The Sovereignty Of God

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”.