The Providence of God

1
The Providence of God

• Gods Guidance in the Life of Joseph Ours

2
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• Providence defined the care and guidance of
  natural events to an appointed Spiritual goal.
• This basically means that God knows what he wants
  from us and has a plan for us and if we follow
  Him, we will accomplish this goal.
• Isaiah 558-11

3
Isaiah 558-11

• "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
  are your ways My ways," saith the LORD. 9"For as
  the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My
  ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than
  your thoughts. 10For as the rain cometh down and
  the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,
  but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth
  and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and
  bread to the eater, 11so shall My word be that
  goeth forth out of My mouth It shall not return
  unto Me void (empty), but it shall accomplish
  that which I please, and it shall prosper in the
  thing whereto I sent it.

4
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• Providence defined the care and guidance of
  natural events to an appointed Spiritual goal.
• This basically means that God knows what he wants
  from us and has a plan for us and if we follow
  Him, we will accomplish this goal.
• Isaiah 558-11
• We dont know Gods ways and we will never
  understand them but if we dont take his word
  and work and apply it in our life and accomplish
  what he wants accomplished, we wont return to
  him void (without accomplishing what he wants).

5
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• Providence defined the care and guidance of
  natural events to an appointed Spiritual goal.
• This sometimes appears to us as coincidence,
  luck, chance, or fate.
• The only time any of these words are used in the
  Bible in this context is when Jesus tells the
  paraple of the Good Samaritan and says 1031by
  chance a certain priest came down that road.
• Providence is not luck, chance or fate.

6
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• An understanding and belief in providence and
  faith in Gods providence does four things for
  Christians.
• Enlightens doubt
• Matthew 2121

7
Matthew 2121

• Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say
  unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye
  shall not only do this which is done to the fig
  tree, but also if ye shall say unto this
  mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into
  the sea it shall be done.

8
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• An understanding and belief in providence and
  faith in Gods providence does four things for
  Christians.
• Enlightens doubt
• Matthew 2121
• Confirms beliefs
• 1 Timothy 410

9
1 Timothy 410

• For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach,
  because we trust in the living God, who is the
  Saviour of all men, specially of those that
  believe.

10
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• An understanding and belief in providence and
  faith in Gods providence does four things for
  Christians.
• Enlightens doubt
• Matthew 2121
• Confirms beliefs
• 1 Timothy 410
• Comforts Sorrows
• Psalm 234

11
Psalm 234

• Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
  shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou
  art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort
  me.

12
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• An understanding and belief in providence and
  faith in Gods providence does four things for
  Christians.
• Enlightens doubt
• Matthew 2121
• Confirms beliefs
• 1 Timothy 410
• Comforts Sorrows
• Psalm 234
• Strenghtens faith
• 1 Peter 510

13
1 Peter 510

• But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto
  his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye
  have suffered a while, make you perfect,
  stablish, strengthen, settle you.

14
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• To fully understand Gods providence, we must
  understand that it is never something we can look
  forward to, only something we can look back on.
• We can all look back on events in our life that
  lead us to this point in our spiritual life.
• If there is no luck, chance, or fate, and we have
  faith we must believe that God brought us to this
  point.

15
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• Also, to understand Gods Providence, we must
  understand two important points.
• God is incapable of creating anything evil.
• To prove this point, look no further than the
  story of creation.
• God created nothing without its purpose being to
  please him.
• What about Isaiah 456-8?

16
Isaiah 456-8

• That they may know from the rising of the sun,
  and from the west, that there is none beside me.
  I am the LORD, and there is none else.  7I form
  the light, and create darkness I make peace, and
  create evil (atrocities) I the LORD do all these
  things. 8Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and
  let the skies pour down righteousness let the
  earth open, and let them bring forth salvation,
  and let righteousness spring up together I the
  LORD have created it.

17
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• Also, to understand Gods Providence, we must
  understand two important points.
• God is incapable of creating anything evil.
• To prove this point, look no further than the
  story of creation.
• God created nothing without its purpose being to
  please him.
• What about Isaiah 456-8?
• God sends atrocities to this earth for reasons
  that we are not to understand.

18
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• Also, to understand Gods Providence, we must
  understand two important points.
• God is incapable of creating anything evil.
• For example, Hurricane Katrina.
• The name Katrina means pure
• Did God send this storm to purify New Orleans.
• According to the Churches of Christ Disaster
  Response Team, since then, the teams they have
  sent (including teams from Winfield and Vernon)
  have served thousands and baptized hundreds.
• We must undertand that God creates events to make
  us stronger.

19
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• Also, to understand Gods Providence, we must
  understand two important points.
• God is incapable of creating anything evil.
• What about Satan?
• God did create Satan.
• Satan introduced sin to this world.
• The wages of sin is death (Romans 623)
• Through our earthly death, if we persevered on
  Earth, our souls are delivered to God.
• Without death, how else would we get to God.
• Satan is part of Gods Providence.

20
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• Also, to understand Gods Providence, we must
  understand two important points.
• God never will allow us to be tempted beyond what
  we can withstand, but he will allow us to be
  tested.
• 1 Corinthians 1013
• There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
  common to man but God is faithful, who will not
  suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able
  but will with the temptation also make a way to
  escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
• Jesus gave us the example on how to handle this
  in Luke chapter 4. For it is written.

21
The Providence of God

• What is Gods Providence?
• One common thread of Gods providence is that it
  often seems to come out of what we would consider
  disastrous circumstances.
• Acts 16
• Paul and Silas imprisoned.
• Were able to minister to and convert the
  Phillipian jailer.
• We are never told what happened to this jailer
  and his family afterward.
• We do know that through Lydia, the first
  Christian convert, (and probably this jailers
  help) that the first church on European soil was
  established.
• This affects even us today.

22
The Providence of God

• Gods Providence in the life of Joseph.
• Joseph was Jacobs favorite of his sons and gave
  him the coat of many colors to prove it.
• Josephs brothers hated him for this. (Gen 374)
• Joseph had a dream (Gen 375-8) in which he saw
  that all his brothers would bow down before him.
• Did God or his angels send this dream so that
  Gods providence would be fulfilled?
• This is not the only time dreams play an
  important role in this story.
• Joseph made the mistake of telling his brothers
  about this dream.

23
The Providence of God

• Gods Providence in the life of Joseph.
• As a result of their hatred, Josephs brothers
  sold him as a slave.
• Imagine what Joseph must have felt.
• Yet, Joseph never turned his back on God.
• Gen. 392 The Lord was with Joseph
• God allowed Joseph to become very prosperous in
  Egypt.
• Joseph was framed by his masters wife and Joseph
  was imprisoned.

24
The Providence of God

• Gods Providence in the life of Joseph.
• After being imprisoned, Joseph still kept his
  faith in God.
• Gen. 3921 - But the LORD was with Joseph.
• Once again, God has allowed everything earthly to
  be taken away from Joseph.
• Were told that whatever Joseph did in prison, God
  made it prosper. Gen 3923
• Joseph seems to have become like a trustee in the
  prison.

25
The Providence of God

• Gods Providence in the life of Joseph.
• After some time, the Kings butler and baker are
  imprisoned.
• Because Joseph seemed to have free reign in the
  prison, Joseph had access to them (an act of
  God?)
• Both had dreams (an act of God?) that Joseph was
  able to interpret.
• Genesis 408 Do not interpretations belong to
  God? tell me them, I pray you.
• Josephs confidence in his gifts and relationship
  with God.
• How many of us have the same confidence and
  faith?

26
The Providence of God

• Gods Providence in the life of Joseph.
• Joseph interprets their dreams.
• Butler released in three days and returned to
  favor.
• Baker Sorry, but
• For the first time we see Joseph ask a favor.
• Butler is released
• He forgets Joseph
• Our attitude toward God at this time?
• Why are You wasting my gifts?

27
The Providence of God

• Gods Providence in the life of Joseph.
• Two years pass and finally, following the Pharoh
  telling the butler about two dreams he did not
  understand, Joseph is remembered.
• Joseph interprets his dreams.
• Seven years of plenty.
• Seven years of drought and famine.
• Joseph advises Pharoh to send someone out to
  begin storing food.
• Pharoh says there is nobody better than you.

28
The Providence of God

• Gods Providence in the life of Joseph.
• Gifts given to Joseph.
• Genesis 4142-45
• And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and
  put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in
  vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain
  about his neck 43And he made him to ride in the
  second chariot which he had and they cried
  before him, Bow the knee and he made him ruler
  over all the land of Egypt. 44And Pharaoh said
  unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall
  no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land
  of Egypt. 45And Pharaoh called Joseph's name
  Zaphnathpaaneah and he gave him to wife Asenath
  the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And
  Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
• Zaphnathpaaneah God speaks and lives.

29
The Providence of God

• Gods Providence in the life of Joseph.
• We all know the rest of the story.
• How is this an example of Gods Providence?
• Many ways, lets look at only one.
• Josephs storing of food during the drought saved
  many lives.
• Some of those lives included his brothers.
• One of Josephs brothers was Judah.
• Jesus earthly father, also named Joseph, was a
  direct descendant of Judah.
• Through Josephs life, came the saving of Judah,
  who can be directly traced to Jesus.

30
The Providence of God

• Gods Providence in the life of Joseph.
• Do you think Joseph knew that through his faith
  in God, he was helping to pave the road for Gods
  son?
• We will never know.
• Gods ways are not our ways.
• Are we not doing the same as Joseph today?
• Are we not supposed to be preparing the world for
  Christs return.

31
The Providence of God

• Gods Providence in the life of Joseph.
• Joseph probably never knew what his actions were
  assisting.
• We too may never see the spiritual gifts that
  come from our life and works.
• We must believe that no matter what situation or
  hardship we are facing, it is to serve God and
  God will guide us.
• Isaiah 3020-21

32
Isaiah 3020-21

• And though the Lord give you the bread of
  adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall
  not thy teachers be removed into a corner any
  more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers
  21And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee,
  saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye
  turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the
  left.

33
The Providence of God

• Why are you here tonight?
• What are you making of the situations God placed
  you in.
• Can you say with faith, I do not know why I am
  in this situation (good or bad), but I know that
  God has a reason and I will not stray from his
  guidance and I will not allow Satan to doubt that
  I am worthy to serve God.