God's Gospel Providence

Joy in Suffering and the Gospel of Grace

Praise God, what a great song of worship, man. I think I need to start getting some Kleenex because I was almost crying in here in the front seat. That's a wonderful song, is it not? Is he worthy? Yes, he is.

Wow.

Well, folks, please turn in your Bibles to the letter of Paul to the Philippians. So if you've been with us the last few weeks, we've started to really go through this wonderful letter of Paul to the church in Philippi as he is exhorting them and encouraging them in unity and to walk in obedience to the faith, a letter that's filled with many, many different themes, joy coming to the top, but really you could even say it's the letter of, maybe There's such a joy that is produced in living out the gospel, and as Paul writes about even in his own personal circumstances, it's a joy that's so strong based on the gospel that he can rejoice in the middle of very serious personal trial, dangerous personal trial.

No matter the earthly circumstance, we see joy coming from Paul, so it's a lesson that we can take and live out in our own lives. No matter what is going on in our lives, we can have joy because our hope is not in this world or the circumstances.

Our hope is in the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. So just a wonderful letter, the letter of Paul to the Philippians. So we want to start with, we're going to be looking today at 12 through 14, but we want to start, I think, back at verse 1.

Let's read it so we get the full context. We'll read up to verse 14. So chapter 1, verse 1. And of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to think this way about you all.

Because I have you in my heart, since both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are fellow partakers with me in this grace. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in full knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and without fault until the day of Christ, having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Verse 12. Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my chains in Christ have become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord because of my chains, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

We can think about what an amazing perspective that Paul has here. He's writing this from prison. And you can see in this first section, he's talking about joy. He is so reliant on God that his circumstances, he says, they're for good.

This has worked out for the progress. So I want you to know this. And so in the passage this morning, we can see God's gospel providence. And providence is a strong theme in this first section, really throughout the whole letter.

And God's sovereignty, even if we think about sovereignty versus providence, sovereignty is that God rules over all things, over all the creation, and that's including us. And providence is related to sovereignty, but it's a little bit different.

It's God's divine care and preservation for all of his creation, and that includes us. Because God is sovereign, then we can enjoy God's providence in our lives. And that's really what we want to focus on this morning, and that's what Paul is talking.

About.

He says, I am telling you that this has worked out for the better, as he's writing from prison. Providence, one way to define it, if we look at the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it's defined like this, God's most holy, wise, and powerful, preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions.

Now we're in Philippians, but I want us to look at that, and that's a very, really succinct, helpful definition of providence. But let's try to think about it from the scriptures and look at a biblical definition.

We're in Philippians, just turn a few pages back to Ephesians chapter 1, and we'll see Paul really define it very clearly. I like this definition better. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 11, really verses 11 and 12, but we're thinking about the biblical definition of providence.

And look at what Paul says in Ephesians 1, 11. He says, in him we also have been made an inheritance, having been predestined, here it is, according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.

That's providence, and that's a good biblical definition. So circle, highlight, underline, that's a really great definition. But look at what he adds onto that. We can't read verse 11 without reading verse 12.

If that's the biblical definition in 11, then this is the purpose in verse 12. He says, to the end, that we who have first hoped in Christ would be to the praise of his glory.

Amazing.

God's providence, according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his good. For his glory and for the benefit of his people. Now, as we are looking at those definitions and thinking about that, that's helpful.

And before we jump back over to Philippians, you can turn back right now, we're going to jump back to 12 through 14 here. But what about a biblical example of God's providence? If I say, what's an example of God's providence and sovereignty in the Bible?

Well, I want to think about one, and you may have, something may have come to your mind. Maybe not. We're going to go to Joseph. What a great story. 37 through 50 in the book of Genesis, this is the story of Joseph.

But really, it's the story of God. It's the story of God's providence. You think about a person's life, so here are just some images. The one with the pit is actually one of the proposed sites in Israel.

It's near Shechem, Dothan, where they think this may have been it. There's three proposed sites. It doesn't matter where, God knows. But the truth of this story and what we can learn from it, what an amazing thing to think.

About.

And I still want to point out a few things in this particular story. Joseph is taken by his brothers, and he's thrown into a pit, and they plan to murder.

Him.

They conspire to murder him, and they throw him in this pit. It's only the eldest son, Reuben, who talks his brothers out of it. And so then Joseph is taken and sold into slavery. He ends up in Egypt.

He ends up with a high-ranking official named Potiphar. And while he's there, Potiphar's wife makes false accusations against him, and he ends up in prison. He's sitting in prison, the scripture tells us, for two years.

For years, he's sitting in there. But in prison, it says that the hand of Yahweh was with him. And then something amazing happens. God gives him the ability to interpret dreams. And so he eventually interprets the dreams of Pharaoh, and he's put to a very high-ranking position right under the Pharaoh.

And in God's wisdom, in his providence, in his sovereignty over all of that situation, he gives Joseph the ability to foresee this famine that is coming. And it's a famine that is going to kill many, many, many people.

And eventually, he's reunited with the very brothers who conspired to murder him, the very brothers that sold him into slavery. And now they're there because they want to get part of some of this extra grain and the storage of this provision that Yahweh has allowed.

Not Joseph, but Yahweh. And the most important part of the Joseph story is in chapter 50, verse 20. As for you, he says this to his brothers, as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.

That's the most important part of the Joseph story. That's God's providence. Not only sovereign over all of those events, but caring for the people. Listen to what Joseph says, he says, God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive.

So God's providence is for the good. And for us as believers, it just goes a step further as we're going through trials. God was in the business of saving people. And even in that moment, you can think about people that are going to be starving to death, and then they come to this kingdom and they meet this man.

Whose God is that? That God must be the real God. This is a God of salvation. This day we owe our lives to his God, Yahweh. So even early on, the attractional evangelistic nature of the way God used the early saints in the scriptures.

So that's a good way to think about providence. And we can see that a little bit in what Paul is going through. A very difficult, serious trial, very dangerous, personal struggles are involved. But yet, he can see God working in it.

And so we can learn from Paul this morning. When these things happen in our lives, are we going to trust God, or do we oftentimes doubt God? And with Paul's help, I want to be able to say, yeah, we're going to trust the Lord.

Look at what God is doing in Paul's life. So as we go back to the letter of Paul to the Philippians, let's do just a little bit of a recap. We want to think about what was going on. Well, while Paul was visiting Jerusalem, some Jewish leaders had him arrested for preaching the gospel.

Paul appealed to Caesar to hear his case. Paul was then escorted by Roman soldiers to appear in Rome. In Rome, the apostle was placed under house arrest. He remained in house arrest while he was awaiting trial for proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.

Paul's house arrest allowed him to have some levels of freedom. He was allowed occasional visitors. He continued to minister the gospel to whoever he could, and he was allowed to write letters. But we have to keep in mind here, this isn't like a normal house arrest.

He's chained to a soldier. So he's in prison. Let's not sugarcoat it. Paul relayed to the Philippians his circumstances of being imprisoned for the sake of preaching the gospel. So that's important to think about, what Paul is doing as he's arrested.

He told the Philippians he rejoiced in those circumstances. And in the verses this morning, Paul gives us really some great insight. Paul shows us three empowering consequences of God's providence, so that you can understand your life and your purpose.

And that's really the sermon outlined before us, three consequences of God's providence. Number one, the progress of the gospel. Number two, the publicity of the gospel, and number three, the proclamation of the gospel.

The Progress of the Gospel in Paul’s Imprisonment

So let's look at verse 12. He says, now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. The meaning from Paul's perspective here is simple to understand.

He is telling us. He says, I want you to know. The verb Paul uses here for want can mean to desire to have or experience something, with the implication of planning accordingly, a wish, a want, or desire.

But it can also mean to plan on a course of action, intend, plan, or to will. And here Paul is using it in the latter sense. It is not just a wish or a want. Paul is intent on his course of action. It is his plan and will that the Philippians understand.

He doesn't want them to be merely aware. Paul wants them to get it. He wants them to understand. He is saying he wants them to be ones who know. He's expressing the intention that they will be ones who have come to the knowledge of God's sovereignty in the progress of the gospel.

And you can't get any more plain than that. Paul is saying his personal circumstances, which are not great at the time that he wrote this letter. His life is uncertainty. Will he be served up on a platter?

Is he gonna die? What's gonna happen? You know what's gonna happen? God knows what's gonna happen and Paul can trust in that. That's what's gonna happen. But his personal circumstances were very serious at the time.

But he says they've turned out for the profit of the gospel. And what a way to view a personal trial. Just think about that. When you go through bad circumstances in your life, do you think in that moment, how can I spread the gospel more?

And that's what Paul was doing. Think about that mindset. Paul was a human being like you or me. The power to have that mindset is from God, not Paul. The same God that had providence over Paul's life has providence over our lives.

Paul is very straightforward here. He wants his dear Philippians to know that his arrest and imprisonment are nothing to worry about. They have actually been a benefit to the gospel. Paul is rejoicing.

Paul is encouraging them. Paul's concern is for his dear friends and new family in the faith. Paul's concern is for the gospel. Paul starts his thought here in verse 12, the furtherance or the progress of the gospel.

In the next two verses, he'll give examples of what that progress means. This is the idea of forward movement. Think like armies moving forward despite having serious obstacles. When we go through personal trials, it is easy for us to become bitter or to give up.

Being arrested and imprisoned would cause many people to become bitter or to give up. I mean, just think about that. I'm called to go be the apostle to the Gentiles, but Lord, you're locking me up in prison?

How can I be out there preaching and sharing the gospel? Why am I in prison? But no, Paul did not become bitter. Paul trusted God. He trusted God's providence. Paul saw his imprisonment as an opportunity, an opportunity to spread the gospel.

Just think about it in your times where nothing is going on in terms of trial. Things seem like they're going well, smooth sailing. Do you look for opportunities to share the gospel in the good times?

Oftentimes, God uses trials to grow our dependence on him. And when we're going through something serious, we are thinking a lot about our salvation and we're thinking a lot about God in our lives. Often, our response to challenge is to seek the reason in order to escape from the circumstance.

Job is helpful here. Job teaches us that the proper response to trials is not to seek the reason, but it's to trust God and fear him alone. The apostle Paul understood that his present circumstances were not as important as what he chose to do with them.

Paul's bonds were not a hindrance to the gospel. Paul's bonds provided new opportunities to spread the good news of salvation. Paul did not turn a bad situation into a good one. And I have a note here, God did, but really it was already a good situation because in eternity past, God had already ordained this to happen.

No, Paul didn't turn a bad situation into a good one. The Lord already had a good situation, but it was a negative circumstance Paul was involved in. Paul's situation was a benefit because God is faithful.

God was faithful in his providence. Paul was faithful to Christ. Paul had a Christ mindset. He did a little outreach right there in prison. I mean, think about that. You think about prison ministry. What a new way to think about prison ministry.

Chained to a guard, his life on the line, not knowing what's gonna happen.

Can you imagine?

He's locked up for preaching the gospel and he's in prison preaching the gospel to the ones that have him locked up. That's prison ministry to a new level. Yeah, he preached the gospel to the soldiers.

He strengthened all the Christians who were terrified of persecution. Paul's intention is clear. The implication of what Paul is saying demonstrates God's providence over Paul's life. This demonstrates God's sovereignty over the gospel.

God is sovereign over all things. Despite Paul's dangerous circumstances, God remains in sovereign control. And not only that, God is using Paul's persecution for the advancement or progress of the gospel.

Is God sovereign over trials? And we can answer that. Is God sovereign over trials? Yes, amen, yes, he is. One supporting scripture may be from Luke. In Luke chapter 21, in the context of Christ's disciples asking him, teacher, what will be the sign of when these things are about to take place?

Referring to the end times. In Luke 21, it says this. Then he continued saying to them, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven but before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name's sake.

It will result in an opportunity for your testimony. So set in your hearts not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.

But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends and they will put some of you to death and you will be hated by all because of my name. Yet, not a hair of your head will perish.

By your perseverance, you will gain your lives. God was sovereign over the situation with Paul and God is sovereign over the future situation with what will happen to the church. God is sovereign in eternity past.

God is sovereign today, presently and God will be sovereign for eternity. So whatever's gonna be waiting for the church, God's got it covered. He's ordained that it's happening. And in God's providence, we will be like Paul.

As persecution ramps up in this world, we have nothing to worry about. When the Lord told his disciples to go therefore and make disciples, baptizing them, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you, he said, lo, I am with you even to the end of the age.

And think about what he said. All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Yet God is sovereign and in his providence, he will take care of us forever. No matter what you're going through and no matter what's gonna happen tomorrow, God is sovereign and because of that, he has providence over your life, a caring and preservation and enabling to proclaim.

So as things are ramping up in this world, the gospel is only gonna ramp up more and it's all because God's providence. I like to think about God's sovereignty over creation in a way that helps me to think about how great and powerful the Lord is.

So one example I'd like to share with you just by way of illustration is God's sovereignty over creation, God's sovereignty over creation. And one thing that's kind of neat in the nation of Israel or in the land of Israel, it's actually the acoustics of the Mount of Beatitudes, traditionally thought to be near the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum on the southern slopes of the Chorazin Plateau.

This is where traditionally it's accepted that the Sermon on the Mount took place. We know from the scriptures that it was near Capernaum and it says that the Lord walked up on top of the mountain and sat down.

But this really kind of just crazy thing, as you're sitting there looking at it, these pictures don't really do it justice. It's almost like a natural auditorium and it's just this huge area where you can visualize in your mind maybe just tens of thousands of people, a large number of people were there that when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount.

But some experiments have been done here and if you're at the very top of this thing looking down at the Sea of Galilee, I mean maybe just an image here for our help, you can think the water would just be below those group of people there.

Some folks were in a boat and they had a decibel meter and they were taking sound. And they had a person go to the very top in an area where Christ may have been. And that person just speaking, no amplification, maybe raising the voice a little bit as if you were preaching.

The person in the boat could hear them perfectly and pick up all of that sound. But think about that. In eternity past, before God made the earth, he already knew that he was gonna make this thing because someday the sun in his earthly ministry was gonna be there preaching the Sermon on the Mount.

Not randomly, before he made the foundation of the world. God is sovereign over creation. And that means that he's sovereign over us. And that's a really awesome thing to think about. Because God is sovereign, we can rely and we can trust in his providence.

This morning Paul shows us three empowering consequences of God's providence. So that you can understand God's purpose in your life. Number one, the progress of the gospel despite unique circumstances.

Despite unique circumstances. And number two, the publicity of the gospel. Verse 13. So that my chains in Christ have become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else. Now that Paul has made it crystal clear what he wants to say in verse 12, he then proceeds to give two examples of what the furtherance or the progress of the gospel means.

What is this progress? Well in verse 13 he gives his first example. The gospel has become well known to everyone. And the verb Paul uses to communicate this state of becoming is the idea to experience a change in nature.

And so indicate entry into a new condition. To become something. And it's used here with the adjective whole. To paraphrase the passive idea that the gospel is becoming known to all the palace guard. As Paul puts it, my chains in Christ or my bonds in Christ.

The gospel was becoming known. The people witnessing Paul's imprisonment recognized that Paul was not a criminal. Did you know that when you go through a personal trial, unbelievers are watching you? They're watching you.

People look at how Christians react to bad circumstances. Because you can't fake being a Christian during a trial. It's obvious to everyone watching whether they are looking at a genuine Christian or not.

The people watching Paul knew he had become a criminal because of his preaching of Jesus Christ crucified. There is a change in condition because of Paul's trial. His imprisonment brought awareness of the gospel to many.

His personal circumstances brought awareness to the gospel to many. His personal trials brought awareness of the gospel to many. Paul wants to make this known. This kind of resolve does not originate from Paul.

It is Paul's understanding of who God is. It is Paul's understanding of who Christ is. Trusting in the gospel, believing in God's providence. An understanding of Christ that develops a fearlessness. What is your understanding of Christ today?

Who is Christ to you? If you entrust yourself to the Father, you show you understand Christ. When Jesus was here in his earthly ministry, Christ entrusted himself to the Father every day he was on this earth.

Christ's life, death, and resurrection are the ultimate example of God's sovereign plan of redemption for mankind. A plan of reconciliation and peace with God set from the beginning in eternity past with Christ at the center.

Paul understood this and he wanted the Philippians to understand this. Today, this is for us to understand, to trust in God's providence. Paul knew God was sovereign. And I think I even need to be careful about that language.

Paul knows God is sovereign. Paul is alive, oh yes. He recognized while he was here that God's providence was part of his imprisonment. He knew that it was for the benefit of the gospel. Paul knew the benefit of knowing Christ.

Paul could rejoice in the middle of personal persecution because others will understand the benefit of knowing Christ. That's what his focus was on, the benefit of others. During Paul's imprisonment, he continued to preach the gospel.

He was allowed visitation and he was allowed to send letters out. Paul's priority in the midst of his persecution was the gospel. His priority was not to be delivered or rescued. His priority was for the benefit of others.

His priority was the gospel be known to everyone he came in contact with. God is sovereign over Paul's persecution because God is sovereign over the gospel. Paul is on house arrest amongst the elite soldiers of the Roman Empire.

I mean, you just think about, you're like handcuffed or chained to SEAL Team Six. These were the most elite soldiers. These were the guys that guarded Caesar. For what is a terrible situation for Paul, God has used it for the publicity of the gospel.

Because of Paul's incarceration, he is in a unique position to share the gospel with the top tier of Roman citizens, the very elites of society. This display of providence is a benefit for Paul's life because his life was the gospel.

Have you ever seen God's providence in your life? You think about a trial that you went through and on the other side of it, you think, wow, look at how God did everything. Look at how he worked everything out.

Have you ever felt God's divine protection in the middle of a difficult circumstance? If you're a Christian, you have. If Paul had not been arrested, this opportunity to make public the gospel may not have happened.

This was God doing this. Paul could publicize the gospel now more than he could have on his own. God's gospel providence is on full display. Is God's providence stronger than your personal trial? Yes, amen, yes it is.

And even a supporting scripture might be from 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter two, in the context of Paul encouraging the young pastor, Timothy, to persevere and what it means to be a good soldier under Christ's kingship.

He says, remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel, for which I endure hardship even to chains as a criminal. But the word of God has not been chained. For this reason, I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

It is a trustworthy saying, for if we died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we also will reign with him. If we will deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

No matter what, God will be faithful toward you because he's never going to deny himself. As believers, we can rely on it. It's the truth, it's a fact, and it's right here in the scriptures. Paul was sovereign over Paul's life.

Paul trusted in God's providence. God's providence really in allowing endurance, just a little picture here. I mean, imagine this, he's chained to a guard. He doesn't know what is going to happen to him.

His head could be lopped off. So what is he doing? He's writing letters to the churches that he planted. He's thinking about his own disciples. He's thinking about those that he loves in Christ. He's not thinking about how he's gonna get sprung out of the situation.

He's thinking about his brothers and sisters in Christ, and he's thinking about the lost and unbelieving in the world. He's thinking about the salvation of the very guards that are holding him in prison.

His focus is not on himself, it's outward. First, it's toward God and his trust in God's providence, and then it's toward others, for the glory of God and for the good of his people. Paul was trusting in God's sovereignty through this situation.

Nobody could write these words if they weren't, and Paul was. Three empowering consequences of God's providence. The progress of the gospel, and here we see the publicity of the gospel, despite serious difficulties.

The Proclamation of the Gospel Without Fear

And number three, the proclamation of the gospel. And that most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord because of my chains, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Remember in verse 12, Paul laid out his intention in writing these few lines.

He wanted people to know his personal circumstances. While negative and even scary from a human perspective, they had worked out for good. His imprisonment had worked out for the progress of the gospel.

In verse 13, he gave his first example of this reality, the publicity of the gospel. God uses redeemed sinners like you and I to make the gospel public. A born-again Christian's personal testimony is a public testimony.

And that's a really neat thing to think about. Your testimony is a public testimony. I pray it's a genuine testimony, that you know Christ, that you trust in God, and you seek God's providence in your life during difficult times, that your focus is on him and how you can share the gospel in these difficult situations.

In this verse, Paul gives another example of what he meant by the progress of the gospel. He makes it clear. Trusting in the Lord more as a result of Paul's difficulties. The ones who have heard of Paul's struggle are more confident.

And the word Paul uses here for confident comes from a word that actually has the meaning to cause to come to a particular point of view. This is a particular point of view or course of action to persuade or to convince.

Here, Paul is using the word to describe the state of persuasion of the ones who have heard. They are not doing the persuading, they are persuaded. They are convinced. They have become confident. Paul is using the word in the sense to be so convinced that one puts confidence in something, to depend on it, to trust in it.

You can be confident in God today through Jesus Christ. Confidence through the word of God. Have you ever considered that your personal testimony is a witness to the gospel? Have you ever considered that your personal testimony may give an unbelieving sinner confidence in the gospel?

And your personal testimony may give a brother or sister in Christ confidence to share the gospel in a way they wouldn't have before. When they look at your reaction to the negative circumstances you're going through and they see a person that is trusting in God and is full of joy in the gospel of grace, they say, wow, that person's a real Christian.

What do I have to be afraid of? And now I'm confident and without fear, I'm gonna share the word of God. That's what Paul has for us here. That's what he has for the Philippians. Paul gave a powerful witness to the gospel as a prisoner.

It was a demonstration of God's faithfulness to his children. The believers and fellow prisoners were emboldened, not because they were very courageous people. And I'm sure some were courageous, but that's not the point.

The point is is that their courage comes from the knowledge that God is the source of their strength. They have seen God's providence and provision over Paul's persecution. And the result, they trust God more.

They are convinced. And so we have to ask the question, are you convinced? Are you convinced? Being convinced of God's sovereignty, the people are now courageous and speak the word without fear. More Christians were proclaiming the word with courage.

Are you afraid of sharing your faith? Whether it's a good time or things are smooth sailing, are you afraid of sharing your faith? Do you speak the gospel boldly with coworkers, with fellow students, with friends, or with family?

The dreaded family category. Sometimes sharing your testimony with your immediate family is more difficult than even with a stranger. Do you speak the gospel boldly with coworkers, with fellow students, with friends, or with your family?

Being convinced of God's providence equals fearlessness. The progress of the gospel is that Paul's imprisonment has caused believers to proclaim the gospel without fear. Not only were they not afraid of imprisonment, they were bold to speak the word.

Paul is letting the Philippians know that his imprisonment is directly causing believers to have more confidence in the Lord. Today we might not be in prison, but any day can be filled with enough trouble to cause us to be discouraged.

Personal struggle is littered really throughout all of our lives. Times of uncertainty, times of indecision. There are financial burdens, family conflict, church conflict, the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one, our own health is threatened.

I believe how we respond to the trials in our lives reveal what we really believe. Whatever you've been through, God is sovereign. Whatever you're going through, God is sovereign. Whatever's gonna happen tomorrow, God is sovereign.

God cares about you and loves you and desires for you to trust him. We can trust God completely because of Jesus Christ. And Paul is a marvelous example for us as believers. Let us be like Paul in this example because Paul is imitating Christ.

Jesus is the ultimate example. We can look for opportunities to proclaim our faith despite difficult circumstances. We can demonstrate our faith in the midst of a bad situation. The situation may improve, the situation may worsen.

No matter the circumstances of the trial, faith will grow stronger if the priority is the gospel. Is God sovereign over your personal circumstances? Yes, amen, yes he is. One supporting scripture to think about for this outline point would be 2 Corinthians chapter three.

In the context of Paul writing to the Corinthians explaining to them what it means to be ministers of the new covenant. He says, therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness and are not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the consequence of what was being brought to an end.

But their minds were hardened for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains unlifted because it is brought to an end in Christ. But to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart.

But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as from the Lord, the spirit.

Because of our hope in the gospel, we can have boldness to share the gospel. We can make the gospel the priority of the situation and that's God's purpose in every single believers life that you would go out and tell people about Jesus Christ.

What has he done for you? Your salvation and sharing the gospel. That is the purpose of our lives as Christians to the praise and glory of God the father just as it was with the son. When Jesus was here in his earthly ministry, he entrusted himself to the father and he lived his life according to this purpose to share the gospel to the praise and glory of God the father.

He is our master. He is our teacher. We are his disciples. We should be just like him. If we say we abide in Christ, we ought to walk as he walked. You know, this is what Paul is talking about, trusting in God's gospel providence.

One example from this and I think to kind of wrap it up to the sort of connect this to the beginning introduction, thinking about the definition of providence, we're gonna look at this quote from John Frame.

It's from his article titled Providence in All of Life. It's from 2012. I think this is really helpful. He says, start quotation, the Westminster Shorter Catechism defines providence in the answer to question 11.