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GOD IS IN CONTROL
A. Introduction: We’ve been making the point that one of the themes we see in Paul’s writings is that the
joy, happiness, and fulfillment in the life after this life far outshines anything we experience in this life—
good or bad! And this perspective lightened the load of Paul’s difficult life. II Cor 4:17-18; Rom 8:18
1. But that brings up the question: Is there help for us now? If, by this question we mean, is there a
way to stop problems and keep them out of our lives, the answer is no. We live in a world that is infused
with corruption and death because of sin (going back to the first man, Adam). Gen 3:17-19; Rom 5:12-14
a. Consequently, there is no such thing as a problem free life in this broken world. You can do
everything right and things still go wrong. Jesus Himself said: In the world you have tribulation
and trials and distress and frustration (John 16:33a, Amp), and in this world, moths and rust corrupt
and thieves break in and steal (Matt 6:19).
b. But Jesus also said: Be of good cheer—take courage, be confident, certain, undaunted—for I have
overcome the world. —I have deprived it of power to harm, have conquered it [for you] (John
16:33b, Amp). Because of the salvation that has Jesus provided, nothing can permanently harm us.
1. The primary help for us in this life is the hope that comes from understanding what God is
working toward in the world right now, as well as what is ahead in the life to come.
2. Understanding what God is doing now gives us peace of mind in the present because it assures
us that all will ultimately be well, some in this life and some in the life to come.
2. Right now, God is working His plan of salvation in the midst of the earth (Ps 74:12). God created
humans to become sons and daughters who live in loving relationship with Him in the world He created
for us. But sin has disqualified us for sonship and damaged the family home.
a. Jesus came into this world to die as a sacrifice for sin and open the way for us to be saved from the
guilt and power of sin to that so that we can be restored to our created purpose through faith in Him.
Jesus will come again to cleanse the earth from all corruption and death, renew and restore it, and
live here with His family forever. John 3:16; I Pet 3:18; Rev 21-22; etc.
b. God’s goal in salvation is not to make this life the highlight of our existence. His hope is that men
and women will wake up and turn back to Him before they experience irreversible destruction—
eternal separation from God.
c. Although God takes no pleasure in human suffering, He uses it. One of the greatest promises God
has given us is that He is able to cause everything that happens in this world to serve His purposes
and bring genuine good out of real evil—some in this life and some in the life to come. Rom 8:28
3. This reality does not take away the pain of life’s sufferings, nor does it alleviate the tears and sorrow that
come with tragedy and loss. But this understanding helps us stay faithful to the Lord in the midst of it
until we are fully out of it in the life to come.
a. One of the major points the New Testament stresses is the importance of staying faithful to the Lord
no matter what happens. The apostle Paul likened the Christian faith to a race and urged Christians:
Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us (Heb 12:1, NLT). At the end of his
life he was able to say: I have run my race, finished my course, and stayed faithful (II Tim 4:7)
b. The hardships of life test our faith (trust and confidence) in God. When trying times come into our
lives, all of us must deal with questions: Is God real? If God is good and loving, why is there so
much pain, suffering, and hardship in the world? If He is all powerful, why doesn’t He stop it.
c. We must be able to answer the questions (the mental challenges) that can undermine our confidence
in God, especially in the hard times—so that we don’t drop out of the race. Understanding what
God is doing and will do helps us to endure (stay faithful). We have more to say in tonight’s lesson.
B. We first need to state some facts about the Lord. Almighty God is Transcendent which means exceeding
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the usual limits. God is completely other; He is beyond our comprehension. He’s not a bigger one of us.
1. God is sovereign and God is Omni. The fact that God is sovereign means that He is the Supreme power
and authority in the universe. Omni means all. The fact that God is Omni means He is above all. He is
Omnipotent (All-Powerful), Omniscient (All-Knowing), and Omnipresent (present everywhere at once).
a. Because He is Omniscient (All-Knowing) and Omnipresent (present everywhere at once) there is
nothing He does not know, nothing He does not see—past, present, or future. .
b. Because of His power and authority, God is able to cause events to serve His plan for a family.
Nothing takes Him by surprise, and there is no situation for which He does not already see a way to
cause it to serve His ultimate purposes for His family.
c. In the context of God obtaining His family, the Bible says that He “works out everything in
conformity to the purpose of his will” (Eph 1:11, NIV) and “causes everything to work together for
the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Rom 8:28, NLT).
2. We made the point last week that the crucifixion of Jesus is the greatest example of God causing the evil
in this world to serve His purposes as He brings genuine good out of something that was truly bad.
a. Almighty God knew before He created the heavens and the earth and the human race, that wicked
men inspired by Satan would crucify Jesus, the Son of God. Luke 22:3; I Cor 2:7-8
b. But God used this event to provide salvation for the human race. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, men
and women can be reconciled to God through faith in Him. II Cor 5:21; Rom 5:1
c. Peter, the apostle, in his first public sermon after the resurrection made this statement: Men of
Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and
signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being
delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands,
have crucified and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it
was not possible that He should be held by it (Acts 2:22-24, NKJV).
1. The Greek word translated delivered means given over, surrendered. Determined counsel
means a fixed purpose and settled plan. Foreknowledge means to know beforehand.
2. By this statement, Peter was expressing how in control Almighty God is of human choice and
challenging circumstances. Because God is Sovereign (the Supreme power and authority),
because He is Omnipotent (All-Powerful), and because He is Omniscient (All-Knowing), He
knew what would happen before it happened. And He put His plan on top of the devil’s plan.
A. After a successful three-year ministry, when Jesus was arrested by Israel’s religious leaders,
turned over to the Roman governor Pilate, put on trial, mercilessly beaten, and then crucified by
the Romans, it seemed as though everything was out of control, and that evil had triumphed.
B. But because God knew what was going to happen before it happened, He caused these events
to serve His ultimate purpose for a family and, through Jesus’ sacrificial death, provided
salvation for mankind.
3. Jesus’ first followers lived with the awareness that life’s hardships and challenges aren’t bigger than
God. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Nothing is out of control. He is able to cause everything to
serve His ultimate purposes. And He preserves His people in the midst of it (more on this next week).
C. In addition to the Cross and resurrection, the first Christians had many examples from the Scriptures where
God used the harsh realities of life in a fallen world and caused them to serve His purposes for a family, as
He brought both short-term and long-term blessing to people.
1. By short-term blessing we mean God resolved an immediate problem. By long-term blessing we mean
God putting off short-term results (ending the problem now) for long-term eternal results.
a. We talked about Joseph’s experience in last week’s lesson (Gen 37-50). His wicked brothers did
great harm to him, and God did not stop it. But God worked it for good, short-term and long term.
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Thousands of people were saved from starvation, including the line through which Jesus came into
this world, and multitudes of idol worshippers heard about the One True God.
b. At the end of the account, Joseph stated to his brothers that “God sent me ahead of you to preserve
your lives” (Gen 45:7, NLT). Joseph did not mean that God caused his troubles. Rather, he was
expressing how in control God is over His universe, human choice, and challenging circumstances.
2. The first Christians had the record of God’s deliverance of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt so that
He could lead them back to their ancestral home (modern-day Israel). What happened to them is called
redemption. In many ways, it pictures what God does for us as His redeemed sons and daughters.
a. Through a series of power demonstrations over a nine-month period, Almighty God convinced the
Pharaoh (King of Egypt) to release His people (the Israelites) and let them return to Canaan.
1. There were two routes from Egypt back to Canaan, but neither one was easy, because that’s life
in a fallen world. One way was shorter, but the people would have to fight fierce tribes along
the route. The other route went through a desert wilderness and was filled with challenges due
to the environment (lack of food and water, poisonous snakes, heat, dirt, fatigue). Ex 13:17-18
2. God led Israel on the second route. The first thing they encountered was an impassable body of
water known as the Red Sea. Pharaoh changed his mind about releasing Israel and came after
them with his army. Israel was trapped between the army and the sea. Ex 14:1-30
b. However, God parted the Red Sea and Israel escaped. In the hands of Almighty God, the problem
(the Red Sea) actually became the means of their deliverance when they walked through on dry
ground. When the Egyptian army tried to follow, the sea closed over them. This event had two
short-term results and at least one long term result.
1. It encouraged the Israelites. Ex 15:31—When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that
God displayed against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and put their faith in him and his
servant Moses (NLT).
2. It provided future protection. Canaan was less than a two-week journey away from Egypt and
the Egyptian army would have been a constant threat to Israel had they not been destroyed.
(Israel was the people group through whom the Redeemer Jesus will come into this world).
3. What about the men who drown in the Red Sea as Israel escaped? They saw God’s power
demonstrated in Egypt for nine months prior to Israel’s release from slavery, and at this point,
many Egyptians had realized that Israel’s God is the Only Almighty God (Ex 12:38). How
many death-bed confessions of faith were there among the soldiers? Only eternity will tell.
3. The first Christians also had examples of how to respond to life’s trials, as well as explanations as to
why God does not immediately fix all the hardships Israel faced. Once past the Red Sea, as the people
journeyed from Egypt through the desert wilderness toward Canaan, they went three days without water.
a. When they reached water, it was bitter (undrinkable), and the people began to express ungratefulness
by complaining. The water was undrinkable because that’s life in a sin cursed earth. Why didn’t
God have fresh water waiting for them or lead them to a better source of water? Ex 15:22-26
1. Hard times expose ungodly character traits that need to be dealt with. This is one way that God
uses life’s trials. This would have been an opportunity to get control of the sin of complaining
by recalling the fact that just three days ago God helped them with an even bigger water problem
(the Red Sea). By doing so they would have strengthened their capacity to trust God and their
ability to endure (exercise patience).
2. God helped them (despite the complaints). He showed Moses a tree which he threw into the
water and it became drinkable. In the hands of God the bitter waters of life can be made sweet.
b. Not long after this incident, the Israelites started to complain about the fact that food was scarce in
this desert wilderness. They talked about how life (and food) was better in Egypt. Ex 16:1-
1. From that point on, God began to feed them with manna (manna means “what is it”). It
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appeared each morning, and the people were instructed to gather only what they needed for that
day. God gave them manna every day until Israel entered Canaan. But still they complained
about their circumstance. Ex 17:1-7; Num 21:4-5
2. Moses later wrote: (God) let you get hungry, and then he fed you with manna…this was to teach
you that a person does not live by eating only bread, but by everything the Lord says (Deut 8:3,
NCV). In other words, God used the circumstances to show them their need for Him.
c. We need to make an important point here. When we talk about the hardships and challenges of life
in a fallen, sin cursed earth, this ranges from minor irritations and frustrations to major tragedies.
1. In the major trials, God is there to comfort you and give you hope that you will survive (II Cor
1:4). God uses the lesser trials of life to expose character traits that are not Christ-like.
2. Remember that God’s plan for His sons and daughters in this life is that we grow to maturity and
become increasingly like Jesus in our character and behavior. Rom 8:29; I John 2:6
A. Part of this is for His glory. As sons and daughters of God we are supposed to accurately
reflect our Father to the world around us (Matt 5:16).
B. Part of this is for our good. No one is immune from dropping out of the race set before us.
No sincere Christian wakes up one day and decides to abandon their faith in God. It
happens incrementally, as we neglect to deal with habits and attitudes that undermine our
confidence in God.
3. True victory in this life is not no more problems. True victory in this life is not emotional
excitement in the face of a horrible tragedy. True victory is staying faithful to God no matter
what happens, because you understand that nothing can permanently harm you. You know that
all loss and pain is temporary, that all will ultimately be made right, and that there is reunion and
restoration in the life to come. This hope helps you patiently endure. Rom 5:1-4
d. The Israelites never dealt with their habit of complaining. They never developed the habit of calling
to memory all that God did for them in delivering them from Egypt and leading them to Canaan.
1. They forgot His promise to them that He would not only bring them out of bondage, He would
bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of full provision. Ex 3:8; Deut 8:7-10
2. It ultimately cost them Canaan. They refused enter the land because there too many obstacles.
The point for us is they undermined their confidence in God and didn’t finish the race to Canaan.
A. I Cor 10:11—All these things happened to them as examples for us. They were written
down to warn us, who live at the time when this age is drawing to a close (NLT).
B. Rom 15:4—Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. They give us
hope and encouragement as we patiently wait for God’s promises (NLT).
D. Conclusion: We haven’t said all we need to say about this yet. But consider these thoughts as we close.
1. God isn’t cleansing and improving the earth now, in part because He wants mankind to see the
destructive consequences of sin and turn to Him before they experience ultimate ruin.
a. There is a lot of mystery (as yet answered questions) surrounding the topic of suffering in this world.
But we can’t let what we don’t yet know undermine what we do know about God’s goodness and
love, as shown to us through Jesus and His sacrifice for us at the Cross.
b. Deut 29:29—The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed
belong unto us and to our children forever (KJV).
2. In all of this, I’m not saying that God never quickly delivers us from difficult circumstances because
clearly, sometimes He does. I’m saying that we can have peace of mind no matter what we face.
3. We can be assured that it’s not bigger than God. Nothing is out of control. He hasn’t been taken by
surprise. He sees a way to cause it to serve His purposes and use it for good. And He will get us
through until He get us out. Much more next week!
