2011-01-16 (pm) Acts 17.22-31; Psalm 104.

1-24 Everything from Gods Hand

In his book, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, author Christian Smith coined the term, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism to describe the religious views of most American youth. After interviewing some 3000 youth, Smith discovered that, regardless of their religious background the young people held to the five following beliefs Smith labels Moralistic Therapeutic Deism: 1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth. 2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions. 3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. 4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem. 5. Good people go to heaven when they die. What this reveals is that many people have a vague idea of what religion is. This explains why there are so many opinions when it comes to Christianity, and why there are so many discrepancies. This is inoffensive, it feels good, it requires nothing from

anyone. God exists to make us happy, hes aware of whats going on, but he doesnt really get involved in our lives unless theres something wrong, and we call out to him. God serves as a great genie who pops out when we need him. Everyone is basically good, so most people are going to heaven. In contrast, the Belgic Confession seeks to identify what God is like in his attention to his creation. God is a creator, yes. But he is not like an artist who paints a picture and then hangs it on the wall. Sure, he might brush the dust off occasionally, but thats about the limit of his involvement.
1

No, it is quite clear from the scriptures that God not only created the universe, but he is fantastically involved in what happens to it. This morning we saw how God feeds the sparrow. Psalm 104 talks about God making the water quenching the thirst of wild animals. He makes grass grow for the cattle, plants for farmers, wine which gladdens hearts, season follows after season, fulfilling Gods promise to Noah after the flood. This stands in opposition to the enlightenment thinkers who said there is a God, but hes not involved in the world today. To quote a person who posted on an online article, Hes absent at best. But that doesnt track with what the psalmist describes. That doesnt track with people of faith. We see Gods hand in all the world. It is neither as corrupted, or destructive, or hateful as it could be! God causes good things to happen, in spite of human sin. In fact, we know from Job, that everything that happens God allows to happen. Nothing is left to chance. Everything works according to his purpose, it says in Eph. 1.11. God is ruler over everything, not just some things. In Egypt, it was demonstrated that Mubarek was ruler over only some thigns. He was unable to stop the demonstrations. Not so with God. Everything is under his control. God is free to do as he pleases with his creation, for hes the creator. Who was Job to object? Who is the creation to tell the creator what can and cannot do? Can you imagine making some people out of pottery only to have them say, Okay, good enough, well take it from here. And if you decided you didnt like how they
2

turned out and decided to start all over again, would they be able to stop you? No! So it is with creation, God, the creator, can do with it as he pleases. Psalm 115:3 states, Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. People try to plan their lives, but they end up serving Gods own purposes. We see that clearly in Pharaoh. We see Gods hand in the rise and fall of Israel, the rise of Babylon followed by the rise of Persia. purposes. Now, we need to pause for a moment and make some important distinctions. God is not the author of sin. As James points out in his letter, When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. The source of sin lies within us. James goes on to say, but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. So, though God ordains all things that happen, including human sin, God is not the author of sin, nor of specific sins that bring Gods purposes to pass. The creatures are the authors of their own sin. The confession states that [Gods] power and goodness are so great and beyond understanding that he ordains and executes his work in the most excellent and just manner, even when devils and wicked men act unjustly. Does this not call to mind Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers? They meant it for wickedness, but God intended it for good, Josephs own words to his brothers years later. The brothers plotted Even the events happening in the world today serve Gods

and connived and sought Josephs end, and yet their sinful acts brought about Gods plan! Even more than Joseph, what about Jesus? The Pharisees wanted Jesus dead because of their jealousy. Truly they plotted an evil plan. But God used it to fulfil his planthe saving of many. This man [Jesus Christ] was handed over to you by Gods set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross (Acts 2.23). Then in chapter four of the Acts of the Apostles, we read, Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Human freedom and divine will are not opposite, but work side by side. We dont fully understand how this works, but it works nevertheless. This is one of those things which the confession tells us not to delve more deeply into. You could probably go a bit crazy trying to figure out how God can ordain everything and still give us freedom. All we must do is accept Gods judgements with humility, recognising that Gods plans are best. What we do know is more than enough for us to live in the joy of the Lord. Divine providence results in comfort for the believer. Nothing can happen by chance, but only by Gods gracious will. He is our heavenly father, who knows the number of hairs on our heads. He doesnt let anything happen without good reason. He restrains the devil, and inhibits sinful humanity.
4

We recall the teaching we learned from the Heidelberg Catechism: Q 26. What do you believe when you say, "I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth"? A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ his Son. I trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and he will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this sad world. He is able to do this because he is almighty God; he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father. Q 27. What do you understand by the providence of God? A. Providence is the almighty and ever present power of God by which he upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and povertyall things, in fact, come to us not by chance but from his fatherly hand. Q 28. How does the knowledge of God's creation and providence help us? A. We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from his love. All creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved. Some people dont like this. Some people emphasise human freedom without considering Gods freedom. God freely made us free creatures. Our actions and

decisions, made in our freedom, bring about Gods plans, which he decreed in advance. We talked about that this morning in the Bible Study. Were starting the section called Decision Making and the Will of God. Some people feel led by the Spirit to do certain things. Some people believe that there is a special plan, a blueprint that God has for each of us. God has planned out who we will marry. But if we make a mistake, and
5

we marry someone else, then not only are we wrecking Gods plan for our lives, weve wrecked it for the person we married. Now, they will not be able to marry the person God planned for them. And so they make a mistake with someone else, and that impacts another group of people. If Gods plans can so easily be disrupted, then were either way more important, or Gods has no actual power. And thats what many believe. They, like the ancient group of fatalists, the

Epicureans, think that everything happens by chance. The Bible is clear, nothing happens by chance, rather by Gods sustaining will. We do not need to knock on wood, or believe in karma or destiny. Rather, we believe in God who concerns himself with every aspect of his creation. What this means is that we worship God who is completely trustworthy. His plans cannot be thwarted, not by most sinful of people. We need not fear nuclear war, nor a massive asteroid strike. God watches over his creation, protecting hit, and healing it. We are able to see and understand what evil is. Even though God ordained that people sin and that his Son would be crucified, this in no way makes God the author of sin. Creatures act according to the abilities given to them by God. God made us with the ability to sin; he did not cause us to sin. Sinful acts are sinful because they are borne out of sinful desire. That God can use them for his purposes doesnt decrease their sinfulness, rather it demonstrates Gods ability to turn evil into good.
6

Tragedies and disasters, even horrible things happen according to Gods plan, according to his purposes. In it all, God works his grace turning evil into good.

Furthermore, he promises never to gives more than we can bear. Do we not see this evidenced in Christ? We could not bear our own deserved punishment, so God sent his Son to bear it in our place. Our attitude then, is radical. Were not a bunch of stoics sitting around going, oh well. Were Gods children, provided by God with a way of escape, who turns suffering and evil into good. Evil is evil, yes, still and all, it is part of Gods purpose. What is truly tragic are those who believe that theres nothing more to this life. The horrible things that happen, well, thats just too bad for you. For us, though, we know, it fits in Gods plan and he transforms it. We dont know the reason why things, terrible things happen. We might not ever know. We dont have to like them. Yet, we must know that God ordains them for us to fulfil his eternal purposes. Remember that before the resurrection and glorious ascension, there was the cross and death. It is the same for us, for whom God has called to suffer. We are, as we sang this morning, refined into pure gold, by the refiners fire. But glory awaits, its good Friday, but Sundays coming! Above all, we remember the Saviour, who suffered for us. Hes not a disinterested God, but one who is full of sorrow, familiar with suffering. God pours out the Holy

Spirit into our hearts uniting us to Christ, so that we can call God our Father. We place our confidence in Gods goodness. Amen.