Grace and Transformation Through Providence.

Grace & Transformation Through Providence

Introduction: (Outlining God’s Providence to this Passage.)

Illustration: (God’s gracious providence - unseen but undeniable)

The Silversmith’s Fire

Illustration: A silversmith keeps silver in the fire, carefully watching it so it does not burn up. The heat removes impurities. The silversmith knows the silver is ready when he can see his reflection in it.

Application: God’s providence often allows “fiery trials” not to destroy us but to refine us, until Christ’s reflection shines more clearly in our lives (Malachi 3:3).

Most important points of the story to now that highlight God’s promise and his providence to fulfill this promise)

Illustration:

John Newton – “The Wretched Made New”

Newton was a slave trader, lost in wickedness. After surviving a fierce storm at sea (God’s providence!), he began to seek the Lord.

Providence: That storm broke his pride and drew him to repentance.

Transformation: He became a powerful preacher and the writer of “Amazing Grace”, a hymn about God’s mercy toward even the vilest sinners.

Genesis:

God’s gracious providence in Creation.

God’s gracious providence despite the Fall - Genesis 3:15.

God’s gracious providence in through Noah.

God’s gracious providence and transformation in Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob (Israel).

READ: Genesis 45:4–8 “4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

Thematic Statement: God’s providence is God’s means of graciously transforming His people to fulfill His promise.

Proposition: Examine the providence of God!

Body: (Examining God’s Providence in the Passage.)

From Past Predicaments

(Reflecting on who Judah was and where God brought him from. (Genesis 37:26, 38:26)

(i) Judah was a lover of money - Genesis 37:26

(ii) Judah was self-admitted, less righteous man - Genesis 38:26

Application:

God’s gracious providence requires a look at our loves - idolatry.

God’s gracious providence moves us towards honest self-reflection.

Illustration:

C.S. Lewis – “The Most Reluctant Convert”

Background: Lewis was an atheist, fiercely resistant to Christianity.

Providence: Through friendships (like J.R.R. Tolkien) and deep philosophical questioning, God slowly dismantled Lewis’s defenses.

Transformation: He eventually surrendered, saying he was “dragged kicking and screaming into the Kingdom.” Lewis became a brilliant Christian apologist (Mere Christianity, The Chronicles of Narnia).

Key takeaway: God’s providence works patiently through relationships, intellect, and imagination to draw people to Himself.

Transition: We can deduce God’s providence from past predicaments where we see our false lovers and unrighteousness. We can also trace God’s providence…

To Present Penitence

The cost of offering himself, showing his growth and willingness to sacrifice. (Genesis 42:21-22, 27-28)

(i) The brothers show evidence of guilt (Genesis 42:21-22, 27-28)

(ii) Judah shows evidence of self-denial privately - Genesis 43:8-10

Application:

God’s gracious providence brings conviction for sin (esp. among a culture of relativity)

God’s gracious providence leads us to the beginnings of self-denial privately.

Illustration:

Augustine of Hippo – “From Rebellion to Theologian”

Background: Augustine lived a wild, sinful youth — pursuing lust, ambition, and false religion. His mother, Monica, prayed tirelessly for him.

Providence: One day, overwhelmed with conviction, he heard a child chanting, “Take and read.” He opened the Bible and read Romans 13:13–14, leading to his radical conversion.

Transformation: Augustine became one of Christianity’s greatest theologians, shaping the church for centuries (Confessions, City of God).

Key takeaway: God’s providence not only changed Augustine’s heart but also used his intellect for His glory.

To Potential Sacrifice

(i) Judah shows evidence of self-sacrifice publically - Genesis 44:9, 33

The Story of Elisabeth Elliot

After her husband Jim Elliot was killed by the very tribe he tried to evangelize, Elisabeth stayed — and continued to love and witness to them.

Providence: His death, tragic in human eyes, became the catalyst for the gospel reaching that tribe.

Transformation: Elisabeth became a voice for trusting God’s unseen purposes in suffering (“Suffering is never for nothing.”).

Application

God’s providence moves us towards self-death.

Applicable to the unbelievers

Pattern of life for the believers

Conclusion: (Showing God’s Providence since that Passage.)

Genesis 49:8-10

Psalm 78:1-8, 67-72

Matthew 1:2-3

Revelation 5:1-5

Before Christ, stories of grace and transformation through providence

In Christ, the fulfillment of grace and transformation through providence

Since Christ, grace and transformation through providence

Final Applications:

Examine the providence of God in your past.

Know your within the providence of God in the present.

Why are you here this morning?

Live by faith in the providence of God for your future.

If God has graciously given you Christ, is He worthy of trusting for the future?

Joni Eareckson Tada – Strength Through Brokenness

As a teenager, Joni dove into shallow water, breaking her neck and becoming a quadriplegic. At first, she wrestled with anger and despair.

Providence: God used her injury to call her into a worldwide ministry encouraging the disabled and offering a radiant testimony of Christ’s strength in weakness.

Transformation: She says today, “I would rather be in this wheelchair knowing Christ than be on my feet without Him.”

Grace and Transformation comes through the Providence of God.