In Acts chapter 1, we are going to read the entirety
of verses 15 through verse 26. So starting in
verse 15. At this time, Peter stood up in the
midst of the brethren. A gathering of about 120
persons was there together. And said, Brethren.
The scripture had to be fulfilled, which the
Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning
Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested
Jesus. For he was counted among us and received
his share in this ministry. Now this man acquired
a field with the price of his wickedness. And
falling headlong, he burst open in the middle,
and all his intestines gushed out. And it became
known to all who were living in Jerusalem, so
that in their own language that field was called
hakeldema, that is, field of blood. For it is
written in the book of Psalms, Let his homestead
be made desolate, and let no one dwell in it.
and let another man take his office. Therefore
it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied
us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and
out among us, beginning with the baptism of John
until the day that he was taken up from us, one
of these must become a witness with us of his
resurrection. So they put forward two men. Joseph
called Barsabbas, who was also called Justice,
and Matthias. And they prayed and said, You,
Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which
one of these two you have chosen to occupy this
ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned
aside to go to his own place. And they drew lots
for them, and the lot fell to Matthias, and he
was added to the eleven apostles. Let's pray.
Father, I come before you. Lord, I ask and I
pray for your help today in proclaiming this
text and preaching the word of God as we discuss
a topic that is very, very evident. as we discuss
a topic that is seen throughout scriptures, and
as we discuss a topic that so clearly shows us
who you are. Lord, I ask and I pray for your
help that the Holy Spirit would fill me with
power and strength. Lord, I ask that he would
work in the hearts and the minds of the people
present today, that you would apply your truth
to our hearts, our minds, and our souls. for
our edification, for our encouragement, for our
uplifting, for our support, for our holiness,
for our sanctification, to compel us forward
into good works in this life. Father, I ask and
I pray that you would be honored, that you would
be glorified by the response to this text from
the people and by the preaching of this text
too. the people. I pray this all in Christ's
precious name. Amen. You may be seated. Whoever
said that the Bible is not fascinating and interesting
to be read? I mean, we read that text and we
see some harsh language in there, don't we? We
read that text and we're like, whoa! Is that
in the Bible? It's harsh. It's heavy. But it's
there for a purpose. It's there for a purpose.
Today as we look at this text, as we look at
Acts chapter 1 leading up to Pentecost, as we
look at Acts chapter 1 verses 15 through 26,
we're going to split it into two chunks. We're
going to look at verses 15 through 20 and we're
going to see a providential dilemma which is
presented and they address and they talk about.
which is the opening of the office of apostle
for Judas' place. So that's a dilemma. They only
have 11, and they need 12. Christ ordained that
there would be 12 apostles for a very specific
reason, which we'll touch on later. So verses
15 through 20, the providential dilemma, which
is presented and explained. And then verses 20
through 26, We really see this dilemma resolved.
But it's providential as well. So verses 15 through
20, which deal with the requirements and the
conditions for the office of apostle, God's sovereign
providential choice of the replacement. So in
verses 20 through 26, we see the providential
dilemma resolved. Resolved. Leading up to this
text in the book of Acts, we really need to back
up a little bit and go into the Gospels and look
at Christ's ministry and look at Judas and the
disciples and the twelve and Christ's earthly
ministry among men in the public eye. So people
looking in at the disciples, but also... We need
to go back and see what it was like for the disciples
working and serving and ministering alongside
of Judas and Jesus. So in the Gospels, every
Gospel presents a section fairly early on where
Jesus chooses or selects 12 of His disciples
among many. We know that there was a period of
time where there was at least 70 disciples and
there was many more. But he chose, he selected
12 of them in particular. He did this personally.
He chose them out of the lot. He selected them
from the bunch. Those men, he selected, he chose
them. Now it's important for us to realize that
looking at the history of the disciples in Christ's
ministry, there is a difference between being
an apostle, and being a disciple. So there was
a period of time where these disciples had not
yet been given the name apostle. They were disciples
of Christ. Now, we're all disciples of Christ
who know Christ. Disciple means learner. Apostle
simply means one sent, essentially. So in Luke's
gospel, which is the first volume, of the book
of Acts, we see that he clarifies that there
is a distinct difference between being an apostle
and being a disciple. So in Luke, the Gospel
of Luke, chapter 6, verse 13, we read, And when
day came, and Jesus had been praying all night,
and when day came, he called his disciples to
him and chose twelve of them. whom he also named
as apostles. So this is the first reference we
have to this unique office of apostle. Jesus
instituting the office, and then Jesus personally
filling the office with the officers, the men.
So he creates the office of apostle, and then
he chooses the men to put into the office, which
is the 12. Not the 11, not the 13, not the 14,
not the 10, the 12. So we see Jesus instituting,
naming the office of apostle and putting these
particular 12 men into the apostleship. Now I
think Mark's gospel is the most clear in regards
to Jesus choosing The apostles and Jesus appointing
the apostles. So in Mark's gospel, we read this.
And listen to the language. And he went up on
the mountain and he summoned those who he himself
wanted. So we'll stop there for a minute. Jesus
called to himself those whom he himself wanted.
And they came to Him. And He appointed, not merely
chose or selected, but He authoritatively appointed
12. So that they would be with Him and that He
could send them out to preach. That was Mark
3, verses 13 -14. So Jesus doesn't just choose
or select, but Jesus appoints authoritatively
12 men to this office of apostle. And why? Why?
So that they could be with him. so that they
could be around him, so they were near him, so
they were under his teaching and his tutelage
and his instruction, so they grasped him, so
that they could see him and hear him, so that
they could know him, and so that he could send
them out to preach. He's training them for what
they are getting ready to do here in the book
of Acts. Jesus personally wanted these 12. Jesus
chose these 12 out of the masses, out of the
crowds. He personally appointed these men in
particular, not others. There are hundreds of
men Jesus could have called and he could have
appointed as apostles, but he chose these 12.
Specific men. He gave them authority. He taught
them. He instructed them. He mentored them. He
ministered to them. He equipped them. He discipled
them. He spurred them along. He rebuked them.
He poured into those men for three years, Judas
Iscariot. Including Judas Iscariot. Jesus handpicked
his disciples, his apostles. He appointed them
so that when the crowds looked on, they saw these
apostles with Jesus. Jesus, who knows the hearts,
Of all men, Jesus who knows all things, Jesus
who is God in flesh, chose these 12, including
Judas Iscariot. This was public knowledge. There
was an awareness of Jesus and his disciples.
You know, when you were reading the text this
morning in Luke, he sent them out. And the regions
and the villages became aware of who Christ was.
They heard about this master, this rabbi, this
man that could work wonders and he could give
authority to his apostles and they could work
wonders. The towns and the villages, the crowds
and the masses, they heard and they knew who
Jesus was. And for three years, the twelve were
associated with Christ. The 12 apostles were
associated with Christ, and the public knew it,
and the disciples knew it. Judas included. Judas
included. So when Jesus fed the 5 ,000, there
was apostles, including Judas, passing out baskets.
And the crowds saw Judas with Jesus. When Lazarus
was raised and the Jews were standing around
and they were mourning over Lazarus and some
were mocking Jesus, they saw Lazarus there among
the disciples with Jesus near Mary and Martha,
close by when Christ was working his miracles.
When Jesus healed the blind man born blind, one
of the first things he saw was Jesus. and his
apostles, Judas being one of them. When Jesus
sent the twelve out to preach the kingdom of
God and to work miracles, testifying to his deity
and his mission, Judas went out and preached
and worked miracles based on Christ's authority.
Judas Iscariot. Went out. So he was handpicked
to be a faithful follower of Christ. And by all
appearances sake, he was. He was. The people
saw him with Jesus. So how is it that this man,
who was handpicked, personally chosen, personally
appointed, stabbed Jesus in the back. He betrayed
him. He betrayed the Prince of Peace, the Prince
of Life, after three years of being with him.
Just as public as his ministry was and his disciples
and his apostles were, that was all public in
the public eye. So was Judas' betrayal. You can't
tell me that that was not public news which was
known that one of Jesus' personal hand -picked
appointed apostles turned on him and betrayed
him. Jesus of Nazareth, the one that worked the
miracles, he was crucified in Jerusalem. Did
you guys know how all that started? Well, Judas
betrayed him. I'm sure that there was a lot of
talk of it in Jerusalem. And so for the first
century, and for us, it raises some pretty good
questions, doesn't it? It makes us ask some difficult
questions. For the first century world in which
Jesus lived, in which the apostles lived, looking
into the church, think of what they were wondering
in their hearts and their minds. as they encountered
these people, as they saw these events transpire,
and especially in the ranks of the disciples
themselves. Think of the questions and the personal
struggles which they would have dealt with because
of Judas. I'm sure the question of, why did Jesus
pick him? Was this an accident? Did he mean to
pick Judas who would betray him? Was Judas ever
really an actual disciple? Did he really deserve
to be there? Did Jesus really know the hearts
of all men? Is Jesus really God if he can't even
tell that his disciples would betray him? Does
he really know the hearts of all men if he chose
Judas, the betrayer? Was this really part of
God's plan? Was this really part of God's redemptive
plan? that he's been working through history
to bring about. And I think a big question that
they considered and we have to consider, how
can you reconcile the sovereignty and providence
of this great God with Judas' apostasy, betrayal,
and judgment? How can you reconcile those two
things? How can you bring them together? I'm
sure the gathered disciples were asking and needing
assurance as to whether Christ's choice and appointment
of Judas to the apostleship was really part of
God's divine plan. Think about the questions
that would have been raised in their hearts and
their minds. I'm sure many of them would have
thought, could it happen to me? Can it happen
to me? Our text today answers these questions
in the book of Acts in verses 15 through 26.
Our text answers these questions by showing us
the providence of God at work. and the life of
the early church, especially in regards to the
judgment of Judas and the apostleship in his
replacement. So before we go any farther, I want
to define providence. I want to define what it
is. When you hear me use the word providence,
because I'm going to be using it a whole bunch
today. When you hear me use that word, what goes
off in your mind? So I'm going to read from the
1689 Lundus Baptist Confession of Divine Providence,
and we read these words. All things come to pass,
unchangeably and certainly, in relation to the
foreknowledge and decree of God, who is the first
cause. Thus, nothing happens to anyone by chance,
or outside of God's providence. Yet by the same
providence, God arranges all things to occur
according to the nature of second causes, either
necessarily, freely, or in response to other
causes. I'm going to jump down. The almighty
power and unsearchable wisdom and infinite goodness
of God are so thoroughly demonstrated in His
providence that his sovereign plan includes even
the first fall and every other sinful action,
both of angels and humans. God's providence over
sinful actions does not occur by simple permission.
Instead, God most wisely and powerfully limits
and in other ways arranges and governs sinful
actions. Through a complex arrangement of methods,
he governs sinful actions to accomplish his perfectly
holy purposes. In the Baptist catechism, one
of the questions is, how does God execute his
decrees? God executes his decrees through his
works of creation and his works of... Providence
in the old Baptist catechism for kids. Can God
do all things? God can do all his holy will.
So in the Baptist catechism, what are God's works
of providence? And this is the very good, concise
definition. God's works of providence are his
most holy, wise, and powerful, preserving and
governing all His creatures and all their actions.
We have a big God that we worship. We have a
big and a mighty and a powerful and a holy God
that we worship and that we serve. We serve a
providential God who has all power in and of
Himself. Now you take that... sovereign, absolute
power of God, and you give it a purpose. You
give it a plan. You give it a direction. That's
providence. Providence is God's almighty and
absolute power over everything, working with
a purpose in this world, which he owns and which
he governs. That's providence. So when you hear
me use the word providence repeatedly today,
Think of God governing his absolute power at
work with a purpose in this world. That's God's
providence. So briefly, let's look at the providential
dilemma in verses 15 through 20 of Acts chapter
1. So Peter stands up in the midst of this gathering
of about 120, and he presents the problem, the
issue. There's only 11 apostles, and there needs
to be 12. There needs to be 12 because Christ
appointed 12. First, we see that Judas actually
served and actually ministered with the other
apostles in verse 17. He was counted among us
and he had his place in our ministry. It wasn't
that Judas was for three years going around with
a scowl on his face, miserable in his life. And
all the apostles knew it, and Jesus just ignored
it. When Jesus said, one of you will betray me
at the Last Supper, nobody pointed their finger
at Judas. Nobody. So Judas actually performed
duties. He actually ministered. He actually...
did the work and fulfilled responsibilities among
them. He wasn't simply a placeholder, but he
was legitimately, genuinely, authentically in
the apostleship. He was there, he served, he
ministered. Then we see Judas' sin in verse 16
of the book of Acts. We see that he became a
guide. To those who arrested Jesus. He became
a guide to those who arrested Jesus. Think of
it. The Lord of glory who came to accomplish
redemption on behalf of sinful people. You go
out, you proactively seek them out and make a
deal. What will you give me to betray this man?
And then you bring them. to the very place where
that man had loved you so deeply and so much
for three years. He didn't just stand at a distance
and say, that's him over there. He didn't just
give them directions to where Jesus would be,
but he walked up to the Lord Jesus and gave him
a kiss as a sign and a signal, this is the one
you need to take. This is the one that you need
to capture. He's the one. So the sin of Judas
wasn't simply his apostatizing from the apostleship,
but his sin, which he would be judged for, was
his betrayal and his rejection and his denial
and his spitting on the Lord Jesus. That's what
would bring judgment and heap condemnation. on
his head. He became a guide to those who arrested
Jesus. He gave up the perfect Son of God for
a measly 30 pieces of silver. The greed and the
wickedness and the evil in his heart is appalling,
is it not? It's present in all of ours. It's
present in every single one of our hearts. The
difference between Judas and Peter. Jesus came
and restored Peter at the beach. Judas rejected
Christ and would be judged for it. So we see
the sin of Judas in verse 16. And this really,
it's a sad ordeal to walk through. It's a tragedy.
Because you see the opportunity of this man that
was with Jesus and heard from His very lips.
It's a sad ordeal. It's a tragedy to read through
this and think what has come of this man who
spent so much time with... The Lord Jesus. Then
we see the threefold judgment of Judas. We see
this really in verses 18 and 19 of chapter 1
in the book of Acts. We see his physical death,
which when I read it, we think and we hear that
in our ears and we think, wow, that's harsh.
That's heavy. That's a brutal death. The very
reason that it is so harsh and so hard to hear
is because it is a judgment of God. It's supposed
to be harsh. It's supposed to be heavy. He was
punished and he was judged for his sin against
the Son of God. He didn't slide. It's supposed
to be heavy. And His physical death in the scene
which we see with our eyes and we feel in our
hearts when we read that, that is because it's
meant to be a heavy thing. When God judges a
person, it's a heavy thing. It's an intense thing.
It's a frightening thing. It's a sad thing when
they've had the opportunity over and over and
over to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus.
So we see his physical death, his physical judgment.
Then we see the ongoing proclamation of his judgment,
which is the field. It says that it became known
to all who were in Jerusalem to such an extent
that the field got its own name and their own
native language. Everybody was so aware of what
happened to Judas. That it got its own name.
So that field went on through history to proclaim
the judgment of the betrayer of the Son of God.
Giving a warning to all that oppose the church
and giving a warning to those who might consider
rejecting Christ. And we see a spiritual judgment
which we see in verse 25 where it says he turned
aside and went his own way. It's a phrase meant
for punishment, eternal punishment. His physical
death was not the worst part of it. His physical
judgment and the ongoing proclamation of his
judgment wasn't the worst part of what Judas
would experience. The worst part of it is his
spiritual judgment in hell. For an eternity under
the wrath of God, in a place where there's weeping
and gnashing of teeth. Then we see the prophecy
concerning Judas. And this is really important
for us to grasp and to understand this part.
We see this in verse 16 and 20, and I'm going
to read verse 16, where Peter says, Brethren,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled. which the
Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning
Judas. This scripture says that it had to be
fulfilled. Something had to take place. Something
had to come about. A determined event must occur
so that the scripture would be fulfilled. Now,
when we read this, we hear providence. Remember
what it means? God governing, God ruling, ordering,
orchestrating for his eternal purposes. So why
did this scripture have to be fulfilled? Why
did it have to take place? Why did Judas' betrayal,
his judgment, his rejection of Christ, why did
it... have to take place. This is like when Jesus
went to the well and it says he had to go through
Samaria. In the King James it says he must, needs,
go through Samaria. He had to. Why did this scripture
have to be fulfilled? What was so vital, what
was so important? concerning the life and the
judgment and the death and the betrayal of Judas
Iscariot. It had to take place. It had to occur.
This scripture had to be fulfilled and God's
providential sovereign rule over this world so
that the instigation of the suffering and the
trials and the pain and the murder of the Son
of God so that he could give up his spirit so
that he could defeat death, so that he could
ascend, and so that he could reign. Judas had
to happen in the providence of God so that Christ
could atone for sins. If Judas hadn't betrayed
Christ, there would be no redemption for the
people of Christ. It was essential. In God's
providence, this came about. In God's providence,
this wicked man with an evil heart, an unregenerate,
unsaved heart, brought about one of the greatest
goods. One of the greatest goods? The greatest
good. For all mankind, for all eternity and the
entirety of the universe. Christ's death and
his resurrection. It had to be fulfilled. I think
of Genesis 50 where Joseph and his brothers and
the brothers say, This is what's happened. This
is what's going on. And Joseph says, hey, am
I in the place of God? He says, you meant it
for evil. But then he says, God meant it for
good. He does not say, and this part right here,
there's a clip of John Piper burned in my mind
from years ago that I saw. He was talking on
this text. And he says, don't ever let any preacher
tell you God allowed it for good. God was able
to use it for good. And if any of you know John
Piper, he's using his hands a lot. So he did
not simply allow it. He did not simply bring
good out of it. But the text says that God meant
it. He meant the evil which the brothers intended
for harm for good. Meant it for good. So in a
really very real way, this is a providential
dilemma of only having 11 disciples, is it not?
We see this, and this is a God -ordained, God
-orchestrated, God -designed open chair on the
apostleship. It's God -ordained. So the second
part of the text I'm going to briefly run through.
We see the providential dilemma resolved. We
see not only that the dilemma came about because
of providence with Judas, but we also see that
the resolution and the solution to it came about
through providence. Through God's governing of...
things and all things. Peter makes a proposal.
He's a proposal of a solution. He says we need
a replacement. We see that in verses 21 and 22.
We have to replace him. One of us has to replace
him who has been with him the whole time. He
gives clear cut and strict conditions and requirements
for what you, not just anybody could be an apostle.
He gives strict requirements as to who you were
and the experience you had to have. There were
qualifications. Meaning you must have been with
Jesus the whole time. You had to have witnessed
the resurrection and the ascension. And they
must be men. Those are three qualifications that
they present in this text. What was the primary
task of the apostle to be? The primary task of
the apostle was to be a witness to the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. So they were to be preachers
of the gospel. They were to be proclaimers of
the word of God, to take the mission and take
the gospel forward to all nations. And then they
give two candidates, Joseph and Matthias. Some
may choose to pronounce it Matthias. So two candidates,
Joseph and Matthias, two qualified men, two men
who had been with Jesus, two men who had seen
the resurrection and the ascension. They were
qualified. And then we see, and this is the big
part in this last part of the text. The providential
appointment and choice of Matthias. This is amazing
when you look at this text. Let's read verses
24 and 25. And they prayed and said, You, Lord,
who know the hearts of all men, show which one
of these you have chosen. When we read verse
24 right there, do you notice? They haven't made
a choice yet. Show us which one of these you
have chosen. That word, that's eklektos. Which
one of these you have elected? Which one of these
you have chosen to be your apostle already? To
occupy the ministry and apostleship. So God makes
the decision. Just as Jesus chose the apostles,
during his ministry and his life on earth, God
chooses Matthias to resolve the providential
dilemma. It was God's choice to replace him.
It was God's choice in who he would replace him
with. So we see that there's a providential dilemma.
God resolves the providential dilemma. So how
does all of this apply to our lives? In this
area in 2018. I mean, that was the origins. That's
the history. That's just before Pentecost 2 ,000
years ago when the church is getting ready to
explode. How does this apply to my life and to
your life? How does this impact my thinking?
How does this impact your thinking? The providence
of God is one of the most practical doctrines.
that there is. The providence of God can be a
doctrine which is comforting, and it should be
greatly comforting, and a doctrine which is very
difficult and hard, but it impacts our view and
our perspective of who God is greatly and who
we are in respect to who God is. And a few points
of application. First is this. Providence is
not a doctrine of convenience. Meaning, you take
this and leave that. I'll take this as God's
providence and reject that as God's providence.
It's not convenient for us and for our lives,
honestly. And our wanting to make God like us
in that, it's not convenient for our wanting
to make God like us in that. We want God to be
like us and to give us only good things and only
pleasurable and enjoyable and easy things in
this life. Providence is not a convenient doctrine.
Think about this text. There's the providence
regarding Judas. And then there's the providence
regarding Matthias. Very different providences,
right? The providence of Judas is a hard and
a heavy and a difficult providence. The providence
regarding Matthias is an uplifting and encouraging
providence where we see God taking care of his
church and providing for them and supporting
the church. We must not only accept the good,
easy, enjoyable, pleasurable things in this life
as good providences from God and reject the hard
and the difficult things in this life as not
from God. Providence isn't convenient because
if we believe that God is sovereign and that
He is ruling, We must accept it all from God.
We somehow think that when the fall occurred
in Genesis chapter 3, we somehow think that God
got locked out of working and orchestrating in
the world and that mankind kind of in the spiral
took over and got left to himself. But we must
never forget that this is God's world. This is
God's creation. He is the maker. He is the creator.
He does as He pleases. And He has always been
working in and through and by His creation to
bring Him glory and to bring His people good.
From the start, 2 ,000 years ago and today. He
has not changed. He is still working in the same
way. We must accept it all and learn to rest
in the character of God. Second, the providence
of God, and this is a hard one, the providence
of God works in and through and by depraved men.
We see that with Judas, don't we? Fallen men.
Fallen mankind in Adam. If God refused to work
providentially in and through and by wicked men
in Adam with evil hearts, then he would not touch
this world because we're all wicked. Because
we're all in Adam. So he works in and through
fallen, sinful man. This does not, and it is
not, opposed or against to man's volition and
man's will. It's not. We see in this text in
verse 25 that Judas turned aside volitionally
and willfully. To go to His own place. It is
not against or opposed. We forget that we live
in a world of means and that God has created
a world of means. And that He works in and through
us and by us and around us and in events and
circumstances orchestrating and arranging for
His glory and our good to bring about His end.
And we are the means, folks. And he is welcome
to work within the bounds of those means, or
God is more than welcome to work any way he pleases
in this world because he owns it. And it's his.
So he can work in whatever way he wishes to work.
We think, I think so many times, I struggle with,
Man's freedom and God's freedom. You know, I
think in my mind, in my small pea brain, you
know, in my small pea brain, I think, you know,
I have a lot of freedom. I do what I want. I'm
free to make my own choices and to live how I
wish. to determine my life and to plan my life.
And I think in my smallness and my arrogance
and in my pride that that somehow limits God's
freedom. That that restricts and restrains the
bounds of the maker and creator of this world.
Folks, my freedom does not restrict God's freedom.
God's freedom, as the great and holy and mighty
and perfect and glorious and sovereign ruler
of this world, he is free to do as he pleases.
He is free to do what he wants. He is free. And
if anything, his freedom restricts my freedom
as the creature. That's what the Bible presents.
That's what providence teaches. Can you change
providence? Can you change providence? No, because
you can't change God. Providence is God's power
at work. It is God working. We cannot. Also,
providence does not remove. The condemnation
and judgment of wicked men and fallen man. Because
it does not take away their will or their volition.
It's not against or opposed to their volition.
As we see in the providence with Judas, Judas
was justifiably judged and punished for his sin.
He brought it upon himself. So providence doesn't
do away, with accountability, man's responsibility,
or man's condemnation and judgment. Providence
works in line with those. Third, we see that
providence works in the life of God's elect and
the life of the church in a special and a unique
way. individually in the life of the elect. I
mean, we see that with Matthias, don't we? We
see God choosing Matthias for the apostleship.
He was an individual to fill that role and that
function. But we also see that he was working
for the church as a whole because why did the
11 need to become 12? Why? Because what is the
foundation of the church? The apostles. And there
needed to be 12. You know what is one of the
most comforting realities? And it really is.
In my life, I think the most comforting reality
in my life is that I know the character of our
great God. And I am okay with His providences
in my life because I know His character. And
so, For God's elect, for God's children, we must
never try to take God out of the difficulties
and the hardships in our lives. Because if God
can't send the difficulties and the hardships
and sovereignly rule and guide and direct them,
then how in the world can He bring good out of
them? And how can we have hope? We must keep
Him in. And He does work in the life of His elect.
And this gives us great hope. This gives us great
hope and comfort knowing what Christ has done
for His people and knowing that God is providential
and powerful and governing. It gives us great
hope. This is straight up. Romans chapter 8.
We know that God works together for the good
of those who he has called and those who love
him. And that's in context. That is God working
on behalf providentially for his elect. A little
later in that text, after he gives the golden
chain of redemption a little later, he says,
if God is for us, who can be against us? If he,
who did not spare His own Son but freely gave
us all things, who can bring a charge against
God's elect? Who can bring a charge against God's
elect? God works in the life of His elect. This
brings us great pleasure and great comfort because
we know that God doesn't promise us a life without
pain, does He? He doesn't promise us a life without
pain. He does not promise us a life without hurt
and difficulty. He does not. But God does promise
us that there will always be a purpose in the
pain. There will be a purpose in the hurt. There
will be a purpose and a plan. and the difficulties
and trials of this life. There is no wall that
God cannot turn into a bridge. There is no stumbling
block that Christ cannot make a stepping stone.
There is no trial that God cannot turn into your
purifier and your sanctifier. There is no hurt
that he cannot turn into a help for you. There
is no evil which he cannot bring good out of.
There is no calamity which he cannot Cause for
your edification. We worship and we serve a big
and a mighty God. We worship a powerful God who
loves His elect children and providentially works
in their lives in a unique and a special way.
Working all things together for the good of those
who He has called and those who He loves. So
we can have confidence and assurance just as
the early church could have confidence and assurance
that God is working according to his divine,
powerful, sovereign, providential plan. Especially
if you're a part A vital part of the church.
Because God works and supplies the needs of His
church. So as a whole, God providentially works
in the life of the church because He brings the
number up to 12. He brings the number up to 12.
And He provides the foundation for the church
to go forth. and to proclaim the gospel, a true
and a faithful remnant going into the world,
just as there were 12 patriarchs and 12 tribes,
there are now 12 apostles which would go into
the world and proclaim the good news of the gospel
to all tribes of all men, calling forth God's
elect by the preaching of the gospel. God is
providential. I encourage you to wrestle with
that doctrine in your life. Think about it. Consider
how will that change your perspective of who
you are and who God is.