I think it is true to say that most of us have not seen a year like 2020 in our lifetimes. The headline of an article published by WKYT in Kentucky reported that a study revealed increased suicide rates across the U.S, and mental health issues arose among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.
* The CDC reported during late June of 2020, 40% of U.S. adults reported struggling with mental health or
substance abuse as follows:
* 31% reported anxiety or depression symptoms.
* 13% started or increased substance abuse.
* 26% reported trauma or stress-related disorder symptoms
* And 11% say they seriously considered suicide.
Dr. Charles Pemberton, a family therapy clinical counselor with Dimensions Family Therapy in Louisville, says they’re seeing more suicides in nearly all age groups. “Our elderly population has a huge number of suicide rate. If you hear somebody say that, don’t just brush it off,” Pemberton said. “If you see someone say something on social media, pick up the phone and call that person.”
* It’s happening all over the world, not just the USA. Government statistics in Japan reported that more people died from suicide in the month of October, than from COVID-19, in all of 2020. A majority were women.
* The New York Times reported last week that in San Francisco more people died last year from drug overdose than COVID.
Stress, depression, anxiety and worry is nothing new to the human experience. You can read through the Bible and find that many people, even those who God used mightily, had emotional challenges; you can also read the Bible to learn how they dealt with it.
For example, in the last verse of Psalm 29 we find the words, “May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!”
David is the author of Psalm 29 and in the ten verses that precede his prayer, he shares the antidote to worry and stress, anxiety and weakness of faith.
Psa 29:1 Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Psa 29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array.
Psa 29:3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters.
Psa 29:4 The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic.
Psa 29:5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
Psa 29:6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox.
Psa 29:7 The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.
Psa 29:8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
Psa 29:9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, "Glory!"
Psa 29:10 The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.
The Psalmist is telling us that even in the midst of the tremendous storms of life, God is Sovereign above everything in creation, and He is Lord of all!
This is why he ends Psalm 29 with the words, “May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!”
In this message we are going to look at what the Bible teaches concerning the sovereignty of God. We will be taking our text from Daniel chapter four.
Background
Saul was the first king of Israel, followed by David. At the close of his reign, David would turn the kingdom over to his son Solomon. Each of the first three kings reigned for 40 years and finally King Solomon died.
After Solomon, the fame, fortunes and glory of Israel went downhill. The nation rebelled against God and his laws. God might have destroyed Israel had He not made a covenant with Abraham and David to send a Redeemer.
When Solomon died, a civil war broke out as his sons and generals fought for the throne. Rehoboam had his father’s blessing to be the new king, but Jeroboam (one of Solomon’s servants) had the greater military influence. In the end, Rehoboam took the southern half of the country and called it "Judah". Jeroboam took the northern half and kept the name Israel. Each man claimed to be God's chosen king.
* The northern kingdom of Israel lasted just over 200 years and was conquered by the Assyrians around 722 B.C.
* The southern kingdom of Judah lasted some 334 years and was conquered by Babylon around 586 B.C.
It was during the Babylonian Captivity that Daniel and his three friends were taken to Babylon (Dan. 1:1–2). We find in chapter one, verse four of the book of Daniel that, as a youth, Daniel was taken in by the king along with other youths “to be trained in the literature and language of the Chaldeans”.
Daniel was a faithful Jew and did not want to defile himself with the king’s choice of food or wine, so he sought permission to eat his own “kosher” diet of vegetables. The Bible tells us that at the end of ten days of testing Daniel and the other Hebrew youths looked healthier.
The Bible also says that out of all of those that were enrolled in the king’s “school” not one was found like Daniel and his three friends; the king found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. (1:17-20).
Daniel chapter two tells us that in the second year of the reign of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, the king had disturbing dreams and he couldn’t sleep.
In his dream he sees a gigantic statue with a head that was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. Then all of a sudden, the statue was crushed.
He called for his magicians and conjurers, but they could not interpret the dreams because they didn’t know what the king dreamed about. Because of this, in anger, the king ordered all his “wise men” to be put to death.
Daniel and his friends were sentenced to death as well, but obviously hadn’t been given the opportunity to interpret the king's dream. When Daniel heard that they were to be executed, he sought out (2:14) the captain in charge and said to him, “Let me have a try at telling the king his dream.”
Daniel prays and God reveals to him both the dream and the interpretation, and then in 2:37-38 he shares it with the king:
Dan 2:37 "You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory;
Dan 2:38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold.
After hearing the interpretation King Nebuchadnezzar becomes puffed up with pride and doesn’t wait for the Lord to fulfill the dream…he begins to bring his dream to reality.
In chapter 3 he makes an image of gold, the height of which was 60 cubits (90 feet high and 9 feet wide). He then gives commands to his leaders to come to the dedication of this image. The king commands (3:5) that when everyone hears the music they are to bow down and worship the image (Daniel was probably out of town on business at this time).
You know the rest of the story. Daniel’s Hebrew brothers (Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego) could not and would not worship this image (because of the 1st and 2nd of the Ten Commandments). They were taught not to bow down and worship anyone or anything but God (vs. 3:16-18).
Because they disobeyed the king’s edict, they were thrown in a fiery furnace made seven times hotter than it usually was (vs. 19) and God miraculously saved them, so much so that their clothes didn’t even smell like smoke when they came out; yet the guards were burnt to a crisp.
King Nebuchadnezzar was amazed with this “God” who could do such miracles and we find at the beginning of chapter four he makes a proclamation to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language:
Dan 4:2 "It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.
Dan 4:3 "How great are His signs And how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom And His dominion is from generation to generation.
Also in chapter four, the king has another dream and as with his first dream, his wise men could not interpret it. Daniel (who the king called Belteshazzar) comes before the king.
The king recounts his dream to Daniel (4:10-18) and Daniel begins to give the interpretation (4:19-27). But it appears from the text of Scripture (vs. 4:19) that there is some hesitation with Daniel.
Dan 4:19a "Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him.
Dan 4:19b The king responded and said, 'Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.'
Dan 4:19c Belteshazzar replied, 'My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries!
In other words, the interpretation Daniel received from the Lord was not looking good for King Nebuchadnezzar.
In verse 20 Daniel begins to share the interpretation of the king’s dream:
Dan 4:20 'The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth
Dan 4:21 and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged—
Dan 4:22 it is you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth.
Dan 4:23 'In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, "Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,"
In his dream, God was telling Nebuchadnezzar that he had gotten too big for his britches. He had become puffed up with pride. He was full of himself. He came to believe that he himself was God.
This should remind us of Lucifer the devil. In Isaiah 14:12-15 we find God’s indictment of Lucifer:
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
It reminds me of some of our politicians, who by executive fiat, create rules, regulations and restrictions that impact what we do, where we go, what we say, and how we dress.
They pridefully tell us who we can hang around with, how we can travel, whether or not we can defend our family and property, where we can shop, when we can leave our homes, when, where and how we can worship.
When Coronavirus infections began to go down, Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York arrogantly told his people that, God didn't flatten that curve, "we" did.
The Bible says in Proverbs 8:13, “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate”. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a arrogant spirit before a fall.”
God gave Nebuchadnezzar the dream because he had lifted himself up in pride and thought he was God. The dream and its interpretation were given to show mercy and give him the opportunity to repent. We find this in verses Daniel 4:25-29:
* In verse 25 Daniel tells the king you will be judged “until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes
* In verse 26 the king is warned, “your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules.”
* In 4:27 Daniel says, “Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.”
Nebuchadnezzar was warned of the impending judgment of God that would come to pass until he recognized that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. In other words, until he repented of his pride and recognized that God was sovereign, he would be driven from mankind into the fields to live as a wild animal.
Malachi 3:6 says, "For I, the LORD, do not change.” Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever more”.
Throughout the history of the world, we find God graciously and mercifully warning men and women of impending judgment for failing to honor Him. God has always made known to mankind the consequences of sin, and given them space to change their ways:
* He warned Adam that if he ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would surely die.
* He warned the world of the coming flood and directed them how to prepare to survive it.
* He warned Lot and his family of the coming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and told them to flee.
* He warned Pharaoh of the coming famine and used Joseph to prepare stores of food during the seven years of plenty, which saved Egypt and Joseph’s family (Jacob, his eleven sons, and their families) when the famine came.
* He warned the Israelites living under Egyptian slavery that the “angel of death” would kill all the first-born of every family and that they must protect themselves and their families by placing the blood of a lamb over the doorposts, so the angel would “pass over” them.
* He warned the people of Israel through his prophet Isaiah of the coming conquest of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria; it happened in 712 BC.
* He warned the people of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) through his prophet Jeremiah, of their coming conquest by Babylon; it happened in 586 BC.
* Jonah was sent to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria to warn the people of God’s coming destruction, and when they repented, he postponed the judgment for a number of years.
* Jesus warned the people of Jerusalem of their coming destruction by Rome in 70AD.
Today, Jesus warns all men everywhere to repent because judgment is coming.
Back in Daniel chapter four, God warned King Nebuchadnezzar to deal with his pride or he would be judged. How did Nebbie respond?
Dan 4:29 "Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.
Dan 4:30 "The king reflected and said, 'Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?'
Does it sound like Nebuchadnezzar got the memo? Does it sound like he took God’s warning through His prophet Daniel seriously? No.
Dan 4:31 "While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you,
Dan 4:32 and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.'
God is serious about people taking His sovereignty seriously; especially kings and those in positions of authority:
Dan 4:33 "Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.
King Nebuchadnezzar spent seven years in the wilderness living as a beast, eating the grass…his hair grew on his body and matted like a wet stinky dog; his finger and toenails were uncut and grew to look like claws. But something miraculous happened!
Nebuchadnezzar’s Repentance
Daniel 4:34-35 - “At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
The king of Babylon had come to his senses! He who once thought to himself, “Look what I have done by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” now sees that he is nothing and that God is sovereign.
A humbled and repentant Nebuchadnezzar now declares that God is the only and supreme Sovereign of the heavens and the earth!
For the balance of this message we are going to look more intently at Nebuchadnezzar’s declaration of the sovereignty of God (Daniel 4:34-35).
We are going to look at the Direction of God’s Sovereignty, the Description of God’s Sovereignty, the Dominion of God’s Sovereignty, the Disciples of God’s Sovereignty and finally, the Decree of God’s Sovereignty.
The Direction of God’s Sovereignty
“At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me...” (vs. 34a)
The king’s problem before he repented was that he had a disease called “me-i-tus”. His eyes were focused too much on the “me “and the “I” (vs. 30). He was looking too much to the works of his own hands and his own glory, when he should have been more like King David as he prayed in 1 Chronicles 29:14, saying, “For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You.”
But now, after he was judged and stricken, in repentance Nebuchadnezzar lifts his eyes, focusing them on the Sovereign God of the heavens and earth!
Scripture lets us know that God oftentimes sends us through pain and suffering to get us to take our eyes off ourselves and circumstances so we might humble ourselves and place our focus on the true and living God and confess as the psalmist does in Psalm 100:3: “Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
The direction of God’s sovereignty is God Himself. We see this throughout the Scriptures:
Psalm 115:3 - “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases him.”
Psalm 135:6 – “Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.”
Isaiah 46:9-10 – “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose”.
Ephesians 1:11: God “works all things according to the counsel of His will…”
Romans 8:28: “God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Colossians 1:16-17: “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
The direction of God’s sovereignty is God Himself! This is why we run this race, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.” (Heb. 12:2)
The Description of God’s Sovereignty
As we look more intently at Nebuchadnezzar’s confession of the Sovereignty of God, we find him saying the following:
“…and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever…” (Daniel 4:34b)
As King Nebuchadnezzar took his eyes off himself and rightly focused them on the only Sovereign God, he saw himself as small and God as big.
When you see God as big and transcendent and yourself as small and insignificant, this can only result in worship (Remember Isaiah in chapter 6 of his book?).
* In Daniel 4:34 Nebuchadnezzar “blessed” God. This was an act of adoration.
* He describes God as the “Most High” - The name “Most High” occurs 42 times in the Scriptures. In Genesis 14:18-22 where Melchizedek characterizes God as the “Most High”, the “possessor of heaven and earth”.
In other words, God is the “Most High” because He made everything and owns everything in the heavens and on the earth!
We also find that the “Most High” is also identified in the Scriptures with the word, “LORD”. When you see in your English Bible the word LORD with all capital letters, it is the word Yahweh, the Name for the “I AM”. Yahweh is the Name God told Moses to give to the children of Israel when they ask him, “What is His Name?”
Yahweh is the Name of the only self-existent or self-sufficient Being…the only One who has life in and of Himself, the “I AM”.
In the Psalms, there are verses which couples the word “LORD” (Yahweh) with the words, “Most High”:
* Psa 7:17 I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
* Psa 47:2 For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth.
* Psa 97:9 For You are the LORD Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.
This tells us as John Gill writes, “the Most High God, He whose Name alone is Yahweh, the God of gods, is higher than the highest…”
This is Nebuchadnezzar’s declaration of the Sovereignty of God. He is the “Most High” God!
Back in Daniel 4:34 King Nebuchadnezzar continues and “praised and honored Him who lives forever…”.
One of the attributes of God is His “eternality”; He is eternal.
When God told Moses and the Children of Israel, “I am what I am at present, I am what I have been, I am what I shall be, and shall be what I am” He was declaring His eternality.
In praising God for His eternality Nebuchadnezzar is recognizing that “God was King long before we appeared upon the earthly scene; and He will remain Master of the situation long after we have passed away. His authority none can dispute.” (Pulpit Commentary)
That is the description of God’s Sovereignty.
The Dominion of God’s Sovereignty
Back in Daniel 4:30 we find the king, before his humiliation, reflecting upon the work of his own hands.
* He looks over his palace, the building and all its accoutrements and furnishings; he surveys the land as far as his eyes could see.
* I imagine he thinks of his successful military conquests.
* Perhaps he even thinks about his progeny…the dynasty he hoped to acquire through his children.
In Daniel 4:30 he says, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?'”
History tells us that Nebuchadnezzar reigned from 605-562 BC. At its peak around 560 B.C., his dominion was only 193,051 square miles of land. By comparison, the USA is 3.8 million square miles.
Considering these measurements, the Babylonia Empire would fall, in size, somewhere in between California and Texas. In other words, as great as he thought it was, Nebuchadnezzar’s “dominion” was relatively small.
Not only was the Babylonian Empire small in size, it was short-lived. In 539 B.C., less than a century after its founding, Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon and it was finished.
After God causes the prideful Nebuchadnezzar to be brought low, he repents and declares, “…for God’s dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation…”
These amazing words about God’s everlasting dominion prompt some Bible scholars to believe that they could not have come from a pagan king. What would a pagan king like Nebuchadnezzar know about Yahweh’s kingdom?
Perhaps it was Daniel, who was very familiar with the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants, tutored the repentant King Nebuchadnezzar to know the Sovereign God better.
* Daniel likely told the king about the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3) where God promised Abraham that thought his seed all the nations of the world would be blessed.
* Perhaps Daniel told the king about the Mosaic Covenant (Genesis 19) where God promises to make Israel “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” and would give them the Mosaic Law that was to be a schoolmaster pointing the way towards the coming of Christ (Galatians 3:24-25).
* Daniel likely told King Nebuchadnezzar about the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7; 1 Chr. 17) where God promises to build a house (i.e., dynasty) for David. This prophecy points to the coming Messiah Jesus, the one who would rule perfectly on David’s throne forever.
Yes! Nebuchadnezzar was correct when he declared, “…for God’s dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation…”
Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords! And one day soon He will return to judge wickedness and set up His kingdom on this earth.
Today we find ourselves in a situation where the leaders of the nations of the world are ruling with a heavy hand. Anyone who disagrees with their orders, their definitions of marriage, their definitions of gender and even their definitions of science, will be cancelled or jailed.
But one day soon they will be dealing directly with the King of kings! In Psalm 2 we find our Sovereign King warning the nations of the world that He will judge them for their sins and rebellion against their Creator:
Psa 2:1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
Psa 2:4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
Psa 2:5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
Psa 2:6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
Psa 2:7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
Psa 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
Psa 2:10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
God’s kingdom reigns for ever and ever! We might think that the world governments are mighty but God says in Isaiah 40:15, “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.”
We’ve looked at the Direction, Description and Dominion of God’s sovereignty. Now let's look at the Disciples of God’s Sovereignty.
The Disciples of God’s Sovereignty
Who are the disciples of God’s sovereignty? Where do we fit in when it comes to God’s sovereignty? What do we have to say when it comes to God’s sovereignty?
Would you be offended if I told you “Nothing”?
Dan 4:34 "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
Dan 4:35 "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing…
The repentant King Nebuchadnezzar declares, “…all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing…”
Here the Bible is letting us know the default spiritual condition of humanity.
* Studying the Bible we learn that when Adam sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, he died spiritually (Genesis 2:17 – “surely die”) and passed his sin-nature to all who were his offspring (Romans 5:12).
* We also learn that the Bible says that men and women are “born in sin and shaped in iniquity” (Psalm 51:5) and that we “were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2)
* Reading the Bible we learn that “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12)
Nebuchadnezzar declares, “…all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing…” This certainly flies in the face of our narcissistic, egotistical, self-centered, self-loving, self-esteem, pride-is-now-a-virtue, culture.
Genesis 2:7 says we were made from “dust”. Psalm 103:14 tells us that God is mindful that we are but dust.
When it comes to God’s sovereignty, “…all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing…”
The 18th century Baptist Pastor and theologian John Gill reminds us that (I’m paraphrasing), “when compared to God we are like mere nonentities, nothing as to existence, substance, greatness, glory, and duration, when compared with Him.”
Gill says, “while men might be something in their own esteem, and seem so in the eyes of others, who judge according to the outward appearance; but they are nothing in the account of God…”
Nebuchadnezzar declares, “…all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing…”
This is why we need the Lord. In John 15:5, Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
The hymn writer wrote:
Without Him I could do nothing
Without Him I'd surely fail
Without Him I would be drifting
Like a ship without a sail
Without Him I could be dying
Without Him I'd be enslaved
Without Him life would be hopeless
But with Jesus, Thank God
I'm saved!
Jesus says it this way, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. (Matthew 5:3)
Another hymn writer wrote,
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.
The Disciples of God’s Sovereignty are those who cast themselves at the feet of the Savior and cry out, “I am a sinner. I have nothing to say to God, no defense to make or offer to make. I am in desperate trouble, I NEED GOD!”
The Decree of God’s Sovereignty
In Daniel 4:35 Nebuchadnezzar says,“…and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
We need to get into our minds and hearts that God is in charge. When we sing the worship chorus, “He is Lord”, whether you know it or not, this is what we are communicating.
* God made the heavens and the earth. This is His world.
* He can do what He wants to do His world, and when He does, He does all things right.
* Anything God says in His Word outweighs and has more authority than anything that anyone else says.
* What God says, He will do.
In Job 42:2, Job came to this conclusion about God: “I know that You can do all things, and that your plans are unstoppable.”
God’s sovereign decree is vast and extensive; it is not limited. Let me share with you how extensive it is.
God is sovereign over all His Creation – Nebuchadnezzar says in Daniel 4:35,“…and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth…”
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Gen 1:2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
Gen 1:3 Then God said…
In Nehemiah 9:6 the Levites led the children of Israel in praying, “You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You.”
In 2 Chronicles 20 :6 King Jehoshaphat said, “O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.”
In 1 Chronicles 29:11 King David prays (after receiving the offering for the Temple), “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.”
Psalm 29:10 – “The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.”
God is sovereign over His creation!
A website called ABC Science has this to say:
When we think of the big things in the universe, we think planets, stars and galaxies. And while Earth seems big from where we sit, it's pretty puny as far as the solar system goes: you could fit more than a million earths inside the sun.
But our sun (which is a star) is no galactic giant either. It's nothing compared to the really big stars. The biggest known star, VY Canis Majoris, is 2000 times the size of the sun.
But it's not just the size of stars that's big, it's the number of them as well. Best estimates put the number of stars in the Milky Way at around two hundred billion. That's 200,000,000,000 stars in our galaxy alone!
And there are plenty more galaxies out there. In fact, it looks like there are around two hundred billion galaxies as well. If you multiply the number of galaxies by the average number of stars in them, you get the number of stars in the universe, which is something like a million billion billion stars.
In Genesis 1:16, where it’s recorded that God made the sun and the moon, it says at the end of verse 16, “He made the stars also”. Like it was an afterthought and it took no effort at all. He’s the Creator! He’s sovereign!
Isaiah 40:22 – “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.”
And that’s just what we can see with our eyes!
The Unseen World
There is an unseen physical world as well as an unseen spiritual world.
We are familiar with what the Bible teaches about unseen angels and demons and what goes on in the spiritual realm. We know that God has infinite power over Satan and his demons. We see this throughout Scripture especially when Jesus encountered the devil in the wilderness and the multitude of times he cast demons out of people. We also know from Scripture that Satan’s doom is sure and one day he and his demons will be cast into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone for ever and ever.
Yet there is an unseen physical world that we find hard to see with our eyes unless we have help with technology. This microscopic world has many people today very paranoid.
When it comes to small things, we find in Matthew 10:29-30 that Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
But when it comes to even smaller things, in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we find God the Son being credited with being sovereign over them too:
Col 1:16 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.
Col 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things consist (sunistao¯ - hold together). Keep your finger on this verse.
Years ago I did an internet search on the question, “What keeps atoms from exploding?” I found an article with an answer from the “experts”.
The nuclear physicists had this to say:
In the nucleus of an atom you have protons (which are positively charged) and neutrons (which have no charge) packed very close to each other. Since positive charges repel each other, one would think that the protons would fly apart from each other, making all atoms (and hence all matter!) explode.
The experts say there is a strong force which overcomes this repulsion of the positively-charged protons and keeps the nucleus together. The carrier particles of the strong force are called GLUONS, because they GLUE the quarks together.
Think about it, all these PHDs can do is call this unknown force that keeps atoms intact a “strong force”. But the Bible has already told us (In Colossians 1:17) that in Him, JESUS CHRIST, all things sunistao…hold together!
Let’s put this in perspective.
God the Creator, created the atom, which is the basic unit of matter. Everything is composed of atoms. Atoms are like the Lego blocks that everything in creation is made of. Atoms are tiny. But even tinier than atoms are the protons, neutrons and electrons that they're made of. We’ve already seen that “God’s force” keeps the atoms and matter from flying apart and exploding.
Let’s compare an atom with a flu virus. The typical flu virus is just a chunk of RNA wrapped in a bit of protein, measuring about 120 nanometers (nm) across, which makes it about a thousand times bigger than an atom.
If God created the atom and controls how it works, do you not think that God can sovereignly control a virus which is a thousand times bigger than an atom? (Illust: Which is more difficult, catching a slower Basketball vs. a faster BB pellet?)
R.C. Sproul writes in one of his books, “If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.”
One random atom or "maverick molecule," as Dr. R.C. Sproul has said, or one renegade virus could throw everything into chaos.
There is no virus molecule outside of the control of God. Yes, we should take reasonable measures to keep ourselves safe but not at the expense of doing what God says that we, as Christians, ought to be doing when it comes to worshipping Him and reaching the lost.
Our lives aren’t being held captive by a virus. Our lives aren’t in the hands of the president, the governor, the mayor or even the doctor; Our help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth. In John 10:29 Jesus says, “My Father, which gave them me (speaking of His sheep), is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
God is sovereign over ALL His creation!
God is sovereign over our circumstances.
God is sovereign over Princes and Politicians - In Daniel 2:21 the Bible says, “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”
Proverbs 21 :1 says, “The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will.”
The Bible is telling us that princes and politicians are merely puppets in the hands of our Sovereign King. He controls them and even when they rule unjustly, God can take what they mean for evil and make it out for our good. He is our Sovereign King!
Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
This verse tells us that God’s purpose will stand. No one has the power to undo what God has purposed and decreed. He is our Sovereign King!
God is sovereign over Life and Death - In Deuteronomy 32 Moses is about to die and he turns over the reigns of leadership to Joshua with a song. In verse 39 God speaks to His people through Moses’ song and says, “See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”
* God is saying that life and death is in His hand. He is our Sovereign King!
* God is saying that He even controls sickness and healing. He is our Sovereign King!
God is sovereign when it comes to meeting our needs. In Matthew 6 Jesus says, “Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
God is sovereign when it comes to meeting our needs and if you are doing His will, He will fight for you; He will take care of you.
If God is the Creator of the entire universe, then it must follow that He is the Lord of the whole universe. No part of the world is outside of His lordship.
He is sovereign! He is in control! In 1 Timothy 6 the Apostle Paul frames this truth this way:
“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”
As “Lord” and the Sovereign King, He alone is the one who sets the requirements for salvation and entrance into His kingdom. This is why the Bible says in Romans 10:9-10:
Rom 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Jesus emphasized His sovereignty and lordship when it came to salvation: “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27), and “Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples” (verse 32).
The call of the Gospel is more than making an intellectual decision or mouthing a prayer; the gospel message is a call to submission to the Sovereignty of God. The sheep will follow their Shepherd in submissive obedience. In John 10:27 Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me…”
Jesus is Lord! He is our Sovereign King! Are you following Him in submissive obedience? Have you repented from your sins and obeyed your sovereign King?
