Our life and our service must come out
of our knowledge of God.
Jesus said, This is eternal life, that they
might know Thee, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.
The Apostle Paul, towards the end of his
life, says in Philippians 3, I count everything
as rubbish compared to the excellency of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord.
Now, my own experience has been that in
mingling with a lot of Christians and Christian
workers, I don't find in many of them,
I'm not judging them, I'm just telling you
what I have seen, in most of them,
I do not find that passion to know
the Lord that Paul had.
I find in many of them a great
passion for the lost, great burden to do
something for the Lord, in terms of activity
and thinking of better means to spread the
gospel, but it reminds me more of the
management executives of Coca-Cola company or something
like that, who are out to promote a
project.
You can promote Coca-Cola or Pepsi without
knowing the Lord.
And when Christian work is done on that
basis, it can bring you the honour of
believers who have no discernment.
But any believer who knows God will not
be impressed.
God himself is not impressed.
Our service for the Lord must flow out
of our knowledge of Him.
Then a little bit that we do will
be more effective than a lot that we
can do which impresses people statistically.
I'm not saying we shouldn't do a lot.
Think of the Apostle Paul.
I don't think any of us in our
whole life will be able to do what
he did in his one life.
I think ten people put together today won't
be able to do what Paul did in
one life.
So for Paul, knowing the Lord, was not
sitting in a monastery and just meditating.
It was a very active life and none
of us have the passion for the lost
that Paul had.
None of us are willing to sacrifice the
things he sacrificed to reach the lost.
He wasn't attending conferences on evangelism.
He was reaching out for the lost all
the time.
He had no time to attend such conferences.
But all his life flowed out of knowledge
of God and he longed to know the
Lord better.
Because he knew that this is eternal life.
And he told Timothy, lay hold of eternal
life.
Get to know God.
Because when you know God, you can do
God's work in God's way.
See, a lot of God's work today is
not being done in God's way.
It's being done.
It's being done in the name of Jesus
Christ and a lot of good work.
But it's not done in God's way.
And very often the reason is, people don't
know God.
That's why these studies I have sought to
begin with God himself.
Because that's how the Bible begins.
The first four words in the Bible are,
in the beginning God.
I believe that's how it should be in
our life.
Every day, in all of our service and
ministry, everything must be in the beginning God.
What does God think about this?
Very often, even when people meet together for
discussing about the spread of the Lord's work,
they go through a formal prayer, because that
is the customary thing to do.
Every Christian meeting must begin with prayer.
But it's a mere formality.
And once they've done that, they feel okay,
we've given God his due, now we sit
down like Coca-Cola executives and decide how
to serve the Lord now.
It doesn't work.
So I want to encourage you, young people,
to get to know God better.
And that, I'm not saying you should serve
less, I believe you will serve more.
And I believe you'll serve more effectively, if
underneath it all, more than a passion to
know the Scriptures, must be a passion to
know God.
I wish that Bible schools would teach people
to know God, and not just know the
Scriptures.
Unfortunately, many Bible schools don't even get people
to know the Scriptures.
They teach them what all the critics say,
and what the Hebrew says, and what the
Greek says, and they don't know the Bible.
But even more than the Bible itself, you
must know God.
That's the greatest thing, to know Him as
one who is perfectly loving, to know Him
as one who is absolutely holy, things that
never change.
Then you will find that there are a
lot of things that you won't do, because
that's contrary to God's nature.
Many, many answers to difficult questions you get.
Now, I want to share with you something
more about what God is in this session,
and that is God's almighty power.
It says in 1 Timothy 6, there is
a word used concerning God, which, if my
memory is right, is perhaps the only place
in the New Testament where that word is
used about God.
1 Timothy 6.15 It says about God,
He is the blessed and only sovereign.
And in one of the paraphrases of the
New Testament, I think it's the one paraphrased
by J.B. Phillips, he paraphrases that statement
as God, who is the blessed controller of
all things.
If you can see God as the blessed
controller of all events, and all people, and
all of creation, it will give you a
solid foundation underneath your feet to serve Him.
So, we are to know God not only
as a God who is perfectly loving and
kind and good, not only one who is
perfectly holy, but one who is so almighty
and sovereign and powerful that He is the
blessed controller of all things.
Jesus said, whenever you pray, pray like this,
Our Father, that reminds us of His kindness
and His love and His goodness.
It reminds us of the words of Jesus,
If you, being evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more
shall your heavenly Father give good gifts to
those who ask Him?
So, begin with Our Father, and then go
on and say, Our Father who art in
heaven, that means in that high and holy
place.
I'm praying to a Father who is holy,
who can never tolerate any sin.
And I'm also praying to a Father who
is in heaven, who controls the whole universe
by His power.
So, we can say that when Jesus taught
us to pray, He said, many times He
said, the most important thing in prayer is
faith.
If you don't have faith, you won't get
anything.
You can pray a long prayer.
And this expression, Our Father who art in
heaven, at the beginning, is the foundation for
our faith.
Because it reminds us, every time we come
to God, that He is my Father, He
is my Daddy.
It's a very intimate expression, Abba, which is
not adequately translated as Father.
The only accurate translation for it is Daddy.
It's the intimate expression, Father is formal, Daddy
is informal.
The Lord used the word Abba.
It's an expression of intimacy, not distant, very
close.
It's a picture of a little child sitting
on the lap of his father and looking
up and saying, Daddy.
That's how I am to pray.
That's what brings me security and that's the
foundation for my faith when I pray.
And then I say, Our Father who art
in heaven, I realize He is holy.
I can't play the fool with Him.
I can't play the fool with sin and
come to Him.
And I also realize in heaven He controls
the whole universe.
And so my faith in these three facts,
in God's goodness and His holiness and His
power, is the foundation for my faith when
I pray everything else that follows in that
prayer or in any other prayer.
So it's very important to know God as
one who controls everything, who is sovereign.
And just like I said from Genesis to
Revelation, we see many, many evidences of God's
love and kindness and goodness and God's holiness
and purity and hatred of sin.
Throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we
see God as the blessed controller of everything.
Nothing takes Him by surprise.
That's been a great comfort for me to
know through all these years.
Something can happen to me today which takes
me by surprise.
Oh, I didn't anticipate that.
Particularly the evil that other people do to
you, you don't anticipate it.
And especially when people whom you think are
good do evil to you, you are surprised.
But what you should say to yourself at
such times is, even though this has taken
me by surprise, it has not taken God
by surprise.
He knew long, long ago that this would
happen.
He knew long, long ago that this person
would do this thing to you.
Doesn't that bring a comfort to your heart?
Because if He knew it long ago, then
you can be sure that He has also
made some solution for that problem.
He has also made a provision for you
to handle that problem.
That's where our faith is strengthened.
To know that He is the controller of
all things.
He does not make people do things, but
He knows ahead of time.
If I were to use an illustration, supposing
I were to see a videotape of some
event in my past life, say I was
doing something and somebody videotaped it, and I
see it.
I can only see a videotape of what
I have already done in the past.
And if somebody had videotaped my life from
birth till now, I could look at my
whole life from birth.
But the wonderful thing about God is He
can see a videotape of my future.
He sees the videotape of my life tomorrow.
He has already seen it.
Next week, next year.
He sees already all the various events that
are going to happen in my life next
week, next year.
All the various things people are going to
do to me.
The schemes of Satan and evil men.
What they are planning to do to trip
me up, to make me fall.
Next year, year after next, all the way
till Jesus comes.
God has already seen it.
And seeing it, He has also made provision
for every pitfall, every snare, everything that Satan
and evil men seek to do.
Can you imagine the confidence that brings into
my life as I seek to serve God?
If you go to serve God in a
difficult place, many places in our country today
are difficult places to serve God.
The time may come when you may not
even know whether you will live.
But isn't it good to know that God
has already seen the videotape of what evil
men are going to come and do to
you when you go and preach the gospel
in some difficult part of this country?
I praise God for that.
If I did not have that faith, I
would have given up serving the Lord long
ago.
Jesus said in Matthew 28 and verse 18,
many people listen to the command, Go and
make disciples of all nations.
I want to say, that is a misreading
of that verse.
Whenever you read scripture, read it carefully.
It does not say, Go and make disciples
of all the nations.
It says, Matthew 28, 19, Therefore, go.
And like somebody said, whenever you see a
therefore in scripture, see what it is there
for.
Why is it there?
Therefore means, before you go, look back to
the previous verse, and then go.
Therefore, go.
What is the previous verse?
All authority in heaven, that includes the heaven
where God dwells, it includes the heavenlies where
Satan and his hosts are, all those heavens,
all authority there, and on earth, the Lord
says, has been given to me.
Are you sure of that?
Therefore, go.
You are not sure of that?
Don't go.
Please don't go.
You'll make a mess of your life, you'll
make a mess of other people's lives, and
you'll come running back home, like a dog
with its tail between its legs, scared.
Because you went, without having a foundation.
Lots of people, have gone out to different,
difficult places of the world, for adventure, zeal,
sacrifice, excitement.
I'm not interested in adventure, zeal, excitement, I
leave that to the worldly people.
I go, because Jesus told me, go!
And if he has not told you to
go, you better stay.
And why does he tell me to go?
He says, all authority in heaven, and in
all the nations of the earth, is given
to me.
And I would emphasize that, if you don't
believe that, my brother, sister, stay where you
are, you'll be much safer where you are.
If you believe it, go!
And if you go with some mission organization,
it will not matter one bit, whether that
mission organization supports you or not.
If you have gone, because you have gone
on the basis of Jesus' authority, there's nothing
wrong in people supporting you, it's perfectly scriptural.
But what I'm saying is, if you depend
on men, one day you'll be disappointed.
The money order may not come on time,
there may be a postal strike, what do
you do then?
It's not because the people who are supporting
you are unfaithful, it's because the postman went
on strike.
But if you think that postal strikes are
outside the control of the Lord Jesus, then
you're in the soup.
You won't know what to do.
But once you understand that there is absolutely
nothing outside the control of the Lord Jesus,
He can feed you through crows.
You believe that?
And crows will bring you non-vegetarian food.
That's the miracle of it.
If they bring vegetarian, that's something, but they
brought non-vegetarian food for Elijah.
There's nothing outside the sovereign power of God.
And I believe this is absolutely essential, that
if ever we go out, I don't mean
just to some difficult part of the country,
if you live in the most comfortable place
in the world, you still need to believe
in the sovereign authority and power of God.
You can cross the road and have an
accident.
You believe that God is sovereign and He's
in control of all things?
That He gives His angels charge over us
to keep us in all our ways?
Lest we dash our foot against a stone?
I cannot count the number of times angels
have protected me as I've driven my scooter
on the streets of Bangalore.
I believe there are many, many angels I
have to go and shake hands with and
thank when I get up to heaven for
protecting me.
They're protecting you.
You don't see them.
The Bible says in Hebrews 1 that they
are ministering spirits, serving us.
God has sent them to serve us.
His control is sovereign.
We can never be alone.
Impossible.
The Lord is with us, His angels are
with us, even if no men are with
us.
Paul once said, I was taken to trial,
he said, and all men deserted me, because
they didn't want to be seen standing with
me in this hour of shame and ridicule.
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened
me and delivered me from the mouth of
the lion.
That's what he says in 2 Timothy 4.
See, Paul went forth to difficult places, but
he went on the basis of this, therefore,
goal.
Many, many believers do not believe that God
is in control of all things.
I love that expression in Psalm 119.
Psalm 119, it says, a little expression in
verse 91.
Psalm 119, verse 91, the last part.
All things are thy servants.
I confess that every day of my life.
I believe it.
In my spirit, I confess it every day.
All things are God's servants.
And if they are His servants, they are
my servants too, because I am a son
of the King.
I am a son of this God.
And nobody has as many servants as I
have, because all things are God's servants.
And in His sovereign control, you must also
believe what Job said in Job 23, verse
10.
Job 23, verse 10, in the Living Bible,
a little paraphrase of this verse reads like
this.
He knows every detail of what is happening
to me.
Don't ever forget that verse.
I have got it written on a little
wooden board and I have got it in
my sitting room.
He knows every detail of what is happening
to me.
And in the difficult situations of life which
you and I will face, it's good to
look at something like that and say, it's
true Lord.
Right now, even though not a soul in
the world may know the little details of
what I am going through, you know every
detail of what is happening to me.
And you are in control.
And it hasn't taken you by surprise.
You not only know it, you planned it.
And, that is an Old Testament verse.
The New Testament verse in Romans 8, 28
goes one step further.
The New Testament is always better than the
Old Testament.
It's not only that God knows every detail.
It says in Romans 8, 28, He plans
every detail.
He causes all things, because they are all
His servants, He causes all things to work
together, not individually.
Sometimes we look at one individual thing and
we wonder, why is it working like that?
Well, if you look at one individual thing,
it will confuse you.
It's like you go to a factory that's
making cars and you look at one machine.
Well, what that one machine is doing, you
may never be able to understand, what is
that got to do with making a car?
That part it makes doesn't even look like
it's any part of a car.
But it is one machine in this massive
factory and at the other end you see
a beautiful car.
So God causes all things to work together
to produce that finished product in you and
me, that is Christlikeness.
To work together for good and the good
that God has planned for us, is the
greatest good.
Not some temporary good, which just excites us
for a little while.
You know, like fathers plan for their children,
the long term good.
You know, a father plans even when a
child is born, which school shall I send
him four years from now.
And long before that child finishes school, he
plans where shall I send him for further
education.
So many things he plans, and later on
he plans for his marriage and so many
things, all ahead of time.
The greatest good.
See, fathers are not planning small things like
my child should win this snakes and ladders
game.
I mean he is not bothered whether you
win that snakes and ladders game or not.
Or one particular cricket match, his most important
thing, my son was in that.
He is not bothered about such things.
It's a long term good.
God also is like that.
He is not particularly bothered whether you win
a snakes and ladders game or whether you
win or lose in that cricket match.
And he is not even bothered whether you
make money.
He is concerned with the greatest good that
you can have in your one earthly life.
And that is described in the next verse.
Verse 29.
He predestined you.
For what?
Not to win snakes and ladders or monopoly
or cricket.
Not to make money, not to get a
house, not even to get married.
Which some of you may think is the
greatest thing on earth.
It isn't.
It is not.
It may look like that when you are
27, 28, 25.
But it isn't.
It's one of the things along the way
that a lot of people like Paul and
others who never got married who lived a
very fulfilled life.
The greatest thing is He predestined you to
be conformed to the image of His Son.
There is nothing greater that even Almighty God
can do for you and me than to
make us like Jesus Christ in our character,
in our personality.
Everything else is rubbish compared to this.
And God makes everything work together not to
give us a comfortable life.
Jesus never had a comfortable life.
Paul never had a comfortable life.
He says once that he was shipwrecked and
he was in the sea for 24 hours
swimming, hanging on to a log of wood.
It wasn't very comfortable.
No, He hasn't designed comfort for us primarily.
He has not even designed money or property
or these things as the greatest thing or
a good job.
Primarily that you might be conformed to the
likeness of Christ and that even your ministry
will flow out of conformity to His likeness.
See, that is why God placed Jesus on
earth for 33 and a half years.
And we can say that for 90%
of that time He never did what we
would call the Lord's work.
30 years, what sort of Lord's work was
He doing?
He was making stools and benches and things
like that.
That was the Lord's work because that was
God's will for Him.
So, God's ways are not our ways.
Make conformity to Christ as the goal of
your life because that's the goal God has
for you.
He predestined you not to heaven or hell
like some people say.
He predestined you to be conformed to the
image of His Son.
And He makes everything work together for that
good.
And if that is your goal, that is
God's goal.
If that is your goal also, you can
be absolutely sure if you love God and
you are called according to this purpose, it
will be fulfilled.
And some of those very difficult events that
take place which you can't understand why in
the world does God permit that?
Why doesn't He stop it?
It's because He's got a goal.
And that goal is not to give you
a comfortable life.
It's not to give you honor before men.
It's not to make men feel that you
are a great servant of God.
It's not even to make you a great
preacher.
I don't believe God would find it difficult
to make great preachers if He wanted to.
But He doesn't want so many.
He wants only a few.
Some others are called to be mothers.
Some others are called to be help.
Some others are called to be administrators.
There are so many gifts in the body
of Christ.
But if you can say, Lord, your ultimate
goal is to conform me to the likeness
of Christ.
And to that goal I also set my
vision.
And I believe that you are the blessed
controller of everything that's going to ultimately take
me to that goal.
See, in the Old Testament that was not
the goal towards which God was working with
His people.
In the Old Testament God's people were an
earthly people.
They were not blessed with every spiritual blessing
in heavenly places, in Christ.
They were called to be blessed with an
earthly blessing, a material blessing in earthly places,
in Moses.
Very different.
And that's why the promises in the Old
Testament are, you will be prosperous, you will
have many children, your cattle will produce and
multiply and you will never, your wives will
never have miscarriages and many, many things like
this.
Your enemies will never rule over you.
You will rule over your enemies.
The only time the enemies will rule over
you is when you are disobedient.
That's how the Old Testament was.
But in the New Testament it is so
different.
God's not worried about a lot of money
or many children or how the enemies treat
you.
He's concerned whether all this will make you
like Christ.
And lot of times our doubts and our
confusion as to we think God is not
answering prayer is because we've got some other
goal than God's goal.
But once you make God's goal your goal
there's no more conflict.
You praise the Lord in every situation.
Because everything God is causing it to work
towards that goal.
To make you like Christ.
Will that mean you won't have any ministry?
You'll have the most fruitful ministry you can
ever have if you make God's goal your
goal.
All other ministry will only be to impress
people.
I want to say to you my dear
brothers and sisters don't ever, ever, ever, ever
desire a ministry to impress people.
You will destroy your life.
You will waste your life.
You will never fulfill what God wants you
to do.
You have to make one decision in your
younger days.
I want God to be pleased with what
I do.
The Bible says in Galatians 1.10 If
I seek to please men I can never
be the servant of Christ.
You all want to be servants of Christ?
Make one decision in your life that you'll
never want to please men you will never
try to please men.
You will only seek to please God.
And that may bring you into conflict with
the opinions of many men pleasers.
Never mind.
Live before God's face and say Lord your
goal is my goal to become like Jesus.
And everything is working towards that goal.
And all the difficult things and the easy
things and the financial hardships and even the
prosperity.
When prosperity comes our way there also God
is teaching us how to become like Christ.
How would Jesus handle so much money?
How would Jesus handle financial hardship?
That's what Paul said.
You know in the Old Testament there was
a prayer written in Proverbs which says Lord
don't give me too much and don't give
me too little.
It sounds like a very spiritual prayer but
it is an Old Testament prayer.
Because he says there in Proverbs 30 Lord
if you give me too much I may
forget all about you.
If you give me too little I may
steal you.
But how is it with Jesus?
If Jesus got too little would he steal?
And if Jesus got too much would he
forget about his father?
No.
So we don't follow that Old Testament prayer.
That's a good prayer for babies, spiritual babies.
But we need to go beyond that to
what Paul said in Philippians 4 he said
I know how to have much and little.
And when I get little I don't steal.
And when I get much I don't forget
about God.
It doesn't make a difference.
I have come to a life where I
am independent of money.
Whether I get much or little makes no
difference.
I am independent of circumstances.
It doesn't make a difference to me whether
I am sick or healthy.
I still do God's will.
He had a thorn in the flesh which
troubled him for years and he still served
the Father.
Completed his course.
But as so many of us are so
dependent on circumstances we are too rich we
say Lord I am scared I may go
astray now.
Or if we are too little we are
worried.
God wants to bring us to a place
like Jesus was where we are completely independent
of all these earthly circumstances whether people approve
of us or don't approve of us whether
we get money or don't get money whether
people think we are doing the right thing
or the wrong thing whether people praise us
or criticize us whether they call us a
prophet or call us a devil it's just
the same.
Completely unaffected because we live before God who
is the controller of all things.
He is the one who allows somebody to
call me a devil and He is the
one who next day allows somebody to call
me a prophet.
And both are just the same to me.
I have evaluated it like this.
In my own heart I must see if
there is even a flicker you know like
a feather in the wind even a flicker
of disturbance when somebody calls me a devil
or even a flicker of excitement if somebody
calls me a prophet.
It shouldn't be.
If I live before God there will not
even be a flicker inside because I know
that this man's opinion he is a good
man or he is a bad man but
their opinion counts for nothing.
Seek to live before God like that.
He is the one the only one with
whom we have to do.
He is the one who controls all things.
I think of the statement of Daniel sorry
of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4.
It's one of the most comprehensive statements of
the sovereignty of God that I ever find
in the whole Bible.
And it's amazing that it came from the
mouth of a heathen king.
Daniel 4.35 It says here all the
inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing.
And God does according to His will in
the host of heaven His presence with the
angels and the other heavenlies with the devil
and among the inhabitants of the earth God
does exactly what He wants in heaven and
on earth among all the inhabitants of the
earth and all the inhabitants of the earth
are zero.
And no one can stop his hand or
say to him what have you done?
Nobody.
It's fantastic.
What an expression of God's sovereignty.
And it says at that time verse 36
my reason returned to me.
And that's the time your reason will return
to you.
You are off your head spiritually speaking if
you don't believe this.
The only sensible people in the world are
the people who believe this.
All the others are to a greater or
lesser degree off their head.
Their reason returned to him when he confessed
this God Almighty is there anything on earth
you cannot control?
Is there any human being on earth whom
you cannot control?
Is there anyone in heaven angel, demon all
your creation what is there which is outside
your control?
Is there anybody who can say to you
what are you doing?
This is the God we serve.
There are many examples given us in scripture
to strengthen us in this let me just
mention two or three.
We all know the story of Joseph.
It's one of the greatest examples in the
book of Genesis of the sovereign working of
God to make the jealousy of his brothers
the evil that people do all work together
for Joseph's good.
Let me put it in a nutshell.
Joseph was seventeen years old and God had
a plan for him that by the time
this young man is thirty years old he
should be the second ruler in Egypt under
Pharaoh.
But how does he fulfill that plan?
Not in the way we would do it.
We would give him a comfortable life and
then make him ruler at the age of
thirty but that was not God's way.
We find people who live comfortable lives and
come to the throne like King Saul usually
have a very bad time on the throne.
But people who come to the throne through
a difficult pathway like David and Joseph they
are able to exercise authority in a better
way.
Solomon came to the throne in ease and
comfort and destroyed his life.
It's the same in serving the Lord.
There are people who have come to serve
the Lord through a very easy path.
I feel sorry for them.
There are others who have gone through trials,
difficulties, struggles like David, like Joseph, like Jesus,
like Paul.
Those are the most useful, the most effective
servants of God on earth today and every
servant of God in history who has been
effective has gone that pathway.
So Joseph, God was determined to make him
a first class ruler and the first thing
he does is he allows ten of his
brothers to be jealous of him, to hate
him.
His own brothers, the man's enemies will be
from his own household Jesus said and it
was true in the Old Testament too.
It was Joseph's brothers who wanted to get
rid of him but God would not allow
them to kill him.
They could only do what he permitted.
They sold him to Egypt as a slave
and that was part of his education to
go through that difficult time as a slave.
And then when he gets to Egypt God
allows Joseph, this pure, upright, moral Joseph to
be accused of immorality.
The thing which he hated.
Everybody in Egypt was immoral.
They were not locked up in jail.
It was the one upright man who was
accused of immorality and locked up in jail.
God will allow you to face false accusation.
It's part of his training.
Jesus faced it.
Paul faced it.
The prophets faced it.
Joseph faced it.
And he did not get justice.
He was thrown into jail.
Is God still in control?
He certainly is.
And there in the jail God blesses him.
And he was long period in jail.
Maybe ten years.
When he is 28 years old he explains
a dream to Pharaoh's butler and he says
please tell Pharaoh when you escape after three
days that I'm here unjustly treated.
And the Bible says Pharaoh's butler completely forgot.
Is God in control when people forget to
do what they promised to do?
Yes.
Reason?
Because Joseph was only 28.
He had to have two more years Bible
school training in the prison.
That was a real Bible school.
It wasn't the comfortable one you all have.
It was a training.
And God allowed Pharaoh's butler to forget Joseph
for two years.
God's timetable is perfect.
His trains all run on time.
His plans work perfectly.
If something is to happen at a particular
time it will happen at that time.
In the fullness of time God sent his
son.
Jesus used to say my hour has not
yet come.
And when his hour came something happened.
And so we see when Joseph was 30
years old and the Bible says in Psalm
105 iron had entered into his soul.
That's one translation of that verse.
He became strong in his soul spiritually.
Then God gives a dream to Pharaoh and
reminds Pharaoh's butler about Joseph.
Because the right time has come.
Don't worry.
God will give dreams even to kings.
And remind people who have forgotten about you
at the right time.
Don't complain about them till then.
Believe in the sovereignty of God.
A God who is the blessed controller of
all things.
See these things are going to help you
in the future.
When you find situations where you feel people
have forgotten to do what they promised to
do.
People are ungrateful for what you have done
for them.
You are falsely accused.
People are jealous of your ministry.
All types of things.
It makes no difference to the blessed controller
of all things.
And then at the right time he comes
forth.
Exactly to the date God's purpose is fulfilled.
You take another example.
In the book of Esther.
That's the one book in the Bible you
know where the name of God is not
even mentioned.
God is not mentioned in that book.
But all through that book you see God
behind the scenes.
Particularly in the way he elevates Mordecai.
Mordecai was a man who refused to bow
down to the prime minister Haman.
He said I only bow down to God.
And Haman was angry.
And one day Haman decides I am going
to teach this fellow Mordecai a lesson.
And he sits at home and consults his
wife.
And his wife was an evil person just
like him.
And they decided to make a gallows for
Mordecai.
75 feet high.
Now you don't need a gallows 75 feet
high to hang a man.
You need only 10 feet.
Why in the world was he creating one
75 feet?
Because he wanted to humiliate Mordecai before the
whole town.
And I am sure he and his wife
were awake all night constructing the gallows.
And all this night what was Mordecai doing?
Fast asleep.
God gives his beloved sleep.
The sleep of the righteous is blessed.
He had a clear conscience.
And there is nothing for a good night's
sleep like a clear conscience.
So he slept not knowing that somebody is
preparing a gallows for me.
He didn't need to know.
Because the Lord who keeps Israel does not
slumber or sleep.
It is enough if God is awake.
Mordecai can sleep.
And you and I can sleep too.
And that night after the gallows was prepared
Mordecai Haman comes to the king to get
Mordecai hanged.
But God has been working in the king's
house too.
The king doesn't sleep that night.
And so when the king doesn't sleep he
says well let me get something to sleep.
Let's get the most boring books that are
history books to go to sleep.
He says get out the history books and
let's read them.
And he reads and he still doesn't get
sleep because God is constantly needling him saying
you can't go to sleep you got to
listen to something.
And at about six o'clock in the
morning they come to the passage in the
history book where it says Mordecai saved the
king's life.
And the king says he saved my life?
What did we do for him?
Oh they say we didn't do anything.
Oh he says we must do something for
him and we must honor him.
And that's the exact moment when Haman walks
in through the gate.
You see the timing of God so perfect.
And Haman walks in and says king I
want to say something.
And the king says hang on before you
tell me you tell me what should I
do to somebody whom I want to honor?
And Haman you know conceited man that he
is thinks of course that must be me.
So he says put him on a horse
and drag lead him through the town.
And he says that's a good idea.
He says put Mordecai on that horse right
now.
You lead him through the town.
Can you imagine how Haman's face looked at
that moment?
This is the blessed controller of all things.
And you see finally how it turned out.
Haman hung on that gallows.
This is written for our instruction.
I want to show you the greatest example
of all.
Acts of the Apostles chapter 2.
It says about Jesus a man whom God
attested.
This man I want you to see two
things in Acts 2 verse 23.
Was delivered up by the predetermined plan of
God and the foreknowledge of God.
You killed by the hands of godless man.
Two things.
Never forget these two expressions.
The predetermined plan of God and the foreknowledge
of God.
Those are the two things I just showed
you.
He knows every detail of what is happening
to me.
That is the foreknowledge of God.
He causes all things to work for my
good.
That is the predetermined plan of God.
The foreknowledge of God and the predetermined plan
of God.
Was fulfilled on Calvary's hill.
But in human eyes it looked as if
this was the result of Judas betraying him.
The Pharisees getting upset with him.
And that Jesus was not given a just
trial at night.
And Pilate was too scared to release him.
There are many human factors.
And all the disciples ran away.
Forget all the human factors.
There was a God in heaven who is
the blessed controller of all things who had
foreknowledge.
And according to his predetermined plan every single
thing happened.
Down to the last detail.
Down to the date.
Even the date.
It was the Passover day.
Exact fulfillment of scripture.
The time.
Everything.
God's timetable is perfect.
I ask people sometimes this question.
What is the most evil thing that ever
happened on this earth?
And you know the answer.
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary.
Then I ask another question.
That is the most evil thing that happened
on the earth.
Okay, now tell me what is the best
thing that ever happened on this earth?
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary.
Isn't that amazing?
The most evil thing is also the best
thing.
This is our God.
And Calvary is a demonstration not only of
God's love.
As I said earlier.
Not only a demonstration of God's holiness.
As I said in the last session.
But also a demonstration of God's sovereignty.
On Calvary I learned three things about God.
God is love.
God is holy.
And God is a blessed controller of all
things.
He can take the worst events and turn
it to the very best.
And He is the same today.
He is your God.
And my God.
And therefore we go out to serve Him.
Let's pray.
While our heads are bowed in prayer.
Let me invite you again to respond in
faith to a God who is sovereign.
Who controls everything and every person in this
universe.
Love Him.
Trust Him.
And say, Lord, never again will I doubt
You.
Thank You for everything that You have sent
into my life.
Heavenly Father, how marvelous, how wonderful that You
called us to be Your children.
We love You and we trust You.
In Jesus' name.