The Sovereignty Of God Series

Jeremiah 18:1-10

VIDEO [THE POTTER’S HOUSE] Available in SermonCentral under video illustrations.

God is the Potter, we are the clay. When we consider the rule of God, His sovereignty, the concept of the relationship between a potter and the clay he molds must be understood. But man tends to think we know more than the God who made us. We see the culture thumb their noses at God saying “What right if any, does Almighty God (if there is indeed a God) have to dictate our morals and to tell us what is right and wrong?”

Many believe that they have this life all figured out and they will do things and live out their lives their way. But here is that facts: God rules in the affairs of men.

Napoleon, at the height of his career, is reported to have given this cynical answer to someone who asked if God was on the side of France: “God is on the side that has the heaviest artillery.” Then came the Battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon lost both the battle and his empire. Years later, in exile on the island of St. Helena, chastened and humbled, Napoleon is reported to have quoted the words of Thomas a Kempis: “Man proposes; God disposes.” This is the lesson with which history confronts us all. God is able to work his sovereign will—despite man. [1]

God is still on the throne. He rules over the entire universe, all of which He spoke into existence. One of the great theological debates has been over the sovereign will of God and man’s free will.

Richard Dawkins, noted British atheist and biologist, while on tour in the US, he tells those who will listen, that we have nothing to learn from religion. There is no such thing as God. Which leads to an interesting discussion based on a question asked Richard Dawkins on where morality comes from. Who determines right and wrong. To the atheistic world around us everything is relative.

This message today is not about the existence of God. The Bible makes no argument for God’s existence. God summed it up when he told Moses His name:

Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

God's name by which He calls Himself Shouts out His existence. But for God’s sovereignty – His right, ability, and power to exercise His absolute rule over the entire universe started back in Genesis:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

God created it all. All of Creation belongs to him. God said:

Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.

Jesus, who is God the Son, made a quite similar statement about Himself.

Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

God the the beginning and the end of all things, we exist in the middle. As far as being God, the Scripture tells us that Jesus is the very agent of creation:

Colossians 1:15–17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

We can see that because Jesus is before all things, because He created all things, He therefore has rule over all things. God rules overall whether we agree with this fact or not. When Jesus gave the church the Great Commission, Jesus said:

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Jesus has the power, and the authority, and every right, to make this command. We wonder about the will of God. The fact is God has plan for his Creation and this plan of God’s is in place:

Isaiah 14:26–27 This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. 27 For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”

And God’s plan will succeed. We are told to pray for God’s plan to be accomplished.

Matthew 6:10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

God tells us that He will make it happen. He has the power do to so.