Sermon Tone Analysis

No thought can enter into the mind of man better adapted to promote its piety and peace than this—that the world is under the government of God, and all the events of our lives under the direction of His providence.

— Orton

Preserving Providence- God continually preserves and maintains the existence of every part of His creation, from the smallest to the greatest, according to His sovereign pleasure.

Governing Providence- God guides and governs all events, including the free acts of men and their external circumstances, and directs all things to their appointed ends for His glory.

The words or the terms we use are of VITAL IMPORTANCE!!

Notice we did not say that God initiates or causes all events.

If we are to maintain a biblical perspective on the doctrine of providence there is one very important principle that we must keep in mind.

“We must be willing to acknowledge all that the Bible clearly affirms but at the same time insist on no more that the Bible clearly affirms.”

Why is that such an importance principle to keep in mind?

Failing to do both parts of this statement will lead into error.

Explain?

Can God Do Anything?

Can God make a rock so big that He can’t pick it up?

Of course He can … and then He can pick it up too! (A silly question deserves a silly answer) It really is an absurd question!

Think of it this way,

Is omnipotence so omnipotent that it can defeat omnipotence?

Can God make 2+2=6?

(No only the public school system can pull that off)

Charles Ryrie- “One might as well ask if a nuclear explosion could make 2+2=6.”

The point is that there are things God cannot do.

Can you do things that contradict your nature?

Examples?

Can you survive indefinitely without food or water?

Why not?

It is contrary to your nature.

God cannot do things that contradict His own nature any more than we can.

Are the things that God cannot do a worry or a comfort to you?

Yet the Scripture is equally clear and insistent that God rules over and uses (for His glory and our good) even those sinful actions that He neither encourages nor initiates—but that He allows.

What Does the Bible Say?

If you had to break up the Bible into percentages, how much of the Bible is straightforward propositional truth and how much of the Bible is stories?

Why do you think God chose to communicate so much of His revelation to us in the form of stories?

“Doctrinal statement are like skeletons—bare bones, but absolutely essential to give form and order and interconnection to the body of revealed truth.

Stories flesh out that skeleton, incarnate that truth, demonstrate how the doctrine looks and moves and acts in the real world of flesh and blood.”

Joseph is the prince of providence.

As we go through the biblical narrative of his life we will see that he had a keen sense and practical understanding of God’s providence.

Genesis 37

Volunteer to read?

What is the first issue or “problem” that we run into in the story of Joseph?

Favortism

Who is showing favoritism to Joseph in these verses?

Jacob (Coat) and God Himself (Dreams).

What do you think of how Joseph handled the favoritism?

Did he act appropriately or foolishly?

How can we tell?

What does the text say?

Nothing in the text faults Joseph’s behavior- the dreams were not Joseph’s dreams of self-importance; they were God given dreams of REVELATION that simultaneously functioned as both a focal point for Joseph’s faith (imagine Joseph’s obedience based on such limited revelation!) and a test of his family’s submission to God’s choice and purposes.

God, in His providence, blesses, exalts and uses whom He will

What is unusual about God choosing Joseph and not choosing his other brothers?

He is the youngest!

Has God done the same thing elsewhere in Scripture?

Jacob / David

What is the common complaint when we run into situations like Joseph’s?

“That’s not fair!”

Was God’s choice of Joseph fair?

It really depends on our definition of fairness.

How would a child define “fairness”?

absolute equality in all treatment, privileges, and amounts.

Examples?

Therein lies the painful point—such a preoccupation with “fairness” is inherently “childish.”

It is to be expected with children; it should be otherwise with adults.

What does this say about our culture?

How do you reply to your kids?

“life isn’t always fair.”

Is God always fair?

God does not give everyone exactly the same number of peas on their plate does he?

But, God is always right and God is always good.

Sometimes that means our lives might look “unfair” (it did for Joseph), but God is providentially superintending over every facet of our lives and often uses the unfairness of life to accomplish His purposes in and for us and those around us.

How much of what happened to Joseph was fair?

But how much of what God allowed was He right to allow?

God, in His providence, allows and uses the anger and hatred of people to accomplish His purposes

How did Joseph’s brothers react to the favoritism of Jacob and the Lord toward Joseph?

Genesis 37:4 (ESV)

4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Genesis 37:5 (ESV)

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.

Genesis 37:8 (ESV)

8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us?

Or are you indeed to rule over us?”

So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Genesis 37:11 (ESV)

11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Why does the Holy Spirit repeat these ideas over and over again in this story?

The hostility of Joseph’s brothers is central to the point of the story.

What point is God trying to make here?

How does God use the wrath of man in the life of Joseph to bring about praise to Himself?

How should that bring the believer comfort?

All the heated expressions of anger and sinister strategies of hatred are under the providential governance of God.

And even more to the point- God uses those very same sentiments and the actions they generate to accomplish His will.

Whatever will serve His purposes and ultimately contribute to His praise is permitted and employed to His ends.

What will not, He restrains.

Go back to November 2020.

What happened?

How did many “Christians” respond to the events of 2020?

How does a deep understanding and trust in the governing providence of God change the way we respond to circumstances like November 2020?

Here is the lesson for us: when God allows “unfair” events to happen in our life how are we going to respond?

Here is a set of circumstances with the apparent stamp of God upon them (Joseph’s dreams)—just or not, agreeable or not, comfortable or not, “fair” or not.

Now how are you going to respond?

Anger?

Hatred?

Envy?