So some people say that's how the Lord has made the world. It's a clock with a battery in there. It's fine. The Lord does not need to do anything about it. This goes by itself, it's a clock. We call that deism. Deism. We strongly disagree with that. Deism says the Lord made the world as a unit, as something that goes by itself, automatically, as a clock, and he just left creation, and creation's over there, and God is here, and just God leaves the church, sorry, leaves the world alone. No, we say God stays with the church, and every minute, and every second, he changes the time. But it stays with the clock. The clock does not do anything itself. Every minute, God changes the number, three, four, five. It stays with the clock. And so the Lord stays with this world. He is not only high and lofty, transcendent, transcendence, high and lofty, he's also imminent. He's close by. He's still there with the world. He's surrounding the world, protecting the world, making the world run. Every minute of it. Now, some people exaggerate this. And they say, this world is God. God is the world. It's himself. The trees, the mountains, the oceans, the life. God is in there and is everywhere. He's really there. He is in it. He is it. He is the world. Creation is divine. Not only as a work of God. No, it is God itself. Pantheism. Pan means everything, right? And theism is God. So everything is God. No. No, that goes for the other way. So the Lord does not leave the world alone? He isn't. It's not so that he is the world? Pantheism? But we believe that God is close to the world. Close. Did you see a verse in Acts 17? Please open your Bibles, Acts 17 again. We read something from 22 and further. Do you see a text indicating God's closeness to this world? Paul is talking on Mars Hill, also called Areopagus, in Athens. He has a speech. He talks about the temple he saw, an altar with a subscription, the unknown God. And the lady, he started talking to them. And he said, I said something about God. Where is God? What verse? Look it up. 24. 24. God made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. That speaks about God's creation. A text on God's presence close to the world. A little further. 28, for in him, 28, look at that. For in him we live and move and have our being. So we live in God. We live in Him, we move in Him, we are in Him. So God is very close by, so close by that we can say we live in Him, we are in Him, we move in Him. So you can escape that God. God is really there, integrated, and close to the world, and just keep it in check, and controlling it, and governing it. Not from a distance, very close by. So that is the foundation of what we call providence. God stays with the world and governs it. Now the word providence is used, and you probably know that word. That word is not in the Bible. It's not. Like Trinity is not in the Bible. So many words from theology are not in the Bible. This is one of them. So what is the providence of God? Some have the wrong approach and they say, just look at the word providence, pro, pro, videre. That's Latin, right? Originally. So beforehand, pro, videre, see, so God sees things beforehand. That's how sometimes people explain providence by the word, by the original meaning. The problem is that the original meaning has changed. Some people say providence is only that God sees things beforehand and knows what's going to happen and knows what choices people will make. He knows beforehand what he's going to do, what she's going to do, if she's going to believe, if she's going to marry, if she's going to school. He knows those decisions perfectly beforehand, before they know themselves. He knew it already, what they would do. That's not provident. It's not provident. Something is really missing there. God does not only know things. He decides. He decides. So when you choose to go to school, it's God that's giving you the choice. That had to happen. That had to happen. God made you do that. You don't have a free will also not in those things. You cannot just do something contrary to God's providence. You can do something against God's will of the Ten Commandments. You cannot do anything against God's decisions. When God has decided that something is going to happen, it is going to happen, and you make those choices accordingly. That's hard to believe, but that's something we need to talk about tonight. So nothing happens by chance. There is no fate. There's no hap. It's not something like accidentally. Nothing happens accidentally with God. This happens exactly the way he wanted it to go. So there's two examples, one from daily life, one from the Bible. Ruth. Ruth came back from Moab, came from Moab, and was with Nehomai in the area of Bethlehem. And they had to eat, right? So she went to one of those fields where they were harvesting, and it happened to be the field of Boaz. She did not plan that. God planned it. And Boaz saw her, and who is this? And respected her, and eventually married her, but she had to be on that field, because God directed her that way, unknowingly to her. So it says in the Bible, by hab, but it is from human perspective. We think it was accidentally. From our perspective, something can be just by chance, not from the Lord's perspective. Or think of that boy. He had an accident and needed an operation in his knee. It was just a mess. And the doctors opened it up to repair it and found a tumor. And they removed the tumor. And they said to the young man, to his parents, if we would not have found this so early, it would have killed him. So, providentially, Providentially, they found that tumor because of his operation. And so there are hundreds and thousands and millions of things happening. That it had to be this way so that from God's perspective, his plan would develop. His plan would be executed. Now someone says, Pastor, that's so hard to believe because this means if I make a mistake, God made a mistake with me and he let me make a mistake. If he is in charge of everything, all my choices and all things happening, if that's true, then God is responsible for all the things happening. So then you think of a tsunami, or earthquake, or cancer, accidents, God did that? And then people themselves make the wrong choices and kill someone else? So God did that? God was involved in that? Why didn't he stop it? He could have stopped it, right? God could have stopped everything, all evil. He didn't. Why did God not stop all those things? Who is responsible now, we or God? Well, look at Genesis 45. Please, Genesis 45. Verse one and following. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him, and he cried, "'Cause every man to go out from me.' And there stood no man with him while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud. And the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, "'I am Joseph, "'Does my father yet live?' And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, "'Come near to me, I pray you.' And they came near. And he said, "'I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. "'Now therefore be not grieved nor angry with yourselves, "'but ye sold me hither, for God did send me. Wow. Ye sold me, don't feel sorry, God sent me. So, so later, he writes, or he says to his brothers, you thought it evil, God thought it good. It had to happen to preserve a pea for himself. So, the mistake, the sin of the brothers of Joseph goes together with God's will. So, are they not responsible? Of course they are. 100% responsible. And God did it. Or think of Judas. Judas. He betrayed the Lord Jesus. Had to happen. Had to happen. It was all planned. Because Jesus wanted to die, wanted to be delivered into those evil hands. It was God's will. So Judas is not responsible? Absolutely he is. So Judas' fault was embedded in God's will. Or think of the Pharaoh. In the chapters Exodus 4 through 14, we find eight times the expression, God hardened his heart. So Moses said, Pharaoh, let my people go. He hardened his heart. No, God hardened his heart. Eight times in those chapters, God hardened his heart. And the Lord predicted, told Moses, he will not let you go. He will, I tell you, I promise you, he will harden his heart. But three times in those same chapters it says, he hardened his heart. So eight times God hardened his heart and three times he hardened his heart. And it starts with God hardening his heart. So how does it work? I don't know. I don't understand myself. You? How is it possible that someone is doing something wrong and God wants it to happen? Then that's not wrong anymore. Yes, something can be wrong that God tolerates. He's not the author of sin. He's not the author. The Bible never says God sinned. It never says the Lord was doing something wrong himself, but he organized the world and controlled all things in such a way that even sins were involved indirectly. So we believe in people's personal responsibility. Now we usually divide God's providence in three pieces, three different aspects. Write them down. In the first place, Preservation, preservation. Secondly, concurrence. And the third place, government. Preservation, concurrence, and government. Preservation. Preservation is that something exists and God keeps it that way. God made the elements. God made water. I know water can be divided in helium and oxygen, but you cannot let it disappear. You cannot take the matter away. God made matter and he keeps his hands around it so the things are what they are. Steel is steel. You can meld it, you can do all things, it has certain attributes, but those attributes are given by God. You cannot change the attributes of things. Sulfur is sulfur. Let it react with something. You can make a salt of it, whatever. But those chemical processes are all in creation. And God keeps it that way in his preservation. Without preservation, there would be no science. Without preservation, things would be so chaotic and changing constantly. There would be no laws. There's science possible because things are constant. Things are made a certain way, and God preserves it that way in his preservation. You could also think of stone, right? A stone is a stone. You cannot melt it. They're at very high temperatures. But a stone is a stone, and steel is steel, and oxygen is oxygen. So that's called preservation. So things happen according to certain laws of nature. Proof of the text, Hebrews 1 verse 3, about Christ being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding, upholding all things by the word of his power. when he by himself purged our sins. So Christ upholding, upholding, preservation, all things by the word of his power. So God preserves everything through the Lord Jesus, through Christ. Through him, he's upholding all things. If God would not uphold things, we are going back to chaos and our undoing creation. Secondly, concurrence. So things occur. Concurrence. So things happen together at the same time. God's cooperation refers mainly to movements. So I can move my arm. Who's moving my arm? Am I moving my arm? If God would not like me to move my arm. God could decide or have decided I was not supposed to move my arm. So God helps me decide and gives everything in there. He's doing this. He is moving my arm. If God wants me to move the arm, I don't want it. God makes me to want it. cooperation or concurrence. So he gives the strength to walk, ability to climb. He regulates the traffic. He let water follow the riverbed. There's low tide and high tide. There's a sun. Changes constantly, economical changes, political changes, family changes, church changes, health changes. There's so many things changing constantly. And God works together for good, in all things, for the wealth of his church. So God's concurrence. Psalm 148, verse eight. Fire and hail, snow, vapor, stormy wind, fulfilling his word. So fulfilling his word. Preservation, concurrence, and government. Government is that in God's providence, he does all things with a purpose. with a purpose. It's a goal. God has something in mind. It works all as a puzzle. It all works as a machine. It works together as an organism. It's alive. God works to a purpose, not just randomly. God doesn't say, well, we will see where it will end up. I will see what I do someday. God is not making decisions later on to change his mind. No, he has something in mind, and that's his goal, his purpose, and it will happen that way. To the praise of the glory of his grace. And his purpose is, of course, ultimately his glory, and ultimately the salvation of his church. Two texts with the word all things in there. Philippians 4.19, that my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. And Romans 8.28, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. Next piece. Might surprise you a little bit. There's a link between God's providence and the issue of Arminianism. What is Arminianism? What did Hermann Arminius teach? He said, I don't believe in those Calvinists. I don't believe in predestination. I don't believe that the Lord has decided to save certain people and only them. So what did he believe then? That God knew, God knew beforehand who would repent, and knew beforehand who would believe, and that's why you're chosen. So God has chosen them on the condition that they would believe. So, Arminius also believed in election, like we do. The difference being, we believe that God has decided to save His people for no reason in themselves, even not because God saw something good in them, not because people, the Lord saw, predicted this person would believe in me, no. God said, I'm going to make the person believe. I'm going to make the person repent. He will voluntarily. I will influence his heart and his will. That's Arminius, right? What has that to do with God's providence? Let's close, right? We taught Arminianism about salvation, and faith, and believing, and the free will. You don't have a free will. He said we do. In this subject, he says something similar. He says, you make a choice in this life, and God knows what choice you will make. And he works around that. So Arminius says that in God's providence, God knows what choices you will make, what you will do, and he works around it. Now there are different levels in Arminianism, very strong and mild. The strong Armenian says, God does not even know it perfectly. He is kind of surprised sometimes. He says, oh. He makes a prediction. The predictions are kind of flawed. And it comes down to our decisions. And other Armenians say, God kind of. almost perfectly can predict people's choices. Nevertheless, all Armenians say God makes, not makes people change, and makes people decide, but they say that people have a free will also in those things. Because they don't want to blame God. What? Well, Arminius said, if you make a mistake, I can't say God wanted that. No, that's right. We don't say it either. Well, we say. We say, yeah, when I make the wrong decision, God is kind of allowing me. Exactly, Arminius says, I can't believe that. God allows you to sin. God gives you the freedom to sin, yes or no? To make the right decision, yes or no? So, they struggle with that. But the Bible teaches so clearly that God makes the decisions, and there's a concurrence, like we saw with Joseph. You did that, you sold me, God sent me. It's interesting. The more Arminian someone is, free will, the more responsible the person feels, and the opposite if someone is hyper-Calvinistic and says, God makes all the decisions, can be made very fatalistic. So we believe that God decides things for 100%. At the same time, people are 100% responsible for what they do. Okay. A few more things. This first thing. Well, now more personal, more experiential. like the hyper-catechism talks about in Lord's Day 10. What are the benefits of believing in God's providence? Where does it help you? Three words. Patience, thankfulness, and trust. Start with those three. Patience, thankfulness, trust. So what does it help you to know that God reigns, knows everything beforehand, and has planned all things? He's planned all things. What does it help you? It does not help you at all. If you are without God. If you are without God. God's providence does not help you. because then you're still a child of wrath, not belonging to God's family, not under God's special care. God reigns, but you can't say, it's such a comfort that God cares for me, because you're unsaved. So the first thing you need to talk about is you need to be saved. Makes a big difference. But if you're saved, if you're one of his, then to believe that you have a father, a caregiver, someone who loves you tremendously from eternity and cares for all things. Because all things must work together for good that them that love him, right? The Bible says. The Lord doesn't say, I care for the whole world, all people, I love them all, I just govern their lives and make it well for everyone. The Lord is willing to do that, and he talks to people about it, but he especially takes care of his church, his bride, known, given to him. And for God's children, if you may belong to the Lord's church, Because providence teaches you to relax, teaches you to have patience, patience. So in case people listening tonight or people here in church struggling with those things, I want this, I want that. First, you need to be saved, but secondly, Don't you believe that God reigns and that he can do anything, that he has planned all things, and that you have the full responsibility to do things yourself as well? Patient. Hebrews 10, 36, for ye have need of patience. that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. So you do what's right, and you wait. God knows best. Be still and know that I am God. James 5, 11, behold, he count them happy, which endure. Ye have heard the patience of Job, I've seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. So Job, he lost so much, he was in so much trouble. Lost his children and his health and his property and had nothing left. But the patience, he thought, God reigns, God knows best. As long as they don't lose God, it's fine. So patience and gratitude or thankfulness, that's the same, right? So the Lord wants us to be thankful for our blessings. Count your blessings, think of your blessings, and be thankful for them, and tell the Lord. You can't be thankful for fate, right? If something happens by chance, you say, oh, that's nice. There's no body to be thankful to, for. When I still lived in Holland, before I became a pastor, we had our first babies, and we had a nurse for 10 days. And no, that's not right. It was a community nurse coming once in a while. And she was not a Christian, not at all. She did not believe in anything. And we told a little bit about the faith and the Bible. And she said, nice, nice. When I think of the future, I look into a dark hole. I have no idea who cares. It's just so chaotic. I look in a black hole and you have kind of certain securities, certainties, something you can be sure of. God reigns and is in control of all things. So she saw the difference. And she also did not see anyone to be thankful to. Romans 121, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God neither thankful, but because their vain imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened. So patience and gratitude, and the third one was trust. So, again, can we say to people indiscriminately, there's trust. You know, you're okay. You have to believe. God reigns. God cares for you. Sorry, I'm not going to say that. I tell about God, and I tell He's a good God, and I tell that God wants reconciliation, and He offers His grace and all things, but I'm not going to say, just sit back, you're fine. I'm not going to say that. Again, you need to repent. You need conversion. You need faith in God. So you don't only need to feel small and dependent, like many people do. You talk to people from other churches and backgrounds and faith, many feel so dependent, so small, so vulnerable, and they talk about trusting. There's something I don't hear. I don't hear about, I'm guilty. Guilty. Sin against God. I'm a child of wrath. I need to be reconciled. Something is wrong. I need to be restored with God. I don't hear that too often. So let's not talk so superficially about God's providence. God provides, and God is good, and God is in control of all things. But you know, I need to stress it, you need to be saved in the first place. And God has open arms to receive people. Don't forget that. But don't skip that part. So we need that wedding garment. We need that seed to fall in well-prepared soil. We need enough oil in the vessels. Amos writes about people who kind of superficially misuse the doctrine of God's providence. and say, I'm well, I'm doing good. Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord. Let the day of the Lord come, I'm prepared. Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord to what end it is for you. The day of the Lord is darkness and not light. And if a man did flee from a lion and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, a serpent bit him, see, God will get you anyway. So that's why you need to repent. God is close. Okay, look please at the Heidelberg Catechism. Lord's Day 10. Beautiful. One of the most famous expressions, explanations, creeds about God's providence. Lord's Day 10, page 38. Let's go slow. What does thou mean by the providence of God, the almighty and everywhere present, see, we talk about present, power of God, whereby, as it were, by his hand, his hand, he upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures so that that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, and all things come not by chance, but by his fatherly hand. And question 28, what advantage is it to us to know that God has created and by his providence does still uphold all things, still uphold all things after creation, that we may be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and that in all things which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father. that nothing shall separate us from his love, since all creatures are so in his hand, so in his hand, that without his will, they cannot so much as move. See that? Without his will, they cannot so much as move. I can't, even animals can. That's providence. Now, I would say, verb this in your prayer tonight. Bring this up tonight. Say, Lord, you are so close in this bedroom. Lord, I'm so dependent. Lord, I'm so guilty. Lord, I need that guidance. I need that hand of God. Guide me, lead me, Lord. and beg the Lord, and read the Bible, and see the commands in there. Repent ye, repent ye, I have no pleasure in your death. So though God decides, there's no pleasure in sin, no pleasure in people's ruin. He's a good God, a gracious God, and he's calling you. My son, my daughter, give me your heart.