Gods Sovereignty

I wanted to talk to you about God's sovereignty because as I was going through God's omnipotence,

! mainly his strength and his power, so hard to not bleed into God's sovereignty.

!

And my hope in mind is that you guys would walk in sovereignty with peace and trust

and see this as a source of comfort and not fear.

Along with that, that you guys would be equipped as we're a church plant with a correct mindset

in evangelism, in God's sovereignty.

So with all that, I want to talk about rocks.

There's a...

I love rocks.

There's one of my favorite classes in public school was earth science.

And my favorite part was geology, which dealt with fossils and rocks.

And it was fascinating to learn about igneous rocks, the cooling of lava to create igneous

rocks, diamonds being created under pressure, and crystals in their beautiful formation.

And while I was obsessed with rocks, I was also obsessed with the question, can God create

a rock so big that he could not lift it?

And I was haunted and plagued by this question for years.

And if I answered yes, I was wrong.

If I answered yes, could God create a rock so big that he couldn't lift it?

It was a lie about who God is.

If I answered no, it was a lie about who God is.

I was like, what do I do?

Right?

It wasn't until later in life that I realized that this is just a stupid question.

It's a silly question.

It's a contradiction.

Because it's not the truth, you could get no answer to the truth of who God is.

Right?

Because we know that God truly is all-powerful.

And this insufficient folly of a question, though so trivial, helps me introduce God's

omnipotence.

Right?

Um, Deocarsen defines omnipotence as God being so powerful, he can do anything he chooses

to do.

Uh, we can say that we are not omnipotent because we cannot do anything that we choose

to do.

We could try, but we cannot.

Uh, and to talk about God's omnipotence, it is impossible to separate it from his omniscience.

Uh, that, that is, um, God knowing everything and his omnipresence, which is God being everywhere.

Um, and for that, uh, I wanted to us to turn to Psalm 139, which I think clearly lays out

all three of these things.

Um, so I'll, I'll give you a second to turn there if you want to read along with me.

I'll start in verse one and then go to verse 16.

Lord, you have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I stand up.

You understand my thoughts from far away.

You observe my travels and my rest.

You are aware of all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue.

You know all about it, Lord.

You have encircled me.

You have placed your hand upon me.

This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.

It is lofty.

I am unable to reach it.

That there is God's omniscience.

His knowing everything.

As David says, before I say another word, God already knows of what I'm going to say.

And now his, his omnipresence.

Where can I go to escape your spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to heaven, you are there.

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

If I live at the Eastern horizon or settle in the Western limits, even there, your hand will

lead me.

Your right hand will hold on to me.

If I say, surely the darkness will hide me and the light around me will be night.

Even the darkness is not dark to you.

The night shines like the day.

Darkness and light are alike to you.

This speaks of God's omnipresence.

He's everywhere.

There is no dark corner of this world that we can go, that we can hide from God.

Nothing that we do could hide us from God.

And now his power.

For it was you who created my inward parts.

You knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.

Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.

My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in the secret.

When I was formed in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw me when I was formless.

Because all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.

That speaks of his power.

Now, to bring them all together and why these can't be separated is because God, as the causer

of all things, can have nothing happen outside of his authority.

So, David says,

That's the same for all of us.

That's the same for all of God's creation.

God's power has created everything.

He has caused everything.

If God has caused everything, if God does everything, then there's nothing that God does not know will happen.

Hence his omniscience.

If God knows everything will happen, and he's an eternal being outside of time, and he can be everywhere all at once,

there is nothing that can hide from him because he has caused everything to happen.

He knows where everything is.

And so, that means that nothing can escape God's authority.

He knows where everything and everyone is because he ordains where they are and where they will be.

Now, with that in mind, we can more clearly think of God's sovereignty, right, with these three connected.

And there's three common wrong worldviews of how the world works.

It's not exhaustive, but just common.

Before we jump into God's sovereignty.

The first is atheism, right?

The natural man.

He only believes in what he can see, what can be measured.

Hypothesis, the scientific theory.

Scientific theory.

Seeing is believing.

Maybe even money makes the world go round.

Only what I can spend is truly my God.

That is one worldview.

The other is deism.

That God created this world, and he left.

He's the great watchmaker.

Like, Garvin created this watch.

I know the watchmaker, though.

God created this watch and threw it out there.

The universe, right?

And it keeps ticking and keeps ticking and just keeps going.

And God, you know, God's outside.

He's like, hands off.

That's the world, right?

The other worldview is what Carson calls the God of the gaps,

which is what a lot of Christians believe.

This is where the world is going.

It's not totally deism, but, you know, the watch goes out of whack sometimes,

and God sticks his finger in there.

Boom, miracle.

And another one is, God, I really, really, really, really, really need your help.

Please help me.

But other than that, you never think about God.

God, it's God.

God only fills the gaps where he is needed by you.

And those are three wrong worldviews of how the world works.

And it wants to think clearly and soberly about God's sovereignty.

So let's do a little brain exercise.

Today, there's a mom that just gave birth.

I know this.

My wife is after birth.

A couple just got married.

A dude just skipped church and caught a massive fish.

A raccoon got snared by Max and Charlie or Joey.

And so many other good things that are happening today.

It's all caused by God.

But also, there's a flip side.

There are parents who just lost their son, their daughter.

There's a woman who was raped.

There is a drunk driver who just died in a car crash.

There's someone who just lost the battle with cancer and died.

A family's death stated by divorce.

There's so many good things, but yet so many evil things.

And it comes to the question, what is God's sovereignty, though, with all these evil things?

Is God's sovereignty just a chessboard match with Satan?

And when God is losing, bad things happen?

That's not sovereignty.

God is in control at all times.

God is in control at all times.

And we may think that he is not, but he is.

And I want us to take a look at the story of Job.

And Job gives, the story of Job gives a great picture of this.

So turn with me to Job 1, starting in verse 14.

Before this, Satan and God had a conversation.

And God gave Satan permission to afflict him in some of the most horrible ways.

Starting in verse 14.

A messenger came to Job and reported,

While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby,

the Sabians swooped down and took them away.

They struck down your servants with the sword,

and I alone have escaped to tell you.

So these people came down,

thieves, stole all of Job's oxen,

and murdered his servants.

A lot about God.

He was still speaking,

when another messenger came and reported,

God's fire fell from heaven,

it burned the sheep and the servants,

and devoured them,

and I alone have escaped to tell you.

Another devastation.

That messenger was still speaking,

yet another one came and reported,

The Chaldeans formed three bands,

made a raid on the camels,

took them away,

they have struck down the servants with the sword,

and I alone have escaped to tell you.

Another thieves,

murdered more servants.

He was still speaking,

when another messenger came and reported,

Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine

in their older brother's house.

Suddenly,

a powerful wind swept in from the desert

and struck the four corners of the house.

It collapsed on the young people,

so that they died,

and I alone have escaped to tell you.

Horrible.

Horrible.

Yet,

Job's,

Job's response is astounding.

Job stood up,

tore his robe,

shaved his head,

he fell to the ground,

and worshipped,

saying,

Naked I came from my mother's womb,

and naked I will leave this life.

The Lord gives,

and the Lord takes away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

God is not in some cosmic chess board game with Satan.

And when he loses,

bad things happen.

No.

This shows God is ordating,

allowing,

and controlling

all of these different things

to go on all at once.

Now, you know,

I wonder if our first instinct is to worship.

That certainly is not my first instinct.

I do not have trials like Job.

I mean, I have,

I mean,

the most trials I have in my life

is my two kids.

You know,

Reuben is

three years old,

he's

going to sleep,

and then he's up for the tenth time like,

Kid!

Get to bed!

That's my greatest trial.

Can I get upset by that?

Obviously,

I don't have afflictions like Job,

but for many,

it's hard to believe

that God can ordain

such hard things.

But he has.

And you might say,

what about famine?

Yes.

He's ordained them.

What about wars?

Yes.

What about Hitler?

He murdered millions.

Women,

men,

children?

Yes.

What about,

what about,

what about

he has ordained them?

And in case of God's

ordaining

and his sovereignty,

we might think

with all those,

especially with

all these people

who do

all these evil things,

you know,

what about hell?

You know,

if God ordains

all these things

and ordains

all these people

to do all these things,

why is it fair

that people go to hell?

Right?

That doesn't make any sense.

I'd be hard-pressed

to answer this question

if Paul didn't already.

please turn with me

to Romans,

Romans chapter 9.

Romans 9 · chapter mention

Romans 9,

starting in verse 14.

What then should we say?

Is there injustice

with God?

Absolutely not.

For he tells Moses,

I will show mercy

to whom I will show mercy

and I will have compassion

on whom I will have compassion.

So it does not depend

on human will

or effort

but on God

who shows mercy.

For the scripture tells us,

Pharaoh I raised up

for this reason

that I might display

my power in you

and that my name

may be proclaimed

in the whole earth.

So then,

he has mercy

on whom he wants to

and harden

whom he wants to harden.

And you will say,

therefore,

why then

does he find fault?

Or,

why does he find fault

to send people to hell?

For who can resist his will?

Who can,

who can choose

not to do

what he has already ordained?

Is what Paul asks.

If God has ordained it,

how can we choose

not to do it?

But who are you,

mere man,

to talk back to God?

Well,

what does form say

to the one who formed it,

why did you make me like this?

Or has the potter

have no right

over the clay

to make from the same lump

one piece

pottery for honor

and the other for dishonor?

And what if God,

wanting to display his wrath

and to make his power known,

endured with much patience

objects of wrath

prepared for destruction?

And what if he did this

to make known

the riches of his glory

on objects of mercy

that he prepared beforehand

for glory?

Even in God's

sovereignty,

he still

ordains

that men

who do sinful things

would go to hell.

And he is not responsible

in any way

for man's sin.

And some of you

might say,

really?

He ordained it.

How is that so?

Well,

I can say the word

ridiculous

and it be of my own

free will.

I can do anything

and be of my own

free will.

How does free will

and God's sovereignty

work together?

They're not opposed

to one another at all.

How are we held

accountable

yet God is not?

And I think

the closest analogy

that I've found

to this mystery

is in Psalm 139.

That God

has written

all of our lives

already.

I think

one of the

best analogies

is that of an author.

Consider with me

C.S. Lewis.

Lewis,

I don't know

that he's a sorcerer

and I don't know

that he's a murderer.

Yet he creates

the character

of the White Witch.

He creates

Aslan

to destroy her.

Yet

C.S. Lewis

receives

glory

for all

of these characters

and is not

responsible

for anything

that the White Witch

did.

It's mere

philosophy almost.

Or even

A.W. Tozer.

A.W. Tozer

didn't create

orcs

in this life

yet he creates

Sauron

to create

these things.

Tolkien,

sorry.

Thanks.

Tolkien.

Tolkien.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Tolkien.

God-ordained it.

You're right.

Tolkien

creates Sauron

who's this evil

maniacal

fallen angel

in some sort of way.

Yet Tolkien

is not a murderer

nor does he create

orcs in that way

but yet

he receives

all of the glory

for his work.

And so

in a similar way

with God

God

has written

a story

of all of us

in this incredible

awesome way

yet we are still

responsible

for all of the actions

that we have done

and he receives

all of the glory.

Why are you in this story?

For his glory.

Lewis receives

the glory

for his book.

Tolkien receives

the glory

for his book.

God receives

the glory

for his book.

God

yet.

Yet.

This would be

really

this would be a really

really hard pill

to swallow

if we didn't

acknowledge that

God is also

good

and holy

and loving.

Right?

Like in Romans 8

you don't have to

turn there

I can just read it

it says

for we know

that God

in verse 38

for we know

that God

for we know

that all things

work together

for the good

of those

who love God

who are called

according to

his purposes.

God

is working

together

all things.

Right?

Or

another translation

says

God works

together

all things

for the good

of those

who love him.

Right?

he is doing

the working

because

he is good.

He can do

good things

because he is good.

This would be

awful news

if God

was a tyrannical

evil

maniacal God

but he is not.

And if we continue

in verse 31

it says

what are we

to say

about these things

if God

is for us

who is

against us

he did not

even spare

his own son

but offered

him up

for us

how will

he not

also with

him

grant us

everything.

Right?

In God's

love

his holiness

his goodness

he offered

up his

son

for us.

He ordained

that his

son

would die

for you

and for me.

This is

good news.

Is it good

news?

It is good

news.

He is so

good

to give

you his

son.

You do

not deserve

that.

Yet he

ordained

it.

And

not only

that

not only

is God

sorry

not only

is

God

good

holy

and loving

there

is no

deceit

found

within

God.

I believe

it is

sorry

I lost

my page

losing my

page here

there's

Psalm 92

15 that

says

the Lord

is just

he's my

rock

and there's

no

unrighteousness

in him.

yes

there's

unrighteousness

and wickedness

in the

world

but God

is good.

His purposes

are still

mysterious to

us but his

purposes are

still good.

All his

purposes and

his ways and

all his

ordaining are

still good.

And

of the

of man's

accountability

Jesus even

says before

he's about

to be

betrayed

of Jesus

he says

for the

man

the

son of

man

will go

away

as it

has been

determined

meaning

Jesus will

be

crucified

and hung

on a

tree

as it

has been

determined

as it

has been

ordained

sovereignly

but woe

to that

man by

whom he

is

betrayed

right

there is

God's

ordaining

yet man's

responsibility

in all

of them

and we

are

responsible

for

our sins

and

with

all

that

I

wanted

us to

just

really

consider

that

God

is

for

us

those

who are

in

Christ

God

is

for

us

he's

not

against

us

he's

good

faithful

holy

and loving

and I'm

not saying

all this

sovereignty

so that

we can

go outside

and look

at the

sky

and look

sky is

bluer

now

right

it is

to see

that

even

the grass

is clothed

by God

right

Jesus

in the

story

with

Peter

tells

him

to

go

and

throw

a

hook

and

a

coin

will

be

in

the

fish's

mouth

right

God

ordains

the

fish

not only

that

if we

grumble

against

the

weather

we

grumble

against

God

because

who's

in

control

of

the

weather

God

he

ordains

volcanoes

and

tornadoes

and

hurricanes

and

droughts

right

all

things

is

held

by

God

and

so

I

have

with

that

just

three

application

points

the

first

is

if

you

have

not

trusted

in

God

for

salvation

then

you

are

headed

for

hell

as

is

spoken

of

the

love

of

God

there

is

nothing

that

can

separate

us

nor

death

nor

famine

nor

things

to

come

and

for

those

who

are

not

in

Christ

there

is

nothing

that

can

separate

you

from

the

wrath

of

God

if

you

are

not

in

Christ

I

plead

with

you

trust

in

his

son

trust

in

his

son

for

salvation

he

sent

his

son

because

he

loves

you

the

second

thing

is

if

we

are

not

trusting

in

God's

sovereignty

and

that

his

purposes

are

good

then

we

will

fear

his

sovereignty

and

what

he

is

doing

this

would

look

like

random

things

happening

different

things

in

our

life

like

car

breaking

down

family

kids

whatever

happening

we would

just

start

having

anxiety

right

and we

fear

instead of

trusting

we must

be like

Job

when

God

took

everything

he fell

down

and

worshiped

we

must

remember

James

words

to

consider

it

pure

joy

in

various

trials

it

would

not

be

pure

joy

if

we

did

not

see

God's

hands

in

the

trials

that

we

are

receiving

are

you

in

trials

right

now

that

is

because

of

God's

ordaining

that's

not

by

any

other

means

consider

it

pure

joy

and

it's

good

as

James

says

not

only

for

perseverance

but

that

you

would

remember

that

it's

God's

hands

that's

in

your

life

and

even

in

discipline

we

must

remember

that

God

disciplines

those

he

loves

if

we

do

not

worship

God

and

in

his

sovereignty

in

both

the

good

and

the

bad

we

will

begin

to

grumble

and

blame

God

for

all

the

evils

in

our

life

and

we

will

start

boasting

ourselves

to see

that

oh

I

did

this

no

no

we

must

trust

him

wait

upon

him

we

must

have

faith

in

him

the

third

thing

is

if

we

do

not

see

that

God

is

sovereign

in

evangelism

that

he

is

the

means

and

the

ends

of

evangelism

then

all

of

the

pressure

will

be

upon

ourselves

God

has

ordained

all

things

right

as I've

said

throughout

this

entire

sermon

but

he

has

called

me

and

he

has

called

you

to

preach

his

word

right

some

might

say

well

if

God

has

ordained

everything

why

doesn't

God

just

save

everyone

or

do

I

really

need

to

go

and

preach

if

God

will

just

save

them

yes

you

do

need

to

go

and

preach

because

that

is

God's

ways

in

the

same

way

you

need

to

pray

also

because

in

God's

sovereign

decree

he

acts

by

your

prayers

and

he

saves

by

you

going

and

preaching

God's

ways

are

mysterious

but

there

should

be

no

pressure

that

you

put

upon

yourself

for

someone

being

saved

because

it

is

God

that

does

the

saving

now

a common

reason

that we

don't

evangelize

or

when

the

opportunity

is

preaching

we

feign

from

the

opportunity

is

because

of

fear

right

as

Christians

and

especially

as a

church

plant

the

worst

thing

that

we

could

do

in

evangelism

if

we're

preaching

the

true

gospel

is

do

nothing

failure

in

evangelism

is

doing

nothing

right

you

have

the

true

gospel

and

you

choose

to

do

nothing

with

it

you

choose

to

sit

with

it

that

that

is

true

failure

rejection

is

not

failure

in

evangelism

rejection

saying

maybe

the

next

one

we'll

hear

and

receive

right

and

so

I

encourage

you

as

we

are

church

blend

don't

preach

God's

word

he's

got

you

in

his

hands

quite

literally

and

with

all

that

I

want

you

guys

to

remember

that

the

sky

is

bluer

because

God

is

working

but

I

close

with

that