Scripture: Romans 8:28 [732]                                                                                                                                                                               April 14, 2024

Sermon: “Trusting God’s Ways”                                                                                                                                                      Pastor John Young

 

Have you ever struggled between God’s way of doing something in your life and your own way?  Have you ever thought or said, “If I was God, I would have done ‘such-n-such’ differently?”  If so, I think you’ll find our subject encouraging today.

Joe pulled the plane ticket from his pocket.  After two days of lectures in Human Resources at the New Orleans Hilton, he was anxious to see the Dallas skyline.  He always liked coming home.  But especially this day—it was his tenth wedding anniversary.

While waiting on his seat assignment he thought through all the plans he had made.  Cathy was picking him up at the airport after dropping the kids off at her mothers.  The two of them would enjoy an elegant dinner and then stay overnight at the motel where they’d spent their honeymoon.  But things don’t always turn out as planned…

The flight attendants’ words were like canon blasts!  ‘Sir, I’m sorry but my computer does not show any reservations for you on this flight.’  Joe argued and pleaded, but to no avail.  Apparently some stupid ‘computer glitch’ had fumbled things up.  Joe had been bumped from the flight.  He would not make it home until the following day.

Dejected, he called Cathy.  They cried, got angry, and cried some more.  The conversation ended with two sincere but disappointed “I love you’s.”

Feeling helpless and mishandled, Joe took the matter up with God, ‘Lord, I know You could have prevented this.  In fact, I believe You could still get me back on that flight if You wanted to.  How could You leave me stranded here?  You know how important these plans were!  How could You do this to me!’

Later that night, while watching the ten o’clock news in his hotel room, Joe saw images of what was left of the plane from which he had been bumped.  It had crashed in the Gulf of Mexico.  There were no survivors.

He reached for the phone, trembling, and called home again.  He and Cathy would never forget this anniversary.  Suddenly, God’s ways seemed so much better than they did hours earlier!

This story graphically illustrates that our Lord operates from an eternal agenda, not a daily planner!  We want Him to adjust to us…but He adjusts to no one!  Sometimes, when we expect Him to charge over the hill with the cavalry, He holds back.  Other times, at the exact moment we think He has misplaced our address, He comes in through the back door!  In many ways He is beyond figuring out!  Not because He delights in some sort of cosmic ‘cat-and-mouse’ game, but because He’s God!  Even with all He has revealed about Himself in His Word, His hand often moves in ways we can’t explain.

As such, every once in a while, God’s people need a reminder that the CREATOR is still involved with His creation!  That the POTTER still sits at His wheel!  So today, let’s get a fresh look at the trustworthiness of our Lord by way of remembrance.  Consider with me:

I.         God at Work in Joseph’s life.

Turn with me to Genesis 45 [p. 35], please.

(While you’re turning, let me fill you in on some key points regarding Joseph’s life that precede this passage).

1. From Pit to Pinnacle

1.          Joseph began life as his father’s favorite.

1. 1. This, coupled with his divine dreams that his whole family would someday bow before him, enraged his brothers.
   2. One day, seething with contempt and rage, they plotted to murder him.  Instead, they sold him as a slave to a caravan of Ishmaelites bound for Egypt—Genesis 37.

2.  In Egypt, God blessed Joseph with success as Potiphar’s servant and, eventually, as the overseer of all his possessions.

1. Potiphar’s wife, however, tried to seduce Joseph.
2. When he resisted and ran, she angrily claimed that he had tried to rape her.
3. So, Potiphar threw Joseph into prison—Genesis 39.

3.          God was with Joseph, though.

1. Joseph earned the trust and respect of the chief jailor, who put him in charge of the prisoners.
2. The Lord also gave Joseph the ability to interpret dreams, which he did for two of his cellmates—officials in Pharaoh’s court.
3. One of these men promised to put in a good word for Joseph, but he forgot.  And Joseph remained in jail for two more years!
4. But one night, Pharaoh had a troubling dream.  Joseph was remembered and summonsed by the King of Egypt.
5. God not only gave Joseph the interpretation of the dream (which was seven years of famine), He also provided Joseph with a plan for survival.
6. Impressed by Joseph’s wisdom and discernment, Pharaoh bestowed upon him the second highest position in the land—Genesis 41.
7. Among other duties, Joseph supervised the storage and distribution of Egypt’s grain.  AND GUESS WHO CAME TO BUY FOOD?

2. The Moment of Truth.

1.  Joseph’s brothers had no idea that the man before whom they bowed—the second most powerful man in all of Egypt—was the brother they had hated and sold into slavery!  But they were about to find out…

a.  Look at Genesis 45:1-3a, “Then Joseph could not refrain himself…I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?”

1) Imagine his brother’s emotions—shock, guilt, fear.  Joseph’s revelation struck them speechless—vv. 3b-4.

2) What would you have done in Joseph’s place?

3) He had the authority to order the instant death of all of them, but rather than raising his own hand in judgment…

2. Joseph recognized God’s hand in preserving his family—vv. 5-8.

1) What a perspective!  In other words, ‘God was in it from the beginning!’

1. 1. It took fifteen years to see it, but God was in it all along!

c.   Genesis 50:18-20 [p. 39]—Even after the death of their father, Joseph’s attitude remained the same.

1) Look at verse 19 again—“am I in the place of God?” (Joseph’s recognition of the plan and will of God).

1. 1. I.E.  He knows everything!  And whatever He allows is best!  He’s the Lord!
   2. Interesting, isn’t it?  The more we acknowledge God’s Lordship, the less we assail others or hold grudges against them for our difficulties….
   3. And look at verse 21!!!!  Submitting to the Lordship of God even allows us to forgive!

[Coming to grips with God’s ways and will doesn’t mean we deny reality—Joseph plainly told his brothers that they “thought evil against” him.  And it doesn’t guarantee pain-free living either!  But acknowledging it will help us see more of life, including pain, as under God’s absolute control.]

Very quickly, then, let’s answer some questions I know you’re thinking…

Turn back with me to Romans 8:28

II.        God at Work in Our Lives.

A. (How often we reach into the medicine cabinet of Scripture for this verse, hoping to ease the sting of divorce, job loss, or the untimely death of a child.  AMEN?)  But there’s more here than just medicine.  Paul wants us to see that our lives are a part of God’s will and plan!  Notice two reassurances and one “why” answer.

1.          Reassurances.  How do we know that God is working in our lives?

1. Because of His Promise—v. 28
   1. It’s rooted in the last word of verse 27—God!  He’s the reason we can hang on to this verse with assurance!  Our infinite, infallible Lord is in complete control of everything!
   2. Paul spoke in Acts 17:28 about God when he said, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being!!!!”  God is in control of everything!
2. Secondly, we know God’s working in our lives because of His Provision—vv. 31-32.

1) My friend!  He made an investment!!!!  Amen?

2) Don’t just look for the material signs to verify whether God’s working in your life (job, food, health, and peace).  Look back at the cross!

2.  Now, to the answer of ‘why.’

1. If it’s not a ‘cat-and-mouse’ game, why does God do in our lives what He does, the way He does it?

1) The answer is found nestled in the middle of verse 29, “he also did predestinate [us] to be conformed to the image of his Son.”  We are God’s Project!

2) Listen, my beloved family in Christ, we are like an incomplete painting propped against God’s easel.

3) The work maybe painful, confusing and look to be without form at times, but we must remember—God has a plan to conform us to the completeness and fullness of HIS SON!

Conclusion: So, when you get bumped from your ‘flight’ by a ‘stupid computer glitz,’ remember, God’s in complete control.  Someone else may have meant it for evil, but God means it for good!