Sovereignty: The Lord Reigns
Notes
Transcript
Sovereignty: The Lord Reigns
Sovereignty: The Lord Reigns
I’ve told you before that I believe the first verse in our Bible is one of the most important verses for us to really understand and sink our teeth into.
B/c if it is true then we can believe everything that follows.
But if it is false then we can all go home, find a different religion, or just live our lives however we want to lie them.
There’s nothing to believe, there’s nothing that we can trust.
That can sound pretty extreme, but either God created the universe or he didn’t.
If he did, then he is worthy of all worship, honor, and praise.
If he didn’t, then he isn’t.
Why is this so important to understand when it come to this mornings attribute?
B/c it signifies that if God created everything then he owns everything, and if he owns everything then he has sovereignty or rule over everything.
The Sovereignty of God is foundational in understanding who God is and what he does.
Sovereignty is a weird word that we don’t use often.
In fact, in our context we have no real reason to used it.
The word sovereign means a supreme ruler.
This is attributed to the kings of old.
They were rulers and reigned over all in their territory.
Those who are sovereign were able to make laws, exercise power without limitation, and hold all authority.
We, as 21st century Americans, are divorced from this type of rule and reign.
We function in a democratic republic.
As much power and presence as we can believe the president holds he isn’t the sole power and authority.
He isn’t the autonomous head of state.
So this can be a little lost on us.
But there is no one higher than the king.
He is where the buck stops.
He is the supreme.
He doesn’t get voted on.
He doesn’t get elected.
He simply is the king based on who he is.
The king gets to rule and reign over his kingdom the way that he wants to rule and reign.
And this is more true for the King of Kings.
God is the sole creator and sole ruler over all the universe.
He spoke creation into existence.
He alone sits on the throne.
He alone has all the power, authority, and rule over the universe, the world, and even our lives.
He has “undisputed right to govern all he has created.”-Steve Lawson
Now this is the first of the communicable attributes that we have covered when it comes to God.
Obviously, any rule and reign we may have pales in comparison to God’s, but we do get to rule and reign.
In fact, God gave this ruling edict to Adam and Eve in the garden.
If we look back to Genesis 1:28, we read
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
Here we see that mankind is to subdue the earth and rule over the creation in the earth.
Another way to translate this is to subdue the earth and have dominion over creation.
These are both way of saying that we are to imitate God’s rule and reign over what he has given us.
Now obviously, we don’t have ultimate rule and dominion, ours is derived strictly from what God has granted us, but nonetheless, we are to imitate his rulership.
So God always does what he pleases, when he pleases, where he pleases, with whom he pleases, and how he pleases.
This is the reality of his kingship.
As the sole owner and creator of the universe, he has sole power, and authority to do what he pleases.
The psalmist puts it this way
Psalm 115.3 “3 Our God is in heaven and does whatever he pleases.”
And as I say all this, you maybe sitting there mad or upset.
You might be trying to fight against God’s Sovereignty.
And we will unpack our human response to this attribute shortly.
But What I pray that we will see as we study this attribute is the beauty of God’s Sovereignty.
And hopefully as we round it out, we can agree with Jonathon Edwards when he said:
Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God. God’s sovereignty has ever appeared to me, a great part of his glory. It has often been my delight to approach God, and adore him as a sovereign God.
Jonathan Edwards
But before we look at this attribute, lets pray.
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
The Lord Reigns
The Lord Reigns
In order for there to be a king, there must be a kingdom.
And here the psalmist wants us to see that God’s kingdom is above all and rules over all.
There is one kingdom that is above and beyond all other kingdoms and it’s God’s kingdom.
Why?
B/c as the creator of the universe, he has established it this way.
And here’s the thing, it doesn’t matter if we recognize his reign or not.
It doesn’t matter how we as the creation feels about his rule and reign.
The fact is God sits on his throne.
God established his throne.
And his throne will remain forever.
This is seen throughout the scriptures but is highlighted in the Psalms
The phrase “The Lord Reigns” is used 4 times.
1 The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, enveloped in strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. He judges the peoples fairly.”
1 The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coasts and islands be glad.
1 The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He is enthroned between the cherubim. Let the earth quake.
One of the must beautiful truths about God’s rule and reign is that it isn’t contingent or dependent on anything or anyone.
A.W Pink states it this way God is “Unrivaled in majesty, unlimited in power, unaffected by anything outside of himself”
God reigns no matter the circumstance.
No matter the situation.
In prosperity, He Reigns.
In disaster, He Reigns.
In health, He Reigns.
In sickness, He Reigns.
In Order, He Reigns.
In Chaos, He Reigns.
In Eternity past, He Reigns.
In Eternity future, He Reigns.
He’s in control and not surprised by the goings on of the world.
He is never caught off guard.
He is never astonished or amazed at his creation.
Over all his creation he stands as the sole ruler and authority.
Now for many we intellectually know that God is king over all, but we minimize his kingship to over some or maybe over most.
What I mean is that we can get so inward focused, primarily as a country that we ignore what God is doing all over the world and focus primarily on what he is doing here.
For example we are can be so consumed with the cultural problems of America that we neglect what God is doing all over the world.
More people are coming to know Jesus as savior around the world than we could possibly fathom.
The word of God is touching the lives of people in all tongues and nations.
God is still doing a mighty work in the world, while we are solely concerned on what he is doing here.
Thinking that b/c America may be falling apart the world must be collapsing too.
There are some that truly believe that if America Collapses God has failed.
Do we see how ridiculous that is?
We have to remember that America is not necessarily the center of God’s work.
God’s work is not limited to the boundaries or jurisdiction of America.
Rather God’s rule and reign has no boundaries.
His purposes aren’t limited to finite spaces.
So though things may not be as they used to be here, God is still going to accomplish his plan and purposes.
Theologian Abraham Kuyper famously said “There is not a square inch in the whole of creation over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: “Mine!”
R.C Sproul said, “If there is one maverick molecule in the universe, one molecule running loose outside the scope of God's sovereign ordination, then ladies and gentlemen, there is not the slightest confidence that you can have that any promise that God has ever made about the future will come to pass.
This is a truth that we need to hold on to.
God is more concerned with his Kingdom than he is with any kingdom on the earth.
Now, he certainly can and will use kingdoms of the earth to accomplish his will.
B/c ultimately all the kingdoms of earth no matter how great and how powerful are subject to God.
I want you to hear what Paul says in
1 Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.
Any king or kingdom, any president or congressman, every kind king and every evil tyrant are all established and instituted by God himself.
We even see some this in the OT
21 He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
He can and will use kings and rulers to accomplish his will.
God used the Babylonians and Assyrians to punish Israel for their rebellion.
He also used Cyrus the great to free his people from captivity.
Even though they did what they did for their own purposes, ultimately the things accomplished were God’s purposes.
B/c everything, everyone, and every circumstance serves God’s purposes.
I love what Paul also says in
16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
All things.
There’s no room for anything else.
And as stated before, if he creates it, sustains it, and upholds it.
He has ownership and rulership over it.
From the greatest to the least all things are under God’s sovereign rule and reign.
Now there are some of us who really struggle with God’s Sovereingty.
Mostly b/c we like to think that we are in control.
We like to think that we have the power, influence, and ability to govern our life.
Some of us really like to be in control.
But God’s Sovereignty means that he is in absolute control.
Control over all of his creation.
He can will things to happen if he so pleases.
One of the stories where we see this is in Daniel.
Some of the Israelites had been captured by Babylon.
And King Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler at the time.
King Neb. had a dream. A dream that affirmed his stature and prominence in the land and among the people.
He was a strong, powerful, and influential leader.
He was admired.
He was adored.
He was worshipped.
And King Neb. thought that he was untouchable.
He believed that he was the bee’s knees, all that and a bag of chips, and the GOAT.
To his mind he was untouchable.
But he was about to find out just how powerful God Almighty was.
God cast judgment on King Neb.
And caused Neb. to lose his mind.
King Neb. ended up eating grass in a field with the animals until God relented.
King Neb. didn’t have a choice.
King Neb. lost his mind b/c God took it from him.
As he was eating grass in the field he had a moment of clarity:
34 But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned to me. Then I praised the Most High and honored and glorified him who lives forever: For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.
35 All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing, and he does what he wants with the army of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. There is no one who can block his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
Even the person who seems to be in the most control has to submit to the Lord.
There is nowhere to escape from God’s Sovereignty.
Ps 139:8 “8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.”
You could travel to the outermost parts of the universe and every atom, molecule, and speck of dirt is still under God’s Sovereignty.
You could travel to the deepest parts of the oceans and there is not one piece of sand that is floating around that is outside of God’s Direction.
There is nothing visible or invisible, great or small that is not influenced and under God’s Sovereign will.
You may be asking yourself, if God is Sovereign then what difference does it make what choices I make.
God’s going to do what he wants, how he wants, with whom he wants, do I even get to make decisions.
Do I have any type of free will?
And this is a question that has been debated and will continue to be debated until all eternity.
But this is where I land.
And you can feel free to disagree with me.
I don’t believe we have complete free will.
Now I want to highlight that word “complete”.
And here’s how I will couch it.
If we had complete absolute, free will then we would be paralyzed by every single decision we had to make.
I’ve told some of you before, I saw this when I waited tables.
It would take some people 10, 15, 20 minutes to decide what they wanted to eat.
B/c there were too many choices. And honestly, these were insignificant choices.
What you had to eat 3 years ago, really amounts to a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things.
But they were paralyzed with the limited amount of choices before them.
And they were still limited to the items on the menu.
So there wasn’t complete free choice they had to select from what was in front of them.
Could you imagine if you had not just the menu in front of you, but also the chef said he could make anything you want.
How much more of a struggle would that be?
Free will isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Now obliviously our lives are bigger than the menus sitting in front of us.
But your free will, the choices you make are also influenced by the world around you.
They are influenced by the parents you had, the culture you live in, and the previous choices you have made.
So we see that no person, I believe, has complete free will.
Not only that, but biblically if you are outside of faithful obedience to Jesus, you are a slave to sin, child of wrath, dead in your sins and trespasses.
So you are enslaved to the flesh and sin that you love.
Meaning that outside of belief in Jesus you are bound to sin and influenced by it having no choice to make except the one that satisfies the flesh.
Now, if you have been set free from sin through belief and obedience to Jesus then your options on choices multiply.
Now you can decide if you want to honor Jesus with your life or if you want to participate in sin.
But those are still the only two choices.
Honor Jesus or rebel against him.
I read an illustration that really put this into perspective.
On how we balance human responsibility and freedom with God’s Sovereignty.
Suppose a ship leaves New York City bound for Liverpool, England, with a thousand passengers on board.
They’re going to take a nice, easy journey and enjoy the trip.
Someone on board—usually the captain—is an authority who carries papers that say, “You are to bring this ship into the harbor in Liverpool.”
After they leave New York and wave to the people on shore, the next stop is Liverpool.
That’s it! They’re out on the ocean. Soon they lose sight of the Statue of Liberty, but they haven’t come yet in sight of the English coast.
They are out floating around on the ocean.
What do they do?
Is everyone bound in chains, with the captain walking around with a stick to keep them in line? No.
Over here is a shuffleboard court, over there is a tennis court and a swimming pool. Over here you can look at pictures; over there you can listen to music.
The passengers are perfectly free to roam around as they please on the deck of the ship.
But they’re not free to change the course of that ship.
It’s going to Liverpool no matter what they do.
They can jump off if they want to, but if they stay on board, they’re going to Liverpool—nobody can change that. And yet, they’re perfectly free within the confines of that ship.
They will be held accountable for what they did on the ship.
How they behaved on the ship.
But their freedom was limited to the direction the ship was going.
Likewise, our freedom is based on God’s Movement and Sovereignty.
God Almighty has a course, a purpose, and a goal.
We can’t change it, we can’t manipulate it, we can’t stop it.
God is going to accomplish what he wishes to accomplish regardless of how we feel about it.
He is in control, He is overseeing, He is ruling and reigning.
Regardless of the life you live, you are still under the sovereign rule of God.
And God is always going to accomplish his will, rule, and reign.
9 Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like me.
10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.
11 I call a bird of prey from the east, a man for my purpose from a far country. Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about. I have planned it; I will also do it.
Here’s some beauty in God’s Sovereignty.
There is none one that is going to stop him or thwart him from accomplishing what he purposed.
Pharoah tried to when he commanded the Israelite babies to be killed. And he failed.
Pharoah tried again when he chased Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt.
Balaam tried to curse God’s people and ended up talking to a donkey.
Nations tried to conquer and stomp out Israel yet God sustained them.
Herod tried to kill baby Jesus, but he was protected.
The Devil tempted Jesus in the Wilderness to distract him from his purpose, but Jesus overcame.
The crowds had Jesus crucified, but God raised him from the dead and now he is seated at the right hand of the Father.
God’s purpose is always going to be accomplished.
His will is inflexibly fixed.
And his purpose is that he would be glorified.
And one of the ways that God is glorified is when sinners come to repentance and swear loyalty to him.
I hope that we can all see the beauty and majesty when it comes to God’s Sovereignty.
But you may be asking yourself so what?
How can these truths impact my life?
How do I respond to God’s Sovereignty?
The first and most important response to God’s Sovereignty is that you swear allegiance to him.
If you haven’t bowed the knee before the king, then you are living in rebellion against him.
And in that rebellion against him, you are his enemy.
He stands against you as you stand against him.
But the good news is that you don’t have to stay his enemy forever.
He has provided a way for you to realign your allegiance with him.
and that is through faith in Jesus as the Son of God who died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the grave.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He is the one who bought your allegiance.
He is the one you submit to and follow.
Leave the things of this world behind and follow after him.
Since God is the king of the universe, you will either bow down to him as servant, or be made to bow down as rebel.
He is inviting you into a dynamic and deep relationship with him.
Do you get that.
the king of the universe that created and rules over everything wants to have a relationship with you.
He wants you to know him, and he wants to know you.
Now in his sovereignty, if you have sworn allegiance to him and are following after him then I want you to know that b/c he is ruler of the universe you can trust in him.
You can trust in his provision.
Let’s not forget that as his child you are not an after thought for him.
That he never abandons you.
That he is with you and that he will provide for you.
His providence is what sustains us.
One of the things that’s upsetting to me is that there are many Christians that have more fear of the devil then they have faith in God.
And though the devil may be stronger than you and I, he is no match for God.
It’s no contest.
Our God is bigger, stronger, and more powerful than anything the devil can through at us.
No matter how dark the world is.
No matter how broken things are around us.
No matter the doubt and despair.
God is not out of control.
God is still on the throne.
He is still reigning.
And nothing, not one thing or person will ever conquer him.
So Trust, rely, and depend on him.
Not only that, but b/c he is the ruler of the universe, we need to make sure that we are relying on him.
That we are in constant communication with him through prayer and worship.
The sovereign king is worthy of our time and worship.
Our prayers and devotion.
So we know that if we are living for him, he is overseeing us.
Depend on him as you are praying for the lost in our community.
Depend on him as you are writing every check.
Depend on him as you are stepping out in faith into the life he is calling you to.
Finally, we are as those who have sworn allegiance to God we are now called to be his ambassadors.
We are called and commissioned to tell others about Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.
God has called us to be heralds of his good news.
That King Jesus has come to overcome sin and death.
And when we obey proclaiming this gospel, we are operating in his power.
B/c all power has been given to Jesus.
and he has bestowed it upon us.
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
It is through his authority that we proclaim the good news.
So get out there and tell someone.
Go share about the God who rules and reigns.
That there is hope in the world.
There is hope in the chaos.
There is hope in the one who conquered sin and death.
Let’s pray.