Every bad thing is ultimately from God. Now brothers and sisters, that statement is controversial. Now for me to stand here and say that certainly every good thing is ultimately from God, every Christian would give a hearty amen. But to say that every bad thing is ultimately from God, Well, that's a different matter. That then becomes a very controversial statement. But I want you to listen carefully. If you do not believe that ultimately, emphasize ultimately, that every bad thing in your life comes from God, then you will not be a thankful person. Good morning. Welcome to Trinity Reformed Baptist Church. It's November 24th, year 2002. And this is the preaching session of our Sunday morning worship service. Whether you're hearing this message on cassette tape or on the internet, we pray that it will be a blessing to you. And above all, we pray that our words and our meditations be pleasing in the sight of the Lord. I hope you will have your Bible ready now as Pastor Joey Huggins brings us a message from the word. Look at chapter 21 of Numbers. They traveled from Mount horror along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way. They spoke against God and against Moses." By the way, one of the themes that runs throughout the Bible is whenever God's people grumble, it is always said to be grumbling against God, ultimately. Isn't that interesting? They might be grumbling against a leader or against the circumstances or whatever, but ultimately it is a grumbling against God. It says, why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread. There's no water. And we detest this miserable food. Now, what food are they talking about? Manna, heavenly food. We detest this stuff. Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them. They bit the people, and many Israelites died. The point that I'm trying to make here is that God's people and complaining and grumbling don't go together. They are two things that do not belong together. To be a child of God and to be a grumbler and a complainer, it's out of sorts. It doesn't belong. It's like oil and vinegar. They don't really mix. And yet, interestingly, we often find God's people to be some of the most Ferocious grumblers and complainers and I sometimes scratch my head and and you know, of course Isn't it ironic that nobody likes a grumbler or complainer? Have you ever noticed that you talk? Oh, I can't stand to be around Wow Oh, she just grumbles and complains all the time always negative and yet sometimes we find ourselves saying that about others and we ourselves are grumblers and complainers and I'm a big fan of cartoons. I love animated movies and cartoons, particularly the older ones. And I know I've told you this before, but of all the cartoon characters, one of my favorite was the one, the guy who was in Gulliver's Travels. Remember the animated version of that used to come on in the afternoons? And there was this character on there, and his famous line was, we're doomed. Remember that? Now, some of you are too young to remember that, but everything, I mean, the sun could come up, the birds could be chirping, and he would say, we're doomed. It never was going to be right for him. And of course, if I recall correctly, didn't the Smurfs have a grumbler amongst the clan? And of course, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, who's the guy? Grumpy it's like even Hollywood recognizes that in human communities. There's always Somebody for whom nothing is ever right and they have to portray that person of course the reason they portray this person is because They know and this is one of the secrets to a successful animation movie or whatever is that people watching need to be able to relate and the reason we're fascinated by we're doomed and and and grumpy and the complaints because We can relate to that, and we can say to ourselves, oh, don't I know people just like that? Or perhaps maybe we're just like that. Well, why are we like that? Why are we chronic complainers and grumblers instead of being grateful, thankful people? By the way, do you know that, and we don't have time to run this through the Bible, but I was doing some research and I discovered that throughout the Bible there's an amazing number of times that thanksgiving and joy are spoken of in the same breath. Thankful people are joyful people. Make no mistake about it. Now, we have a choice. We can either be grumblers and complainers and be bitter and unhappy, or we can be thankful people and be joyful people. But how can we? How can we move from being chronic complainers and grumblers to being really, genuinely thankful people who can be thankful for everything? Now look, it's easy, isn't it, to be thankful are going well, when things are going our way and we can appear thankful and feel thankful. But the biblical admonition for us is that we be thankful all the time, in everything, as Paul says in this passage here in Ephesians. Well, how can we do that? Well, I think there are a couple of truths that we need to get in our minds and get them there in a solid way. if we're going to learn how to be thankful people and be thankful for everything and every situation. Now, what I'm about to tell you is nothing new. It's stuff that you have heard before. It's stuff that I have said before. But I want to tell you something. What I'm about to unfold for us here from God's Word really is the key to developing a thankful heart. And I defy anybody to try to construct a basis for a thankful life any other way. This is it. One, now listen, by acknowledging that God is the ultimate giver of everything. By acknowledging that God is the ultimate giver of everything. You see, in a proximate or secondary sense, we receive things from a variety of sources. For instance, ourselves, sometimes we are the source of some blessings that we enjoy. We work hard. We receive some benefit from that. I didn't clear this with my wife, but I'll say it anyway. Maybe I need to buy a dog house on the way home, I don't know. But, and I should know better because I, anyway, but Christy, Christy applied for a job within the county, which will be for her a promotion, and she had an interview on Friday. And she was able to take along her last two years of evaluations as the secretary of bookkeeper at the high school where she works. And I don't mind telling you that nobody works as hard as my wife. I've never seen anybody that is as conscientious an employee and works as hard as she does. And those evaluations were given from a principal who is known to be quite a hard, I mean, fair person, but very, very hard. And she gave Christie all excellence, both years in a row, everything. And Christy had those at the interview, and the person doing the interviewing was blown away. Now, I don't know if she'll get that position or not, but I think she stands a real, real good chance. Now, my point is this, is that it's fair to say that Christy was a beneficiary of her own labor, of her own hard work. In other words, she was the source of this good thing. In this case, a good interview that may result in a promotion at work, because she was conscientious and worked very, very hard. Others don't work as hard, lazy, whatever, then go to the interview, and there's nothing there to promote them, and they don't get it. And then, of course, they want to blame everything and everybody else. You know how that goes. But the truth is, is that we are, through our diligence and our hard work, often the source of our own blessings, as it were, things that come into our lives in a good way. And we don't want to overlook that area of responsibility. Also, others can be the source of blessings in our lives. How many of you have been given something by someone else? Someone out of the goodness of their heart gave you something. Maybe it was unexpected. Maybe you thought it was coming, but beside whatever, the point is that somebody else helped you out. Somebody else gave you something. Maybe you got a job because of somebody you know who was able to give you sort of a leg in as it were, sort of a open the door for you. Maybe someone has given you money. Maybe someone's given you material things. All of us at some points in our lives have been the beneficiaries of what others have done for us. And we need to be thankful to them for having done that. Other things come to us from nature. Now that's kind of a broad term but, you know, Some of us were just born with good genes. Some of us weren't. There are some kids that are just born natural athletes, and they're able to do tremendous things on the football field or the baseball field. Others are born with an incredibly high IQ. Others are born with not such a high IQ. Nature, genetics. the weather, all kinds of things that seem completely beyond our control come together in some natural way to give us a lot of things in our lives, whether good or bad. Now these are what we call secondary causes. That is, these are things in nature that bring about certain events in our lives. And we want to recognize that. We want to recognize the responsibility we have to work hard and to do well. We want to recognize that gifts often come from other people. We want to recognize that things often come from sources of nature beyond our control. We have no control over those things whatsoever. and as biblical Christians we don't want to overlook that. This is God's world and it's a real world. And what I mean by that is God has created this world in such a way that if you do A you get B. God has created this world in such a way that you reap what you sow. And so when a man very flippantly and arrogantly says, I'm not going to thank God for this food that's on my table, I put it here. We cringe when we hear that and yet there's a sense in which, now listen carefully, there's a sense in which he's got it half right. He did work hard. He did put it there. But the half he's got wrong makes the whole thing wrong. And the half he's got wrong is that in the ultimate sense, or primary sense, everything is from God. Everything, ultimately, is from God. Now remember, we're answering the question, how can I be thankful for everything all the time? Recognize that God is the ultimate provider of everything. He is the ultimate source of everything that comes into our lives. Certainly, certainly every good thing is ultimately from God. Matthew's Gospel chapter 5, Jesus says that God causes it to rain on the just and the unjust alike. Now, in our culture, Rain is often viewed as a hindrance. We don't like it. But in that culture, an agrarian society where farming was everything, this was a blessing. What Jesus was saying is that God sends good things upon those who are His children and good things upon those who are not His children just alike. God blesses all creation with good gifts, good things. Look at James chapter 1. James chapter 1, verse 17. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. Every good and perfect gift is from above. Now, what I'm saying right now is certainly not controversial. It'd be very difficult to find anybody who would not agree with that, especially if that person were a Christian. Clearly, we would acknowledge that God is the ultimate giver of every good and perfect gift. that everything that's good in our lives, that's precious, that's worth everything like that God has brought into our lives, even if He did it through the work of what we call secondary sources, secondary causes, like our hard work, like the goodness of others, the blessing of nature, We consider those secondary and understand that God in His sovereignty is not distant from the universe but He is working His will and plan out through those things. We recognize that it is in God that we live and move and have our being and at any moment He could take His hand off of us and we would immediately lose our health, our lives and be able to do nothing. And so we clearly recognize that behind it all, all good things in our lives are really from God. Well, what about, though, those bad things? This is where the rubber meets the road. You see, what I'm about to say right now will make the difference between your being able to be a thankful person all the time for everything or ultimately being something of a grumpy person, a complainer, losing your joy. Well, even every bad thing is ultimately from God. Now, brothers and sisters, that statement is controversial. Now for me to stand here and say that certainly every good thing is ultimately from God, every Christian would give a hearty Amen. But to say that every bad thing is ultimately from God, well that's a different matter. That then becomes a very controversial statement. But I want you to listen carefully. If you do not believe that ultimately, I emphasize ultimately, that every bad thing in your life comes from God, then you will not be a thankful person. Your thanksgiving will be ultimately tied to how much good is in your life, how much comfort is in your life, how much of what you perceive to be blessing is in your life. But when you are sick, when you lose a job, when you lose a family member to death or to illness, when your finances go belly up, When your children rebel, you'll find it difficult to give thanks. You'll struggle to be able to say, God, thank you for all things. And your heart will grow bitter, and you will feel as if though God has shortchanged you. You'll begin to feel like, you know, I deserve better than this. But when we come to understand that even every bad thing is ultimately from God. It changes our whole perspective on life. Look with me to Job, the Old Testament book of Job. See, the good thing is that we're not the first to wrestle with these issues. They have been addressed before. Job is perhaps the oldest book in the Bible, even though it doesn't come first. In terms of the dating of the book, it very well may be the oldest. Of course, you know the story of Job. Satan appears before God and says, have you considered your servant Job? Or God says, have you considered my servant Job? And he knows what Satan is about. Satan wants to try to prove that Job is only faithful to God because God has blessed him. Job has every reason to thank God. He has every reason for serving God because look what God has done for him. He's given him land. He's given him animals. He's given him many children. He's just done marvelous things for Job. Anybody in Job's situation would find God attractive and would be prepared to praise Him and to thank Him. But Satan says, yeah, but what if He took everything away from him? I bet he wouldn't thank you then. I bet he wouldn't praise you at that point. And God says to the devil, says, well, you just go right ahead. You can touch everything he has except his life. Verse 13 of chapter 1. One day, when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabaeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you. And while he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, the fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you. And while he was still speaking, and I get this scene, these messengers are coming in one after another, and before one is finished, another one is started. The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I'm the only one who's escaped to tell you. And while he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them, and they are dead. And I'm the only one who has escaped to tell you." At this, Job got up, tore his robe, and shaved his head, ancient Near Eastern symbols of grief. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart." The Lord gave, and see he acknowledged that all those good things he had, he had ultimately received them from the Lord. Had Job worked hard? You better believe Job had worked hard to acquire those things. Had he been faithful? Yes, absolutely. Had he been a wise businessman? Without a doubt. And yet he recognized that ultimately God was the source of all of his blessings. The Lord gave, but then look what he says, and the Lord has taken away. Now wait a minute. The traffic light turns from green to red and we stop in our tracks. We like the bit about God being the giver of all the blessings, but what about the taker? Has Job lost his senses? saying that God has taken these things away? No, you see, Job recognizes something that has produced in him this ability to praise God, to be thankful and to experience this divine joy that we sometimes lose or we're sometimes not aware of, and that is this. He recognizes God's sovereignty over all things and that ultimately everything is working according to God's plan And then in the final analysis, it's God's plan that overrules and it's through God's plan that we receive everything that we have or that we lose everything that we have. Hence he can say, the Lord gave and the Lord took away. Now, does that mean that the Chaldeans and Sabians were puppets in God's hands and that somehow or another they are not responsible for their evil deeds? No, no way. And we are reminded, aren't we, of the story in Genesis of Joseph being sold into slavery that I'm so fond of relaying because it is such a crucial story to happiness in life, to recognize that what Joseph's brothers meant as evil, God just as equally meant for good. Joseph says to his brothers, God sent me to Egypt. Now, did his brothers? Yes. In an ultimate sense, God was behind it all, working and moving through the evil actions of these brothers. Their intent was evil, but God's intent was good. The intention of the Chaldeans, the intention of the Sabeans, those intentions were evil, but God's intentions here in Job's life are good. Now this introduces a mystery. It's what theologians have called the doctrine of concurrence, that is, how Human and natural causes are working and God the ultimate cause is also working and those two causes are somehow working together to ultimately accomplish God's plan and yet does so without God being the author of sin. The Bible tells us clearly that God does not sin, He does not tempt men to sin and He is in no way the cause or the source of sin. The Bible is clear that God works this way. But the Bible is not clear on how God works this way. That He works this way? Without question. How He works this way? Multitudes of questions. A mystery that we do not know, but a mystery that if we fail to embrace, we will ultimately be bitter, bitter, bitter people. I promise you, if you fail to embrace the mystery of God's working through all things to bring about His purpose, you will end up a bitter, miserable person. If you cannot say with Job, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, praise, may the name of the Lord be praised, you will end up miserable. In all of this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. You see that? God was not the sinner in this story, but God was in control in this story, without question. How are we going to develop this attitude of thankfulness in all things, in all situations, for everything? Well, by acknowledging that God is the ultimate giver of everything, not just the good things, not just the good days, but the bad things and the bad days as well. And yet, those bad things may come at the hands of those who intend us harm, those who are sinners, and they may come at our own sinful hands. But the good news is, is behind it all, God is also working through those things to accomplish His will and His purpose. Well, secondly, not only are we going to develop this attitude by acknowledging that God is the ultimate giver of everything, but that everything God gives us is for our ultimate good. You see the logic between the two points? God is the ultimate giver of everything, and everything God gives us is for our ultimate good. Maybe not for our good immediately, You know, Brandon this morning talked about his dad spanking him, and his dad saying, son, this is hurting me worse than you, and this is for your good, and kids wonder how, this is not for my good, this hurts. How can this be good for me when it is so painful? Well, dad, does it mean that what I'm doing right this second, that this pain you're feeling, that this is right this second good for you? No, this hurts you right this second, but it is ultimately good for you. The pain you feel now is ultimately for your greater good. Well, everything that God gives us, everything that God brings into our lives through the hands of the Chaldeans, through the hands of the Sabeans, through the hands of jealous brothers may not make us comfortable immediately, may not make us feel good immediately, but ultimately God intends it for our good. This is a key, key thought if we're going to be people who are thankful for everything in every situation. We recognize, as Ephesians 1.11 tells us, that God has a comprehensive plan that includes everything. Theologians call this the decree of God. That before God ever created the first thing, God devised a plan. And His plan was not contingent upon the foibles of the human race, it was not dependent upon the capriciousness of your will or mine, but God planned His plan exactly how He wanted it, and planned exactly how He was going to unfold it. And everything that happens in this universe, from the movement of nations to the movement of molecules, is somehow in a mysterious way the outworking of God's ultimate plan. God has a plan and purpose for everything. God also has, in light of that then, a plan for your life, and it is a good plan. I'm always dismayed by how some cheapen this idea of God having a plan for my life. They often think Well, now that means I'm supposed to go to this college, I'm supposed to have that job, and you know, they start trying to work out some of the nitty-gritty details of this plan. That's not what the Bible reveals. Now, obviously in God's sovereign plan, that's all mapped out, but the plan that God wants to reveal to us and tell us all about and let us in on is His plan to make us like Jesus. In the Old Testament, Jeremiah the prophet said to Israel, God saying through Jeremiah the prophet, that he had a plan, and a good plan for them to bless them. And of course, we are the heirs of Abraham. And in Romans 8, verse 28, it's clear that God has a plan for us. And it's to be conformed to the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's His plan. And everything that He brings into our lives is ultimately for the accomplishing of that plan. And by the way, just a little side note here, another little key to experiencing joy in life's difficult circumstances is understanding this truth and buying into the ultimate goal. You see, a lot of Christians don't have as their ultimate goal conformity to Jesus. Their ultimate goal is to have a bigger and better house, to have a bigger and better car, to have kids that turn out right, and all these might be worthy goals. But your number one goal in your life ought to be to be more like Jesus, you see. That's what it's about, that you become more like Christ, and then you can recognize, okay God, everything that comes into my life, the good, the bad, and the ugly, it's all about me becoming more like Jesus Christ. If God, in the person of Jesus, sat down beside you and said, sir, man, I'm about to bring a horrible illness in your life, but understand that I have a plan and a purpose for it. And my plan and purpose for it is that this illness produce in you a level of character that's going to be more like Christ that could not be accomplished in any other way. This is it. What would you say? Would you say, now Jesus, I appreciate the thought, but I really would be more interested in being healthy than I would being Christ-like. And yet every time we grumble and complain, that's exactly what we're saying. We're saying, thanks God, but no thanks. I'd rather be comfortable, wealthy, well-situated than I would be like Christ. I don't know that we mean that, but that's in essence what we're saying. Maybe we say it because we don't understand that God has a plan for us and that's conformity to Jesus and everything He brings into our lives is for the accomplishing of that plan. Therefore, everything He gives us is for the ultimate accomplishment of that plan and that goal to be more like Jesus. It tells us that