Whose Hands Are You In Part 1 Series

Whose Hands Are You In? Part 1

Scripture: Exodus 3:19-20; 1 Peter 5:6-7; Psalms 139:14

Introduction:

I received an email a couple of weeks ago from a friend of mine. The email was simply titled "Hands". As I read the email it really made me think. Here are a few excerpts from the email:

„X A basketball in my hands is worth about $19. A basketball in Michael Jordan’s hands is worth about $33 million. It depends on whose hands it’s in.

„X A baseball in my hands is worth about $6. A baseball in Mark McGuire’s hands is worth about $19 million. It depends on whose hands it’s in.

„X A rod in my hands will keep away a wild animal. A rod in Moses’ hands parted the Red sea. It depends on whose hands it’s in.

„X A sling shot in my hands is a kid’s toy. A sling shot in David’s hand is a mighty weapon. It depends on whose hands it’s in.

These are just a few of examples the email mentioned that started me to thinking. I thought about things that I well with my hands and things that I cannot do regardless of the instrument that are in my hands to complete the task. For example, no one in their right mind would pay me to endorse their products because I hold and swing a golf club, but they will pay Tiger Woods millions. A circular saw, some wood, screws and a drill is just a circular saw, wood, screws and drill in my hands. But in a carpenter’s hands they can become the framework for many things, including a house. A sewing machine in my hands is just a sewing machine that I am looking to put down somewhere. A sewing machine in my wife’s hands becomes clothes, drapery, etc. It all depends on whose hands it is in. While that email resonated within my mind I saw a commercial on the television that really brought everything home to me. In the commercial it showed several bad things happening such as a car wreck, house flooding, home damage caused from severe weather. It showed people trying to find a way through a maze of paperwork in order to have their damaged items repaired through their insurance company. Then the spokesman comes on and explains that his insurance company would easily take care of all of your disasters if your insurance policy was with them. Their slogan goes like this: "You’re in good hands with Allstate." Ever seen that commercial?

This morning I ask you, "Are You In Good Hands?" There are many people walking around professing to be Christians yet they do not operate as if they are in good hands, God’s hands. There are many good Christians who do not understand the meaning of what it means to be in God’s hands. One point that I want to make clear is this, you can be saved and on your way to heaven and still not have everything pertaining to you in God’s hand. Your salvation may be in God’s hands, but the things you experience daily while here on earth can very much be in your hands or someone else’s hands. Throughout this series of messages I want you to remember one thing, regardless of whose hands your situations are in, only one set of hands guarantees the best outcome and that’s God’s hands. This morning’s message is the introduction to this short series on what it means to be in God hands and likewise what it means to put things in God’s hands.

I. God’s Hands

There are over 185 references to God’s hands or the hand of the Lord in the Bible. These references refer to or demonstrate God’s supreme and almighty power and authority. Sometimes the phrase include words like "right" (31 times), "mighty" (10 times), and "strong" (3 times). Let me read a few of these for you:

"Thy hands fashioned and made me altogether and wouldst Thou destroy me?" Job 10:8

"O sing unto the a new song, for He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him." Psalm 98:1

"¡K¡KThe right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly." Psalm 118:15b-16

"¡K..But the God in whose hand are your life breath and your ways, you have not glorified." Daniel 5:23b

When considering the references to God, you cannot help but walk away with a sense of awe that Someone so powerful would be mindful of someone like you and I. In the book of Exodus we find a situation where God told Moses that He would bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt with His hands. Exodus 3:19-20 records the following: "But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go except under compulsion. So I will stretch out My hand, and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go." Exodus 3:19-20 (NASB)