1 00:00:01,047 --> 00:00:05,559 I've asked brother Kevin Woodell from San Antonio 2 00:00:05,571 --> 00:00:10,726 to read our scripture this evening. (P) 3 00:00:10,726 --> 00:00:16,730 Kevin: Well, we're going to read from Psalm 145. 4 00:00:16,730 --> 00:00:22,684 "I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 5 00:00:22,684 --> 00:00:30,222 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. 6 00:00:30,222 --> 00:00:37,581 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. 7 00:00:37,581 --> 00:00:40,154 One generation shall commend your works to 8 00:00:40,166 --> 00:00:42,871 another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 9 00:00:42,871 --> 00:00:46,257 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and 10 00:00:46,269 --> 00:00:49,298 on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 11 00:00:49,298 --> 00:00:52,229 They shall speak of the might of your awesome 12 00:00:52,241 --> 00:00:54,928 deeds, and I will declare your greatness. 13 00:00:54,928 --> 00:00:58,780 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness 14 00:00:58,780 --> 00:01:01,013 and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. (P) 15 00:01:01,013 --> 00:01:06,799 "The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 16 00:01:06,799 --> 00:01:14,614 The LORD is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made. 17 00:01:14,614 --> 00:01:20,808 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you. 18 00:01:20,808 --> 00:01:25,948 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, 19 00:01:25,948 --> 00:01:28,887 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, 20 00:01:28,887 --> 00:01:31,141 and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 21 00:01:31,141 --> 00:01:35,046 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 22 00:01:35,046 --> 00:01:39,601 and your dominion endures throughout all generations. (P) 23 00:01:39,601 --> 00:01:44,310 "The LORD is faithful in all His words and kind in all His works. 24 00:01:44,310 --> 00:01:50,442 The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. 25 00:01:50,442 --> 00:01:54,800 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. 26 00:01:54,800 --> 00:02:00,856 You open your hand and you satisfy the desire of every living thing. 27 00:02:00,856 --> 00:02:07,490 The LORD is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. 28 00:02:07,490 --> 00:02:13,704 The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. 29 00:02:13,704 --> 00:02:17,066 He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; 30 00:02:17,066 --> 00:02:21,364 He also hears their cry and saves them. 31 00:02:21,364 --> 00:02:30,428 The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy. 32 00:02:30,428 --> 00:02:34,157 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, 33 00:02:34,157 --> 00:02:41,992 and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever. Amen." (P) 34 00:02:48,531 --> 00:02:51,174 Charles: Amen. Thank you, brother. 35 00:02:51,174 --> 00:02:58,056 We're grateful for every single one of you that's here tonight. 36 00:02:58,056 --> 00:03:05,016 And I know, having prayed with the men who have spoken before this, 37 00:03:05,016 --> 00:03:08,554 that the burden on our hearts has been in part 38 00:03:08,555 --> 00:03:12,541 that God would have something for each one of you, 39 00:03:12,541 --> 00:03:18,085 and that we would know what to speak on, and that He'd give us His help. 40 00:03:18,085 --> 00:03:21,329 And that's what we ask this evening. 41 00:03:21,329 --> 00:03:27,219 Let's pray once again before we look into the Word. (P) 42 00:03:28,629 --> 00:03:32,895 Our Father, we pray that You would take us outside of ourselves 43 00:03:32,895 --> 00:03:36,014 and give us a glimpse of the Lord Jesus 44 00:03:36,026 --> 00:03:39,548 Christ, and give us a glimpse of Your glory. 45 00:03:39,548 --> 00:03:44,667 Give us a glimpse of the truth that we're looking at this evening. 46 00:03:44,667 --> 00:03:50,136 And we ask that You would do this for Your name's sake and Your glory. 47 00:03:50,136 --> 00:03:52,697 Amen. (P) 48 00:03:53,619 --> 00:03:59,585 Lordwilling, I'll be speaking to you tonight on the subject of Providence. 49 00:03:59,585 --> 00:04:04,389 And I know that some of you are here from churches 50 00:04:04,389 --> 00:04:07,208 where you might have heard, at least, part of 51 00:04:07,220 --> 00:04:09,928 what I'll be saying tonight, in years past. 52 00:04:09,928 --> 00:04:14,573 And if that's the case, I want you to be assured 53 00:04:14,573 --> 00:04:19,245 that God, in His providence, wants you to hear this again 54 00:04:19,245 --> 00:04:23,461 (any part of it that you hear that might sound familiar to you.) 55 00:04:23,461 --> 00:04:26,311 So listen carefully. (P) 56 00:04:26,311 --> 00:04:30,051 The Providence of God. What is providence? 57 00:04:30,051 --> 00:04:33,698 If we pronounce the word a little bit differently, 58 00:04:33,710 --> 00:04:36,580 we see right off part of what it means. 59 00:04:36,580 --> 00:04:41,040 Let's just pronounce it like this: 'provide-ence'. 60 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,750 That's really what the word is. It's provide-ence. 61 00:04:44,750 --> 00:04:47,438 And the word 'provide' comes from two Latin words: 62 00:04:47,438 --> 00:04:54,194 'pro' - which means 'before', and 'videre' - which means 'to see'. 63 00:04:54,194 --> 00:04:57,615 So you say, "Well, it means to see before," and that's sort of right. 64 00:04:57,615 --> 00:05:03,531 But it means to look out for. To look out for ahead of time. 65 00:05:03,531 --> 00:05:08,187 And the Greek word that's used for providence 66 00:05:08,199 --> 00:05:12,866 is 'prónoia' - which means 'to think before'. 67 00:05:12,866 --> 00:05:20,517 And if you boil that down, it is 'to take thought beforehand.' 68 00:05:20,518 --> 00:05:23,072 So the providence of God has to do with the fact 69 00:05:23,072 --> 00:05:26,544 that God is looking out for everything, 70 00:05:26,544 --> 00:05:31,176 and taking thought for everything ahead of time. (P) 71 00:05:31,176 --> 00:05:33,903 You get into a hard situation, 72 00:05:33,903 --> 00:05:39,858 and God says, "Well, I've already thought of that, and I've made provision for it." 73 00:05:39,858 --> 00:05:42,304 Provision - there's another word. 74 00:05:42,304 --> 00:05:45,452 You see, vision has to do with seeing, doesn't it? 75 00:05:45,452 --> 00:05:47,515 And we're so used to these words. 76 00:05:47,515 --> 00:05:52,602 Provision means God saw it ahead of time, and provided. 77 00:05:52,603 --> 00:05:58,204 And so, God not only created all things in the past, 78 00:05:58,204 --> 00:06:05,646 but He also actively and constantly cares for all things in the present. 79 00:06:05,646 --> 00:06:11,692 He upholds all things, and preserves all things, and directs all things, 80 00:06:11,692 --> 00:06:18,116 in order that He might ultimately provide for all things. (P) 81 00:06:18,116 --> 00:06:25,032 Beloved, according to the Bible, God is not a far-away God. 82 00:06:25,032 --> 00:06:30,234 In fact, the Bible says that "not one sparrow can fall to the ground 83 00:06:30,235 --> 00:06:35,224 apart from your heavenly Father". 84 00:06:35,225 --> 00:06:39,623 And that is, He has to be right there with that sparrow, 85 00:06:39,623 --> 00:06:41,355 before it can fall to the ground. 86 00:06:41,355 --> 00:06:46,573 And not only is He present with us and present with His creation, 87 00:06:46,573 --> 00:06:51,378 but the Bible actually says that "we are present in Him". 88 00:06:51,378 --> 00:06:55,654 Paul says in Acts 17:28, and we read through 89 00:06:55,666 --> 00:06:59,192 this without thinking about it much: 90 00:06:59,192 --> 00:07:02,330 "For in Him we live, and move." 91 00:07:02,330 --> 00:07:06,983 Do you realize that today you've been living and moving in God? 92 00:07:06,983 --> 00:07:11,659 "In Him we live, and move, and have our being." 93 00:07:11,659 --> 00:07:16,631 So that's how close He is. (P) 94 00:07:16,632 --> 00:07:21,834 Colossians 1:16 says that, "By Him (that is, God the Son) 95 00:07:21,834 --> 00:07:25,217 all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, 96 00:07:25,217 --> 00:07:29,209 visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – 97 00:07:29,209 --> 00:07:34,060 all things have been created by Him and for Him. 98 00:07:34,060 --> 00:07:40,973 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." 99 00:07:40,973 --> 00:07:46,173 So, in Christ everything holds together. 100 00:07:46,173 --> 00:07:48,585 And then again in Hebrews 1:3, it says that 101 00:07:48,585 --> 00:07:55,229 "Christ is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature, 102 00:07:55,229 --> 00:07:58,872 and upholds all things by the word of His power." 103 00:07:58,872 --> 00:08:05,052 So the world cannot hang together on its own; it has to be upheld moment by moment. 104 00:08:05,052 --> 00:08:09,906 Creation was never such that it's independent of God. 105 00:08:09,906 --> 00:08:18,594 God created, and then He upholds moment by moment, by the word of His power. (P) 106 00:08:18,595 --> 00:08:21,726 We talk about the laws of nature, 107 00:08:21,726 --> 00:08:28,829 and we tend to think of nature as sort of running on its own, 108 00:08:28,830 --> 00:08:30,514 with God off in the distance. 109 00:08:30,514 --> 00:08:33,217 But that is not the way it is. 110 00:08:33,217 --> 00:08:36,394 The Bible says that the winds, the rains, 111 00:08:36,394 --> 00:08:40,558 the grass growing in the field, the animals getting their food, 112 00:08:40,558 --> 00:08:46,424 all of those things, God is actively present and involved. 113 00:08:46,424 --> 00:08:50,532 And I just want to read some verses to you; I won't have you look them up 114 00:08:50,532 --> 00:08:55,983 I may mention the chapter references; but I want to read these to you 115 00:08:55,984 --> 00:09:03,364 This is from Job 36:27, it says, "He draws up the drops of water; 116 00:09:03,364 --> 00:09:08,329 they distill rain from the mist, which the clouds pour down; 117 00:09:08,329 --> 00:09:10,868 they drip upon man abundantly." 118 00:09:10,868 --> 00:09:15,345 So God is drawing up those drops of water for the rain. 119 00:09:15,345 --> 00:09:20,488 "Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thundering of His pavilion? 120 00:09:20,489 --> 00:09:26,791 Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him, and He covers the depths of the sea. 121 00:09:26,791 --> 00:09:32,119 For by these He judges peoples; He gives food in abundance. 122 00:09:32,119 --> 00:09:40,014 He covers His hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark." (P) 123 00:09:40,014 --> 00:09:46,913 There's a website now, where you can watch in real-time, lightning strikes. 124 00:09:46,913 --> 00:09:51,628 So you can see a storm in Missouri somewhere, 125 00:09:51,628 --> 00:09:54,423 and you can look at that storm and you can see the lights: 126 00:09:54,423 --> 00:09:59,671 it'll snap and make a little X, and there's lightning all over the place. 127 00:09:59,671 --> 00:10:03,349 In every one of those, God covers His hands with the lightning, 128 00:10:03,349 --> 00:10:07,033 and commands it to strike the mark. 129 00:10:07,033 --> 00:10:10,008 You see how different that is, than the idea 130 00:10:10,020 --> 00:10:12,675 that Nature is doing things on its own? 131 00:10:12,675 --> 00:10:16,215 There isn't any such thing. (P) 132 00:10:18,457 --> 00:10:20,965 "He commands it to strike the mark. 133 00:10:20,966 --> 00:10:26,130 Its noise (that is, thunder) declares His presence." 134 00:10:26,130 --> 00:10:31,228 So when it's thundering, God is present. 135 00:10:31,228 --> 00:10:35,447 Job 37: 5-13, "God thunders with His voice wondrously, 136 00:10:35,459 --> 00:10:39,151 doing great things which we cannot comprehend." 137 00:10:39,151 --> 00:10:43,467 God thunders with His voice. 138 00:10:43,467 --> 00:10:47,996 "To the snow He says, 'Fall on the earth,' and 139 00:10:48,008 --> 00:10:52,163 to the downpour and the rain, 'Be strong.' 140 00:10:52,163 --> 00:10:56,355 He seals the hand of every man, that all men may know His work. 141 00:10:56,355 --> 00:11:00,052 Then the beast goes into its lair and remains in its den. 142 00:11:00,052 --> 00:11:04,262 Out of the south comes the storm, and out of the north the cold. 143 00:11:04,262 --> 00:11:11,618 From the breath of God ice is made, and the expanse of the waters is frozen. 144 00:11:11,618 --> 00:11:15,814 Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud; 145 00:11:15,826 --> 00:11:19,659 He disperses the cloud of His lightning. 146 00:11:19,659 --> 00:11:23,998 It changes direction (now here's the clouds), it changes direction, 147 00:11:23,998 --> 00:11:27,575 turning around by His guidance, 148 00:11:27,575 --> 00:11:31,817 that it may do whatever He commands it on the face of the inhabited earth. 149 00:11:31,817 --> 00:11:35,981 Whether for correction, or for His world, or for 150 00:11:35,993 --> 00:11:39,828 lovingkindness, He causes it to happen." (P) 151 00:11:39,828 --> 00:11:43,512 Psalm 104, "He sends forth springs in the valleys." 152 00:11:43,512 --> 00:11:51,233 That's why if you see a spring coming up in the valley, God sent that for us. 153 00:11:51,233 --> 00:11:55,596 "He waters the mountains from His upper chambers. 154 00:11:55,596 --> 00:12:01,625 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man. 155 00:12:01,625 --> 00:12:07,918 The trees of the LORD drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon which He planted." 156 00:12:07,918 --> 00:12:11,113 So those cedars, He planted them. 157 00:12:11,113 --> 00:12:17,141 So God planted them, and then He waters them. (P) 158 00:12:20,875 --> 00:12:25,991 Psalm 104 again, a little bit later, "O LORD, how many are Your works! 159 00:12:25,991 --> 00:12:32,060 In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions." 160 00:12:32,060 --> 00:12:34,830 He talks about the various animals - great and small. 161 00:12:34,830 --> 00:12:39,491 He says, "They all wait for You to give them their food in due season. 162 00:12:39,491 --> 00:12:42,323 You give to them, they gather it up; 163 00:12:42,323 --> 00:12:44,916 You open Your hand and they are satisfied with good. 164 00:12:44,916 --> 00:12:47,983 You hide Your face, they are dismayed; 165 00:12:47,983 --> 00:12:53,537 You take away their spirit, they expire and return to their dust. 166 00:12:53,537 --> 00:12:55,815 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; 167 00:12:55,827 --> 00:12:57,768 and You renew the face of the ground." 168 00:12:57,768 --> 00:13:00,072 And then the Lord Jesus mentions this, doesn't He? 169 00:13:00,073 --> 00:13:04,152 Matthew 6:26, "Look at the birds of the air: 170 00:13:04,152 --> 00:13:09,402 they do not sow, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, 171 00:13:09,402 --> 00:13:14,104 and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 172 00:13:14,104 --> 00:13:17,830 Are you not worth much more than they?" (P) 173 00:13:17,830 --> 00:13:24,330 So God is actively providing for even the plant and animal kingdoms, 174 00:13:24,330 --> 00:13:29,500 and in order to do that, He must order and govern all the elements of nature, 175 00:13:29,500 --> 00:13:32,895 right down to commanding the lightning where 176 00:13:32,907 --> 00:13:35,860 it's gonna strike, to strike the mark. 177 00:13:35,860 --> 00:13:41,593 But He does infinitely more than just provide for plants and animals, doesn't He? 178 00:13:41,593 --> 00:13:49,357 He not only has to look out for, and take thought beforehand, for plants and animals, 179 00:13:49,357 --> 00:13:54,449 He has to take thought beforehand for everything - 180 00:13:54,449 --> 00:13:59,862 for every possibility, and every contingency, 181 00:13:59,874 --> 00:14:04,946 for all events, for all time and eternity. 182 00:14:04,946 --> 00:14:09,051 Isn't that something? (P) 183 00:14:09,051 --> 00:14:15,013 Ephesians 1:11 tells us that "He works all things after the counsel of His own will." 184 00:14:15,014 --> 00:14:18,991 God has a counsel. He has a plan. 185 00:14:18,991 --> 00:14:22,188 He has a purpose in history, and He's working everything, 186 00:14:22,188 --> 00:14:26,079 right down to the smallest so-called "chance events", 187 00:14:26,079 --> 00:14:28,683 as part of the fulfilling of that plan. 188 00:14:28,683 --> 00:14:33,233 One of the things that makes God God, is that 189 00:14:33,245 --> 00:14:37,806 He alone declares the end from the beginning. 190 00:14:37,806 --> 00:14:41,750 Isaiah 46, He says, "Remember the former things long past, 191 00:14:41,750 --> 00:14:45,051 for I am God, and there is no other; 192 00:14:45,051 --> 00:14:51,307 I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, 193 00:14:51,307 --> 00:14:54,656 and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 194 00:14:54,656 --> 00:15:05,734 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure'; 195 00:15:05,734 --> 00:15:07,949 Calling a bird of prey from the east." 196 00:15:07,949 --> 00:15:11,905 (Now if you read in Isaiah, this had to do with the heathen king, 197 00:15:11,905 --> 00:15:16,159 and God was calling him to fulfill His purposes.) 198 00:15:16,159 --> 00:15:21,178 "Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. 199 00:15:21,178 --> 00:15:26,122 I have planned it, surely I will do it." 200 00:15:26,123 --> 00:15:28,779 Beloved, God has a plan and a purpose; 201 00:15:28,779 --> 00:15:32,424 and every single thing that He has ever 202 00:15:32,436 --> 00:15:36,733 purposed, He certainly will bring to pass. (P) 203 00:15:36,733 --> 00:15:40,449 We ought not to use the language, you know, "God is trying to do this or that." 204 00:15:40,449 --> 00:15:45,358 He never tries to do anything. 205 00:15:45,358 --> 00:15:47,270 Every single thing that He has purposed - 206 00:15:47,270 --> 00:15:51,907 it doesn't matter if all the nations of the world rage against Him. 207 00:15:51,907 --> 00:15:56,808 Daniel 2:21, "It is He who changes the times and the epochs; 208 00:15:56,808 --> 00:16:00,762 He removes kings and establishes kings." 209 00:16:00,762 --> 00:16:04,676 Acts 17:26, "He made every nation of mankind 210 00:16:04,688 --> 00:16:08,004 to live on all the face of the earth, 211 00:16:08,004 --> 00:16:13,837 having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation." 212 00:16:13,838 --> 00:16:16,830 So somebody like Alexander the Great, God already 213 00:16:16,842 --> 00:16:19,546 determined how far exactly he would conquer, 214 00:16:19,546 --> 00:16:23,587 and how long his kingdom would last. 215 00:16:23,587 --> 00:16:30,078 He raises up kings, He puts down kings; He changes the times and the epochs. (P) 216 00:16:30,078 --> 00:16:35,321 Psalm 33:10, "The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; 217 00:16:35,321 --> 00:16:39,459 He frustrates the plans of the peoples. 218 00:16:39,459 --> 00:16:43,462 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans 219 00:16:43,474 --> 00:16:47,088 of His heart from generation to generation." 220 00:16:47,088 --> 00:16:48,301 Isn't that a blessed thought? 221 00:16:48,301 --> 00:16:52,511 God has plans in His heart and they never change. 222 00:16:52,511 --> 00:16:56,734 They never change from generation to generation. 223 00:16:56,735 --> 00:17:00,840 He has plans. He has counsel. (P) 224 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:04,021 So, what is God's providence? 225 00:17:04,021 --> 00:17:06,446 The Westminster Shorter Catechism says this: 226 00:17:06,448 --> 00:17:12,329 "God's works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful 227 00:17:12,329 --> 00:17:19,539 preserving and governing all His creatures and all their actions." 228 00:17:19,539 --> 00:17:26,127 Loraine Boettner said this: "God is no mere spectator of the universe He has made, 229 00:17:26,127 --> 00:17:28,739 but is everywhere present and active, 230 00:17:28,739 --> 00:17:33,590 the all sustaining ground, and all governing power of all that is. 231 00:17:33,590 --> 00:17:38,741 Every raindrop and every snowflake which falls from the cloud, 232 00:17:38,741 --> 00:17:42,940 every insect which moves, every plant which grows, 233 00:17:42,940 --> 00:17:46,801 every grain of dust which floats in the air, 234 00:17:46,801 --> 00:17:52,142 has had certain definite causes and will have certain definite effects. 235 00:17:52,142 --> 00:17:54,693 Each is a link in the chain of events, 236 00:17:54,693 --> 00:17:59,203 and many of the great events of history have turned 237 00:17:59,215 --> 00:18:03,302 on these apparently insignificant things.“ (P) 238 00:18:03,302 --> 00:18:06,878 I don't know how many of you learned this poem; 239 00:18:06,878 --> 00:18:09,739 when I was in grade school we were exposed to it, 240 00:18:09,739 --> 00:18:13,786 and I was always fascinated by it long before I became a Christian. 241 00:18:13,786 --> 00:18:19,412 But it goes like this: "For want of a nail the shoe was lost. 242 00:18:19,412 --> 00:18:23,835 For want of a shoe the horse was lost. 243 00:18:23,835 --> 00:18:26,072 For want of a horse the rider was lost. 244 00:18:26,072 --> 00:18:29,622 For want of a rider the message was lost. 245 00:18:29,622 --> 00:18:33,324 For want of a message the battle was lost. 246 00:18:33,324 --> 00:18:37,618 For want of a battle the war was lost. 247 00:18:37,618 --> 00:18:41,304 For want of a war the kingdom was lost." 248 00:18:41,304 --> 00:18:46,773 And it goes back to that nail that was missing in that horse's shoe. 249 00:18:46,773 --> 00:18:48,996 And that's where you'll say, "Well, that couldn't happen." 250 00:18:48,996 --> 00:18:57,945 Beloved, all of history hangs on multitudes of things just like that. 251 00:18:57,945 --> 00:19:00,370 All of history. (P) 252 00:19:00,370 --> 00:19:03,694 George Washington, in the French and Indian War, 253 00:19:03,694 --> 00:19:10,432 he told about what it was like to have bullets whizzing by his head. 254 00:19:10,432 --> 00:19:15,309 He could hear the sound, you know; he said it was quite a thing. 255 00:19:15,309 --> 00:19:20,326 Think if the bullet had dropped five inches, 256 00:19:20,338 --> 00:19:25,366 how different would American history be? (P) 257 00:19:27,046 --> 00:19:35,567 In 1588, the so-called invincible Spanish Armada went against England. 258 00:19:35,567 --> 00:19:39,548 Catholic Spain against Protestant England. 259 00:19:39,548 --> 00:19:41,946 And the storms came in. 260 00:19:41,946 --> 00:19:45,552 Part of the reason [for their defeat] was the storms that came in, 261 00:19:45,552 --> 00:19:49,272 that scattered those ships all along the coasts of Ireland and Scotland. 262 00:19:49,272 --> 00:19:54,222 There were many homes that were built out of the wrecks of those ships. 263 00:19:54,222 --> 00:19:58,194 And Phillip II said, "I can't fight against God." 264 00:19:58,194 --> 00:20:00,251 And he was right about that. 265 00:20:00,251 --> 00:20:06,971 Think of how different it would have been if England had became Catholic in 1588. 266 00:20:06,971 --> 00:20:13,599 A lot of those missionary biographies over there would not be on the book table. 267 00:20:13,599 --> 00:20:18,588 And that related to storms. (P) 268 00:20:20,144 --> 00:20:23,495 Napoleon, in one of his campaigns, 269 00:20:23,496 --> 00:20:32,057 he said, "I was defeated by General Mud and General Snow." (P) 270 00:20:33,721 --> 00:20:43,115 In the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, a hundred thousand people lost their homes. 271 00:20:43,115 --> 00:20:47,003 And they traced it back to the O'Leary shed. 272 00:20:47,003 --> 00:20:49,260 And nobody knows for sure what it is, 273 00:20:49,260 --> 00:20:54,144 the story is that Mrs O'Leary's cow kicked over the lantern. 274 00:20:54,144 --> 00:20:57,383 But they don't know, they haven't verified that. 275 00:20:57,383 --> 00:21:02,899 Someone said they thought maybe it was a spark from a nearby chimney. 276 00:21:02,899 --> 00:21:05,177 That's comforting, isn't it? 277 00:21:05,177 --> 00:21:09,657 "It wasn't her cow, it was just a spark, a little spark." 278 00:21:09,657 --> 00:21:13,036 Another fellow had the theory that somebody set the fire. 279 00:21:13,036 --> 00:21:14,677 That's really comforting, too. 280 00:21:14,677 --> 00:21:19,837 A hundred thousand people lose their home because some character set a fire. 281 00:21:19,837 --> 00:21:28,376 These are the tiniest little events. Think of all the lives. 282 00:21:28,376 --> 00:21:30,889 Think of a hundred thousand people losing their homes. 283 00:21:30,890 --> 00:21:34,312 Think of the people that went out, and went here and went there; 284 00:21:34,312 --> 00:21:38,667 and the guy that got a Bible off somewhere, 285 00:21:38,667 --> 00:21:43,240 that wouldn't have gotten that Bible if it hadn't been for that fire; 286 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:44,944 and the people that were converted, 287 00:21:44,944 --> 00:21:51,099 and the children that were born, and all the events. (P) 288 00:21:52,779 --> 00:21:55,346 One of the old Puritans said it like this: 289 00:21:55,346 --> 00:22:00,172 "Behold, how great a weight of history hangs 290 00:22:00,184 --> 00:22:04,591 on such a slender thread of providence." 291 00:22:04,591 --> 00:22:07,615 How great a weight of history. 292 00:22:07,615 --> 00:22:09,383 And you can see that in your own life. 293 00:22:09,383 --> 00:22:16,264 I remember in Kirksville, a girl was trying to swat a fly in her car, 294 00:22:16,264 --> 00:22:20,330 and fliplost control and killed her. 295 00:22:20,330 --> 00:22:25,029 You see, if God doesn't control a fly flying around, 296 00:22:25,029 --> 00:22:27,885 you would have no guarantee of your life at all. 297 00:22:27,885 --> 00:22:30,244 I remember one time, years ago, 298 00:22:30,245 --> 00:22:34,947 we were heading out for some time away for our anniversary, and I ran a red light. 299 00:22:34,947 --> 00:22:37,205 It could very easily have been the end of me. 300 00:22:37,206 --> 00:22:43,194 I saw a guy killed on that highway right there, south of our town, 301 00:22:43,194 --> 00:22:44,600 blood all over the highway. 302 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:47,352 That could easily have been me. 303 00:22:47,352 --> 00:22:52,413 Just one little event. (P) 304 00:22:54,460 --> 00:22:57,569 God has to control everything. 305 00:22:57,570 --> 00:23:05,562 He must control everything in order to declare the end from the beginning. 306 00:23:05,562 --> 00:23:12,009 I was thinking as we drove down here, every car on the highway, you know, 307 00:23:12,010 --> 00:23:14,890 if there was an accident that happened five miles down the road, 308 00:23:14,890 --> 00:23:18,145 there's this tree branching out of changed events of history; 309 00:23:18,146 --> 00:23:22,891 and on that tree are more trees, and it goes infinite. 310 00:23:22,891 --> 00:23:29,242 Every little thing right here tonight, every little thing that takes place, 311 00:23:29,242 --> 00:23:33,660 has an infinite string of trees branching off. 312 00:23:33,660 --> 00:23:37,224 Isn't that something? (P) 313 00:23:38,529 --> 00:23:42,893 Think of this: God says that the names of the elect 314 00:23:42,893 --> 00:23:46,183 were written in the Lamb's book of life from the foundation of the world. 315 00:23:46,183 --> 00:23:52,481 Do you realize - no, you don't realize - how many events had to take place 316 00:23:52,481 --> 00:23:59,661 in the last thousand years for your parents to get married and you to be born? 317 00:23:59,661 --> 00:24:03,982 I mean, you would not have even existed! 318 00:24:03,982 --> 00:24:12,378 And God has every name in the book of life from the foundation of the world. 319 00:24:12,378 --> 00:24:18,594 He declares the end from the beginning. 320 00:24:20,782 --> 00:24:23,230 What a thing this is. (P) 321 00:24:23,230 --> 00:24:28,008 "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every 322 00:24:28,020 --> 00:24:32,384 decision is from the LORD" (Prov. 16:33). 323 00:24:32,384 --> 00:24:35,640 David is hiding in a cave, Saul just happens 324 00:24:35,652 --> 00:24:38,266 to come in there right at that time, 325 00:24:38,266 --> 00:24:39,906 right in the cave where he was hiding. 326 00:24:39,906 --> 00:24:43,456 And David said, "The Lord gave you into my hand." 327 00:24:43,456 --> 00:24:49,634 He knew it wasn't chance, and he didn't kill Saul. (P) 328 00:24:49,634 --> 00:24:53,310 Well, so much for what we mean by providence. 329 00:24:53,310 --> 00:24:55,351 What are some applications? 330 00:24:55,351 --> 00:25:00,339 How should this truth of the providence of God affect our lives? 331 00:25:00,339 --> 00:25:07,896 First of all, this ought to fill all of us with great humility. 332 00:25:07,896 --> 00:25:09,026 Great humility. 333 00:25:09,026 --> 00:25:14,295 Everything we have, everything we are, everything we have accomplished - 334 00:25:14,295 --> 00:25:18,952 even the fact that you're alive here tonight, sitting here tonight - 335 00:25:18,952 --> 00:25:27,181 is hanging from the slenderest thread of God's merciful providence. (P) 336 00:25:27,181 --> 00:25:31,669 You have a strong body? So did Christopher Reeves (Superman), 337 00:25:31,669 --> 00:25:36,188 until he got thrown from a horse and became a quadriplegic, 338 00:25:36,188 --> 00:25:41,606 who had to be on a breathing apparatus for the rest of his life. 339 00:25:41,606 --> 00:25:43,935 You have good eyes? So did Fanny Crosby, 340 00:25:43,935 --> 00:25:47,737 till the doctor put the wrong thing in her eyes 341 00:25:47,749 --> 00:25:51,801 when she was a little girl, and made her go blind. 342 00:25:51,801 --> 00:25:55,164 Are you athletic? So was Joni Eareckson, 343 00:25:55,164 --> 00:26:02,352 till she jumped into that water that was too shallow and broke her neck. (P) 344 00:26:02,352 --> 00:26:06,908 Mona and I were in a coma unit a number of years ago, 345 00:26:06,908 --> 00:26:09,801 and there was a fellow in there, maybe in his 40s. 346 00:26:09,801 --> 00:26:11,181 We said, What happened to him? 347 00:26:11,182 --> 00:26:16,335 Well, the wife and husband were out, riding their bikes; 348 00:26:16,335 --> 00:26:20,248 and they got tangled up somehow and fell down. 349 00:26:20,249 --> 00:26:22,058 They weren't going fast. 350 00:26:22,058 --> 00:26:24,373 They were just out for a little bike ride, fell 351 00:26:24,385 --> 00:26:26,469 down, and he hit his head on the pavement; 352 00:26:26,470 --> 00:26:30,220 and he'd been in a coma ever since. 353 00:26:30,220 --> 00:26:33,340 One little chance accident. (P) 354 00:26:33,340 --> 00:26:36,457 You have financial prosperity? 355 00:26:36,457 --> 00:26:41,414 There are so many people in human history that thought they had it made, 356 00:26:41,414 --> 00:26:46,045 they lost everything just like that. 357 00:26:46,046 --> 00:26:50,266 And you could, too. 358 00:26:50,266 --> 00:26:57,115 Paul says in 1st Corinthians 4:7, "What do you have that you have not received?" 359 00:26:57,115 --> 00:26:58,783 And we might well add to that: 360 00:26:58,783 --> 00:27:03,694 "And what have you received that God hasn't sustained moment by moment, 361 00:27:03,694 --> 00:27:07,227 or you would have lost it by now?" (P) 362 00:27:07,227 --> 00:27:14,524 So I want to say to you, beloved, what are you tempted to be proud of tonight? 363 00:27:14,524 --> 00:27:17,462 You girls, are you tempted to be proud of your beauty? 364 00:27:17,462 --> 00:27:24,164 Do you realize you could lose that in a second? 365 00:27:24,164 --> 00:27:27,072 Are you proud of how smart you are? 366 00:27:27,072 --> 00:27:34,496 One little thing and it can be gone, and you can't even put sentences together. 367 00:27:34,496 --> 00:27:41,602 Beloved, we are being upheld by this slender thread of providence all the time. 368 00:27:41,602 --> 00:27:42,695 Everything. 369 00:27:42,695 --> 00:27:46,870 Everything you have, everything you are! 370 00:27:46,870 --> 00:27:48,465 Everything that you've accomplished, 371 00:27:48,465 --> 00:27:52,462 it's been accomplished through grace, grace, grace, all along the way; 372 00:27:52,462 --> 00:27:59,584 and individual little things that have kept you alive to get you here tonight. 373 00:27:59,584 --> 00:28:05,525 If you're not a Christian, don't go out of here without crying out to God. 374 00:28:05,525 --> 00:28:12,730 If you are a Christian, God have mercy on you if you've got pride welling up in you. 375 00:28:12,730 --> 00:28:23,695 Moment by moment, sustained by unspeakable slender thread of providence. (P) 376 00:28:23,695 --> 00:28:27,587 What else does the doctrine of providence teach us? 377 00:28:27,587 --> 00:28:31,875 It ought to fill us with great comfort. 378 00:28:31,875 --> 00:28:33,916 Providence ought to fill us with great comfort. 379 00:28:33,916 --> 00:28:38,846 Now I say that in spite of the fact that providence 380 00:28:38,858 --> 00:28:43,135 can sometimes seem very heartless and cruel. 381 00:28:43,135 --> 00:28:44,485 As one brother put it, 382 00:28:44,485 --> 00:28:49,055 "Providence will knock you down and kick you in the ribs." 383 00:28:49,055 --> 00:28:53,366 And sometimes it'll kick you so hard you think you're going to die. 384 00:28:53,366 --> 00:28:57,376 You think it's gonna kill you. (P) 385 00:28:57,376 --> 00:28:59,689 There was a Baptist pastor, Scott Willis, 386 00:28:59,689 --> 00:29:06,794 in 1994 he drove over a piece of metal, out on the interstate by Milwaukee. 387 00:29:06,794 --> 00:29:12,203 And that piece of metal flipped up and hit his gas tank, and the car exploded. 388 00:29:12,203 --> 00:29:15,463 He had six children in the back. 389 00:29:15,463 --> 00:29:18,910 Five of them were dead right then, burning up in that inferno. 390 00:29:18,910 --> 00:29:22,657 One of them made it out, long enough to say a few words to his dad, 391 00:29:22,657 --> 00:29:27,134 and died the next day. All six of them, gone. 392 00:29:27,134 --> 00:29:32,930 What? Because of a chance piece of metal. 393 00:29:32,930 --> 00:29:37,180 You see what I mean about providence knocking you down? 394 00:29:37,180 --> 00:29:40,656 And beloved, church history is full of events like that. 395 00:29:40,656 --> 00:29:49,417 You look at some of the stories of hymn writers, it's unbelievable. 396 00:29:49,417 --> 00:29:52,768 Seemingly pointless and cruel providences. (P) 397 00:29:52,768 --> 00:29:55,637 A young husband is killed in a moment, 398 00:29:55,637 --> 00:29:59,122 leaves behind a grieving wife and a bunch of little children. 399 00:29:59,122 --> 00:30:02,656 That happens repeatedly. 400 00:30:02,656 --> 00:30:06,805 I know of a young preacher back when I was young, 401 00:30:06,806 --> 00:30:08,758 and I heard him preach one time, 402 00:30:08,758 --> 00:30:13,111 and I thought, "Men, this guy is such a powerful preacher. 403 00:30:13,111 --> 00:30:16,326 What is he going to be as he goes on in life?" 404 00:30:16,326 --> 00:30:20,013 Next thing I heard, he had been killed in a coupling accident 405 00:30:20,013 --> 00:30:22,798 between two box cars on the rail road. 406 00:30:22,798 --> 00:30:25,908 He left everything. (P) 407 00:30:33,102 --> 00:30:36,601 Ecclesiastes 9: 11-12 says this, 408 00:30:36,601 --> 00:30:43,446 "I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift." 409 00:30:43,446 --> 00:30:48,959 Here's a swift guy, you say, "He'll win." No, you don't know that. 410 00:30:48,959 --> 00:30:50,855 "The battle is not to the warriors, 411 00:30:50,855 --> 00:30:58,129 and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning, 412 00:30:58,129 --> 00:31:07,366 nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all. 413 00:31:07,366 --> 00:31:09,928 Moreover, man does not know his time: 414 00:31:09,928 --> 00:31:14,121 like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, 415 00:31:14,121 --> 00:31:19,994 so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them." 416 00:31:19,994 --> 00:31:25,110 Well, that's pretty cynical, but it's often the way it seems. 417 00:31:25,110 --> 00:31:28,202 And a lot of these things in Ecclesiastes, you remember, 418 00:31:28,202 --> 00:31:33,310 are things described as things that were seen under the sun. 419 00:31:33,310 --> 00:31:35,731 And if you're looking at things from that perspective, 420 00:31:35,732 --> 00:31:39,140 that's what you're going to see. 421 00:31:39,140 --> 00:31:42,403 Things that don't seem to make sense. (P) 422 00:31:42,403 --> 00:31:44,370 I remember stories from my childhood. 423 00:31:44,370 --> 00:31:50,643 My dad worked for the railroad, he was a welder. 424 00:31:50,643 --> 00:31:52,472 And he told me a story one time. 425 00:31:52,472 --> 00:31:58,269 There was a heavy load lifted on a crane, being suspended up in the air. 426 00:31:58,269 --> 00:32:00,421 And the men were working there. 427 00:32:00,422 --> 00:32:04,462 I don't know how long it had been up there, but it had been up there a while. 428 00:32:04,462 --> 00:32:12,855 And one of the men was walking somewhere to get to another job site, 429 00:32:12,855 --> 00:32:15,182 and right at that instant the chain broke, 430 00:32:15,182 --> 00:32:20,241 and that thing fell and came down right on him, right as he was under it. 431 00:32:20,241 --> 00:32:25,032 Time and chance overtake them. (P) 432 00:32:27,829 --> 00:32:32,401 My grandfather told me a story, this is one I never forgot too. 433 00:32:32,401 --> 00:32:38,674 There was a thunderstorm; and one of the brothers, as I recall, 434 00:32:38,674 --> 00:32:43,327 was right there where my grandfather lived, on the other side of the creek down there. 435 00:32:43,327 --> 00:32:46,622 One of the brothers in the family was on his 436 00:32:46,634 --> 00:32:49,720 horse, trying to get back into the house; 437 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:53,425 a lightning bolt hit him right in the yard on his way into the house. 438 00:32:53,425 --> 00:32:55,804 Dead, just like that. 439 00:32:55,804 --> 00:32:59,591 His other brother got on his horse and tried to ride across the creek 440 00:32:59,591 --> 00:33:02,709 to get over to tell the folks on this side; 441 00:33:02,709 --> 00:33:05,222 and he jumps off his horse, he's running towards the house: 442 00:33:05,222 --> 00:33:12,788 bam! another lightning bolt hits him and he's dead. Two brothers. 443 00:33:12,788 --> 00:33:16,888 You see what I mean about providence kicking 444 00:33:16,900 --> 00:33:20,830 you hard, I mean, taking your breath away? 445 00:33:20,830 --> 00:33:26,312 "Like birds trapped in a snare and fish caught in a treacherous net, 446 00:33:26,312 --> 00:33:30,490 so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them." 447 00:33:30,490 --> 00:33:36,350 Men of the world look at that, and they curse God. 448 00:33:36,350 --> 00:33:37,573 It says in Revelation, 449 00:33:37,573 --> 00:33:40,780 "They gnaw their tongues and blaspheme the God of Heaven 450 00:33:40,780 --> 00:33:46,015 for their sorrows and their pains." (P) 451 00:33:46,015 --> 00:33:52,692 Some of you know that poem, Invictus, by William Ernest Henley. 452 00:33:52,692 --> 00:34:01,496 He says, "Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, 453 00:34:01,496 --> 00:34:05,251 I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul." 454 00:34:05,251 --> 00:34:09,011 He's not trusting in God, you see, the true God. 455 00:34:09,011 --> 00:34:11,286 But in the midst of that poem he says, 456 00:34:11,288 --> 00:34:20,007 "In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. 457 00:34:20,007 --> 00:34:28,065 Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed." 458 00:34:28,065 --> 00:34:34,045 Now that's the way the world responds - bludgeonings of chance. 459 00:34:34,045 --> 00:34:36,770 Think of those two brothers. The bludgeonings of chance. 460 00:34:36,770 --> 00:34:38,877 That's all you have if you don't have God. 461 00:34:38,877 --> 00:34:43,562 So how can I talk about the comforts of the doctrine of providence? 462 00:34:43,562 --> 00:34:49,771 Well, we do have God. 463 00:34:52,141 --> 00:34:56,717 And the Lord Jesus did not talk about the bludgeoning of chance. 464 00:34:56,717 --> 00:35:02,766 This is what He said: "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? 465 00:35:02,766 --> 00:35:08,798 And yet, not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 466 00:35:08,798 --> 00:35:13,441 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 467 00:35:13,441 --> 00:35:18,650 Therefore do not fear: you are of more value than many sparrows." 468 00:35:18,650 --> 00:35:22,152 Now there's comfort in that, isn't there? (P) 469 00:35:22,152 --> 00:35:24,224 Look at this. 470 00:35:24,224 --> 00:35:30,233 First of all, He's not saying that sparrows never fall to the ground. 471 00:35:30,233 --> 00:35:31,662 He didn't say that. 472 00:35:31,662 --> 00:35:36,039 If the Bible said Christians didn't have to go through these things, 473 00:35:36,039 --> 00:35:39,300 that would leave us in despair. 474 00:35:39,300 --> 00:35:42,496 The Bible doesn't say you're not going to 475 00:35:42,508 --> 00:35:46,021 have bad things happen to you as a Christian. 476 00:35:46,021 --> 00:35:49,512 Okay? 477 00:35:49,512 --> 00:35:55,992 The righteous go through the same tragedies as the wicked. 478 00:35:55,992 --> 00:35:57,724 But notice what else He's saying. 479 00:35:57,724 --> 00:36:02,831 He's saying that when the sparrows do fall to the ground, God is right there. 480 00:36:02,831 --> 00:36:07,016 They can't fall, apart from Him. 481 00:36:07,016 --> 00:36:13,060 And He doesn't say, "Not a sparrow will fall to the ground apart from the Force." 482 00:36:13,060 --> 00:36:16,374 Or, "Not a sparrow will fall to the ground apart 483 00:36:16,386 --> 00:36:19,916 from the uncaring, cold Sovereign of the universe." 484 00:36:19,916 --> 00:36:20,907 He doesn't say that. 485 00:36:20,907 --> 00:36:26,462 He says, "Not a sparrow will fall to the ground apart from YOUR Father." 486 00:36:26,462 --> 00:36:29,662 Your Father. (P) 487 00:36:31,185 --> 00:36:35,406 And think of the illustration He uses here - sparrows. 488 00:36:35,406 --> 00:36:42,697 "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent?" 489 00:36:42,697 --> 00:36:47,398 They're worthless, relatively. 490 00:36:47,398 --> 00:36:51,436 One brother talks about The Forgotten Sparrow. 491 00:36:51,436 --> 00:36:55,448 What is he talking about? Luke 12:6 says it like this: 492 00:36:55,448 --> 00:36:59,187 "Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? 493 00:36:59,187 --> 00:37:01,989 And not one of them is forgotten before God." 494 00:37:01,989 --> 00:37:03,742 Now do the math on it. 495 00:37:03,742 --> 00:37:08,468 "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent?" 496 00:37:08,468 --> 00:37:13,840 So how many could you get for two cents? You get four. 497 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:18,683 But the verse says, "Are not five sparrows sold for two cents?" 498 00:37:18,683 --> 00:37:25,213 In other words, they're so worthless you could throw in one. 499 00:37:25,213 --> 00:37:31,763 And that's the one that God doesn't forget. 500 00:37:31,763 --> 00:37:37,218 And that's the one that can't fall to the ground apart from your Father. 501 00:37:37,218 --> 00:37:43,992 The one that men don't even care about, they don't even charge enough to cover. (P) 502 00:37:43,992 --> 00:37:49,525 And then fourthly, He says, "The very hairs of your head are all numbered." 503 00:37:49,525 --> 00:37:53,090 And that means more than just God knows how many hairs are on your head. 504 00:37:53,090 --> 00:37:56,192 He knew how many hairs were on Hitler's head. 505 00:37:56,192 --> 00:38:02,406 I'm just talking about special care and concern. (P) 506 00:38:02,406 --> 00:38:06,958 I like this passage, Luke 21 says, "You will be delivered up even by parents 507 00:38:06,958 --> 00:38:14,509 and brothers and relatives and friends, 508 00:38:14,510 --> 00:38:17,289 and they will put some of you to death, 509 00:38:17,289 --> 00:38:23,697 and you will be hated by all on account of My name." 510 00:38:23,697 --> 00:38:28,908 Now listen to this: "Yet not a hair of your head will perish." 511 00:38:28,908 --> 00:38:33,839 They'll kill you, but not a hair of your head will perish. 512 00:38:33,839 --> 00:38:37,572 What is He saying? He is saying that if you're a child of God, 513 00:38:37,572 --> 00:38:44,169 nothing, absolutely nothing, not even one hair, 514 00:38:44,169 --> 00:38:45,623 nothing can happen to you. 515 00:38:45,623 --> 00:38:49,147 Nothing can just "happen" to you. 516 00:38:49,147 --> 00:38:53,393 Nothing can happen to you! 517 00:38:53,393 --> 00:38:58,420 Don't talk to me about the bludgeonings of chance for a Christian, never. 518 00:38:58,420 --> 00:39:02,388 Don't even let that thought enter your mind. 519 00:39:02,388 --> 00:39:04,919 Nothing can happen to you. (P) 520 00:39:04,919 --> 00:39:08,392 Hard providences don't prove that God is not with you. 521 00:39:08,392 --> 00:39:12,230 Look at Job. 522 00:39:12,230 --> 00:39:15,285 There's great comfort for the Christian in the providence of God. 523 00:39:15,285 --> 00:39:17,574 Things don't happen by chance; 524 00:39:17,574 --> 00:39:22,189 they come from the hand of an all-loving, all-wise heavenly Father. 525 00:39:22,189 --> 00:39:24,480 We're told in Lamentatons 3 that, 526 00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:30,103 "He does not afflict willingly or grieve the sons of men." 527 00:39:30,103 --> 00:39:34,091 That's encouraging, isn't it? God doesn't afflict willingly. 528 00:39:34,091 --> 00:39:39,536 It's not the idea that God just delights in the idea of making you suffer. 529 00:39:39,536 --> 00:39:42,577 He would rather not, let's put it that way. 530 00:39:42,577 --> 00:39:44,537 He doesn't do it willingly. 531 00:39:44,537 --> 00:39:49,073 He has some higher thing that can only be accomplished in that way. 532 00:39:49,073 --> 00:39:52,211 Isn't that something? 533 00:39:52,211 --> 00:39:55,801 "If He causes grief, then He will have compassion 534 00:39:55,813 --> 00:39:58,910 according to His abundant lovingkindness." 535 00:39:58,910 --> 00:40:01,841 Those are wonderful words, aren't they? 536 00:40:01,841 --> 00:40:06,103 Compassion and abundant lovingkindness. (P) 537 00:40:06,103 --> 00:40:09,208 Which of you fathers, if your child asks him for an egg, 538 00:40:09,208 --> 00:40:11,430 he says, "Here, son," and gives him a scorpion? 539 00:40:11,430 --> 00:40:14,579 That's not the way God is. 540 00:40:14,579 --> 00:40:17,913 We sang that song, I think, today or yesterday: 541 00:40:17,913 --> 00:40:21,324 "Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take. 542 00:40:21,324 --> 00:40:24,342 The clouds you so much dread are big with mercy, 543 00:40:24,342 --> 00:40:28,032 and will break with blessing on your head. 544 00:40:28,032 --> 00:40:34,554 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace. 545 00:40:34,554 --> 00:40:42,991 Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face. 546 00:40:44,667 --> 00:40:48,201 His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. 547 00:40:48,201 --> 00:40:54,106 The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower." (P) 548 00:40:54,106 --> 00:40:58,361 Well, the doctrine of God's providence ought to fill us with comfort. 549 00:40:58,361 --> 00:41:04,216 What else? It ought to fill us with great gratitude. Great gratitude. 550 00:41:04,216 --> 00:41:08,485 Humility, comfort, gratitude. Why? 551 00:41:08,486 --> 00:41:11,568 Well, as Spurgeon said, because for the 552 00:41:11,580 --> 00:41:15,293 Christian, providence is the handmaid of grace. 553 00:41:15,293 --> 00:41:16,746 Just think of the woman at the well. 554 00:41:16,746 --> 00:41:23,847 She just happened to come out there to the well 555 00:41:23,848 --> 00:41:30,881 when the One Person in all the world, who could give her living water, 556 00:41:30,881 --> 00:41:35,194 was sitting there by the well. What a thing. 557 00:41:35,194 --> 00:41:46,207 It makes you wonder, why did she just happen to go out right then? 558 00:41:46,207 --> 00:41:48,842 Maybe she planned to go out an hour earlier 559 00:41:48,842 --> 00:41:52,836 but, you know, she dropped something and broke 560 00:41:52,848 --> 00:41:56,514 it, or something like that, we don't know. 561 00:41:56,514 --> 00:41:58,514 Her eternity was in the balance 562 00:41:58,514 --> 00:42:04,176 and she just happened to come out to the well at the right time. 563 00:42:04,177 --> 00:42:08,089 And every Christian can look back with unspeakable gratitude 564 00:42:08,089 --> 00:42:12,847 at the kind providences of God in his life. (P) 565 00:42:12,847 --> 00:42:15,347 John Newton, before he became a Christian, 566 00:42:15,347 --> 00:42:18,259 he was onboard ship, you know, he was a sailor. 567 00:42:18,259 --> 00:42:21,326 They were in a storm; he started up the ladder, the 568 00:42:21,338 --> 00:42:24,120 captain said, "John, go back and get a knife." 569 00:42:24,120 --> 00:42:28,707 He got off the ladder, turned around, another guy went up - wham! - 570 00:42:28,707 --> 00:42:33,076 a wave took that guy right off and he was gone. 571 00:42:33,076 --> 00:42:39,575 So John Newton says, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. 572 00:42:39,575 --> 00:42:46,195 'Twas grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me Home." (P) 573 00:42:46,195 --> 00:42:52,094 Ira Sankey was Moody's singer. 574 00:42:52,095 --> 00:42:55,806 The story is told, and I try to verify it 575 00:42:55,818 --> 00:42:59,984 enough so that I can tell at least part of it. 576 00:42:59,984 --> 00:43:07,019 He was on a river boat after the war, Christmas of 1876, 577 00:43:07,019 --> 00:43:11,016 a river boat on the Delaware River. 578 00:43:11,016 --> 00:43:14,093 And they found out that he was aboard (he was a famous person). 579 00:43:14,093 --> 00:43:17,379 They said, "Mr Sankey, will you sing for us?" 580 00:43:17,379 --> 00:43:29,447 And he decided to sing "Savior, Like a Shepherd, Lead Us." 581 00:43:29,447 --> 00:43:32,597 I believe that's right. 582 00:43:32,597 --> 00:43:39,143 And he stood there in the moonlight, singing that song. 583 00:43:39,144 --> 00:43:42,528 And after he got done a fellow came up and said, 584 00:43:42,540 --> 00:43:45,728 "Mr Sankey, did you serve in the Union Army?" 585 00:43:45,728 --> 00:43:47,757 He said, "Yes, I did." 586 00:43:47,757 --> 00:43:49,912 "Did you serve over in such and such area?" 587 00:43:49,912 --> 00:43:50,829 "Yes, I did." 588 00:43:50,829 --> 00:43:54,213 "Well, was it in so and so years, time period?" "Yeah." 589 00:43:54,214 --> 00:43:58,894 "Were you doing picket duty one moonlit night?" 590 00:43:58,894 --> 00:44:03,634 He said, "Yeah I was, I remember that." 591 00:44:03,634 --> 00:44:11,343 And he said, "I was a confederate soldier, and I had you in my sights, 592 00:44:11,343 --> 00:44:12,450 I was ready to shoot you. 593 00:44:12,450 --> 00:44:16,426 And you started singing, you started singing that song. 594 00:44:16,426 --> 00:44:19,987 And I thought, well I'll let him finish before I kill him." 595 00:44:19,987 --> 00:44:23,946 And by the time he got over, he couldn't do it. 596 00:44:23,946 --> 00:44:27,785 And then he hears him singing the same song in the moonlight on the river boat, 597 00:44:27,785 --> 00:44:30,573 and he realized, "That's the guy!" (P) 598 00:44:30,573 --> 00:44:38,563 You realize, he's out there singing, with death just staring right at him. 599 00:44:40,727 --> 00:44:49,534 Every Christian should look back with unspeakable gratitude 600 00:44:49,534 --> 00:44:52,410 on the providence, the kind providence of God in his life. 601 00:44:52,410 --> 00:44:59,228 I mean, you remember Amy Carmichael, who was a missionary to India, 602 00:44:59,228 --> 00:45:02,657 she was born with brown eyes. 603 00:45:02,657 --> 00:45:05,709 And as a girl she wanted so much to have blue eyes. 604 00:45:05,709 --> 00:45:09,785 She prayed that God would give her blue eyes. 605 00:45:09,785 --> 00:45:12,371 He never did. 606 00:45:12,371 --> 00:45:15,671 But if she'd had blue eyes, she couldn't have been used 607 00:45:15,672 --> 00:45:20,027 to go into those Hindu temples and rescue those girls; 608 00:45:20,028 --> 00:45:21,690 because she could make her skin brown 609 00:45:21,690 --> 00:45:24,078 but she would never have been able to do anything with her eyes, 610 00:45:24,078 --> 00:45:26,850 and she would have never gotten in. 611 00:45:26,850 --> 00:45:29,310 All part of God's providence. (P) 612 00:45:29,311 --> 00:45:34,529 In your own life, think of the events prior to your conversion. 613 00:45:34,529 --> 00:45:38,026 I remember when I was a boy, a fishing trip that I didn't get to go on, 614 00:45:38,026 --> 00:45:40,384 I felt so bad about it. 615 00:45:40,384 --> 00:45:45,845 And my grandparents that I would have gone with, had a terrible wreck. 616 00:45:45,845 --> 00:45:47,966 They were in the hospital for weeks. 617 00:45:47,966 --> 00:45:51,145 I would probably have been killed. 618 00:45:51,145 --> 00:46:01,094 And my mother said to me at the time, "Maybe God has a purpose for your life." 619 00:46:01,094 --> 00:46:04,872 I almost drowned a year before I was converted. 620 00:46:04,872 --> 00:46:08,620 I'm not telling you things that you don't know, that haven't happened to you. 621 00:46:08,620 --> 00:46:12,018 They've happened to you, too. (P) 622 00:46:12,018 --> 00:46:17,633 After you become a Christian, think of the providences, the kind providences. 623 00:46:17,633 --> 00:46:26,239 First year of college, first class of college, 7:30 AM, English class. 624 00:46:26,239 --> 00:46:29,229 The teacher said, "I want to learn your names, 625 00:46:29,241 --> 00:46:32,052 so I'm gonna put you in alphabetical order. 626 00:46:32,052 --> 00:46:43,622 Here's H, I, J, Jennings, Bob Jennings, that's J, and then L, Leiter." 627 00:46:43,622 --> 00:46:46,999 First class. 628 00:46:50,679 --> 00:46:56,442 Every Christian ought to look back with unspeakable 629 00:46:56,454 --> 00:47:00,897 gratitude on the providence of God. (P) 630 00:47:00,897 --> 00:47:04,795 I went out for a walk one night, after I had moved to Kirksville, 631 00:47:04,795 --> 00:47:06,202 still single at the time. 632 00:47:06,202 --> 00:47:10,419 I went out to pray, and I went a different direction totally 633 00:47:10,419 --> 00:47:14,632 and much further than I would have normally gone. 634 00:47:14,632 --> 00:47:19,344 And I was walking along and saw a group of Christians 635 00:47:19,356 --> 00:47:23,642 over here in a circle, in a yard, singing hymns; 636 00:47:23,643 --> 00:47:26,324 and I was on the other side of the street. 637 00:47:26,325 --> 00:47:29,147 And somehow the thought just went through my 638 00:47:29,159 --> 00:47:31,930 mind, "And He passed by on the other side." 639 00:47:31,930 --> 00:47:33,333 And I thought, "I don't want to do that, 640 00:47:33,334 --> 00:47:35,565 I'll just go over there and sit down by those Christians. 641 00:47:35,565 --> 00:47:39,755 They're probably a bunch of weirdos but..." [Laughter]. 642 00:47:39,755 --> 00:47:42,606 And I went over there and sat down with them; 643 00:47:42,606 --> 00:47:50,458 and I met a man and his wife, who has been a deacon in our church 644 00:47:50,458 --> 00:47:56,192 (a lot of you would know them) for forty years now. 645 00:47:56,192 --> 00:48:03,264 And a lot of different marriages have taken place, and all kinds of things. 646 00:48:03,264 --> 00:48:06,079 The providence of God. 647 00:48:06,079 --> 00:48:09,727 Think if I had walked down a different street, 648 00:48:09,739 --> 00:48:12,853 how different [it would have been]. (P) 649 00:48:12,853 --> 00:48:18,254 Mona and I were ready to get married, we didn't have any money. 650 00:48:18,255 --> 00:48:23,184 We had no money to buy her wedding dress, so she wanted to try to get some material. 651 00:48:23,185 --> 00:48:29,810 And a friend of hers came by, that she really didn't know very well, 652 00:48:29,810 --> 00:48:33,059 and really she's lost contact with her totally since then. 653 00:48:33,059 --> 00:48:36,697 But she came by, they were talking, 654 00:48:36,697 --> 00:48:39,871 and she said something about buying a dress. 655 00:48:39,871 --> 00:48:44,612 And Mona said, "I'm gonna have a lady in the church make one." 656 00:48:44,612 --> 00:48:49,682 She said, "Oh well, I bought the material for my dress and I didn't use it. 657 00:48:49,682 --> 00:48:55,021 I ended up buying a dress. I'll give you that material." 658 00:48:55,021 --> 00:48:57,380 And she wasn't trying to be picky or anything, 659 00:48:57,380 --> 00:49:01,080 but she said, "That's really kind, but I had such and such material in mind." 660 00:49:01,081 --> 00:49:05,604 Kind of a pearl color or something. 661 00:49:05,604 --> 00:49:11,783 And the lady said, "Well, that's what it is." [Laughter]. 662 00:49:11,784 --> 00:49:16,589 So she gives her the material, and the lady in her church is making the dress. 663 00:49:16,589 --> 00:49:23,112 And it gets down to the very end - this was a designer fabric company in Kansas City; 664 00:49:23,112 --> 00:49:25,790 right down at the very end, there was a little 665 00:49:25,802 --> 00:49:28,606 label that was sewed in from the fabric company. 666 00:49:28,606 --> 00:49:32,452 The seamstress pulls it out - "LEITER". 667 00:49:32,452 --> 00:49:36,125 Postmarks my name, and sews it in. 668 00:49:36,125 --> 00:49:40,901 LEITER - designer fabric company that none of us knew existed. 669 00:49:40,901 --> 00:49:46,241 I never had heard my name before except for me. (P) 670 00:49:46,241 --> 00:49:53,280 Just little tokens, God says, "You know, I know how many hairs are on your head." 671 00:49:53,280 --> 00:50:00,345 Now that's true for you, if you're a child of God. 672 00:50:00,345 --> 00:50:03,221 He's talking about care. 673 00:50:03,221 --> 00:50:10,462 He's not talking about bare knowledge, He's talking about care. 674 00:50:10,462 --> 00:50:13,774 You say, "You don't know how many hard things have happened to me." 675 00:50:13,775 --> 00:50:18,006 We talked about that, didn't we? 676 00:50:22,251 --> 00:50:26,595 Can't you say, as you look back and remember all the ways the Lord has led you, 677 00:50:26,595 --> 00:50:33,590 can't you say, like David did, "The lines fallen unto me in pleasant places." 678 00:50:33,590 --> 00:50:37,106 God has been so kind. (P) 679 00:50:37,106 --> 00:50:42,430 Fourthly, the providence of God ought to fill us with confidence. 680 00:50:42,430 --> 00:50:46,876 Why confidence? Well, because God is in control of everything, 681 00:50:46,877 --> 00:50:51,072 and nothing can thwart His purposes. 682 00:50:51,072 --> 00:50:54,960 He said, "Truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. 683 00:50:54,960 --> 00:50:59,310 I have planned it, surely I will do it." 684 00:50:59,310 --> 00:51:07,646 I love that account in 1st Kings about a certain man, who drew a bow at random, 685 00:51:07,646 --> 00:51:14,186 and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor. 686 00:51:14,186 --> 00:51:16,861 Now you could stand there all day shooting arrows at him, 687 00:51:16,861 --> 00:51:21,139 aiming between the joints of his armor, and never hit it. 688 00:51:21,139 --> 00:51:24,288 And he didn't even know, he just shot at random. 689 00:51:24,288 --> 00:51:29,568 You see, God had told Ahab he's going to die in that battle, 690 00:51:29,568 --> 00:51:36,403 and he said, "Well I'm not, I'm gonna disguise myself." 691 00:51:36,403 --> 00:51:41,844 That doesn't work very well, does it, when you're dealing with God. (P) 692 00:51:41,844 --> 00:51:45,663 But the thing that's so wonderful about this 693 00:51:45,675 --> 00:51:49,506 account is that Elijah had told him earlier. 694 00:51:49,506 --> 00:51:53,055 He said, "In the place where the dogs licked Naboth's blood," 695 00:51:53,055 --> 00:51:56,067 you remember, he had Naboth killed in order to get his vineyard. 696 00:51:56,067 --> 00:52:00,417 And Elijah said, "In the place where the dogs licked Naboth's blood 697 00:52:00,417 --> 00:52:03,603 they're gonna lick your blood." 698 00:52:03,603 --> 00:52:06,739 And Ahab wasn't very smart, but he was smart 699 00:52:06,751 --> 00:52:09,689 enough to know that that couldn't happen; 700 00:52:09,689 --> 00:52:18,153 because Samaria is something like 80 miles away, if you look on a Bible map. 701 00:52:18,153 --> 00:52:23,157 So it's either gonna be Elijah or Micaiah, one of these guys is wrong. 702 00:52:23,157 --> 00:52:25,505 They're both prophets of the LORD, one of them is wrong; 703 00:52:25,505 --> 00:52:27,681 because Micaiah says, "You're gonna die here," 704 00:52:27,681 --> 00:52:30,943 and Elijah says, "They're gonna lick your blood here." 705 00:52:30,943 --> 00:52:36,039 And he scoffs at it, he said, "Probably neither one of them is right." 706 00:52:36,039 --> 00:52:37,468 But what happened? 707 00:52:37,468 --> 00:52:39,886 The arrow hit him between the joints of the armor, 708 00:52:39,898 --> 00:52:42,327 and he stood in that chariot and bled out all day. 709 00:52:42,327 --> 00:52:48,940 They took the chariot back down and washed it at the pool in Samaria. 710 00:52:48,940 --> 00:52:52,867 And the dogs licked his blood, down in Samaria, 711 00:52:52,879 --> 00:52:56,408 where they had licked the blood of Naboth. 712 00:52:56,408 --> 00:53:00,291 And what does it say? It says, "The dogs licked up his blood, 713 00:53:00,291 --> 00:53:07,182 according to the word of the LORD which He spoke." (P) 714 00:53:07,182 --> 00:53:12,122 I say, the doctrine of God's providence ought to fill us with great confidence. 715 00:53:12,122 --> 00:53:14,704 You read the book of Esther, the whole Jewish 716 00:53:14,716 --> 00:53:16,915 nation is on the brink of destruction. 717 00:53:16,915 --> 00:53:21,450 And what does it say? The king couldn't sleep that night. 718 00:53:21,450 --> 00:53:25,110 And he asked for a book to be read, and they read in there about Mordecai, 719 00:53:25,111 --> 00:53:31,549 and all of those things unfolded that preserved the Jewish nation. 720 00:53:31,549 --> 00:53:37,392 "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; 721 00:53:37,392 --> 00:53:41,855 He turns it wherever He wishes." (P) 722 00:53:41,855 --> 00:53:46,093 A lot of you are too young to remember the Missile Crisis in 1962. 723 00:53:46,093 --> 00:53:53,092 But Khrushchev had actually put nuclear warheads down in Cuba. 724 00:53:53,092 --> 00:53:55,392 And there came a stand-off; 725 00:53:55,393 --> 00:53:59,589 it was the closest to nuclear war that we ever came. 726 00:53:59,589 --> 00:54:02,592 I remember a girl that I knew, whose dad was in the military. 727 00:54:02,592 --> 00:54:04,352 She was standing out on the playground. 728 00:54:04,352 --> 00:54:12,877 I was in grade school, later grades; and she was almost in tears. 729 00:54:12,877 --> 00:54:18,117 Khrushchev, after everything passed and he wrote his memorial, 730 00:54:18,117 --> 00:54:25,661 he was dealing with his advisers, there in the Kremlin; 731 00:54:25,662 --> 00:54:30,663 and he said, "I said to them, 'hundreds of millions of people are going to die,' 732 00:54:30,664 --> 00:54:31,593 and they didn't care. 733 00:54:31,593 --> 00:54:35,945 They said, 'We don't want to lose face with Red China.'" 734 00:54:35,945 --> 00:54:39,435 And so it looked like God spared a nuclear holocaust 735 00:54:39,435 --> 00:54:46,464 from one man having enough common grace and sense not to press the button. (P) 736 00:54:46,465 --> 00:54:49,965 But then I found out later, more information 737 00:54:49,977 --> 00:54:52,396 were actually closer than that. 738 00:54:52,396 --> 00:55:01,010 There was a submarine over here that was loaded with nuclear torpedoes, 739 00:55:01,010 --> 00:55:08,265 and the US actually dropped depth charges; not big ones, but like hand grenade size. 740 00:55:08,265 --> 00:55:09,873 But they dropped depth charges, 741 00:55:09,873 --> 00:55:13,308 and they found out later that the commander of that submarine 742 00:55:13,308 --> 00:55:20,666 armed the nuclear weapons and was given the order to fire. 743 00:55:20,666 --> 00:55:27,479 But there was a rule that three commanding officers had to agree, 744 00:55:27,479 --> 00:55:31,571 and two out of three agreed. 745 00:55:31,571 --> 00:55:34,876 There was one man, if you want to know, 746 00:55:34,876 --> 00:55:37,671 (you can't thank him because it's God in His providence), 747 00:55:37,671 --> 00:55:40,591 his name is Vasili Arkhipov. 748 00:55:40,591 --> 00:55:44,108 And he didn't have peace about doing that. 749 00:55:44,108 --> 00:55:45,328 Isn't that amazing? 750 00:55:45,328 --> 00:55:50,378 The whole world, you know, all these holocaust scenerios, 751 00:55:50,378 --> 00:55:52,586 hinging on one man there. 752 00:55:52,587 --> 00:56:01,500 Because if they had deployed a nuclear weapon, it would have happened. (P) 753 00:56:04,797 --> 00:56:12,044 We can have confidence in God because of providence. 754 00:56:12,044 --> 00:56:15,400 Number five, we're almost done. 755 00:56:15,400 --> 00:56:20,574 The doctrine of God's providence ought to cause us to pray. 756 00:56:20,575 --> 00:56:22,786 Why is that? 757 00:56:22,786 --> 00:56:26,738 Well, because we know from the doctrine of providence, 758 00:56:26,738 --> 00:56:32,117 that God has the power to answer our prayers no matter what. 759 00:56:32,117 --> 00:56:33,883 He can do anything. 760 00:56:33,883 --> 00:56:36,808 And you might say, "Well, if God has everything planned out, 761 00:56:36,808 --> 00:56:39,414 then there's no need to pray. It's all gonna happen anyway." 762 00:56:39,414 --> 00:56:40,952 That misses the point, doesn't it? 763 00:56:40,952 --> 00:56:44,348 because He has everything planned out, 764 00:56:44,348 --> 00:56:50,471 including the prayers that are gonna be prayed that He's going to answer. (P) 765 00:56:50,471 --> 00:56:54,848 You see, there are prayers that God has answered 766 00:56:54,848 --> 00:57:02,048 through a series of providences that took place before the prayer was ever prayed. 767 00:57:02,048 --> 00:57:07,264 And those providences took place, before the prayer was ever prayed, 768 00:57:07,264 --> 00:57:13,602 in light of God's certain purpose and plan that the prayer would be prayed. 769 00:57:13,602 --> 00:57:17,307 And when it was prayed, He answered it. 770 00:57:17,307 --> 00:57:18,807 He's in control of all of it. 771 00:57:18,807 --> 00:57:21,366 Beloved, the fact is that God has set things up 772 00:57:21,366 --> 00:57:27,185 so that, in general, He will not answer if we don't ask. 773 00:57:27,185 --> 00:57:29,310 Now that's just reality. 774 00:57:29,310 --> 00:57:34,502 James says that, doesn't he? "You have not because you ask not." (P) 775 00:57:34,502 --> 00:57:37,266 Just one example. 776 00:57:37,266 --> 00:57:42,541 God prophesies through Jeremiah that people would be in captivity for 70 years. 777 00:57:42,541 --> 00:57:52,017 As the time draws near, Daniel reads that in the prophecy of Jeremiah; 778 00:57:52,017 --> 00:57:57,172 and Daniel says, "Well, no need to pray, it's already certain." 779 00:57:57,172 --> 00:57:59,263 It wasn't it, did he? 780 00:57:59,263 --> 00:58:02,393 "I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years 781 00:58:02,394 --> 00:58:06,309 which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet 782 00:58:06,309 --> 00:58:11,981 for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 783 00:58:11,981 --> 00:58:18,442 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, 784 00:58:18,442 --> 00:58:22,678 with fasting, sackcloth and ashes." 785 00:58:22,678 --> 00:58:26,251 Because he reads that God's gonna do this. 786 00:58:26,251 --> 00:58:30,532 In other words, God said He would do this, so we need to get to praying. 787 00:58:30,532 --> 00:58:35,813 He's able to do this, so we need to pray. (P) 788 00:58:35,813 --> 00:58:41,487 And then, lastly, the doctrine of God's providence 789 00:58:41,487 --> 00:58:45,157 ought to fill us with worship, praise, and adoration. 790 00:58:45,157 --> 00:58:51,101 And that's why I had brother Kevin read this psalm. 791 00:58:51,101 --> 00:58:54,812 "I will extol Thee, my God and King, 792 00:58:54,812 --> 00:58:59,652 and bless Thy name forever and ever. 793 00:58:59,652 --> 00:59:01,220 Every day I will bless you, and so on..." 794 00:59:01,220 --> 00:59:04,590 And he goes on and talks about God sustaining all who're falling 795 00:59:04,590 --> 00:59:06,365 and raising up all who're bowed down. 796 00:59:06,365 --> 00:59:11,261 "The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time. 797 00:59:11,261 --> 00:59:17,084 You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing, and so on..." 798 00:59:17,084 --> 00:59:22,332 May God help us to respond rightly. (P) 799 00:59:22,332 --> 00:59:27,542 The day that we were getting ready to pack up all those books, 800 00:59:27,542 --> 00:59:32,906 we rented a 5 by 8 trailer. 801 00:59:32,906 --> 00:59:37,246 And I went there, and the fellow that knew what 802 00:59:37,258 --> 00:59:41,157 to do had been called away by a toothache. 803 00:59:41,157 --> 00:59:45,091 And the fellow that was left behind didn't know how to read the first page. 804 00:59:45,091 --> 00:59:47,425 I knew I was in trouble when he turned on the computer 805 00:59:47,425 --> 00:59:53,774 and looked at the screen, the first page, for about three or four minutes. 806 00:59:53,774 --> 01:00:01,373 An an hour later, I'm finally to the point of getting the paper signed 807 01:00:01,373 --> 01:00:03,493 and getting it paid for. 808 01:00:03,493 --> 01:00:08,028 And this impatience starts to rise up. 809 01:00:08,028 --> 01:00:09,878 And then you know what happened? It dawned on me, 810 01:00:09,878 --> 01:00:15,522 I'm getting ready to go down and speak about Providence [Laughter]. 811 01:00:15,522 --> 01:00:18,034 I mean, these things are wonderful in theory, aren't they? 812 01:00:18,035 --> 01:00:19,940 But we're gonna face it. 813 01:00:19,940 --> 01:00:24,950 We'll face it tonight, we'll face it tomorrow. 814 01:00:24,950 --> 01:00:28,467 And if you stop and think, you know, God is in control. 815 01:00:28,467 --> 01:00:30,319 He's got purposes. 816 01:00:30,319 --> 01:00:34,829 Who knows what's going on? (P) 817 01:00:34,829 --> 01:00:38,447 Elizabeth Elliot had that account of the girl who had the contacts, 818 01:00:38,447 --> 01:00:41,429 maybe some of you read that. 819 01:00:41,429 --> 01:00:44,780 She was doing rock climbing and the rope popped her eye, 820 01:00:44,780 --> 01:00:49,664 and the contact popped out and fell down the cliff. 821 01:00:49,664 --> 01:00:52,637 And they finally finished their climb and got down, 822 01:00:52,637 --> 01:00:56,719 and she's praying, "O Lord, please, I know You know where it is." 823 01:00:56,719 --> 01:01:01,093 And some other person there that was getting ready to climb, said, 824 01:01:01,093 --> 01:01:11,599 "Look at this ant! This ant's carrying a contact." [Laughter]. 825 01:01:11,599 --> 01:01:13,464 Her dad was a cartoonist, 826 01:01:13,464 --> 01:01:19,403 and he did a little cartoon of an ant carrying a contact. 827 01:01:19,403 --> 01:01:25,725 And the ant is saying, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this. [Laughter]. 828 01:01:25,725 --> 01:01:35,686 It's heavy, and I can't eat it; what am I doing?" [Laughter]. 829 01:01:35,687 --> 01:01:38,867 But you know what, a lot of times we're carrying things 830 01:01:38,867 --> 01:01:44,693 that we don't know why in the world God wants us to carry that. 831 01:01:44,693 --> 01:01:50,886 But you can be sure of this: He has a reason! 832 01:01:50,886 --> 01:01:54,903 And someday, maybe we'll get a little glimpse of what it is. 833 01:01:54,904 --> 01:02:00,404 I mean, I can picture an eternity - I'd say, right here in this group, 834 01:02:00,405 --> 01:02:06,682 we could spend about 100,000 years telling providences. 835 01:02:06,683 --> 01:02:08,684 Don't you think? 836 01:02:08,684 --> 01:02:12,438 Especially if you start to see into some of them that we don't even know about, 837 01:02:12,438 --> 01:02:16,047 that are happening all the time. (P) 838 01:02:16,047 --> 01:02:20,445 Well let's sing one more hymn.