Sermon Central
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The Sovereignty Of God At Work Series
Contributed by Stephen Todd on Apr 1, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: Even in the selling of Joseph into Slavery, God’s sovereign hand was at work to do good.
Genesis 37:12-end
March 7, 2004
Sometimes the simplest expressions of truth are also the most profound. At our family night back on February 1, we sang a song with the kids.
My God is so big,
So strong and so mighty,
There’s nothing my God cannot do.
The mountains are his, the valleys are his,
The stars are his handiwork too.
It is only when we get older that we really begin to question what God can do.
Can God do anything?
Is God sovereign over every single thing or are there a few things that slip beyond his control? It seems to me that if even one thing is beyond God’s control then he is not God.
Let me give you the ultimate extreme. Satan by both his nature and purpose seeks to oppose all that God is. However, God is so completely sovereign that even as Satan seeks to do that which opposes God, he every single time only ends up furthering God’s plan and purpose. Satan is morally accountable for his evil, but even his evil ends up accomplishing God’s plan and purpose.
1. The evil of Joseph’s brothers Gen. 37:12 ff.
Let’s murder him
No he’s our brother - let’s sell him into slavery.
2. The sovereignty of God at work
Gen 45:5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping.
7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
Gen 50:19 But Joseph said to them, "Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
