This is Part 6 of an 8-part series that was originally developed for a 13-week adult class, with some of the parts taking more or less than a 45-minute class period. I am starting to post the series on SermonCentral, and plan to post the remaining parts over the next few days as time permits.
I developed a set of slides on PowerPoint for use with the series and will be happy to share the PowerPoint files. The prompts reminding me to advance slides and activate animations are embedded in the sermon below. If you want to request the slides send me an Email at sam@srmccormick.net specifying what part(s) of the series you are requesting. Be sure to include the word “slides” in the subject line of your message; otherwise I am likely to miss it. I would find it interesting to know the location and a few words about your personal ministry if you will include it in your message. Allow several days for me to respond.
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Outline of the series:
I. Introduction to the series
II. God’s Plan from the Beginning
III. God’s Plan Now and Our Problem with It
IV. Justice vs Mercy and the Plan of Salvation
V. The Only Way to Eradicate Sin
VI. Providence – What God Provides in Earthly Life
VII. Providence and Civil Governments
VIII. Providence, Miracles and Phenomena
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VI. Providence – What God Provides in Earthly Life
In the first class in this series we saw that the word “providence” occurs only once in the bible, and then only in some translations, NASB being one of them. Even in that sole reference, the word is used in a secular context, spoken by a lawyer flattering Felix, the governor of Judea (see Acts 24:2).
The word in the New Testament’s original language means “foresight” or “forethought,” and may apply to anyone who is anticipating events, whether miraculous or not, and making provisions appropriate for that event.
While the word providence is not used in the bible in reference to God, it is nonetheless a biblical concept and doctrine. We are created in the image of God, and like him, we have some facility of foresight - though not to the degree that God himself possesses it. He sees all, foresees all, and knows all.
In English, “providence” has come to be associated only with God.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word as:
a. divine guidance or care
b. God conceived as the power sustaining and guiding human destiny
Over time, in popular thought “providence” came to be connected to a version of predestination in which providence represents a foreordained, detailed, and fixed course of human events.
I’m not persuaded that the bible supports that idea as a true conception of providence. As we shall see today and in other parts of this series, divine providence is something entirely different.
For purposes of this series of studies, the outworking of providence is “providing” or care, done throught God’s divine foresight. The words “provide” and “providence” being practically being synonyms.
*Click for overall diagram of the series
Talk briefly through the diagram
We have seen in the earlier parts of this series that since we all fail in meeting the standard set for Adam and Eve in the garden (which is the same standard of behavior we are under) – KNOW what is required, CHOOSE to do what is RIGHT according to that knowledge, and OBEY by acting on that right choice.
*Click to add WE NEED HELP
But we have seen that WE NEED HELP to realize God’s fondest hope in creating the human race – that mankind would choose and act on what he says and live with him in the everlasting realms of glory.
And we have seen that the only way - THE ONLY WAY - God’s fondest hope can be realized is through him extending mercy – granting that which we do not deserve.
*Click to change HELP to MERCY
The gift of eternal life rests entirely on God’s mercy--a deserved punishment not applied.
In the providence of mercy God has revealed the final outcome of his grand design, with its effects extending beyond this life to eternity.
*Click for final diagram of DIVINE PROVIDENCE
God’s plan to give eternal life to his created beings undergirds every other part of divine providence, for without God’s mercy, we cannot have forgiveness of sins and justification before God’s throne, and nothing else matters.
Today we turn our attention to the reciprocal of what God requires of us--what he provides IN THIS LIFE, which is preparatory to everlasting life in heaven.
*Click for scriptures—2 Chronicles etc.
2 Chronicles 16:9 - For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars."
1 Pet 3:12 - For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
That is as good a summary description of divine providence as we will ever find.
Divine providence in the OT:
• For Abraham, the man and progenitor of the chosen family through whom God’s master plan was set into motion and began to be revealed - a ram for a sacrifice. Therein was the enlivening principle of God’s master plan illustrated for the first time - one (the ram) died so that another (Isaac) might live.
• For Moses, deliverer of Israel, lawgiver, and leader through the wilderness - a mouthpiece in Aaron his brother, a staff to execute the power of God, and a pillar of cloud and fire.
• For the Hebrews - deliverance from Egyptian bondage, a path through the sea, water, manna, durable clothes and shoes, entrance into the land of promise, and victory over the Canaanite tribes.
• For the tribes in Israel - judges, a prophet (Samuel), and a king (Saul)
• For the tribes in Israel - a better king and more prophets
• For the southern kingdom - Discipline - 70 years in someone else’s land under pagan rule
• At last, a return to their homeland
God provided all that for his people.
We know God’s providential plan and providence for the eternal destiny of the human race.
But without God’s providing there is no way for us to reach that destiny.
He has provided an open door to the eternal heavenly realm.
And he also provides for his children while they live in this life.
I suggest and maintain that we cannot reach the heavenly portal without his providence in this life.
*Click for slide on God’s provisions for this life (mercy self-animates after a second)
As we’ve discussed earlier in this series, mercy is the provision in this plan that spans between earthly life and the afterlife, and opens heaven’s door.
*Click to add Physical Provisions
In this life, there is some physical providing for both those who know and honor God and those who do not.
• Life - breath of life. The most wicked person alive on the earth today is as alive as we are.
Act 17:24-25 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all people life and breath and all things…
• Sun and rain - God sends on the just and on the unjust.
Matt 5:45b …he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
• Harvest - after the great flood, God said this to himself:
Gen 8:22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."
The harvest will never cease. What a promise! If God were to cease to provide the harvest, life on earth would be extinguished quickly, very quickly.
God’s providence feeds the earth’s inhabitants (including those who do not recognize him as the provider)!
An evil man can breathe and live, and plant and raise a crop.
Without God’s providing, it would be impossible to raise a crop.
So we have seen God’s providence in the affairs of those living on earth today, believers and unbelievers alike.
But is it really alike? Do we believers who pray and thank God for this universal providence receive it in the same manner and measure as unbelievers? Or are believers more abundantly blessed with rain, harvest, food, necessary things of life?
Something to ponder…let us see if Jesus provides illumination on the question.
*Click for Matt 6
Matt 6:25-34 - read
If non-seekers received the same assurance of provision for physical life, how is this passage to be understood?
Is it a conditional promise made only to kingdom-seekers, or a general statement that the kingdom is more important than the basic necessities of life that, generally speaking, are provided equally to the just and the unjust?
Notice that Jesus offers no assurance beyond providing for our basic needs. Kingdom-seekers will not starve.
The Psalmist observed this principle at work in his life.
I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. Psalm 37:25
We have no indication that the kingdom-seeker will have more of this world’s goods than an ungodly person.
We have the assurance that the necessities of life will be provided to kingdom-seekers without their having to worry and strive anxiously for them.
We can’t explain how devout Christians often struggle financially while others who do not love man nor regard God seem to have an easy time amassing wealth.
Jesus does not say we will have the wealth of Solomon.
The birds that he feeds are not wealthy.
He provides what they need for today’s use, not tomorrow’s.
Look again at what Jesus said:
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Matt 6:25
What he promises is that--seeking the kingdom first--we need not worry about food, drink, and clothing….
…and that is a great promise!
*Click for Spiritual
Spiritual Provisions
Only a person who is spiritually minded can distinguish spiritual provisions.
God gives spiritual provisions to those who are spiritually minded.
*Click for Rom 8 & 1 Cor 2
Romans 8:6-9 - The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
1 Cor 2:12-14 - What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
*Click for 2 Pet 1, Eph 3
Peter, writing “to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours:”
2 Pet 1:3-4 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Paul, to the church in Ephesus and by implication, all who would read this letter:
Eph 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
*Click for provides w/mercy,physical,spiritual
Here are some of the spiritual things that – out of a plethora of possibilities - I’ve considered for this series.
*Click to add A Father’s love
God provides a Father’s love.
*Click when ready for 1 John 3 and Matthew 7
John wrote:
1 John 3:1a ESV See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God!
What kind of love has the Father given us?
It is self-evidently true that fathers give good gifts to their children.
It would be a rare father who takes greater delight in gifts he receives for Christmas than in the joy of his children as they receive theirs.
Matt 7:9-11 - Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Infinite goodness is God’s nature. As a spiritual father, he parallels the care a loving earthly father gives, but on a higher plane, giving gifts that are perfectly matched to the spiritual needs of his children. This does not mean that God will always answer the we want him to in the spiritual context, any more than the physical. He knows what it best and gives what is best.
God is our companion, friend, counsellor, and encourager day by day.
Although God’s love can’t be sufficiently described in those or other human terms, but some parallels can be made.
An incredible event took more place August 3, 1992 at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
Derek Redmond was representing England in the 400 meter sprint, had cleared the qualifying heats. In the semi-final run, Derek started well, but in the back straight his hamstring tore.
*Click to start series of 6 slides showing Derek Redmond (advance automatically after a few seconds)
He fell to the ground in pain. The other runners left him far behind. Stretcher bearers made their way over to him, but Derek wanted to finish the race. He got up and began to hobble along the track.
He heard a familiar voice over his left shoulder saying “Derek, it’s me” and was soon joined on the track by his father, Jim Redmond, who had come from the crowd, barged past security and ran onto the track to get to his son. Jim and Derek completed the race the track together, with Derek leaning on his father's shoulder for support. As they crossed the finish line, the crowd of 65,000 spectators rose to give Derek a standing ovation, some weeping.
Derek’s father, although in a smaller way, illustrates the caring, helping love with which God provides for our spiritual needs.
Fathers don’t just love their children when they’re strong and doing well, nor does the heavenly Father.
Our heavenly Father notices when we are weak, hurting, and struggling.
He loves without limit and without end, even when we fall - maybe especially then.
In the parable of two sons in Luke 15, the father clearly represents our heavenly father, who waits patiently for his children to repent and come home. At last, the prodigal returns in deep contrition.
The father loved the wayward son so much he watched for him and saw him coming, then hastened to welcome him home – not as a servant but as a son.
He put on a grand celebration, not for the son who had stayed at home, but for the return of the lost son.
Our God is a father who always welcomes his children who return home.
Our heavenly father hastens to welcome them, and rejoices with all of heaven that a son--or daughter--who was dead, is alive again.
He doesn’t love you less when you’re struggling. This parable suggests that his love is at least as intense when you’re having trouble.
*Click for A mother’s love
A mother’s love
I don’t want to leave the subject of parental love without speaking of a mother’s love, for I can tell you from experience there is nothing in this world like the tender love of a godly mother.
*Click Amber’s photo
This young mother, Amber, is a Christian author who lives in Washington State, enjoying a happy romp with her two daughters. If you can’t read the caption on the slide, it says:
Maternal love has to be divine. There is no other explanation…What mothers do is an essential part of Christ’s work
There are some who never know the tender love of a godly mother.
I am sorry for people like one of my friends in my college years whose mother was a fierce, fault-finding woman of a bellicose temperament. She professed to be a Christian, but it would be difficult to identify a single Christ-like quality in her. No one sought her company, for it was a disagreeable experience to be around her. I take comfort for my friend’s sake that his father was a sweet, kindhearted man who did possess Christian traits and endured his wife’s overbearing nature with grace.
Those who are privileged to grow up in the care of a kind, loving mother are blessed with one of God’s most precious gifts.
A mother’s love is forever. It doesn’t fade when her children grow up and leave her immediate care.
*Click Laura’s photo
In a bittersweet moment, another Christian author, Laura, is saying goodbye to the first of her sons to “leave the nest” in Kentucky. In this photo Randy had completed his training to be a firefighter, and was about to board a plane for the great northwest, far away from his Kentucky parents who had nurtured him since he was born. You can see from this photo that this proud mother’s love is undimmed and will forever remain so.
It sometimes falls the lot of a mother to be the sole parent.
*Click Lynette’s photo
Here’s one of our own members, Lynette, a former missionary to Venezuela, who has done a stellar job as the sole parent, raising Emily to be strong in the faith of her mother and father. (Lynette’s husband was murdered when Emily was a small child.)
*Click for 3 mothers
All these mothers are friends of mine, all devoted to their children’s well-being and their eternal security.
Think of the loving mothers in bible stories - Jochabed, mother of Moses; Hannah, the mother of Samuel; Rizpah, who for six months guarded the dead bodies of two sons as they hung on crosses, protecting them from birds and jackals (story in 2 Sam 21).
Then there is the mother depicted here.
*Click for Mary at the cross
Jesus knew a mother’s love…Mary, humble maiden of Nazareth, the espoused of Joseph the carpenter, hand-picked by God to be the mother of Jesus, entrusted to bring God’s own son to adulthood and stay with him until his last breath.
Think of it! A messenger from heaven appears to a peasant girl and says:
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
She did not forget that message, but treasured it in her heart.
In her son’s darkest hour she was there.
In his final agony, Jesus knew his mother was there, and spoke to her, placing her in the care of “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”
She was the only person present at the cross who had been visited by Gabriel.
She never forgot Gabriel’s visit.
Nor did she forget the day she and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the temple “to do for him according to the custom of the Law,” for on that day the prophet Simeon told Mary “… a sword will pierce through your own soul.”
Simeon’s prophecy proved to be true on the day Mary watched her suffering son die.
Mary knew more clearly than anyone in Jerusalem – or for that matter, on earth - that what was happening at the crucifixion was from God and was world-changing.
What a perfect choice Mary was! Of all the women in all ages of time God might have chosen to be the Lord’s mother, God chose Mary.
To be continued…
