God’s Final Answer: Sovereignty
Living Wisely in a Meaningless World
July 22, 2001
By Andrew Chan, PBC, Vancouver, BC
Eccl.7:13,14 (NIV)
“Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.”
Who wants to be a millionaire? TV game show – popular. I think one of the good things about it is: Regis Philbin always pushes for an answer, and a definite answer. “ Is that your final answer?” The person who answers- can’t say “It is all relative, there’re no absolutes” and “that’s your opinion, your truth is your opinion” and don’t anyone dare push for an absolute truth. In the show, Regis would keep pushing for the one answer. If they can’t figure it out, they phone a friend, they poll the audience, get the computer to take away 2 wrong answers leaving two possible answers. But still gotta come to the final answer.
Today we are faced with a question. “Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?” What’s the answer? Is that final? How does this answer affect my life?
Enjoyed holidays going thru’ Rockies to Calgary, AB. See the mountains, can’t help but marvel at the way God has formed natural surroundings. The way it is shaped. Looks mysterious, majestic, beautiful, awesome. Yet there is a shadow side to those mountains. They can be awful and dangerous - rockslides, mudslides, forest fires, horseflies, etc. My sister has a dog, Portuguese water dog, called Jeya and it met a horsefly for the first time. Spooked him so bad, he would not come out of his portable kennel. Heard of a kid who fell to his death at the Columbia Icefields this summer, then there are Grizzlies, not a few have lost their lives hiking in those mountains, driving through some dark narrow tunnel at Rogers Pass and meet untimely death like some Taiwanese tourist did some months back. Yes, those mountains can be downright spooky but it does reminds us something about God.
A. Sovereign One!
In the same vein, Eccl. Writer brings home the fact that as you look at what God has done, crooked lines of the Rocky Mountains, sharp edges, peaks, it is beautiful but it can be dangerous too. You step out of line on one of those cliffs, and sayonara. It is like when skiers are told they’re not to ski out of bounds and off course they pay no attention and then pretty soon in trouble… ya ha and they’re off flying to the next mountain, hit a tree, avalanche or worse. The text confronts us with the concept of God’s awesome sovereignty. “Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?” The answer is God is sovereign over all. It is beautiful. Yet powerful. If God wills for something to be bent in a certain way, like the mountains, who can unbend it? No matter what u do u cannot unbend those crooked lines of the mountains. No one, except God! Step out of line in those mountains and you’re done for.
B. The Human response:
What’s left that for puny humans to do? How does God being powerful and sovereign affect me?
1. Freedom from worry.
“Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.” Why worry about the future? No use getting hung up about what’s gonna happen. This does not answer all questions about life, does not give final answer to what school to go to next fall, what business decision to make, where to eat after church… but it removes the need to worry about life. God is in control of my life and yours. No one can change what he has determined to be crooked.
Let’s say… Maybe you are worried about your kid and how he is gonna turn out? Pro.22:6 (NKJV) says:
“Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Fear he will depart from God.
But how can this be true? Since Eccl. Says “a man cannot discover anything about his future”
Shouldn’t we do all we can to make sure that this kid gets the right training? By training, it is taken to mean go through regimen of what it means to be raised in a Christian home, i.e. in bed by nine, read the Bible, pray, attend Sun School, do well in school, read, write, math so that he/she becomes a doctor, lawyer, engineer, CEO of big business corp… i.e. be wealthy and successful. But seldom do we find out that the Bible is saying in Proverbs text… is to look at each child the way God has made them, i.e. the way God has bent them, some natural bents. That’s the way he should go. In keeping with the God-given characteristics tendencies, talents – some are better at math, some at art, some at reading, each kid is uniquely wired to make a difference in the world. Discover how God has in His sovereign will made each kid. Yet so often we put them through a cookie cutter, and label a kid a failure for not wanting to be doctor or a rocket scientist. When God did not bend them that way to be the high powered business executive, why do we want to unbend them to be our pet robots?
So much unnecessary misery and worry comes into our lives because we look at a generic pot of gold at the end of a generic fairy tale rainbow, that is our own narrow definitions of what a good life is, never considering what God has done in the way He has crafted each individual for the glory of His name. So much damage is done when we try to unbend what God has bent. Such as I was, labeled as a giddy headed kid in school by a teacher… Start believing those labels… bad news!
Story is told of a mother who returned from a national convention for feminists. Greeted by 5 year old daughter at the door, who said “While you were gone, Mommy I decided what I want to be when I grow up.” Mom said: “Wonderful” got a daughter who wants a career outside the home. “What do u want to be?”
“I want to be a nurse” said the little girl. The mother could barely hide her disappointment.
“You do have to settle to be a nurse, honey. You can be a pilot, head of IBM, or PM of Canada. You can be anything you want.”
The little girl replied, “Really, I can anything I want?” “Of course u can sweetie.”
Then she thought for a moment and said: “I want to be a horse.”
2. Accept the Godly Bent
Point here is to accept things the way God has sovereignly designed them… Discover and accept that he has bent us into shape, it is a much more productive life when we are not running up against God’s will. Then it frees us to have a life that has little worries!
AS for me, I can never be an software engineer, pro ball player, genius in math, I need to learn to accept it, no point worrying about that the rest of my life, saying “I should’ve been a NASA scientist”. World would be much poorer if say Edison believed that every failure he had in experiments, proved that he’s a useless no good bum, but no… he has a passion, a bent God gave him, he’s discovered it, today many of what we have in modern life and in electronics is thanks to his clever inventions. Great people succeed, because they know they’re bent a certain way, train themselves up to be best they can be, strengthen their strengths, so that even weaknesses are masked, and challenges are hailed as stepping stones to greatness. One great ping pong coach in China, speaks of one his world champion players. Weak in backhand. Hardly used it. But he compensates by training up his forehand… and it is so overpowering that even opponents who want to exploit it, cannot do it. Few can defeat him. Maybe today there is a someone here, given the right encouragement and training in the way he should go, who knows, could be great inspite of weaknesses bound to have, in spite of the "failures" "brokeness" we see?
Will you accept the godly bent in your life and the life of others?
3. Remember You’re The Mastepiece of God
Perhaps sit here struggling in life, unsatisfied, overwhelmed with feelings of meaningless …uselessness…
God did not design u to be useless… end up with a life “all is meaningless”, so give up and die or just plunge into pleasure, enjoy life while u can then die– I submit to u - He made u and I as a masterpiece…
In His soveriegn will, You are His piece of ingenious work!
Eph.2 (NLT)
8 God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s MASTERPIECE. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Remember today if you have chosen to believe in Christ, trusted Him to save by His grace, in God’s eyes you are a masterpiece. God is in charge of that, don’t worry, you are not a piece of garbage. Choose to believe that. Let it be forever imprinted in your heart and mind that you a piece of work that God treasures, a carefully crafted being in God’s image in Christ, to do things that will make a difference in the world He has made to glorify Him.
God saved us not to become folks who sit and wait for heaven but to become productive in his vineyard. He expects fruits. There is freedom in knowing God has a plan for us, he has given me a certain bent, planned long ago for his purposes, by His grace I will leave a fulfilling life, as I trust Him, leaving behind all pursuit of sin, plunge headlong into what He has designed me to be… That is why I believe we need not worry, there is freedom from worry when I know I am significant, God cares and has shaped me to be a world-changer. Therefore I challenge you to accept the way you are made by God, with the unique bent He has shaped you with and I ask you to courageously serve Him with that bent. Then you will know the truth of how God made and that truth will set you free.
4. Freedom from explaining everything.
Grasping God’s sovereignty can help us to be humans. I.e. to leave the things of God, to God. It helps us from trying to achieve the all-knowing almighty position. Job’s taken. So we best not pursue it. We cannot hope to discover all of life’s questions. No one has all the answers. Why is there evil still, how can it be used for good, bible says all things work together for good… but how? Ultimately, the bible it will be good, but not when one is going through the pain of disease, divorce, attacks from people. Leaves me from tiring work of second-guessing God’s will. I just don’t know why God allows this or that to happen, why He opens some doors and closes some, why He raised Pharaoh and rejects him.
Story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den illustrates this truth. See how Daniel chooses to trust and believe in God and practice His worship of God inspite of threat to his life. Not once in story see him complain and ask for explanation from God about what happened to him. Daniel could have asked God, why should he be in service to a pagan king, why not let Israel rule again, why me in den of lions, why when I have chosen to honor and obey you, all I got for it is to be a piece of fast-food for the lions. Could have asked a million questions, but I believe Daniel, has learned to trust and put his faith in a sovereign God. For he has seen how God has humbled King Nebu when that king despised the sovereignty of God (Dan 4), has seen King Belshazzar humbled by the handwriting on the wall (Dan 5) and now in his case (Dan 6). God’s purposes wins every single time! No need to explain everything. Just trust that God sees the bigger picture and will do what’s best. Hence when u are up against the wall, pressed for an answer for the mysterious ways God works, choose to trust in God’s ultimate purpose.
In midst of trying times such as captivity away from home in Babylon (Jer.29):
4 The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food you produce. 6 Marry, and have children. Then find spouses for them, and have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 7 And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the LORD for that city where you are held captive, for if Babylon has peace, so will you.” (Double take, huh? Babylon?)
8 The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says, “Do not let the prophets and mediums who are there in Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams 9 because they prophesy lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the LORD. 10 “The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the LORD. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your own land.”
There’s truth in v.11… somehow it is good, God is good… need to keep trusting His plan and pray (v.12,13).
Eccl.7:13,14(NLT)
“Notice the way God does things; then fall into line. Don’t fight the ways of God, for who can straighten out what he has made crooked?
Enjoy prosperity while you can. But when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. That way you will realize that nothing is certain in this life.”
God loves u the way u are, but he loves you too much to leave you there the way you are. So he will work through trying circumstances, maybe bend you a little more into shape. Romans 5 (NLT)
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to endure. 4 And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. 5 And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6. Freedom from pride.
When we choose to believe in God’s right to rule over us, His sovereignty, we will be freed from pride. It is not I who made things happen. I just happen to have been gifted by God to do what I do. Cheerful and grateful. Today God has given you life, it is not a meaningless life, God has plans for us. Credit goes to God. We do not need to make a life on our own, saying my hands have done it. That is why God has sent His Son for He knows we cannot make it. It through Christ that we can have life, life abundantly. But will we choose to give God the glory?
Illus. From Daniel 4…
30 As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Just look at this great city of Babylon! I, by my own mighty power, have built this beautiful city as my royal residence and as an expression of my royal splendor.’
31 “While he was still speaking these words, a voice called down from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. 32 You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.”
33 “That very same hour the prophecy was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.
34 “After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever.
His rule is everlasting,
and his kingdom is eternal.
35 All the people of the earth
are nothing compared to him.
He has the power to do as he pleases
among the angels of heaven
and with those who live on earth.
No one can stop him or challenge him,
saying, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’
36 “When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and officers sought me out, and I was reestablished as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before.
37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble those who are proud.”
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So what’s the final answer? Fr.Philosopher, Math guy, Pascal, says the faith resembles a wager, a bet. He said this to his friends: “If I believe in God and life after death and u do not, and if there is no God, we both lose and die. However if there is a God, you still lose and I gain everything.”
I believe, to live wisely in our meaningless world means choosing to trust in God who has control over all things, good or bad, and we will gain everyhting by beleiving so. Believe that somehow He really loves us and has shaped us to be significant players in this world. We gain so much. But if you do, according to God, we’re His masterpieces, not carbon copies of yesterday’s make and model, but precious, uniquely designed to do something significant in His eyes. And now it is up to us to choose and believe that we can, with God’s help and training make a difference. So free self from worry, having to explain everything, pride, believe that God has a plan and purpose and loves you. Perhaps you have not discovered what that is yet? Solomon with all his wisdom and advantage, wealth and power, found life to be meaningless but you can change meaningless life by trusting God’s unique design for your life. Go out of here today, empowered by God’s love, you can’t change God’s plans, get with it, start today by trust Him today that He is good in the midst of trying times and give all your concerns, worries and know that He is in your darkness and light, He is sovereign all. Let’s believe His final answer for us!
Bow heads in prayer, to Sovereign One.
