Ron Dunn Podcast - Ministry Of Circumstance

Episode Date: November 3, 2021

Ron Dunn brings the third sermon from the "Strange Ministers" Series

sin, victory over self, and victory over Satan. But there is another area in which we must have victory if we are going to live a consistent Christian life. And unless we come to experience victory in this area, then all of the other areas, sin, self, Satan, will not accomplish the life of overcoming that God has intended all of us to experience.

And so I want to speak to you this morning on victory over situations, or victory over circumstances. Now, I want you to remember that phrase, victory over circumstances, because in a moment I'm going to change the wording of that, and it's going to be an essential change. And in the changing of that wording, you're going to find the key to being victorious over every circumstance. Now, there are two kinds of circumstances. Number one, there are those circumstances that we can control. They pose little or no problem. If there's a circumstance we're not particularly fond of,

and we can change it, then we change it. But there is another set of circumstances that does present to us our problems in living in victory. And these are circumstances we cannot control. And so there are circumstances we can control, and there are circumstances we can't control. There are circumstances that we can change, and then there are circumstances that we can't change,

even though we wish we could. And I have an idea that there's probably some of us that have attended this conference that are dreading to see it conclude because we're going to have to leave here and return perhaps to a situation that we wish we could change, but we know we're powerless to change it. Or maybe even you wish we could go on another week, not so much because you want to stay at the conference, but simply because you do not want to return to the circumstance.

And you would change it if you could, but you can't. This is the circumstance that we need to have victory over. And unless you and I leave this conference knowing how to experience victory over uncontrollable and unchangeable circumstances, we're not going to live a consistent Christian life. Because, you see, everywhere you go, you're in the midst of circumstances. Now, I want to change that phrase, victory over circumstance. Now, for a long time, I thought this was the phrase, victory over my circumstances. And here was a circumstance that I didn't like. That was an adverse circumstance, a contrary circumstance. And I viewed that circumstance as an Amalek standing in my way before the promised land

and saying, you will not go in. And I would say, Lord, if I'm ever to enter into the promised land, I must overcome this circumstance. Somehow or another, I've got to change it. I've got to go around it. I've got to tunnel over it. Somehow or another, I must get rid of this circumstance. Lord, help me to get victory over this circumstance. And I have viewed my circumstances, and I'm talking about contrary circumstances, adverse circumstances, as obstacles in my path, presenting a barrier to my progress in the Christian life. The word I want to change is the word over. And I want to change it to the word through.

It is not victory over your circumstances. It is victory through your circumstances. Now, if you ever change your viewpoint about adverse circumstances from trying to get victory over them and around them to where your viewpoint is that they are not an obstacle standing in your path blocking your progress. Rather, they are the means by which you enter into victory. That is the key to victory over the circumstance. Victory through a circumstance gives you victory over the circumstance. And so I'm really not going to speak to you about victory over your circumstances. I'm going to speak to you about victory through your circumstance. There's a verse that I discovered

some time ago. Well, I didn't discover it. It's like saying I discovered America. But Isaiah chapter 49 and in this chapter God is dealing with the people's exodus from captivity and how they're going to get back to the promised land and along the way they're going to meet some obstacles it's going to be rough terrain. As they make their journey from Babylon back to the promised land, they're going to have to go through mountainous terrain. Notice what it says in verse 11. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

Now I want you to look at that phrase, the first one in verse 11. And I will make all my mountains a way. The New American Standard reads like this. And I will make all my mountains a road. The New English Bible reads, I will make every hill a path. Now, I want you to notice he does not say, I will make a way over the mountains. He doesn't say, I will make a way through the mountains. He doesn't say, I will make a way around the mountains.

He says, the mountains will become the road through which you get back into your land. The mountains actually become the road through which you get back into your land. The mountains actually become the road. In other words, he's saying obstacles, circumstances, mountains that stand in your way are not that which blocks you from entering into victory. They are the means of your entering into victory. He says, my mountains will be the way. If the mountains aren't there, you can't get there. If it were not for the mountains, you could not enter in. And so it is not victory over your circumstance that you need. It is victory through your circumstance. And that adverse contrary circumstance this morning

is not a barrier, not an obstacle. It is the means that God has divinely appointed by which you will pass into victory. It's the door. It's the road. All right, now we're ready to read our text. Romans chapter 8, verses 28, 29, and 30. Romans chapter 8, verses 28, 29, and 30. And we know that all things work together for good

to them that love God, them who are the call according to his purpose, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Now, I want you to imagine with me this morning the three points of a triangle, the three points of a triangle. And we're going to start with the apex of the triangle and the first point, the top of this triangle this is the ultimate

we're going to label the purpose of God the purpose of God now if I am to have victory in every situation of my life then I must first of all understand and to have victory in every situation of my life, then I must first of all understand what is the eternal purpose of God. He says we know that all things are right now working together for good, and that good is not the good of ease and comfort.

It is the good of God's purpose. And all things are working together to accomplish that purpose to those who are called according to his purpose. Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to become conformed to the image of his son. There is the eternal purpose of God. What is the purpose of God? What is it that God is trying to accomplish in my life? What is that good that all things are working together to accomplish? It is this, that I might be conformed to the image of his son. William's translation reads like this, he marked us all, he marked us all to become like his son. The word conformed means that my inner being, what I really am in essence and in actuality, will become like the Lord Jesus. It does not refer to my appearing like the Lord Jesus by my actions only. It means that there is that divine plan and purpose that I will actually, in essence, become like the Lord Jesus.

That is the eternal purpose of God for every believer that I might become like Jesus, to be conformed to the image of God's Son. Salvation is simply God restoring the image that man lost in the fall. The Bible says that we were created in the image of God. Now, the image of God is man's capacity to know God, to worship God, and to fellowship with God, and to do all three of those perfectly. The image of God is man's capacity to know God, to worship God, and to fellowship with God, and to do all three perfectly. Now, man only is made in the image of God. Only man has the capacity to know God, to worship God, and to fellowship with God.

You never saw a dog bowing its head and thanking God for his dog food. He never did. You never saw a cow worshiping only man has a capacity to know God only man has a capacity to worship God to fellowship with God and only man has a thirst after God there is born within every man, bred into every man, an insatiable desire for God because man was made in the image of God. Now, that image was not destroyed by the fall. It was marred by the fall. It's like a bombed out building. The shell still stands. The semblance is still there, but it has been marred. It has been perverted. Now, there is still in man a semblance of the image of God,

but it is not as it was originally. That image, my ability to worship God, our capacity to know God and the fellowship with God has been marred, has been crippled, has been almost atrophied. And what God is seeking to do in salvation is to restore the image of God to us. And he says that you and I have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of God's Son. That is God's purpose for every person. Now, he's working this out on two levels. First of all, he's working it out in the future. There is going to be a day, you mark it down,

there is going to be a day when every person who has ever been saved will be exactly like Jesus. Every person, every person who's ever been saved will someday be exactly like Jesus. So this is a promise for the future. That's one level upon which God is working out his purpose. Someday in the future, when Jesus comes and we see him, we shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye.

This corruptible will put on incorruptible. This mortal will put on immortality and we'll all be changed into his glorious likeness. But God is working on another level. He is also working on the level of the present tense. In other words, God right now today is working us, conforming us into his image. 2 Corinthians 3.18 says that we, as we behold the glory of the Lord, are being changed from glory unto glory into the same image by the Holy Spirit. When I was saved, the Holy Spirit took up residence within me, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Jesus to me through the

Word and through other means to open my eyes to see Jesus. And as I am beholding the Lord Jesus Christ to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I am being changed into the likeness of Jesus. How? From glory unto glory. That means from one degree to another degree. That means he's changing us bit by bit gradually into the likeness of Jesus. Friend, you are not changed in this life into the likeness of Jesus by one cataclysmic ecstatic experience. It happens bit by bit by bit. And one of the greatest disappointments in my Christian life was in believing that one of these days around the corner I would turn and God would put a holy zap on me and say, Coop, you're just like Jesus. That's not the way it happens. And sometimes people have offered us

experiences in which we would be changed into the likeness of Jesus. The old sin nature would be eradicated and everything would be just as it ought to be. It never happens that way. It never happens that way. He is changing us bit by bit by bit. Now why? Well, he doesn't want that final change when Jesus comes to be such a traumatic effect. See what God is setting out to do is in my daily life to bit by bit by bit changing me into the likeness of Jesus. And the goal that I have is that when he comes to finally finish off the job, he won't have too much to do. Now, the tragedy is that for a great many people, the coming of the Lord will not be a rapture, it'll be a rupture. I mean, the change will be so drastic and so great and so traumatic. What God is seeking to do right now in my

life, in my everyday life, is to make me like Jesus. Now, this is essential in understanding if I am to get the best out of the worst. If I am to have victory through my circumstances, I must understand what is the purpose of God. What is God up to? Well, he is changing me into the likeness of Jesus. And one of these days, I am going to be like him, and God is working to make me like Jesus even today. All right? That's the top, the apex of the triangle. Now let's come down over here to this dot, to this point of the triangle. Now these two points, bottom points of

the triangle, support the purpose of God. They support that point. All right? I want you to label this point over here, the predestination of God. The predestination of God. The predestination of God assures us of the purpose of God. The purpose of God is that I am to be like Jesus. The predestination of God guarantees that'll happen. All right, now let's look at the verses again. For whom he did foreknow, verse 29, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. Now, I'm not going to try, even if I had the time, to explain the mystery of predestination. The reason is I do not know the explanation for it.

And this is one of those areas, friend, where you must know without understanding. I do not understand predestination, but I know it's a fact because the Bible teaches it. Predestination, the word predestinate means to mark off beforehand. By the way, purpose is to design beforehand. It's to design beforehand. Predestination is to choose beforehand. In eternity, God designed me before I was ever born. And that design was what? To be like Jesus. Now, God is not going to leave it up to me to get like Jesus because he knows I'll never make it. And so God guarantees that his purpose will be fulfilled. And how does he guarantee that? He guarantees it like this. In eternity past, before any of us were even born,

God knew us, God knew us, and he drew a circle around us and he said, I am guaranteeing you're going to be like Jesus. The predestination of God guarantees the purpose of God. And that purpose of God is supported by the predestination of God. Friends, if you've been saved, like it or not, someday you're going to be like Jesus. And there is no power in heaven or earth or hell that can ever prevent you from being like Jesus. Now, you put it down, regardless of how discouraged you may appear today, one of these days you're going to be exactly like Jesus.

Why? Because in eternity past, before you were ever born, God drew a circle around you and said, you're mine. You're mine. And God says, I guarantee it. Someday you'll be like Jesus. Paul writing to the Philippians says in chapter one, verse six, I'm confident of this very thing that he which has begun a good work in you will complete it in the day of Jesus Christ.

Friend, God never leaves any work undone. What God starts, he always finishes. One of my favorite passages is the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. I want to read just a few verses. Jesus said, all that the Father giveth me, there's predestination, shall come to me. And he that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Verse 39, and this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose none, but should raise it up again at the last day. Jesus said, the Father has given me some people, and everybody that he gave me, they're going to come to me.

You say, if I believe in predestination, that discourages evangelism. Oh no, that encourages it. That encourages it. Because every one that the Father has given to the Son, they're going to come to him. If they don't come to him, they've not been given. And they can't come until they have been given to the son of the father. And he says, he that comes to me, I will not cast out. I will in no wise cast out. He said, what if we sin? He said, I will by no means cast you out. Why? The father gave me to you. And I will raise him up at the last day. On that last day, Jesus

is going to stand before the Father and just says, Father, everyone you gave me, they're all here and accounted for. Not a one of them lost. Not a one of them missing. Not a one of them missing. The predestination of God is God's guarantee that someday you and I will be exactly like Jesus. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be. Don't have any idea what we're going to be. It's just incomprehensible to see what we're going to be just like in heaven. But I do know this, he says, I do know that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And so every man that has this hope in himself

is doing what right now? He's purifying himself just like Jesus is pure. Purpose of God? To be like Jesus. Predestination of God? Guarantees it. Guarantees it. I'm glad that I have a Lord like this.

I am guaranteed, and by the way, it says in that 30th verse, well, let's just read it. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also, what?

Will glorify. Doesn't say will glorify. Them he also glorified. Them he also glorify. Doesn't say will glorify. Them he also glorified. Them he also glorified. That's past tense. Hey, have you ever noticed how that much of the book of Revelation is written in the past tense, even though it's in the future? Have you ever noticed how that Isaiah 53 is written in past tense,

even though it's prophesying event that wouldn't happen until 700 years later? You ever wondered why God wrote prophecy in the past tense? Friend, even God himself couldn't change it once it's history. You and I understand God can do anything, but I'm speaking after the infirmity of your flesh. He writes in the prophetic past. Now, friend, George Washington was the first president of the United States, and there's not anything you can do about that.

You can't change that. There's not a thing you can do about it. And God is saying it is so certain and so secure that you're already glorified. It's already happened. It's in the past tense. It's already in the past tense. It's already in the past tense. God guarantees it.

I'm glorified. Right now, I'm glorified. I said the other day, I don't look much like I'm glorified. Sometimes I don't sound too glorified. But friend, I want you to know, when God looks at me, he says he's glorified. How can I lose my salvation when I'm already in heaven glorified? You see, God is a present tense God there's no past and no future with God let's suppose that I'm standing on top of a building and I remember years ago hearing Dr. J.P. McBeth use this illustration and I

it made such an impression on me. He said, suppose I'm standing on top of a building and I'm watching people walk. And I'm watching a fellow and I saw where he started and I see where he's going and I see where he is. Right now, that fellow is right below me. Now, where he was is his past where he's going is his future but from my vantage point

where he was is my now my present where he's going is my present where he is is my present from my viewpoint from my vantage point it's all, it's all now. It's all now. And God, from his vantage point, from his viewpoint, my whole life is all now.

I look back to where I was ten years ago, and that's my past, but that's God's now. I wonder where I'm going to be ten years from now. That's my future, but it's God's now. You see, God is the eternal now. I wonder where I'm going to be 10 years from now. That's my future, but it's God's now. You see, God is the eternal now. There's no past or future. It's all present. And so God can say, you're already glorified. All right. Purpose of God, to be like Jesus, the predestination of God, assures the purpose of God. All right, let's come over here now to the third point of the triangle. Remember, these of God assures the purpose of God. All right, let's come over here now to the third point of the triangle. Remember, these two bottom points support the purpose of God.

The third point of the triangle is the providence of God. The providence of God. All right, the purpose of God, to be like Jesus. The predestination of God assures that purpose. Now listen, the providence of God accomplishes that purpose. Purpose of God, which has been guaranteed by predestination, is in the present life being accomplished by God's providence. Now that is providence. Purpose is to design beforehand.

Predestination is to choose beforehand. Providence is to provide beforehand. Providence is made up of two words, pro, before, video, to see. It means to see beforehand and to plan accordingly. The providence of God is this. God saw every situation I would be in before I was ever in it. God saw every circumstance I would encounter before I ever encountered it. He saw beforehand everything that would happen to me, and he planned accordingly. You see, if I know what's going to happen, I can make provision before it happens. That's why you buy a burial plot, isn't it? Why do you buy a burial plot?

Because you know if the Lord carries, you're going to die. Knowing, therefore, what's going to happen, you can provide for it. God knows everything that's going to happen. He knows every detail of our life. He knows every turn in the corner. He knows every rut in the road. And what has he done in eternity past? He has looked down. He has seen everything that's going to happen to us before it ever happened. And so he made provision for everything that happens so that I may be surprised at what happens to me tomorrow, but God isn't. And he's already made provision for what's going to happen to me tomorrow. Verse 28, and we know that all things are working together for good. That's the providence of God. The purpose of God is to be conformed to the image of God. The predestination of God guarantees that the providence of God is God right now, today, working all things together to accomplish that good. Notice he says A-L-L, all things,

all things are working together, and that working together has the idea of all things are fitting together. All things are messing together like gears. All things are fitting together like pieces in a puzzle. Now, when you work a big jigsaw puzzle, you dump it out on the table, and it looks like you'll never be able to work that thing. Christmas, we got some big jigsaw puzzles. There was one absolutely beautiful. Well, it looked beautiful on the cover of the box, and we bought some of this stuff,

and you spray on it to make it stick, you know, so you can keep it and put it in the frame. We worked for days and days and days and days and got it all finished, but there was one piece lost. Ruined the whole thing we looked for that we looked under tables looked under rugs

looked in closets looked in pants pockets looked everywhere for that one missing piece and you know what every time we start working the jigsaw puzzle I have that fear there may be that last piece may be missing

and I tell you I know a lot of Christians go through their Christian life worrying about maybe the last piece will be missing. Friend, it won't be because God is fitting everything together to accomplish that purpose. He put it down and rests on it. Providence of God is God taking everything in my life and causing it to mesh together to accomplish that purpose, to make me like Jesus. Now, I want to share with you what I consider to be the greatest illustration in the Bible of the providence of God, and it's found in Genesis chapter 45 and Genesis chapter 50. The story is

of Joseph and his brethren. His brothers were jealous of Joseph. One day Joseph came to meet him, meet his brothers in Dothan. And they said, let's kill him. Dad likes him best. Let's kill him. They said, no, let's let's kill him. Dad likes him best. Let's kill him.

They said, no, let's don't kill him. Let's not shed his blood. Let's just throw him over here in a pit. There's no water in this pit. Let's just leave him there and he'll die. And so they took him and they threw him in the pit. And then they sat down to have lunch. Brother, they had a strong constitution.

Sit down to eat after they'd thrown their brother in a pit to die. They sat there and they said, you know, what profit is it just to let him die? Why don't, here comes some east in their life, why don't we sell them and we'll kill two birds with one stone. We'll get rid of Job and we'll make a little profit out of it too. And so they said, let's go pull him out of the pit. But before they got there, some Midianite merchants came along. They drew him out of the pit and they sold him to the Ishmaelites who took him into Egypt. 17 years later, you know the story. A famine has come to the land.

Joseph's brothers have come to Egypt because they've heard over here they have plenty of food. Now, Joseph meets these brothers two or three times and does not reveal himself because in 17 years they do not recognize him. But he knows who they are. And in Genesis chapter 45, he just can't contain himself any longer. He must, he must tell these brothers who he is. And so he was weeping. Notice what he says.

Verse 4 of Genesis 45, And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. They came near, and he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that you sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years

hath the famine been in the land, and yet there are five years in which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you of posterity in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God. Now three times in that passage, he says to his brothers who thought they

were the ones who sent him to Egypt, he said, it was not you, it was God. It was not you, it was God. It was not you, it was God. He didn't want his brothers taking credit for something God did. You say, I thought it was his brothers. You're crazy. It was his brothers who stole him into Egypt. I'll take Joseph's word for I'll take you. After all, he was the one that was there. And three times he says it was not you, it was God. Now, that is not predestination. For predestination would mean that God made Joseph's brothers hate Joseph and seek to kill him. That's not predestination.

That's providence. God knew they were going to be filled with envy. God could see they were going to try to kill him. And so what did he do? He just made provision for it. He just planned for it. God wasn't caught off guard. He had those lights coming because he knew Joseph was going to be in a pit.

Now look over in Genesis chapter 50, verse 20. Joseph again, speaking to his brothers, but as for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive.

Now, friend, do you know how to have victory through every circumstance, therefore victory over every circumstance? Would you like to know how to get the best out of the worst? You stand before every contrary, adverse circumstance and you say two things to it. It's not you, it's God. It's not evil, it's good. That's what Joseph said

about the worst thing that ever happened to him. It wasn't you that did it, it was God. It wasn't evil, it was good. You meant it unto me for evil, but God meant it unto me for good. And my dear friends, God always means it for your good. All things are working together for your good, that ultimate good to make us like Jesus. Now, what does the providence of God do? What does the providence of God do? Providence of God does two things. Number one, it provides for every eventuality in my life.

Listen, it causes things to happen that are beyond my power to accomplish. For instance, there's no way that Joseph could have arranged for those Ishmaelites to be passing by just at that precise moment. But God provided for every event and had those Ishmaelites coming by. When he got to Egypt, if you'll study your history, you'll discover that the Egyptians hated Hebrews, and they would not even eat at the same table with a Hebrew. And yet, just by coincidence, Joseph falls into the hands of Potiphar, the one man in all of Egypt,

who recognized that in Joseph was a man of worth, and he sat and ate at Potiphar's table an unbelievable thing, and he made him lord over all his house. The providence of God caused things to happen that Joseph could not accomplish. Why, Joseph couldn't have walked up to Potiphar one day and said, listen, I'm a good little Hebrew boy, and I want to sit down and eat with you, and I want to be Lord over your house. They'd have kicked him out. They'd have put him to death. Hebrews were despised by the Egyptians. They wouldn't even eat at the same table with them.

But miracle of miracles, Potiphar sits him at his table and makes him Lord over all of his house. The providence of God causes things to happen that are beyond my power to accomplish. Then finally, he's tossed into prison by a lie of Potiphar's wife. And it just so happened, it just so happened there was a baker and a butler there and they had a dream. It just so happened that Joseph was able to interpret that dream. It just so happened there was going to be a famine. There was no way that Joseph could have arranged a famine in the land. The providence of God is God causing things to happen that I could not accomplish. Why? In order to do me good. It provides for every eventuality in my life. The second thing, the second thing the providence of God does, it protects me from every enemy in my life.

Listen, it causes things not to happen that are beyond my power to avoid. This is humorous to me. Joseph's brothers wanted to kill him, but they couldn't. Thought they'd gotten rid of him, but they hadn't. Potiphar's wife wanted to destroy him, but she didn't. Now listen carefully. The prison became the path to the palace. And every turn, at every turn, when his enemies tried to destroy him, God stepped in and used that mountain as a road, a freeway to accomplish his purpose. The way you have victory through your circumstances is that God protects you

from every enemy in your life. You know how he does it? You know how he does it? Listen. He does it by making servants out of those enemies. He does it by making servants out of those enemies. He does it by making servants out of those enemies. Say, would you say that Joseph's brothers were his enemies? Would you? I'm kind of worried about that. You would, wouldn't you? If I had 11 brothers that wanted to kill me,

it wouldn't take long for it to dawn upon me these fellows are my enemies. Were they his enemies? Yes. What did God do? He turned them into his servants. Joseph ended up prime minister of Egypt.

Would you say that Potiphar's wife was Joseph's enemy? I would say that he was, that she was. But God made Potiphar's wife, who was the enemy of Joseph, to become Joseph's servant. The Apostle Paul one day tells us about, he received a messenger of Satan to buffet him, a thorn in the flesh, an enemy, an enemy. And he sought for the Lord three times to get rid of the enemy. Lord, remove the obstacle. Lord, I've got a circumstance I don't like, and I want to get victory around it.

I want to get victory over it. And God said, I've got something better than getting rid of the thorn. I'll give you grace. My grace is sufficient for you. And Paul, the weaker you get, the stronger my power in you gets. And God took that enemy of the apostle Paul and made it into his servant that served him up glorious power. So much so that the apostle Paul said, I now rejoice in my infirmities and my distresses and my persecutions. Of course, the greatest illustration of this is the cross.

You'd say the cross was the greatest enemy that Jesus ever had. But it was through the cross that Jesus Christ was exalted as Lord and Savior. God just took the enemy and made it into his servant. Now friend, I don't know what it is in your life today that you're saying is your enemy, but I want you to know God is wanting to take that enemy and make it into your servant

to put you as Lord over your Egypt. I want to make a statement. I always hesitate to make a statement because I don't want anybody to misunderstand. Joseph's brethren sinned, wouldn't you say, in selling their brother into Egypt. The friend of Joseph had not been in Egypt, 17 years later, they would have starved to death. Wouldn't they have?

Now listen. Their sin became their salvation. Their sin became their salvation. Wouldn't you say it was a sin to crucify Jesus? Brother, that sin became our salvation. You say, are you encouraging us to sin? Jesus? Brother, that sin became our salvation. He said, are you encouraging us to sin? No, I'm trying to get you to see a God who is so sovereign and so powerful that he can take sin and turn it into salvation.

The providence of God, taking every enemy and making it into your servant. Every circumstance of life, every circumstance of life every circumstance of life God is in charge of it God is in charge of it and God uses it where did God want Joseph God wanted Joseph in a position

where he could what save people he said God did it that he might preserve you a posterity and so God used He said God did it that he might preserve you a posterity. And so God used that circumstance to accomplish his purpose. All right, now let's sum it up and tie it all together. God has a plan and a purpose. That purpose is to make you like Jesus.

God has guaranteed that purpose is going to be fulfilled someday. But he doesn't want to wait till someday. He's wanting to do it right now so that you can be a display case to the glory of God to a lost and dying world. So that you can be a source of life to others as Joseph became a source of life to others. And so God is right now in this life trying to accomplish that purpose. Do you know what are the tools that God uses for that purpose? The tool of circumstances. God, now listen carefully, God will arrange for you a set of circumstances,

tailor-made, they'll fit you perfectly. They won't sag your bag anywhere. They will fit perfectly, tailor-made for you. And the purpose of those circumstances is to accomplish God's purpose in your life. Now, most of us are praying that God will change our circumstances. Friend, God is not the least interested in changing your circumstances. What God is interested in is changing your character. The Ron Dunn Podcast is available only for personal edification,

not to be duplicated, uploaded to the web, or resold without prior written consent. It is managed and operated by Sherwood Baptist Church. If you would like to listen to additional Ron Dunn messages, visit sherwoodbaptist.net slash bookstore and search Ron Dunn. For more Ron Dunn materials, including sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from a study Bible, please visit rondunn.com.