God Knows What He is Doing | Sermon by Tony Evans
Dr. Tony Evans speak about God Knows What He is Doing.
Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and author of over 100 books, booklets & Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.
your view of God will determine your
view of life or your view of life will
determine your view of God if God is
your reference point then you will be
able to make sense of that which has no
sense if your circumstances are your
reference point then you will neither be
able to make sense of life or God
because you have an inverted view the
second most important truth you could
ever learn as a Christian is what I want
to speak to you about I say the second
because the first thing that you need to
learn is salvation by faith in Christ
becoming a Christian is the first thing
nothing can preempt that as the first
understanding to understand and respond
to the gospel is of first importance
Paul says that in 1st Corinthians 15 of
first importance I declare to you the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
but second to that is your understanding
of the sovereignty of God if you do not
understand the sovereignty of God then
you will not be able to make sense of
life most of us have lived long enough
to know that life throws curveballs life
is full of the unexpected life is full
of pain and problems life is bittersweet
sometimes Ben
sometimes sweet sometimes both your view
of and therefore response to the
sovereignty of God will determine your
ability to cope with the confusion of
life let’s make sure we are on the same
page let me define for you what I mean
by the sovereignty of God I’m simply
saying that God is the absolute ruler
and controller over all of his creation
sovereignty seems simply means to rule
over to reign over to be in control over
to say that God is sovereign which
speaks of his kingship his kingly role
is to say that there is nothing that
happens over which he is not in control
that control is either manifested either
by direct causation he makes it happen
or by consciously allowing it to happen
he either controls it he says that’s
what I want to happen so it happens what
he says that’s not what I want to happen
but imma let it happen because I may use
it for what I want to happen you cannot
have a sovereign God and have luck
you cannot have a sovereign God and have
can’t you cannot have a sovereign God
and have faith because that means those
terms refer to things happening
haphazardly with with no order to them
with with nothing in control they just
show up God’s sovereignty says that
things don’t happen things are under
control when they’re out of control
oh I like the way theevans 111 says it
that God does everything after the
counsel of his own will everything he is
creator controller and sustainer of all
things so we’ve got to establish this as
the governing principle of life the
governing principle of life has to be
the sovereignty of God therefore you can
never first appeal to your circumstances
if if God is sovereign and you’re not
sovereign that means your circumstances
are not sovereign god is so the
reference point for life must not be
life it must be the sovereignty of God
this leads me to probably the greatest
verse I would say in the Old Testament
maybe in the Bible when it comes to life
circumstances as it comes to the
intersection of the sovereignty of God
and that is found in Genesis 50 it comes
at the end of a saga of a young man’s
life that we have spoken up often his
name is
Joseph Joseph has been sold into slavery
by his brothers who were jealous of him
Joseph having been sold in the slavery
winds up working for a man named
Potiphar because the slave owners took
him to Egypt
they sold him as a slave to Potiphar
where Joseph climbed the ladder of
success and became part of his
administrative assistant managing all of
his household affairs while managing his
household affairs part of his wife
sought to seduce him and he refused in
her anger over his refusal she cries
rape making Potiphar of course furious
that this man who he hadn’t tested over
all of his affairs would seek to rape
his wife which was not true and Potiphar
gets Joseph thrown in jail so he sold
into slavery for no just cause now he’s
in jail for no just cause while in jail
there are two men who are in jail with
him one man is sentenced to death
one man is set free Joseph says to the
man who set free remember me to Pharaoh
remind him I’m still here the man who he
talks to forgets he’s free he not
remember nobody else and now he is
I forgot this is 12 to 13 years of
events I just described for you every
time it looked like he was going up zoo
he went down you talk about it’s not
fair
Joseph could say that this is not fair
that all has a dream he can’t interpret
that he doesn’t understand and I’m
covering a number of chapters in the
book of Genesis a story that is is
riveting it comes a place where he has
his dream he can’t interpret and then
the man in jail remembers there was this
dude in prison who was good at this
stuff he could interpret dreams and
since nobody can tell you what this
dream meant maybe you ought to call on
him I think his name was Joseph Joseph
is summoned up to Pharaoh Pharaoh tells
him the dream and Joseph says this is
the interpretation there will be seven
years plenty there will be seven years
famine in order to get ready for the
seven years famine you’re going to have
to store from the seven years plenty
Pharaoh was so awed by Joseph’s ability
to interpret dreams
he took him from the outhouse to the
White House Joseph in one day becomes
the second-in-command in Egypt over 12
years of pain is overturned in one night
I mean he couldn’t have climbed that
ladder as a Jew in 12 years if he had
applied for the job and worked at it but
through a supernatural
lucky opportunity he is placed second in
command in a foreign land that are not
his people through a series of events
that is literally Hollywood it’s a
Hollywood kind of story
his farmer and 11 brothers are caught in
this fact and the only place you can get
food is Egypt Egypt because of the
interpretation of the dream has all this
extra storage so the only place you can
get food is you got to go to Egypt so
the brothers make their way up to Egypt
I’m going somewhere with this thing with
me they make their way up to Egypt to
request food Joseph recognizes these are
the boys that sold me in slavery these
are my brother but they did not
recognize him of course years have
passed last time they saw him he look
like one of them well he living large
now things have changed they don’t know
who he is he knows who they are Joseph
does a number of things in the story to
force them not only to come for food but
to come back one thing he did was say
well you leave your younger brother with
me by the way how’s your father doing
he getting all info all Intel the
brothers come back they are gathered in
the room with him Joseph must say hold
on for a minute and he turns aside and
goes out
and weeps he’s bawling like a baby in
fact five times in the story of the saga
with Joseph and his brothers it says and
he wept bitterly a lot of reasons for
the tears one seeing his brothers again
one remembering what they didn’t mean it
was a whole series of events in chapter
45 you have to turn there yet i’ma show
you something in a moment in chapter 45
when the brothers are standing before
him Joseph cleansed the room he of all
the Egyptians he says all you folks
leave and you must leave me here alone
with these men and Joseph says come near
to me now they they wonder what is going
on here all we did was come up for food
now we are trapped in this circle that
we can’t break out of come near to me
now some time ago I shared with you what
my holy imagination things happened
because it was on this occasion the
Bible says Joseph revealed himself to
his brothers and from my perspective the
fact that he tells everybody else leave
he tells them she come real close he
wants them to see something that would
validate his identity and it was only
one thing that would validate his
identity his circumcision thus everybody
leave you come near I am your brother
Joseph because only Jews were
circumcised
nevertheless they’re now terrified cuz
the one they sold into slavery is now in
charge you know what goes around comes
around it ain’t over tell us over in
Chapter 50 the brothers saw that their
father was dead Jacob is now dead the
father and they’re terrified
what if Joseph should bear a grudge
against us and pay us back in full for
all the wrong we did to him what if as
long as daddy was alive out of respect
for daddy he withheld his hand but not
daddy ain’t here to hold him back what
if he now is going to get even
so they concoct a story they make up a
story in verse 16 your father charged
before he died yes daddy told us to tell
you
please forgive you the transgression of
your brothers and their sin for they did
you wrong please forgive their
transgression of the servant of God of
your father and again Joseph wept before
them it wasn’t fair it wasn’t right his
life got messed up cuz they messed him
up
has there been anybody in your life
whose mess you what they did to you what
they did about you how they put you down
how they treated you how they we need
whatever whatever whatever it has messed
you up for years because we went through
12 years of torture for something he had
never done wrong his brothers came to
him and fell down and said behold your
servant and then Joseph says the words
that are at the heart of my point this
morning do not be afraid verse 19 for am
I in God’s place you meant evil against
me yet you did me wrong but God meant it
for good in order to bring about this
present result to preserve many people
alive it doesn’t get stated any clearer
than that
am I in God’s place he says I am looking
at this through a different set of eyes
than you are you’re looking at what you
did to me and what you did to me was
wrong but what you did to me is not my
final reference point what you did isn’t
the bottom line what you did isn’t the
final point what you did it didn’t make
it over
he says you meant it for good you didn’t
be wrong but you better fear evil you
did me wrong but God meant it for good
to bring about this present result when
life treats you wrong
and you focus only on the wrong then
you’re missing the point when life
treats you wrong God is still in control
when it’s not fair it doesn’t mean it’s
not God when God allows people and
things to do things to those who are
committed to him you can be assured that
he’s allowing bad things for a good
reason
let me said another way anything that
happens in your life because God is
sovereign must pass through his fingers
first God has the power to stop it
reverse it correct it kill it if he
didn’t he wants to use it you met one
thing when you sold me into slavery but
God meant something else when you swim
in the slavery you were thinking I’m mad
I’m irritated we jealous to you we don’t
like you we don’t want you here anymore
that’s all you were thinking but we God
let you get through with that he was up
to something else he says and the reason
God did it in verse 20 is that he might
bring about this present result he
allowed an event thirteen years ago to
bring us to today he allowed a negative
impact
asked to bring about what you’re looking
at right now in fact boys thank you for
sending me into slavery cuz when you put
me in that hole and lied to daddy and
told him I was dead God allowed the
Ishmaelites to come up and see me and
they took me God allowed me to be sold
by them to Potiphar then God allowed me
to be put in prison for a crime I didn’t
commit to bring about this present
result and he says and to save the life
of many when you read the life of Joseph
there is a phrase that follows him all
for his life and the phrase is simply
and the Lord was with Joseph he gets
accused of a crime he doesn’t commit and
guess what the phrase is
and the Lord was with Joseph he gets
thrown into prison and the first phrase
you read when he gets loaded with
prisoners and the Lord was with Joseph
how can the Lord be with me when all
hell is breaking loose how can the Lord
be with me when I’m getting Bute and
scored and talked about so as you born
how can the Lord be with me when I’ve
lost my job how can the Lord be with me
when my friends turn their back on me
how can the Lord be with me with my
finances on where they ought to be how
can the Lord be with me the Lord can be
with you when things are against you
because God is looking at where you’re
going not where you are
you see our problem is all we see is
what we see and if what we see we don’t
like then our first question is to
indict God where are you unless you
understand God is suffering and that he
controls all things either by
determining them or by allowing them for
a greater purpose you’re going to be
stuck where you are you’re going to be
bitter and you’re going to be angry god
is so big let me tell you how big God is
the Bible says that God holds the world
in the span of his hand
now the span of your hand is simply to
open your hand and to measure the
distance from your thumb to your pinkie
that is the span of your hand he wants
you to know how big God is he says God
is so big that the whole world fits
between his thumb and pinkie of one hand
now if the whole world fits between the
thumb and pinkie of God he don’t need it
all me no need to grab it he don’t need
his feet to hold it up he don’t need
order only these is one hand and the
whole world fits there see what you have
to understand what we have to
understanding God is bigger than the sum
total of his creation he is not part of
the creation he is bigger than the
creation however he is involved in the
detail the same God who controls
everything from the palm of one hand is
the same God who doesn’t miss a sparrow
when it falls to the ground so he is big
enough to run everything and yet
detailed enough to miss nothing
he did not miss what happened to you
but because Joseph had a view of God
that transcended his circumstances he
could interpret his circumstances in the
light of who God was and God is so big
that his plan can incorporate bad he is
so big God can’t do bad God doesn’t
promote bad but God can use bad for his
plan one of the proofs or test of your
spirituality is whether you see the hand
of God when you’re looking at the hand
of man I hope you admit that one of the
tests of your spiritual progress is
whether you see the hand of God when
you’re looking at the hand of man
especially when the hand of man is
negative yo you get your praise on when
the hand the man is good because then
you’re saying well that must me to hand
the God but when the hand of man is bad
if you are a spiritual person you’re
watching the hand of God using the hand
of man in its evil in spite of its evil
Joseph was confident in the plan of God
look at chapter 45 verse 4 then Joseph
said to his brothers please come closer
to me and they came closer and he said I
am your brother Joseph whom you sold
into slavery so this way he calls him
close and
now do not be grieved or angry with
yourselves because you sold me here i’ma
talk about that in a moment for God sent
me before you to preserve life don’t get
mad at what you did because what you did
God did for the famine has been in the
land these two years and they are still
five years in which there will be
neither ploughing or harvesting and God
sent me before you to preserve you for a
remnant in the earth to keep you alive
by a great deliverance therefore it was
not you who sent me but God and he made
me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all
of his household to rule over the land
of Egypt you didn’t send me here now let
me show you another scripture Psalm 105
verse 16 and he called God called for a
famine upon the land and he broke the
whole staff of bread and he sent a man
before them Joseph and this is the
farmers writing many years later after
all these events have happened and he
sent a man before them Joseph who was
sold as a slave they afflicted his feet
with fetters put him in prison he
himself was laid in on for crime he
didn’t commit remember until the time
that his word came to pass the word of
the Lord tested him the King said and
released him the ruler of peoples and
set him free he made him Lord of his
house Pharaoh did and ruler over his
possessions to imprison his princesses
at will that he might teach the elders
wisdom and here’s what I want to point
out Israel also came to Egypt Israel as
Jacob Jacob’s name athira Israel all
right let’s put this in perspective now
if you are the same page with God and
bad things happen to you you must look
at the bad things as the hand of God and
not merely the hand of man that that’s
that’s my poem
God knows what he’s doing in allowing
that to come to you he knew it was
coming he decided not to stop him so he
must plan to do something with it you
say but why is he allowing the negative
he tells you in some one of us he says
to test him Joseph you talking about all
that I trust I trust in the Lord you say
you believe in me you have confidence in
me let’s see do you trust me when man’s
hand is against you when you are
committed to God and man’s hand is
against you it’s a test it’s a test God
wants to see whether you trust him not
hear it do you trust him when it’s going
backwards when it is going in Reverse
are you blessing his name then are you
worshiping him now are you giving him
glory now are you coming to church now
are you serving him now are you giving
now are you responding like he is good
even when it’s bad God allowed the
negative to test you God was up to
something much bigger in fact the reason
it took so long was because it was so
big let me give you good news about a
long test
if you’re in a long test is cuz there’s
a big reason so let me tell you the
reason it says Israel came to Egypt God
made a promise years earlier to their
forefather named Abraham i’ma make of
you a great nation I am going to make of
you a great nation and when I make of
you this great nation as part of this
process of bringing this nation in the
being God says you will be in a land
called Egypt for foreign is and out of
that four hundred year experience I’m
going to give birth to a nation that
will be come out of your offspring and
this nation shall be my people and shall
glorify my name that goes way back
that’s what Joseph’s great granddaddy
that fence that’s way back question is
how does God gonna keep his promise he
got Jonas Brothers to sell him into
slavery the slave owners sold into an
Egyptian the Egyptian cent in the prison
he became the confidant of Pharaoh he’s
the only one who could supply to food
which brings his eleven brothers up to
Egypt while they are now living in Egypt
they become the children of Israel
expanding in Egypt so guess what
God used the negative in one man’s life
to keep a promise about the building of
a whole nation Joseph went through deep
borders cuz God was doing a whopping
thing when your waters are deep
and they’re lasting long get your praise
on because he’s preserving something
he’s building something he’s doing
something the problem is only spiritual
people see this the carnal are
complaining the carnal are cussing and
fussing and rebelling the kernel are
spending all day asking why rather than
spending time giving thanks in
everything God is up to something
if his delay is one negative on top of
another and you’re walking with him see
Joseph was walking with God and because
he was walking with God it was not
wasted time if you’re not walking with
God you don’t know what is going on and
you mad all the time
verse 21 of chapter 50 so therefore do
not be afraid I will provide for you and
your little ones my nieces and nephews
so he comforted them and spoke kindly to
them I need to read that again someone
you know already know where I’m going so
therefore do not be afraid I will
provide for you and for your little ones
so he comforted them and spoke kindly to
them when you have God’s point of view
you can relate to people who hurt you
differently
see if all you see are the people who
hurt you you did this to me and imma get
you I’ll not tell him is you didn’t see
the hand of God you thought that was all
about what they did but because Joseph
never lost sight of the hand of God when
they repented yes they repented they
said we were wrong we’re sorry and we
are scared because Joseph now has the
power of life and death he says don’t be
afraid I’m not only forgive you I’m
gonna take care of you I’m a comfort you
I’m gonna help you the recognition of
God’s sovereignty gave the freedom of
forgiveness many of us are living life
on a leash that we can’t shake and Satan
is holding the other end of the leash
because we can’t let it go because all
we see is what they did because we do
not have the eyes of God we do not see
what God was doing in allowing it even
though we were not at fault many of us
are in shackles and are looking for ways
we can get them i’ma get up let me show
you first Peter 3:9 pas so Peter says
these words not returning evil for evil
or insult for insult but giving a
blessing
instead for you were called for this
very purpose that you might inherit a
blessing
now they not going to tell you what I
just told you in the street they’re not
going to tell you that but we’re talking
about a spiritual perspective
he says rather than paying him back have
the mindset of giving a blessing so you
watch this inherit a blessing why
because you are looking at what God is
doing he released them from their debt
because he was looking at God’s
sovereignty if Joseph would have held on
to the grudge he would never have passed
the test and if he didn’t pass the test
he would never have been Haring in a
blessing he inherited a blessing because
he passed the test
many of us are being tested by the hand
of a sovereign God but he cannot elevate
us because we refuse to take it or pass
it and we’re living in bitterness and
anger because we saw the hand of man and
this the hand of God it’s time to push
the delete button
because you’re looking at the hand of
God it’s time to set somebody else free
so you can be set free because you’re
looking at the hand to God you’re not
stuck with the injustice because God is
up to something and he decided to use
the injustice to get you where he wanted
you to be
he said God used it to bring me to this
place one of the reasons that I’m in
Dallas today is a broken leg in a
football game a small thing a broken leg
in a football game
power broke my tibia and fibia
in a football game taken to the hospital
emergency surgery I remember laying on
the football field when this hit came I
was hit with a cross body block after
intercepting a passed by the way I held
on to the ball
just want to get that straight and not a
pump I held on to the ball I’m laid out
on the field and I will never forget it
I remember saying as I laid out on the
field not my will but thy will be done
cause like football with everything and
I live for football but that produced a
series of changes that led me to Bible
College where I met a professor who
encouraged me to come to Dallas seminary
where I met a professor who challenged
me to thought a church and so we all
here as Joseph said in this place God
wanted me in this place
and it was inspired cuz something got
broken if God is allowing something in
your life – how great rather than simply
going off on the one who hits you ass
would what is your will
what is your plan what place are you
taking me when astronauts are learning
to fly they are put in a flight
simulator where pilots are confronted
with every kind of conceivable flight
emergency it is there in the simulator
that they hone their responses and
skills until they can successfully face
them they are given difficulties so that
they can have the proper reaction when
the real thing comes the simulator
really hidden the real thing it just
feels like they are preparing them in
the test for when they get high but when
they’re elevated when they take off God
is allowing you in the simulator and
shaking up your world to hone in your
faith so that when he comes in and
allows you to take flight you know what
to do up there because you learn what to
do down
amen