God’s in Control

Sermon by Rev John Zuidema on Lord’s Day 10

BoW 367 O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder
BOW: 359 “Great is your faithfulness”
BOW: 361 “”This is my Father’s world”
Scripture Readings: Psalm 104; Matthew 6:25-34; Rom 8:28-39;
Sermon: “God is in control?”
BOW: 104 v 5, 6, 7, 13; “Your Spirit O Lord”
BOW: 533 “Praise God from whom all blessings flow”

 

Brothers and sisters in the Lord.
One of the things that we firmly affirm as truth is that God is absolutely sovereign. What we sometimes find harder to explain is how that works out in this world, especially when terrible things happen. At those times we can understand why people would say that they find it hard to believe in a loving God who cares for mankind, and we may even sympathize with their feelings and be affected by their pain. However, we would not agree that God is not loving.

And that is the dilemma we face as Christians. On the one hand we confess that God is almighty and sovereign, but how do we know, how do we explain that God loves and that he will provide for us, even when there is so much trouble and hardship in this world?

Well to answer this dilemma, the first thing we need to confess as we deal with God’s sovereignty and providence, is that we are sinful, finite human beings. We are not God. We don’t know all things. We are not all powerful. And we cannot be everywhere at the same time. We are sinful, finite human beings. And that has a number of implications.

First, even though we are forgiven sinners in Christ, that doesn’t mean our sin doesn’t have consequences, it does. That we suffer and people around us suffer and we see the world groan is because of our combined sin. We contribute to the toil and trouble and sorrow we see in our families in our communities and this world!

Secondly, because we are not all-wise and all-knowing or all-powerful, nor do we live all that long in the grand scheme of things, our perspective on this earthly life and what is happening around us is limited. We cannot understand fully how an event that might happen today may serve the benefit of God’s people in perhaps thirty or fifty a hundred years time. We can’t, but God can. I am sure that Martin Luther would not have known the full impact that the reformation in the 1500’s would have in the church. But God was pleased to use that to build His church and extend His kingdom.

Thirdly, one thing we need to be watchful of when speaking about God’s providence is that we do not separate God’s providence apart from God. God’s providence is the almighty and ever present power of God. So when tragedy strikes our neighbour, or us, we cannot say that God wasn’t watching for a moment. We know that our God never slumbers or sleeps [Psa 121:4].

I think sometimes that our modern technological age prevents us from being close to God. We are taught from when we are knee high to a grasshopper that everything has to have logic and a scientific reason and if it doesn’t than it cannot be right or true.

Interestingly, the Psalmists didn’t seem to have that trouble. They recognised God’s hand in everything that happened. And the Psalms are full of it. Perhaps the Psalmists were more in touch with God’s creation and His providence. Look at Psalm 104. When one reads that Psalm with the eyes and understanding of faith, then we can see that the earth is like a great garden that is tended and protected by the Lord.

So there is no such thing as an accidental rising of the sun, or an accidental full moon, or a falling star, or the discovery of a new planet. It is not an accident that the rains come, or the drought, or food or drink, or prosperity or poverty, or life or death!

It’s all by God’s power. Everything in fact comes to us, not by chance, but from God’s Fatherly hand! That is what we believe and that is also what we sing as God’s children. “All I have needed your hand has provided.” Even the Lord Jesus, when dying committed his Spirit into his Father’s hands.

So to confess God’s providence is to think about the hands of our Father God, who is in heaven. Yet the real tragedy of our western world is that most people have a materialistic and secular understanding of God. Secularism and humanism are lines of thinking and have a set of values determined by the world apart from God.

Sadly, this type of thinking is not displayed as a tragedy, but is usually presented as our liberation, our way to freedom. People try to remove God as far as possible when it comes to buying and selling property; family planning; career choices and many other things. It’s my life, my body, my money, my everything! And if we dare have too much ‘God talk’ than we are quickly labelled as fanatics or fundamentalists!

Of course it is not as clearly defined as I have just stated it, but it’s there just the same! Hence we have people who hold the view that God created everything but we now live by natural laws and in the light of our reason. If you were to ask these people whether they believed in Deism, they would probably say “no” yet, if people believe in God, but don’t think He has an impact in the day to day running of this cosmos including this earth, than they are deists. In some way people like it that way for it allows them to live guilt free and do whatever they like.

Alternatively, some people say God is so close that He cannot be separated from anything. He is in you and me, and in all that lives, including the tree in the middle of the forest. The Eastern type religions are quite full of it. Neither of these views are found in Scripture. Scripture teaches us that the world is like a huge palace full of servants, in which nothing happens without the King’s command.

He numbers the stars and He knows them all by name [Isa 40:26]. He sends the lightning bolts on their way. He watches over the mountain goat giving birth. He causes the seasons to come and go. He feeds the fish and keeps his eyes on the sparrow. Without Him, there would be no light.

Now some people will say well that is nature. But the word “nature” doesn’t come from a biblical environment. The Bible always speaks about creation or the earth when it speaks about what we call nature. It is wise to keep the word “creation” in one’s vocabulary. For when we call the environment ‘creation’ we are less likely to attach independent existence to it.

Let also me remind you, our God is a personal God. Unlike the deist who thinks that God is unreachable or the pantheist who thinks that God is a warm blanket or a raging force, our God is personal. He is our Father. Our God is above nature. Nature doesn’t make the laws that govern it, God does. God is the One who causes the sun to rise, and the star to fall, and the sparrow to fly! God’s reliability makes science possible. Nothing can move or be moved without his will. If God is God and He is, then He is completely in control. Nothing takes place outside his government.

Now that doesn’t mean we should just sit back and let it happen because God is in control anyhow! Scripture doesn’t teach that at all! Yes, God causes the rain to fall and plants to grow but He also has ordained the conditions that are favourable to rainfall and plant growth. A farmer who doesn’t prepare his soil can hardly expect a bumper crop. A person who abuses their body can hardly blame God! God has assigned certain responsibilities to us in these processes.

So how does the knowledge of God’s creation and providence help us?

First we can be patient in times when things go against us. We should never forget that God is God and we are but finite human beings. Surely Job wins the medal for patience in Scripture. He suffered loss and pain. His friends argued with him.

But how did God answer him when Job dared to ask God why? Turn with me to Job 38:4-11;[4] “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. [5] Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? [6] On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— [7] while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? [8] “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,[9] when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,[10] when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, [11] when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?

39:1-2;
“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? [2] Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?

40:4-5; (Job’s Response)[4] “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. [5] I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more.”

42:1-5; [1] Then Job replied to the LORD: [2] “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. [3] [You asked,] ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. [4] [“You said,] ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ [5] My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. [6] Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Congregation, let us be thankful when things go well and even when things seemingly goes against us we know that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! If that were not so, then he would not have sent Jesus to the cross to die for us. He suffered, died and rose again so that we may have life to the Father’s glory!

Second, I don’t have to live in fear about tomorrow or the next day or next year! From the asteroids out in the depth of space; the sparrow in the air; to the hair on our heads, Scripture assures that God is in control of all things. Without his will, they can neither move nor be moved. Therefore I don’t have to live in fear when people suddenly die from illness or heart attack. I don’t have to live in fear when the mountains quake and the earth gives way. I don’t have to live in fear or without hope when the doctor diagnoses me with terminal cancer. For I know that my Father is in control and will provide all I need for body and soul, in this life and the next!

Let me close. What do we say to our neighbour who has lost his daughter in a tragic accident, or to the couple who desperately want a baby, or the cancer patient? Everything that happens is not always God’s will. Sure, we confess that it doesn’t happen outside of his will, but it doesn’t mean it is God’s will.

If your neighbour’s pregnant daughter is killed in an accident because of a drunk driver, it would be wrong to say that it was God’s will. Drunk driving is not God’s will. Scripture says do not get drunk with wine. Furthermore, being drunk and not in control of a murder weapon breaks the sixth commandment.  Don’t jump from a tall building and think that God will save you. That is nonsense! God’s laws of gravity dictate that you will in all probability die from the result of injuries received!

Other times, and these are also many, we weep with those who weep. For the couple who cannot have a child, or the cancer patient, we weep with them. We don’t say it is because of some hidden sin and send them on a guilt trip. That would not be loving or caring.  And let me add, anyone who always finds an easy answer with an exact word has probably never experienced hardship. Let’s be real and honest – we live in a world that is broken and suffering under the consequences of sin and we are part of it as well as the cause.

We are not blind and neither are unbelievers – we see it everywhere! Let me also add, that just because we are Christians, doesn’t mean that we will not feel the brunt of that suffering on occasions. Now we may be able to say that it wasn’t God’s will, however we may not deny that whatever happens, it happened in a world that is governed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, who is also our Father and that is grace!

God’s almighty and ever present power is a gift to undeserving sinners! God made everything perfect. Yet instead of being thankful and satisfied to be the creature, cared for by a loving God, sinful man wanted to be God and fell into sin. And even though this sin was punished with the sentence of death, God continued to show love and grace. He still provided for his creatures and that is all by grace, no more clearly seen than in the death and resurrection of His son. .

And all those who believe in him as their Saviour can know they are safe in his eternal hands. In fact even the knowledge that God is there and that we may know Him is pure grace. And if you think that is not true, than just look at those who do not trust God. When catastrophe strikes or even threatens, they do not know where to go or what to run to.

Congregation when that happens may we remind them of God, our Father, who through Christ is making all things new! Amen.