God’s Sovereignty Over All

Transcript

GRM 1104
11/18/2012
God’s Sovereignty Over All
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

Several of our songs focused attention on the sovereignty of God and it was that last one expressed we have our confidence, our security, and our comfort in knowing that no matter what is going on in the world around us, God is sovereign and he’s in control. And we certainly have turmoil in the world these days. Focal point for us is what is going on in the Middle East, of course and Israel, and I know you’re keeping track of that with interest.

We have been talking about the sovereignty of God. I can’t think of any biblical truth that is more important than what the Bible says about God’s sovereignty. Because everything else depends upon God’s sovereignty. If he is not sovereign then how can we be sure that things are moving according to his plan? There are always issues that come up when we talk about sovereignty and I think sometimes as believers we may miss some of these blessing that comes from appreciating the truth of God’s sovereignty because we get into trying to sort out, what about mans will? What about man’s responsibility and I believe God is totally sovereign in all details, every area of life. I also believe man is responsible and accountable to God for all of his decisions and actions.

Now whether I can completely harmonize all of that doesn’t concern me so much. I want to be sure that I have a biblical understanding of what God says. Quite frankly some things I expect are going to be beyond my finite mind, but I want to be sure I don’t sacrifice one at the expense of the other. Often, we talk about the will of man and the sovereignty of God. We end up trying to make a decision. Well I think I’ll choose man’s freedom and so I’ll play down the sovereignty of God and make man and his freedom and his will really central. Or go the other way and God is sovereign in everything and man responsibility is limited. God holds man fully accountable. Says his decisions, man’s decisions, are his own decisions. His actions are his own actions. As well as God is sovereign and in complete control.

We’re focusing on the sovereignty of God, though. Don’t be destressed, “Oh we didn’t resolve the real question here.” Well I’m smart enough to know that when I can’t resolve something I avoid it. So right now we’ll avoid that, but we may address it. We have on other occasions along the way. What we’ve done is that we have talked about God’s sovereignty relating to kings and kingdoms, rulers and nations, saw that God is sovereign over the setting up of a ruler and a nation and the taking down of a ruler and a nation. And we say He is sovereign in the appointing of minor officials and major officials.

Then we are going to talk about the sovereignty of God over everything. And then in our next study we are going to talk about the sovereignty of God as it pertains to evil and sin which becomes a concern for us so we’ll attempt to address that and at least look at what the scriptures says, which amazingly God says can evil occur and I’ve not done it. What is the Bible saying regarding God’s actions? Don’t get ahead of me. We’ll talked about God’s sovereignty over rulers and nations and let me take you back to the book of Daniel. This is a little reminder, we did look at these verses in our last study that they pertain to what they are saying and will help provide the link to where we’re going in this study today. Daniel chapter 2 and what happens in Daniel chapter 2, God demonstrates His sovereignty. He gives Nebuchadnezzar, an unbelieving godless ruler over the nation Babylon, a dream. Nebuchadnezzar wants to find out what does the dream mean. And without going into all the details many of you are familiar with the account. God reveals the content of the dream to Daniel and its meanings. What God is revealing is his sovereignty. He reveals what’s going to happen to Babylon. What’s going to happen with the next nation and the next nation and the next nation will go from Babylon to Metopersia to Greece to Rome. You see the sovereignty of God.

Daniel chapter 2. We’ll pick up with verse 19. This is telling us Nebuchadnezzar has already had the dream and he is smart. He didn’t become ruler of Babylon without being able to know people might deceive Him. He wanted people to tell Him what the dream meant, but so he can be sure that you were really telling him the truth because if you tell him what the dream is and you claim to have a revelation from God, here’s what it means how will he know whether it’s true or not? So he says I’ll tell you what. I want you to tell me what the dream means but first tell me what I dreamed. Verse 19, “the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vison, then Daniel blessed the God of heaven” and you want to note this, just keep it in mind as we move through passages that will relate to the sovereignty of God through the rest of our study how often it’s in the context of blessing God. Praising God. It causes us to want to worship Him, give Him glory, and give Him credit. As the one who is sovereign over all.

Verse 20 “Daniel said, ‘let the name of God be blessed forever and ever.’” Now note, “for wisdom and power belong to Him it is He who changed the times and the epics. He removes Kings and establishes Kings. He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things He knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with Him. You see the absolute sovereignty of God here. Wisdom and power belong to Him. That means any wisdom that man has or any power that man has has come from God, because he is the source of wisdom and power. He changes the times and the epics. Well the events take place.

One of my books in my library deals with history and it talks about the most significant events in history. Trying to show those events that have taken place that have impacted history and have brought about major changes. God changes the times and the epics. We can look at it from a horizontal level and say, well these events happened, and this happened, and this happened. It’s God who is sovereignly working His plan. He removes Kings, establishes Kings. The sovereignty over who will rule, whether it through a war, whether it’s through an assassination, whether it’s voting, however. It doesn’t matter. Power belongs to God. He gives wisdom to men and knowledge to men of understanding.

Come over to verse 37. There Daniel was praising God. Now he’s before Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. Pigeon godless man. In chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar will consign Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego to the fiery furnace because they won’t fall down and worship the image that he has made of himself. We get some idea of the character of the man, but here Daniel stands before him. In verse 36 he says, “this was the dream.” So, he reiterated to Nebuchadnezzar, here’s what you dreamed. Now here’s the interpretation, verse 37. “You O king are the king of kings.” Now note this so “whom the God of Heaven has given the kingdom the power, the strength, and the glory.” God gave you this kingdom. He gave you the power to rule, the strength, the glory. Nebuchadnezzar didn’t understand or accept that yet. We will see that in a moment. “Wherever the sons of men dwell or the beast of the field, of the birds of the air, he has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them.” You see how Daniel says God is behind it all. He’s given this kingdom into your hands. He has caused you to rule about all the things that have taken place. Nebuchadnezzar has father Nilopolis and the establishing of the Babylonian empire and its power. Let’s just cut to the chase, God gave it to you. God gave you the power, He gave you the strength, He gave you the glory.

Come over to chapter 4. And Nebuchadnezzar is now going to reiterate what happened to Him, how God brought him to a saving knowledge of the God of Israel. “Nebuchadnezzar,” verse 1, “the king to all the peoples, nations, men of every language that live on all the earth, may your peace abound” and he is speaking as basically the ruler of a civilized world as maybe we could call it. He is the major empire. “It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the most high God has done for me. How great are His signs, how mighty are His wonders!” Note this, “His kingdom isn’t everlasting kingdom. His dominion from generation to generation.” See what Nebuchadnezzar is acknowledging. I’m king of Babylon. I’m the power in the world, but I’m not the ultimate power. “God’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. He rules from generation to generation.”

Now he tells what happens. He was in his palace. He saw a dream and on it goes. We don’t have time to read all that. Come down to verse 17. “This sentence is by the decree of thee angelic watchers, the decision is of a command of the holy ones in order that the living may know,” now note this, “that the most high is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whom he wishes and sets over it the lowest of men.” You know God is not limited and say there are only a few men in such a position. With such this or that that I can put into this position. He can pick the lowliest of men. The least likely and give them the greatest power. He bestows it on whom He wishes, why He rules in the realm of mankind. That means He has absolute sovereignty over it.

When Nebuchadnezzar writes this, he can understand something of the right of a king. He has the power of life and death. Now we recognize “the Most High as ruler and He bestows it on whom He will.” The end of verse 25, “Until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whom he wishes.” The end of verse 26. “Your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules.” Then Nebuchadnezzar after being told about the dream and what had happened in the dream as he relates it. Here is what happened to Him. “A year later he was walking on the roof of his royal palace in Babylon and the king reflected” verse 30, “Is this not Babylon the great which I myself have built as a royal resistance by the might of my power for the glory of my majesty?” You can see I did it and my power, my brilliance, is my military ability, and nobody can stand against me and I did it for my glory. God speaks just like that and a voice from heaven at the end of verse 31. “Sovereignty has been removed from you.”

God didn’t have to work and arrange armys to come and attack. He just speaks the word. You know what? You will be driven from mankind. Your dwelling place will be with the beast of the field and you will be given grass to eat like cattle, seven periods of time, seven years will pass over you. Seven years Nebuchadnezzar is going to live like an animal. Somebody who has gone insane. Amazing! The thing is, God will restore Him to his kingdom. Now on this kind of environment. You think a king who goes over the edge, why he would soon be gone, removed and a successor would come but nobody is going to succeed Nebuchadnezzar, but Nebuchadnezzar. So he’s driven out and description of him but verse 34 and at the end of that period, “I Nebuchadnezzar raise my eyes toward heaven, my reason returned to me. I bless the Most High, praise and honor Him who is forever and ever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion. His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing. He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and no one could ward off His hand and say to Him, ‘what have you done?’”

What a remarkable conversion. And the understanding that Nebuchadnezzar now has, you know when God saves a person, it opens the eyes of understanding and Nebuchadnezzar now sees clearly there is one sovereign ruler overall and it’s not me. There is the sovereign God and He does according to His will in heaven and on earth. No one could ward off his hand and no one can challenge him by saying, “what have you done?” What do you think you’re doing? Nobody can challenge God. He is the unchallengeable sovereign ruler doing according to his will. So verse 37 “now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise exalt and honor the King of heaven for all his works are true. His way is just, He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” Looking forward to meeting Nebuchadnezzar some day in heaven. Amazing!

Come over to 1 Peter. We are talking about God puts up rulers and He is sovereign over all. Important that this is reflected in our conduct and how we view rulers and so 1 Peter 2:13. “Submit yourselves,” now note this, maybe you have it marked in your bible, “for the Lord sake to every human institution whether the king as one in authority or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evil doers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God.” Gotta have that marked. “Such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men. Do not use your freedom as a covering for evil. Use it as slaves of God.”

So, we are free because Christ has set us free. But we are free now to serve God and to do his will and so Peter’s writing here, what is the Lord’s will for us? We do it because of a desire to please the Lord. What do we do? “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the King.” Then verse 13 you “submit to the Lord’s sake to every human institution.” So all level of authority and all levels of authority. We saw this in our previous study in Romans 13. Whether it’s the king or more minor authorities and in this context he talks about “servants being submissive to masters. With all respect not only to those who are good and gentle but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor.” The word grace. “If for the sake of conscience towards God a person bears up under sorrow when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if when you sin you are harshly treated you endure with patience. When you do what is right and suffer for it. Patiently endure it, this finds grace with God, favor with God, it’s pleasing to God.

Now interesting, Peter writes about this matter of submission and he gives the example of Christ who suffered so unjustly, but verse 23 “He, when He was reviled, He didn’t revile in return,” plus suffering offered no threats, He kept trusting Himself to the God who judges righteously. Recognizing the sovereignty of God and His control, even over the most wicked of situations. Now as we noted in our previous study, Peter is living now under the region of Nero. Nero came to power in 54 AD. He will die in 68 AD. Peter’s writing this around 3 or 4 AD. So, he’s within four to five years of being executed by Nero. Nero has revealed his vile character by this time. But what does Peter do? You submit yourself for the Lord sake, not because he is the most worthy man. Not because his actions or character are deserving, but you do it for the Lord’s sake. You do it because it is the will of the Lord. What? We recognize God has placed Him there for His purposes and when we don’t manifest that right kind of attitude and character and obedience. It’s not a matter of just disobeying the rulers it’s disobeying God. It’s not pleasing to Him.

Now keep these things in mind that keep us from getting carried away in the tide of the emotions of times. Back up to Titus Chapter 3. Paul is writing to Titus about the same time that Peter wrote this letter around 63, 64 AD. Paul will soon give his life at the hands of the unjust ruler, Narrow. But what does he write? Verse chapter 3 verse 1 of Titus, “remind them to be subject to rulers to authorities.” Saying, oh it is not just the king, the empire the president, whatever, it is to authorities at all levels, to be obedient to be for every good deed. Now note this, to “malign no one.” Speak evil of no one. We need to be careful how we speak of the governing authorities. “Be peaceable gentle. Showing every consideration for all men.” The quiet, submissive respectful behavior.

The thing with Christians, we gotta become more aggressive, more militant, take our country back for God. We don’t get that from the scripture. We want to be careful. “Malign no one.” Why? Verse three. “For we ourselves once were foolish also.” Peter is not saying these men aren’t as bad as you think they are. They have good qualities. That’s not an issue. What are we criticizing and speaking evil of them and causing unrest rather than being peaceable and gentle and showing them consideration as though what? We’re better? He says we were once foolish ourselves. Disobedient, Deceived. (Paul writing here I may be saying Peter.) “Enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hating one another.” Paul was never as bad, as Nero as far as his conduct. He was a Pharisees of the Pharisees. But the despicable wicked behavior of Nero, but a god, so revolting, even as people turned against Him, unbelieving people. Paul says, you know, we were just like him, just like the unbeliever.

Remember, Paul will write and say, “I was the chief of sinners.” He doesn’t say, I thank God that I wasn’t as bad of a sinner as someone else. He says, God saved me because I was the worst of sinners with all my morality and all my good behavior. So, we ourselves once were foolish, so we must be careful how we speak. Sometimes believers we get carried away, and in the attitude of the world we speak of rulers with anything but respect. We speak evil of them. Oh he is not worthy to be a ruler and he is not fit to be the ruler. And they’re not fit to have this position. No, we don’t honor them because of that, we honor them because we recognizing what? God is sovereign. He has placed them in the position. The world may rant and rave, but we understand. We don’t expect anything different because we were just like them in the heart right? “The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.” Did I have a better heart? Then this unbeliever. Just because I didn’t practice some of the some sins that he does. I was just as sinful in my heart. Right?

So, what is the difference here? Titus 3 “we were once just like him” in verse three, but verse four, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared He saved us.” There’s the difference. God intervened in kindness and love. “He saved us,” verse 5 “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness.” That’s key. Didn’t save us on the basis of works. We didn’t sin as much as they did “but according to his mercy, by the washing and regeneration, renewing by the Holy Spirit which he poured out upon us richly through Christ our Savior. So that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Of all people who ought to understand something of sinful behavior? That does not mean that sinful behavior is less then sinful, but that we should have to be submissive to rulers who are ungodly, immoral, liars, deceitful. Shouldn’t surprise us.

Have we forgotten what we heard before the grace of God intervened in our lives? What makes the difference? It is not that I was never a bad person like them. I was, as God looked at my heart, every bit as bad. But God’s kindness, do you have these words marked in your bible from previous studies? Verse 4, kindness. Still in verse 4, love, verse 5 mercy. Verse 7, grace. God’s kindness, love, mercy, grace, and you see it is all three persons that comprise the one true and living God involved in verse 4 “but when the kindness of God our Savior appears. He saved us.” And it was down in verse 6, “through Jesus Christ our Savior.” In verse 4 God the Father called our Savior. In verse 6. God the Son, Jesus Christ, is our Savior. And then in the intervening verse, verse 5, “He saved us…according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration…renewing by the Holy Spirit.” God the Father provided His Son who suffered and died on the cross and was raised from the dead so that God could bring the wonder of His salvation through His mercy and grace and love and kindness to us. And we were washed by being regenerated, reborn. We were made new by the ministry of the Holy Spirit who applied that work of Christ to our heart and lives and we believed in Christ. I mean what a marvelous plan.

This is what God’s grace demonstrates. So, are you sure we’re submissive? Oh, don’t you think they’re a terrible character. What are we going to do with them as president? Well, we can pray for them. Paul instructed Timothy to instruct believers to submit and show them reverence and honor. We recognize you have your position because God has placed you there.

You note Daniel, when he spoke to Nebuchadnezzar, was nothing but respectful through the whole process. He clearly presented the truth of God to him and encouraged him to repent and avoid the judgment of God. Nothing disrespectful. Nothing that you’ve been such a vile, ungodly, wretched man that you deserve, you will get what you deserve. You soon find what God does with men like you. Nothing like that, it’s all respectful, all honorable, this is a man who was torn from his own family and carted off to this strange land of Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar conquers Israel. He’s the man God’s put there.

Alright. I want to back up and just walk through some Old Testament passages with you. When you leave, people say well what was the sermon like? Well I don’t know it wasn’t a sermon, we just read some scripture verses and left. So, let’s get those scripture verses read before you leave. Let’s go to 1 Chronicles and these are verses I just assembled. I Chronicles, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, you get an idea it’s about maybe a quarter, a third of the way through your Old Testament.

We’re going to First Chronicles 29 at the end. What I want to do is just look at the verses that stress the fact that God is sovereign over all. Everything. In our next study well talk about particular details that raise questions in our mind, but we ought to go 1 Chronicles 29. The context here is David has established a kingdom by the grace of God, assembled great wealth. He wanted to build a temple to honor God, but God said no, your son Solomon will build it so David could lead the way in assembling the material wealth necessary to build the temple, so Solomon would have that done when David is off the scene. David is speaking about these matters in these closing chapters. Look down in verse 2 of chapter 29 where he said “now with all my ability I have provided.” You see man functioning, David said I did it with all my ability. Down in verse 3, “I did it in my delight.” Something he desired and wanted to do but then he is gonna go on and say God did it all. So. Verse 6, the end of the verse, he talks about all the people in Israel who have “offered willingly” their gifts for this temple. Then verse 9, “Then the people rejoice because they have offered so willingly, they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart and David rejoiced greatly. So, David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly. David said, ‘blessed are you O Lord God of Israel, our father forever and ever. Yours O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth, yours is the dominion O Lord, You exhaust Yourself as head over all, both riches and honor come from You. You rule over all. In Your hand is power and might. It lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.”

You see that the people have given willingly. They were delighted to do it but understand, everything has come from God. He is sovereign over all. At the end of verse 14. “All things come from You and from Your hand we have given You.” I mean where did they get their possessions? Where did they get their wealth? God bestowed it on them and now they have given what God has given them back to Him as an offering. Down to the end of verse 16, “It is from your hand and all is yours.” So you see the wedding through this of man doing what he desires to do, but all is the sovereign hand of God. You’ll note verse 11 and 12. It all comes from him, greatness, power, glory, victory, majesty. He has the dominion. And so He rules over all, He controls all. Riches and honor come from You. Well it comes from you know just being clever and smart and making better decisions than someone else? No! Comes from God and He is sovereign over it all.

Come over to the book of Job, Job chapter 14. Job speaks here and he starts out by speaking of man’s brevity. Verse 1 of chapter 14, “man, who is born of woman is short lived and full of turmoil. Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.” Man’s life is relatively short. Comes and goes, life goes on. It’s like a shadow, it doesn’t remain. Verse 5, “since his days are determined the number of his months is with you, his limits you have set so that he cannot pass.” You see what he is saying here? God has determined the months and days of our life and you don’t go beyond that. His days are determined, “the number of his months are with you O God. His limits you have set so that he cannot pass.” That’s it. Not a day longer, not a day less. God has settled it. He is sovereign.

Come over to chapter 37. We’ll come to that in another passage later. Job 37. Eli who speaks here. Job has three friends and Elihu. We usually talk about the three friends of Job, but there’s a forth here, Elihu. He doesn’t speak until the other three older men have spoken, but what Elihu says is true here and will be reinforced by what God says when he begins speaking in chapter 38. Note what Elihu says. Verse 1. “At this also my heart trembles and leaps from its place.” And so you see how moved Elihu is by the truth. “Listen closely to the thunder of His voice, the rumbling that goes on from his mouth. Under the whole heaven he lets it loose. His lightening to the ends of the earth. After it a voice roars. He thunders with His majestic voice. He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard, God thunders with voice wondrously doing great things which we cannot comprehend. For to the snow He says, ‘fall on the ground. To the downpour in the rain be strong.’”

Now the point here is, he’s saying God is in control of all what we would call the forces of nature. We need to be careful as believers. We get caught up and think, oh you always hear, “Mother Nature’s brought another storm.” And we are hoping nature changes its course when we get some rain. Wait a minute! God is sovereign! We think, well He’s put natural laws in that control nature. That’s not true in a biblical concept. God has built in, and an unbelieving man can see what brings about this and this and this and this, but if it were not for the direction of God in it, none of it would. It would stop immediately.

We see some passages that encompass that. I don’t know if we’ll get to it today or not. That’s what he’s saying here, God who brings the thunder. It’s God who brings the lightening. It’s God who brings the snow. It’s God who brings the rain. He seals the hand of every man that all men may know his work. It’s God who’s given you the ability to do the job that you do. It enables us who He has provided for us to have the skills and the knowledge to know how to do what we do. The beast goes into its lair, remains in its den and the animals do what they do, because God has directed it. Out of the south comes the storm, out of the north comes the cold, from the breath of God, ice is made. It explains to the water it’s frozen from moisture. He loads the thick cloud. Well scientist can say well, here’s how the moisture gets in the cloud and this is the physical explanation but behind it is the power of sovereign God. He did it. It’s not mother nature. It’s Father God. All the details of nature, this is not prescientific observation by man that didn’t know better because God’s going to do the same thing beginning in chapter 38 when He speaks and He knows science. Verse13. Summarize it. “Whether for correction or for His world or for loving kindness, He causes it to happen.” That’s it, God’s sovereign whatever His purpose. One thing is stated, He causes it to happen.

Come down to chapter 38. God now speaks directly to Job and He started talking about His power over creation and all that he is done. Now come down to verse 12. I love this verse, just the way it’s put to Job. “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning and caused the dawn to know its place?” I mean let’s just see. How big are you? Did you ever call the sun up in the morning? Not every morning just one morning. Well no. You see what God’s doing I do that. The deist, some of our early fathers of this country where deists and people are in there thinking today. They believe God created things and put natural forces in motion, that He withdrew from His creation and basically just an observer. That’s not the biblical view. You see what God says here. “I call the sun up in the morning.” Oh no, that’s the forces of nature. You may have started it Lord, but then it happens naturally every day. No. He takes credit for doing it every day. “Have you ever” in your life “commanded the morning and caused the dawn to know its place that it might take hold the ends of the earth” and on it goes. Verse 16 “have you entered in the springs of the sea, walked in the recesses of the deep” on it goes and light and darkness and floods and battles all the sovereignty of God.

You’re in Job come over to Psalms. You know it’s nice to know God controls the weather, doesn’t it? I mean He controlled the lighting, controls the storm. Well I don’t care where the lightening goes. Unless it strikes me, but Job we didn’t bother, we didn’t have time to look up all the verse. You know some of these verses we’re looking at, I want you to know, just wait and try to pick out a selection because the sovereignty of God is just woven through scripture. Just like the material in your garments they’re woven together. We read the scripture and recognize what God is declaring here about himself and all the details. It just permeates the scripture and that determinates our thinking.

So, everything, we see we see the hand of God in it. Psalm 47. And you know on these contexts, for God’s people recognizing God’s sovereignty, is a cause of joy and rejoicing, causes us to praise God. Verse1 of Psalm 47. “O clap your hands all people, shout to God with the voice of joy. For the Lord most high is to be feared. A great king over all the earth.” And in verse 7, “God is king of all the earth” verse 8. “He reigns over the nations, He sits on His holy throne.” That causes us great joy. The God of Gods that I revere and bow before in reverence. The one that I call father. He is sovereign over all.

Have a look what’s going on in the world. And so we have conflicts and battles and war going to break out and our country may go over a physical cliff and all this. Yeah, but I’m clapping my hands. Why? I have joy in my heart. My God is king over all the earth. Father, it’s me, Gil. You’re king over all the earth but oh, look at this. What are we going to do if our country goes over the financial cliff? I’m sure glad that my God is greater than these transitory events of the world and He controls them so He knows what He’s doing.

Come over to Psalm 103. You know this Psalm about “bless the Lord” as Psalm 103 starts out. With the verse that we sing as a song from time to time, “bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul.” Come down to verse 20 “bless the Lord you angels” verse 21. “Bless the Lord all you his hosts.” Verse 22. “Bless the Lord all you works of His, bless the Lord O my soul.” Psalm 104 starts out “bless the Lord O my soul, give him praise honor and glory.” Note the context here. We don’t have time to read the whole thing but verse 15. “As for man, his days are like grass, as a flower of the fields, so he flourishes when the wind passes over it, it is no more.” Its place acknowledges it no longer. Gone. Gone.

Looked at some pictures that Marilyn dug out recently. Got grandparents in there, they’ve been gone so long. Who remembers them? He thinks about them? Their gone. Just the picture. They’ve been gone so long they’re just not even a faint memory, even in the family any longer. So it is man’s remedy and place, acknowledges no longer, life goes on.

But then you come to verse 19, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, His sovereignty rules over all, bless the Lord.” We get mired down and discouraged, disappointed, frustrated, fearful. Well remember “the Lord has established His throne in the Heavens, His sovereignty rules over all,” but you know what that means. It means He’s in control over everything. “Bless the Lord O my soul! All that is within me bless His holy name.” You wonder, the Psalmist says that. What security! What assurance! That doesn’t mean everything will go pleasantly for me. Or life will be easy. Or I’ll be spared heart ache. We’ll talk about that in our next study, we talk about. Sin and evil that God causes. But my assurance is, God is in control. That we ought to be blessing the Lord. We’re not wringing our hands. The world running around, what are we going to do if this takes place, if that takes place, if this persons in power, if this persons in power? You know what? When all is said and done, you know who rules? “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, His sovereignty rules over all.”

Come to Psalm 115. Verse 1 “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory. Because of Your loving kindness, because of Your truth. Why should the nations say, ‘where now is our God,” but your God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.” The world doesn’t understand it, the people don’t understand it, they’re fearful and they think that they’re making a decision that will determine this and that. We have what? A God that we give glory to. He’s in the heavens. He does whatever He pleases. Not whatever pleases me. But whatever pleases Him. And I need to adjust my thinking accordingly.

Come to Psalm 135. The Psalm opens up, “Praise the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord, Praise Him, O servants of the Lord,” everybody praise the Lord. Verse 3, “Praise the Lord for He good, sing praises to his name.” Verse 5 “I know the Lord is great, that our Lord is above all gods, whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas, all the deeps, causes the clouds to ascend to the ends of the earth, He makes lightenings for the rain, brings the wind from His treasuries.” God does what he pleases with what we call nature and man as he goes on through this and what it is called to bless the Lord ending in verse 19. “O house of Israel, bless the Lord; O house of Aaron, bless the Lord; O house of Levi, bless the Lord; you who revere the Lord, bless the Lord. Blessed be the Lord from Zion who dwells in Jerusalem, praise the Lord.”

We think what’s tied to the sovereignty of God? If my God’s not sovereign, I’m caught up in a web purpose of uncontrollable circumstances that will do what? Then I’m thinking “oh, if this hadn’t happened, oh, if only if I hadn’t done that, if I only haven’t this, haven’t taken place, oh if….wait a minute it may not have been what I wanted. No one wants to have suffering or have a loved one suffer. What’s my confidence in it? We’ll talk about this next Sunday, God’s doing as He pleases, among nature, among people, that’s His sovereignty.

Come to Psalm 139. You see how sovereign God is over details. “O Lord, You have searched me and known me, You know when I sit down and when I rise up.” You know, He says “you know” as we’ll see, so I want to remind you here, you’ll see that He is bringing it about, going to make that clear. Now think about it, now here I got planned. How many times have you sat down and got up today. I bet you don’t even know do you? Ummm lets see I got up, sat down, and I got up sat, down, get up, get up, oh I just reached up there, got that, sat back down, oh wait, that doesn’t count. Well you know when I sit down and when I rise up. “You understand my thought from afar.” You know what I’m thinking before I think it. Just comes into my mind, “You scrutinize my path, my laying down, acquainted with all my ways. Even before there’s a word on my tongue. Behold O Lord, you know it all.” I haven’t even said it. And some of us are more verbal then others. He knows them all. Every word before you even speak it. “You have enclosed me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me” and know everything about me.

You know what? The Psalmist’s summary is, “such knowledge is too wonderful me, it’s too high I cannot attain it.” How can I grasp a God whose plan who’s included every thought that I will ever have. Every little minor action that I will ever do. Every word that I will ever speak. I mean it ought to amaze us when we talk about God’s sovereignty, man’s responsibility that we can’t put it all together. The Psalmist, whom we see so much direct Revelation from God says what, “such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it’s too high, I cannot attain to it.” These things carry me beyond what I can fully grasp. I know they’re true because God’s revealed them. He just wrote it, but he says I can tell you that I can understand and comprehend a God who has such power and authority and knowledge. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I go…flee from your presence? There is no way to get away from God. “Where ever I go He’s there,” verse “12 the darkness is not dark to you, the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike. You can’t hide in the darkness. I can’t get lost in the darkness. Isn’t it amazing how the darkness changes you? Some of you were raised on farms and this kind of background, but I was raised in the city and our kids were raised here in Lincoln. We went out to visit a farm when they were young, and they were out in a barn playing and the horses there. It was great through the afternoon. We went inside had dinner and afterwards they said were going out. They opened the door and stopped. Why? It’s dark out there. Well go ahead out, that’s alright, no! Not going out there! Why? Well we’re not going out there. Its too dark. It’s something about the dark isn’t it? We’re all like that. Just different in the dark.

Then I read my God, night, He sees me just as well at night as He does in the day. There’s no difference. You see the sovereignty and power of God. He formed us. We say, well, that’s just part of the natural process. Verse 13 says “You formed my inward parts, you wove me in my mother’s womb.” That will become important, we’ll talk about that in our next study as well. But to see the sovereignty of God, even in the development and forming of the child that wouldn’t take place without the hand of God in it. Verse 16, “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance,” now note this, “in your book were all written the days that were ordained for me when there as yet was not one of them.” Now it’s not just talking about the length of our life as we have seen in another verse that the number of days were determined by God. He is saying more than that here. He’s saying not only every day, but the content of everyday. “In your book were all written the days that were ordained for me,” what that day was to be comprised of. What it was filled with. You wonder, the psalmist says, “such knowledge is to wonder for me I can’t contain it.” All the details of my life, of my days, not just a general idea of what my week will be or my month or my year, the days of my life, they were all written down. What a sovereign God we have.

Come over to Proverbs 16. Look at verse 33. “The lot is cast into the lap. But its every decision is from the Lord.” Amazing! Casting the lot into the lap will be similar, usually compared to casting dice, rolling dice. The idea where we seem like it’s just chance, you don’t know what will come up. You note here, the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” He determined how every one of those will come out. There is no chance. Just randomness that is non-existent in God’s world. He is in control of every detail. You pull out a pair of dice and roll it, now, there, caught Him off guard, but He didn’t know that was going to come, 3 and 2, not that I ever roll dice, but nope he determined it. It’s every decision is from the Lord.

Now, how do I comprehend that God’s so great. It’s this, come to proverbs 19. Verse 21. “Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the council of the Lord will stand.” You note what God has determined is what will happen. Not what man conceives in his mind? The things He brought about ultimately is God’s plan being worked out. We’ll talk about how that worked with man in our next study. At least in some way.

Chapter 21. Verse 30. “There is no wisdom and no understanding and no council against the Lord. The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the Lord.” We’re having conflict in parts of our world. Even as we are here. All the preparation, there moving military machinery here, moving soldiers here. You can do all that planning, the outcome’s determined by the Lord. That doesn’t mean he won’t use those things, the outcome is determined by the Lord. That’s our confidence isn’t it? I don’t live in a world that is random and you know these things happen and what do I do? I have the confidence of knowing that God is in control.

We have to go to Isaiah 46. You note what he says verse 9. “Remember the former things long past, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is no one like Me. Declaring the end from the beginning. And from ancient times things which have not been done. Saying ‘my purpose will be established. I will accomplish my good pleasure.’” The end of verse 11, “truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, I will do it.” You see His sovereignty. Man’s plan, man’s thinking, man’s…, it’s not that we shouldn’t. We don’t have to. The security is in the hands of the Lord. His plan will be done. “I’m God, there is no one like Me.”

Remember where we were in Titus 3? Back up to the end of chapter 45 of Isaiah. And God again taking credit for having created the world to controlling the world and determining the events that are happening, but we just have to, we just gonna pick up at the end of verse 21 of Isaiah 45. “There is no other God besides Me. A righteous God and a Savior. There is none except Me, turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God and there is no other.”

That’s the message. You know, that’s the comfort. There is a sovereign God and amazing as it is, this sovereign God is a Savior Who invites all people everywhere, turn to me and be saved. For I am God, there is no other. We know as we read in Titus how he provided that Salvation. His Son Jesus Christ is the One through whom God brings His righteousness to fallen man. So the sovereignty of God is a great comfort to those of us who have believed, but the greatest comfort of all is this sovereign God is a Savior. The only Savior.

So, there is only one way of salvation. It’s through the provision that this sovereign God has provided. The coming to earth, the suffering and death of His Son on the cross. An amazing thing will happen when you place your faith in Him. You will be washed from the defilement of your sin, you’ll be born again. You’ll be made new. And now the wonderful truths of the Word of God and His grace, His love, His forgiveness become so clear and so rich in your life.

Let’s pray together. Thank You Lord for who You are. Lord, Your sovereignty, the completeness of Your control over the minute detail of life is a great blessing, is a great comfort to us. Lord we cannot hope to understand with any fullness, the wonder of who You are. The greatness of Your power. But Lord what You have revealed, we are privileged to know and we bow in reverence before You in fear, acknowledging that You are the only God. Lord above all we give thanks that there is no other God, but You are the God Who is also the Savior. And in grace You have provided Your Son so that we might come to You, experience that power of your salvation, the wonder of Your forgiveness, the truth of being made new. Pray these truths will bless our hearts and cause us to bow and give You praise. In Christ’s name, amen.