Sovereignty Of God Series

The character of God.

Sermon number 1.

I want to begin this series on the Character of God with a statement on just who God is.

God is independent, unchangeable, eternal and omnipresent. He exists as a spiritual being, having no form or dimensions, and is omniscient (all-knowing), wise, truthful, faithful, good, loving, merciful, graceful, patient, holy, at peace, righteous and just, jealous for His own honour, wrathful towards sin, perfect in every way, beautiful beyond comprehension, and is glorified through the revelation of Himself.

Today we begin a series on The Character of God.

Today we consider the sovereignty of God.

Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e.g. legislative, judicial, and/or executive) authority over a geographic region, group of people, or oneself. A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority, subject to no other. Thus the legal maxim, There is no law without a sovereign.

A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority, subject to no other.

Why is understanding the sovereignty of God important in the 21st century?

Well I want to tell you that this is an age where people do what they like

As if there were no God and no tomorrow.

A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority, subject to no other

You only need to look at what happens in the world when earthly sovereignty breaks down to get some understanding of the concept.

After the massive floods in New orleans in Septermber 2005 a state of lawlessness broke out. Some called it A Perfect Storm of Lawlessness

In truth, the looters, rapists, and murderers who have terrorized New Orleans began their post-Katrina reign of terror a full day before the situation grew truly desperate—and it was their increasingly lawless behavior that kept willing but unarmed professional and volunteer rescue workers away from the city and from the poor people who needed saving.Thousands who stayed in their low-lying homes in the 9th Ward drowned or now find themselves trapped—starved and dying of dehydration. There came a time when those who acted outside of the sovereignty of United States law were bought to account in accordance with that law. By Robert Travis Scott BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti stepped on the world stage of news events Tuesday when he announced the arrest of a doctor and two nurses for allegedly administering lethal doses of painkillers to four patients at Memorial Medical Center on the third day after Hurricane Katrina. In addition to this many Police officers were also arrested as well as the run of the mill looters. What I am trying to say through all of this is that even though a degree of lawlessness was in place in New Orleans – The prevailing law of the city was the sovereign law of the united States and eventually the criminals had to answer to that law. Admittingly many will have escaped it’s grasp – but in God’s sovereign law all are subject to it.

Here in this moment of Lawlessness in New Orleans you see the Biblical concept of lawlessness producing death.

The Romans chapter 6 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Joshua chapter 77 And Joshua said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?"

JOS 7:10 The LORD said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

JOS 7:13 "Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, `Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.

JOS 7:14 " `In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD takes shall come forward clan by clan; the clan that the LORD takes shall come forward family by family; and the family that the LORD takes shall come forward man by man. 15 He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the LORD and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel!’ "