Divine Providence: Choices, Consequences, and Faithfulness

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There is a very direct and obvious correlation between the extent of his imbibing And The Angry Outburst which led to the banishing of a queen whom he loved. I think it's fair enough to say that it must have seemed like a good idea at the time, on that particular evening when passions were running High. [00:02:58]

His power in Persia was virtually absolute, that was the good news for him but also the bad news for him. What it meant was that he could turn his whim which he had done in this instance, he could turn his whim into law, but since it was the law of the Medes and the Persians the law became irreversible. [00:05:17]

The man who had the power to make these huge decisions and who at the end had the power of veto was unequal to the task in his own personal life he made a hash of it. The story is duplicated gentlemen again and again and again throughout history, the pages of our newspapers. [00:08:07]

In observing the rash, wine-fueled stupidity of King ahaz whereis here's the word: don't be foolish, be faithful. Don't be foolish, be faithful. I was talking with a gentleman yesterday I said are you going to such and such an event he said no I'm not going to go to that event. [00:08:54]

The most important thing that a father can do for his children is love their mother, more than anything else, more than how much we provide for them, more than how much we are able to give to them in education more than whatever Legacy we may leave them. [00:09:43]

The doctrine of Providence as we've noted before from Louis Berkov, which you can get in the bookstore or download for yourself, is by definition the continued exercise of the Divine energy, whereby the Creator preserves all his creatures, is operative in all that comes to pass in the world, and directs all things to their appointed end. [00:11:43]

Nothing happens except through him and by his will. Nothing happens except through him and by his will. Charles Bridges are commentating on the way in which this unfolds says I found helpfully and maybe you will too, in inert matter God acts by physical Force in brute Animals by Instinct and appetite. [00:12:43]

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord he turns it wherever he will. The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord he turns it wherever he will. If you have directed uh streams around your property or just directed a hose pipe in a certain direction you realize. [00:13:47]

In creation God exercised his Divine energy to bring the world into being, and in Providence he continues to exercise his Divine energy to sustain the universe and to bring things all to their appointed end which ultimately as we saw in Ephesians 1 is when everything in Heaven and Earth will be United in and through the purposes as it relates to Jesus. [00:16:01]

Vashti was banished because of a free decision made by ahazweres. He was not a Pawn on a chessboard being moved around by a Divine chess player he was not dangling on the end of a puppeteer's string. He in a moment of passion fueled by his excesses decided that since his pride had been wounded he didn't want her as a queen anymore. [00:20:24]

There are these amazing little coincidences that somehow or another appear to be evidence of the over ruling activity of God so if your Bible is open you can just flip forward to Esther chapter six and look at verse 1 what it says on that night the king could not sleep. [00:21:25]

What was actually happening was that God was ordering these events not ordering them by interfering as it were, I had somebody tell me not so long ago that they were trapped in an elevator and they were supposed to phone their wife and then the phone wouldn't work, and as a result of the phone not working, uh he couldn't get his wife out of a situation. [00:22:13]

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