Articles
The Hand of God--Transcript
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
It's good to see all of you here.
Wonderful day.
Blessed day.
Our God and Father has given to us to be together.
The day of which we are assigned , given command, and definitely we follow through with that without hesitation, without excuses, we appreciate the opportunity.
Appreciate very much the songs that we've just sung.
I hope probably you're breathing heavy after that song, I would say that probably, if you're like me, you just take one deep breath and go through it, and then after that, you exhale and start back over again, and you get back to where you need to be.
But we're going to follow on the thoughts of that song and the one prior to that, appreciate all those that lead us, appreciate very much .
Mark introducing all of you that are missing with us to the congregation here and pray that our efforts definitely will be focused and attention upon what God wants us to be and do.
About, I think it was probably early 2021, a little over four years ago, there was a nurse in the San Paulo's Brazil Hospital. And she had a patient with her who was in intensic care, dealing with some challenges and effects from COVID.
And as a result of that, she noticed that this patient's hands were getting very cold.
And as a result of that, she wanted to do whatever she could for the benefit of that patient physically.
In her work words, I wanted to do this to help improve their profusion and their saturation, to make sure the blood was flowing and then things were traveling through the system, in our circulatory system to the needed tissues and the organs and the body.
And as a result, what she did, she took some rubber gloves and put hot water in both of those gloves and put the hand of the patient, both hands, and this happened to be one of those hands, and put both of those gloves, put the patient's hand in between those gloves.
To do two things, number one, to increase the blood flow, but also to provide for that patient emotional connection, believing, hoping that that patient may believe that they're holding somebody's hand.
And she did notice that over a time that there was an increase in saturation, profusion, as well as a sense of peace coming over that patient because of that.
What's it been like for you to have held someone's hand?
What does it mean for you when somebody were to grab your hand and hold it?
Is there any sense of peace or comfort or protection or care or refuge that comes as a result of holding that hand?
This hand , in 2021, was known to be and stated to be the hand of God, because of what this nurse had done for this patient.
How many times has it been that we've used this phrase hand of God in so many different instances?
Tornado comes to a town or a community, and there are people whose lives are spared.
And they say, what it was the hand of God, that I was spared.
Or they talk about the meaning of two people.
God's hand had to be in this.
Well, I believe God's hand is in this.
And then, even when you talk about somebody dying, what do they say?
They are in the hands of God.
So we use the phrase, or reference to the hand of God in a lot of different instances.
Could be crises, could be a moment of providential care, could be healing, could be a number of things, even the meaning of two people for the very first time.
And that, which ends up in a marriage.
So we use that phrase quite a bit.
But what's the meaning of that?
What is the meaning of using the phrase the hand of God?
God, talking about the hand of God.
Well, I want you to notice with me in the book of Joshua chapter 4, something that's very clear as the people of Israel have crossed over the Jordan River into the land of Canaan.
And they've established these stones in the middle of the river, at the end of this, what is the significance of all of this?
What is the means of deliverance of the people , getting them through the wilderness and getting them to this land?
In verse 24, it says that all the people of the earth and they know the hand of Jehovah, that it is mighty, that you may fear Jehovah, you God forever. That people will know the mighty hand of God, and that you may fear Jehovah your God forever.
I don't know how many people use the phrase, the hand of God in reference to this, but we might want to think about it a little bit more seriously the next time we use that phrase , that if we're talking about the hand of God, are we in making reference to this, that they may fear the Lord of their God?
Wherever it may be, whatever the circumstance may be, whether it's a tragic situation, where it is a near tragic situation, or it's a very providential, caring, healing situation.
Would we refer to the hand of God as a means of that we may fear God , the Lord forever?
Or is it just a phrase that we just use like we use any other phrase?
It's got kind of like a cliche that we just come up with whenever there's those challenging times come or trials of difficult times.
Or when there is this moment of success, God's hand was in this.
Be very careful how you use the turn, the hand of God.
Definitely, definitely there are scriptures that talk about God's hand.
In the book of Psalm chapter 89, happens to be one of those where he mentions something in verse 13. ,Thou hast a mighty arm.
Strong is thy hand.
High is thy right hand.
Righteous is injustice of the foundation of thy throne.
L kinds it and truth go before thy face, blessed the people that know the joyful .
They walk of Jehovah in the light of thy countenance, because the mighty hand, the mighty arm of God.
Not in the book of Isaiah, Chapter 41, verse 8, verse 13.
We're going to come back to this one just a little bit.
But as he is discussing how that he has been the one that chose Israel , he took them from the ends of the earth in verse 9, from the corners of the earth, you are my servant, I have chosen thee, and Cassidy.
Fear not.
I am with thee.
Be not dismayed., I am thy God.
I will strengthen thee.
I will help thee.
I will uphold thee with my right hand of righteousness.
Then in verse 13, for Jehovah, thy God will hold thee, hold thy right hand, sayingo thee, fear not, I will help thee.
Isaiah chapter 4, even states it clearly in verse 13, talking about God's hand by saying , yea, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens.
When I call them, and then they stand together.
And then there's this phrase that or statement that is made in the book of 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 6, that a lot of people have used, when it comes down to anxiety, cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Cast all these things upon God.
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and he will exalt you in verse 6.
The mighty hand of God.
Do we know how mighty this hand is?
It's a hand that does it all.
It's a hand that has it all.
It's a hand that's very comforting, protective, caring, delivering, in our hand, in our hand..
Spec specifically mentioned in the book of Isaiah chapter 41, in verse 10, Help thee, uphold thee with thy right hand.
One of the things that you must understand when it comes down to the idea of God's hand is that there's this nearness that comes to it.
You cannot reach the person next to you and not believe that you cannot hold their hands. Them being so close.
Hard to do when somebody's on this side of the building and somebody's on this side of the building, wishing you could hold their hand, that's not possible.
So there's this there's this place place of intimacy.
There's this place of trust, there's this place of comfort.
There's this means of peace.
There's this means of protection.
There's this means of security, all because of the nearness of God with us, with His hand , which is referred to in many instances as a right hand.
Power there, love there, grace there.
And even when there's this discussion in the book of Ephesians chapter 6, when there's temptations, when there's these difficult things that which Satan throws at us in the book of Ehesians chapter 6, verse 10, verse 12, mighty strong is God's hand, all reaching hand, really close by, but it gives direction to us.
I don't know that there's any parent in this room that has a small child that is going to just let their child go off in the woods or go into a dark room or even go into a shopping area unless they grab a hold of their child's hand.
Go through the parking lot., go through a crowd of people, that there may be 20,000, 30, 40, 50,000 people that are around somewhere.
You're not going to let that child just wander in an area that they don't know anything about, without you being the one that holds their hand.
Because they don't know where they've been, where they're going.
They have never been there before.
And in some cases, they've may have been here before.
I do marvel at how many children coming to this building without a holding of the hand of any parent, and they go right to the room of where their class is going to be..
Two years old, three years old.
They know exactly where they're going to go.
But how many times has it been that you would make some sure that without a doubt, before your child ever entered into a place that had never been, that you want to make sure that you are the one that holds their hand?
Which just really has a very wonderful spiritual application for us, and that is, when you think about, how do we walk?
Jeremiah chapter 10, verse 23, says, "No man knows what how it is that he should be walking.
It is not within man that walks to direct his steps .
Same thing is true in the book of Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 5 and verse 7.
When you look in the book of Pri chapter 3, verse 5, what is it that we're held responsible to do?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean on upon your own understanding.
In essence, the implication is that you hold on to what God's direction is and that you don't know how it is that you're supposed to be walking.
You don't know where you're headed.
For in the book of Proress chapter 14, verse 12, there is a way that seems right to man, but the end their office is the way of death.
You can just go wherever way you want to, thinking that it's right, but it doesn't take you exactly where you thought it would go.
Even when you look in the book of Proverse Chap chapter 20.
In Pr verse 20, verse 24, these are the words that are said.
He said, a man's goings are of Jehovah, how then can man understand his way ?
Direction.
The need for guidance. Mean us, though, are hardheaded enough to say, I got this.
I know where I'm going.
I don't need any help.
I don't need anybody to. Telling me which way to go.
Sounds a lot like the Gentiles that Paul was describing in the book of if he's in chapter 4, verse 17.
They had this hardheadedness, and he described them as a ignorant people in the midst of their hardheadedness.
So that's where it takes us, where we think we will go and thought we would go, but it doesn't take us where we thought we'd wind up.
Let me ask you something.
When it comes to down to all of your parents in this room.
What is the meaning of the imperative?
Hold my hand.
What is the meaning of that?
Why do you say that?
Why do you do that?
When we get out of this car, you're going to hold my hand as we go through the parking lot.
We are not going anywhere until you hold my hand.
You must hold my hand.
Don't let go of my hand.
Wherever we go, you will always hold my hand.
You're about to cross the the street.
What is it that you do?
You grab a hold of your child's hand and say, hold my hand while we're across the street.
What's the meaning of this imperative to say, you hold my hand?
H Hold it.
We are not going anywhere until you hold my hand.
Let me ask you this.
To all of you that are parents who have ever said that to your child, grab their hands, that we're not going anywhere until you hold my hand.
How many of them have been afraid to hold your hand?
Or told you?
I'm afraid to hold your hand.
I don't trust you while we go through the parking lot.
I don't trust you while we cross the street.
Don't trust your hands while we're in the store.
I'm afraid of your hands.
Well, think about it from what is stated in the book of Isaiah, chapter 41, in verse 10, as we read just a little bit ago, I want to go back to this and look a little bit closer to what it is of which God was saying to his people relative to there are certain things that this hand would provide.
In verse 10, fear not thou, for I am with thee.
Be not dismayed, for I am thy God.
I will strengthen thee.
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Now, hold those statements that are made in verse 10, Fear not, be not dismayed.
I am thy God, I will strengthen thee.
I will help thee, I will uphold thee.
And then he says, this is how I do it.
I do it with my right hand , my hand of righteousness.
And the imperative is, hold my hand.
You cannot go through life without holding my hand.
You cannot be given the direction that you need without holding my hand.
And so the big question is, do we believe believe in this hand?
Do we trust in this hand?
Do we know that this hand will take us where we need to go?
The imperative of this statement, holding a hand is found in the faith acting part of us to say, there is nothing in the world that we can hold on to that's greater than what you want us to hold on to.
There is a fulfilling of a need of which nothing in the world at which we holding our hands will satisfy better than God.
We can't obtain what we need.
Through anything else that God's hand cannot provide by holding on to it.
When do you hold a person's hand?
When you're sad or when you're in joy?
When do you hold on to someone's hand, when you're in danger or when you're comforted at home?
When do you hold on to hand?
We hold on the hands, the way of which we should hold on to the hand of God, when there's a need of which nothing in the world could satisfy.
But what does God's hand provide?
Power, protection.
You see, that's why you hold onto the hand of your child before you go into this crowd of people.
There's hundreds and thousands of people around.
That's protecting you.
That's that's protecting rid of the child.
Because you don't want them finding themselves out lost and wondering and they let go and you let go.
What's the meaning?
Of the power of the hand of God?
Go to the book of Exodus.
How powerful and protecting is this hand?
Look with me, the book of Exodus.
This is when God was was bringing the people out.
I already brought the people, or excuse me, it was about to bring the people out, but he tells you what happened.
And here's the thing I want you to notice in the book of Ex's Ch chapter 3.
There's a contrast between the hand of Pharaoh and the hand of God.
In verse 19, I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go , no, not by mighty hand.
He's going to keep you here.
But then the opposite in verse 10 is, I will put forth my hand and will smite Egypt with all my wonders, which I will do in the midst thereof.
And after that, he will let you go.
His hand will be released from you when you see my hand upon him.
That's a wonderful thing to see and know.
For when you get to chapter 7 and verse 4, these things are done that the Egyptians will know that I Jehovah in verse 4 will stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out children, the children of Israel, from among them .
Pharaoh will see it.
The people of Egypt will see it.
They will know God's mighty, powerful hand.
What value is that to us?
Well, the book of Psalm chapter 138, has some very, very wonderful words to say about it.
When you notice of what he says in verse 7, "Th I walk in the midst of trouble , thou wilt revive me.
Thou what stretch forth thy hand against the wrath and I am enemies, and thy right hand will saved me.
When you look at Ephesians chapter 6, that we alluded to just a moment ago, verse 10, verse 18.
What are you going to hold on in your hands, the shell of faith, the sword of the Spirit?
Where did all those weapons come from?
From whom did they were they given?
They were given from God to you .
Hold on, and this is he to you.
In the book of John, the 10th chapter, the gospel, how is God going to take care of his people?
And verse 29 says, My Father , who has given them in the me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
The power, the strength, the protection, the promising hand of God, as long as we cleave to this hand, has a wonderful means of protection.
Please know this.
That does not mean that you can never let it go.
That does not mean that you just can't walk away and say, I'll do this myself.
Be advised.
If you decide not to let go of the hand of God and do it to yourself, be ready to be snatched up by somebody that is against you.
You won't have the power to overcome then.
You will not have the power to escape that.
You will not have the protection that you need if you let go of the hand of God.
This hand also has the ability to comfort.
In the book of Psalm 139, and verse 10, as you look carefully into the description of what this whole chapter is about, and that is God's presence, he talked about the hand .
His He said, evenven theirs thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
The extent of God's hand in any given situation will comfort.
The Psalist was talking about in the book of Psalm chapter 23, verse 4.
What it is that he will provide for us is comfort.
Thou prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
Thouest my head with oil, my cup breadth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I'llwell in the house of the Lord, all because the comfort that mentioned just before that.
Comfort me.
Psalm Even stated something in verse 50, this is my comfort and my affliction, for thy word has quickened me.
Then you have something stated in the look of 2 Coians chapter 1, and 2 Coians 1, you've got these tements that are made regarding this God of comfort and who has mercies in verse 3, who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are an affliction through the comfort wherewith we areselves are comforted.
How is it that God's going to comfort us from a distance?
But no, it's close.
It's very near giving us direction in the midst of the sufferings of which we encounter so that we will have the ability to give the same comfort to those who suffer, that he states in verse 6, as well as in verse 7.
God's hand provides comfort.
And that is a way of faith actuallying to receive from God what you cannot receive from anything else.
But it is a need that you and I have.
This hand of God is what provides us joy.
One of the greatest pictures you'll ever see is when they there is a child that hasn't seen their parents, maybe two or three or four days. And they may greet them and come run into them with a hug.
But then when they walk away, what does it look like?
They're walking away with a smile in their face, hand in hand.
When a spouse hasn't seen another spouse in quite a while and meets them at the airport, there's a hug that is exchanged, a kiss is exchanged, and then how do they walk off?
Hand in hand, with smiles on their face.
Joy comes as a result of a hand.
In the book ofs Ch chapter 37, you clearly see that all that the Psalmist has his dependence upon God for everything.
According to what verse 23 says, a man's go goings are established of Jehovah and he delights in his way .
Therefore, we talk about this hand of God giving direction.
He delights in this way, but notice this.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast.
For Jehovah upholds him with his hand.
You delight in the Lord, and when there is a time of which your life is cast down, he uphold you.
He lifts you up..
He picks you up.
He picked you up.
How many times has it been that you've seen these people running down the track or running along in a half marathon or marathon, and they're about 500 feet from the finish, and all of a sudden this person just collapses because they don't have the energy in their legs to get them going past the finish line.
And all of a sudden, there's this other person that comes along with them or comes up to them, and they, what, they pick them up with their hands.
They uphold them, and the next thing you know, they are hand in hand or arm in arm, and they're finishing going across the finish land together, and there's joy upon all their faces.
Both of them are finished .
It wasn't about what place it is.
It's just getting across the finish line.
And the ultimate understanding of what God's hand does for us is exactly what Psalm chapter 16, verse 11 says, thou hast made known the path of my life in the presence of the fullness of joy, in thy right hand, there are pleasures just as long as I live.
No, the pleasures are forevermore.
Here, take my hand, lead me.
As Tracy was leading us in the song, guide me me, oh, thou great Jehovah, through this pilgrim land, I am weak, but thou art mighty.
Hold me with thy mighty hand.
Hold me with his hand, because I don't know where I'm going.
Your powerful hand is mighty.
And it brings me joy because I've got somebody to hold on to .
I've got someone that changes my woe is me to joy is me.
God's hand, the hand of God, is what brings deliverance and salvation.
I don't know how many times you've read the story or you've heard the interviews from people when there's a flowood, or when there some building collapses, or something happens, even in the midst of a stampede of people running away from something. And the person being interviewed describes how it is that they try to reach out and grab the hand of a free, a loved one. And they just could not reach out far enough to bring them to safety, to save them.
And with tears rolling down their face, they describe to you and to everyone that's seeing this interview, how they just were just inches away from saving their child, their wife, their husband, their friend, their parents.
Deliverance, salvation.
If you know noticed back in that text while ago that we were looking at in the book of Psalm 139, verse 9, in verse 10, when he described in verse 9 the uttermost parts of the earth in and then right after that, he talked about the hand of God.
That just tells you how long God's hand is, how far reaching his hand is to say, even to the uttermost parts of the earth.
And I don't know how many of you people have felt this in the midst of all the difficulties that your life may be experiencing, that you felt that you were at the depths of the earth.
And there's no one that couldn't be able to uphold you, pick you up, and get you back up to where you needed to be.
That's what this pan does brings deliverance and salvation.
And for all the people that was say to you and to me, I don't believe God is going to be able to reach down and save me in this situation that I'm in, I'm too bad, I am the worst of the worst.
But notice in the book of excuse me, Isaiah chapter 59 in verse 1, and two, Yes, the sins do cause division, and iniquities are there .
Yet he says his hand is not sure that it cannot save.
In other words, you're the one that let it go.
His hand's out there reaching, but you're the one that's not grabbing a hold of it.
You just want to stay right where you are.
Regardless of when anybody else says those or things.
We see in Scripture in the book of Matthew chapter 14, verse 31, this great instance of a physical hand reaching down into grabbing hold of a man's hand, Peter, pulling him up out of the torrential waters and keeping him from drowning, saving him, delivering him.
And it is this same Jesus that you've seen in the Book of Luke chapter 23 in verse 46, who in the midst of bearing the sorrows and the sins and the shame and the transgression of everybody, going through all the bleeding, all through the pain, all the agonizing parts of his dying.
And he looks up into heaven and says,Unto thee, I commend my spirit. Into thy hands I commend my spirit.
Who else is going to help him in that need?
Apostles, they're gone.
The mother, she's there.
All the people ran in crucifying.
The only one that's left is God.
To reach out and to commend his spirit, God's not going to physically take him off the cross.
And this man's hands are reached out like this and there's nails driven through it.
All you need to do is take the nails out.
But sometimes you can't take the nails out of your life, because the sorrow and the trials that you're experiencing. Then whose hand do you hold?
I want you to take your left hand, not your right hand, take your left hand, and I want you to make a fist.
And when you make a fist, I want you to squeeze it just as hard as you can.
Don't do somebody else's hand this way.
I just want you to squeeze your hand, not somebody else's.
Okay, now, just let it go.
Just release it.
Just release it.
I want you to imagine that eclutched fist hand is one of which God cannot hold. For within that hand is you, your way, your trials, your problems, your sin, what all you want to do and be. And what all that you think you can handle.
Therefore, you have the ability to hold on to it.
And once you think about that, you've got the ability to hold on to it.
For no one will take it away from you.
As long as you've got this fist, you've got everything in it.
No one takes that away.
Somebody grabs a hold of your fist.
They're not going to hold it very long.
It's going to slip away.
And they're not going to want to hold this hand. Because you've got this fist there.
And when you let go, number one, you're giving an opportunity for God to come into this hand and to hold it.
Number two, you give an opportunity for God to save the life of the hand that He's holding.
Number three, you give your life an opportunity to be held by the hands of brethren, to provide for you the strength and the help that you need.
And see, the thing is, God's using their hands to give you the strength to hold you up.
Therefore, in a figurative sort of way, in a spiritual way, we are upholding each other with the hands of God, giving us both the strength.
But as long as this fist is there, nothing but you takes place.
But when you open up the hand and you hold the hand of God, you've got perfection.
You've got intimacy.
You've got all grace, you've got all love, you got all power.
You got all care in your you got all joy.
That's the hand of God.
That's the hand of God that you need to hold.
I have heard it said many times at the end of the lesson as we're about to have, Anyone that needs to be saved, come forward and we will take your hand.
Really, it's you that God's going to take your hand and leads you to be saved by baptism in the water because you change your life.
And you would have confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Or those of you that have. Become Christians before, but you want to hold it all in your hands because you've got that power.
You've got that strength.
You've got that experience .
And yet you have yet to release and open up your hand to God.
Just let him take your hand.
For when you do , He will draw nearer. Do what's right, what together, we've sing this song.
