Well, I invite you to turn tonight to Genesis chapter 50, and we'll be reading verses 15 through 21. Before we do that, I'd actually like to consider Lord's Day 10 together. There's two question and answers there of providence in question 27 and 28. So I'll ask the question, let's respond with the answer, and then we'll read Genesis chapter 50. What do you understand by the providence of God? prosperity and poverty all things in fact come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand how does the knowledge of God's creation and providence help us we can be patient in adversity thankful in prosperity and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and father that no creature will separate us from his love for all creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved this is now genesis chapter 50 beginning at verse 15 when joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead they said it may be that joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him so they sent a message to Joseph saying, your father gave this command before he died. Say to Joseph, please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin because they did evil to you. And now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, behold, we are your servants. But Joseph said to them, do not fear for am I in the place of God. As for you, you meant evil against me but god meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today so do not fear i will provide for you and your little ones thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them and there is the reading of god's word tonight well tonight uh we come to what i believe is one of the most comforting truths of the christian faith this is really a wonderful wonderful doctrine that we confess of God's providence and his care in our lives. Outside of the truth of justification by faith alone. Think of that great truth where God has declared us righteous because of the work of Christ and a great exchange has occurred and we have the righteousness of Jesus imputed to our accounts as if we have never sinned or been a sinner. That great truth of our great freedom in Christ and forgiveness and love. Then comes this wonderful truth if you think of it, that everything is so in God's control and in his hand, there's really nothing that's happening by chance in this life. Nothing that's happening by chance in this life. That is something that I have to hold on to constantly. That's something that you have to hold on to constantly because it's not something that we live. It's not something that as we get up every morning and we go about our business in life and we look at what's happening in this world that we think much about and it doesn't take much to completely cloud this great truth and then it affects how we behave, how we treat others, how we forgive. Everything that happens in this life becomes clouded and the truth of God's providence is utterly forgotten. It's the quickest doctrine to forget. It really is the quickest doctrine to forget. And here we are tonight on whatever situation we find ourselves, whatever situation our world finds itself, our nation finds itself, you'll notice here this great perspective that God, every creature, is so completely in his hand that they cannot move or be moved apart from his will. He is presently upholding everything. He's presently keeping everything. I can't even imagine what life would be like if that were not so it couldn't exist if that were not so we would have utterly destroyed ourselves you think things are bad at times in this world imagine if god had had like the deist said wound it up and left what a terrible thought i can't even that's impossible because we wouldn't be here we'd have been nuked a long time ago by the way you know what makes this so wonderful because when you're a child of God, when you're a believer, the Lord is telling us something about your whole perspective in life that has to utterly change the way you look at everything because he's told us up front in the doctrine of providence that whatever it is, his intention is always good to us. Now, of course, it takes faith to believe that and to trust that, but that's what he said nonetheless, that whatever it is, His intention is good for us. In the end, that intention will work out very well for us. And even when we don't understand the things that happen, even when we don't have to figure it out, which often we can't, this beautiful truth is set before us that our future is bright. Did you hear that little statement? Your future is bright. I can stand up tonight as a minister and say, you have the brightest future set in front of you. Can the world say that? They're scared to death about tomorrow. I'm scared to death about what tomorrow will bring. And Jesus told us from the beginning, I don't want you doing that. You do not worry about tomorrow. That's a freedom I've given you that you don't have to worry about tomorrow. What a beautiful truth. What a beautiful truth. Gives us present purpose. It's not just about getting through things then. Life is not just about making it through. It means that whatever it is that God's intention is in front of us and that God is working through it. So it's not just about getting through, it's about understanding that God has real purpose and a real plan that's playing out through the ugliness of life, through the difficulty of life, through the sin in this life that happens. That's the marvel of providence that he's working through the actions of sinful people to complete a perfect plan. And that makes the end exciting because more joy is coming than you could ever ask or imagine. in what is shortly to come to pass on that day. So tonight we're looking at providence that this truth that we need to be reminded of that whatever we face in this veil of tears, as we looked at last time, we have a father who cares for us and is watching over us. And I thought tonight, can you really do better than Joseph's words here that testify to this truth? I'm sure the framers of the Heidelberg, when they were writing this, opened up Genesis 50. I don't know how else, what other passage, you could go to Romans 8, But Genesis 50 was right on their minds when they're drafting this. It's beautiful that this narrative is showing us, and tonight I want to look at briefly with you the way that Joseph looked at life. Somebody who had been so terribly treated, could anyone really, outside of Jesus, has anyone really been treated so terribly? Had anyone else been treated so roughly and abused and hated and beaten and sold? everything that could ever go wrong in life happened to this man. And when you read Genesis 50, there's no bitterness. There's complete peace. And that's what I want to look at with you tonight. The perspective of providence, the provision in providence, and then the promise of providence that is here in Genesis chapter 50. As you open up this last section, it's interesting that at the very end of the book, what you have here are brothers panicked, brothers in great worry, in great distress, really with this great question of the intentions of Joseph to them. What are Joseph's intentions to us? And you'll notice that in verse 15. When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, it may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him. It really does read, perhaps Joseph will harbor animosity in his heart. perhaps joseph will hold an accusation perhaps joseph will be bitter to us perhaps joseph will hate us secretly and and then give us the full payment of what we deserve he will fully demand a payment which he has every right to this is quite a story i don't know that you could have done worse to somebody in your life especially your brother right um they had taken an innocent 17 year old the father's son whom he loved they left him for dead they stripped him of his clothing they sold him into slavery away from the land away from his father putting his father in all kinds of grief for years selling him off then they lied to jacob about what is what had happened and then we'll get into in a little bit everything that happened to him in egypt it did not go well for a long time for Joseph. You remember the Potiphar wife incident. You remember he was put in prison. Everything that could have gone wrong in this man's life happened to him. Anyone ever been sold? Anyone ever been left for dead? Anyone ever been stripped naked? Anyone ever found themselves in prison like this? So this is the circumstance that Joseph had found all because of his brother's hatred. Kind of makes our offenses among one another seem pretty petty, doesn't it? So notice here that as this perspective that begins to overcome, that has overcome Joseph, there was a real worry in the brothers and a real concern of Joseph's attitude toward them. They were guilt-driven. They were guilt-stricken. They're carrying around a lot of guilt, which I think has an interesting tie to how you're going to appreciate providence, by the way, which we'll look at. If you really doubt God's goodness to you and you're carrying around guilt, you'll never be able to look at the things that are happening very well. You'll always have this same sort of suspicion. We'll come back to this thought that really God must be against us and that's why these things are happening. How many people live that? How many people do that? But if you understand forgiveness and you understand the gospel and you understand love, then providence takes on a whole new meaning. And that's a beautiful truth about providence that we're seeing here. But I want you to notice here, we'll come back to that thought, that the guilt in the heart of what they had done, what they had accomplished in leaving their brother dead, they are really in struggle. They are really in pain over that. And this is the reality. Who lets stuff like this go in this life? Nobody. People don't let stuff like this go. People get theirs. They're going to have vengeance. They are going to demand a reckoning if you're offended like this guilt drove these brothers for years now dad has died and they are left in front of they are left in front of joseph who is in the mightiest exalted place in egypt at the right hand of pharaoh so as joseph um hears about this and they're terrified of joseph i want you to notice first here the perspective of providence from the mouth of joseph in verse 4 i mean in verse um oh let's see where am i 45 verse 4 excuse me you can turn back if you want to see that he had already said something to them that was really beautiful please come near to me So they came near. This is 45, verse 4 and 5. Then he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life. See why I say the perspective. What a beautiful perspective. What a perspective about this all. This is what I call the outlook on everything. If you have this outlook on life, you will have the most free life ever as you go through life. That really, as Heidelberg says tonight, really there is nothing indeed that happens to us by chance. That really is a truth. That is the truth of the Christian faith. There's nothing that happens to us by random chance. If all the odds were stacked against me and this evil that was done against me, and we figure out all the ways that something could be prevented, Think of all the ways that we're frustrated with how things go and the way that things turn out. Think of how many people have been frustrated with doctors over the years because such and such, if they hadn't made this little mistake, so and so would be alive. Think of all the perspectives that come into this. None of it, none of it, whatever has happened, was outside of the almighty and very present, as the Heidelberg says, hand of God, power of God. Almighty and ever-present power that is working in this life, ordering and moving and everything working out just according to plan, according to his perfect decree. You realize then that if all these odds were stacked against me, all of it was still in the very almighty and ever-present power of God. And in this particular case, notice how it's changed Joseph. Look at his attitude. Who's offended us and we turn the other way? Who's done something that has happened to us and we're so angry? I refuse to forgive. I refuse to talk to them. Notice how providence has changed everything in this man. It has freed him to forgive. It's freed him to love. It's freed him to live. You realize a lack of forgiveness is a denial of God's ever-present hand in your life? It really is. When we get to the heart of it, it's a denial of God's ever-present hand of power in your life because you are assumed that the things that happen are outside of him and outside of his control. It assumes that the God who ordered everything, as the Heidelberg says, was not overseeing not just the good, but also what we think is the bad. The things that we don't understand. The things that trouble us. So this is, in this particular case, quite a moment. Think of all the situations. I just want to capitalize on this point for a minute. Think of all the situations in life. Think of the difficulties at work. Think of the boss that troubles you. Think of the people you complain about. Who are you really complaining against? See how providence affects everything. Providence affects everything. The brothers are terrified and they grasp and they ask for forgiveness and they use dad. Listen, dad pleaded that you should forgive us and hear for the sin and the evil that we did to you. And Joseph hears this and he weeps. But what moves Joseph through this is a recognition of the purpose for which God did this. That's what's so wonderful about studying Genesis chapter 50. Joseph didn't look to the bad that was happening at him and miss the end intended by the Lord. Not at all. Notice what it says. As for you, you meant, verse 20, evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. The thing is, he had already forgiven them for wrecking his life completely. But that's not how he saw it. That's not how he looked at it. They hated him so much, they left him for dead. And because of that hatred, he was sold into Egypt, falls into a mess with Potiphar's wife, is put into prison for years of his life. Years of his life in prison over this. You ever hear the stories of people who have been unjustly and put in prison when they didn't commit the crime? Look at the pain of this. Never communing with his parents, never seeing his father, thrown away from the promised land. Who doesn't have the right to bitterness and rage? Well, Joseph seems to. And then he adds for clarity this great truth. I want you to know, I know you meant it for evil, but God didn't. god didn't he was working through them i understand that he had a real purpose in the midst of this you know what he was actually doing through your abuse of me listen listen to this point do you know what he was actually doing through your abuse of me he was saving people he was saving people how do we act in the midst of abuse lord's day 10 says all these things that happen in life leaf and blade rain and drought fruitful and barren years food and drink health and sickness let all be set in for a minute what are you enjoying you're enjoying one end of the spectrum right now riches and poverty god makes rich god makes poor did you know that indeed all things come to us not by chance everything that happens comes to us not by chance but from a father from a father who loves us a father who cares about us what helps here to recognize in genesis 50 is that god said through these things he's his purpose was to save i'm sure paul was looking at this when he's drafting romans 8 we'll come back to that too what a marvel god was working through the wicked actions of people to send them a savior it's mind blowing, isn't it? Through the wicked actions of the terrible things that was happening, God was working to plan and purpose and send a savior. Why do you think things are the way they are in the world right now? Well, we look at it and think, you know, what we really want is just to get back to everything being normal, right? And if we had everything normal again, and life was going well, and people were making a lot of money, and everyone was happy, and everything was going well, and we just had things back to the way that we think it should be, no affliction, no suffering, you might ask the question, how much salvation is happening during those times? You might ask that question. Have you ever thought that God may be putting you through something to save somebody else? I think that's my point in the sermon. I like that one, sorry. I think that is so important tonight. God may be putting you through something to save somebody else. What a beautiful thing. But how we understand that is important. How we live through that is important. Because then you can have real peace in the midst of it. Or you can get really bitter. You can really become angry. Someone close to you, someone in your life may need to be stirred up. maybe God has made your life an example wasn't that this morning wasn't there a man who was born blind for 30 years for a great purpose didn't the disciples need to understand salvation was that man born blind for no purpose then it was a great purpose this is what Paul learned in life he said you know far it would be far better to die and get this over with and go to be with the Lord didn't he that's what he said but then he said you know what no actually I'd rather stay here and suffer because it's far better for you he knew that in his sufferings and in the hardships of life in the orderings of providence god was working to bring about salvation that's a perspective of providence that we need and this is what joseph is saying to us tonight there's always a purpose in this there's always a purpose in this it's not purposeless and in this case i see so clearly right now is there not a purpose in everything that we're facing sometimes when we're so quickly trying to overcome it and get out of it. We don't think like this. With Jesus, did he not look on everything that was happening to him as the divine purpose unfolding? For the joy that was set before him, he endured what? A cross. We have to look at life this way. This is what the doctrine of providence is calling us to see, and I think it helps us with our relationship with the Lord. Here, I think, you have to see that this relationship between Joseph and the brothers is really sort of purposely intended to reflect the relationship of God with us. Will he hate us? Will he fully repay us? Is that what you think of God? All that we have done to his son, all that we did in our sins, all the stupid sins we continue to do. We always live out of this cloud that maybe, maybe God's really coming after us and that's what this says. Maybe he's going to demand a reckoning. That's what this says. And if the relationship were one of no mercy and grace and it were a relationship of works and you were on that footing based upon your performance, watch out. Yeah, but that's not what it is. Joseph was a king, remember. They had a reason to fear the king. Joseph confessed in the midst of this, all of it was of God. And who was he to demand that reckoning? This is such a beautiful, beautiful truth that's set before us. He had forgiven them. And I think many people in the Christian life, I think they go through this when it comes to this question of peace with God, whether they're really at peace with him and live in full assurance of this will really affect how you understand and think about whether the intentions in the midst of what we're facing are good. That's the heart of the issue with providence. I couldn't get away with that in light of Lord's Day 10 and Genesis 50. There has to be peace that comes through faith or you'll always be wondering whether whatever has happened, does this say God's against me? The whole scene of the brothers sinning against their father and Joseph is really a representation of our sin against God. In the New Testament, the Bible attributes our delivering over of Jesus to be crucified. It's the same story. We cast off his garments. We hung a crown of thorn on his head. We left him beaten and bruised and we sold him. Our sin caused the supreme act of betrayal against God's son and we committed it. We pierced him. We did this. And in the midst of this, in the midst of the worst act of history, in the midst of the greatest crime of history, God was working to save you. Our sin disrupts confidence in this love. You know that. Sins that we fall into, sins that we struggle with, wrecks confidence in this love and then we push that on providence. I do something or come into a season and see how really little I love the Lord and then we fall back to performance and we begin to question and we transfer to Him what we know should be the just response. He should pay us back, but He doesn't. Instead, He put it on His Son. Surely you wouldn't say it's anything in the Lord. How has he been to you? He's made promises. He's confirmed them. He's ratified them. He's loved you. He's helped you the whole way. He's told you to talk to him. He's told you to pray to him. He's told you there's aid for the sons of Abraham. He's given you all that you need, and yet we still struggle with providence and grace. Joseph was beaten, stripped, left for dead, sold by the actions of wicked brothers, and then he was raised to the highest place in Egypt. Do you see the story? But I want to think tonight of something else in this final point. That there's a great promise of providence. And I really love this particular aspect of what the Heidelberg emphasizes in the promise of providence. Did you notice the promise that Joseph made right there at the end? It's so beautiful. Verse 21. So do not fear, I will provide for you and your little ones. Do not fear, I will provide for you and your children. Don't you hear God speaking there? Don't you hear the Lord speaking there? It's such a beautiful truth. It's Lord's Day 10. What benefit is it to know that God has created all things and still upholds them in his providence? What benefit? Well, you can be thankful in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future, which is what Joseph's doing here. We can have firm confidence that our faithful God and Father, in our faithful God and Father, that no creature shall separate us from his love. There's never going to be anything that comes between that relationship anymore. that puts you on a wrong footing because of Jesus. There's nothing, nothing. For all creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will, they cannot so much as move. What he's saying there is, that means if you cannot be separated from that love, whatever is happening then, you can never read as something that says he's against us. But the promise of providence is just what Joseph said. He's promising he's going to care for you. He's promising he's going to provide for you and your children. That's a covenant promise. Think of that great truth here. It becomes the verse that really defines this. God from the beginning had created everything good and our mess would not stop the showing of his goodness. Do you hear me? Our mess at the end of Genesis. Genesis 1 begins with this great fail. And Genesis 2 and 3. And then Genesis 50 ends with this great promise that God will be good to us and our children. and that God will provide for us and our children in the midst of this craziness, in the midst of what we see as a world spinning out of control, which he says, I've got a great plan that's working out. All things that happen in this life, God has declared to us he will work for good. Now, I'm not saying that's always easy to hear in the midst of hardship. Nonetheless, it's the truth of the matter. It's the truth of the matter. it's the same truth that came alive in the darkest moment of Judah's history when they were swept into Babylon. And God even said, I know the plans. This is the verse we always quote out of context. But I know the plans that I have for you. They're not plans to harm you. And that is the truth for us today too. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Now, kind of bring this full circle to where I begin. Can you imagine what it would do to our lives if we believed that constantly? You'd be a forgiving person, you wouldn't be a bitter, hard person. The good news would give you this perspective that if God has absolutely no ill intention toward his sheep, then I am exemplifying that same truth in the way that I live, knowing that whatever has happened, there is a great purpose through this. And that maybe God is bringing salvation to somebody who needs it much closer to me than I realize through my own hardship. In all of that, He promises, I want you to know to provide for you. He promises to care for you. And I say, when have you ever gone without? Really, when have we ever gone without? We're all full. We're all blessed. We're all still happy people in the midst of this. Didn't Jesus say, my father desires to give you the kingdom? And then he said, you know, you really should live all of life this way without anxiety because I don't know what earthly father, if you asked him for bread, would throw down a stone. Do you think God's going to do that? He's going to care for you, little flock. He's going to provide for you. So don't fear. so why worry about the future we have a good future in front of us i know it's hard to do i'm one of the worst in doing it but it's still the truth we can have strong confidence for the future is this beautiful truth that is said here good confidence in our faithful god and father that no creature nothing that happens in this world can separate us from his love. Jesus wants us in this life resting in his providential plan that is unfolding and trusting him in it. He has a good purpose for us. He's spoken kind and comforting words to us in the course of our lives, just like Joseph did to his brothers. This is providence. You are so completely in his hand. You cannot move or be moved. You cannot be plucked. You cannot be lost. And the text ends by saying that. That's what Jesus has done for us. This is the great truth of God's providence. May you go into this week as we started today with a fresh perspective that you, beloved of God, are held in the hand of God. Let's pray and thank him together tonight. Heavenly Father, thank you again for such a comforting truth that we need in these times. How wonderful the doctrine of providence. That you watch over us, that you provide for us, and that you don't hold our sins against us. And that you're working through the dark situations that human sin has brought into people's lives. Even in the challenging things that we face to save many people alive. So do that this day. And let us rest completely in your promises. You will not leave us nor forsake us. You will provide for us. Help us to trust you in that. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.