"Blessed Assurance"
Psalms 103:19-22
Psalm 103:19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.
Introduction: Ever have any problems or trouble in your life? Well, that's kind of a silly question, of course you have. A better question might be, "Have you felt overwhelmed by your problems and troubles?" That seems to be where a lot of folks are at now-a-days. They call or come by and share their frustrations and their sense of futility as they try to deal with what is going on in their lives. In my experience the problem for most of them is not their view of their problems and troubles but rather there concept of who God is.
ILL - Some of you will know the name of J.B. Phillips, an Anglican bishop who wrote a number of books. One of his most popular books was a paraphrase of the New Testament. One of his other books was entitled Your God Is Too Small. In that book, Phillips exposed the views of God that we all hold to that are woefully inadequate. For example, there is the "cosmic policeman," a view of God in which he is standing just around the corner, waiting for us to slip up and break the rules. Or, there is the "indulgent old man," a little senile but very friendly, or the "frantic manager." In this view, God's got sweat on his brow because the world is in such a mess, and he is trying to hold it all together. It is likely that every single one of us here this morning has a conception of God that is, at least to some degree, skewed. Our views of God may be distorted because of our background, or our experiences, or perhaps simply because of our ignorance. And we don't realize that we are actually worshiping an idol. Much of our lives and much of our time are spent worshiping a figment of our own imaginations, and what we fail to realize is that God exists independently of our views of him. The God who is there exists as he is regardless of our woefully inadequate ways of thinking about him. And our goal as Christians ought to be to bring our understanding of God in line with the truth of who he really is.
I. HIS REIGN IS PERENNIAL
a. His throne is fixed
The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens - He has "fixed" his throne there. This is the ground of the security that his blessing will be imparted to those who fear him, and to their children's children, or that it will be transmitted to coming generations. God is a Sovereign. His throne is fixed and firm. His dominion is not vacillating and changing. His reign is not, like the reign of earthly monarchs, dependent on the capriciousness of a changeable will, or on passion; nor is it liable to be altered by death, by revolution, or a new dynasty. The throne of God is ever the same, and nothing can shake or overthrow it. Albert Barnes
b. His throne is forever
How long is forever? Someone said, "If you counted all the stars in the universe and then counted all the grains of sand in all the oceans of the world and added the numbers together then eternity will have only just begun!"
Bill Kryger: "If a sparrow flew to the Atlantic Ocean and filled his little beak with water; and then flew all the way across the United States to the Pacific Ocean and emptied his beak, then rested for 1,000 years; Then he flew back to the Atlantic, filled his beak, flew to the Pacific, emptied his beak; and continued this process until the entire Atlantic Ocean was emptied into the Pacific Ocean, resting for 1,000 tears between trips, and then put all the water back, after he was done not one day of eternity would have passed!
Moses calls God: Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms...
Paul refers to God: 1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
It should also be noted that God is eternal and we are temporal and God hath given to man a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends. Jeremy Taylor
II. HIS REIGN IS POWERFUL
a. His power is unlimited
WHAT GOD CAN DO
"When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations can do; when we depend upon education, we get what education can do; when we depend upon man, we get what man can do; but when we depend on (God), we get what God can do." A.C. Dixon (modified)
Because there are no limits to His power we believe that God can do anything.
Luke 18:27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
ILL - On the way home from church one Sunday, a father asked his little boy what he learned in Sunday School that morning. The son said, "We learned about the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea." The father smiled and asked the boy to tell him about it.
"Well," his son said, "the Israelites left Egypt, but Pharaoh and his army chased after them. So the Jews ran as fast as they could until they got to the Red Sea. The Egyptian army was getting closer and closer. So Moses sent the Israeli Air Force to bomb the Egyptians. While that was happening, the Sea Bees built a bridge across the Red Sea. When all the Jews were safely across, Moses told the Air Force to let the Egyptians through. Then Moses sent Israeli Navy Seals to wire explosives to the bridge. As the Egyptians were crossing the bridge, Moses detonated the explosives and blew the Egyptian Army to smithereens!"
By now the father was shocked. He looked at his son and asked, "Is that the way your Sunday School teacher taught you the story?" The boy responded, "Well, no, not exactly. But if I told you what they told me, you'd never believe it!"
And that little boy was right! The Lord did something unbelievable.
b. His prerogative is unilateral
Psalm 135:6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
Many do not understand this concept but it is really very simple. Because God created all things and is in control of all things then He has the right to do what He pleases without consulting anyone. Dr. S. M. Lockeridge's statement about creation speaks to this very point.
"The reason God came from nowhere is because there wasn't anywhere for Him to come from. And coming from nowhere He stood on nothing, for there was nowhere for Him to stand. And standing on nothing He reached out where there was nowhere to reach, and caught something when there was nothing to catch. Then He hung that something on nothing and told it to stay there, and nobody said a word, because there wasn't anybody around to say anything. Then God said to Him-self, 'This is good!"
III. HIS REIGN IS PROVIDENTIAL
a. For our good
Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
b. For His glory
Because we know that God is in control, we can find peace in several assurances from the Father. There are three things I'd like to share with you in closing:
First, we find comfort in the fact that almighty God-who is in absolute control of everything-is intimately and continually involved in our individual lives every single day. God never stops providing for, protecting, watching over, and caring for each of us. And, because He is sovereign and all knowing, He knows exactly what we need for today and tomorrow.
Matthew 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Second, because God is sovereign, we have the assurance that He will work out every single circumstance in our lives for something good, no matter what. It may be painful, hurtful, difficult, or seemingly impossible, but God can and will use that situation to achieve His divine purpose.
Romans 8:28 makes this clear, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." This claim makes sense only when we realize that God is in complete control.
Third, we have to the assurance that nothing can touch us apart from the permissive will of God.
Psalm 34:7 explains, "The angel of the Lord encamped around about them that fear him, and delivered them."
Copied: This means that God is our protector. Now, when something happens that is painful or unexplainable in our lives, does that mean that God lost control for a moment? No, because we know that these things cannot happen unless God allows them. This hope enables us to step boldly into the future, because we know that God will be there for us, forever protecting us and guiding our steps.
Church, when you begin to understand that God is in complete control of this world and everything in it, your life will change forever.
1. He is omniscient-He can answer your most trying questions because He knows everything and sees what is up ahead.
Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold...the children of men.
Psalm 139:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
ILL - A pilot's flying over a mountainous terrain, and as he's flying, he looks down to see two vehicles driving down the highway.
The first vehicle is a semi-trailer, pulling his load up and down that ol' highway. The second vehicle is a sports car driven by a guy who's got better things to do than be stuck behind a semi that can't always maintain the speed limit up the mountain grades.
Well, what the pilot can see that the drivers can't is that there is no traffic coming the other way. The car could easily pass the truck with no danger.
The problem is that neither the truck nor the car driver can see that. They can only see what's immediately in front of them.
They can't see the big picture.
You see, we only see things from the perspective of the created, not the Creator. We don't see the big picture. Only God does.
2. He is omnipotent-He is strong enough to overcome your biggest obstacle.
Someone said, "Instead of looking at the mountain in front of you, look to the mountain maker above you!"
Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
3. He is omnipresent-wherever you may go; He will be there with you.
Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
ILL - Dr. Rod Cooper, a Professor at Denver Seminary grew up on a pig farm. In one field there were 200 or 300 little pigs running around. Every day at 4:00 a.m. he went out to feed them, and when he walked in they would all scatter except for one little pig that would come up and chew on his shoe. He picked him up and began to pet him, but soon he wanted down. Rod said, "I'll let you down when I'm ready." At that time the little pig let out a squeal and in about two seconds about 30 mama pigs weighing about 600 lbs. each came running. He said, "I put him down and headed for the fence barely making it over before they caught me. They were snorting and daring me to bother one of their kids. The little pig was scared and out of control, but he had resources one squeal away. If one of God's creatures is as sensitive to a squeal, how much more sensitive is God to us? Just one squeal away we have resources.
No matter what pain, trial, or tragedy comes your way, rejoice that your Father will be there to work it out for your good, no matter what.
Conclusion: A little pre-school girl was at the doctor's office. When the doctor was listening to the little girl's heart through a stethoscope, he asked her, "Who do I hear in there? Is Donald Duck in there? Is Barney in there?"
The little girl corrected him very seriously: "No! Jesus is in my heart; Barney is on my underwear!"
Even a little child can understand having Jesus come into their hearts. In a moment we will sing a hymn of invitation and I'm going to ask you a very simple question, one that has a simple answer if you will just be honest with yourself and honest with God. Can you say beyond a shadow of a doubt that like the little girl in our story, "Jesus is in your heart?" This God who created you and is in complete control of the universe wants to live in you. I know that sounds fantastic but it is true nonetheless. He will come into your heart if you will repent of your sins and ask Him to forgive you and cleanse you. At that moment He will come to live in you.
