls it all 2.Specifically the Messiah was prophesied to rule 3.The NT says Jesus Christ is in charge of it all

1 Peter 3:22 …who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Revelation 1:5 …and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood He is the Ruler of Kings

God has always used providential participation In all the earth, among all people, and especially for HIS people.

Hebrews 1:13-14 And to which of the angels has he ever said,“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? He has legions of powerful servants.

Hebrews 13:5-6 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” And we have the promise of help.

With divine assurance God still asks for faith Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Will you be content with that?