God is sovereign, omniscient and omnipotent

Good morning. A quick word of prayer, and then we'll get into the text.

Lord, bless us as we open your word, as we meditate and dwell on your attributes, on your very essence.

Lord, we ask that you will open our eyes to your truth.

Help us to read your word in a more profound way with this truth in our hearts.

And Lord, help us to just focus this morning. In Jesus' name, amen.

You may be seated. It's really good to see you guys. It feels a bit more full than normal. It's very good.

So, like George mentioned, we're in this summer series. This is week two on the attributes of God.

And, you know, I'll be honest with you. It's been...

Normally, like George mentioned, we preach through books of the Bible, and it's not like I'm flippant when I prepare for a sermon.

But looking at the attributes of God has been a bit of a...

It's been a bit of a tough time because I am wanting to communicate the truth of God.

The creator of heaven and earth, the very one that spoke everything into existence.

And I don't want to get it wrong.

We come before the living God and his word, and we realize that he deserves all of the divine majesty and glory.

And we come before God, of course, through Jesus, knowing him and boldly coming before the throne of grace, calling God Father.

But he is also God. He is also a king. He is also the Lord.

And that's what we're going to be looking at.

George talked about God's sovereignty, but another way of understanding it is the lordship of God.

I wouldn't waltz my way into Windsor Castle and say, you know, what up, Liz?

There is this aspect where we ought to come with reverence before the living God, right?

So that's what we're going to be taking a look at this morning.

Just a bit of a story that kind of helps me understand it.

So all of these attributes are so interconnected.

We can't say of God that he is all-powerful, but say that somehow he doesn't know everything.

Or that he is everywhere, but, you know, he's actually, he's not in control of all of history.

All of these attributes are connected.

To take one away is to say that God is no longer God.

So here's a story.

In high school, I played basketball through high school, and we had this.

So when you play team sports, or if you've ever played, like, varsity sports in high school,

you have, like, the core guys that you play with.

And then there's always a couple guys that show up for one season.

They want to get in shape.

They ride the pine.

They're kind of like guys you beat up in practice and never, ever play.

One of those guys was this guy that I grew up with.

I don't, I haven't talked with him since.

I don't know if he would watch this, so I'll use his real name.

His name was Tommy.

And after a practice, we decided we were going to go to an all-you-can-eat buffet

because that's what we do when we're 16 and we have allowance or extra money.

So I ride with Tommy, and I get in his car, and he doesn't have side mirrors in his car.

And he doesn't have a rearview mirror.

And in fact, the seat that I'm sitting on is super wiggly.

The seatbelt, for sure, I mean, I put it on, but I'm almost convinced it didn't work.

This car rattled.

There was missing knobs all over the front dash.

And I was scared.

Tommy also didn't drive the speed limit.

Tommy also had a number of tickets.

He was a nice guy, very reckless guy.

Anyways, I was very nervous getting in his car.

But his car, although missing a bunch of parts, was still a car.

It didn't cease to be a car because it was missing its side mirrors and rearview mirror,

all these different knobs.

I mean, I'm almost, I'd be surprised if the lights worked at night.

I was glad we were driving in the day.

But it was still a car.

It was still a complete car.

We're going to be looking at the sovereignty of God.

And we're going to be looking at three things.

We're going to be looking at God's omniscience.

That is his complete and perfect knowledge of all things.

His omnipotence.

That's a way of just saying that God is completely powerful.

That he is in control of all things.

Unlimited power and influence.

And also, finally, very connected to these two is his omnipresence.

That is God being everywhere.

And unlike Tommy's car, you take one of these pieces away and God ceases to be God.

He's just not God.

You can't have God without omnipresence or omnipotence or omniscience.

So it's really important that we take a look at all three of these attributes.

And there are more.

We have a whole summer series on them.

But we're just looking at these three.

And how we look at them as individually, individual attributes, but never forgetting that they're interconnected to one another.

And that to put more emphasis on one than the other or neglect one at the expense of the other is to do a disservice to God.

And then we go back to why I had a bit of a tough week struggling through some of this.

Anyways, if you have your Bible, we're going to be all over the Bible today.

I think the majority, if not all, of the scripture references will be up on the screen.

It would be great if you guys had your Bible.

If you use a Bible app, that's fine as well.

We have Bibles up here you can grab.

But follow along with me.

So we're looking at first God's omniscience.

God knows everything.

There's nothing that can be known that he doesn't know.

It's not as though God is this studious, this big, beautiful mahogany desk surrounded by books, just studying everything.

He somehow has developed this incredible bank of knowledge.

God, just simply, by virtue of him being God, he knows everything.

There is an inability for God to forget.

It's not just that he knows everything, but it's impossible for him to forget something.

Every little molecule that has ever existed, every scientific law, every thought of the human heart, he knows.

There is nothing that you can think of that God doesn't know.

And not only that, but he knows it a lot better than you.

In fact, he knows everything exhaustively.

A story that might help.

So my brother-in-law, out in B.C., Christine's brother, is a birder.

I don't know if there's any birders here, but Joel is a birder, and he's an excellent birder.

So Christine, the kids, we're out for a walk.

I was like, hey, it was a pond.

Hey, there's a heron.

I was like, that's a blue heron, Christine.

She's like, actually, it's white, and I think that's a crane.

And so we were like, well, what is it?

It was kind of far off.

It wasn't like right there.

So what do we do?

We snap a picture.

We send it to Joel, and he goes, oh, that's a great egret, actually.

And so neither of us were right.

And I have never heard of an egret in my life.

It had a long neck.

It looked like a fancy kettle.

I don't know.

But Joel is a birder par excellence.

He's on all sorts of online forums, and nobody knows that he's like 20-something, but he's

this authority in his area.

And yet Joel will spend the rest of his life trying to knock off his bucket list, his life

list of birds to see.

And my guess is that he will end up at some weird, obscure corners of planet Earth with

a camera and binoculars trying to just glimpse at, I don't know, whatever birds.

See, I don't know birds.

Joel knows them.

But he's going to spend his life, and he's not going to see every single bird.

He will know all about avian taxonomy, but he will not know it exhaustively.

And he is like the expert that I know, anyways.

God's not like this.

He knows everything exhaustively.

It's not just that he knows all of the birds.

He knows what they've eaten that morning and what's about to eat them.

God knows everything exhaustively.

This might be a very comforting thing for you.

Because for God to know everything, it means that he knows some of the brokenness that you've

gone through, some of the secrets that you are embarrassed of.

The shame, some of the things that you're not willing to admit because you don't want to look weak.

He knows it all, and there is nothing that will surprise him in your life.

For those that are actually, that have gone through abuse and brokenness, those that have been neglected or misunderstood,

God doesn't misunderstand you.

He knows you exhaustively.

He knows your situation exhaustively.

And that's a great comfort.

It's a great comfort.

We'll see a bit later on and then in weeks to come.

I think Matt Usherwood is going to be speaking on God being love.

But because God, again, we don't talk about his different attributes apart from one another.

We know that because God knows us exhaustively, and he loves and he desires to bless and not curse, to redeem,

that that's a very, very comforting thing.

That whether in this life or the next, there is a, you will know redemption, you will know peace,

because God, who knows everything, is at work in your life to redeem and restore.

It's a wonderful, wonderful truth.

He's not ambivalent.

He's not ignorant of your sorrow.

He sees you.

He really does.

He knows your heart.

But if you're a proud person, and if you're egotistical,

and you've made it a bit of a thing to step on people to go hire yourself,

or you have a real history of belittling people,

abusing people, neglecting people, forgetting people,

this truth is less of a comfort.

It strikes fear in our hearts, in a sense, doesn't it?

Because you can hide over all sorts of different things.

If you are, you have enough clout, you can force people to sign, you know, very, very abusive,

non-disclosure agreements.

If you threaten people, whether that's, you know, a hardcore threat or soft threats.

You try to sweep things under the rug.

God sees it all.

He sees it all.

And in the same way that God is love, he is also justice.

And he will not let things go unpunished.

And if you, if you have been hurt by somebody,

and there is injustice in your life that, that, that you, you have not been hurt,

you, you are seen, and God will make everything right.

God knows all.

He sees all.

And it's exhaustively how he sees things.

It's, it really is something of a, to strike fear in the hearts of the proud and egotistical.

Hebrews chapter 4, verses 12 and 13, it says this.

Hebrews 4:12

I'm just going to read off of my notes.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,

piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow.

And here it is, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Verse 13, and no creature is hidden from his sight,

but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

And you will give account.

Not as comforting when we understand that God sees all.

Last week, George, one of the passages he preached on was the story of the paralytic being lowered through the roof.

And Jesus seeing the faith of the paralytic's friends,

forgiving their sins, healing the paralytic.

I just want to draw your attention to one thing here, because this is the attributes of God.

We must remember, as George preached on last week about the Trinity,

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, three persons, one God,

that Jesus himself knows all exhaustively.

It says this in verse 21.

I actually forgot to...

Is it Mark, right?

Mark chapter 3 or Mark chapter 4?

Mark 3 · chapter mention Mark 4 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 2?

Mark 2 · chapter mention

I do not know the Bible exhaustively.

Verse 21 says,

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question Jesus,

or question, saying,

Who is this who speaks blasphemies?

Who can forgive sins but God alone?

Verse 22,

When Jesus perceived their thoughts,

he answered them,

Why do you question in your hearts?

And then he goes on.

Jesus perceived in their hearts.

It wasn't just...

You can't really read this and say,

Well, Jesus was great at body language.

He kind of knew what they were thinking.

He had a good guess.

A good educated guess.

He knew the hearts of them.

Why?

Because he is God.

Because he is omniscient.

He knows all.

Psalm 139 says this,

Verses 1 to 6,

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down, when I rise up.

You discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

You hem me in behind and before

and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.

It is high.

I cannot attain it.

God knows all.

So I talked about the comforting bits.

If you are a broken person,

if you have gone through abuse,

if you have been misunderstood, neglected,

and then the proud aspect of it.

But here is the thing.

Aren't we all mixed bags?

Aren't we people that have experienced hurt

but also hurt people?

Aren't we people that have been neglected

and then go ahead and neglect others?

Aren't we people that have been sinned against

and yet sinned so grievously?

Aren't we mixed bags?

In the comfort of knowing that God knows all

is also a great fear of ours that God knows all.

Because we are bent people, broken people,

a mixed bag, like I've said.

So what do we do?

God knows all.

And I think ultimately we need to remember

that the currency that,

if you want to use that term,

that we bring towards God is humility.

And wherever we are in the midst of the cycle of sin

and being sinned against abuse and being abused,

we come humbly before God.

And what do we do?

We throw ourselves at His feet.

You know all.

How can I run away from you?

Have mercy on me.

Confess your sins and pray

so that you may be healed.

Every single Sunday,

whether we do morning prayer,

whether we do Holy Communion,

we confess our sins together.

We do.

I would encourage you

to confess your sins personally every day.

Confess your sins to other people.

But more than anything else,

just confess your sins to God.

Throw yourself at His feet,

at His mercy.

And remember,

we don't pit one attribute against the other.

God is rich in mercy,

abounding in steadfast love.

He desires to pardon.

He desires to heal.

He knows it all.

Confess it.

Don't hide from God.

When we confess,

we can be sure that He hears us.

Why?

Because Jesus has died,

making a way,

dying on the cross,

being buried,

rising again,

so that through Him,

we might have access to God.

He hears our prayers.

He hears our prayers,

and He is just.

And it's important for us to understand

that as God is omniscient,

He understands everything,

that His knowledge is deeply connected

and rooted in His wisdom,

and in His justice,

and in His love.

It's not some,

like I've mentioned,

it's not just that God

would just kill it on

who wants to be a millionaire.

I don't know if the show exists anymore,

or Jeopardy.

It's not a trivia type of knowledge,

but it's rooted in Him as Creator,

Him being the very essence

of what truth is.

We can trust that He is not going to take

our confession and our lives,

the knowledge of our lives

that we're ashamed of,

afraid of,

and He's not going to abuse us with it.

He's going to help us to order our lives

according to His will,

which is excellent.

And this is connected, then,

with God's omnipotence,

because it's not just that God knows everything,

but He has, then,

the power over everything,

the control over everything.

And control, in many ways,

sounds kind of like a yucky word to us,

but it is not.

Why?

Because God knows everything,

and He is perfect.

We all of a sudden, again,

I'm saying it so much,

but we see how these attributes

are so interconnected,

and we can't talk about one without the other.

So let's take a look at God's omnipotence,

that God has complete control

over all of creation,

and also all of Himself.

He is fully in self,

it's perfect self-control,

if you want to use that term,

that there is no,

that God relies on nothing

for His own being.

He is self-existing.

That's going to be a topic

in the upcoming weeks.

There is nothing

that is over God

in terms of His control,

His ability,

His authority,

but that doesn't mean

God can just do anything.

God is limited,

but He's limited

in that He can't do anything

that's contrary to His will.

Or His character.

What does that mean?

It means God can't do evil.

He can't.

God can't lie.

It means God is completely consistent

in every aspect of who He is.

If He says something,

it's going to happen.

If He has promised something,

it will come to pass.

That God is trustworthy.

It means that we can put our hope,

ultimate hope,

in God

because He can only do

things that are consistent with Him.

It also means that God is rational.

He is logical.

Why?

Because He is the creator.

He created everything.

And everything is good,

He declared.

It is,

it is,

it,

it,

all of creation,

it works

so interconnectedly.

It's,

it's just a beautiful thing

that God has created everything

that works in the way it does.

He is a logical God.

He is a rational God.

It's important for us again

because we're going to come across

in the months and years to come,

Bible studies,

sermons,

personal devotions,

parts of Scripture

that seem to contradict that.

how is it that,

that Abraham somehow

has this ability

to change God's mind?

Or Moses for that matter?

What of these passages

where God seems to

come across as petty

or vengeful

or irrational?

What do we do

when we come across

those types of passages?

Well, this is why

a study,

a sermon series rather,

like what we're doing

is excellent and important

because it helps us

then read the Bible

properly.

We're not going to

read a passage

that makes God look

in a way

that would negate

the fact that He is God.

Then it forces us

to ask another question.

Well, what is God

really doing

when His mind

is changed

by Moses?

What's really going on

in the story?

What is God

really trying

to tease out?

How is God

incredibly relational

in this passage?

It forces us

to wrestle

with the passage

afresh

because if He's God,

He is all-powerful.

His mind can't change.

He can't be manipulated.

So it's really important

that we go through

a sermon series like this.

It's going to help us

to read the Bible

in greater ways.

But here's the thing.

God is indeed

all-powerful.

Nothing happens

apart from His knowledge

or His will.

So in Matthew 10, 29-31,

this is the passage

that George read.

Jesus says,

Are not two sparrows

sold for a penny

and not one of them

will fall to the ground

apart from your Father?

But even the hairs

of your head

are all numbered.

Fear not,

therefore,

you are more valuable

than many sparrows.

He knows

the minutiae

of creation.

He's in control of it.

But He's also in control

of the big aspects

of human history.

Acts chapter 17, 26,

Acts 17 · chapter mention

it says this,

And He made from one man

every nation of mankind

to live on all the face

of the earth,

having determined

allotted periods

in the boundaries

of their dwelling place

that God has directed

human history.

He has.

There's a whole other

aspect to this

where we have to ask

the question,

well, why is there war?

Has God somehow

sanctioned evil

and genocide?

These are all really

important questions.

And the classic thing

is either God

is not all-powerful

or all-good

or all-knowing

or He's evil.

That's kind of like

the classic apologetic

pushback against God

being in charge

of everything.

And I would just say

that we do have

human agency

in all of this.

We're not going to get

into a discussion

right now

about free will

versus predestination.

But suffice it to say

that God

is in charge,

in authority,

wills everything

that happens,

and yet

we have agency.

We do.

Not in a libertarian

type of understanding

of free will,

but it's important

that we understand

that we have

our very beings,

that God,

He is the one

who animates us,

that we have agency

within Him,

but nevertheless,

we have agency.

So that's why

Genesis chapter 50,

Genesis 50 · chapter mention

the wonderful,

beautiful,

incredible story,

one of my favorite

stories in the Bible

of Joseph

being left for dead

by his brother,

sold into slavery,

somehow,

by God's

incredible

work,

he gets up to

essentially the second

in command

over all of Egypt,

saves his people,

and then at the end

when his father dies,

his brothers,

they're like,

Joseph's coming for revenge,

and what does he say

in Genesis 50,

Genesis 50:20

verse 20?

He said,

for what you intended

for evil,

the Lord intended

for good,

that even his brothers,

their best efforts

to kill Joseph,

but really to stymie

God's will,

came to nothing.

Acts 2,

Acts 2:23

verse 23,

I'll read this one,

Acts 2,

Acts 2:23

verse 23,

this is the absolutely

incredible sermon

that Peter prays

at Pentecost

after the Holy Spirit

comes.

Verse 23,

it says this,

I'll read at verse 22,

men of Israel,

hear these words,

Jesus of Nazareth,

a man attested to you

by God

with mighty works

and wonders

and signs

that God did

through him

in your midst

as you yourselves know,

verse 23,

this Jesus delivered up

according to the

definite plan

and foreknowledge

of God,

you crucified

and killed

by the hands

of lawless men.

In the same breath,

God's plans

can't get destroyed,

but it's on you.

You guys,

you guys,

you guys sent Jesus

to the cross.

It's a problem.

That's a sin.

Human agency

at work

and yet God's plans

succeed everything.

It's this incredible tension

worth meditating on.

In the end,

it is still God

who gives us agency.

If you can put up

the picture,

I don't know if

we'll end up getting up.

Okay,

so I pulled this

from one of my textbooks

I took from seminary

and I like it.

On the left,

we see

kind of like a,

maybe,

maybe an understanding,

like a common understanding

of free will.

That God does his own thing,

we do our own thing

and there's these other

kind of natural factors

that influence us

or it's kind of,

but it's not really

kind of connected.

And in this scenario,

God's will bumps up

against our agency.

But on the right,

if we understand

that in,

that we have

a very being in God,

that God here,

we have our agency

within God's definite plan.

It's not as if

we have carte blanche

do whatever we want.

God has set up

within creation

like natural guardrails

to our agency

and yet we are still

responsible for our sin

and yet in this,

there's nothing we can do

to thwart the plan of God.

Thanks for putting that up.

And isn't this

the gospel itself,

a picture of God's omnipotence,

where

from all of,

from the beginning

of creation,

mankind sins

and God,

because of his all-knowing,

he knows this is going

to go down,

but then sets

it in motion

that Jesus

would die on the cross

for our sins

and God would delight

in his son

dying on the cross

for our sins.

that God,

he has this plan

from the very beginning,

by the way,

it's not a plan B,

it's always a plan A,

and all of the junk

in human history,

how it goes down

from genocides

to natural disasters

to wars

to infanticide

to all of this horrible things,

things that happen,

somehow God's plan

doesn't get thwarted

and Jesus himself,

he dies on the cross

as God foretold.

If God wasn't all-powerful,

he wouldn't be God

and if he wasn't God,

then all of the things

that he said

would come to pass

would not come to pass.

It would just be,

it would be chance.

It would be chance.

We'd leave it to the fates.

But that's not what happens.

God not only knows everything,

but is in control of everything,

and by virtue of his goodness

and his love

and his justice

and his mercy,

he redeems and restores

and he blesses

and he removes the curse,

he unites

all of the wonderful things

that we hope for.

That's what he does.

God knew that we would sin

and he set in plan

a motion

before we even sinned

to redeem us.

And it was never thwarted.

It was never thwarted.

So if God's knowledge

is everywhere

and God's power

is unending,

then it would lead us

to understand

that God is everywhere.

There's no place

where his presence

doesn't exist.

So we're going to look

at God's omnipresence

and again,

you can't take one

without the other.

So these,

God's omnipresence

is deeply,

deeply,

deeply rooted

in his omniscience

and his omnipotence.

So simply put,

if God is all-powerful

in every place,

in every situation,

if he has knowledge

of everything,

then he is,

by virtue of those two things,

he is there,

he is present.

Psalm 139 again,

verses 7 to 12,

it says this,

where shall I go

from your spirit

or where shall I flee

from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven,

you are there.

If I make my bed

in the grave,

you are there.

If I take the wings

of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost

part of the sea,

even there your hand

shall lead me

and your right hand

shall hold me.

If I say,

surely the darkness

shall cover me

and the light

about me by night,

even the darkness

is not dark to you,

the night is bright

as the day,

for darkness

is as light with you.

God created everything.

Time does not constrain

him nor place.

He is with you

in the darkest moments

of your life.

He is there.

He is not absent,

although it might feel

like that.

He is there.

He truly is everywhere

because he has created

all things,

but God's presence

isn't just talked about

in scriptures

as God's ubiquity

is being everywhere

in all places,

but his presence

is talked about

in terms of relationship

with his people.

From the garden

to the tabernacle,

to the temple,

to God himself

coming in the form

of man in the incarnation,

literally tabernacling

amongst us,

God desires

to be present

with his people.

And he is.

He's present.

He's present right here.

He is present

when you hear

the word proclaimed

and the Holy Spirit

is active

and at work

in your heart.

If you're not a Christian

and you call upon Jesus

to save you

from your sins,

he is with you

in a present

relational way

that is good pleasure.

It is God's good pleasure

to be present

with his people.

This is a wonderful thing

about these attributes

because the times

that we feel

like God is distant,

we know that he is present

and we can cry out to him.

Here's a thing

worth considering.

This idea

of an omnipotent God,

an omniscient God,

an omnipresent God,

I think this is something

that all human beings desire.

But as we,

as a society,

as individuals,

as country,

whatever,

when we deny

the existence of God,

when we deny

the very truth

of the scriptures,

we don't all of a sudden

become irreligious.

We just shift our religion

a little bit.

So all of a sudden

what we do is

we attribute

an omniscience

to other things.

Case in point,

this isn't a bash

against science one bit.

I think science

is fantastic.

We have the life

we have

because of scientific

advancements.

But scientists

aren't omniscient.

They aren't.

Some are very smart.

But it seems like

in the past while

we have put

scientists on a pedestal,

in a sense

deifying scientists.

And I'm not suggesting

we do the opposite

of kicking them

to the curb

and treating them

with contempt.

That's not what I'm saying.

But I'm saying

we have

disordered views

of life.

No scientist

is omniscient,

all-knowing.

Only God is.

No politician

is omnipotent.

No person

is omnipotent.

No thing

is omnipotent.

No job promotion

is omnipotent

as if we

would get it.

Like,

every roadblock

would be removed,

every red light

would turn green,

there would be

nothing impossible

for us.

Nothing is

omnipotent like that.

Everything will rust

and decay

or die

or come up short.

And that's not,

again,

a diss

to those things,

those people,

those situations.

There's nothing

wrong about getting

a promotion

and being excited

about it.

but all of those

things aren't

omnipotent.

They aren't.

All of these

things,

it's as if God

made us

to worship him.

And he put

desires that

would want

an omniscient

God,

an omnipotent

God,

and a God

that is everywhere.

It's like he

fashioned our hearts

to want that.

And that stuff

doesn't turn off

because we disregard

God.

He sees you,

he knows you,

he has the power

to save,

and we ought

to come humbly

before him.

We ought to,

we do.

Jesus is the

perfect picture

of God's sovereignty

because he is

all-knowing,

he is

all-powerful,

and he is

present

everywhere.

This is the

greatest longing

for our hearts,

our hearts

will be

restless

until they

find the

rest in

God,

until we

put ourselves

under the

sovereignty,

so to speak,

as if God

isn't sovereign

unless we

recognize him

as sovereign,

but if we

put ourselves

under the

sovereignty,

the lordship

of God,

we will,

we will,

we will not

know the

benefits and

the beauty

and the

truth and

the goodness

that is at

our fingertips.

We will

struggle with

the weight

of sin

and death

that hangs

over our

heads

all the time.

The guilty

consciences

that are

in this room,

and I say that

just because I

have it too,

I do,

I have a guilty

conscience,

it is like my

default,

I have other

bad defaults,

but that is a

big one.

All of the

guilty consciences

that could be

erased because

we don't

understand the

sovereignty of

God,

the lordship of

God,

the good rule

of God,

the healing

that is not

taking place,

the wayward

lives that are

being lived.

And that is not

to say that as

soon as you

put your,

you recognize

the lordship of

God,

things become

peachy,

and beautiful

immediately.

It is a process,

of course.

But this is what

we were designed

for.

We were designed

to be ruled

by God

in the most

loving,

just,

and incredible

way.

The end of

Romans chapter

Romans 11 · chapter mention

11,

the big

three chapter

heavy weight

of a portion

of scripture

that talks of

God's sovereignty.

The apostle

Paul,

he says this,

and I'll just

say one thing

before I read

this portion

and then we'll

wrap things up.

Theology

has to lead

to doxology.

What do I mean

by this?

Knowing God

has to lead

us to praise

God.

If we understand

who God is

in light of

who we are,

how can we

not have a

burden lifted

and sing for joy,

whether that's

proverbially

or literally.

That something

excites you

in your heart

and you praise

God.

That theology

has to lead

to doxology.

And listen to

Paul.

After hammering

some of that

most thick

theology in

all of the

scriptures,

he ends

Romans 11

Romans 11:33–36

verses 33

to 36

by saying

this,

Oh, the

depth of

the riches

and wisdom

and knowledge

of God.

How unsearchable

are his judgments.

How unscrutable

his ways.

For who has

known the mind

of the Lord

or who has

been his

counselor

or who has

given him

or who has

given a gift

to him

that he might

be repaid.

For from him

and through him

and to him

are all things.

To him be

glory forever.

Amen.

When we know

God, we are

moved by God

when we truly

know him.

And as we grow

in our knowledge

of him,

we continue

to be moved

by him.

The things

that we found

palatable before

lose its taste.

We feast on

God.

That is the diet

that will satisfy

us.

If you

are a Christian

whose heart

has grown cold,

feast on God.

Feast on him.

Feast on the

fact that he

is sovereign

over your life,

that he knows

everything.

He's all powerful.

He is everywhere.

He is with you.

Feast on that.

Feast on it

until it warms

your heart.

If you're not

a Christian,

this is the

life worth

living.

It is.

And you will

try to find

it elsewhere.

And you will

try to find it

elsewhere because

that's the way

you were created.

But it will

come up short

because you

are designed

you are made,

you are fashioned,

your heart

beats to know

the sovereign

lordship of

God.

And today is a

great day to

come to know

him.

Let's pray.

heavenly father,

heavenly father, we

thank you that you

truly are lord of

all, that you are

sovereign over all.

And that means that

you know everything

exhaustively, that you

are all powerful, that

you are completely

consistent, that you

are everywhere, that

there's no place where

you don't exist, no

place that can shut

you out.

And lord, there are

people here this

morning from all

sorts of different

walks, people here

from all, that have

had all sorts of

different weeks, some

good, some bad.

Some people that are

watching online or

are here that have

cold hearts towards

you, where there once

was warm hearts, or

people that just have

never known your

goodness.

Lord, would you help

us to see that

knowing you is the

way we were meant to

live, that as we

engage in theology, we

will engage in true

doxology.

When we know you, we

will praise you.

Lord, help us, especially

this afternoon and the

days to come, because

we know that there is

our flesh, there is the

devil, there is the

world that would want

to rob us of this joy,

this truth of who you

are.

Help us to feast on you

daily.

Help us to humbly feast

on you daily.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.