140608 The Providence of God

 Colossians 1:15-17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Do you ever feel like the weight of the whole world is on you? Does it seem impossible to crawl out of the hole you are in — spiritually or mentally? Does it seem that God is sometime very far away? Or, even that God does not exist? Don’t be ashamed of such thoughts. They fall into the category of doubt and lack of faith. If we are honest with ourselves we will all admit that sometimes we question the things we have learned. We may intellectually know they are true but we “feel like” they are not real because we are not experiencing them right now. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and, you believe that God has raised him from the dead the Bible says, “you will be saved”!

When we doubt what we know is true we are in pretty good company. Matthew tells us that some of the followers of Jesus doubted as he ascended into heaven. They were having trouble believing what they saw with their own eyes. Now I don’t recommend that we spend a lot of time questioning truth. But doubts do arise and we need to remember that these truths have stood the test of time for 2000 years. Paul writes to assure the Colossians that Jesus can be trusted to do what he said he would do. This passage tells us that Jesus maintains order in the universe and in our lives. We can be confident about that because…

Jesus is the physical image of God the Father. In order for Jesus to come into the world he had to have a human body in every way like ours. Let’s look at Luke 1:31-38. The angel Gabriel is speaking to Mary, who will be Jesus’ human mother. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is the firstborn of all creation. Mary, a direct descendent of David the king, was chosen by God to provide the human body of Jesus. Mary had no doubt that the angel standing before her was real. However, his message was confusing to her. She was engaged to be married and was still a virgin. This was one of the reasons she was chosen otherwise it would be assumed that Joseph was Jesus’ physical father.

The angel Gabriel answered her by saying that her relative Elizabeth, who was well past childbearing age, had conceived a son. His simple answer was, “nothing will be impossible with God”. Elizabeth would bring into the world the person who would announce the coming Messiah. Mary recognized that this was clearly from God and affirmed her faith in God. She would bring into the world God in human form. The Son of God had always existed with the Father and would now come into the world in human form. The baby she would hold in her arms would become the connection between heaven and earth. Not only was he to be the image of the Father in human form but also…

Jesus, the Christ, created everything. Let’s look at what John the disciple had to say about it. John’s gospel is written last and I believe that he had copies of Matthew, Mark, and Luke before him and was dissatisfied with the beginning of each of them because he wanted to show something that they left out. Listen while I read John 1:1-5.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The other Gospels began with Jesus’ birth, or in the case of Mark, with the beginning of his ministry. John would begin in the real beginning! Not only did the Christ exist face-to-face with God he also was the creator of everything. Nothing was made without him!

The latest theories of the beginning of the universe seem to focus around “the Big Bang”! Many scientists seem to believe that there was “nothing” and then, suddenly, “something” exploded out of “nothing”. Or, they believe that “something” that was very, very tiny and very, very hot exploded into what is today the universe. Today, billions of dollars are being spent looking for the missing element that caused that explosion. They could save themselves, and us, all of that money and time by simply looking at the explanation in the Bible. “In the beginning God!”

Jesus, as a man, is the visible image of the invisible God and is the very image of his Father. Jesus, as the Christ, is the creator of everything. Without him nothing was made that was made. Not only that but also…

Jesus is the force that holds all things together. Listen to Hebrews 1:3-4. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

I’m going to turn again to science see what the current thinkers have to say about what holds the universe together. It seems to be generally agreed that there is no visible evidence as to what holds the universe together. Therefore, beginning in the 1930s, scientists began to use a term “dark matter”. In order for man to explain the gravitational forces of the universe because there must be at least five times as much matter as we can see! So, in order to explain that, scientists have imagined that there is such a thing as matter that cannot be seen! Therefore, it must be “dark matter” or “dark energy”! Wouldn’t it be a lot simpler to recognize what the Bible says? The Bible tells us, more than once, that Jesus is the force that upholds the universe!

Jesus, as a man, is the visible image of the invisible God and is the very image of his Father. Jesus, as the Christ, is the creator of everything. Without him nothing was made that was made. Not only that, but Jesus is the force that holds all things together and…

Jesus, as God, knows all things. Seven hundred years before Christ was born Isaiah clearly presented the case for God’s omniscience. That’s a big word that simply means “God knows everything”! Listen while I read Isaiah 46:8-11. Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, ⁹ remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, ¹⁰ declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ ¹¹ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

In order for us to trust the providence of God we need to have settled in our mind the fact that God knows everything! If he knows everything we can trust him when he tells us about his care for us. These verses that I read from Isaiah are a direct quote from God. He tells us several things about himself. 1) Yahweh is God and there is no other — there is none like him. 2) Yahweh declares the end from the beginning. In other words when anything begins he already knows the final result of it. Apparently, time doesn’t affect God the same way it affects us. He sees the end of the matter at the time it begins. In other words, before he created the world he knew all the things that would happen as though they had already happened! 3) Since Yahweh knows the end from the beginning his words can be trusted. Or as Isaiah recorded, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,”.

Jesus, as a man, is the visible image of the invisible God and is the very image of his Father. Jesus, as the Christ, is the creator of everything. Without him nothing was made that was made. Not only that, but Jesus is the force that holds all things together. In fact, as God, Jesus knows everything. And since he knows everything…

Jesus knows who will come to him. When Jesus came into the world he didn’t begin to look around to see who would follow him. Look what he had to say as recorded in John 10:14-18. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Jesus presents himself as a Shepherd. Eastern shepherding is very different from Western shepherding. Many years ago our family was visiting Great Britain and one day we came around a corner in the road to be confronted by a mob of sheep. The shepherds were doing all they could to push the sheep along and clear the road. It was rather disorganized and must have been confusing to the sheep!

A few years before that we had been in Israel and there we saw an Eastern shepherd. He was walking alongside a road with all his sheep behind him and he was not looking back! You see, his sheep knew his voice and they followed him. In the same manner, Jesus wanted it to be understood that he knows his sheep and they know him. Of course, there must come a time in the sheep’s life when he recognizes his Shepherd. We call that, “being saved”. We are born goats separated from the Shepherd. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And that’s a serious problem because the wages of sin is death. However, God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Therefore, if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God has raised him from the dead we stop being goats and become sheep!

Jesus, as a man, is the visible image of the invisible God and is the very image of his Father. Jesus, as the Christ, is the creator of everything. Without him nothing was made that was made. Not only that, but Jesus is the force that holds all things together. In fact, as God, Jesus knows everything. And since he knows everything Jesus knows who will come to him. Not only that but…

Jesus keeps those whom the Father gives him. If we look ahead a few verses we find John 10:27-30. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

Not only does Jesus know who will be his sheep but he is able to keep them. It is really sad that many Christians go through their life with great doubt as to whether or not they’re going to hold out to the end. We must remember that we are not changed from goats to sheep by our good works! The Bible is very clear we are born sons and daughters of Adam and Eve and inheritors of sin that separates us from God. Only in Christ Jesus are we able to come to faith. We are saved by grace, through faith, not through works of righteousness that we have done.

Jesus, the creator of the universe, the Lamb of God that takes way the sin of the world. He is the Shepherd who knows his sheep and is able to keep them safe, God does not begin a task wondering if it will work or not. One thing you can be absolutely sure of…

Jesus finishes what he starts. Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

“The day of Christ Jesus” is obviously, at least to me, the second coming of Christ when he gathers his church to join him in eternity. Thank God the Bible doesn’t say that we are to be good enough in our own strength. He who began a good work is none other than Jesus himself! No matter how you remember the day you accepted Christ you did not just decide one day to follow Jesus. In fact, you may not have had any thought at all of your relationship to God when you were brought to realize your need for Jesus Christ and salvation.

I remember once hearing my father give his testimony and he began by saying, “I want to tell you how God forced me to himself.” There is an old saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink!” Again, I turn to my dad. Someone quoted that old saying to him one day and he said, “I can make him drink!” And then he said, “Put salt in his oats — he’ll drink!” God always has a way of bringing his people to himself. One way or another God will put salt in your oats to cause you to come to him if you are one of his sheep.

Jesus, as a man, is the visible image of the invisible God and is the very image of his Father. Jesus, as the Christ, is the creator of everything. Without him nothing was made that was made. Not only that, but Jesus is the force that holds all things together. In fact, as God, Jesus knows everything. And since he knows everything Jesus knows who will come to him. Jesus is the Shepherd that knows his sheep and the sheep know him. Jesus keeps all those that the Father has given to him. Thank God…

Our security is in him — not in us. It is so sad to see people who are unsure of their salvation because of false teaching or because of biblical illiteracy. I can understand the lack of security that a lot of people have because they have been told all their life that they cannot know “for sure” if they are saved or not. Listen while I read 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

“Sanctify you completely” means that we are growing in grace and the knowledge of the Lord every day. We are in the process of becoming holy as he is holy. This passage tells us that our whole spirit, soul and body will be kept blameless. For a long time I had a struggle with that idea. I knew there was a lot of “fault” in me and connected to that “fault” is a lot of blame. One day I heard a simple explanation that has stuck with me ever since. Bill Stafford, an evangelist, said that on one of his trips he received a card written by his five-year-old. I don’t remember the exact words but there were lots of misspellings. In other words, there was a lot of “fault” in that note. However, he said there was no “blame” anywhere in it! He did not see the misspelled words he just saw the loving heart of his little boy!

God himself will sanctify us completely! God himself will keep us blameless because of the love of his son, Jesus Christ. The same God that began a good work in us will bring it to completion. He is faithful even if we are faithless and he will do the work in us that we cannot do ourselves! Friends, if you will only trust him every day he will do the work that needs to be done in your life. Our security does not depend upon our own strength or ability. Our security depends on God! He did not send his son in the world to condemn the world. He sent his son in the world to save his people from their sins. The security of our faith is none other than Jesus Christ himself! You can trust him to bring you through this life into the one to come!

Praise the Lord! God is involved continuously with all created things. He maintains everything according to his plan and purpose. He cooperates with created things in every way directing them to fulfill his purposes. In order to accomplish those purposes God the Father sent his son, Jesus, who is the image of God into the world to take our sins into his own body and pay the price of our rebellion. This same Jesus is the force that created everything and after the creation he has held all things together. Jesus knows who will come to him. Jesus and the Father are one and he knows his own sheep. No one can take his sheep from him! Because he always finishes what he starts. We are secure in him if we put our faith and trust in him. If you receive Christ as your Lord you can rest on his promises. If you have not accepted him as Lord, today is the day of salvation!

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.