In this episode of Beholding Bible Truth, Scott continues his series of How To Finish Strong. He navigates the theological principles of God's power and control over the universe, contrasting the limitations of human creation with the boundless nature of God's works. He discusses embracing the mystery of God's ways, emphasizing the need for trust rather than complete understanding. He draws attention to the 3-in-1 nature of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and the concept of "creation ex nihilo," which signifies creation out of nothing, a testament to the awe-inspiring might of God's will.

Scott underscores the importance of recognizing God's omnipresence and providence in our daily lives, encouraging listeners to seek comfort in the fact that there is a divine plan charted out for us, even in the midst of life's storms. By referring to biblical passages, he offers solace by reminding us of the refuge found in God during turbulent times and the unshakeable love that endures through both trials and triumphs. In closing, he inspires listeners to worship and surrender in the face of the divine mystery, trusting that God’s sovereignty is a source of strength and a foundation for leaving a lasting legacy built on faith and scripture.

Scott also touches on the essence of creation, the dichotomy of the visible and invisible, and the often-overlooked reality of spiritual beings, including holy and fallen angels, in the divine order.

Episode Breakdown:

• The Nature of God's Wisdom
• The Concept of Sovereignty and Providence
• Encouragement in Faith
• Addressing Life's Journey and Legacy
• The Mysteries of God's Creation
• Understanding God's Dominion

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Hi. If you're looking for greater hope, assurance, and confidence through the shifting sands of life, then join me on today's episode as we dig deep into the bible to discover rock solid truth for life and living from the God of the bible. I'm your host, Scott Keffer. Hi, and welcome to today's episode. As always, for a deeper experience, you can go to the show notes and download the blank insight sheet. Fill in the blanks along with the group. Depending on how you're listening to this, there will be a link to the episode website at beholdingbibletruth.com, and a sheet with the answers is included as well. Enjoy today's episode.

Oh, who wants to finish strong? Yeah. Starting to race one thing, finish strong another thing. Seems as life goes on, we watched new raid no. Raiders. What is it? Indiana Jones. They might watch Indiana Jones, the new Indiana Jones. Everybody's old. Well Like, the dudes are he everybody's old.

Harrison Ford's 81 years old. You know? Karen Allen is 70 something years old. They're all old. Like, I said the best. Like us. What the heck? And there's a part in the movie where they digitally retouch him so he looks younger, right, in the scenes. But the fact is Harrison Ford's getting old. She's getting old.

We all are. Right? And God has ordained our days when as yet there was none. We think and we feel like they're going to be forever, but they're not, are they? So the days and, certainly, the days that go on chronologically remind us that they are a limited number. Whatever that is, we don't know. God knows, but they are a limited number. Right? Challenging us to treasure each one, which is hard to do because the days kinda passed, don't they? Calendar kinda flips off and, you know, as Bethany will say, the, you know, the days are long, but the weeks seem to just peel by, don't they? Just peel by, and then all of a sudden you think, what the heck? What the heck? So this idea of finishing strong. And it really came on the back of that idea that there's a fuse to an event, and then there's the fallout. And we talked about building the evidence in the fallout.

Right? Particularly for the even the generations to come. And I talked about how that legacy matters. What we do matters. It matters here. It matters for eternity. Right? And we can leave behind signs. We wanna indeed do that. Right? If you haven't done that, you wanna update your will.

You can go to testimony in your will, which is the only public document of your estate planning documents, it's public. It stays on record. You can go back and you can see Patrick Henry's testimony built into his will. So we were we just we're reviewing our documents again. Put a test in there. You can put scripture in there, and you can say, hey. I got some stuff for you. But at the end of the day, this stuff fades.

But let me tell you what doesn't fade. Word of God doesn't fade. Your relationship with Jesus Christ doesn't fade. So the gospel doesn't fade. It is indeed for eternity. So in generations to come, they if they look back, they can see that. Right? So we're building that idea of evidence. And the idea was how do we finish strong? How do we finish strong? Not coast to the end, but finish strong.

And, of course, we live in a society that says, hey. Work the least and coast the most.

But isn't that right? And then as

soon as you get to that days when you're not working any longer, it's time to close. It's time to play for the rest of your life. Turn up the music and play. Right? So as Christians, it's just a great reminder that the days while we still have strength that we don't just play, that we are about purpose. Right? Recreation's fine. Recreating yourself is fine, but you wanna make sure we're about purpose. That's about your calling. It's about understanding your gifting, your calling, and make sure that's the center of what you do.

And as we push ourself forward into the world in which we stand, things are challenging. Are they not? Right? The winds of opposition

are blowing stronger, blowing stronger. And one thing about looking at the history of

the church reminds us that they actually are but a breeze for us. They are but a breeze for us. If you go back in history and you look and I was going through reading the first 7 ecumenical councils, and there were some challenging times. And and the opposition and persecution would kinda rise and fall depending on who is a leader in Rome at the time. But for the men, I told you this before, the men, they would bring the men in. If you're a Christian, then you could you could recant. If you if you bow down and worship very similar to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. If you didn't, they would blind you in one eye, and they'd slice your your, calf muscle.

They'd stick you in prison. And then the nice the nice, ruler would come along, and he'd let the Christians out. But, you know, you're still coming out blind in one eye and right, the whole idea was to hobble you for that. You could avoid all that if you, you know, signed and you proved that you had bowed down. So we have some winds of opposition that, seem hard, but they're not. And but they will. They they are blowing, are they not? They're blowing, in fact, again. So then Jesus said, don't be surprised.

If they hated me, they will hate you as well. Right? So finish strong. And for me, the the foundation of being able to be safe, if you will, of being able to be secure, of being able to be confident and sure as we press on is indeed the sovereignty of God. If we're not clearly steeped and footed deep in the sovereignty of God, life is is filled with lots of questions, isn't it? There's a lot of questions. There's a lot of seeming evidence that would would come against the sovereignty of God. But I to me, it's something that I remind myself because life doesn't make sense at times. It doesn't make sense. So remind myself, we looked at it last time.

So we're gonna look again as we can at god's sovereignty and providence. God's sovereignty and providence. And it is indeed a divine mystery. It is indeed a divine mystery.

It's sovereign reignite. Right? Sovereign reignite and provident. It's a divine

mystery. Well, lord, I don't like mysteries, and I like mysteries. Like, I read mysteries. Those are fun, but because I get to learn who done it. But I don't like this mystery because I wanna know. Right? I wanna know. So doctor Taylor said, by the providence of god, he said, I mean, the preserving and controlling superintendence which god exercises over all the operations of the physical universe, all the actions of moral agents, or in in the case of the shorter catechism, his most holy, wise, and powerful, preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions. That sounds pretty complete.

So God's sovereignty is complete and sure. Well, it is indeed a bit of a mystery, isn't it? It's a bit of a mystery. So let's read let's, quote from Psalm 1 47. Great is our lord and abundant in strength. His understanding is infinite. Underlined infinite. So I I always say, well,

how could you have a symbol for a concept which doesn't make sense to us? In other words, how could you even conceive of infinite, those who are finite? Because all we know is finite. We had a time when we were created. There is no understanding of infinite, something which has no beginning and no end. It doesn't make sense. We even have

a symbol for it. Right? There's no beginning and no end. It just moves like this. Where did that come from? Well, scripture says that god's understanding is infinite, without bounds. In other words, we send out a sonar signal, and there's nothing to bounce off of because there is no end. We can send it out in all directions, a you can set the boundaries to ours in fact, with some of ours, the sonar signal doesn't take long to go out and come back. That was a joke. Like, I gotta remind people, we're in Sunday school.

It's okay to laugh. K. With me, the sonar signal doesn't go out long and come back. Right? My wisdom is finite, which means there is a lot of we'd always say to the kids, you know, this is what you know. It also touches what you don't know. Then this is what you know. It also touches what you don't know. Then this is right.

And we keep going here, which would suggest there's a lot of what you don't know. God's wisdom is infinite. It is infinite. Size the heavens are above the earth. We're giving a physical demonstration that is so beyond our comprehension to say it's kind of like 90,000,000,000 light years. Kind of like. So test your perspective. Test your perspective.

Here's 1. I don't like to think about this. Let's just ignore it. It's too hard to understand. Don't even talk about it. Or how about, I wanna understand it fully.

Right? I'm gonna master it. Or what about what about? There's a

whole lot of about, aren't they? What about so and so? Who's going through this? I don't get it. What about Corrie 10 Boom and her sister? What about I mean, there's a lot of Tabouts that would argue against the sovereignty and goodness of God. What aren't there? There's a lot.

Or how about, door stay. Que sera sera. Whatever will be will be. Right? Fatalism.

Oh, I mean, if I understand his sovereignty, that means it doesn't really matter. No. Every person is still responsible, morally responsible for their actions. Well, I don't get how that matches. God is infinite. God is sovereign over all things, and yet people are making choices underneath. Yeah.

How's it work? I don't know. I just know it is. Go to the core. You must go to the core. You have to stand in what is for sure

and what is for sure and what is for sure. The farther out you go, the more questions you you'll have and

the more you're uncertain. You stand in the center. I don't understand. I don't understand. It's a divine mystery. So let's talk about what he has made known. Of course, we know the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit.

He has made known that God is God, and he is 3 in 1. Three persons in 1. And so we think about this God who's 3 in 1, which, by the way, how many understand that completely? I mean, get that. Right? I mean, 3 persons and 1. So we know that one totally. We got that one. Right? Right. So so here he is, father, son, and the Holy Spirit.

I've the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. And we know, first of all, God sovereigned sovereignty. On the left, god's sovereignty. God's sovereignty

over over the verse, Psalm 103. Let's read it. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his

sovereignty rules over all. It rules over what? Hall. He is sovereign overall. God's sovereignty. He does according

to his will in the host of heaven among the inhabitants of

the earth. Who can ward off his hand? Nobody. How about who can question him? Hey. What are you doing? All the time. Hey. What are you doing? Right? And and partial Christ, you asked the Lord, hey. What's the Lord doing? To to

to which you wanna respond, and he does sometimes in his word, who

are you to ask? Like, who are you to ask? Right? God's sovereign rain tea.

On the right hand side, let's read this. Yours, oh lord, is the greatness, power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. Indeed, everything that is in the heavens and in the earth. Yours is the dominion, oh lord, and thou dost exalt thyself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. Your hand is power and might, and it lies in your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. That's fairly

clear. Thou dost rule over all

and everything. He says, the the the you're blessed. The greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. What else is there? They're all yours. And thou does rule over all. And in thy hand is power and might, power and might, and it lies in thy hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.

Everything, anything that comes to you comes from him. That's god's providence. God's providence. It's time to be reblown away by our God, to just let his awesomeness just sort of blow through your spirit

like a fresh wind and blow away all the concern, all the questions, all the uncertainties. Right? God's sovereignty, God's providence over all. Where is our

god? He's in the heavens. What's he do? Whatever he pleases. Whatever he pleases. Oh. Oh. Yeah. That thing. Yeah.

I remember that.

And he reminds us that god created all. What does that mean?

Out of nothing. Out of nothing. Now think about that for a minute. How many have created something in your life? Written something, built something. Right? What do you do? You think about it. You design it. You build it, get the resources, and you created it. It says that god spoke it.

God spoke it. CS Lewis thinks God sang it, that the creative process would be more like God stinging. Isn't that interesting? Right? That he spoke, and out of nothing came everything. Out of nothing became everything. Watch this. And it says, worthy art thou, oh, Lord, our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and because of your will, they existed

and were created. This may not strike you, let it strike me. So I think about something. I decide I'm gonna make something.

I get all the stuff together. I make it, and then it exists.

So I will it, I make it, and it exists. But it doesn't exist till I made it. God willed it, and it existed before he made it. Do you understand? In his will, it exists, and then it was created.

So look at that revelation verse. It says, because of your will, it existed. He just literally in his will, it is in existence. As soon as you come into the thought of God, you are in existent whether you are in reality made. It may not strike you, but it's fundamentally awesome because we have to create something for it to exist. God wills it and it exists, and then it's created.

It's just it's his power. Are you gonna get take that home, put that in your pipe, and smoke that for a little while? Like, well, what's he talking about? Why does that make a difference? Because we will it and create it and

then it exists. We will it, create it, and exist. God wills it, it exists and then

it's created. Very different. Everything out of nothing.

It's kinda like he's awesome. You know?

I don't know. Well, what was created? Let's read this. For by him, all things were created, both in

the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together. So it speaks about the role of the lord Jesus in the process, the father, the son. All things are created through him and for him.

And there are 2 kinds of things, invisible. Right? There's the invisible things,

and then there are the

visible. What's the difference? Seen or unseen? Literally seen or unseen. Which seem more like reality for us? Seen. Yeah. We are touch, feel, smell, taste people. And we live, by

the way, in a, in a zeitgeist, in a spirit of the present age, that the only thing is real is what I can see, touch, feel, right, smell. So we live in an age which says so that's the nature of modernity. This is all that's real. That's not real. This is all that's real. That's kind of fun and interesting and you know? But this is the only thing that's real. Now what we're told. Right?

You gotta be able to measure it, weigh it. Right? Lord says, no. They're both they're both real. So, of course, this is heaven. Right? This is heaven. And he says, there are jewels, 2 kinds. What are they?

Holy ain't a personal spiritual beings created by God. No physical bodies. They possess moral judgment, high intelligence, power, and glory.

They serve God. They carry out his purposes. There's an archangel, apparently, chief of the angels, and there is a heavenly host of the balance of holy angels, a heavenly host, heavenly host.

You've heard the phrase lord of host. What's it mean? He's the lord of the armies of God. He's the lord of the holy angel, and he's coming back one day. He's seated upon he's gonna be riding a white horse. The host of heaven is behind him. These awesome creatures that god has created. It says he's he's clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the word of God. And when he comes back then, scary stuff because he is carrying out, right, the wrath of God, the wrath of God.

So heaven. Right? Holy angels, heavenly hosts, heavenly hosts. Of course, we have fallen angels. We have fallen angel.

They have a commander as well. Who's that? Satan. And then the balance are demons. Balance are demon. Where did I put evil angel? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Same thing. The evil angel dead fallen.

Fallen and evil are the same.

Yes. Yes. Same. Yeah. Interchange use it interchangeable. Evil these are the fallen evil angels. Satan is the commander, if you will, the the ultimate, commander. Thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities.

What do those mean? Because you see them. Where do we see them? In Colossians. Right? Whether thrones or dominions, rulers, or authorities. There are hierarchies. Right? It could be generals, captain, right, majors, sergeants. That's in in our world, it would be the same as in in the army. There are, apparently, there are ranked among the angels. Right? Chief angel Satan, just like chief angel archangel.

Right?

Makes sense? Unseen as real. In fact, created before the visible world

created before the visible world. Right? So we have the invisible world, then we have the visible world, right,

which, of course, is heavens and the earth. There are heavens. Paul says I was raised up to the 3rd heaven. Right? Went up to the 3rd heaven. There are heaven. How many are there? I don't know. But then we have mankind.

So let's read this verse. For indeed, Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom, But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, and to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. So scripture says there's 2 kinds of people.

There are those who are Jews by birth. Mom was Jewish. You're Jewish. Jews by birth. Then there are Gentiles by birth. Right? And sometimes called Greeks. They're gentiles by birth. The gentiles are all others.

So either born Jewish or you are a gentile. Born Jewish or you are a gentile. Purpose of gentiles, to pay retail. Come on. They'd like to think lighten up. That's all

they would tell you all the time. That's I'll tell you. I love to love to sideline to you guys. You're just so serious. You know? The perp what's the purpose of Gentiles? Jesus. I don't know. I don't know what the answer is. It's Jesus.

Come on. But isn't that interesting? Jews by birth, all others. There's no other nationalities from God's perspective. Jews by birth, not Jews. Jews by birth, not Jews. Then scripture says, interesting. Jews ask for signs, and Greeks or gentiles search for wisdom. So understand how we're wired, understand difference, but there's a third category.

What is that? The called.

Yes. The chosen or the called.

So there are the called that are Jewish by birth, and there are the called that are gentile by birth. Who is sovereign over the called?

The one who calls them.

The one who calls them. A divine mystery, but the one who calls them. So does that make sense? So invisible, visible. This is heavens, multiple heavens, and earth.

Right? This is heaven, visible, invisible. God is sovereign over it all. And what wraps all of this? His glory. The glory. The glory is over all

of it. His glory. Everybody blown away by that? Just a great reminder.

I know all this. Yeah. I know all this. Yeah. I know all this. So we think about all we wanna know about God, but you need to start with what has God revealed. He's revealed this. He's made this absolutely abundantly clear.

So let's go back. What he has made known let's talk about what he has made known. The Heidelberg confession let's read this. The almighty and everywhere present power of god, whereby as it were by his hand, he still upholds heaven and earth with all creatures, and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, all things come not by chance, but by his fatherly hand. Okay. Still, what about?

So Flavell says Roger mentioned mystery of providence last week.

The greatness of God is a glorious, searchable mystery, glorious and unsearchable. The condescension of the most high god to men is also a profound mystery. So So he talked about the greatness of god and the condescension of god. But when both these meet together, as they do in scripture, they make up a matchless mystery. Here we find the most high god performing all things for a poor distressed creature. It's the great support and solace of the saints in all the stresses that befall them here, in all the distresses that befall them here, that there's a wise spirit sitting in all the wheels of motion and governing the most eccentric creatures and their most pernicious what's that mean? Not good. Like, evil. Yeah.

Designs. And he's doing it. He's governing it for what? The most blessed and happy issues. And, indeed, it were not worthwhile to live in a world devoid of god and providence. It were not worthwhile to live in a world devoid of god's providence. It is indeed mysterious for sure for sure for sure. And lastly, I put this down lastly. Some either some things are out of God's sovereign control, which is horrifying, we said this last week, Or all things are under God's sovereign control, which is mystifying, for sure.

But and and that's what Flavell says. Not only it's not worthwhile, it's horrifying if the world is devoid of god's providence. If evil if there's some evil that's greater than god's providence, then we're lost. We're the the world is lost because the evil is greater than him. Oh, I hope he doesn't. Hope there's a 4th quarter.

Oh, yeah. Hope he's not like the Steelers. Oh my gosh. So he says when these two things come together, which is the greatness of God and the condescension of god, it's a divine mystery. Greatness of god and the condescension of god. I think this is at its core. It's my pride. It says

he humbles himself to behold the things that are in heaven and on

the earth. We think, well, why wouldn't he?

I'm pretty amazed. Why wouldn't god answer all my questions? Why wouldn't why would god even be in in reveal the assumption is that he had to reveal anything to his creatures. Well, we wanna reveal more. No. The fact that he has revealed what he has revealed, done what he's done. Right? It it to remind us of the condescension of god, who is like our god who humbles himself. I mean, if I could speak something, everything out of nothing, I would have nothing to do with me. That's not true.

No. That's not a joke. It's true. Like, what what I what I meant, with a broken sinful you know what I mean? Rebellious, keeps falling, wobbly faith. Right? Why would he do that? Because he's merciful. He's gracious, compassionate, merciful, slowed anger, abounding in lovingkindness, keeping lovingkindness for 1,000. That's our God. It's awesome.

So he reminds us that we are called to trust God's sovereignty,

not fully understand it. We are called to trust God's sovereignty and providence.

Yeah. But I wanna understand it. What does it profit us to know that God has created and by his providence still upholds all things? That we may be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and for what is future have good confidence in our faithful god and father that no creature shall separate us from his love since all creatures are so in his hand that without his will, they cannot so much as move. So the first thing I remind is trust God, not the concept. We're not here to understand the concept of sovereignty and providence. We're here to trust the personal God. He is sovereign, and he is, a provident, if you will. So we're to trust him, not just the idea.

We're not studying an idea because we can get that. Right? Greek search for wisdom. Understand that. That's how we're wired. We wanna know the answer. I wanna get a 92 on the test. I wanna pass the test. He said, no.

Trust me. I know. Yeah. But I'm I'm down here studying your providence. Can I leave me?

Wait while I get this right. Let's read the scripture. Though I walk

in the midst of trouble, you will revive me. You'll stretch forth your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand will save me. The lord will accomplish what concerns me. And I think kindness, oh lord, is everlasting. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Is that great? That's king David. Like, the Lord will accomplish what concerns me. His loving kindness is everlasting.

He's affirming. And then he says, don't forsake the works of your hands. Don't you feel like that sometimes? Oh, Lord, I know you'll do it. I know you're doing it. Don't forsake me. Right? You feel like that? That's that's the honesty of of king David. Don't forsake the works of your hands, Lord. So in his greatness and his condescension is a merciful God who's opened the gates to his holy presence because of the Lord Jesus.

And we come in and and we're able to trust him. And we should worship God for his sovereignty and providence. We should worship him. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of god, the depths of the riches. How unsearchable are his judgments, unfathomable his ways. Who's known the mind of the Lord? Who's been his counselor? I I set up a sign and said, you know, I'm here to counsel you, Lord. Anytime. I'm I'm happy.

I've got all sorts of thoughts. He never calls. He never calls. He says call unto me. I don't call unto you. Right? I love that. Who is first giving it to him that it might be paid back to him? For from him

and through him and to him are all things. Infinite. For from him and through him and to him are all things. Just a great reminder. Let's read this. How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in

the Lord our God, who has made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever, who executes justice for the oppressed. The Lord sets the prisoners free. He supports the fatherless

and the widow. You wanna know a God like that? He's not just sovereign.

He could be sovereign in a despot. Right? You think about that. He could have created all things and then wicked, and there would be 0 you could do about it. We're just grateful. He's compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding and loving kindness.

Listen what he does. He executes justice for the oppressed.

How many times have you felt oppressed in your life? And you can't do anything about it. Anybody feel like that today? Where's justice?

We're in a world where justice is being mocked, openly mocked.

You say, I keep justice. I keep justice for the oppressed. The lord sets the prisoner free. For the for those who sin are slaves. We've been set free, but we're still struggling, don't we? He sets us free from sin. And he separate he supports the fatherless and the widow. K.

So he says, trust my sovereignty and my provident in times of trouble.

I'm so broke. I can't even pay attention, Lord.

How many have been in trouble? Been with no resources. No resources. Times of trouble. So let's

cry out. Be gracious to me, oh god. Be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. In the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge until destruction passes by. I will cry to god most high, to god who accomplishes all things for me. He will send from heaven and save me.

How many resources do you have up there? Couple.

I think you've got a couple. He says he will send from

heaven where he's got the host,

and he rules. He said he will send from heaven. What's the problem? He doesn't do it always my way and my time. Uh-uh. That doesn't mean yeah. So what's the problem? Is he on time? Yes. Is he wise? Does his understanding infinite? So who's confused? Raise your hand. Everybody raise your hand in here.

We are the confused. We're the confused. I'm confused. It seems like now would be the right time, Lord. I'm just saying. Well, there's one who sits at his right hand who understands that feeling. My god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me? He's cried it out. He's felt it.

Yet, it says, yet without sin. So he's been tempted always as you. There's not anything you felt that he hasn't felt. Not knowing it from a distant, not just he's empathized and sympathized because he has felt it.

So he says, hey. Come to me for for for mercy. Right? It's a throne of mercy.

It's a throne of mercy. Grace to help in time of need. Grace to help. He's felt it. He said those words, my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. Oh my god. I cry by day, but you do not answer. And by night, I have no rest, but there's a yet.

The yet, he says, you are holy. I get it. I don't understand this, my circumstances, but you're holy. Oh, you who are enthroned above the praises of Israel. In you, our fathers trusted. They trusted. You delivered them. To you, they cried out or delivered.

In you, they trusted, and they were not disappointed. Again, these are words for you. They're words for you. We gently remind a Kathy and a Bob, right, in the midst of this Because you don't preach this when somebody's going through this. We show mercy, grace. Right? We understand with them. Right? We just remind them God has has a purpose, but this is for you to sink your feet deep in your footers for yourself, right, to be sure in the midst of it. Right? And he also reminds them, hey.

By the way, trust in the Lord's sovereignty and providence in times of prosperity.

Well, I like those better, lord. He says, well, be careful. Beware. It's good, but not always. Beware, let's read this,

that you do not forget the lord your god. Otherwise, when you've eaten and are satisfied and built good houses and lived to them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and gold multiply and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the lord your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, my power the strength of my hand made me this well. But you shall remember the lord your god, for it is he who is giving you power to make wealth. Deuteronomy 818. It's framed up, sits in my office to remind me, remember the lord your god, for it is he who's giving you power to gain wealth. We've been deep in debt. We've been flat broke.

We've been we have some. Right? God is the author of all of those. He is the author of all of those. But remembering him, interestingly enough, in prosperity is harder than remembering him in adversity, isn't it? Because in adversity, right, I mean, you're under the gun. So it's, lord, where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Right? Prosperity going, lord, I'm good. Call call you later. I got it. I got what I need.

So he says, trust this sovereignty and providence in times of trouble and prosperity, and remember his sovereign love his sovereign love his sovereign love, which mean unchangeable, immovable, unshakable as I am.

For I'm convinced that neither life nor nor death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other created thing will be able to separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Nothing nothing created, nothing will separate you from his sovereign love.

Ain't it good to know? Nothing Let's redo it together. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling

and to make you stand in the presence of his glory blameless with great joy to the only god, our savior, through Jesus Christ, our lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. So trust that he can keep you. He can keep you. People argue those only those who will endure till the end will be saved. I said, that's exactly right. You have to endure till the end to be saved. But only those who trust him, he's the only one who can keep you to the end.

But, yeah, that phrase doesn't suggest I gotta do it. It suggests he better do it or I

ain't doing it. I'm not finishing. Finish strong.

Right? It's trusting him to keep you to the end.

I trust him to keep me to the end from confident

in this very thing. What's the very thing? He who began a good work and you will perfect it. When to when?

Day of Christ Jesus. It's either the day he calls you home or the day he comes to bring you home.

Trust in him to keep you. And then this is Beth's favorite verse. Let's read it. Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your god. I will strengthen you. Surely, I will help you.

Surely, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. So there is a picture of me daily basis. What? Me? Worry? So I put on there. Right? Trust more, worry less. Trust more, worry less.

Who's gonna add? He says, who's gonna add? I know, but there's much

I said to him, there must be something fun about worrying because it you feel like what does it do? It does absolutely nothing. Right? It's a waste time and, you know, depress yourself. It isn't neutral. It robs you. Yeah. Yeah. So next time you're worrying, you can quote scripture or just say Alfred e Newman.

Right? Isn't that that is Alfred e Newman. Like, look at

him and say, what? Remember? Like, what? Cast your burden upon the Lord.

He will sustain you. So his sovereignty and providence are immensely grounding theological principles if we just let them rest in our mind. But they are the character they're they're a way for us to put words to the the infinite character nature of god, which is immovable, unshakable, and he is sovereign overall. And so he's saying, embrace it into your head, down into your heart so that you can be safe in it. You can rest in it. You can stand secure in it. Right? He doesn't want you to run away and hide in it. He wants you to stand firm in it and finish strong.

Right? And you can do that. We can risk. We can we can press out into the world. We can press on. Right? Not that I've already attained it, but I press on Press on in order that I may attain that for which also I've been been been chosen by Christ Jesus. Right? I press on. So he's saying press on. Right? Press on.

So we're we're we're called to trust in it, not to fully understand it, not to not to answer a quiz about it or an essay about it, but really to trust it, to trust it because it's him.

It's him. Alright. Write down the application. God's sovereignty and providence, indeed, a divine mystery.

Do you wanna hold yeah. You wanna hold on to him? Yeah. What's her name? I forget her name. Yeah. You wanna embrace him. Right? You embrace him, and he embraces you. Right? You embrace him, and he embraces you. Yeah.

You wanna hold on to him, and you wanna be held on to. Right? I wanna be held on to. Because my weak my my grip's weak. My grip's weak. Sometimes I don't wanna hold on to them, so I just sell them. Hold on to me. Hold on to me. One thing I've asked that I shall seek.

We'll talk about that next week, core. The core. Anyway, about you as the sand upon the seashore. Lord, I don't like to think about myself that often. I mean, I like to think about myself often. Yeah. But not I mean, think about that. He has that many thoughts.

That's what he says. And David says, that's just too it's too wonderful. Just what? Yeah. Thank you that he is a god who saved that he is a god who saved. Unfathomable and awesome.

Indeed. Indeed. Indeed, his grace.

Because it is indeed. Right? And it's a great reminder that because we think about the unfathomable things that are beyond our comprehension about why is he doing things and what. We don't often think about his grace, which is unfathomable. Right? His mercies, which indeed never end. Right? So that's why he said and and I think it's in Psalm 107, he says, for the for the I I forget how it goes. The the wise, for he is wise, consider his loving kindnesses. Consider his loving kindnesses. Right? They're great to remember.

Remember his loving kindnesses there indeed. We need regular alignment. We we need regular alignment. So that's what we're gonna talk about next week. Right? How do we how do we make this a reality in our life and really finish well? So join us next week if you wanna do that. And may the god who is sovereign in power and sovereign in his love for you, may he bless you. May he keep you. May he cause his face to shine upon you.

May he lift up his countenance and grant you his peace, his shalom, deep in your soul. May the grace of our lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now. Thanks for listening. I hope you have greater hope, assurance, and confidence in your life and a deeper trust in the God of the bible and his son, Jesus Christ. Until next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace, his shalom in your soul and in your life. Until next time, may God bless you and keep you.