Romans: Election, Israel, and Covenant Mercy

The Difference Between Fear And Faith - Part 3 of 3

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2017-03-14

Synopsis: In this third part of a series on faith versus fear, Pastor John Weaver teaches that faith rejoices in God's providence while fear ridicules it. He defines providence as God's sovereign control over all things, from the casting of lots to the falling of sparrows. Using Numbers 13–14, he shows how the Israelites' fear led them to rebel, accuse God of evil, and wish for death in Egypt or the wilderness. Faith, exemplified by Job, David, and Eli, submits to God's will regardless of circumstances. Applications include memorizing key verses, being careful what we wish for, and submitting to God's providence even in painful trials.

[John Weaver] All right, let's open our Bibles today to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13.

[John Weaver] Numbers chapter 13 and let's just read the first two verses. Since this is actually part three of a three part message I am going to take a few moments to review. But notice Numbers chapter 13 verse 1, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel. Of every tribe of their father shall you send a man, every one a ruler among them. Then the rest of the passage down to verse 16, list the names of the individuals who were sent to spy out the land. I told you that Numbers chapter 13 and 14 were prime examples of what I was going to call the differences between faith and fear. And we've been looking at that, and I pointed out how faith and fear are in reality opposites. And if you're exercising faith, then you're not living in fear. If you're living in fear, then obviously you're not exercising faith. The Bible teaches us that perfect love casteth out fear.

[John Weaver] But the Bible also teaches us that faith will cast out fear. For in Mark chapter 4 and verse 40, our Lord said to his disciples, when they saw the storm on the sea, why are you so fearful? Have you no faith? In other words, if you had faith, then you would not be fearful. But since you are fearful it is obvious that you are not exercising faith. And then I pointed out also how imperative faith is to us because Hebrews 11 verse 6 says, But without faith it is impossible to please Him.

[John Weaver] For he that cometh to God must first believe that He is, and then second that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. So in the first part of this series I really dealt with one point and that is just that faith regards the promises of God and fear disregards the promises of God. In fact I went on further and I said that fear basically despises the promises of God. And fear even actually calls God a liar. Fear is the foundation of rebellion because when one is in fear he does not act He just simply reacts. And the only possible outcome for a failure to obey is that you are going to be disobeying and disobedience is in essence rebellion itself. So in the second message also pointed out how faith respects the power of God and fear disrespects the power of God. We could accurately say then that fear does not believe God. not either His promises or His power because fear is indeed the opposite of faith. According to fear God cannot do that which He has promised.

[John Weaver] So fear then basically denies the omnipotence of God, that God is all powerful. It also denies His veracity and His truthfulness. So I pointed out how Joshua and Caleb were the only two of the 12 spies that spoke truthfully concerning the land. And it was Joshua and Caleb who said, look, we are well able to go up and take this land, let's do it right now. They not only believed God's promises there in verse 2 where He said that God gave them that land, they believed that God would enable them to conquer that land. But it was the 10 spies who said, no, no, no, it is the land that he did up the inhabitants thereof, and It's a bad land.

[John Weaver] Moreover, we saw there the children of Anak, the giants, and no, we can't do that. We were as grasshoppers in our sight, and so were we in their sight as well. And so I pointed out how fear always magnifies your enemies and always magnifies obstacles. And at the same time, while fear is magnifying obstacles and your enemies, is minimizing the strength that you have. Because they said, we are as grasshoppers.

[John Weaver] In other words all those people have to do is just step on us and mash us and that is all there is to it. And so they were totally discounting their own power. And you must remember Israel at this point had over 600,000 men of war. And moreover they were totally discounting the power of God as well. So fear basically disregards not only the power of God but But it also disregards facts and evidences. When I say that, you've got to remember, they did bring back the fruit of the land.

[John Weaver] So there it was in front of them. The people could see that it was indeed a land full of milk and honey, just like the Lord promised. But fear is unreasonable. And you cannot reason with fear. You cannot argue with fear. Fear does not listen to logic. Fear just simply reacts. And fear then declares that God is either not God or that God is either unable or unwilling to fulfill His promises. And what fear does is basically this, it forces us to turn from God and God's way, and it forces us to turn to our own way. So in fear what we do, we come back and we do what we think is best under the circumstances. rather than just simply obeying God. So fear and faith are basically opposites.

[John Weaver] Then I pointed this out in the last two messages that fear is the foundation for rebellion. And so today I come to the third and final point and that is this, faith rejoices in the providence of God and fear ridicules the providence of God. Let me begin by defining providence for you. Stop and think. Providence may be defined as that continued exercise of divine energy, or the power of God, whereby the Creator preserves all of His creatures, is operative in all that comes to pass in the world, and directs everything to its appointed end.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to give you two theological definitions. The first one is taken from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 11 asks, what is providence? And the answer comes back here, God's works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions. So God's providence includes the governing of all of His creatures and all of their actions. And then the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith answers providence and says this, God the good creator of all things in his infinite power and wisdom doth uphold, direct, dispose and govern all creatures and things from the greatest even to the least by his most wise and holy providence to the end for the which they were created according unto His infallible foreknowledge, and the free, immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy."

[John Weaver] So, let me boil all that down with this. When we're talking about God's providence, we're talking about whatever comes to pass in time and in history. When we talk about God's providence, we're also talking about an aspect of God's sovereignty, as well as an aspect of His omnipotence. Because if God was not sovereign, and if God did not have all power, then He could not control everything and work everything out according to His own counsel and His own will.

[John Weaver] Probably most of you in this group Romans 8 and verse 28. And you have read it and probably have quoted it many times. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose. So here is my question, how then do we know that all things work together for good? And the answer is we know that because God is sovereign, God is all powerful, and God is in control. Regardless of what happens, we know that God is in absolute control.

[John Weaver] Now, if you understand Divine Providence, then you understand this doctrine teaches that Christians are never, or really ain't But especially Christians are never in the grip of what we would call the blind forces of fate, chance, luck, and fortune. Let me just say this again. There is no such thing as luck, chance, fate, or fortune in a world that is ruled by God. You either have God's providence or you have luck, chance, fate, and fortune. And I don't know about you, but I'll take God's providence every time. that happens in this world and everything that happens to us is divinely planned.

[John Weaver] And each incident summons us to trust in the Lord and to teach us to obey Him and to rejoice in His work in bringing things to pass in our lives. So let me say it like this, if you understand divine providence there is no such thing as an accident. They're only incidents. God allows them to happen for our good and His glory. So, therefore, to despise God's providence is to despise God. And when you and I bellyache and whine and complain about our circumstances, we're basically attacking the providence of God. And as we attack the providence of God, we are actually attacking God Himself. In our attack then, in essence, becomes rebellion, and we find ourselves fighting against God. We're provoking Him. We're challenging Him. So here's what basically happens. If you say, well, all right, I have no problem believing that God is sovereign. I have no problem believing that God is omnipotent. I have no problem believing that God is in control of everything. Well, interestingly, here's what we do in our lives even as Christians.

[John Weaver] Well, we will rejoice in that which we call good or blessed providence and we'll praise God. And then when something bad or hurtful happens to us, we don't praise God. And when we think about good and bad from our perspective, or good and hurtful, then we are the ones that are determining what is good and what is bad, or what is good and what is hurtful. In other words we are placing our definition upon the work of God. Thus what we end up doing is passing judgment upon God and upon His work. Now stop and think about that.

[John Weaver] Whenever we begin to bellyache and complain we are saying, It ought not to be like this. It shouldn't be like this. I laugh because I heard about one church that was praying against, I think it was a tavern and a gambling house. It was close to the church and they were praying against it. And a tornado came by and just totally wiped it off the map. And the Christians were saying, praise the Lord. The Lord took care of that old liquor house and that gambling house. Well, the next month the church building burned down. And now they're saying the devil did it. Really? Really? Well, if you believe that God is sovereign, God that allowed that gambling house to be torn apart by a tornado is the same God that allowed that church building to be burned down as well.

[John Weaver] So, you have to understand There are things that happen to us, and things that happen in this world, we may not understand them, we may not comprehend them, we may not like them, but that's immaterial. It is still the hand of God that brings things to pass. And He does so for His glory and our good. So faith then rejoices in God's providence. Faith rejoices in God's providence regardless of the situation and regardless of the circumstances. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] I want you to hold number 13. We're coming back there. But if you would turn right over to the book of Job chapter 1. Job chapter 1. And I want you to look, if you would, at verses 20 through 22. Watch this carefully. Job chapter 1. beginning with verse 20. And before I read the passage, let me just remind you that Job would be what you and I would call a multi-millionaire. And Job was an extremely wealthy individual. And in one day, Job went from a multi-millionaire to a pauper. One day. In one day, he lost everything he had. And in that same day, he lost 10 children, all 10 of his children, all his cattle, all his camels, all his sheep, he lost everything. And if you look in Job 1 in verse 20, when Job found out that all of his children were dead, all of his animals were gone, verse 20, then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head fell down upon the ground and worshiped and said naked came out of my mother's

[John Weaver] womb and Naked shall I return thither the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away Blessed be the name of the Lord in all this Job sin not or charge God foolishly Now can you fathom? What Job must have been going through? to have lost everything in one day, and yet he bowed and worshiped and blessed God. And the Scripture said in all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

[John Weaver] If you would turn back in your Bibles to 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel chapter 12, here's another illustration. would not like this providence but yet here is what David did. You will remember how David had sinned with Bathsheba and a child was conceived and a child was born and then God took the child. So in 2 Samuel chapter 12 beginning there with verse 19, and when David saw that his servants whispered David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped. Then he came to his own house, and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? Thou didst fast and weep for the child while it was alive, but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, while the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, who can tell whether God will be gracious to me that the child may live?

[John Weaver] But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, he shall not return unto me." Notice if you would, when David found out the child was dead, he arose and worshiped. I'm sure David did not like the circumstance. David would have preferred it to have been different, but it was not different. And so he worshipped God regardless. You remember Eli? God had a problem with Eli because he did not restrain his own sons, Hophni and Phinehas. And God came to Samuel, and God told Samuel exactly what he was going to do to Eli in his house. And the next day when Eli woke up, he called little Samuel and he said, everything that God told you." Samuel said, okay, here is what is going to happen. God is going to take the priesthood away from your family. And the iniquity which you and your sons have committed will never be purged with sacrifice. In other words, they are not going to be forgiven. Moreover, God is going to kill both of your sons, Hophni and Vinyas, in one day.

[John Weaver] in 1 Samuel chapter 3 and verse 18 Eli's response was this, it is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him best. Isn't that amazing? Here is a man that just lost the priesthood, his family lost it, his sons were going to die, it is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good.

[John Weaver] Now since we are talking about divine providence there are a couple of verses I want you to turn to. I want you to look in Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 33. I want you to see how minute God's providence is, how it controls everything. So in Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 33 the Bible says this, Proverbs 16 verse 33, the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Now the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." This is a powerful verse demonstrating not only the providence of God, but also His absolute control and sovereignty over all things.

[John Weaver] The casting of lots, or the rolling of dice, or any such thing seems very casual to man. But yet the Bible tells us The outcome is directed and determined by God's counsel and God's providence. It is not chance. It is not luck. It is not fate. It is not fortune. It is God's providence. Think of all the dice that have been thrown in this world. Think of all the lots that have been given. And yet there was no randomness about it according to this verse.

[John Weaver] It was all at the disposal of God Himself. I don't know if you remember, but in 1 Samuel chapter 14, Saul, King Saul, had cursed everyone with a curse if they ate anything before the enemies were destroyed. Well, Jonathan didn't hear that. And he took his rod and dipped it in some honey, touched it to his tongue, and his eyes were enlightened. And oh, everybody said, Jonathan, your daddy gave a curse. Well of course now the army is at a standstill and Saul wants to know what happened. And so he prays in 1 Samuel 14, verse 41, Therefore Saul said unto the Lord God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan his son were taken, and the people escaped. So here is the lot cast between Saul and Jonathan and the people. And Saul and Jonathan are taken. The lot was cast again and Jonathan was taken. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 1. Look at this. Acts chapter 1. And let's begin reading there with verse 23.

[John Weaver] Acts chapter 1. Look at it if you would. Everyone knows that Judas went out and hanged himself. He was one of the 12. So in Acts 1 in verse 23, in fact let's read verse 22, verse 21, Wherefore of these men which have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the same day that He was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection.

[John Weaver] So there is the qualifications to be an Apostle. And they appointed to Joseph called Barsippus, who was surnamed Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, Thou, Lord, which knoweth the hearts of all men, show whither these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministering apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Notice, if you would, Matthias was chosen by Lot. So, in the Old Testament, Lots were cast.

[John Weaver] Even the high priest, you remember, had in his vest the Urim and the Thummim. When someone asked a question, he would put his hand in, pull out one. One was a yes, the other was a no. In the New Testament, they cast Lots. Now, before you ask, let me answer the question. No, we do not cast Lots today. And the reason we don't cast lots today is because we have the full, final, and complete revelation of God.

[John Weaver] We have it all written out for us. Okay? All we need to do is to read it, and study it, and apply it, and we will understand God's perfect will. They did not have this book when they were casting lots. If you remember, The soldiers even cast lots for the robe of Jesus Christ. You remember that? But no, we do not cast lots today. Now, listen carefully. The point that I made in reading Proverbs 6 and verse 33 is that God is in control of all things, even the rolling of dice or the casting of lots. That is God's providential control. John Trapp, one of the old Puritans, said this on Proverbs 16, verse 33.

[John Weaver] He said, this sentence at first seems light and unworthy of the place it holds in this book. But as every line in the Holy Bible is pure, precious, and profitable, So this sets forth a matter of very great moment. In other words, that the providence of God extends to the disposing of all things, even those things also in the regard of as are merely contingent or casual. So if you took a couple of dice in your hand and you shook them up, and you throw them out on this table, you would think that was something very casual. And the outcome, you would think, would be contingent on how you held them in your hand and how you rolled them.

[John Weaver] But Proverbs 16, verse 33 says no. The outcome is in the providence of God.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 10 and look at verse 29. Matthew 10, verse 29. Here's another passage that actually deals with God's providential control. In Matthew chapter 10 and verse 29, our Lord says this. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? A farthing was not much.

[John Weaver] And a sparrow is not very precious. There's multitudes of them. And yet it says, not one of them shall fall to the ground without your heavenly Father. Now, when you hear the phrase, fall to the ground, you automatically think that here's a little sparrow that's gotten shot or a little sparrow that's gotten hurt and he falls to the ground. Well, that would certainly be inclusive of this. But the word fall there literally could be interpreted as lights. So that means a sparrow cannot even light on the ground without your Heavenly Father.

[John Weaver] If you've ever noticed sparrows, we have a bird feeder in the front of the house, and I had one behind our house, and I'd look at it out my office window. And all of these sparrows, up and down, up and down, up a thousand times an hour. And here's what this verse says, not one, can light or fall on the ground without your heavenly Father. He controls it. Look, if you would please, in verse 30. He goes farther. He says, but the very hairs of your head are numbered. So you can't even lose a hair without the providence of God. When he says the very hairs of your head are numbered, God has to take better care of some folks than others.

[John Weaver] See, Marshall, he has to watch out for him. Me, I don't have many hairs, so. So, you know, that's the way it goes. But notice, if you would please, he's talking about what you and I would call insignificant. When you brush your hair, comb your hair, there's a few hairs there. They can't even come out of your head apart from God's sovereign providence. John Drapp, not John, but Thomas Boston, an old Puritan said this, watch, and he is talking about Matthew 10 verse 29, he said, Our Lord here is encouraging his disciples against all the troubles and distresses that they might meet with in their way and particularly against the fear of men by the consideration of the providence of God which reaches unto the meanest of things sparrows and the hairs of your head. Sparrows are of a mean price and small value. And yet as far as mean as they are, God preserves them, guides and disposes all things concerning them so that one of them cannot fall to the ground by shot or any other way while his sovereign ordering and disposal.

[John Weaver] So faith then understands that nothing happens apart from God's sovereign providence. Fear, on the other hand, which I'm going to show you, despises and ridicules God's providence. Fear refuses to listen to God. Fear refuses to obey God. Let me go further. Fear provokes God. Fear refuses to believe even that which it sees. Fear deprives us of God's blessings. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 14 because I'm going to show you, I've been saying that fear is the foundation of rebellion. And I want you to look in Numbers chapter 14 at verses 22 and 23. Look what God says. Numbers 14 verse 22.

[John Weaver] Because all those men which have seen my glory and my miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened unto my voice. Surely they shall not see the land which I swear to their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoke me see it." Now I want to call your attention to the fact in verse 22 God says these people tempted Him ten times. Then when you get to verse 23 He says that they provoked Him. So God says that they tempted Him ten times. Ten is the number of completeness that is why we have the Ten Commandments. And so what God is telling us here is that God is fed up with His people. He is fed up with their wickedness. He is fed up with their rebellion and therefore He is going to destroy them.

[John Weaver] Now there are some commentators that will say, number 10 here is a certain number given for an uncertain amount. They are saying you don't really know the amount of times they tempted and provoked God. And so God just simply said 10 since it is a number of completeness. However, if you go through the Bible and you count how they tempted God twice at the sea, Exodus chapter 14. Twice concerning water in Exodus 15 and 17. Twice concerning the manna in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11. Twice concerning the quail in Exodus 16 and Numbers 14 it was, and Exodus 16 and Numbers 11. Once by the calf in Exodus chapter 32. And once in the wilderness of Paran, Numbers chapter 14 which we are going to look at. That amounts to 10 times.

[John Weaver] That's 10 provocations or 10 temptations. So let me just say this again. Fear provokes God. Fear basically despises God's providence.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you. Look in Numbers chapter 14 beginning there with verse 1. Numbers 14 verse 1. And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. And the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would God we had died in this wilderness? And wherefore hath the Lord brought us into this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? Were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return Egypt.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to point out a number of things. First of all, if you look in verse 1, and all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night. So it is not just the ten spies now who are despising God and God's land, it is the fear that they brought that the people now have absorbed. And now the whole congregation is weeping and crying and saying, woe is me, we are in an awful lot of trouble. Secondly, let me point out verse 2, and all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron.

[John Weaver] Now here is an interesting question. How in the world could the situation that these people are in be the fault of Moses and Aaron? Stop and think about this. It was the spies who sinned. It was the spies who conveyed their fear. Now the people absorbed that fear and they disobeyed God. But now why are they murmuring against Moses and against Aaron? Certainly Moses and Aaron were their leaders. They were their guide. But the very fact that they're murmuring against them now shows their insolence. these leaders and their base in gratitude to God as well as their fear and defiance. I'm going to show you once you are absorbed with fear you are not afraid to strike out at God or man. Usually when you are afraid you strike out at someone. You take a man that's drowning and someone dives in to rescue him. The rescuer has to be exceedingly careful because the drowning man in fear will oftentimes try to drown the ones that come to rescue him.

[John Weaver] You have to be trained. The point I'm trying to make is this. These people were in fear and therefore they were blame shifting. It is Moses' fault. It is Aaron's fault. They are condemning someone. They are accusing someone. And usually when someone moves in fear the accusations and the condemnation and the blame shifting usually falls on someone who is absolutely totally innocent. Let me tell you something, neither Moses nor Aaron could keep the people in faith. Neither Moses nor Aaron could keep the people in in obedience to God. I can't keep you in faith. I can't make you believe. I can't make you obey. I can't keep your heart. Neither could they keep the hearts of these people. But fear is not afraid to condemn man, and it is certainly not afraid to condemn God. Now look if you would at the rest of verse 2, And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. And the whole congregation said unto them, Listen, here is what they said to Moses and Aaron, would God that we had died in the land of Egypt?

[John Weaver] Or would God that we had died in this wilderness? Now, the Hebrew word for would can literally be translated, oh, that it might be. Or oh, I wish it could have been. Or if only. Or would that. Can you believe this? They said, would God that we had died in the land of Egypt. I wish we had died in the land of Egypt. They had rather have died slaves in great destitution and hated and despised than to live free. And then they said, would God we had died in this wilderness.

[John Weaver] What are they talking about? Well, look back in Numbers 11, beginning there with verse one. Look at Numbers 11, verse one. This may surprise you. Watch carefully. Numbers 11 verse 1, And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord. And the Lord heard it, and His anger was kindled. And the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses. And when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched. Here the people were bellyaching, complaining, and God sent fire and consumed them in His judgment and in His wrath. And here the people are saying, What did God, that we had died with them?

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. How irrational can you be? How could anyone say I'd rather have died a slave in Egypt than to live free and I'd rather have died of the wrath and judgment of God and be burned to death than be alive right here in this wilderness. Yet that's exactly what they're saying. I don't know about you, but I think I would refer to these people as fearful idiots. And they had to be an idiot to want to die under God's wrath and God's judgment or to live and die as a slave. Now, that's bad, but that's not as bad as fear can make it.

[John Weaver] Look, if you would please, in verse 3 of Numbers chapter 14. Here's what they said. Wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? Were it not better for us to return unto Egypt?

[John Weaver] Now, the Bible says in Proverbs 29, verse 25, the fear of man bringeth a snare. Brother, they did get ensnared right here. In fearing man, they did not fear God. Look what they said. Wherefore hath the Lord brought us into this land? Why did God bring them there? Well, they said, He brought us here to fall by the sword. He brought us here that our wives and our children should be a prey. He brought us out here to kill us. The insanity of their fear demonstrates itself when they accuse God of deception and cruelty as if He were betraying them to the Canaanite nations and leading them forth to slaughter. Their fear of their enemies led them to believe that God had deceived them, betrayed them, and confounded them by bringing them into their deaths.

[John Weaver] Now, they're going to repay all of the miracles and all the mercies that God has shown to them by calling God a wicked, cruel, desperate, and tyrant. Hmm. They're even calling Him a traitor.

[John Weaver] Now, you and I can sit here and say, wow, I'm glad I'm not like that. My comment would be, really? Because when you and I bellyache and complain and whine that God does not love us, because if he did, he wouldn't let such and such happen to us. He wouldn't let it happen to our family. God just doesn't love us. Really? What are we doing? We're doing exactly the same thing that these people did in Numbers chapter 14. We're accusing God of being a wicked, cruel, despot, and tyrant, that He doesn't love us, that He did this just to destroy us. He did this just to hurt us. And like these unbelieving Israelites, we accuse God wrongfully and wickedly. They said God brought us out here to kill us. He did not.

[John Weaver] But that's what fear said. Fear is not afraid to condemn God. Fear is not afraid to challenge God. Fear is not afraid to blaspheme God. I want you to see the height of their impiety. Let's put verse 3 and 4 together. Look at the latter part of verse 3. Look what they said. Were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, let us make a captain and let us return into Egypt. Here is a formal renunciation of the authority of Moses and their flat-out rebellion against God. You have to remember that in Egypt their lives were made bitter with rigor and suffering. God had provided for these people. He gave them manna. He gave them meat.

[John Weaver] The shoes of their feet did not wear out. Their clothes did not wear out. And now they're saying we had it better off in Egypt under Pharaoh Then we have it here under God. So what we need to do is we need to go back to Egypt. Let's appoint a captain and go back into captivity. Let's go back into slavery. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of, let's see, Nehemiah chapter 9, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Look at Nehemiah 9. According to Nehemiah 9, they did exactly what they said. Look at Nehemiah 9 in verse 17. In fact, let's read verse 16. Nehemiah 9, verse 16.

[John Weaver] But they and our fathers dealt proudly and hardened their necks and hearkened not to thy commandments and refused to obey. Neither were mindful of thy wonders which thou didst among them, but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not." Did you hear that? They appointed a captain to return to their bondage. Fear refuses to obey. Fear refuses to be led by God's man. Fear refuses to recognize the office of authority.

[John Weaver] Moses was not going to take them back into Egypt. Neither was Aaron. And here's what fear says. Fine. If you don't want to take us back into Egypt, we'll appoint someone who will. We don't have to listen to you. We'll do what we want to do.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to call your attention to one truth that I have enunciated over and over in the last two messages. I told you that fear was the foundation of rebellion. I want you to look at Nehemiah chapter 9, and notice if you would now, verse 16, watch. But they and our fathers dealt proudly, there's pride, hardened their necks, hearkened not to thy commandments, refused to obey, Neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them, but hard their necks, and in their what? In their rebellion, appointed a captain to return to the bondage. They refused to obey. They were not mindful of God's wonders, of God's miracles, of God's grace, of God's mercies.

[John Weaver] They forgot all of them. We're not interested in those. We are going to do what we want to do. They hardened their necks and in their rebellion they appointed a captain to return to Egypt.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 1. I am going to show you it is not just Nehemiah that points this out, but Moses the man of God also pointed it out in Deuteronomy chapter 1. So I want you to begin looking there at verse 22. Deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 22. Watch carefully. Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 22, Moses said, And you came near unto me, every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.

[John Weaver] And the saying pleased me well. And I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe, And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came into the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. And they took the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land, which the Lord our God doth give us. Notwithstanding, you would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God. And you murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us. He has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

[John Weaver] Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is greater and taller than we. The cities are great and walled up to heaven, and over we have seen the sons of the Anacoms there." What? Did you read that? Verse 26, notwithstanding said Moses, you would not go up but rebelled against the Lord. Why would they not go up? Because of their fear. In their fear of the giants, and in their fear of fighting them, they said, we're not going to do it. We're just not going to do it. Fear is the foundation of rebellion. When you are fearful, you're not going to obey. You're going to do that which you think is going to save your hide, regardless of what God says. And fear is the foundation of rebellion.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to understand that faith regards the promises of God. Fear disregards them. Faith respects the power of God. Fear disrespects the power of God. Faith rejoices in God's providence, whatever it is. Fear ridicules God's providence. Fear is not afraid to blaspheme God.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to make just a couple of applications in closing. The first one I actually made last week, and I want to make it again. I believe there are three verses that you ought to memorize. If you haven't memorized them, you should do so. The first one is 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 7. For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So if you're afraid, If you are filled with fear, it did not come from God. It may come from your flesh, the world or the devil, but it did not come from God. So you should memorize 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7. The second one is Isaiah 12 and verse 2 where the scripture says, Behold God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song and He also has become my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid." And the third one is Psalm 56 and verse 3, where David said, what time I'm afraid I will trust in thee.

[John Weaver] And if you're trusting in God, then the fear is going to be dispelled. So I would encourage you to memorize those three passages. The second one is this. We need to be very careful for what we wish for. Because these Israelites said, oh, I wish I'd died in Egypt. Oh, I wish I'd died in this wilderness. God said, okay. I'll fulfill that wish. And for 40 years, they died in the wilderness. You remember in Psalm 78 how they belly ached against God, and we're tired of this manna, although manna was perfect.

[John Weaver] We want meat, we want meat. Guess what Psalm 78 says when God sent the quail. He gave them the desires of their hearts. And while the meat was in their mouth, he slew the fattest of them. You better be careful what you wish for. because God may just allow you to have it. The third application is this. God's providence must be bowed to and submitted to regardless of the circumstances.

[John Weaver] Since we're human, we're frail, and we're weak, And there are things that are grievous to us. Some folks have lost a mate, a spouse. Some have lost children. Some lost brothers and sisters. I just found out this week, I did not know the young lady personally, but I know the family. 20 years old, in school in Colorado, raped and murdered by an 18-year-old boy. That's got to be difficult. That's got to be hard.

[John Weaver] Why would God allow something like that? The answer is, for His own honor and glory, and ultimately for our good. I may not understand it. I may not be able to comprehend it, but I must believe that God is in absolute control, regardless of the circumstances or the situation in my life. And I will tell you this, the easiest way and the quickest way out of a very trying circumstance and situation is by yielding and submitting to God and giving Him the honor and glory. It's just like when Job lost everything that he had.

[John Weaver] He bowed and worshiped, and he said, Blessed be the name of the Lord. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. In all this, Job sinned not with his lips, nor charged God foolishly. God is in control in our lives, in the lives of His people. He's in control of everything, even the wicked. And God is going to only allow that to come to pass which will glorify Him and ultimately be for our good. So whatever God brings in our lives, it's good. It may hurt, but it's still good because it's his providence. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we thank you for your love. We thank you for your grace and your mercy.

[John Weaver] Lord, we must admit and we must confess that thou art sovereign, thou art omnipotent. Thou art in control. And Lord, we trust Thee. We do not trust luck, chance, fate, or fortune. We trust Thy divine providence and we bow to Thee. We do not want to be like these wicked people and ridicule Your providence. We want to rejoice because we know that You're too loving to be unkind and too wise to make a mistake.

[John Weaver] Help us to be holy and godly. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] so so

The Difference Between Fear And Faith - Part 3 of 3

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	AFDRO2Wopsg
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Election, Israel, and Covenant Mercy
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-03-14
Dictation Name
Book	Book 106: The Difference Between Fear And Faith — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	69

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews the series, emphasizing that faith and fear are opposites. Faith regards God's promises and power; fear disregards them and is the foundation of rebellion.

All right, let's open our Bibles today to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13.

Numbers chapter 13, and let's just read the first two verses. Since this is actually part three of a three-part message, I am going to take a few moments to review. But notice Numbers chapter 13, verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Numbers 13:1-2

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them."

Then the rest of the passage down to verse 16 lists the names of the individuals who were sent to spy out the land. I told you that Numbers chapters 13 and 14 were prime examples of what I was going to call the differences between faith and fear. And we've been looking at that, and I pointed out how faith and fear are in reality opposites. And if you're exercising faith, then you're not living in fear. If you're living in fear, then obviously you're not exercising faith. The Bible teaches us that perfect love casteth out fear.

But the Bible also teaches us that faith will cast out fear. For in Mark chapter 4 and verse 40, our Lord said to His disciples, when they saw the storm on the sea, "Why are ye so fearful? Have ye no faith?" In other words, if you had faith, then you would not be fearful. But since you are fearful, it is obvious that you are not exercising faith. And then I pointed out also how imperative faith is to us because Hebrews 11:6 says,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 11:6

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him."

For he that cometh to God must first believe that He is, and then second that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. So in the first part of this series, I really dealt with one point, and that is just that faith regards the promises of God and fear disregards the promises of God. In fact, I went on further and I said that fear basically despises the promises of God. And fear even actually calls God a liar. Fear is the foundation of rebellion because when one is in fear, he does not act; he just simply reacts. And the only possible outcome for a failure to obey is that you are going to be disobeying, and disobedience is in essence rebellion itself. So in the second message, I also pointed out how faith respects the power of God and fear disrespects the power of God. We could accurately say then that fear does not believe God—not either His promises or His power—because fear is indeed the opposite of faith. According to fear, God cannot do that which He has promised.

So fear then basically denies the omnipotence of God, that God is all-powerful. It also denies His veracity and His truthfulness. So I pointed out how Joshua and Caleb were the only two of the twelve spies that spoke truthfully concerning the land. And it was Joshua and Caleb who said, "Look, we are well able to go up and take this land; let's do it right now." They not only believed God's promises there in verse 2 where He said that God gave them that land, they believed that God would enable them to conquer that land. But it was the ten spies who said, "No, no, no, it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and it's a bad land." Moreover, we saw there the children of Anak, the giants, and "No, we can't do that. We were as grasshoppers in our sight, and so were we in their sight as well." And so I pointed out how fear always magnifies your enemies and always magnifies obstacles. And at the same time, while fear is magnifying obstacles and your enemies, it is minimizing the strength that you have. Because they said, "We are as grasshoppers."

In other words, all those people have to do is just step on us and mash us, and that is all there is to it. And so they were totally discounting their own power. And you must remember Israel at this point had over 600,000 men of war. And moreover, they were totally discounting the power of God as well. So fear basically disregards not only the power of God, but it also disregards facts and evidences. When I say that, you've got to remember, they did bring back the fruit of the land.

So there it was in front of them. The people could see that it was indeed a land full of milk and honey, just like the Lord promised. But fear is unreasonable. And you cannot reason with fear. You cannot argue with fear. Fear does not listen to logic. Fear just simply reacts. And fear then declares that God is either not God or that God is either unable or unwilling to fulfill His promises. And what fear does is basically this: it forces us to turn from God and God's way, and it forces us to turn to our own way. So in fear, what we do, we come back and we do what we think is best under the circumstances, rather than just simply obeying God. So fear and faith are basically opposites.

Then I pointed this out in the last two messages, that fear is the foundation for rebellion. And so today I come to the third and final point, and that is this: faith rejoices in the providence of God, and fear ridicules the providence of God. Let me begin by defining providence for you. Stop and think. Providence may be defined as that continued exercise of divine energy, or the power of God, whereby the Creator preserves all of His creatures, is operative in all that comes to pass in the world, and directs everything to its appointed end.

Defining Providence

Providence is defined as God's continuous exercise of divine energy, preserving and governing all creatures and directing everything to its appointed end, as taught in the Westminster Shorter Catechism and Philadelphia Baptist Confession.

Now, I'm going to give you two theological definitions. The first one is taken from the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Question 11 asks, "What is providence?" And the answer comes back: "God's works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions." So God's providence includes the governing of all of His creatures and all of their actions. And then the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith answers providence and says this: "God the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom, doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created, according unto His infallible foreknowledge, and the free, immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy."

Faith Rejoices in Providence

Faith rejoices in God's providence regardless of circumstances, as seen in Job, David, and Eli, who worshipped God amid devastating losses.

So, let me boil all that down with this. When we're talking about God's providence, we're talking about whatever comes to pass in time and in history. When we talk about God's providence, we're also talking about an aspect of God's sovereignty, as well as an aspect of His omnipotence. Because if God was not sovereign, and if God did not have all power, then He could not control everything and work everything out according to His own counsel and His own will. Probably most of you in this group know Romans 8:28. And you have read it and probably have quoted it many times: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." So here is my question: How then do we know that all things work together for good? And the answer is we know that because God is sovereign, God is all-powerful, and God is in control. Regardless of what happens, we know that God is in absolute control.

Now, if you understand divine providence, then you understand this doctrine teaches that Christians are never—or really anyone, but especially Christians—are never in the grip of what we would call the blind forces of fate, chance, luck, and fortune. Let me just say this again: There is no such thing as luck, chance, fate, or fortune in a world that is ruled by God. You either have God's providence or you have luck, chance, fate, and fortune. And I don't know about you, but I'll take God's providence every time. Everything that happens in this world and everything that happens to us is divinely planned. And each incident summons us to trust in the Lord and to teach us to obey Him and to rejoice in His work in bringing things to pass in our lives. So let me say it like this: If you understand divine providence, there is no such thing as an accident. They're only incidents. God allows them to happen for our good and His glory. So, therefore, to despise God's providence is to despise God. And when you and I bellyache and whine and complain about our circumstances, we're basically attacking the providence of God. And as we attack the providence of God, we are actually attacking God Himself. In our attack then, in essence, becomes rebellion, and we find ourselves fighting against God. We're provoking Him. We're challenging Him. So here's what basically happens. If you say, "Well, all right, I have no problem believing that God is sovereign. I have no problem believing that God is omnipotent. I have no problem believing that God is in control of everything." Well, interestingly, here's what we do in our lives even as Christians.

Well, we will rejoice in that which we call good or blessed providence and we'll praise God. And then when something bad or hurtful happens to us, we don't praise God. And when we think about good and bad from our perspective, or good and hurtful, then we are the ones that are determining what is good and what is bad, or what is good and what is hurtful. In other words, we are placing our definition upon the work of God. Thus what we end up doing is passing judgment upon God and upon His work. Now stop and think about that. Whenever we begin to bellyache and complain, we are saying, "It ought not to be like this. It shouldn't be like this." I laugh because I heard about one church that was praying against, I think it was a tavern and a gambling house. It was close to the church and they were praying against it. And a tornado came by and just totally wiped it off the map. And the Christians were saying, "Praise the Lord. The Lord took care of that old liquor house and that gambling house." Well, the next month the church building burned down. And now they're saying the devil did it. Really? Really? Well, if you believe that God is sovereign, God that allowed that gambling house to be torn apart by a tornado is the same God that allowed that church building to be burned down as well.

So, you have to understand: There are things that happen to us, and things that happen in this world, we may not understand them, we may not comprehend them, we may not like them, but that's immaterial. It is still the hand of God that brings things to pass. And He does so for His glory and our good. So faith then rejoices in God's providence. Faith rejoices in God's providence regardless of the situation and regardless of the circumstances. Let me show you. I want you to hold Numbers 13. We're coming back there. But if you would turn right over to the book of Job chapter 1. Job chapter 1. And I want you to look, if you would, at verses 20 through 22. Watch this carefully. Job chapter 1, beginning with verse 20. And before I read the passage, let me just remind you that Job would be what you and I would call a multi-millionaire. And Job was an extremely wealthy individual. And in one day, Job went from a multi-millionaire to a pauper. One day. In one day, he lost everything he had. And in that same day, he lost ten children, all ten of his children, all his cattle, all his camels, all his sheep—he lost everything. And if you look in Job 1 in verse 20, when Job found out that all of his children were dead, all of his animals were gone, verse 20:

Scripture Reading — Job 1:20-22

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."

Now, can you fathom what Job must have been going through? To have lost everything in one day, and yet he bowed and worshipped and blessed God. And the Scripture said,

Scripture Reading — Job 1:20-22

"In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."

womb and Naked shall I return thither the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away Blessed be the name of the Lord in all this Job sin not or charge God foolishly Now can you fathom? What Job must have been going through? to have lost everything in one day, and yet he bowed and worshiped and blessed God. And the Scripture said in all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. If you would turn back in your Bibles to 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel chapter 12, here's another illustration. You would not like this providence, but yet here is what David did. You will remember how David had sinned with Bathsheba, and a child was conceived, and a child was born, and then God took the child. So in 2 Samuel chapter 12, beginning there with verse 19:

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 12:19-23

"But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? Thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?"

"But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." Notice, if you would, when David found out the child was dead, he arose and worshipped. I'm sure David did not like the circumstance. David would have preferred it to have been different, but it was not different. And so he worshipped God regardless. You remember Eli? God had a problem with Eli because he did not restrain his own sons, Hophni and Phinehas. And God came to Samuel, and God told Samuel exactly what He was going to do to Eli and his house. And the next day when Eli woke up, he called little Samuel and he said, "Everything that God told you." Samuel said, "Okay, here is what is going to happen. God is going to take the priesthood away from your family. And the iniquity which you and your sons have committed will never be purged with sacrifice." In other words, they are not going to be forgiven. Moreover, God is going to kill both of your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, in one day.

In 1 Samuel chapter 3 and verse 18, Eli's response was this:

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 3:18

"It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good."

Isn't that amazing? Here is a man that just lost the priesthood, his family lost it, his sons were going to die:

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 3:18

"It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good."

The Extent of Providence

God's providence extends to the smallest details, such as the casting of lots (Proverbs 16:33), the falling of sparrows (Matthew 10:29), and the numbering of hairs (Matthew 10:30).

Now since we are talking about divine providence, there are a couple of verses I want you to turn to. I want you to look in Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 33. I want you to see how minute God's providence is, how it controls everything. So in Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 33, the Bible says this:

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 16:33

"The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord."

This is a powerful verse demonstrating not only the providence of God, but also His absolute control and sovereignty over all things. The casting of lots, or the rolling of dice, or any such thing seems very casual to man. But yet the Bible tells us the outcome is directed and determined by God's counsel and God's providence. It is not chance. It is not luck. It is not fate. It is not fortune. It is God's providence. Think of all the dice that have been thrown in this world. Think of all the lots that have been given. And yet there was no randomness about it according to this verse.

It was all at the disposal of God Himself. I don't know if you remember, but in 1 Samuel chapter 14, Saul, King Saul, had cursed everyone with a curse if they ate anything before the enemies were destroyed. Well, Jonathan didn't hear that. And he took his rod and dipped it in some honey, touched it to his tongue, and his eyes were enlightened. And oh, everybody said, "Jonathan, your daddy gave a curse." Well, of course now the army is at a standstill and Saul wants to know what happened. And so he prays in 1 Samuel 14, verse 41:

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 14:41

"Therefore Saul said unto the Lord God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped."

So here is the lot cast between Saul and Jonathan and the people. And Saul and Jonathan are taken. The lot was cast again and Jonathan was taken. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 1. Look at this. Acts chapter 1. And let's begin reading there with verse 23.

Scripture Reading — Acts 1:23-26

Acts chapter 1. Look at it if you would. Everyone knows that Judas went out and hanged himself. He was one of the twelve. So in Acts 1 in verse 23—in fact, let's read verse 22, verse 21: "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection."

So there are the qualifications to be an apostle. "And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Notice, if you would, Matthias was chosen by lot. So, in the Old Testament, lots were cast. Even the high priest, you remember, had in his vest the Urim and the Thummim. When someone asked a question, he would put his hand in, pull out one. One was a yes, the other was a no. In the New Testament, they cast lots. Now, before you ask, let me answer the question. No, we do not cast lots today. And the reason we don't cast lots today is because we have the full, final, and complete revelation of God.

We have it all written out for us. Okay? All we need to do is to read it, and study it, and apply it, and we will understand God's perfect will. They did not have this book when they were casting lots. If you remember, the soldiers even cast lots for the robe of Jesus Christ. You remember that? But no, we do not cast lots today. Now, listen carefully. The point that I made in reading Proverbs 16:33 is that God is in control of all things, even the rolling of dice or the casting of lots. That is God's providential control. John Trapp, one of the old Puritans, said this on Proverbs 16:33.

He said, "This sentence at first seems light and unworthy of the place it holds in this book. But as every line in the Holy Bible is pure, precious, and profitable, so this sets forth a matter of very great moment." In other words, that the providence of God extends to the disposing of all things, even those things also in the regard of as are merely contingent or casual. So if you took a couple of dice in your hand and you shook them up, and you throw them out on this table, you would think that was something very casual. And the outcome, you would think, would be contingent on how you held them in your hand and how you rolled them.

But Proverbs 16:33 says no. The outcome is in the providence of God. Now, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 10 and look at verse 29. Matthew 10:29. Here's another passage that actually deals with God's providential control. In Matthew chapter 10 and verse 29, our Lord says this:

Scripture Reading — Matthew 10:29-30

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father."

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? A farthing was not much.

And a sparrow is not very precious. There's multitudes of them. And yet it says, "Not one of them shall fall to the ground without your heavenly Father." Now, when you hear the phrase "fall to the ground," you automatically think that here's a little sparrow that's gotten shot or a little sparrow that's gotten hurt and he falls to the ground. Well, that would certainly be inclusive of this. But the word "fall" there literally could be interpreted as "lights." So that means a sparrow cannot even light on the ground without your heavenly Father. If you've ever noticed sparrows, we have a bird feeder in the front of the house, and I had one behind our house, and I'd look at it out my office window. And all of these sparrows, up and down, up and down, up a thousand times an hour. And here's what this verse says: not one can light or fall on the ground without your heavenly Father. He controls it. Look, if you would please, in verse 30. He goes farther. He says, "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." So you can't even lose a hair without the providence of God. When He says the very hairs of your head are numbered, God has to take better care of some folks than others.

See, Marshall, he has to watch out for him. Me, I don't have many hairs, so. So, you know, that's the way it goes. But notice, if you would please, He's talking about what you and I would call insignificant. When you brush your hair, comb your hair, there's a few hairs there. They can't even come out of your head apart from God's sovereign providence. John Trapp—not John, but Thomas Boston, an old Puritan, said this, watch, and he is talking about Matthew 10:29. He said, "Our Lord here is encouraging His disciples against all the troubles and distresses that they might meet with in their way, and particularly against the fear of men, by the consideration of the providence of God, which reaches unto the meanest of things, sparrows and the hairs of your head. Sparrows are of a mean price and small value. And yet as far as mean as they are, God preserves them, guides and disposes all things concerning them, so that one of them cannot fall to the ground by shot or any other way without His sovereign ordering and disposal."

Fear Ridicules Providence

Fear despises God's providence, leading to rebellion. In Numbers 14, the Israelites murmured, wished for death, accused God of betrayal, and appointed a captain to return to Egypt.

So faith then understands that nothing happens apart from God's sovereign providence. Fear, on the other hand, which I'm going to show you, despises and ridicules God's providence. Fear refuses to listen to God. Fear refuses to obey God. Let me go further. Fear provokes God. Fear refuses to believe even that which it sees. Fear deprives us of God's blessings. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 14 because I'm going to show you, I've been saying that fear is the foundation of rebellion. And I want you to look in Numbers chapter 14 at verses 22 and 23. Look what God says. Numbers 14:22.

"Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it." Now I want to call your attention to the fact in verse 22 God says these people tempted Him ten times. Then when you get to verse 23 He says that they provoked Him. So God says that they tempted Him ten times. Ten is the number of completeness; that is why we have the Ten Commandments. And so what God is telling us here is that God is fed up with His people. He is fed up with their wickedness. He is fed up with their rebellion, and therefore He is going to destroy them.

Now there are some commentators that will say, number ten here is a certain number given for an uncertain amount. They are saying you don't really know the amount of times they tempted and provoked God. And so God just simply said ten since it is a number of completeness. However, if you go through the Bible and you count how they tempted God: twice at the sea, Exodus chapter 14; twice concerning water in Exodus 15 and 17; twice concerning the manna in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11; twice concerning the quail in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11; once by the calf in Exodus chapter 32; and once in the wilderness of Paran, Numbers chapter 14 which we are going to look at. That amounts to ten times. That's ten provocations or ten temptations. So let me just say this again: Fear provokes God. Fear basically despises God's providence.

Now let me show you. Look in Numbers chapter 14 beginning there with verse 1. Numbers 14:1:

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:1-4

"And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt."

Now, I want to point out a number of things. First of all, if you look in verse 1, "And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night." So it is not just the ten spies now who are despising God and God's land, it is the fear that they brought that the people now have absorbed. And now the whole congregation is weeping and crying and saying, "Woe is me, we are in an awful lot of trouble." Secondly, let me point out verse 2: "And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron." Now here is an interesting question. How in the world could the situation that these people are in be the fault of Moses and Aaron? Stop and think about this. It was the spies who sinned. It was the spies who conveyed their fear. Now the people absorbed that fear and they disobeyed God. But now why are they murmuring against Moses and against Aaron? Certainly Moses and Aaron were their leaders. They were their guide. But the very fact that they're murmuring against them now shows their insolence toward these leaders and their base ingratitude to God as well as their fear and defiance. I'm going to show you once you are absorbed with fear, you are not afraid to strike out at God or man. Usually when you are afraid, you strike out at someone. You take a man that's drowning and someone dives in to rescue him. The rescuer has to be exceedingly careful because the drowning man in fear will oftentimes try to drown the ones that come to rescue him.

You have to be trained. The point I'm trying to make is this: These people were in fear and therefore they were blame shifting. It is Moses' fault. It is Aaron's fault. They are condemning someone. They are accusing someone. And usually when someone moves in fear, the accusations and the condemnation and the blame shifting usually falls on someone who is absolutely totally innocent. Let me tell you something, neither Moses nor Aaron could keep the people in faith. Neither Moses nor Aaron could keep the people in obedience to God. I can't keep you in faith. I can't make you believe. I can't make you obey. I can't keep your heart. Neither could they keep the hearts of these people. But fear is not afraid to condemn man, and it is certainly not afraid to condemn God. Now look if you would at the rest of verse 2: "And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them," Listen, here is what they said to Moses and Aaron, "Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt!"

"Or would God we had died in this wilderness!" Now, the Hebrew word for "would" can literally be translated, "Oh, that it might be." Or "Oh, I wish it could have been." Or "If only." Or "Would that." Can you believe this? They said, "Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt." I wish we had died in the land of Egypt. They had rather have died slaves in great destitution and hated and despised than to live free. And then they said, "Would God we had died in this wilderness." What are they talking about? Well, look back in Numbers 11, beginning there with verse 1. Look at Numbers 11:1. This may surprise you. Watch carefully. Numbers 11:1:

Scripture Reading — Numbers 11:1-2

"And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched."

Here the people were bellyaching, complaining, and God sent fire and consumed them in His judgment and in His wrath. And here the people are saying, "Would God that we had died with them?"

Now let me ask you a question. How irrational can you be? How could anyone say, "I'd rather have died a slave in Egypt than to live free" and "I'd rather have died of the wrath and judgment of God and be burned to death than be alive right here in this wilderness"? Yet that's exactly what they're saying. I don't know about you, but I think I would refer to these people as fearful idiots. And they had to be an idiot to want to die under God's wrath and God's judgment or to live and die as a slave. Now, that's bad, but that's not as bad as fear can make it.

Look, if you would please, in verse 3 of Numbers chapter 14. Here's what they said: "And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?" Now, the Bible says in Proverbs 29:25,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 29:25

"The fear of man bringeth a snare."

Brother, they did get ensnared right here. In fearing man, they did not fear God. Look what they said: "Wherefore hath the Lord brought us into this land?" Why did God bring them there? Well, they said, "He brought us here to fall by the sword. He brought us here that our wives and our children should be a prey. He brought us out here to kill us." The insanity of their fear demonstrates itself when they accuse God of deception and cruelty as if He were betraying them to the Canaanite nations and leading them forth to slaughter. Their fear of their enemies led them to believe that God had deceived them, betrayed them, and confounded them by bringing them into their deaths.

Now, they're going to repay all of the miracles and all the mercies that God has shown to them by calling God a wicked, cruel, desperate tyrant. Hmm. They're even calling Him a traitor. Now, you and I can sit here and say, "Wow, I'm glad I'm not like that." My comment would be, "Really?" Because when you and I bellyache and complain and whine that God does not love us, because if He did, He wouldn't let such and such happen to us. He wouldn't let it happen to our family. God just doesn't love us. Really? What are we doing? We're doing exactly the same thing that these people did in Numbers chapter 14. We're accusing God of being a wicked, cruel despot and tyrant, that He doesn't love us, that He did this just to destroy us. He did this just to hurt us. And like these unbelieving Israelites, we accuse God wrongfully and wickedly. They said God brought us out here to kill us. He did not.

Fear as Foundation of Rebellion

Nehemiah 9 and Deuteronomy 1 confirm that the Israelites' fear led to rebellion. Fear causes people to disobey God and do what they think will save them.

But that's what fear said. Fear is not afraid to condemn God. Fear is not afraid to challenge God. Fear is not afraid to blaspheme God. I want you to see the height of their impiety. Let's put verse 3 and 4 together. Look at the latter part of verse 3. Look what they said: "Were it not better for us to return into Egypt?" And they said one to another, "Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt." Here is a formal renunciation of the authority of Moses and their flat-out rebellion against God. You have to remember that in Egypt their lives were made bitter with rigor and suffering. God had provided for these people. He gave them manna. He gave them meat.

The shoes of their feet did not wear out. Their clothes did not wear out. And now they're saying we had it better off in Egypt under Pharaoh than we have it here under God. So what we need to do is we need to go back to Egypt. Let's appoint a captain and go back into captivity. Let's go back into slavery. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah chapter 9—Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah—look at Nehemiah 9. According to Nehemiah 9, they did exactly what they said. Look at Nehemiah 9 in verse 17. In fact, let's read verse 16. Nehemiah 9:16.

"But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, and refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not." Did you hear that? They appointed a captain to return to their bondage. Fear refuses to obey. Fear refuses to be led by God's man. Fear refuses to recognize the office of authority. Moses was not going to take them back into Egypt. Neither was Aaron. And here's what fear says: "Fine. If you don't want to take us back into Egypt, we'll appoint someone who will. We don't have to listen to you. We'll do what we want to do."

Now, I want to call your attention to one truth that I have enunciated over and over in the last two messages. I told you that fear was the foundation of rebellion. I want you to look at Nehemiah chapter 9, and notice if you would now, verse 16, watch:

Scripture Reading — Nehemiah 9:16-17

"But they and our fathers dealt proudly,"

there's pride,

Scripture Reading — Nehemiah 9:16-17

"hardened their necks, hearkened not to thy commandments, refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them, but hardened their necks, and in their"

what?

Scripture Reading — Nehemiah 9:16-17

"In their rebellion, appointed a captain to return to their bondage."

They refused to obey. They were not mindful of God's wonders, of God's miracles, of God's grace, of God's mercies. They forgot all of them. We're not interested in those. We are going to do what we want to do. They hardened their necks and in their rebellion they appointed a captain to return to Egypt.

Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 1. I am going to show you it is not just Nehemiah that points this out, but Moses the man of God also pointed it out in Deuteronomy chapter 1. So I want you to begin looking there at verse 22. Deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 22. Watch carefully. Deuteronomy 1:22: Moses said,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:22-28

"And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come." "And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe: and they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us. Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God: and ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us."

"Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there." What? Did you read that? Verse 26, "Notwithstanding," said Moses, "ye would not go up, but rebelled against the Lord." Why would they not go up? Because of their fear. In their fear of the giants, and in their fear of fighting them, they said, "We're not going to do it. We're just not going to do it." Fear is the foundation of rebellion. When you are fearful, you're not going to obey. You're going to do that which you think is going to save your hide, regardless of what God says. And fear is the foundation of rebellion.

Now, I want you to understand that faith regards the promises of God. Fear disregards them. Faith respects the power of God. Fear disrespects the power of God. Faith rejoices in God's providence, whatever it is. Fear ridicules God's providence. Fear is not afraid to blaspheme God.

Applications and Closing

Weaver gives three applications: memorize 2 Timothy 1:7, Isaiah 12:2, and Psalm 56:3; be careful what you wish for; and submit to God's providence in all circumstances, trusting His goodness.

Now, I want to make just a couple of applications in closing. The first one I actually made last week, and I want to make it again. I believe there are three verses that you ought to memorize. If you haven't memorized them, you should do so. The first one is 2 Timothy 1:7:

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 1:7

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

So if you're afraid, if you are filled with fear, it did not come from God. It may come from your flesh, the world, or the devil, but it did not come from God. So you should memorize 2 Timothy 1:7. The second one is Isaiah 12:2, where the Scripture says, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." I will trust and not be afraid. And the third one is Psalm 56:3, where David said, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."

And if you're trusting in God, then the fear is going to be dispelled. So I would encourage you to memorize those three passages. The second one is this: We need to be very careful for what we wish for. Because these Israelites said, "Oh, I wish I'd died in Egypt. Oh, I wish I'd died in this wilderness." God said, "Okay. I'll fulfill that wish." And for forty years, they died in the wilderness. You remember in Psalm 78 how they bellyached against God, and "We're tired of this manna," although manna was perfect.

"We want meat, we want meat." Guess what Psalm 78 says when God sent the quail: He gave them the desires of their hearts. And while the meat was in their mouth, He slew the fattest of them. You better be careful what you wish for, because God may just allow you to have it. The third application is this: God's providence must be bowed to and submitted to regardless of the circumstances. Since we're human, we're frail, and we're weak, and there are things that are grievous to us. Some folks have lost a mate, a spouse. Some have lost children. Some lost brothers and sisters. I just found out this week, I did not know the young lady personally, but I know the family. Twenty years old, in school in Colorado, raped and murdered by an eighteen-year-old boy. That's got to be difficult. That's got to be hard.

Why would God allow something like that? The answer is, for His own honor and glory, and ultimately for our good. I may not understand it. I may not be able to comprehend it, but I must believe that God is in absolute control, regardless of the circumstances or the situation in my life. And I will tell you this, the easiest way and the quickest way out of a very trying circumstance and situation is by yielding and submitting to God and giving Him the honor and glory. It's just like when Job lost everything that he had. He bowed and worshipped, and he said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away." In all this, Job sinned not with his lips, nor charged God foolishly. God is in control in our lives, in the lives of His people. He's in control of everything, even the wicked. And God is going to only allow that to come to pass which will glorify Him and ultimately be for our good. So whatever God brings in our lives, it's good. It may hurt, but it's still good because it's His providence. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we thank You for Your love. We thank You for Your grace and Your mercy.

Lord, we must admit and we must confess that Thou art sovereign, Thou art omnipotent. Thou art in control. And Lord, we trust Thee. We do not trust luck, chance, fate, or fortune. We trust Thy divine providence and we bow to Thee. We do not want to be like these wicked people and ridicule Your providence. We want to rejoice because we know that You're too loving to be unkind and too wise to make a mistake.

Help us to be holy and godly. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Faith rejoices in God's providence

Summary: Faith trusts that God's sovereign control works all things for good, leading believers to worship and submit even in suffering.

Evidence: Weaver cites Job 1:20-22, 2 Samuel 12:19-23, and 1 Samuel 3:18 as examples of faith rejoicing in providence despite loss.

Fear ridicules God's providence

Summary: Fear leads to accusing God of evil, rebelling against His commands, and seeking human solutions instead of trusting His plan.

Evidence: In Numbers 14:1-4, the Israelites wished for death, accused God of bringing them to die, and appointed a captain to return to Egypt.

The extent of divine providence

Summary: God's providence governs even seemingly random events like casting lots and the smallest creatures, demonstrating His absolute sovereignty.

Evidence: Weaver explains Proverbs 16:33, Matthew 10:29-30, and Acts 1:23-26 to show God's control over lots, sparrows, and hairs.

Fear as the foundation of rebellion

Summary: Fear causes people to disobey God and rebel against His authority, as seen in the Israelites' refusal to enter Canaan.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 1:26 says they 'rebelled against the commandment of the Lord' because of fear; Nehemiah 9:17 calls their action rebellion.

The irrationality of fear

Summary: Fear makes people irrational, leading them to prefer death or slavery over trusting God's promises and power.

Evidence: The Israelites said, 'Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!' (Numbers 14:2).

Submission to God's providence in trials

Summary: Believers must submit to God's providence, trusting that even painful events are for His glory and their good.

Evidence: Weaver applies the lesson by urging submission to God's control, citing Job's worship after loss and the need to trust God in all circumstances.

Key Arguments

Faith and fear are opposites

Summary: Faith trusts God's promises and power; fear doubts them and leads to disobedience.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If you're exercising faith, then you're not living in fear. If you're living in fear, then obviously you're not exercising faith.'

Providence means God controls all things

Summary: God's providence extends to every event, no matter how small, leaving no room for chance or luck.

Evidence: Weaver defines providence and cites Proverbs 16:33: 'The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.'

Fear leads to blasphemy against God

Summary: Fear causes people to accuse God of cruelty and deception, as the Israelites did in Numbers 14.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Their fear of their enemies led them to believe that God had deceived them, betrayed them, and confounded them.'

Fear is the foundation of rebellion

Summary: When people are afraid, they disobey God and follow their own plans, which is rebellion.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 1:26: 'Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God.'

Believers must submit to God's providence

Summary: Regardless of circumstances, Christians should trust God's control and worship Him, as Job and David did.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The easiest way and the quickest way out of a very trying circumstance and situation is by yielding and submitting to God.'

Scripture References

Numbers 13:1-2

Context: God commands Moses to send spies into Canaan.

Mark 4:40

Context: Jesus asks the disciples why they are fearful and have no faith.

Hebrews 11:6

Context: Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Romans 8:28

Context: All things work together for good to those who love God.

Job 1:20-22

Context: Job worships God after losing everything.

2 Samuel 12:19-23

Context: David worships after the death of his child.

1 Samuel 3:18

Context: Eli submits to God's judgment on his house.

Proverbs 16:33

Context: The lot is cast, but its outcome is from the Lord.

1 Samuel 14:41

Context: Saul casts lots to find Jonathan's sin.

Acts 1:23-26

Context: The apostles cast lots to choose Matthias.

Matthew 10:29-30

Context: Sparrows do not fall without the Father, and hairs are numbered.

Numbers 14:22-23

Context: God says those who tempted Him ten times will not see the land.

Numbers 14:1-4

Context: The congregation weeps, murmurs, and wishes to return to Egypt.

Numbers 11:1-2

Context: God's fire consumes complainers in the wilderness.

Proverbs 29:25

Context: The fear of man brings a snare.

Nehemiah 9:16-17

Context: The Israelites rebelled and appointed a captain to return to Egypt.

Deuteronomy 1:22-28

Context: Moses recounts the rebellion at Kadesh-barnea.

2 Timothy 1:7

Context: God has not given us a spirit of fear.

Isaiah 12:2

Context: I will trust and not be afraid.

Psalm 56:3

Context: What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

Historical References

Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 11

Context: Defines providence as God's holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and actions.

Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith

Context: Expands on providence, stating God upholds, directs, and governs all things according to His will.

John Trapp (Puritan commentator)

Context: Quoted on Proverbs 16:33, emphasizing that God's providence extends to seemingly casual events.

Thomas Boston (Puritan theologian)

Context: Quoted on Matthew 10:29, explaining God's providence over sparrows and hairs as encouragement against fear.

Important Quotes

If you're exercising faith, then you're not living in fear. If you're living in fear, then obviously you're not exercising faith.

Significance: Summarizes the central contrast between faith and fear that frames the entire series.

There is no such thing as luck, chance, fate, or fortune in a world that is ruled by God.

Significance: Emphasizes the absolute sovereignty of God's providence over all events.

The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.

Significance: Key verse used to demonstrate God's control over seemingly random events.

Fear is the foundation of rebellion.

Significance: Repeated thesis that fear leads to disobedience and defiance against God.

The easiest way and the quickest way out of a very trying circumstance and situation is by yielding and submitting to God and giving Him the honor and glory.

Significance: Practical application for responding to trials with faith in God's providence.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.

Significance: Job's response to loss, exemplifying faith in God's providence.

Discussion Questions

How does the definition of providence from the Westminster Shorter Catechism and Philadelphia Confession shape your understanding of God's control over daily events?

Context: Weaver defines providence as God's preserving and governing all creatures and actions.

In what ways do we, like the Israelites, accuse God of wrongdoing when we face difficult circumstances?

Context: The Israelites said God brought them to the wilderness to die; Weaver says we do the same when we complain.

Why is fear described as the foundation of rebellion, and how can we guard against it in our own lives?

Context: Weaver argues that fear leads to disobedience and rebellion, as seen in Numbers 14 and Deuteronomy 1.

How can we cultivate a response like Job's—worshipping God in the midst of devastating loss?

Context: Job worshipped after losing everything, saying 'Blessed be the name of the Lord.'

What does it mean practically to 'rejoice in God's providence' when we don't understand or like what is happening?

Context: Weaver says faith rejoices in providence regardless of circumstances, citing David and Eli.

How does the truth that God numbers the hairs of our head (Matthew 10:30) affect the way we handle anxiety?

Context: Weaver uses Matthew 10:29-30 to show God's detailed providence over small things.

Applications

Memorize key verses on faith and fear

Summary: Memorize 2 Timothy 1:7, Isaiah 12:2, and Psalm 56:3 to combat fear with God's Word.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'I believe there are three verses that you ought to memorize... 2 Timothy 1:7... Isaiah 12:2... Psalm 56:3.'

Be careful what you wish for

Summary: Avoid complaining and wishing for things contrary to God's will, as God may grant those desires in judgment.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'You better be careful what you wish for, because God may just allow you to have it,' referencing the Israelites' wish to die in the wilderness.

Submit to God's providence in trials

Summary: Yield to God's control in painful circumstances, trusting that He works all things for good and His glory.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God's providence must be bowed to and submitted to regardless of the circumstances,' and 'the easiest way... out of a very trying circumstance... is by yielding and submitting to God.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:34:33Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T03:12:16Z

Clean Transcript

The Difference Between Fear And Faith - Part 3 of 3

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

All right, let's open our Bibles today to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13.
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Numbers chapter 13, and let's just read the first two verses. Since this is actually part three of a three-part message, I am going to take a few moments to review. But notice Numbers chapter 13, verse 1: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them." Then the rest of the passage down to verse 16 lists the names of the individuals who were sent to spy out the land. I told you that Numbers chapters 13 and 14 were prime examples of what I was going to call the differences between faith and fear. And we've been looking at that, and I pointed out how faith and fear are in reality opposites. And if you're exercising faith, then you're not living in fear. If you're living in fear, then obviously you're not exercising faith. The Bible teaches us that perfect love casteth out fear.
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But the Bible also teaches us that faith will cast out fear. For in Mark chapter 4 and verse 40, our Lord said to His disciples, when they saw the storm on the sea, "Why are ye so fearful? Have ye no faith?" In other words, if you had faith, then you would not be fearful. But since you are fearful, it is obvious that you are not exercising faith. And then I pointed out also how imperative faith is to us because Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him."
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For he that cometh to God must first believe that He is, and then second that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. So in the first part of this series, I really dealt with one point, and that is just that faith regards the promises of God and fear disregards the promises of God. In fact, I went on further and I said that fear basically despises the promises of God. And fear even actually calls God a liar. Fear is the foundation of rebellion because when one is in fear, he does not act; he just simply reacts. And the only possible outcome for a failure to obey is that you are going to be disobeying, and disobedience is in essence rebellion itself. So in the second message, I also pointed out how faith respects the power of God and fear disrespects the power of God. We could accurately say then that fear does not believe God—not either His promises or His power—because fear is indeed the opposite of faith. According to fear, God cannot do that which He has promised.
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So fear then basically denies the omnipotence of God, that God is all-powerful. It also denies His veracity and His truthfulness. So I pointed out how Joshua and Caleb were the only two of the twelve spies that spoke truthfully concerning the land. And it was Joshua and Caleb who said, "Look, we are well able to go up and take this land; let's do it right now." They not only believed God's promises there in verse 2 where He said that God gave them that land, they believed that God would enable them to conquer that land. But it was the ten spies who said, "No, no, no, it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and it's a bad land."
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Moreover, we saw there the children of Anak, the giants, and "No, we can't do that. We were as grasshoppers in our sight, and so were we in their sight as well." And so I pointed out how fear always magnifies your enemies and always magnifies obstacles. And at the same time, while fear is magnifying obstacles and your enemies, it is minimizing the strength that you have. Because they said, "We are as grasshoppers."
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In other words, all those people have to do is just step on us and mash us, and that is all there is to it. And so they were totally discounting their own power. And you must remember Israel at this point had over 600,000 men of war. And moreover, they were totally discounting the power of God as well. So fear basically disregards not only the power of God, but it also disregards facts and evidences. When I say that, you've got to remember, they did bring back the fruit of the land.
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So there it was in front of them. The people could see that it was indeed a land full of milk and honey, just like the Lord promised. But fear is unreasonable. And you cannot reason with fear. You cannot argue with fear. Fear does not listen to logic. Fear just simply reacts. And fear then declares that God is either not God or that God is either unable or unwilling to fulfill His promises. And what fear does is basically this: it forces us to turn from God and God's way, and it forces us to turn to our own way. So in fear, what we do, we come back and we do what we think is best under the circumstances, rather than just simply obeying God. So fear and faith are basically opposites.
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Then I pointed this out in the last two messages, that fear is the foundation for rebellion. And so today I come to the third and final point, and that is this: faith rejoices in the providence of God, and fear ridicules the providence of God. Let me begin by defining providence for you. Stop and think. Providence may be defined as that continued exercise of divine energy, or the power of God, whereby the Creator preserves all of His creatures, is operative in all that comes to pass in the world, and directs everything to its appointed end.
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Now, I'm going to give you two theological definitions. The first one is taken from the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Question 11 asks, "What is providence?" And the answer comes back: "God's works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions." So God's providence includes the governing of all of His creatures and all of their actions. And then the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith answers providence and says this: "God the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom, doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created, according unto His infallible foreknowledge, and the free, immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy."
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So, let me boil all that down with this. When we're talking about God's providence, we're talking about whatever comes to pass in time and in history. When we talk about God's providence, we're also talking about an aspect of God's sovereignty, as well as an aspect of His omnipotence. Because if God was not sovereign, and if God did not have all power, then He could not control everything and work everything out according to His own counsel and His own will.
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Probably most of you in this group know Romans 8:28. And you have read it and probably have quoted it many times: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." So here is my question: How then do we know that all things work together for good? And the answer is we know that because God is sovereign, God is all-powerful, and God is in control. Regardless of what happens, we know that God is in absolute control.
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Now, if you understand divine providence, then you understand this doctrine teaches that Christians are never—or really anyone, but especially Christians—are never in the grip of what we would call the blind forces of fate, chance, luck, and fortune. Let me just say this again: There is no such thing as luck, chance, fate, or fortune in a world that is ruled by God. You either have God's providence or you have luck, chance, fate, and fortune. And I don't know about you, but I'll take God's providence every time. Everything that happens in this world and everything that happens to us is divinely planned.
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And each incident summons us to trust in the Lord and to teach us to obey Him and to rejoice in His work in bringing things to pass in our lives. So let me say it like this: If you understand divine providence, there is no such thing as an accident. They're only incidents. God allows them to happen for our good and His glory. So, therefore, to despise God's providence is to despise God. And when you and I bellyache and whine and complain about our circumstances, we're basically attacking the providence of God. And as we attack the providence of God, we are actually attacking God Himself. In our attack then, in essence, becomes rebellion, and we find ourselves fighting against God. We're provoking Him. We're challenging Him. So here's what basically happens. If you say, "Well, all right, I have no problem believing that God is sovereign. I have no problem believing that God is omnipotent. I have no problem believing that God is in control of everything." Well, interestingly, here's what we do in our lives even as Christians.
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Well, we will rejoice in that which we call good or blessed providence and we'll praise God. And then when something bad or hurtful happens to us, we don't praise God. And when we think about good and bad from our perspective, or good and hurtful, then we are the ones that are determining what is good and what is bad, or what is good and what is hurtful. In other words, we are placing our definition upon the work of God. Thus what we end up doing is passing judgment upon God and upon His work. Now stop and think about that.
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Whenever we begin to bellyache and complain, we are saying, "It ought not to be like this. It shouldn't be like this." I laugh because I heard about one church that was praying against, I think it was a tavern and a gambling house. It was close to the church and they were praying against it. And a tornado came by and just totally wiped it off the map. And the Christians were saying, "Praise the Lord. The Lord took care of that old liquor house and that gambling house." Well, the next month the church building burned down. And now they're saying the devil did it. Really? Really? Well, if you believe that God is sovereign, God that allowed that gambling house to be torn apart by a tornado is the same God that allowed that church building to be burned down as well.
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So, you have to understand: There are things that happen to us, and things that happen in this world, we may not understand them, we may not comprehend them, we may not like them, but that's immaterial. It is still the hand of God that brings things to pass. And He does so for His glory and our good. So faith then rejoices in God's providence. Faith rejoices in God's providence regardless of the situation and regardless of the circumstances. Let me show you.
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I want you to hold Numbers 13. We're coming back there. But if you would turn right over to the book of Job chapter 1. Job chapter 1. And I want you to look, if you would, at verses 20 through 22. Watch this carefully. Job chapter 1, beginning with verse 20. And before I read the passage, let me just remind you that Job would be what you and I would call a multi-millionaire. And Job was an extremely wealthy individual. And in one day, Job went from a multi-millionaire to a pauper. One day. In one day, he lost everything he had. And in that same day, he lost ten children, all ten of his children, all his cattle, all his camels, all his sheep—he lost everything. And if you look in Job 1 in verse 20, when Job found out that all of his children were dead, all of his animals were gone, verse 20: "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." Now, can you fathom what Job must have been going through? To have lost everything in one day, and yet he bowed and worshipped and blessed God. And the Scripture said, "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."
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womb and Naked shall I return thither the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away Blessed be the name of the Lord in all this Job sin not or charge God foolishly Now can you fathom? What Job must have been going through? to have lost everything in one day, and yet he bowed and worshiped and blessed God. And the Scripture said in all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
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If you would turn back in your Bibles to 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel chapter 12, here's another illustration. You would not like this providence, but yet here is what David did. You will remember how David had sinned with Bathsheba, and a child was conceived, and a child was born, and then God took the child. So in 2 Samuel chapter 12, beginning there with verse 19: "But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? Thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?"
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"But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." Notice, if you would, when David found out the child was dead, he arose and worshipped. I'm sure David did not like the circumstance. David would have preferred it to have been different, but it was not different. And so he worshipped God regardless. You remember Eli? God had a problem with Eli because he did not restrain his own sons, Hophni and Phinehas. And God came to Samuel, and God told Samuel exactly what He was going to do to Eli and his house. And the next day when Eli woke up, he called little Samuel and he said, "Everything that God told you." Samuel said, "Okay, here is what is going to happen. God is going to take the priesthood away from your family. And the iniquity which you and your sons have committed will never be purged with sacrifice." In other words, they are not going to be forgiven. Moreover, God is going to kill both of your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, in one day.
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In 1 Samuel chapter 3 and verse 18, Eli's response was this: "It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good." Isn't that amazing? Here is a man that just lost the priesthood, his family lost it, his sons were going to die: "It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good."
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Now since we are talking about divine providence, there are a couple of verses I want you to turn to. I want you to look in Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 33. I want you to see how minute God's providence is, how it controls everything. So in Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 33, the Bible says this: "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." This is a powerful verse demonstrating not only the providence of God, but also His absolute control and sovereignty over all things.
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The casting of lots, or the rolling of dice, or any such thing seems very casual to man. But yet the Bible tells us the outcome is directed and determined by God's counsel and God's providence. It is not chance. It is not luck. It is not fate. It is not fortune. It is God's providence. Think of all the dice that have been thrown in this world. Think of all the lots that have been given. And yet there was no randomness about it according to this verse.
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It was all at the disposal of God Himself. I don't know if you remember, but in 1 Samuel chapter 14, Saul, King Saul, had cursed everyone with a curse if they ate anything before the enemies were destroyed. Well, Jonathan didn't hear that. And he took his rod and dipped it in some honey, touched it to his tongue, and his eyes were enlightened. And oh, everybody said, "Jonathan, your daddy gave a curse." Well, of course now the army is at a standstill and Saul wants to know what happened. And so he prays in 1 Samuel 14, verse 41: "Therefore Saul said unto the Lord God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped." So here is the lot cast between Saul and Jonathan and the people. And Saul and Jonathan are taken. The lot was cast again and Jonathan was taken. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 1. Look at this. Acts chapter 1. And let's begin reading there with verse 23.
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Acts chapter 1. Look at it if you would. Everyone knows that Judas went out and hanged himself. He was one of the twelve. So in Acts 1 in verse 23—in fact, let's read verse 22, verse 21: "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection."
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So there are the qualifications to be an apostle. "And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Notice, if you would, Matthias was chosen by lot. So, in the Old Testament, lots were cast.
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Even the high priest, you remember, had in his vest the Urim and the Thummim. When someone asked a question, he would put his hand in, pull out one. One was a yes, the other was a no. In the New Testament, they cast lots. Now, before you ask, let me answer the question. No, we do not cast lots today. And the reason we don't cast lots today is because we have the full, final, and complete revelation of God.
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We have it all written out for us. Okay? All we need to do is to read it, and study it, and apply it, and we will understand God's perfect will. They did not have this book when they were casting lots. If you remember, the soldiers even cast lots for the robe of Jesus Christ. You remember that? But no, we do not cast lots today. Now, listen carefully. The point that I made in reading Proverbs 16:33 is that God is in control of all things, even the rolling of dice or the casting of lots. That is God's providential control. John Trapp, one of the old Puritans, said this on Proverbs 16:33.
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He said, "This sentence at first seems light and unworthy of the place it holds in this book. But as every line in the Holy Bible is pure, precious, and profitable, so this sets forth a matter of very great moment." In other words, that the providence of God extends to the disposing of all things, even those things also in the regard of as are merely contingent or casual. So if you took a couple of dice in your hand and you shook them up, and you throw them out on this table, you would think that was something very casual. And the outcome, you would think, would be contingent on how you held them in your hand and how you rolled them.
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But Proverbs 16:33 says no. The outcome is in the providence of God.
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Now, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 10 and look at verse 29. Matthew 10:29. Here's another passage that actually deals with God's providential control. In Matthew chapter 10 and verse 29, our Lord says this: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father." Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? A farthing was not much.
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And a sparrow is not very precious. There's multitudes of them. And yet it says, "Not one of them shall fall to the ground without your heavenly Father." Now, when you hear the phrase "fall to the ground," you automatically think that here's a little sparrow that's gotten shot or a little sparrow that's gotten hurt and he falls to the ground. Well, that would certainly be inclusive of this. But the word "fall" there literally could be interpreted as "lights." So that means a sparrow cannot even light on the ground without your heavenly Father.
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If you've ever noticed sparrows, we have a bird feeder in the front of the house, and I had one behind our house, and I'd look at it out my office window. And all of these sparrows, up and down, up and down, up a thousand times an hour. And here's what this verse says: not one can light or fall on the ground without your heavenly Father. He controls it. Look, if you would please, in verse 30. He goes farther. He says, "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." So you can't even lose a hair without the providence of God. When He says the very hairs of your head are numbered, God has to take better care of some folks than others.
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See, Marshall, he has to watch out for him. Me, I don't have many hairs, so. So, you know, that's the way it goes. But notice, if you would please, He's talking about what you and I would call insignificant. When you brush your hair, comb your hair, there's a few hairs there. They can't even come out of your head apart from God's sovereign providence. John Trapp—not John, but Thomas Boston, an old Puritan, said this, watch, and he is talking about Matthew 10:29. He said, "Our Lord here is encouraging His disciples against all the troubles and distresses that they might meet with in their way, and particularly against the fear of men, by the consideration of the providence of God, which reaches unto the meanest of things, sparrows and the hairs of your head. Sparrows are of a mean price and small value. And yet as far as mean as they are, God preserves them, guides and disposes all things concerning them, so that one of them cannot fall to the ground by shot or any other way without His sovereign ordering and disposal."
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So faith then understands that nothing happens apart from God's sovereign providence. Fear, on the other hand, which I'm going to show you, despises and ridicules God's providence. Fear refuses to listen to God. Fear refuses to obey God. Let me go further. Fear provokes God. Fear refuses to believe even that which it sees. Fear deprives us of God's blessings. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 14 because I'm going to show you, I've been saying that fear is the foundation of rebellion. And I want you to look in Numbers chapter 14 at verses 22 and 23. Look what God says. Numbers 14:22.
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"Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it." Now I want to call your attention to the fact in verse 22 God says these people tempted Him ten times. Then when you get to verse 23 He says that they provoked Him. So God says that they tempted Him ten times. Ten is the number of completeness; that is why we have the Ten Commandments. And so what God is telling us here is that God is fed up with His people. He is fed up with their wickedness. He is fed up with their rebellion, and therefore He is going to destroy them.
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Now there are some commentators that will say, number ten here is a certain number given for an uncertain amount. They are saying you don't really know the amount of times they tempted and provoked God. And so God just simply said ten since it is a number of completeness. However, if you go through the Bible and you count how they tempted God: twice at the sea, Exodus chapter 14; twice concerning water in Exodus 15 and 17; twice concerning the manna in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11; twice concerning the quail in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11; once by the calf in Exodus chapter 32; and once in the wilderness of Paran, Numbers chapter 14 which we are going to look at. That amounts to ten times.
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That's ten provocations or ten temptations. So let me just say this again: Fear provokes God. Fear basically despises God's providence.
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Now let me show you. Look in Numbers chapter 14 beginning there with verse 1. Numbers 14:1: "And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt."
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Now, I want to point out a number of things. First of all, if you look in verse 1, "And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night." So it is not just the ten spies now who are despising God and God's land, it is the fear that they brought that the people now have absorbed. And now the whole congregation is weeping and crying and saying, "Woe is me, we are in an awful lot of trouble." Secondly, let me point out verse 2: "And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron."
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Now here is an interesting question. How in the world could the situation that these people are in be the fault of Moses and Aaron? Stop and think about this. It was the spies who sinned. It was the spies who conveyed their fear. Now the people absorbed that fear and they disobeyed God. But now why are they murmuring against Moses and against Aaron? Certainly Moses and Aaron were their leaders. They were their guide. But the very fact that they're murmuring against them now shows their insolence toward these leaders and their base ingratitude to God as well as their fear and defiance. I'm going to show you once you are absorbed with fear, you are not afraid to strike out at God or man. Usually when you are afraid, you strike out at someone. You take a man that's drowning and someone dives in to rescue him. The rescuer has to be exceedingly careful because the drowning man in fear will oftentimes try to drown the ones that come to rescue him.
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You have to be trained. The point I'm trying to make is this: These people were in fear and therefore they were blame shifting. It is Moses' fault. It is Aaron's fault. They are condemning someone. They are accusing someone. And usually when someone moves in fear, the accusations and the condemnation and the blame shifting usually falls on someone who is absolutely totally innocent. Let me tell you something, neither Moses nor Aaron could keep the people in faith. Neither Moses nor Aaron could keep the people in obedience to God. I can't keep you in faith. I can't make you believe. I can't make you obey. I can't keep your heart. Neither could they keep the hearts of these people. But fear is not afraid to condemn man, and it is certainly not afraid to condemn God. Now look if you would at the rest of verse 2: "And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them," Listen, here is what they said to Moses and Aaron, "Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt!"
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"Or would God we had died in this wilderness!" Now, the Hebrew word for "would" can literally be translated, "Oh, that it might be." Or "Oh, I wish it could have been." Or "If only." Or "Would that." Can you believe this? They said, "Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt." I wish we had died in the land of Egypt. They had rather have died slaves in great destitution and hated and despised than to live free. And then they said, "Would God we had died in this wilderness."
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What are they talking about? Well, look back in Numbers 11, beginning there with verse 1. Look at Numbers 11:1. This may surprise you. Watch carefully. Numbers 11:1: "And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched." Here the people were bellyaching, complaining, and God sent fire and consumed them in His judgment and in His wrath. And here the people are saying, "Would God that we had died with them?"
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Now let me ask you a question. How irrational can you be? How could anyone say, "I'd rather have died a slave in Egypt than to live free" and "I'd rather have died of the wrath and judgment of God and be burned to death than be alive right here in this wilderness"? Yet that's exactly what they're saying. I don't know about you, but I think I would refer to these people as fearful idiots. And they had to be an idiot to want to die under God's wrath and God's judgment or to live and die as a slave. Now, that's bad, but that's not as bad as fear can make it.
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Look, if you would please, in verse 3 of Numbers chapter 14. Here's what they said: "And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?"
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Now, the Bible says in Proverbs 29:25, "The fear of man bringeth a snare." Brother, they did get ensnared right here. In fearing man, they did not fear God. Look what they said: "Wherefore hath the Lord brought us into this land?" Why did God bring them there? Well, they said, "He brought us here to fall by the sword. He brought us here that our wives and our children should be a prey. He brought us out here to kill us." The insanity of their fear demonstrates itself when they accuse God of deception and cruelty as if He were betraying them to the Canaanite nations and leading them forth to slaughter. Their fear of their enemies led them to believe that God had deceived them, betrayed them, and confounded them by bringing them into their deaths.
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Now, they're going to repay all of the miracles and all the mercies that God has shown to them by calling God a wicked, cruel, desperate tyrant. Hmm. They're even calling Him a traitor.
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Now, you and I can sit here and say, "Wow, I'm glad I'm not like that." My comment would be, "Really?" Because when you and I bellyache and complain and whine that God does not love us, because if He did, He wouldn't let such and such happen to us. He wouldn't let it happen to our family. God just doesn't love us. Really? What are we doing? We're doing exactly the same thing that these people did in Numbers chapter 14. We're accusing God of being a wicked, cruel despot and tyrant, that He doesn't love us, that He did this just to destroy us. He did this just to hurt us. And like these unbelieving Israelites, we accuse God wrongfully and wickedly. They said God brought us out here to kill us. He did not.
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But that's what fear said. Fear is not afraid to condemn God. Fear is not afraid to challenge God. Fear is not afraid to blaspheme God. I want you to see the height of their impiety. Let's put verse 3 and 4 together. Look at the latter part of verse 3. Look what they said: "Were it not better for us to return into Egypt?" And they said one to another, "Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt." Here is a formal renunciation of the authority of Moses and their flat-out rebellion against God. You have to remember that in Egypt their lives were made bitter with rigor and suffering. God had provided for these people. He gave them manna. He gave them meat.
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The shoes of their feet did not wear out. Their clothes did not wear out. And now they're saying we had it better off in Egypt under Pharaoh than we have it here under God. So what we need to do is we need to go back to Egypt. Let's appoint a captain and go back into captivity. Let's go back into slavery. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah chapter 9—Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah—look at Nehemiah 9. According to Nehemiah 9, they did exactly what they said. Look at Nehemiah 9 in verse 17. In fact, let's read verse 16. Nehemiah 9:16.
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"But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, and refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not." Did you hear that? They appointed a captain to return to their bondage. Fear refuses to obey. Fear refuses to be led by God's man. Fear refuses to recognize the office of authority.
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Moses was not going to take them back into Egypt. Neither was Aaron. And here's what fear says: "Fine. If you don't want to take us back into Egypt, we'll appoint someone who will. We don't have to listen to you. We'll do what we want to do."
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Now, I want to call your attention to one truth that I have enunciated over and over in the last two messages. I told you that fear was the foundation of rebellion. I want you to look at Nehemiah chapter 9, and notice if you would now, verse 16, watch: "But they and our fathers dealt proudly," there's pride, "hardened their necks, hearkened not to thy commandments, refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them, but hardened their necks, and in their" what? "In their rebellion, appointed a captain to return to their bondage." They refused to obey. They were not mindful of God's wonders, of God's miracles, of God's grace, of God's mercies.
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They forgot all of them. We're not interested in those. We are going to do what we want to do. They hardened their necks and in their rebellion they appointed a captain to return to Egypt.
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Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 1. I am going to show you it is not just Nehemiah that points this out, but Moses the man of God also pointed it out in Deuteronomy chapter 1. So I want you to begin looking there at verse 22. Deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 22. Watch carefully. Deuteronomy 1:22: Moses said, "And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come."
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"And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe: and they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us. Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God: and ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us."
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"Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there." What? Did you read that? Verse 26, "Notwithstanding," said Moses, "ye would not go up, but rebelled against the Lord." Why would they not go up? Because of their fear. In their fear of the giants, and in their fear of fighting them, they said, "We're not going to do it. We're just not going to do it." Fear is the foundation of rebellion. When you are fearful, you're not going to obey. You're going to do that which you think is going to save your hide, regardless of what God says. And fear is the foundation of rebellion.
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Now, I want you to understand that faith regards the promises of God. Fear disregards them. Faith respects the power of God. Fear disrespects the power of God. Faith rejoices in God's providence, whatever it is. Fear ridicules God's providence. Fear is not afraid to blaspheme God.
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Now, I want to make just a couple of applications in closing. The first one I actually made last week, and I want to make it again. I believe there are three verses that you ought to memorize. If you haven't memorized them, you should do so. The first one is 2 Timothy 1:7: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." So if you're afraid, if you are filled with fear, it did not come from God. It may come from your flesh, the world, or the devil, but it did not come from God. So you should memorize 2 Timothy 1:7. The second one is Isaiah 12:2, where the Scripture says, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." I will trust and not be afraid. And the third one is Psalm 56:3, where David said, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."
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And if you're trusting in God, then the fear is going to be dispelled. So I would encourage you to memorize those three passages. The second one is this: We need to be very careful for what we wish for. Because these Israelites said, "Oh, I wish I'd died in Egypt. Oh, I wish I'd died in this wilderness." God said, "Okay. I'll fulfill that wish." And for forty years, they died in the wilderness. You remember in Psalm 78 how they bellyached against God, and "We're tired of this manna," although manna was perfect.
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"We want meat, we want meat." Guess what Psalm 78 says when God sent the quail: He gave them the desires of their hearts. And while the meat was in their mouth, He slew the fattest of them. You better be careful what you wish for, because God may just allow you to have it. The third application is this: God's providence must be bowed to and submitted to regardless of the circumstances.
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Since we're human, we're frail, and we're weak, and there are things that are grievous to us. Some folks have lost a mate, a spouse. Some have lost children. Some lost brothers and sisters. I just found out this week, I did not know the young lady personally, but I know the family. Twenty years old, in school in Colorado, raped and murdered by an eighteen-year-old boy. That's got to be difficult. That's got to be hard.
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Why would God allow something like that? The answer is, for His own honor and glory, and ultimately for our good. I may not understand it. I may not be able to comprehend it, but I must believe that God is in absolute control, regardless of the circumstances or the situation in my life. And I will tell you this, the easiest way and the quickest way out of a very trying circumstance and situation is by yielding and submitting to God and giving Him the honor and glory. It's just like when Job lost everything that he had.
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He bowed and worshipped, and he said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away." In all this, Job sinned not with his lips, nor charged God foolishly. God is in control in our lives, in the lives of His people. He's in control of everything, even the wicked. And God is going to only allow that to come to pass which will glorify Him and ultimately be for our good. So whatever God brings in our lives, it's good. It may hurt, but it's still good because it's His providence. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we thank You for Your love. We thank You for Your grace and Your mercy.
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Lord, we must admit and we must confess that Thou art sovereign, Thou art omnipotent. Thou art in control. And Lord, we trust Thee. We do not trust luck, chance, fate, or fortune. We trust Thy divine providence and we bow to Thee. We do not want to be like these wicked people and ridicule Your providence. We want to rejoice because we know that You're too loving to be unkind and too wise to make a mistake.
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Help us to be holy and godly. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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so so
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The Difference Between Fear And Faith - Part 3 of 3

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this third part of a series on faith versus fear, Pastor John Weaver teaches that faith rejoices in God's providence while fear ridicules it. He defines providence as God's sovereign control over all things, from the casting of lots to the falling of sparrows. Using Numbers 13–14, he shows how the Israelites' fear led them to rebel, accuse God of evil, and wish for death in Egypt or the wilderness. Faith, exemplified by Job, David, and Eli, submits to God's will regardless of circumstances. Applications include memorizing key verses, being careful what we wish for, and submitting to God's providence even in painful trials.

Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews the series, emphasizing that faith and fear are opposites. Faith regards God's promises and power; fear disregards them and is the foundation of rebellion.

All right, let's open our Bibles today to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 13:1-2

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 11:6

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him."

Defining Providence

Faith Rejoices in Providence

Faith rejoices in God's providence regardless of circumstances, as seen in Job, David, and Eli, who worshipped God amid devastating losses.

Scripture Reading — Job 1:20-22

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."

Now, can you fathom what Job must have been going through? To have lost everything in one day, and yet he bowed and worshipped and blessed God. And the Scripture said,

Scripture Reading — Job 1:20-22

"In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 12:19-23

"But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? Thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?"

In 1 Samuel chapter 3 and verse 18, Eli's response was this:

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 3:18

"It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good."

Isn't that amazing? Here is a man that just lost the priesthood, his family lost it, his sons were going to die:

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 3:18

"It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good."

The Extent of Providence

God's providence extends to the smallest details, such as the casting of lots (Proverbs 16:33), the falling of sparrows (Matthew 10:29), and the numbering of hairs (Matthew 10:30).

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 16:33

"The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord."

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 14:41

"Therefore Saul said unto the Lord God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped."

Scripture Reading — Acts 1:23-26

Acts chapter 1. Look at it if you would. Everyone knows that Judas went out and hanged himself. He was one of the twelve. So in Acts 1 in verse 23—in fact, let's read verse 22, verse 21: "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection."

Scripture Reading — Matthew 10:29-30

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father."

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? A farthing was not much.

Fear Ridicules Providence

Fear despises God's providence, leading to rebellion. In Numbers 14, the Israelites murmured, wished for death, accused God of betrayal, and appointed a captain to return to Egypt.

Now let me show you. Look in Numbers chapter 14 beginning there with verse 1. Numbers 14:1:

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:1-4

"And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt."

Scripture Reading — Numbers 11:1-2

"And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched."

Here the people were bellyaching, complaining, and God sent fire and consumed them in His judgment and in His wrath. And here the people are saying, "Would God that we had died with them?"

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 29:25

"The fear of man bringeth a snare."

Fear as Foundation of Rebellion

Nehemiah 9 and Deuteronomy 1 confirm that the Israelites' fear led to rebellion. Fear causes people to disobey God and do what they think will save them.

Scripture Reading — Nehemiah 9:16-17

"But they and our fathers dealt proudly,"

there's pride,

Scripture Reading — Nehemiah 9:16-17

"hardened their necks, hearkened not to thy commandments, refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them, but hardened their necks, and in their"

what?

Scripture Reading — Nehemiah 9:16-17

"In their rebellion, appointed a captain to return to their bondage."

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:22-28

"And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come." "And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe: and they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us. Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God: and ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us."

Applications and Closing

Weaver gives three applications: memorize 2 Timothy 1:7, Isaiah 12:2, and Psalm 56:3; be careful what you wish for; and submit to God's providence in all circumstances, trusting His goodness.

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 1:7

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Help us to be holy and godly. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

The Difference Between Fear And Faith - Part 3 of 3

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	AFDRO2Wopsg
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Election, Israel, and Covenant Mercy
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-03-14
Dictation Name
Book	Book 106: The Difference Between Fear And Faith — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	69

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review: Weaver reviews the series, emphasizing that faith and fear are opposites. Faith regards God's promises and power; fear disregards them and is the foundation of rebellion.
Defining Providence: Providence is defined as God's continuous exercise of divine energy, preserving and governing all creatures and directing everything to its appointed end, as taught in the Westminster Shorter Catechism and Philadelphia Baptist Confession.
Faith Rejoices in Providence: Faith rejoices in God's providence regardless of circumstances, as seen in Job, David, and Eli, who worshipped God amid devastating losses.
The Extent of Providence: God's providence extends to the smallest details, such as the casting of lots (Proverbs 16:33), the falling of sparrows (Matthew 10:29), and the numbering of hairs (Matthew 10:30).
Fear Ridicules Providence: Fear despises God's providence, leading to rebellion. In Numbers 14, the Israelites murmured, wished for death, accused God of betrayal, and appointed a captain to return to Egypt.
Fear as Foundation of Rebellion: Nehemiah 9 and Deuteronomy 1 confirm that the Israelites' fear led to rebellion. Fear causes people to disobey God and do what they think will save them.
Applications and Closing: Weaver gives three applications: memorize 2 Timothy 1:7, Isaiah 12:2, and Psalm 56:3; be careful what you wish for; and submit to God's providence in all circumstances, trusting His goodness.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Faith and fear are opposites

Faith trusts God's promises and power; fear doubts them and leads to disobedience.

Weaver states, 'If you're exercising faith, then you're not living in fear. If you're living in fear, then obviously you're not exercising faith.'

Providence means God controls all things

God's providence extends to every event, no matter how small, leaving no room for chance or luck.

Weaver defines providence and cites Proverbs 16:33: 'The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.'

Fear leads to blasphemy against God

Fear causes people to accuse God of cruelty and deception, as the Israelites did in Numbers 14.

Weaver says, 'Their fear of their enemies led them to believe that God had deceived them, betrayed them, and confounded them.'

Fear is the foundation of rebellion

When people are afraid, they disobey God and follow their own plans, which is rebellion.

Deuteronomy 1:26: 'Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God.'

Believers must submit to God's providence

Regardless of circumstances, Christians should trust God's control and worship Him, as Job and David did.

Weaver says, 'The easiest way and the quickest way out of a very trying circumstance and situation is by yielding and submitting to God.'

Scripture References

Numbers 13:1-2: God commands Moses to send spies into Canaan.
Mark 4:40: Jesus asks the disciples why they are fearful and have no faith.
Hebrews 11:6: Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Romans 8:28: All things work together for good to those who love God.
Job 1:20-22: Job worships God after losing everything.
2 Samuel 12:19-23: David worships after the death of his child.
1 Samuel 3:18: Eli submits to God's judgment on his house.
Proverbs 16:33: The lot is cast, but its outcome is from the Lord.
1 Samuel 14:41: Saul casts lots to find Jonathan's sin.
Acts 1:23-26: The apostles cast lots to choose Matthias.
Matthew 10:29-30: Sparrows do not fall without the Father, and hairs are numbered.
Numbers 14:22-23: God says those who tempted Him ten times will not see the land.
Numbers 14:1-4: The congregation weeps, murmurs, and wishes to return to Egypt.
Numbers 11:1-2: God's fire consumes complainers in the wilderness.
Proverbs 29:25: The fear of man brings a snare.
Nehemiah 9:16-17: The Israelites rebelled and appointed a captain to return to Egypt.
Deuteronomy 1:22-28: Moses recounts the rebellion at Kadesh-barnea.
2 Timothy 1:7: God has not given us a spirit of fear.
Isaiah 12:2: I will trust and not be afraid.
Psalm 56:3: What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

Historical References

Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 11: Defines providence as God's holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and actions.
Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith: Expands on providence, stating God upholds, directs, and governs all things according to His will.
John Trapp (Puritan commentator): Quoted on Proverbs 16:33, emphasizing that God's providence extends to seemingly casual events.
Thomas Boston (Puritan theologian): Quoted on Matthew 10:29, explaining God's providence over sparrows and hairs as encouragement against fear.

Important Quotes

If you're exercising faith, then you're not living in fear. If you're living in fear, then obviously you're not exercising faith.

Summarizes the central contrast between faith and fear that frames the entire series.

There is no such thing as luck, chance, fate, or fortune in a world that is ruled by God.

Emphasizes the absolute sovereignty of God's providence over all events.

The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.

Key verse used to demonstrate God's control over seemingly random events.

Fear is the foundation of rebellion.

Repeated thesis that fear leads to disobedience and defiance against God.

The easiest way and the quickest way out of a very trying circumstance and situation is by yielding and submitting to God and giving Him the honor and glory.

Practical application for responding to trials with faith in God's providence.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.

Job's response to loss, exemplifying faith in God's providence.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the definition of providence from the Westminster Shorter Catechism and Philadelphia Confession shape your understanding of God's control over daily events?

[Context]

Weaver defines providence as God's preserving and governing all creatures and actions.

[Question]

In what ways do we, like the Israelites, accuse God of wrongdoing when we face difficult circumstances?

[Context]

The Israelites said God brought them to the wilderness to die; Weaver says we do the same when we complain.

[Question]

Why is fear described as the foundation of rebellion, and how can we guard against it in our own lives?

[Context]

Weaver argues that fear leads to disobedience and rebellion, as seen in Numbers 14 and Deuteronomy 1.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a response like Job's—worshipping God in the midst of devastating loss?

[Context]

Job worshipped after losing everything, saying 'Blessed be the name of the Lord.'

[Question]

What does it mean practically to 'rejoice in God's providence' when we don't understand or like what is happening?

[Context]

Weaver says faith rejoices in providence regardless of circumstances, citing David and Eli.

[Question]

How does the truth that God numbers the hairs of our head (Matthew 10:30) affect the way we handle anxiety?

[Context]

Weaver uses Matthew 10:29-30 to show God's detailed providence over small things.

Applications

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