Ron Dunn Podcast - The Hardest Verse In The Bible To Believe

Episode Date: May 31, 2013

You are listening to the Ron Dunn Podcast. Ron Dunn is a well-known author and was one of the most in-demand preachers during the latter part of the 20th century. He led Bible studies all over the United States, Europe, and South Africa. For more information and resources from Ron Dunn, please visit rondunn.com. There are a lot of verses in the Bible that if they weren't in the Bible, you wouldn't believe them, naturally. And yet when you find it within the Word of God, you know it is the Word of God and therefore you believe it. But to be honest with you, there are some verses that are harder to believe than other verses.

And tonight I read to you what I believe is the most difficult verse in the Bible to believe and to understand. In Romans chapter 8, Paul is dealing with the great statements of our faith and how God has dealt with us through the Holy Spirit. And he says in verse 17, talking about our being the children of God, he says, And if we are children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Now I'll stop there for just a moment. What a tremendous statement Paul is making. He's saying that these believers, that right now we suffer with him, but he says that is necessary in the 17th verse,

because if we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. Now, it is an interesting thing to note that suffering with Christ is just as much a part of our salvation as going to heaven and being glorified. As a matter of fact, it is just as much a part of our salvation as believing in Jesus. For in Philippians chapter 1, verse 29, Paul says, For it has been given unto us on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his name. Now there Paul makes it very clear that God has given to us two things.

One, the ability to believe, and two, the ability to suffer, and both of them are equal parts. It is just as much, he says, a part of our salvation to suffer for him as it is for us to believe on him, which is not necessarily good news to most of us. Actually, that's maybe why we don't hear too much about it, because it's not exactly what we like to hear. But Paul is saying that the sufferings of the present time are a part of our salvation so that we can be glorified together. And then in the 18th verse he says, for I reckon, I consider, I've added it all up, and I have come to the conclusion that the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

And then he goes on in verses 19 and following and elaborates a little bit on this suffering. And he gets back on the main track in verse 28 and says, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Now, I want to go back and read verse 18 and then skip exactly to verse 28. I believe you'll understand the connection. Paul is making a tremendously blatant statement here, one that I'm certain must have caused his readers to set up and blink their

eyes a couple of times and shake their heads to see if they'd really heard right. He says, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. And, in verse 28, and we know that all things, not just our sufferings, but we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called 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 whomestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified. Verse 28,

one of the most difficult verses in all the Bible to believe. And we know, and he uses a word there that indicates knowing with absolute certainty, we have this assurance. We know that all things, A-L-L, all things, not just sufferings, not just spiritual things, but all things, physical, material, all things are working together to the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. I have with me tonight what I believe is just about the best translation of the New Testament

there is around. It's the only one that's ever translated by a Southern Baptist. It's called the Williams Translation, and it is one that brings out the nuances of the Greek language better than any other translation I know. And this is what he says in verse 28, Yes, we know that all things go on working together for the good of those who keep on loving God, who are called in accordance with God's purpose. Now what I want you to see is that the tense there indicates that all things go on working together for good. It is a continual systematic process working in the life of the believer. That everything under God's government,

under the sovereignty of God, everything contributes to the welfare of God's people. Do you believe that? Well, of course you believe it. It's in the Bible. But you may be like a preacher friend of mine whose 17-year-old daughter died suddenly, and a few days later one of his members said, Preacher, do you still believe in Romans 8, 28? He said, yes, I do, but just don't ask me to preach on it yet. There are some verses that we know we believe because we have yielded our allegiance to the Word of God, but as far as being able to express them and talk about them, sometimes it's difficult. What a tremendous statement Paul makes here. This is a statement of absolute victory, if we understand it.

I know that all things are working together, and the idea is that it is God who is working all these things together. They're not just working together of their own. This isn't just happenstance or circumstance. But the idea is that God superintends all things. He oversees all things and causes them to mesh together, to mesh together like the workings of a fine watch. He causes them to mesh together so that everything contributes to the welfare of God's people. All things work together for good. Now, he doesn't say all things are good. Not all things are good. Some mighty bad things happen in the lives of God's people. He's not saying that everything that comes to us is going

to be good and that nothing but good things are going to happen to us. What he's saying is that whatever it is, even sufferings as Paul has indicated, whatever it is, God sees to it that everything that happens to us, both individually and collectively, all contribute, work together, somehow beyond our comprehension. They all dovetail into one thing, and that is to contribute to the good, the welfare of God's people. What a tremendous word that is, if it is true that all of the various aspects of our life never are just incidental or accidental. That God never wastes time and He never wastes experience. But as Paul says in Philippians 4, I am instructed in everything that in every particle of my life,

though it may seem insignificant to me, yet God is putting that together like a giant jigsaw puzzle, making all the pieces fit together so that the picture is as it ought to be. Takes all the little pieces of our life and fits them into place so that they produce in the final analysis what God is after. Now, what I want to do tonight to deal with this passage of Scripture is I want you to imagine

that I've drawn a triangle up here on the blackboard. Well, first you have to imagine the blackboard, but there's a blackboard here, and imagine that, and I've drawn the three points of a triangle on this blackboard. Now, the three points of that triangle will give to you the three points of my study tonight. First of all, point number one at the top, at the apex of the triangle. This is where everything goes. Everything is moving towards this point.

Everything dovetails into it. What is it? Up there by that point, write these words, the purpose of God. The purpose of God. If I am to understand this tremendous claim that Paul makes in Romans 8, 28, he says that to those who love God and those who are the called according to His purpose, that the reason God is working all things together is because of His purpose to which he has called us. What is that purpose? I can never even begin to understand what God is doing in my life if I don't understand, first of all, what is the ultimate purpose that God has for us.

Now, I may not know the immediate purpose for everything that falls into my life, but I always know what is the ultimate purpose, and here it is. Verse 29, 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? What is the purpose of God? The ultimate overriding purpose of God. What is that finished jigsaw puzzle? What is the picture? The Lord Jesus Christ. The purpose of God is to conform me, to shape me, to mold me into the image of God's own Son. Again, I like the way Williams has translated this. He really says it in the best way I think it can be said. In verse 29, for those who have made his heart beforehand, he has marked off as his own to be made like his

Son. God marked them off. He set his heart on us, and he drew a circle around them, and he marked them off. What for? To be like his son. You and I have been purposed to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there are two things I want to say about this. Number one, this is a future promise. One of these days, you and I are going to be like the Lord Jesus. That's one of the most frequent promises in the Bible. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 talks about it, talks about the enemy of death being put down, and he says there'll come a day when in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we'll all be changed. Going to be changed.

This corruptible will put on incorruptible. This mortal will put on immortality. Every time you go to a funeral, every time you look there at that person who's passed this life, you understand one thing if you're a Christian, that's not the end of it. We've not met for the last time. We've not said our final goodbye.

There is no final goodbye between believers because that which has been passed into the grave will just as surely one day be raised up at the last trump, at the shout, at the voice of the archangel, the dead in Christ shall rise, and we shall meet them in the air. We are going to be just like Jesus one of these days. That is the ultimate purpose of God. First John chapter 3, I believe it is, John says, Beloved, now are we the

sons of God, and yet it doth not appear what we shall be. He said, I don't know all that we will be, but I know this much, that when we see him, we shall be as he is, for we shall see him as he is. We shall be as he is. Why did God save us? You say, well, God saved us to take us to heaven. No, that's not the whole truth. Why did God save us? Well, God saved us so we wouldn't go to hell. No, that's not the whole truth. I tell you the truth, that's sort of a bonus just thrown in. You know, buy one, get one free. No, I'll tell you the reason God saved us

is that we might be like Jesus. That we might be holy in His presence. God did not save us simply would have a home in heaven or that we'd have a fire escape from hell. That's not the purpose of salvation. That's included. That's a part of it. But the preeminent purpose of God in your life and my life, He has marked us off to make us like His Son. And one of these days, that's going to happen. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed. We shall all be transformed. And this mortal shall put on immortality.

And this corruptible shall put on the incorruptible. We shall be made like Jesus. Now, that is a future promise. But it is also a present process, a present process. In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18, Paul makes this statement. He's talking about the Spirit of the Lord and what the Spirit of God is doing in our lives. And what he's saying is, in that last verse, he's saying that you and I are being changed into the same image from glory to glory. Now that phrase, from glory to glory, means bit by bit, bit by bit.

He says, as we stand beholding the Lord in the face and power of the Holy Spirit, we are being changed into the same image bit by bit by bit. Gradually, God is working in our life right now through the Word of God, through the experiences of our life, through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

He is right now working in our lives to make us like Jesus. We are going to be finally and ultimately changed someday, but right now, right now we are being changed little bit by bit by bit into the same image. And this is why John says again in 1 John chapter 3, that every man who has this hope within himself purifies himself even as Jesus is pure. It is a future promise, but it's also a present process going on right now. What God is up to in your life right now, my dear friend, is to make you like Jesus.

You say, I believe it's this way. I think what God is saying is, one of these days at the end, I'm going to change you in the moment in the twinkling of an eye, and you're going to be like Jesus. But I'll tell you what, let's see how far down the road we can get right now, all right? Let's just see how much like Jesus I can make you right now, so that when you have to be finally changed, it won't be such a traumatic experience. We talk about the rapture, but I think for most of us, it's going to be a rupture. So unlike Jesus, so clinging to this world. No, what God is saying in the here and now, right now, in the here and now, I'm changing you from one degree of glory to another, bit by bit, gradually.

And we're not going to sit back and wait until the end of the time when the Lord changes you, but we're going to see how far down the road we can get right now. So that at the end, the change won't be so drastic. And so I know what God is trying to do in my life now. He's trying to make me like Jesus. What does that mean? What does that mean? When I say to you that God wants to conform you to the image of His Son, what does that mean to you? What image? What shape does that image take?

What is the image of Christ? You know, I noticed something peculiar. It doesn't say that we're going to be made into the image of God, but rather in the image of Christ. You say, well, Christ is God. That's right. But there is a difference in the manifestation. What is the image of Christ? What is the image of Christ? The image of Christ is this. This is what Jesus is like as we know him. One who is obedient to the Father.

One who was acquainted with grief and Father. One who was accrainted with grief and sorrow. One who suffered. One who gave his life that others might live. One who committed himself to the will of the Father so that he might minister to others. That is the image of Christ. I think sometime when we talk about being like Jesus, and I just want to be transformed in the likeness of Jesus, I think we have some kind of idea in mind that what that is, is some glorified, super holy type of thing. But when he emphasizes that it is the image of Christ,

you have to find out what is Christ's image. Well, I'll tell you what his image is. Even right now in glory, He still is the image of a lamb slain before the foundation of the world. The only person in heaven who will still have the marks of suffering upon them is Jesus Christ. You and I lose all of ours. But even now, Jesus bears the marks of the prince in His hand and in His feet and in His side. He stands now as the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So he comes right back to what Paul is saying. If we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together. So when he talks about creating us in the image of Christ, he's not referring to just some kind of impractical ivory tower kind

of holiness or supernatural power. He's talking about someone who is very real and very human as Jesus was and is touched by the infirmities of others and gives himself to meet the needs of others and is willing to suffer in order to meet the needs of others and to minister to others. That's the image of Christ. That's the image of Christ. The greatest image of Christ is not some preacher standing on a platform somewhere preaching to thousands of people. The greatest image of Christ is the smallest, youngest, most obscure Christian who is giving themselves to bind up the wounds of those around them. That's the image of Christ.

And that's the image that is missing from most of our lives. So, first of all, the purpose of God, what is the purpose of God? To make me like Jesus. To conform me to the image of His Son so that I might grow day by day into the likeness of Jesus. And finally, one of these days, that work will be completed, but bless God, I want to get down there as far as, as close to it as I can and just see how much like Jesus I can be in the here and now.

All right, now, first of all, the purpose of God, that we be conformed to the image of His Son. Now, we come down here over to the image of His Son. Now, we come down here over to the bottom of the triangle and to this period, this point of that triangle. And in that triangle, in that point, write out these words, the predestination of God, the predestination of God. First of all, we have the purpose of God. That's the ultimate. That's the apex.

That's what everything is moving towards. Now, that purpose of God is supported by two things. First of all, it is supported by the predestination of God. And here's the way I want to say it. The purpose of God is to conform us to the image of God's Son. The predestination of God guarantees that that purpose will be accomplished. Guarantee. Say, how do you know one of these days you're going to be like Jesus?

Because God's guaranteed it. How did He guarantee it? Well, it says right there in verse 29, For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. I mean, you may look at me and say, well, preacher, I tell you what, you're not making very good progress. I don't know if you're ever going to be like Jesus or not. Oh yes, I will. Oh yes, I will. I will. There's no doubt about it. I may not make it real far in this life, but I know at the last trumpet I will be changed. In the moment of the twinkling of an eye, I will end up like Jesus.

How do you know? Because God has guaranteed it in that He chose me in Him before the foundation of the world that I should be like Jesus. I want you to notice verse 29. What you have in verse 29 and 30, those two verses, is an unbroken chain reaching from eternity past to eternity future. For whom He did foreknow, He also... Notice the repetition of the word also, the links and the chain.

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. You see, it's all one part of the same thing. If God predestinated us, well, the ones He predestined, He also called, and the ones He called, He also justified, and the ones He justified, He also glorified. Now, let me point out something very interesting in these verses, in this verse. Those verbs are in what you and I would call the past tense. They're in the aorist tense, which has the idea of a point of time. You could very honestly and very legitimately read it like this. Those that he did predestinate,

he has called, and those that he has called, he has justified, and those that he justified, he has glorified. Now, the point I want you to see is that glorified is in that past tense. We would think that the apostle would say those that he did predestinate, he called. And those that he called, he justified. And those that he justified, one of these days he's going to glorify. But that's not what he says. If you've been justified, my dear friend, you're already glorified as far as God is concerned. It's an accomplished fact in the mind of God. You may

not realize it, but what you're looking at tonight is a glorified preacher. I've already been glorified. It's a fact accomplished in the mind of God. Guaranteed, you will be like Jesus. Guaranteed, you will finally finish up as you ought to be. This is eternal security. This is once saved, always saved, if you like that phrase. Preacher, what guarantee do you have that you'll finally make it, that you'll finally end up? Well, the Bible is just full of all that stuff. In Philippians 1, 6, Paul says that he's confident that this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it in the day of Jesus Christ.

If God has ever started the work of salvation in you, I want you to know something. He will complete it. He will complete it. He will complete it. Jesus in John 6 says, all that the Father gives to me will come unto me, and those that come unto me I will in no wise cast out, and all that the Father has given of them I will lose none, save Judas the son of perdition, because it was prophesied to begin with. But all of those whom the Father has given unto me, they come to me, and of those I have lost none.

What is going to happen on that great day is that God the Father is going to turn it over to Jesus, and he's going to call roll. And when your name is called, say here. And everyone will be there. Won't be a one missing. All that the Father has given me, of all of them, I have lost not a single solitary one. If God has started the work of salvation in me, He will finish it. It's guaranteed by predestination. Now, I know that predestination is not the easiest concept in the Bible to understand. People are always asking me, do you believe in predestination? I say, well, I have to. It's in the Bible. I may not understand it fully, but hey, who would worship a God they could understand? You know, I I made a decision some time ago that it's all right for God to know some things that I don't know. Our mutual friend used to say, if I could understand, there wouldn't be much to it.

Predestination. What is predestination? The word predestinate means to choose. It means to determine something ahead of time. It means to mark off. It's akin to that word in Ephesians 1 where it says, as he has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world, the word choose there means to select some out of many. It means to draw a circle around some and say, I have set my heart on these. What is the predestination of God? Predestination is this, that God in eternity past, even before you were born, my dear friend, God marked you off

and checked you off and said, this one is mine. And it was determined ahead of time that you would belong to him. And long before any of us were ever born, even before these worlds were ever spoken into existence, God in his heart and mind had already glorified you and me, the ones called according to his purpose, those who love God, those who love God. Now, I know we sometimes have a great deal of trouble with predestination because we say that doesn't seem fair. I will say this, that the Bible never, never talks about a negative predestination.

It never talks about anybody being predestined to go to hell. Never does. If we're saved, God gets all the credit, but we're lost. It's our own fault. That's the way the Bible turns it out. But it does mean the only reason you chose Jesus is because he first of all chose you. He set his heart on you. He drew a circle around you and said, you are mine. Now, we sometimes say, well, oh, I know how that works out. It's explained right there in verse

29. It says, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate. That means that, first of all, God looked down and he knew who would believe. And so he knew who was going to believe the gospel, and those that were going to believe, he drew the circle around and said, you're mine. And you know, that really solves the whole mystery of predestination, doesn't it? It really solves the whole problem of that. It's just a matter of God knowing in advance who is going to believe, and those who are going to believe, then they're the ones that were chosen. Well, the only thing wrong with that is it's wrong.

For two reasons. Number one, that's not what the word foreknow means. The word foreknow does not mean to know facts or knowledge about a person. It means to know them personally. It's the word that's used of Joseph not knowing Mary's wife until Jesus was born. Again, the translation reads, those he set his heart on ahead of time. Remember what he said to Jeremiah when he called him in chapter 1? He said, I knew you in the womb. He didn't say, I knew you were in the womb. Even his mother knew that. That's not what he's saying. He's saying, I got acquainted with you even in the womb. I set my heart on you

even in the womb. What the Bible is saying is this, that for some reason lost in the mystery of God's own grace, God set His heart on us. And He got acquainted with us and He struck up a friendship with us. He got to know us. And those upon whom He set His heart ahead of time, those are the ones that He brought through finally through predestination to glorification. Now, the truth of the matter is, the Bible teaches this emphatically, and yet at the same time says,

whosoever will may come. And that's the way you and I are to understand it. I cannot unravel all the mystery of predestination. I just know that it's there. But in the meantime, I am in my witness and my preaching. I'm to act like everybody's in on it. And whoever will may come.

Whosoever will may come. But I know this, there will always be those who come because there are those upon whom God has set His heart. And He has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son. Now, I know this gives people problems. I'll tell you the only reason this bothers us, I'll tell you the only reason this bothers us, we say it's not fair. And the reason we say it's not fair is because we really believe God owes salvation to everyone.

And that's our big mistake. I assure you tonight, my dear friend, God doesn't owe salvation to a single person. He could send us all to hell tonight and be totally justified in doing it. Well, why does God choose us then? I don't know. That's what Paul says. But he does say, give us some help in Ephesians 1 when he says that he has chosen us according to his good pleasure.

Why has God chosen us tonight to be his? I'll tell you why. Because it pleased him to do so. You see, if God looked down and here are two people, one was going to believe and was not going to believe, so God says, well, because that one's going to believe, I'm going to draw a circle around him and save him, and because this is not going to believe, I'm not going to do it.

You know what he would be doing? He would be making his choice based on something he saw in this person that he didn't see in that other person. And folks, that's salvation by works. He knew ahead of time who was going to believe, and on that basis then, he chose them. Oh, what you're saying is then that God saw something in me that he didn't see in this fellow over here,

and because I was going to believe, he chose me instead of this person. That's salvation by works. I'm going to do something. You say, destroys grace. No, God didn't see anything in me better than he saw in this person or that person or this person.

I don't understand it. It's lost in the mystery of his will, but he chose us simply because it pleased him. I know this much, that when I answered the call of Christ, I came, and whether I knew it or not, at the time, I came with absolute guarantee that one of these days I would be everything God wants me to be. And in those years in which I've been saved, there have been many ups and downs,

and the devil has done his dead level best to try to separate us and to condemn us and to damn us to hell, but he is not successful. I know one of these days I'm going to finish up over there because God in eternity past has already settled it. So we have the purpose of God, that's to make us like Jesus. Down here we have the predestination of God, guarantees that that purpose will be fulfilled. Now come over here to the last dot, and by that write these words,

the providence of God, the providence of God, purpose of God to make us like Jesus. The predestination of God guarantees that purpose will be realized. The providence of God is the mechanism that God uses in the here and now to accomplish that purpose. Predestination guarantees it. Providence accomplishes it. How is God right now in your life and my life conforming us to the image of his son he's doing it by Providence he's now preacher I see predestination in that passage and I see purpose in that passage but I don't see the word Providence anywhere well you're right the word Providence does not does not appear there in word but it appears

there in fact in verse 28 and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. That's providence. Providence is made up of two words, pro meaning before, and video meaning to see. Pro video, that's providence. It simply means that God saw ahead of time what was going to happen, and planned accordingly. Now, you and I exercise providence. How many of you own life insurance? A lot of us. Maybe most of us.

Why? Why do you have life insurance? Well, I know one of these days I'm going to die. Ah, that's providence. You saw ahead of time what was going to happen, and you planned accordingly so that when you got it that time, you'd be prepared. Some of you even own cemetery plots. Got it for Christmas maybe for the man who has everything oh why do you have a cemetery plot well if Jesus carries I know I'm gonna die oh that's Providence why did some of you stop on the way here and eat a good meal? Because you knew this may go on and on and on tonight.

Ah, providence. You saw ahead of time what was going to happen. And so you made plans so that when you got here and the hour got late, you'd be prepared. Providence. God sees ahead of time. God knows everything about our lives. I wish we had time to go on to Psalm 39 and some of the others that indicate how well we are known to God. He knows when we sit down. He knows when we get up. He knows when we're awake. He knows when we're asleep. God knows us intimately, thoroughly. He knows every facet of

our lives. He knows every road we're going to take. He knows every turn we're going to make. And what God does is this. He sees ahead of time where you and I are going to be, and He plans accordingly so that when we get to that spot, everything will be ready to contribute to the purpose of God in my life. Now, I think the greatest picture of providence to be found in the Bible is found in the book of Genesis in the life of Joseph. Most of us know the story of Joseph, how his brothers sold him, wanted to kill him. They threw him into a pit, and then they sold him. And we always feel sorry for Joseph. I grew up feeling sorry for Joseph. And then one day, I decided to read the Bible, which always is good. And I discovered something. I kind of stopped feeling sorry for

Joseph. As a matter of fact, I began to see things the way his brother saw them. I'll tell you why. Joseph was the youngest of the family. Now, in that culture, even today in that culture, the elder son, I mean, he got everything. And it was the youngers always obeyed and yielded to the elders. But God kept giving Joseph dreams that showed him that even though he was the younger son, one of these days his elder brothers would bow down and worship him. Now that's all right to have dreams like that, but you ought to keep them to yourself. What he would do, of course, is to run to his brothers every time. He'd say, hey, had another dream last night?

God told me again, one of these days you fellas are going to be bowing down to me. Now that would be a little bit hard to take, wouldn't it? And not only that, but he was his father's favorite. And that made it even worse. Joseph let things go to his head and he began to rub it in. So one day the boys are out working and he shows up and he's got a brand new sport coat on. And he said, hey fellas, look here what my dad got me. Nice coat. Don't see y'all wearing one like this. They said, that's it. We've had enough of it. Let's kill him. And so they threw him in a pit. They said, no, we won't kill him. That's not right. We won't kill him. Just throw him in a pit and take an animal and kill it

and cover it with blood, the blood over that coat, and we'll tell Dad that he was eaten up by a lion or something. Now, they threw him in that pit. They got to thinking about it later. They said, you know, what we ought to do is go back and take him out of that pit and sell him, make some money off this deal. I mean, there's no use just going on this thing without making a little bit of money.

And so they went to the pit. But in the meantime, a Midianite caravan had happened by, and they pull Joseph up out of that pit. Now, I want you to watch it. His brothers threw him into that pit. That's bad. Not so bad because a Midianite caravan came by and pulled him out. That's providence. I got to thinking one day, do you realize all the trouble God had to go to to make certain that caravan arrived at the right spot at the right time? All those camels had to be born on the right day.

Everything had to be just right. Do you think that's a coincidence? That's providence. God knew ahead of time what his brothers were going to do. And so he planned accordingly that when Joseph got there, provision was made. So they pulled him up out of the pit. You say, well, that's a good thing.

Well, not so good because it took him to Egypt, which is the worst place for a little Jewish boy to go because in Egypt they hated Jews. Well, that's bad. Well, it's not so bad because they sold him to Potiphar who was the only man in all of Egypt that liked Jews.

Coincidence, isn't it? You say, well, that's good. Well, not so good because Potiphar's wife began to hit on Joseph, tried to seduce him. And he said, I cannot do this thing and sit in its God. And so

she lied about him, had him thrown in prison. That's bad. Well, it's not so bad. Because while he was in there, there was a baker and a butler who were having dreams and they were mystified by them. And Joseph said, I can interpret these dreams for you and he did and they said this is wonderful this is wonderful and what was it the baker of the but one was going to die and one was going to get out and so there came the day when that one was going to be released and joseph said hey uh remember me here i mean remember me't, when you get out there with your freedom, don't forget about, don't forget about Joseph. He said, I won't, but he did. Years went by. One day Pharaoh was being disturbed by a dream he kept having over and over and over again. You have to understand, these people put great store in their dreams. They felt like they were messages from the

unknown, and so they really put great store in these dreams. And this one was just troubling Pharaoh to no end. But this one that had been in jail with Joseph remembered all of a sudden. He said, listen, I remember there was a Hebrew boy in prison with me a number of years ago, and he could interpret dreams. And so they sent for Joseph, brought him out,

and Pharaoh told him what the dream was. And Joseph said, oh, what that means is it's going to be seven years famine, and you better start laying by now to get ready for it. And you know what happened? Pharaoh put Joseph in command of all of that, set him over that in authority. As a matter of fact, it came down to this, that Joseph had more power in Egypt than Pharaoh had because the Bible says Pharaoh would do nothing without first of all consulting Joseph. Now look at it.

Here is Joseph in this mighty place of power. How did he get there? Providence. That's where God wanted him all along. That's where God wanted him all along. Why? Because Joseph, by being there, is going to be able to save

millions of people from starving because they're making provision for the famine now. And he says, God has put me here so that I might save many people. That's where God wanted him. That's the purpose of God. The purpose of God was for him to be in that place to save many people. God had already determined it, and he worked it out by providence.

He didn't make his brothers throw him into the pit, but he knew they were going to. And he said, I'll be there when they do, and I'll be ready with the provision. I'll have a caravan coming by. Providence, every step of the way. So here is Joseph. And then one day, his brothers show up. They've traveled all the way to Egypt because the famine has hurt them, and they've heard there's grain in Egypt.

And they're brought in to appear before Joseph. Now, they've not seen Joseph for about 17 years. He was just a little boy when they saw him, so they don't recognize him. But Joseph recognizes his brothers immediately. He tries to keep it to himself, but after a while, he just cannot. He is so filled, imagine this, so filled with love at seeing his brothers. I mean, these are the fellows that wanted to kill him, but he's so thrilled at seeing them filled with love at seeing his brothers. I mean, these are the fellows that wanted to kill him,

but he's so thrilled at seeing them filled with love. He says, I am Joseph, your brother. Boy, I'm telling you immediately, they go into panic. They say, oh, he'll kill us for sure. He'll kill us for sure. Now he's in the place of power. He's going to kill us. In Genesis chapter 45, three times Joseph makes this statement.

He says to his brothers, It was not you who sent me here, but God. It was not you, but God. It was not you, but God. You say, but preacher, it was the brothers. They put him in that pit, and the Midianites brought him. Well, that's your opinion. But Joseph was there. I'll take his word. Joseph said it wasn't his brothers. It was God. Because there was something behind the brothers that was overseeing the whole thing.

It was God. It was God. They had Jacob brought over, dad, to live with them. But when Jacob, the father, died, the brothers again became afraid. They said, well, Joseph just kept us alive, so for dad's sake, now dad's gone, he'll kill us for sure. And Joseph again brought them in,

and he said to them this. He said, you meant it unto me for evil, but God meant it unto me for good, to save many people alive this day. It was not you, it was God. You meant it unto me for evil, but God meant it unto me for good. Now, what is the whole point of the message tonight? And we know with certainty that all things are working together to accomplish our good. What does that mean? That means it wasn't you, but it was God.

And you may have meant it unto me for evil, but God meant it unto me for good, that I might be like Jesus. If this is true, folks, if this is true, then do you know what this means? If this is true, it means that you can climb over

all the wrecks of your life and all the disappointments of your life and all the tragedies of your life. And you can stand on that pile of disappointments and heartaches and tragedies and stand up there and shout at the top of your voice, all things work together for good, even these things that have tried to destroy my life. That's what that means. That's what that means. I think it's the greatest word, one of the greatest verses in the whole Bible. I think if you and I can say to the circumstances of our life what Joseph said to his brothers, we'll be doing the right thing. It was not you, but it was God.

God didn't throw them into the pit, of course, but God was behind all that was going on. God never relinquishes any control over the acts of life. He is the acts of life. He is the power behind history. And you meant it unto me for evil, but God meant it unto me for good. Ron Dunn's

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. For more Ron Dunn materials, sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from his study Bible, please visit rondunn.com.