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The Effect of Providence (Part 9) · Pastor John Piper's answers

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: We are nearing the end of our series. We have
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: two more to go, this one and one more, and
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: I want to get as practical as I can, And
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: in this one I want to talk about how we
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: respond to the providence of God in our lives. And
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  Speaker 1: one kind of response is a kind of a breaking humbling,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: and the other is an emboldening and empowering. So let
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: me just look at two texts with you to show
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: what I mean. Luke thirteen one to five, somebody has
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: come to Jesus with a report about a calamity. In
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  Speaker 1: fact two, there were some present at that very time
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilot had
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: mingled with their sacrifices. So they came in and reported
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: to Jesus, have you heard Jesus about this atrocity that
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  Speaker 1: Pilot committed? And he answered them, do you think that
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  Speaker 1: these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans
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  Speaker 1: because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you,
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  Speaker 1: but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or
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  Speaker 1: those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and
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  Speaker 1: killed them, do you think they were worse offenders than
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  Speaker 1: all the others? Who lived in Jerusalem. No, I tell you,
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  Speaker 1: but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Now,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: one of those disaster was man made pilot in his
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  Speaker 1: cruelty slaughtered worshipers. And number two apparently an accident. People
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  Speaker 1: milling around working maybe and this tower falls and eighteen
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  Speaker 1: people are killed. And Jesus hearing them, ask okay, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: tell us what does this mean? And they have some assumptions,
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  Speaker 1: and Jesus seems to have very different assumptions. He does
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  Speaker 1: not assume at all, he says, He just says it explicitly.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not assuming that the people who were slaughtered and
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  Speaker 1: who were under the tower were worth sinners than anybody
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  Speaker 1: else around them. That's not what's going on, and so
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: we should in default to Oh, a judgment has just
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  Speaker 1: happened to pinpoint these people and not those people. When
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  Speaker 1: there's some calamity, Jesus is not going to go there.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: Third observation, nobody is innocent here, So not like you're
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: innocent and you get a pass and they're not. He says,
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  Speaker 1: unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. He's assuming
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: the whole human race is guilty. Right. The question or
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: I mean, these people are out of nowhere. Jesus, have
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  Speaker 1: you heard? And he's a you, you, you repent. He's
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  Speaker 1: assuming they're all guilty, the whole human race deserved to
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  Speaker 1: be under the tower. And then he gets real specific.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, Jesus doesn't deal in generalities and theories. You repent,
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: you repent. So when I get a phone call from NPR,
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  Speaker 1: like I did back in what was a two thousand
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  Speaker 1: and five when the tsunami killed two hundred and thirty
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  Speaker 1: thousand people, and they wanted to get an evangelical perspective
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  Speaker 1: on this calamity, and I spoke forty five minutes with them,
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  Speaker 1: this was my default text, to be sure, when you
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: hear of a calamity, whether personal or sweeping, our first
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: response is weep with those who weep. You walk into
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: a hospital room like I have so many times. Here's
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  Speaker 1: a living person and a dead person. A wife is alive,
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: a husband is dead, a mom is alive, a child
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: is dead. So many remember rollin totally unexpected. His twenty
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: five year old son died in surgery, and I just
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: took him, held him as tight as I could, and
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  Speaker 1: just heave with sobs. This was not the moment for teaching.
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  Speaker 1: I had taught Rolin for years. He knew what I believe.
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  Speaker 1: We both knew what was going on here under the
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  Speaker 1: providence of God. He knew what I would say at
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  Speaker 1: the funeral. This is a moment for weeping. But when
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  Speaker 1: the weeping is over, people want answers, and I just
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  Speaker 1: want to say that if you're in the position of
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  Speaker 1: being brought hey what about this? What about the Tower
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  Speaker 1: of Saloon, what about this disaster in the temple. Don't
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  Speaker 1: try to bring your view of God as closely into
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  Speaker 1: alignment with the unbelieving view of God. So many people
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  Speaker 1: do this. They just say everything the world expects to
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  Speaker 1: be said about God, which does them no good whatsoever.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus did can respond that way in a totally unsentimental way.
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  Speaker 1: And I said this to the woman on the phone.
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  Speaker 1: I said, you know, the message of the tsunami, whatever
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  Speaker 1: else it means, the message of the tsunami, ma'am, I
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  Speaker 1: called her by name, is that you should repent. You
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  Speaker 1: right now on the phone. You should repent. Nobody's expecting
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  Speaker 1: that we should tell the whole world to repent when
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  Speaker 1: there's a calamity. So the first lesson is the providence
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  Speaker 1: of God is humbling. It makes us know we need
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  Speaker 1: to repent. Now here's a counterpoint. The providence of God
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  Speaker 1: over all things also means we should be as bold
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  Speaker 1: as a lion. Matthew, Chapter ten, Verses twenty six to
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  Speaker 1: thirty one. Listen for the three statements. Do not fear
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  Speaker 1: verse twenty six. Have no fear of them. For nothing
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  Speaker 1: is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that
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  Speaker 1: will not be known. What I tell you in the dark,
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  Speaker 1: say in the light what you hear whispered, proclaim on
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  Speaker 1: the housetops fearlessly. Do not fear those who kill the body,
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  Speaker 1: but after that cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him
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  Speaker 1: who can destroy soul and body. In hell? Are not
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  Speaker 1: two sparrows sold for a penny, and not one of
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  Speaker 1: them will fall to the ground. Apart from your father,
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  Speaker 1: Even the hairs of your head are all numbered, fear not.
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  Speaker 1: Therefore you are of more value than many sparrows. So
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  Speaker 1: three times, fear not, fear not, fear not. That's the
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  Speaker 1: main point of the past. And there's a group of arguments,
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  Speaker 1: and right at the center is this one. Are not
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  Speaker 1: two sparrows sold for a penny and not one of
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  Speaker 1: them falls to the ground apart from your father. So
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  Speaker 1: right now, as I'm talking to you, I would guess
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  Speaker 1: I have no idea what the number is, but I
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  Speaker 1: would guess within this hour, thousands of birds in Africa
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  Speaker 1: and Asia, South American, North American, Australia, thousands of birds
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  Speaker 1: are going to die and just fall over in forest
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  Speaker 1: and decay. And Jesus says not one of them will
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  Speaker 1: fall apart from God's attention and providence. And then he says,
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  Speaker 1: you are more valuable than many sparrows. And then he
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  Speaker 1: adds this, Leus, we miss the point. The hairs of
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  Speaker 1: your head are all numbered. Now what's the point of
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: telling me not to be afraid because of all the
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  Speaker 1: millions of birds who die, not one of them dies
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  Speaker 1: apart from your father. And I'm more valuable than the birds.
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  Speaker 1: The point is I'm all over you. I'm all over
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  Speaker 1: you with my providence. I am so all over you
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  Speaker 1: with my encasing, loving, caring, guiding, protecting, leading providence that
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  Speaker 1: every lair on your head I know it's number. I
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  Speaker 1: count them. That's how close I am to you. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: this is meticulous providence to say all the birds fall
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  Speaker 1: to the ground according to our father. If all the
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  Speaker 1: birds fall to the ground according to my father plan
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  Speaker 1: and will and knowledge that I'm safe. All the details
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  Speaker 1: of my life are attended to, cared for, guided under
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  Speaker 1: the providence of God. So two effects. One is humbling
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  Speaker 1: and one is emboldening. Unless you repent, John Piper, you
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  Speaker 1: will perish. And you, John Piper, have a father in
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  Speaker 1: heaven who rules the world so meticulously that his close
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  Speaker 1: attention to you means nothing can happen to you apart
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  Speaker 1: from his goodwill.