Carlon Tschetter,
MESSAGE: “God’s Awesome Providence” Genesis 37
Big Idea: God is continuously active in the affairs of this world and in the details of our lives. He is accomplishing His plan and purpose.
I. QUESTION PLEASE: What is the balance between Joseph bringing a bad report about his brothers and a
verse
like Proverbs
A. Joseph did the right thing in bringing the report.
B. That doesn’t mean we become “reporters”.
C. It does mean we must exercise wisdom and love.
D. Consider I Peter 4:8
II. THE UNSEEN HAND OF GOD
A. A
Definition of Divine
1. Literal Definition: Pro = before
video = to see
“To see beforehand, to see in advance”
2. Theological definition: “Divine providence is God’s Work in preserving and governing all His
creatures and all their actions.”
3. Practical expression: We have a personal, all-knowing Father who is involved in our lives.
There is no such thing as chance, fortune, or luck.
B. The
Extent of Divine
1. One view says God is not involved in the world.
2. Another view says God directs everything that happens in the world.
3. The Biblical view says God is sovereign over all without violating man’s freedom of choice.
C. The
Tension of Divine
“God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and
unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin,
nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures.”
1. At times God restrains the wickedness and sin of man.
2. At other times God allows the wickedness and sin of man to manifest itself.
3. Sometimes God permits the wickedness and sin of man to manifest itself to fulfill His own purposes and will.
III. APPLICATION
There are many things you have no control over. There is one thing you do have control over and that’s the most important thing: It’s how much you choose to believe God.