The Sovereignty of God
Note:
This message builds on Part 1 (Spiritual Warfare). I feel it is important to read Spiritual Warfare first in order to understand the perspective of this message.
Today there is a growing departure from the historic Christian doctrine. A tragic product of this departure is that most Christians have lost focus or have no knowledge of the sovereignty of God. When I say ’historic Christianity’ I am referring to the absolute truth that God has delivered to us through the scriptures. Today we are seeing the scriptural warning of false doctrines that will infiltrate the faith in the last days. These teachers will put people’s focus on the worldly things, not on heaven, and will even deny the power of the Lord. The sovereignty of God is not a secondary issue but is completely foundational to everything we stand on. If God is not sovereign, how can I trust Him with every part of my life? When I say sovereignty I am referring our God who is all knowing, in total control and has the absolute right to do all things according to His good pleasure. There are countless false teachers today that contradict God Himself and claim their word has power over God and their doctrine overrules God.
For the sake of time, I can’t go into every area of these teachings in this study, but I do want to focus on the control of God. I recently had an in-depth conversation with a man who teaches the dominion of satan. He could not provide any scripture references, but this doctrine goes something like this:
God created man and gave him total dominion of the earth. Satan deceived man into sinning and therefore took man’s domain away from Him. Now satan is in total control and has total dominion of the earth and God is on the outside looking in. God lost man to sin and His right to the earth as well. Now satan is the god of this world and has total dominion over it. Man dropped the ball and satan took it.
There are some variations to this doctrine. Some say that God deceived satan out of it again through Jesus and some still believe satan has control.
There are many flaws with this teaching. You have to do a lot of reading between the lines to get satan in a position of authority. More important than this is that these teachers fail to realize that satan cannot take what man did not own. Man never had ownership of the world, but rather, he was a steward, or caretaker of God’s creation. God is the Lord and man was given the privilege to preside over it. Ownership belongs to God and has always belonged to God. God made this very clear throughout scripture. In Psalm 50:12 God says, "The world is Mine and all its fullness". If God did not own the world, He could not have judged the complete moral bankruptcy of man by flooding the world. When God provided the children of Israel the inheritance of their promised land, He made it clear that it belonged to Him and He was entrusting it to them. The land had to remain in the family. The land could be sold, but in the year of Jubilee it always went back to the family of the original inheritance. The people did not have the right to transfer ownership because they were not the owners. God also warned that if they abandoned Him and rejected His commandments, He would drive them out of the land. To abandon God is to abandon God’s blessings. The blessings belong to God and are enjoyed with fellowship with Him.
Under this modern false teaching, God is turned into an opportunist looking for loopholes to get His will in when He can. This completely goes against scripture. God will never honor the teachings of anyone who rejects His word and those who are following false teaching are committing the same sins. This is why the Bible warns us so strongly, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1. God will never contradict His word. The Bible goes on to warn that false apostles transform themselves into apostles of Christ so they can deceive. The do so to because satan does the same. He masquerades as an angel of light to deceive. They have authoritative words and convincing arguments so that the only way to know they are evil is by comparing them to the word of God and looking at the fruit they produce.
The sovereignty of God is not a dispute over doctrine, but the foundational issue of scripture. If God is not sovereign, then He is not worthy of worship. If God is not in total control, then I cannot trust Him with every part of my life. If God does not have authority, God can’t direct everything according to His purposes. If God is not all these things, then we are calling Him a liar because God Himself makes these claims. Satan may be called the god of this world, but God says that all authority is granted by Him. He raises one up and casts down another and all things work to fulfill His purpose. Can we trust any teacher that says that God is less that God tells us He is? Any teacher that challenges the power of God will be judged and the Bible warns that those who follow will be judged with them. The Bible says that God has all authority and power and He will not share His glory with any other. How can anyone have the arrogance to take this glory and give it to satan? We must get to the position of the Psalmist who said, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?" Only when you can stand in awe of God, you can understand that God is able to make your path and design it perfectly. Only an omnipotent, omniscient, sovereign God could orchestrate your path and work all things to your good as He has promised. I want to finish this study by turning our focus away from the error and look at the trustworthiness of our Sovereign God. To make this study memorable, I am going to use the acronym P.L.A.N. so you can remember that because God is in control, you can trust in God’s plan for your life.
P - stands for Plan
God has a perfect plan for every person’s life. Each time we lose sight of that perfect plan and quit pursuing God’s purpose for us, we get tempted to step outside of God’s will and abandon that plan. Each time we step out of God’s will and interject our own plan, we fall short of God’s perfect design. Because God is sovereign and He can see tomorrow and perfectly designs every moment of our life. When we quit walking by faith, we begin to think that we can do better and know better than God. In reality, we cut ourselves short each time we bypass God’s plan. Look at Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (NIV)
Most people are afraid of God’s plan and are unwilling to let go of their life. From a deep heart of longing to show His mercy, Jesus cried out,
" O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37)
The same cry goes out to you. God calls saying, "How I long to gather you under My wings and fulfill in you My purpose", but will you come? Most people will not. They run from God’s plan even though their own plans always fall short. We are unwilling to sacrifice our own desires even though we see the promises of God extends. God designed you as an exact fit for His eternal purpose. Psalm 139 tells us that God formed our inward parts and has knitted us together in our mother’s womb. He fashioned the days and designed the path for our future before we ever had a day on earth. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Psalm 139:17-18a says, "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand." God put so much thought, detail and planning in every part of your life that if you could count God’s careful thoughts it would outnumber the sands of the earth.
When we don’t believe God’s plan is perfect, we will not trust Him to fulfill us. We also will not trust Him when we go through trials. As Christians, we are never promised that life will be pain-free. What we are promised is that God will use everything together to bring out the good in our lives and shape us for the future. God compares trials to refining gold. There is no easy way to refine gold. It must pass through the fire. As gold melts, the impurities float to the top and are removed. Fine gold is refined many times. The gold can be left unrefined, but it does not have much value. It is impurities that give gold its color. That is why white gold has greater value that yellow gold. Unknown to those of ancient times, when gold is purified to perfection, it looses all color and becomes transparent. This was unknown until modern technology made this possible. However, the Bible described this 2,000 years ago. In the book of Revelation, chapter 21 describes heaven. We are told that the walls of the new Jerusalem were pure gold like clear glass and the streets were pure gold like clear glass. This kind of purity is what God is trying to complete in our lives and only in the center of God’s will can God shape us.
Those who do not trust God will reject God’s plan at the first sign of trouble. Because they have not grown spiritually to the point of acknowledging God and submitting to His eternal purpose, they get angry when trials hit. We also live in a fallen world and pain comes into every life, but only the Christian who is following God has the promise that He will use it for good. People who look at God as a cosmic genie expect to be exempted from pain or protected from trials. Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 13:33. Because He has overcome and we are following His plan, we have peace knowing that God will turn the tribulation into good.
L - God’s Love
Everything that God brings into our path is out of His love for us. God’s plan for our life was fashioned for our benefit and His glory. The two work together and can’t be separated. It always benefits us to glorify God. Even prayer was designed for our benefit. God already knows what we need before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8); He already knows the thoughts and the intents of our heart (Jeremiah 17:10); He also already knows our tomorrow because He fashioned it for us. The purpose of prayer is not for God’s benefit, but for our own benefit. Prayer, thanksgiving and praise conditions our hearts and opens our eyes to God’s majesty, purpose and blessings. Prayer is how God communicates to us. It is during the long walks in the woods that I am able to soul search and examine my life and lay it out before Him. I am able to bring my concerns before Him and be confident that He hears. Prayer is what aligns myself with God and His will. I don’t seek to make God change His mind, but I seek to move myself into His will. Prayer is a gift of God’s love toward us.
God’s will for our life was fashioned out of love. With amazing detail and care, God planned your life for your benefit and His purposes. God uses all things to fashion our path. God first paved the way and walked the path for you and then calls you to follow. Good does not call you to go where He has not been. God leads the way and asks you to follow Him, He does not send you alone. It is also important to understand that God will never ask you to go where He has not been. You will never bear what God has already borne. In Lamentations 1 we see the prophecy of Christ’s sufferings. He says to those who feel like their burden is too heavy: "Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, Which the LORD has inflicted In the day of His fierce anger." Jesus did not only suffer and feel every pain that we feel, but He also felt the anger of God’s wrath for our sins. If we belong to Christ, we will never suffer the wrath of God. We will also never go through pain or tribulation that God has not already taken upon Himself.
Because God’s plan is perfect and every detail is planned out to the exact moment, we know that there are no accidents. If there were any other way to get the benefit in our lives, God would do it. Trials are only brought into our lives when there is no other way to accomplish our perfection. Only inside the center of God’s will can we have absolute confidence that trouble is for our benefit. When we make our own path, we don’t have the promise that everything is part of God’s plan. However, even when we grow distant from God, He can use troubles for our good. When we suffer the consequences, God can still use these for our good. Consequence for our actions are not God’s best, but He can still turn them into good when we repent and get into His will.
It is out of God’s love that He calls you out of the world and into His will. The world will pass away and all the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:17). Because God knows that everything we have been investing our lives in is doomed, He calls us out of it. God wants you to abide forever and He wants you to reap the benefits and rewards that carry into eternity. It is out of love that God continues to call and lead us throughout our lives. Each time we stray, God patiently works in our lives to bring us back into His will.
A - is for God’s Authority
Because God is the supreme authority, we know He is in total control. If God doesn’t have authority over everything - including this world, He cannot be in control. The Bible does say that satan is the god of this world, but this does not supercede God’s authority. Satan is the god of this world ONLY in the sense that he is able to influence others. God also told Moses that He would make him a god unto Pharaoh. Moses was never a god, but he was used as an tool for God’s purpose. In this same sense, satan is the god of this world. Though he despises God, God ultimately uses him to fulfill His purposes. We are given several examples of this throughout scripture. Look at 1 Kings 22:
20 "And the LORD said, ’Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner.
21 "Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ’I will persuade him.’
22 "The LORD said to him, ’In what way?’ So he said, ’I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ’You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’
Here we see the judgement of God upon Ahab. Ahab was a wicked, idolatrous king over Israel. God’s judgement was for King Ahab to go to war and be slain. God used an evil spirit to speak through the false prophets that Ahab consulted and give him confidence that he would be victorious over the opposing army. We see many other similar examples. God used Joseph’s brothers, who, for evil intentions sold Joseph into slavery. What they could not see is that God used their evil actions to bring salvation to the growing nation of Israel. When a seven year famine struck, Joseph had already been exalted from slavery to ruler and prepared beforehand. They tried to destroy him, but God used this to become their salvation. In God’s final time of judgement, God puts into the hearts of men to submit to the beast so God can judge the world through the beast. Once again, a lying spirit will fool a world that has rejected God.
Despite the plain teaching of scripture, false teachers have gone out into the world who arrogantly demote God and exalt satan. Because they glorify satan, they are guilty of idolatry and because they demote God and credit His authority to satan, they are guilty of blasphemy. The people who follow them are guilty of neglecting the repeated warnings of scripture to "not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God". (1 John 4:1) "Even if they show signs and wonders, do not believe them because even satan can make himself into an angel of light". (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). You can know a teaching is false by comparing it to scripture. God does not change and God has declared that His word is to be valued above everything else. If scripture contradicts a teacher, his teaching is false. If a teacher discredits scripture, exalts his words above scripture, directs you away from scripture or threatens divine judgement upon anyone who questions his teachings or compares them to scripture, he is a willing false teacher and the Bible says that he is an anti-Christ. Many teachers try to put congregations into bondage by threatening judgement. The Bible says to judge their fruits, their teachings and not to be afraid of them or their threats. They are not the hand or voice of God.
Those who arrogantly credit satan with the authority of this world should listen to the words of Nebuchadnezzar. One day Nebuchadnezzar walked out on his balcony, beheld the mighty Babylonian Empire and said, "Look what I have done!" God’s judgement was swift. God judged Nebuchadnezzar because he did not acknowledge the sovereignty of God. He stripped the kingdom and took the kings sanity so that he grazed in the field like a beast. After a time of judgement, Nebuchadnezzar’s understanding returned and he said, "I lifted my eyes to heaven and blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives for ever. For His dominion is an everlasting dominion…He does according to His will…No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ’What have you done?’"
The Babylonian king learned a lesson that has been forgotten in recent years. It is God who has dominion and has always had dominion. No one can restrain His hand or question what He does. All authority belongs to God and He gives it to who He desires. Even evil rulers are handpicked by God to judge the people or to show His power. Look at Romans 9:
16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth."
This is why God instructs us to obey those who rule over us. They are appointed by God for His purposes. Jesus made this clear also when He was confronted by Pilot, the Roman governor of Jerusalem. Pilot said, "Do You not know that I have the power to crucify you or release you?" Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had be given you from above." The Roman Empire was an unknowing tool of God’s plan. Pilot and the circumstances surrounding Pilot that put him into the position of being vulnerable to the unjust wishes of the people who wanted Jesus dead, was no accident. This all worked together to fulfill God’s purposes and the redemption that God offers to the world. No one rises to power without God’s will and God is never caught off guard. This is why the Bible tells us to obey those who rule over you. They are appointed by God for a purpose. The only exception to obedience is when a rule requires disobedience to God. God uses His enemies to fulfill His plan.
Isaiah 14:
24 The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, "Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:
…
27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?"
N - Neglecting the Call
Knowing that God is in total control and has every moment fashioned for an exact purpose should give us confidence in His call to follow. Knowing God has a design is why we are called to walk by faith and not by sight. Most people live their entire lives by sight alone. They don’t have the faith to trust God’s plan, so they only respond by what makes them feel good for the moment. They may refuse to follow God’s call because they are afraid of missing out in this life. They may only respond to what they see and stray from God and cannot endure trials because they don’t believe God can bring good out of it. They take matters into their own hands. Since they can’t see the end result, they are not willing to trust God for the result. They want to be in control. It is not until God is in control that He will lead us. You can’t follow God if you are in front. You can’t follow God if you bail out each time you struggle. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6). Until you have faith in God and are willing to follow where ever He leads, you will never have the victorious life God has laid out for each person.
There are two ways that we reject God by neglecting His call. First, we neglect God’s call because we want what God will not give us or we can’t wait for God and launch out to get gratification on our own. Look at the following passages:
Proverbs 14:14 The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.
Ecclesiastes 5:10a He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
The Bible also says that the eyes of man are never satisfied. How hard it is to get beyond the lure of our eyes. Even though it never satisfies, the lure is so strong that we follow after what we see again and again. God tells us, "I am your exceedingly great reward". When we pursue God, we will ALWAYS be satisfied. When we can get our eyes off the flesh and pursue the spiritual things, we will be satisfied with both. But when we pursue the flesh and physical satisfaction and neglect God’s calling, we will be lacking in both. Look next at Isaiah 55:
1 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
As Jesus plainly put it, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you".
The second way we neglect the call is by pursuing answers to life’s struggles in the world. We don’t believe God can meet our needs or overcome our problems, so we neglect His call and seek help elsewhere.
Psalm 146:
3 Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.
5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever,
In the Old Testament, God warned Israel not to seek help from the world but to rely on Him. Each time the people drifted away from God, they would begin to seek help from the world and neglect both God’s promises and His commands. During the times of great prosperity, God, protected them, subdued their enemies and blessed them with wealth. Israel only sought help from their enemies when they were outside of God’s will. During peace and hardship the people had trouble. Their enemies only grew strong when their relationship with God grew weak. God clearly warned them not to seek aid outside of Him or compromise for protection. Sometimes trouble would arise as God’s judgment and sometimes it was God’s testing.
The same is true for the believer today. If we neglect God’s purpose, our troubles become stronger than we are. It is during these times that the temptation to compromise our values becomes overwhelming. Like Israel, when our problems put our backs against the wall, we will seek help through any means we deem necessary. Therefore, we compound our sin, with more sin and because we are the ones in control, our spiritual life gets out of control. It gets easy to justify the little lies, or cheating or compromising what is right for what is easier. God will not bless anything that is outside of His will. It is amazing how many times people ask for me to pray for God’s help on a situation that contradicts His word. We act contrary to God’s commands and then ask God to get us out of trouble. We seek fulfillment in relationships with those who do not know God and then ask God to bless what we are doing. God calls us to die to self and follow Him in faith, trusting Him to fulfill and provide us what will satisfy and accomplish His will.
God will test you. God will allow things into your life that will force you to make hard choices. You will have to choose to obey or seek help the world’s way. Living a godly life is not supposed to be an easy way. God calls us to take His path and this path requires His strength. Unless you are focused on Him and trusting in Him so that you are walking by faith, you will never be able to endure. It is not your strength that overcomes. It is God who goes before you and opens the impossible doors or purifies your life with trials. It is His perfect plan and His perfect timing that we must trust. The faithful are not the ones who walk with Him when it is smooth sailing; the faithful are the ones who stand on His word, depend on His strength, and cling to Him at all times. Those who build a solid foundation on Christ and don’t neglect His purposes are the ones who will stand strong when the storms blow. To know God is in control and to reject His purpose for your life is sin. The blessed life is the one who acknowledges that God is in control and trusts Him through all circumstances. God uses all things for His purposes - even the wicked. God only blesses those who willingly work toward accomplishing His will. God uses and punishes those who live in disobedience. God also uses and blesses those who walk in obedience. Which side of the plan you stand on depends on your faith in God’s plan for your life.
*** This sermon can be downloaded as a Word document by following the link at http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/sermons.htm
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