The scripture reader for this afternoon is from Romans 8, beginning at verse 18 till 30. Romans 8, 18 to verse 30, and then after that we will read the Heidelberg Catechism on Lord's Day 10. Romans 8 beginning at verse 18. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sense of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope. because the creation itself also will be delivered from the boundaries of corruption into glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now he who searches the hearts knows what the minds of the Spirit is, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose, for whom he foreknew he also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren, moreover, whom he predestinated These he also called. Whom he called, these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. So for the reading of God's word, let us listen now to Lord's Day 10 from the Heidelberg Catechism, which is on page 17 of your Psalter hymnal. Question 27, what do you understand by the providence of God? The answer, providence is the almighty and ever-present power of God, by which he upholds and with his hand, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leave and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty, All things, in fact, come to us not by chance, but from his fatherly hand. Question 28. How does the knowledge of God's creation and providence help us? The answer is, we can be patient when things go against us. Thankful when things go well and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from his love. All creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved. So far, the reading of the Heidelberg Catechism. Congregation, this afternoon we want to consider the teaching of God's providence. The previous Lord's Day does mention the providence of God when it says in answer 26 that the eternal father who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence. Eternal counsel speaks of God's plan which he has for the world in which we live. and providence speaks of the execution of God's plan for this world. It is important to understand when God had created all things that we hear him say in Genesis 1 verse 29, see I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed, to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, and to every birth of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food. And it was good, and it was so, Then God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good. We can say then that God's creation was perfect. It would last forever, for all eternity. God would be glorified by his own creation and by his own creatures. especially by mankind because they were created perfectly to glorify God's name forever and ever. But we also know what has happened. Man fell into sin. We turned our backs to God and we followed Satan. We became spiritually dead as he had warned us. and there was no back unto God anymore. However, in his eternal love for mankind, because we were created in the image of God, he opened a way back unto him. And through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would be born in time. He would suffer and he would die for the sin and the guilt of all the elect. That time has come about 2,000 years ago when the Lord Jesus Christ, as the promised Messiah, was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem. Jesus' life on earth was a suffering life. It ended on the cross of Calvary and he died and he paid the price for sin in full. He poured his blood for his children so that they could be washed from every stain of sin. They are washed wider than snow. And after three days in the grave, the Lord Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead so that the children of God would have eternal life with him in glory. The Lord Jesus Christ, he ascended into heaven and he is from there building his church. A church from all nations, from all tribes, from all peoples and from all tongues as we can read in Revelation 7 verse 9. The Lord Jesus does this by his Holy Spirit and by his word. We know from the word When the last one of God's chosen people will be saved or will be born again, the Lord Jesus Christ will come again on the clouds of heaven and he will judge all people and who are unbelieving people. they will be judged into eternal condemnation. And those who did believe in Christ Jesus the Lord as their Savior, as their Redeemer, they shall be taken up in eternal glory. Now, when we realize that there is a space of time between God's creation and the coming back of the Lord Jesus Christ. And for that time, God made a plan. It's the sovereign plan of God. for this in-between time which he himself upholds and executes by his fatherly hand. And for this afternoon, we want to focus more on God's providence during this in-between time as the Church of God is being built. The central figure of this plan of God is his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. With his kingdom, his church, which is still under construction until the last stone is in place. We know from scripture that the Lord himself builds his church. Therefore, to make matters more understandable, we use the image of someone who is thinking of building a large building. To build a building plan, or also called a blueprint, or a set of drawings is needed. An architect, he makes a plan, which shows what the building will look like when it's all finished. But it shows also every detail how the building needs to be constructed. Moreover, before the building can be built, the architect makes a specification book in which he has written the kinds and the qualities of materials, all the different materials to be used. When the plan and the specification book is ready or finished, the builder can start to build. And the builder knows he is responsible to make the building according to the plan and the specifications of the architect. And the architect will keep a close eye on the building, on the progress of the building, on the quality during this whole construction time. And he sees each time something progressing and he will see that each time it becomes more and more as he had planned it to be. So has God. The architect drawn a plan and made his own specifications for this enormous building, his kingdom, which is still under construction. And all things are going according to his sovereign will. The builders of this enormous building are people, not only big leaders in this world, but also the feeble, the weak. Everyone has his place and his task. Even God's greatest enemies are used in the execution of God's plan. They want to break down the kingdom of God. They persecute and kill God's people. But God uses them as sowers. They have to sow. We probably all know the expression, the blood of the martyrs becomes the seat of the church. Tertullian, one of the second century church fathers, wrote that the blood of the martyrs is the seat of the church, implying that the martyrs' willing sacrifice of their lives leads to the conversions of others. Throughout the history of the Church, we can read about God's enemies who are consequently the enemies of the Church of Christ. Through their raids against God happens exactly the opposite of what they tried to hinder and stop. The sovereign Lord works and reigns as he mobilizes all kinds of workers in his service. It is for everyone important to understand and see how the Lord is at work even today. Just a few examples. Look at ISIS. They rage their anger against God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. And they fire their rage against Christians, the children of God. And also they fire it against their own people. It is important to know, the more Christians and Muslims are being killed by ISIS, the greater the number of God's kingdom is coming. Especially in the last years, the Lord has converted many many thousands of Muslims to Christianity. Another example, look at the Jews, God's own people. Even today, it is not easy to do real mission work in Israel. It might even cost your life. Yet, nothing hinders the Almighty God, who is converting many and many Jews all over the world, but also in Israel. He converts them and gives them a new life in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And he does this through parents of young Jews. Those parents, they are warning the children, do not read anything of the New Testament. Do not believe anything of Jesus. And exactly the opposite happens. Many young Jews trying to get the New Testament and when they're reading it, they realize by the Spirit of God in them that Jesus is truly the long-awaited Messiah. They come to faith in Jesus Christ and they become also those who spread the gospel around among their own people. Another example, look at the communist countries. Take China for an example. They have tried to kill, in a sense, all Christians in their country. And the result is that right now China has a very large Christian population. It is well, very well over 100 million people who confess to be the children of God. And do we know that most of the sound reformed Christian reading material is printed in China? And that from all those books which are printed in China, 25% stays in China. The Lord truly works in miraculous ways. The former Soviet Union, it broke in pieces and the Lord is building his church in a mighty way. We may see that God uses his enemies and his children to build his church. It is all in his providence. God himself, he executes his own plan by his power, which is omnipotent and omnipresent Or as answer 27 says, providence is the almighty and ever present power of God by which he upholds as with his hand heaven and earth and all creatures and so rules them. Here we may see that God's providence is enfolded in two deeds of God. his upholding and his reign of all things. This makes sense because after the fall, God's world had to be kept up so that all the elect would be placed as a stone in the church of Christ. We cannot think of this world that it would uphold itself. The world is not just a motor which is started and it runs by its own power. The world cannot run itself without God. The whole creation, people, animals, and everything else, it is all depending upon God, who is the upholding, Who else can take care of the sun, the moon, and the stars, and all the other planets that they will stay in their particular places? Who can take care of the seas and the oceans that they will not take over the whole world, the dry lands? Who takes care of the four seasons which we know of, so that the earth will bring forth its fruits? Now we can understand also, to uphold this whole creation, it requires almighty power. Without the almighty power, the creation, the world would collapse. It would be chaos. The almighty power of God is omnipresent. God's power is all over. You think of the mighty planets and the stars and think also simultaneously of that crawling caterpillar or the smallest insect like an ant or a flea. They all exist by God's grace. God is with his power everywhere and in all things. Every breath which we take, every step which we do, every word we speak, it is all by the power of God. When he opens his hands, we are blessed with his goods. When he takes away our breath, we will die. This applies for powerful animals, and the smallest insect. It applies to the huge trees and the smallest blade of grass in the lawn. It applies to the strong man and the weakest child. It applies to the mighty people of the world and the least of the world. It applies to all of us. It says heaven and earth and all creatures, congregation, We cannot hide ourselves from God. It is impossible. He is omnipresent. He knows where we are. We hear it in Jeremiah 23, 23, 24. The Lord says, Am I a God near at hand, says the Lord. and not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places so I shall not see him? Says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? Says the Lord. Listen also to Acts 17, 24, 28. God who made the world and everything in it, since he is the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hand, nor is he worshipped with man's hand, as though he needed anything, since he gives to all life, breath, and all things. And he has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the faces of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord in the hope that they might grope for him and find him. Though he is not far from each one of us, For in him we live and move and have our being. As also some of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring. When we look at our own families, we can see that a strong hand is needed so there will be order. How much more we see than in a country in which we live, like Canada. If there is no strong hand of rule and reign, this country will be chaos. How much the more is a strong hand needed to rule and reign the heavens and earth and all creatures. And the Catechism let us know that God reigns the heavens and earth and all creatures, even the leaves of the trees, the blades of grass, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, Health and sickness, prosperity and poverty, all things, in fact, come to us not by chance, but from God's fatherly hand. God, by his almighty power, upholds and reigns the whole universe, everyone, everything included. Everyone and everything is in God's control and is dependent of his will. The question is for each one of us, are we dependent of God? We can be thankful for the freedom which we enjoy as Christians to worship God in this country. We can be thankful that this country allows Christian schools and also the possibility for some families to homeschool their children. We can be so thankful for the many blessings which we may enjoy here in this country. However, let that not blind us for the reality of the government of this country. We have a Prime Minister, who has openly said, Christians are the pest for society. And he is working very hard to throw the whole Bible, the Word of God, out of the windows of the Parliament's building. Spiritually, Canada is becoming more and more like a desert. And this is also in God's providence. But simultaneously, the Lord is calling his people to spread the glorious gospel of his son. And we as Christians are to be involved in this impossible but most beautiful work. to do missions can only be done when we are dependent on God. In the last decades, thousands of books have been written how to do mission. A number of church denominations are working and studying very hard together how to do mission. But brothers and sisters, let us not waste our precious time. Listen to the word of God and do what it says. Do it with a prayerful heart and ask the Lord every morning, Lord, Grant me that you will place somebody of this world on my life path today to whom I may present the Lord Jesus Christ as the only savior of sinners. Just depend on God. and he will answer your prayers. It is that simple. Just depend on the Lord and do what he says in his word. Why is this so important? Well, this is the will of God for our lives. Question 28 asks, how does the knowledge of God, of God's creation and providence help us? The answer is we can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well. And for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from his love. All creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved. We can be patient when things go against us. Now just try to think about the persecuted children of the Lord in this world. Things are really against them. Think of many Christians whose spouses are against their faith life with Jesus Christ. of the many Christian families who have children who turn themselves against the teaching of God's word. Many Christians are experiencing animosity from fellow workers or even from neighbors Many young Christians at colleges and universities are experiencing unpleasant things from fellow students. How does the knowledge of God's creation and providence help us? We have heard from Romans 8 verse 28, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. This is a lesson which we need to learn every day. that in all things, no matter what, no matter what in the life of God's people, it has purpose. But what about if I go bankrupt? Or divorce papers are laying on the table? Or look at my disease. or look at the people who are constantly working against me, how can I be patient? And the Lord says, all things work together for good for those who love God. Do we love God? We can only be patient when we abide in Christ the Lord. by faith. See in this abiding in Christ we simultaneously are connected with him and live out of his fullness and it is in that abiding life in Christ that makes us patient Then it says, thankful when things go well. To be thankful to God when things go well means to experience, to feel, and to see God's hand on our life so that we truly know that is all because of him and for his purpose. When things go well, we tend to live it up for our own purposes, which might not be God's purposes. We need to understand that God blesses some people with riches for the furtherance of his church. Let us not forget this. It is all by God's providence so that his plan will be fulfilled. To be thankful when things go well requires also an abiding life in Christ. To acknowledge God for these blessings and to use them for his purpose. This same abiding faith in Jesus Christ We have confidence that nothing can separate us from the love of God because he is faithful and we are saved by his fatherly hand. No one can snatch us out of God's hands. because our names are engraved in these fatherly hands. We are completely in God's hand, and he uses us for his own purposes, for his own glory, that we all, by abiding faith, may be willing servants through Jesus Christ. in this in-between time to be part of building the Church of Christ by God's hand. Let us pray. Lord, the providence of you is enormous. We cannot even fathom it but Lord we have just stumbled through a couple of things and that we all may see how wonderfully, how miraculously you are working through all kinds of people to build your church. It's all your work. You even use enemies. to build your church. You have for everyone a place in building your church. And Lord, use each one of us mightily that your church may be finished and that we may look for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. and that we may dwell with him forever and ever into all eternity where he will be the light, the light of the world. No sun and moon are needed. That is how bright it will be in the presence of Christ. Lord, bless us in the week before us. Bless each one of us, the mothers at home, those who are homeschooling, bless them, Lord, with special strength to do so. Bless the other ones at work and wherever the studies may be, at universities or colleges or whatever schools they may attend. Bless us, oh Lord, with your presence. and show us your ways through your spirit and your word, and that all things work out for your glory and our spiritual well-being. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.