The
Truth in Print Vol. 28 Issue 8, Sept 2022
A
Publication of the Valley church of Christ,
2375
W. 8th Street, Yuma, AZ 85364 (928-782-5058)
Website
Address ~ http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com
PROVIDENCE
DEFINED AND QUESTIONED
In a recent class on Titus the Holy Spirit came into
discussion – specifically Titus 3:5-6.
Tit 3:5 Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on
us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of
eternal life.
Here are a few points with limited scriptures (many more
were used) from our discussion – emphasis being the definition of “poured out”
means to “distribute largely” – thus there obviously is a lot involved in
explaining the place and work of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption.
· “poured
out” [G1632, vb.] Thayer Definition: 2) metaphorically to bestow or distribute
largely:
· Joel’s
Promise: Acts 2:16-18, 21 (Joel 2:28-32) …
· Word
revealed: Eph 5:18 and Col 3:16. *Jo 14:26 *Jo 16:13
· Duration
of spiritual gifts: I Cor 12:4-7 (*for the profit of all), 8-11, 13:8-10
*duration; Ja 1:25; 2 Tim 3:16-17; Jude 3.
· Place
of women: I Tim 2:12; I Cor 14:34; Acts 21:9. *Some just won’t accept I Tim
2:12.
· “Gifts
differing” > Rom 12:6-8, not all were miraculous gifts of the Spirit.
Note: To make a quick point -- one must understand the
written Word revealed completely in the first century and left for all until
Christ comes (Jo 14:26, 16:13; Jude 3). And there is the importance of the
duration of spiritual gifts (I Cor 13:8-11; Ja 1:25; 2 Tim 3:16-17). I told
Wanda that I think people are prone to confuse Providence with spiritual gifts
they think they have, thus God’s guidance and care. Also, it appears that they
confuse Providence with what they think it means to walk in the Spirit and be
guided by the Spirit. God’s Providence doesn’t provide the miraculous spiritual
gifts of the first century today – duration being understood.
PAUL EXPLAINS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE LED BY AND
WALK BY THE SPIRIT:
Paul said, “I myself serve the law of God” (Rom 7:25). If
you “walk according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:4), you have your “mind set on the
things of the Spirit” (Rom 8:5-6), being “subject to the law of God” (Rom
8:7,2). Then “the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom 8:9), and “Christ is in
you” (Rom 8:10) – the sons of God are “led by the Spirit” (Rom 8:14).
· When
you “walk according to the Spirit” you have your mind set on things of the
Spirit – you keep God’s law.
· When
you are subject to law of God, the Spirit dwells in you through His revealed
Word (Eph 3:3).
· When
you are subject to the law of God, Christ dwells in you by faith in His word
(Eph 3:17).
· When
you are led by the Spirit, you have your mind set on the revealed Word of God,
the New Testament law of God, and keep the commandments.
WHEN OUR NEIGHBOR BESSY LOST HER KEYS:
“The Spirit will help me find my lost keys,” she said.
· Here
emotions and one’s own mind (spirit).
· Here
making my own declarations. *When you
hear someone speak off hand of how the Spirit led them you immediately ask
which “spirit” was really leading them!
WHEN BESSY FOUND HER KEYS:
“I found my keys! The Spirit led me to them,” she said.
· Here
“keys” become a sign I’m walking in the Spirit thus my proof I’m saved. Pure
Emotions!
AFTER BESSY OBEY THE GOSPEL:
“I can feel that Baptist doctrine coming out of me,” she
said.
PAUL BEFORE FELIX AT CAESAREA –Tertullus’
mention of providence.
Act 24:2 And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to
accuse him, saying, Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very
worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence,
Act 24:3 We accept it always, and in all places, most noble
Felix, with all thankfulness.
“PROVIDENCE” [G4307 pronoia, n.f.] Thayer Definition:
1) forethought, providential care: Acts 24.2 (3).
· American
Heritage Dictionary: “providence” 1. Care or preparation in advance, foresight.
“PROVIDENCE” [G4307 pronoia, n.f.]
Thayer Definition #2:
2) to make provision for a thing, Ro. 13:14.
> From [G4306 pronoeō, vb.)
Thayer Definition:
2a) to provide for one, I Tim. 5.8.
2b) to take thought for, care for a thing, Rom. 12.17 “have
regard for”; 2 Co. 8.21 “providing” (B.L. intent is always there.)
WHEN JOSEPH REVEALED HIMSELF TO HIS BROTHERS IN
EGYPT -- God’s
providence is fully explained.
Gen 45:4 And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come
near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your
brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5 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.
Gen 45:6 For these two years the famine has been in the
land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor
harvesting.
Gen 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve a
posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God;
and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a
ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Gen 45:9 “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him,
'Thus says your son Joseph: "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come
down to me, do not tarry.
WONDERFUL STORY OF PROVIDENCE SEEN IN ALL THAT
HAD TRANSPIRED SINCE JOSEPH WAS 17 YEARS OF AGE AND HAD HIS DREAMS:
· Concerning
his brothers bowing down to him (Gen 37:5-8).
· Concerning
his second dream he related to his father (Gen 37:9-11).
· His
being sold to traders and then sold to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s captain of the
bodyguard (Gen 37:36; 39:1). His prospering under Potiphar (Gen 39).
· Being
put in prison by Potiphar because of his wife’s lie, and yet prospering under
the chief jailor (Gen 39).
· Interpreting
the King’s Cup Bearer’s dream in prison, and his being restored back to the
king -- but he forgot Joseph’s request (Gen 40:21, 23).
· Interpreting
the King’s Baker’s dream, and him being put to death the same day the cup
bearer was restored (Gen 40:21).
· Pharaoh’s
dream of 7 Good and 7 Bad Years --- currently the cup bearer remembers Joseph’s
interpreting their dreams by God (Gen 41).
· Jacobs’s
sons’ trips to Egypt for grain and Joseph’s making himself and God’s plan known
to them (Gen 42-46).
GOD’S VISION TO JACOB (ISRAEL) TELLING HIM NOT
TO BE AFRAID TO GO DOWN TO EGYPT
Gen 46:2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the
night, and said, "Jacob, Jacob!" And he said, "Here I am."
Gen 46:3 So He said, "I am God, the God of your
father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation
there.
Gen 46:4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also
surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes."
Gen 46:5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of
Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the
carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
Gen 46:6 So they took their livestock and their goods,
which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all
his descendants with him.
JOSEPH TO HIS BROTHERS WHO FEARED HIM AFTER THE
DEATH OF JACOB IN EGYPT
Gen 50:19 Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for
am I in the place of God?
Gen 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but
God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save
many people alive.
Gen 50:21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide
for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to
them.
· Accomplished
Preserving A Remnant That Grew Into A Great Nation (Gen 46:3).
IN THE DAYS OF KING AHASUERUS OF THE
MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE “ESTHER” A JEWISH MAIDEN BECOMES QUEEN (Est 1) -- dated 478
B.C. before walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt.
· The
King threw a great banquet for 6 months for all the great men in his kingdom he
reigned from India to Ethiopia (127 provinces).
· At it
close he gave a banquet lasting 7 days more for all the people at the citadel
in Susa the capital, in the court of king’s palace (Est 1).
· His
Queen Vashti threw a banquet also for the women in the palace (royal house).
· On the
7th day the king is drunk in front of his nobles, and demands that Vashti be
brought before them to show off her beauty to the people and the nobles. She
refused!
· To
save the headship of the men everywhere an edict was issued stated that Vashti
be dethroned, and her position given to another; also stating that each man
should be master of his own house.
THE KING’S ATTENDANTS ARRANGE A BEAUTY CONTEST
· After the
king’s anger subsided his attendants arranged the beauty contest for young
virgins to be brought from all provinces to his harem, and be put under Hegai
the eunuch in charge of the women (Est 2). The young lady who pleased the King
the most would become Queen.
· Mordecai
a Jew from the exiles was bringing up Esther, his uncle’s daughter, and had
taken her as his own daughter.
· Esther
was taken to the King’s palace into custody by Hegai.
· At the
end of her 12-month period of beautification the young women would go into the
king, anything she desired was given her to take from the harem, and then in
the morning she’d be taken to the second harem as a concubine.
· Esther’s
time to go into the king came in the seventh year of his reign – being wise she
only took what Hegai recommended – he loved her more than all the women – he
made her Queen and threw a large banquet for all his nobles and made a holiday
out of it (Est 2).
CURRENTLY MORDECAI DISCOVERS A PLOT
Est 2:19 When virgins were gathered together a second time,
Mordecai sat within the king's gate.
Est 2:20 Now Esther had not revealed her family and her
people, just as Mordecai had charged her, for Esther obeyed the command of
Mordecai as when she was brought up by him.
Est 2:21 In those days, while Mordecai sat within the
king's gate, two of the king's eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, became
furious and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
Est 2:22 So the matter became known to Mordecai, who told
Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai's name.
Est 2:23 And when an inquiry was made into the matter, it
was confirmed, and both were hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the
book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.
WICKED HAMAN IS PROMOTED AND GIVEN AUTHORITY OVER ALL THE
PRINCES WHO WERE WITH HIM (Est 3)
· All
others but Mordecai bowed down to Haman and paid homage by the King’s command.
· In his
wrath Haman formed a plan to kill not just Mordecai but all the Jews throughout
the kingdom
· The
king approves and gives Haman authority to send letters throughout the
provinces stating that in one day, the 13th of Adar (the 12th month) all Jews
regardless of age or sex were to be murdered.
· In
every province there is great mourning among the Jews (Est 4).
· Mordecai
learned of the plot and made a public display of anguish – Esther learns of his
mourning and sends to find out why. He gives him a copy of edict to give to
Esther.
MORDECAI ORDERS ESTHER TO GO TO KING, IMPLORE HIS FAVOR,
AND PLEAD FOR THE JEWS TO BE SAVED (Est 4:8)
ESTHER REPLIES:
Est 4:10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a
command for Mordecai:
Est 4:11 “All the king's servants and the people of the
king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to
the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except
the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I
myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days."
MORDECAI’S REBUKE GIVEN ESTHER WHEN COURAGE IS NEEDED:
Est 4:13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do
not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than
all the other Jews.
Est 4:14 For if you remain completely silent at this time,
relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and
your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the
kingdom for such a time as this?"
ESTHER REPLIES:
Est 4:16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in
Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day.
My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is
against the law; and if I perish, I perish!"
Est 4:17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all
that Esther commanded him.
COURAGE PREVAILED:
The King extends the scepter to Esther, and she gave him
her plan (Est 5:1-8)
Est 5:3 And the king said to her, "What do you wish,
Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you—up to half the
kingdom!"
Est 5:4 So Esther answered, "If it pleases the king,
let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for
him."
QUESTION: CAN PROVIDENCE CAUSE THE KING TO ACCEPT HER?
DESIRE SO STRONGLY TO GO TO HER BANQUET THAT DAY?
Est 5:5 Then the king said, "Bring Haman quickly, that
he may do as Esther has said." So the king and Haman went to the banquet
that Esther had prepared.
Est 5:6 At the banquet of wine the king said to Esther,
"What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up
to half the kingdom? It shall be done!"
Est 5:7 Then Esther answered and said, "My petition
and request is this:
Est 5:8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and
if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, then let
the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and
tomorrow I will do as the king has said."
* Mordecai is supposed to be trembling over the known
decree – thus honoring wicked Haman, but he isn’t (Cf. Est 5:9).
*Advice to build gallows pleased Haman -- a man so sure of
the outcome (Cf. Est 5:10-14).
QUESTION: IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN STOP THIS GOD?
PROVIDENCE (?) & REVERSAL
The King Can’t Sleep And Calls For The Book Of Records:
Est 6:1 That night the king could not sleep. So one was
commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were
read before the king.
Est 6:2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of
Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought
to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
Est 6:3 Then the king said, "What honor or dignity has
been bestowed on Mordecai for this?" And the king's servants who attended him
said, "Nothing has been done for him."
QUESTION: DOES PROVIDENCE REWARD THE RIGHTEOUS?
Est 6:4 So the king said, "Who is in the court?"
Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to suggest that
the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
NOTE: HAMAN CAME HERE WITH THIS SUGGESTION – THAT THE KING
HANG MORDECAI ON THE GALLOWS HE HAD PREPARED FOR HIM.
QUESTION: HOW UNLUCKY CAN A MAN BE! OR CAN GOD’S TIMING BE
THIS EXACT?
Est 6:5 The king's servants said to him, "Haman is
there, standing in the court." And the king said, "Let him come
in."
MORDECAI IS HONORED
Est 6:6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him,
"What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?" Now
Haman thought in his heart, "Whom would the king delight to honor more
than me?" …
Est 6:10 Then the king said to Haman, "Hurry, take the
robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who
sits within the king's gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have
spoken."
NOTE: HAMAN LEFT FROM THERE WITH THIS TASK. HOW UNLUCKY CAN
A MAN BE!
Est 6:11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed
Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed
before him, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to
honor!" …
Est 6:13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his
friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh
said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of
Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before
him."
NOTE: THINGS ARE CLOSING IN ON HAMAN.
Est 6:14 While they were still talking with him, the king's
eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had
prepared.
HAMAN HUNG ON HIS OWN GALLOWS (Est 7)
Esther reveals Haman’s plot to the king (2nd Banquet):
Est 7:3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, "If I
have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life
be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.
Est 7:4 For we have been sold, my people and I, to be
destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and
female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never
compensate for the king's loss."
Est 7:5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen
Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart
to do such a thing?"
Est 7:6 And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is
this wicked Haman!" So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
…
Est 7:9 Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king,
"Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who
spoke good on the king's behalf, is standing at the house of Haman." Then
the king said, "Hang him on it!"
Est 7:10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had
prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath subsided.
MORDECAI IS PROMOTED AND GIVEN THE KING’S SIGNET RING TAKEN
FROM HAMAN (EST 8:1-2). *Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
Esther Spoke again to the King and got the Edict Revoked
(Est 8:3-4)
A NEW EDICT WAS WRITTEN AND SEALED BY MORDECAI:
Est 8:11 By these letters the king permitted the Jews who
were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill,
and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault
them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions,
Est 8:12 on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,
on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.
QUESTION: CAN PROVIDENCE BRING A REVERSAL? *They killed their enemies with the King’s
permission that he desired to keep on giving – he just couldn’t give permission
enough!
*Feast of Purim still celebrated today by Jewish custom
(12th mo. Adar -- March).
Est 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus,
and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren,
seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.
WHAT DO YOU FIND IN THIS SCENARIO WE OFTEN
LABEL “PROVIDENCE”?
Est 4:14 For if you remain completely silent at this time,
relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and
your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the
kingdom for such a time as this?"
· Great enemy
of God’s people filled with anger,
· Mourning,
Anguish (*Public Display), Fear,
· Weakness,
· Rebuke
to be strong,
· Faith
that deliverance would come if they should perish (Est 4:14),
· One
who refused to do the expected and stayed true to his principles,
· “Who
knows whether…” (Est 4:14) (?) Is this is God’s Providence – there is no
mention of God, the Lord or Savior in the book.
· Opportunity
to show Courage,
· Reversal.
And what is one effect of lessons like this upon us as
children of God? Keeping things in proper perspective – knowing we are guided
by the completed written Word; I remember my father needing a means of
supporting his family. There was little grocery store in town for sale by a
widow who had owned it for many years. He had already discussed the possibility
of purchasing the store with her. Then she called him and wanted to come out to
the house and talk – I happened to be home that day. He said to me, “I don’t
think she’ll sell it to me because she can do better down payment wise from
another who has more, but we’ll see what she says.”
Mom was working that day and he was in a hurry to
straighten up, so he held the couch up and I swept some dirt underneath it. She
was on her way! They talked, and her final decision was since she had raised
her family there, and it had always been a family business (nothing fancy as
the living quarters were attached to the store), she wanted to sell it him so
it would remain with a family. He got that store that he and Mom greatly
needed.
Well, preach a sermon like this and enjoy the number of
comments beloved brethren make as they recount times in their lives when they
might have seen God’s providence working (?, Est 4:14). The thought itself
speaks of God’s power. Blessed be the Lord forever!
Valley Church of Christ
2375 W. 8th Street, Yuma, AZ
85364
(928) 782-5058 ~
http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com
Sunday Services – Classes ~10:00;
Assembly 10:50 am; Evening: 6:00 pm.
Wednesday evening – 7:00 pm
To
learn more call, visit or visit our website at: