Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / After the Counsel of His Own Will (Ephesians 1:11-14) - Pastor Jonathan Williams

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After the Counsel of His Own Will (Ephesians 1:11-14) - Pastor Jonathan Williams · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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We're studying our confession of faith. Tonight
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we're gonna come to this topic of providence
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and I want to read a summary statement about
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God's providential care for all things in his
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church tonight from Ephesians chapter one, verses
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11 through 12. So let's turn to Ephesians one.
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We'll be there this evening for a little while.
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before we enjoy some wonderful food and fellowship.
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Ephesians chapter one, beginning in verse 11
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through 12, this is Paul's great doxology of
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encouragement to the Ephesian church, a church
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that really felt very marginalized and alone
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in the society in which they lived. And so he
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breaks out into this long run -on sentence. of
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praise to God and encouragement to God's people
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for all that he has done for them. And one of
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the things that he wants the Ephesians to know
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most of all is how God is working in all their
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circumstances. So let's hear that tonight, Ephesians
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1 verse 11. In him, that is in Christ, we have
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obtained an inheritance. having been predestined
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according to the purpose of him who works all
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things according to the counsel of his will so
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that we who were the first to hope in Christ
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might be to the praise of his glory. We're going
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to focus our time on that. phrase from verse
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11, who works all things according to the counsel
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of his will and following tonight. Our confession
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speaks of providence this way, touching on themes
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there from those verses. In Westminster Confession
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of Faith chapter five, section one, it says about
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God's providence that God, the creator of all
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things, doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern
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all creatures, actions, and things from the greatest
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even to the least by his most wise and holy providence
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according to his infallible foreknowledge and
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the free immutable counsel of his own will to
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the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power,
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justice, goodness, and mercy. Perhaps you've
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said something like this before. That's a God
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thing. Or that was providential. In fact, I've
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used those very words. You may think in terms
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of something happening that's rapid and say,
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well, somebody was looking out for me upstairs.
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Well, we say these things and we tend to believe,
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because we tend to believe, I think, that God,
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yes, intervenes in history, in current events,
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but practically, at other times, we believe that
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some things... are left to chance. Yes, God is
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at work and he's active, but there are other
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things that sort of are left to blind chance
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or to luck or to fortune or to fate or whatever
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mystical force is out there. So we need to see
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this scripture. We need to appropriate the truth
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of our confession, which is a summary of what
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scripture teaches. And we need to see that God
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is totally and sovereignly in control and operationally
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at work in all of the details of this world.
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It's a mystery. It's hard to understand. It leaves
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us with unanswered questions, which we have to
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trust that God has the answers to, and sometimes
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we don't. But if we're going to understand truly
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how majestic and sovereign our God is if we're
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going to have spiritual Stability that trusts
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God and praises God in every circumstance. We
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need to see the depth of what is in the scripture
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tonight Because God is actively governing and
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preserving everything because he's actively and
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actively preserving and governing everything
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he is completely worthy of all of our trust and
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completely worthy of all of our praise. We see
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in the scripture that he works all things. Our
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God works all things according to the counsel
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of his will. The first thing I want us to see
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is that nothing escapes His governing, his disposing,
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his direction, his upholding care, he is at work
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in all things and he's intimately connected with
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every thread of history, every thread of your
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life, every thread of Fairview's story down to
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the last detail. Charles Spurgeon puts it so
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beautifully and eloquently based upon scripture
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which we'll study in detail supporting this statement.
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But he says this about God's providential care.
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Listen to this. So beautiful from Spurgeon. I
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believe that every particle of dust that dances
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in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or
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less than God wishes. That every particle of
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spray that dashes against the steamboat has its
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orbit as well as the sun in the heavens. that
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the chaff from the hand of the winterer is steered
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as the stars in their courses. The creeping of
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an aphid over the rosebud is as much fixed as
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the march of the devastating pestilence. The
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fall of the leaves from the poplar is as fully
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ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche. Spurgeon
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is saying. God is actively at work governing
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and ordaining and ordering all things. And that's
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what Paul is saying here. And in fact, scripture
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shows us that over and over again throughout
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the story of God's redemption, we see that He
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is actively at work preserving and governing
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all His creatures and all their actions. We're
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gonna turn to some different passages tonight
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so it'll be helpful for you to have your Bible
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in front of you and I will read some as well.
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But we see that God determines the beginning
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from the end. That's one of the big things and
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one of the first things I want us to see tonight.
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God determines the beginning from the end. Daniel
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chapter four. Daniel chapter four verse 35. Keep
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one finger in Ephesians here. Daniel chapter
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four. This is Nebuchadnezzar's confession here.
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All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted
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as nothing. And he does, according to his will
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among the hosts of heaven, among the inhabitants
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of the earth, no one can say, stay his hand or
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say to him, what have you done? He does according
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to his will. Nebuchadnezzar also confesses elsewhere
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that God's purposes can't be thwarted, that he
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declares the beginning from the end. He orders
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also everyday ordinary events. All of the movements,
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all of the actions, everything that happens in
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our lives. Look with me at Proverbs chapter 16.
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Proverbs chapter 16 verse 9 puts it this way.
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I'm having us turn to these places because I
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think these are key texts that we need to remember
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and key texts that we need to learn where they
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are in order to understand the depth of God's
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providential care. Look at Proverbs 16 verse
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19. Or rather 16 verse nine. 16 verse nine, the
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heart of man plants his way, but the Lord establishes
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his steps. Acts chapter 17 verse 28 gives a similar
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idea where it says that in him we live and move
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and have our being. God orders our steps and
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in all of mankind, not just his people's lives,
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but in all of mankind, Paul speaks that everybody's
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life, all of his movements are ordered by, governed
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by, and directed by, in some way shaped by God,
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who is totally in control. Our God is sovereign
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over the free actions of men, even in our sanctification.
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As we are called to labor for God, God says He's
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also at work. You remember that scripture in
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Philippians chapter 12 verse 13, work out your
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salvation with fear and trembling for it is God
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who is at work within you both to will and to
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work according to his good pleasure. Yes, God
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is at work even in the very things he's called
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us to be responsible to do. God is at work in
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the natural world, in the details of the cosmos,
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in the details of the lives of ordinary animals.
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Psalm 147 verse four. God determines the number
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of the stars and he calls them by name Matthew
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chapter 10 verse 29 Jesus says are not two sparrows
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sold for a penny and not one of them will fall
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apart from your father Not one sparrow falls
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to the ground apart from God's will not not one
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star goes Missing because he calls them all by
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name the great things in nature and even God's
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smallest creatures are under His sovereign direction,
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control, provision, the weather. Job and the
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Lord have this great conversation, and God gives
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Job this further deepening understanding of His
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great sovereign majesty in Job chapter 38, where
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He speaks to Job. and says to Job, have you entered
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the storehouses of snow, or have you seen the
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storehouses of hail, which I have reserved for
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the time of trouble, for the day of battle and
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war? Yes, our God is in charge of the weather.
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You know, they don't know what the weather's
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going to be. It seems like the more they predict
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it, the less they can actually know. But God
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does, because he has the storehouses of snow.
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He's in charge of the times and the seasons.
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And what comfort it is in this day when we look
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out on the news and we see this conflict between
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this world leader and that world leader and this
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world leader said this thing about that world
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leader and these two got in a spat with each
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other and there's this constant seeming turmoil
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in the western world and with the eastern world
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now. What comfort it is to know that the Lord
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of the universe is in charge of even the rulers
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of this world. He says, in Daniel chapter two
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verse 21, that he removes kings and sets up kings.
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He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to
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those who have understanding. Even the very decisions
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that are being made right now in Washington DC
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or Beijing or London or Moscow or Kiev or wherever
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are not happening apart from God's sovereign.
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Design, the King's heart, Proverbs 21, is a stream
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of water in the hands of the Lord. He turns it
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wherever He will. Yes, God is in charge over
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the great ones and the little ones, even over
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calamity. And I think this is the hardest thing
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for us, isn't it? When we think about disaster,
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when we think about pain, when we think about
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evil, it is so hard sometimes for us because
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we continue to ask why. Sometimes the Lord just
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simply says it is so. Trust me. Amos 3 verse
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6, the trumpet is blown in a city and the people
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are not afraid. Does disaster come to a city
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unless the Lord has done it? Yes, God is in charge
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of the hurricanes, the earthquakes, the natural
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calamities. And as hard as it is and as incomplete
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as our knowledge is of evil, God is even at work
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ordering evil for the good of His people. overruling
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it, using it, directing it, disposing of evil
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forces for his glory and our good. Study the
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life of Joseph. Oh, study the life of Joseph
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the next time it seems like you are in a mess
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or in a pit that you'll never get out of. For
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he was in a pit, and then he was in another pit,
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and he was forgotten. Abandoned, given up for
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dead. So many things happened to him and his
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brothers knew that he had been wronged by them.
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They had wronged him so much and they were afraid
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towards the end of Joseph's story that he might
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do something to them for all the wrong that they
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had done to him. And how does he summarize it?
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Well, Joseph knows that God was at work. God
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was at work even in the evil that they intended
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towards him. God meant it. Genesis 50. Verse
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20, God meant it for good. Not even the demons
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escape God's sovereign control. Not even Satan
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is outside of his perfect plan. You remember
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when Satan came to Job or Satan came to the Lord
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seeking to afflict Job. Throughout that story,
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Satan is not allowed to go any further than God
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wills for God's purpose in Job's life. Even God
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sends these evil spirits into the prophets in
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1 Kings chapter 20 verse 22 through 23. I don't
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know how to explain all of that other than the
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scripture says it. You can look that passage
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up, but you have to see and you have to know
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that God was working out good ends through his
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glorious and perfect means, yet without sin,
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because God cannot sin, God cannot lie, God can't
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tempt anyone. Still, he was sovereignly in charge
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of the evil spirits using even their intentions.
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for his glorious ends. I think understanding
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God's providence in evil is best understood and
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best accepted, maybe not understood, but accepted
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when we look at the greatest evil ever perpetrated.
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And I want us to look at that together. So let's
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turn together to Acts chapter four, verse 27
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and 28. We're covering a lot of ground tonight,
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so we're flying at the speed of an SR -71 at
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about 60 ,000 feet, if you're a military type,
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but this is good for us because we are getting
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a bird's eye view of how God providentially is
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at work in all things. Acts chapter four, verse
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27 through 28. This is the apostles, they're
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summarizing what happened when Jesus was crucified.
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What was actually going on? Where was God? What
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was man's responsibility? How do we make sense?
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How did the apostles help the Jews to make sense
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of what happened there? Well, listen to what
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they say here. For truly, in this city, there
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were gathered. together against your holy servant
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Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius
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Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples
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of Israel to do whatever your hand had predestined
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to take place and so in that summary statement
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even the very wicked actions of Pontius Pilate
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and here let's not think for a moment that Herod
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and Pontius Pilate were acting righteously. No,
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theirs was the height of wickedness because they
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put to death the least deserving of death. They
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put to death the innocent Lord of glory. This
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is the worst crime ever committed. This is the
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greatest injustice ever done and God is the one
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who predestined it. God is absolutely in charge
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even over the worst of evil sometimes that doesn't
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satisfy our intellectual curiosity yet the Bible
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states it and so we must rejoice in it that God
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is in charge in all things he works all things
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after the counsel of his will he's at work in
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all things and he's working them for our good
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and he's working them after the counsel of his
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will It's good to know that our God is not capricious.
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It's good to know that our God takes counsel
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in himself and that he has a will that will be
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accomplished. His thoughts are not our thoughts.
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He is most holy, wise, and pure. He cannot lie.
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He cannot sin. He does not change his mind. Isn't
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it good to know that your Lord doesn't change
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his mind? He has a preconceived plan that he
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works out. Yes, man is responsible for his sin.
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Those things are held in tension in scripture,
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but God is governing this world totally and completely
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in a way that is suitable and doesn't require
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any outside influence because it's according
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to the counsel of his will. His will that's perfect,
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powerful, loving. holy and governs all His creatures
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and all their actions. He calls us to pray, He
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calls us to plead with Him, but He doesn't need
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our advice. He doesn't need our advice, no. He's
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going to carry out His plan perfectly from the
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sparrow that falls from the tree out there to
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the steps you take tomorrow morning. And may
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it encourage you, may it encourage you to know
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that as He is working all things after the counsel
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of His will, He is making all things beautiful
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in His time. Remember this grand story of redemption,
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that in the beginning there was a garden and
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there was man, and there was perfect communion
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with God, and then man fell into sin and everything
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went bad. And the rest of the story is how God,
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through a Redeemer, would put all things to right
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and bring His people into a renewed creation,
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into a garden city where things would be perfect
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without the possibility of falling or sinning
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again. That is the great goal for which God orders
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all things. He is not capricious. He is not whimsical.
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He has a purpose and a plan to make all things
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beautiful in His time and in your life as well,
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because you're part of that plan. His plans are
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for good. to prosper his people, to give them
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a hope and a future. Well, what does that future
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look like? Well, you see a little bit of that
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picture in verse 12. He is working all things.
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Let's look at verse 12. Back in, we've been on
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a little bit of a journey through the scriptures.
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Let's go back to Ephesians chapter one, verse
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12. Ephesians 1, 12. Who works all things according
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to the counsel of his will, verse 12, so that
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we who were the first to hope in Christ, might
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be to the praise of His glory. Ah, there's the
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goal with which He is ordering all things for
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the life of the Ephesians. There's the goal for
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which He is ordering all things in your life
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and in my life. For those who were the first
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to hope in Christ. See how He is working for
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our greatest good. He's provided a certainty
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of hope and secured that hope for you in Christ
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with His own blood so that now, Paul would say
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of you, you are seated in the heavenly places
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in Christ Jesus. You may be seated in these pews,
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but your life is also anchored in the throne
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room of the King. You've been predestined. You've
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been chosen before the foundation of the world
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your salvation story from the beginning to the
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end is decreed by God and all of the details
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That will get you from grace to glory all of
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those details. He's working out Right here right
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now because he's the one who orders your steps
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and in him you live and move and have your being
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Do not think tonight that you exist apart from
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His sovereign, loving, tender care. For we who
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are the first to hope in Christ might be, and
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here is the great goal to the praise of His glory.
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You see why He's doing what He is doing so that
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you would be an object of His glory. What higher
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standing, what greater delight could you have
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than to be an object of the King's glory? to
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give Him glory. What higher privilege could it
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be than to be a child of God called to hope in
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Him and called to praise Him forever? What a
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glorious thing it is to be a Christian. You exist
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as the apple of His eye, to be a star in His
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crown, to be a treasure to the praise of His
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glory. And that's why He's working all things,
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to bring you home, to be there with Him, to glory
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in Him, to enjoy Him forever and evermore. Think
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of that greatest glory you've enjoyed on earth,
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whether it was your honeymoon, or the day you
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graduated from something, or the time you got
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that car, or that promotion, or whatever that
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greatest joy is, it doesn't even compare, it
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doesn't begin to compare to the endless joy and
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delight that we were made for as we glory in
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Him and He delights in us. That's the end for
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which God is working all things according to
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the counsel of His will so that you and I would
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exist and be forever to the praise of His glory.
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And so that's what God is doing in your life
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right now. I don't know specifically what He's
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doing in your stories and those things are part
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of His secret counsel, Ecclesiastes chapter seven.
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says that man doesn't know what is to be, but
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there's still nothing left to chance. And though
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we do not know exactly what is next, we know,
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no matter what, what God is doing in what is
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next. He is working out His glorious purpose
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for your salvation so that you would be a treasure
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to the praise of His glory. And so what is that?
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do for us. Where does that leave us tonight?
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Tonight is I leave you, but tonight is the Lord
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doesn't leave you. It leaves us in a place where
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we once again can trust Him. If He really is
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working for this great and glorious end of our
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salvation, of our glory and joy and Him forever,
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then we really can trust Him all the way. We
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can't know the future, but we know that God is
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still at work bringing all things together for
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our salvation. So rejoice in that. We know that
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he has the best in store for us. Rejoice in that.
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He's destined us for holiness. Let's rejoice
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in that. His word and his mighty acts prove his
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utter reliability so we can trust him for our
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tomorrows because God has been our shepherd.
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Hasn't He been your shepherd all your life long?
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All the way? Hasn't your Savior led you? And
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because He's been faithful all the way to you
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and because He's been faithful to give you His
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greatest gift, His only Son, can't you trust
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that He will give you every other little thing
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that you need on Monday morning? Calls us to
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trust. And it calls us simply to praise him for
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his glorious grace. John Flavel says, Providence
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is like a curious piece of tap, I want you to
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listen to this, because this is a beautiful quote.
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Providence is like a curious piece of tapestry
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made of a thousand shreds, which single appear
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useless, but put together they represent a beautiful
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history to the eye. We don't know. Looking at
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all the threads of our life, how things fit together.
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But once God has done his handiwork, there is
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something beautiful to the praise of his glory.
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So painful at times and sometimes it's so hard
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to praise him in the midst of the sorrows and
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the tragedies. But he is the God of our triumphs
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and our joys as well as our tragedies and our
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sorrows. And not one person, not one power, not
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one event is left outside of his control, his
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care, his disposition and direction. His providence
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sustains and guides our every breath. He's working
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in us to make us like his son and to bring us
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home to be with him. That's something to sing
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about. That's something to rejoice in. So let's
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praise God. Because He gives you Himself and
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right now, right now where you are, He is working
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everything to accomplish His greatest good in
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your life. Let's pray.