THE HAND OF THE LORD

Acts 4:28

Morning Meditation 11/29/14

"For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done."

I want us to consider "the Hand of the Lord" this morning. There are several things the word hand can signify. The Bible is made up of the common mans language. Therefore we are wise to study the metaphors and symbols of Scripture. These do not take away from the literal truth. They add to it. Jesus was the greatest spokesman who ever lived. He created the languages. I am absolutely certain that Jesus never made a grammatical mistake in any of His teachings, sermons, etc. I am also certain that He did not allow any mistakes to be made by the writers of Scripture. The men may have made mistakes but I believe when it happened the Holy Spirit gave them the feeling that what they had written was wrong and they felt compelled to change it. So, as a result, we have the inspired inerrant Word of God.

THE LORD'S HAND IN PROVIDENCE TO WORK OUT HIS WILL

In the text above we have the words, "For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." The words of this text are words taken from a prayer that the church prayed after having been charged by the priests, the captain of the temple and the sadducees not to preach any more in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:1-7). We have in verse four one of the reasons they were so disturbed: Acts 4:4, "Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand." The power of the gospel was bringing about great changes and it is revealed in verses like this where numbers are given, i.e., five thousand men. And to add all of this was the disturbing factor where Peter said in Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Peter said in substance what Jesus said in John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Our text reveals that God has a predetermined plan that He is working out. It reveals that the men of this world providentially without realizing it work toward the fulfilling of God's predetermined purpose. This magnifies the wisdom of God in getting His way without crossing the threshold of the human will.

We see God's hand in providence in many different situations. Let me give you one. An Old Testament prophet by the name of Micah prophesied in Micah 5:2, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Another interpretation of this prophesy is seen in John 7:42, "Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"

How will this happen? How will God maneuver Mary and Joseph to be in Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Christ so that this prophecy is fulfilled to the letter?

Luke 2:1-8, "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria) And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."

Wouldn't you know that something good would come out of taxation? God is glorified by man through providence without him even realizing it. What wisdom and power sits on the throne of God as He moves this world toward the final judgment. The world will be in the right place, doing what God said they would be doing, when the time comes for the judgment of the Great White. All I can say is Hallelujah!!! What a Saviour!!!

God's hand working in providence has the power and wisdom to program the people of this world to be at the exact place and at the precise time for the final Judgment.

WE SEE GOD'S HAND PROVIDING FOR THE PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD

In David's psalm of praise he says in Psalms 145:16-19, "Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them."

Notice the extent of God's provision: "Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing . . ." God is the Author of creation. Evolution had nothing to do with it. There will be a bunch of surprised professors in college and teachers in public schools shocked out of their shoes when they stand before the CREATOR. What do you think their excuse will be? One of the things they will learn is that education was a stumbling block to them. Satan sold them a bill of goods that will serve to condemn them to eternal death. What a horrifying day that will be as the multitudes upon multitudes pass before the God they taught didn't exist. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." But they would not listen and would have nothing to do with God's only begotten Son. Not they will bow the knee and confess to the glory of God that He existed all along. And in buying into the philosophy of the day they inherited the philosophy of Satan along with his destiny.

God provides in a general way for the continued existence of every living thing. Not only does He provide for them by meeting their physical needs but He also provides a way out for their spiritual needs. God loves the World. And He provided for the salvation of all through repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.

NEXT WE SEE HIS HAND OF POWER TO PRESERVE

John 10:27-30, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, NEITHER SHALL ANY MAN PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY HAND. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." This is the hand of the Lord to preserve.

There are so many statements concerning His power, "Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." This is Jesus saying this.

Romans 8:35-39, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I have talked to a lot of people who just can't see this truth. But we don't live by sight, we live by faith. Faith is believing God because He said it in His Word and His Word is true. Our Lord has the hand of power to preserve.

THEN THERE IS THE HAND OF THE POWER OF HIS PRESENCE

Paul told the Church at Philippi in Philippians 4:5, "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." There are two possible meanings of the words, "the Lord is at hand." Both may be true in this passage. First, His return to this earth is very near and we need to be living for Him when He comes. The other is that He is right beside you and your hands are almost touching. He is "at hand." Have you ever felt that the Lord was a great distance from you? If you ever feel that way again, and you probably will, read Philippians 4:5 and think of the meaning in this way. He is right beside you. His hand is touching yours. You may not feel it because our walk is by faith. But if you can grasp this truth, it will seem that He is so close that your hand is bumping His hand because this is His promise.

THERE IS ALSO THE POWER OF HIS HAND TO PERFORM HIS PROMISE

Deuteronomy 5:15, "And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day."

The word "servant" in this verse means "slavery." The Jews were in slavery in Egypt. They had no power to free themselves. They had no weapons of war and no training as soldiers. It was a dark dreary day in the nations history. They were very helpless. They were about to experience the only way of escape. God was going to deliver them from the cruel bondage of Egyptian slavery.

In Deut 5:15 God is reminding them of their slavery. He reminds them that they were brought out "thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm." God's hand is mighty to save. God's hand is the hand that creates the unseen matter, then takes the unseen and makes the seen. Then He forms man from the dirt of the ground and at this point His had becomes a sculptor's hand. He forms man of the dust of the earth. Then He breathes into man the soul and creates a spirit for man. Now man is Spirit, Soul, and body. It sounds like a trinity doesn't it?

God sends Moses to the Jews in slavery. He promises to deliver them. When that night came, God stretched out his hand of mercy and saved His people. It was a mighty deliverance. It was a comforting deliverance. It was a promise kept. So it is thrilling to see the faithfulness of God in action.

THEN FINALLY HIS HAND IS A POWERFUL HAND TO PUNISH

1 Chronicles 21:16, "And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem.. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces."

David had been tempted by Satan to number Israel. In doing this, it seems like such a small thing. But David was taking credit for some of the great things God had done. God was angry over this violation of a principle that He had taught Israel. So David prayed in 1 Chronicles 21:17, "And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued." The greatness comes out of David in this prayer. He was absolutely right. It was David that had sinned. So he asked God to spare the people and the Lord answered this prayer.

We see in this chapter to the end of the book God's hand of power to punish. God has not lost any of His power to punish His people when they willfully go wrong. We need to come to God for revival and revival begins with getting transparent with God. We cease to try to hide our sins. When God convicts us we are ready immediately to confess. And we will be forgiven just as David was. But don't treat God like He does not know. We will never surprise God when we confess our sins. He already knows.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White