The Sovereignty of God
- you might remember that time, so long ago, that you thought your parents could do anything
- it makes sense: from the time we are infants, these really big people provide us with everything: with food, warmth, shelter, and love
- as a child, I was completely insulated from the pressures my parents faced
- when my father was laid off from his job, I never worried about the money
- my parents had always come through – why should I worry now?
- when my mother and father split up and my mother was left to raise us by herself, with no child support or job, I had no reason to worry
- mum had never let me down before!
- you might have experienced the same thing as a child
- but one day you realized that your parents couldn’t walk on water
- I still remember the day that I saw my mother cry
- I began to discover that she didn’t have supernatural powers to know what I was doing even when she wasn’t in the room
- honest – she would leave her glasses pointed at us and say we had better behave because she was watching, and we believed her!
- but the day came when we realized that she was just another human being – a remarkable one, mind you, but a very real human being with strengths, weaknesses, and normal human frailties
- some people have begun to wonder this about God
- we’re accustomed to thinking of an all-powerful and mighty God, but some questions trouble us
- why is there evil in the world?
- why do babies die?
- if God is sovereign, why does he allow certain things to happen?
- some have begun to question whether God is sovereign or not
- in his book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Rabbi Harold Kushner questions whether God is all-powerful and able to stop evil from happening
- maybe God is like the father watching his children play on the front lawn
- he sees a car coming and wants to save his children from harm, but is powerless and can only watch helplessly as his child narrowly escapes being run over
- is God like that? he means well but is not always able to help?
- I’m here to tell you this morning that the Bible paints a very different picture
- God is sovereign
- he rules absolutely over all of his creation
- he sits on the throne of this universe as Lord
- let me emphasize: everything, and I mean everything, that happens comes about because God either directly causes it, or because he consciously allows it to happen
- nothing ever happens that does not come under the complete and total control of God
- this morning I’d like to look at God’s sovereignty
- let me begin by challenging you: is your God too small?
- does the God you worship seem weak and anemic to you?
- many Christians mistakenly begin to think that God doesn’t have the ability to make a difference, to turn things around
- we easily lose sight of God’s sovereignty, and sometimes we act like Satan is on the throne of the universe, not God
- but this morning I tell you: God is on his throne!
- he rules over heaven and earth!
- there is nothing that can thwart his rule
- Ephesians 1:11 tells us:
- (Ephesians 1:11) In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
- notice this: God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will
- everything!
- there is no event in his creation that escapes his sovereignty
- I want to begin by tracing God’s sovereignty over everything
- and I’m going to begin with the inanimate creation, then move to animals, and then finally trace God’s sovereignty in our lives, the lives of human beings
- DID YOU REALIZE THIS MORNING THAT GOD RULES OVER INANIMATE CREATION?
- there are a lot of things that we think of as being natural occurrences
- Harold Hussein tells us when it’s going to rain and when it’s going to snow
- Christina goes out in the evening and says, "Hey, where did the sun go?"
- she knows very well that the sun will be back in the morning, without fail
- but the Bible tells us that God causes all these things to happen
- in Psalm 148:8, we read of "fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command"
- we read in Job:
- (Job 37:6) He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'
- (Job 37:10) The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.
- (Job 37:11) He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them.
- (Job 37:12) At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them.
- (Job 37:13) He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love.
- God even causes the grass to grow
- (Psalms 104:14) He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-- bringing forth food from the earth:
- according to Job 38:12, God even continually directs the coming of the morning
- all this takes place under the sovereignty of God
- at one point, God asks Job:
- (Job 38:32) Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
- "the Bear" is what we call the Big Dipper
- God’s point is clear: remember who you are
- you don’t cause the sun to rise and the moon to shine
- you don’t bring out the stars and the constellations
- I do!
- just remember who sits on the throne of this universe!
- when you start making universes, creating planets, and giving life, maybe then you can start dictating how God ought to run the universe
- but until then, God has the prerogative
- let God be God!
- sometimes I’ve seen a large group of animals, and I’ve been amazed that all of them can live
- around Christmas, we took Christina to the zoo
- I’m always amazed by the different types of animals from around the world, and the fact that all these creatures have their own niche
- they all manage to scrounge or find enough food to stay alive, procreate, and live, generation after generation
- BUT GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER ANIMALS
- he feeds the creatures
- (Matthew 6:26) Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
- (Matthew 10:29) Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
- if you’ve ever seen a colony of ants or a hive of bees, just remember: God knows each of these insects
- he knows when even the smallest insect, the smallest creature, is alive, and when it dies
- God rules over creation
- now here’s a good reminder for some of us
- this past Friday was Friday the 13th
- somebody wouldn’t give me something that had the number 13 on it, especially on Friday the 13th, because that certainly wouldn’t be good luck
- but listen: there’s no such thing as luck
- there’s no such thing as a "random" or "chance" event
- GOD RULES OVER THE SEEMINGLY RANDOM EVENTS OF OUR WORLD
- a cowboy once applied for health insurance
- the agent routinely asked him, "Have you ever had any accidents?"
- the cowboy replied, "Well no, I’ve not had any accidents. I was bitten by a rattlesnake once, and a horse did kick me in the ribs. That laid me up for a while, but I haven’t had any accidents"
- the agent said, "Wait a minute. I’m confused. A rattlesnake bit you, and a horse kicked you. Weren’t those accidents?"
- "No," the cowboy replied, "they did that on purpose"
- the cowboy was right
- things don’t just happen
- everything that occurs, occurs under the sovereign hand of God
- there are no chance happenings, no luck, and no mistakes
- good and bad fall under his sovereign control
- nothing could be more random than the roll of a dice or the flipping of a coin
- but the Bible says:
- (Proverbs 16:33) The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
- think about even the affairs of nations
- GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER THE MIGHTIEST NATIONS OF THIS WORLD
- (Job 12:23) He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
- (Psalms 22:28) for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.
- Nebuchadnezzar got a little too big for his britches, and God decided to teach him a lesson
- he was walking on the roof of his royal palace in Babylon, thinking:
- (Daniel 4:30) he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?"
- he was saying, "I’m the man!"
- while the words were still on his lips, the next verse says, God decreed that he would become insane, live with the animals, and eat grass like the animals
- only when he recognized God as sovereign would he return to sanity
- at the end of seven years, listen to what happened:
- (Daniel 4:34) At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
- (Daniel 4:35) All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"
- Nebuchadnezzar came to his senses when he realized that God is sovereign
- it doesn’t matter how high you climb, how mighty a nation you are – God is in control
- but do you know something else this morning?
- GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIVES
- it is amazing to discover in Scripture how God brings about various events in our lives
- every time we eat, we’re reminded of our dependence on God to give us our daily food when we say grace, or pray, "Give us this day our daily bread"
- even though we work for the food, and obtain it by going to the grocery store, ultimately it is God who provides all that we eat
- Paul says in Philippians 4:19:
- (Philippians 4:19) And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
- how does God provide our needs?
- sometimes through very ordinary means – but make no mistake, it’s God who provides everything for us!
- God planned our lives before we were born
- (Job 14:5) Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.
- success and failure come from God, for we read:
- (Psalms 75:6) No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man.
- (Psalms 75:7) But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.
- our talents and abilities come from God, for Paul could ask the Corinthians:
- (1 Corinthians 4:7) What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
- even our plans are under God’s control:
- (Proverbs 16:9) In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
- I could go on and on, but it’s enough to realize that God is in control of every area of our lives
- right now some of you are wondering, "If God is in control, where do I come in? Don’t I have free will?"
- Scripture nowhere says that we are "free" in the sense of being able to make decisions that are outside of God’s control
- but somehow God does allow us to make willing choices that have real effects, and we’re not aware of any constraints on our will from God while we make decisions, yet God is still sovereign
- I remember as a child thinking, "If God is sovereign, than how can I choose what facecloth to take out of the closet? God has already chosen it for me"
- yet the Bible always affirms that while God is fully sovereign, we still have real choices, and these choices will have real and eternal results, for which we will be held accountable
- what about the problem of evil?
- we don’t understand it, but the Bible affirms that God never does evil directly, and never takes pleasure in evil
- this is a very complicated issue that I can’t fully answer here
- we can’t fully understand this, but it’s a little like light
- in physics, there’s a large body of evidence to show that light consists of waves, and there’s an equally large body of evidence to show that it consists of particles
- we don’t know how light can be both waves and particles, but the evidence is there, and so neither theory can disprove the other
- these two seemingly incompatible positions must be hold together, and both treated, in some sense, as true
- it will drive crazy our tidy minds, but there it is
- it’s what theologians call an antinomy: parallel truths which run side by side, and do not appear to cross each other
- on one hand, we have a sovereign God
- on the other hand, we have evil, and the ability to choose
- which is it?
- somehow, it’s both, but we affirm: God is sovereign, and he is in control
- this morning, we can have confidence and comfort that God is in control
- there is nothing outside of his reign
- we need never be afraid
- with God on our side, as Paul says, we can "do all things through him who strengthens me"
- in the midst of difficult circumstances, we can rest assured that God is on his throne, and nothing can knock him off that place of authority
- there is nothing that can challenge him
- we see the part: God sees the whole picture
- somebody has compared to what God is doing in our lives to baking a cake
- some ingredients of a cake taste good by themselves
- other ingredients taste terrible by themselves: nutmeg, baking soda, and so on
- but when you mix those things together, and get the mixer churning, the good and the bad blend and turn out for the better
- when that cake finally comes out of the oven, the good and the bad have been so mixed, so integrated, that they have produced something well worth the wait
- God is baking a cake in your life
- he’s taking the good and the bad, mixing them through the Holy Spirit, and when he finishes, all the trials will come out of the oven smoking
- and all the good and the bad will be mixed together into something even better, that tastes good, and gives him the glory
- whatever difficulty you are now facing, remember – God is in control
Adapted in part from Our God is Awesome by Tony Evans