Perspective, Purpose, and Promise

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Jude 25 KJV 1900

to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

I. Job's Recognition of God's Sovereignty

A. Job's Response to Personal Tragedy

Job 1:20–22 KJV 1900

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return thither: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

1. Job's immediate response to loss and tragedy emphasizes his worship and acknowledgment of God's sovereignty in both giving and taking away.

2. No matter how much he lost he never lost the focus in that God IS still in control!

B. Job's Steadfast Faith Amidst Suffering

Job 2:9–10 KJV 1900

Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

1. Job had unwavering faith and refused to blame God, even in the face of personal suffering.

2. Even when his family was against him!

II. Jesus: The Mighty God in Christ

A. The Mystery of Godliness

1 Timothy 3:16 KJV 1900

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

1. Jesus is the full revelation of God.

B. There is only ONE God!

Ephesians 4:5–6 KJV 1900

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

1. There is only one God and He is above us, He works through us, and is IN US!

C. The Sovereignty of God in Creation and Redemption

1 Corinthians 8:6 KJV 1900

But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

1. It was by Him that all things are made!

2. He alone hung the planets in the sky!

D. God, in His sovereignty, died for us!

1 John 3:16 KJV 1900

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

1. God, through the fleshly robe that he dwelt in among men, went to Calvary to pay the debt of sin for us!

2. He became sin for us!

3. It was His only begotten flesh that was hung upon that cross!

III. Perspective: Seeing Through God's Eyes

A. Elisha's Servant's Divine Revelation

2 Kings 6:15–21 KJV 1900

And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

1. In the beginning, when all Elisha’s servant could see was the enemy he was afraid!

2. After he came to the man of God and was prayer was made his eyes were open to the supernatural!

i. His fear was eradicated when he was able to align Himself with the leadership and see what his pastor was seeing!

ii. If we could all get in tune with the supernatural and see what I am seeing fear will have no power over you!

iii. I have begun praying that God would open everyone’s eyes to see what God has shown me for this church!

3. God will give us the ability to lead the enemy right into their own defeat if we can see what God is doing.

i. Effectively if we see what God is doing it will be nothing for us to ask God to blind the enemy!

ii. When the enemy loses their vision they cannot win!

IV. The Predestined Church and God's Sovereign Plan

A. God's Eternal Plan for the Church

Ephesians 1:4–5 KJV 1900

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

1. The Church has been predestined to be with Him forever!

2. We obtain this trough Holiness and becoming blameless before Him!

3. The question is are you willing to persevere through this life pursuing Him primarily so you can be a part of the church that is predestined!

B. The Process of Predestination

Romans 8:29–30 KJV 1900

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

1. As long as we are obedient to His Word and remain a part of the church we can take heart that we are going to make it all the way!

V. Conclusion: The Plan of Salvation

A. Peter's Call to Repentance

Acts 2:38–40 KJV 1900

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

1. You must repent.

2. You must be baptised in Jesus' name

3. You will received the promise of the Holy Ghost

4. This promise of salvation is to all generations if you’ll only obey the call to salvation!

Related Media

Related Sermons