The Sovereign God

Good morning, everyone.

Let's bow our heads, shall we, for a prayer before I open my mouth.

We just sung these words to God, faithful forever, perfect in love, you are sovereign

over us.

Father, we thank you that you are a sovereign God, and Lord, when the world around us is

in turmoil, when the world a little closer to home is in turmoil, we pray that we might

leave this place today sure and certain that whatever's happening, you are still in control.

So, Father, would you open our eyes, would you open our ears, and open our hearts, that

we might see you as you are, and Lord, trust in who you are, and live as though we trust

in who you are.

And we pray these things in Christ's name.

Amen.

So, I want to preach on a verse from that rather curious reading we had from the book of Daniel.

The book of Daniel, I think, is a remarkable book, but I want to talk to you from Daniel

Daniel 7:13

chapter 7, verses 13 and 14.

Daniel says this,

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the

clouds of heaven.

He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.

He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power.

All nations and peoples of every language worshipped him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one

that will never be destroyed.

The book of Daniel is a peculiarly difficult book, and part of the reason it's difficult is

that the scholars, whoever they are, are very discordant about when it was written.

Most modern scholars think that it was written around about 160 BC, whereas traditionally the

church thought that the book of Daniel was written probably in the 6th or 7th century, in

other words, hundreds of years before.

And there's an interesting reason for that divergence.

And it's this, that modern scholars can no longer accept that anybody who prophesied anything

in the Bible that came true, modern scholars couldn't accept that it was authentic.

They thought it must be after the event that they did their prophecies, rather than before

the event.

So you need to know, before I start, that I am not a modern scholar.

I think this was written 6 or 7 centuries before Jesus came to earth.

And I think that makes the prophecy, though I agree the language is, let's say, tricky.

The language is a little tricky.

That what Daniel was prophesying here was unbelievably brought to bear in the coming of Jesus.

Those of you who know your Bibles will know that the text I just read to you is reminiscent

of Mark's Gospel, chapter 6, where Jesus said of himself, the Son of Man will come on clouds

of glory.

Daniel knew something.

And his prophecies and his book, I think, if you've never read it, I mean, okay, there are

some spooky bits, a bit like this.

But I mean, the story of Daniel.

Daniel, who probably is mostly known for surviving the fiery furnace, and then, just to kind of

keep him interested, he had to survive the lion's den.

All because he was prepared to stand up for his faith in God.

He didn't know the Lord Jesus personally, he didn't know about the death and resurrection

of Jesus, he didn't know about atonement, he didn't know any of these things.

But he chose to put his trust in God.

And I want to say to you that when I saw what my subject was today, my heart skipped a beat.

And there's a reason for that.

I think to myself, how dare I stand up in front of all you and talk about the sovereignty of

God in a world where there is more turmoil than most of us have seen in our lifetime?

Why?

Now, here's the thing.

Daniel prophesied it.

All that language about four horns, we're told in chapter 7, a little further on than we

read this morning.

When Daniel had his vision, here's a wonderful understatement, right?

Daniel says, I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit.

Wouldn't you be if you had a dream like that?

I think most of you are going to get your medication fixed.

So God spoke to him again.

And in verse 16 it says he gave an interpretation.

The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth.

I don't know whether you've noticed it, but in world affairs, in global affairs just now,

there are four dynasties that are posing a huge threat to what we might call global peace,

if there ever was such a thing.

The first one is China and its expansionist policies in the Southern Pacific.

Put together with the fact that China, as we sit here comfortably in a warm church on Sunday

morning, China is buying up just about every last piece of fertile land in Africa.

Of course, this is expansionism.

The Chinese reckon that their population will be 1.5 billion by 2035,

and somehow they're going to have to feed those people.

The second great beast in our world is Russian expansionism,

and the fear that Ukraine might just be the beginning of something which might continue.

There are plenty of people in the satellite states of the old Soviet Union

who are terrified that what Putin wants to do is to remake the old Soviet Union.

Apparently there are some people in this country who think that would be great.

Thirdly, the unstable, again, another understatement,

the unstable leadership of North Korea.

I don't know about you, but I mean, I take a look at that funny little guy that runs the show,

and I think to myself, you know, this is almost comical,

except that, of course, he's developing long-range missiles

that can deliver lethal damage into countries around.

You remember that wasn't that long ago there.

He decided to fire missiles, not missiles that were armed,

but missiles over Japan just to kind of keep them in line.

And then last, but certainly not least, the appalling situation.

We see in a highly volatile and febrile situation in the Middle East.

You couldn't really stand up and speak about sovereignty

in a more volatile global situation,

but then when you come home, it doesn't read much better.

The cost of living crisis.

I know that there will be some of you in the house this morning

who are really worried about your financial future,

about whether you will be able to afford even basic things.

Some of you are worried because you think you might be ill,

and the NHS, not my phrase, somebody else is on the verge of collapse.

It is reckoned that by this time next year,

there will be over 8 million people on waiting lists,

and some of them will have life-threatening conditions.

Law and order.

Oh, my goodness.

The last recorded statistics from the Office of National Statistics

tell us that in the last year they kept figures

only 5.6 of all reported crime ended up with a prosecution.

Our prisons are completely overcrowded,

and the delay in courts is frankly shocking.

Nobody goes around anymore saying justice delayed

is justice denied anymore.

The environmental challenge.

The confused moral compass of our nation.

And finally, the state of the church.

A.N. Wilson, speaking about the Church of England,

wrote this in the, I think it was the Times newspaper,

it might have been the Daily Telegraph, I can't remember.

He said this,

Christianity is of its essence contra mundum,

that means against the world.

Its values invert those of liberal modern life.

The hierarchy of the established church, he goes on,

I was one of them,

is largely composed of people,

sorry, of men and women,

whose mindset is entirely shaped by that godless liberalism.

We're members of that church.

I was a leader in that church,

and believe me,

I do not accept the tenets,

I think you've got the message about this,

I do not accept the tenets of modern liberalism.

So, I have to ask myself,

and ask you,

in the context of this global,

national,

and maybe personal turmoil,

how on earth

do we make sense of God's sovereignty?

How dare we

even think about talking about it?

And I hope by the time

you leave church this morning,

you will be reassured

that no matter what is going on in the world,

what is going on in the United Kingdom,

what is going on in your life,

I hope you'll be reassured

that God is still in control.

And so I ask myself the question,

are there any clues from Scripture?

It's Bible Sunday after all,

as we've been reminded.

Are there any clues from Scripture

that might help us?

Well, the first thing is this,

that the Bible,

throughout,

makes it clear

that all this turbulence

will happen

before Jesus returns.

Daniel chapter 7

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

would be a very good example of this.

You remember the first bit of Daniel's vision

is about the four horns,

which represent the four beasts

who will rise up in the world

and cause carnage.

The last bit of our reading

was about the Son of Man

who will return

and will have authority

and power,

sovereign power,

over the world order.

The Bible makes it clear throughout

that all this will happen.

In 2 Timothy chapter 3,

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

a chapter that some of you

may be familiar with.

Paul writes this,

mark this, he says,

chapter 3, verse 1,

there will be terrible times

in the last days.

People will be lovers of themselves,

lovers of money,

boastful, proud, abusive,

disobedient to their parents,

ungrateful, unholy,

without love,

unforgiving,

slanderous,

without self-control,

brutal,

not lovers of the good,

treacherous, rash,

conceited lovers of pleasure

rather than lovers of God.

And that's just for starters.

Does that ring any bells with you?

I have stood here many times

and said one of the big problems

of our society

is lost any sense

of coherent meaning.

People seem to think

by their behavior

that the way,

the only way you find meaning

in life

is to get as much money

as you can

and have a good time.

And you say,

Mike,

are you against a good time?

No, I quite like a good time

personally.

But there are limits

to how far I will go

to create that good time.

Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1 · chapter mention

another passage

which talks about

the world in turmoil.

The reason for it,

says Paul in Romans 1,

it's very simple.

It's the world

is turning godless.

When the world turns godless,

this is the kind of stuff

that will emerge.

In one way,

we shouldn't even be surprised,

should we?

The second thing

that's a clue

from scripture is this.

It is the idea

that at the moment

when we open our eyes

and look around,

even those of us

who regard ourselves

as having insight

and intuition,

when we look at the world,

we only see partially.

The difficult thing

when bad things are happening,

in the world,

in your life,

in our country,

whatever,

the difficult thing

is that question,

how come a loving God

allows this?

that must be a question

that anybody

who is half intelligent

would ask themselves,

what is going on,

Lord?

I did give this message

a subtitle,

which probably I should have

read to you a little earlier,

but I said,

where do you go?

My subtitle was,

where do you go

when it seems

that the wheels

are falling off?

of the globe,

of the nation,

of your life?

I think there are two things

we need to think about

in the light of that question.

Why does a loving God

allow this?

Firstly,

our perspective

when we look at adversity

is always partial.

in 1 Corinthians 13,

interestingly,

a Bible passage

which is mostly read

at weddings,

but at the,

towards the end

of that short chapter,

you remember,

it's a chapter about love,

you know,

love is patient,

love is kind,

just like most marriages.

And Paul writes this,

he said,

when I was a child,

I taught like a child,

I thought like a child,

I reasoned like a child.

When I became a man,

I put childish ways

behind me.

Now,

he says,

now,

in the moment,

to use a current jargon,

now we see

but a poor reflection.

Then,

we shall see

face to face.

Now I know

in part.

Then I shall know

fully,

even as I

am fully known.

I don't think

that means

that our question

about why God

allows such things

is wrong.

I just think

that what Paul writes there

gives that question

a different context.

We're told

that finally

we will have to live

with some

unanswered questions.

When I was a young fellow,

I thought to myself

when I became a Christian

that faith

had all the answers.

I'm sure now

that faith

actually helps me live

with all my

unanswered questions.

And I know

that kind of faith

can help you

as well.

What

will come?

What will be

when we meet the Lord

face to face?

Is it everything

we don't understand now?

Everything

that challenges

the very roots

of our faith

will one day

be made clear.

Your questions

will be answered.

Secondly,

in relation

to this difficult question,

why does a loving God

allow this?

God

chose,

God chose

to give us

free will.

the ability

to make

choices,

but also

the responsibility

to take

responsibility

for those

choices.

We have to

live

to bear with

the choices

we make.

Ezekiel chapter

Ezekiel 18 · chapter mention

18,

God says to

a people

who are

in exile

and desperate

to escape

responsibility,

God says

to them,

don't go

around

blaming

everybody

else

for your

situation.

Why?

God says

to them,

the soul

that sins

will surely

die.

You might,

if you are

of a

philosophical

nature,

ask the

question,

well,

why would

God

give us

the ability

to make

choices?

Wouldn't it

be better

if we had

no choice

and therefore

God made

all the

choices

and we

were like

puppets

on a

string

somehow

pulled,

the strings

being pulled

by the

divine

puppeteer.

In the

book of

Genesis,

right at

the beginning,

we read

of a

perfect

world

called

the

Garden

of Eden.

Apparently,

it's

somewhere

in the

Middle East,

I believe

in the

country of

Iraq right

now.

It's just

a bit

difficult

to get

to see

it in

these

current

times.

In

Genesis,

we read

of the

man and

woman

living in

a sin-free

environment

in this

beautiful

garden.

And God

says just

one thing

you must

not do.

I mean,

that in

itself is

a kind

of attractive

possibility,

isn't it?

I mean,

are you

like this?

So,

when I

was at

college,

only the

dons of

my

university

could walk

on the

grass.

Could

not

resist

walking

on the

grass.

God

says don't

do one

thing.

Don't

eat

of the

fruit

of the

tree

of the

knowledge

of good

and evil.

You know

what happens.

And it's

happened from

that day

onwards.

that our

relationship

which before

the fall,

before that

event of

disobedience,

ever since

then,

we have

chosen to

go our

own way

rather than

God's way.

And that is

why we

need a

savior.

To those

of you

who think

that God

might just

be a good

friend in

heaven,

you missed

the point.

What you

need, my

friend, is a

rescue plan.

A rescue

plan that

will help

you avoid

the consequences

of your

sinfulness.

And here

I have to

mention an

idea that's

gathered huge

momentum in

modern society.

It's an

idea called

determinism.

And of

course, like

most bad

ideas, up

to a point

it's right,

but when

it's pursued

more than

that which

is reasonable

becomes a

very bad

idea.

Let me

try and

give you a

definition of

determinism.

I can

imagine over

Sunday lunch

you're going

to be saying

to people,

wow, this

morning we

heard a

philosophical

definition of

determinism.

Enjoy.

Here's a

definition, the

doctrine that

all events,

including human

action, are

ultimately determined

by causes

regarded as

external to

the will.

Let me

say that again

because that's

the platform

of it, the

basis.

The doctrine

that all

events, including

human action,

are ultimately

determined by

causes regarded

as external to

the will.

It goes on.

Some philosophers

have taken

determinism to

imply that

individual human

beings, that's

you, that

individual human

beings have no

free will and

cannot be held

morally responsible

for their

actions.

Seriously?

I mean, if

that is taken

to its nth degree,

what the

philosopher here is

telling you is you

can live in

whatever way you

want, you can

commit as much

sin as you

want, and it

will never be

regarded as your

fault.

Let me ask you

a question.

Don't put your

hands up.

Does that

shock you?

That seriously

intelligent people

would take a

half-God idea,

half-good idea,

and turn it into

a monstrous idea?

Immediately, you

can see the

attraction of this

doctrine.

It means that I

never have to

take responsibility

for the choices

I make, because

it's not my

fault.

I say it has

some semblance

in truth, this

idea, because

we know that

poverty has life

outcomes that

are often

diminished.

But even the

poor have

choices to make.

And to suggest

that all poverty

is going to lead

to bad choices,

is patronizing

on people who

have been brought

up in poverty

and made good

choices.

I suppose a good

example of that

right now is

the way people

are starting to

think about

shoplifting.

And you may

have picked up

on this, but

the idea is

shoplifting is

now a victimless

crime.

Based on the

lie, then

actually it's

only poor people

who go

shoplifting, and

because they're

poor, it's not

their fault,

therefore we must

forgive them.

They mustn't be

prosecuted.

How patronizing.

How patronizing

on all the

wonderful people

who live in

poverty, who

don't decide to

go and

shoplift.

Counterintuitively,

when the church

is confused, when

there are those

big questions to

be answered, when

the world is in

turmoil, the

early Christians,

instead of

carping about

God's sovereignty,

felt the need to

express it

clearly.

God's sovereignty,

and not only did

they want to

express God's

sovereignty clearly,

they wanted to

live as though

they believed in

the light of

God's sovereignty.

You remember in

Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

there's a moment

when the future

of the church is

put under hideous

pressure.

Peter and John

are told by the

Jewish council,

you must no

longer speak in

the name of the

Lord Jesus.

Can you imagine

where the church

would be if

Peter and John

had shut up

about the

Christian faith

from day one?

We'd be in a

worse state than

we were.

I doubt we'd

have lasted this

long, to be

honest.

I think

Christianity

would have

just returned

within Judaism

and still be

waiting for the

Lord Jesus to

come a first

time.

Now, in

those early

days, they

were stopped.

It's interesting,

isn't it?

The opponents

of the

Christian faith

knew from day

one that if

you want to

stop the

church from

spreading, all

you need to

do is stop

it from

speaking.

So why

didn't they go

back and say

to the believers

who were gathered

together, okay

guys, the

game's up.

There'll be no

more preaching

from today.

We've got to

keep, if I

might borrow a

Jewish word,

shtum.

So they

go back to

the believers.

This is it.

Verse 23.

On their

release, Peter

and John went

back to their

own people and

reported all

that the chief

priests and

elders had

said.

When they

heard this,

they raised

their voices

together in

prayer to

God.

Guess what

their prayer

begins with?

Sovereign

Lord, you

made the

heaven and

the earth

and the

sea and

everything in

them.

You spoke

by the

Holy Spirit

through the

mouth of

your servant

our father

David.

When the

world's in

turmoil, when

your life's in

turmoil, when

the nation's in

turmoil, the

worst thing you

can do is to

give up on the

idea of God's

sovereignty.

In the face

of a world

seemingly out

of control, the

church in Acts

Acts 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4 turned

to the God who

is in control and

trusted him even

though it might

seem that he

wasn't in

control.

God is

sovereign,

irrespective of

whether or not

you or I can

see the evidence

of it right

now.

Faith means

holding on to

God even

when we don't

feel like it.

Remember Job?

I can't think of

a more calamitous

life scenario

than Job's.

Lost his wealth,

lost his flocks,

lost his family.

The only thing he

didn't lose was his

wife and she

wasn't much help

was she?

You know what her

advice to Job

was?

She said to Job,

listen, why don't

you give up on God

and curse him?

Some would say

that was a bad

marriage.

So finally,

and briefly,

here are three

things you need

to do.

James chapter 4

James 4 · chapter mention

and verse 8,

come close to

God and God

will come close

to you.

James goes on,

wash your hands

you sinners,

purify your hearts

for your loyalty

is divided between

God and the world.

Does that speak to

you?

Purify your hearts.

Your loyalty is

divided between

God and the world.

Listen,

we need in this

time of turmoil,

we need to

redouble our

efforts to trust

in God

and live as

though we're

trusting in God.

In the idea,

there is this

idea of the

faithful remnant.

The people who

hang on in there

with God,

even when their

world is falling

apart.

Friends,

that's what God

wants from you

right now.

That we will

form a faithful

remnant.

I was talking

with Tim Simpson

before the service

and he told me

the most moving

thing,

a wonderful example

of what I'm

talking about.

He said that

he had seen

some video clip

on social media

of Muslims

and Christians

meeting together.

Go ahead.

Sorry,

Arab and Jewish

believers

meeting together.

See,

that's what I

call a faithful

remnant.

Sure,

Tim wouldn't

mind me

telling you this,

but when he

saw that,

he had a God

moment.

Suddenly,

I guess he

saw something

that in the

current

tragedy

is very

difficult to

see.

We need to

be that

faithful remnant,

friends.

you find

this in

the prophets,

but you

find it

very graphically,

don't you,

in the story

of Jonah.

Genesis

Genesis 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

God sees

the sin

in the

world

and decides,

this is what

God says to

himself,

I've had

enough of

this,

and I've

had enough

of these

people,

I'm going

to wipe

them out.

And it

just tells

us in

Genesis

Genesis 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

this amazing

one word,

one sentence

phrase,

Noah was

a righteous

man.

Noah was

a righteous

man.

Do you know

what God's

looking for

church?

He's looking

for righteous

men and

women who

will trust

him and

live like

they trust

him.

second

thing for

you to

take home

today is

remember

without being

complacent,

in the

end it

will all

come right.

It will

all come

right.

That's the

prophecy of

Daniel in

chapter 7,

in the end

the son of

man will

come and

that shouldn't

lead us to

complacency.

That's the

message of

Daniel,

amazingly,

predicted

hundreds of

years before

Jesus walked

the earth.

So live

the life

that God

calls you

to.

Don't be

half-hearted.

Don't be

divided in

your loyalty

between God

and the

world.

Step it

up.

I want to

say,

sorry this is

a cheap

advertisement,

but I do

want to say

you could

start it up

by making

a decision

to come to

the prayer

meeting that

will be held

I think next

Monday being

the first

Monday in

the month.

Am I

right,

Susie?

You could

come along

to that and

pray for this

turmoil that we

find ourselves

in.

That would

cost you an

hour of your

time.

It might

mean you

would miss

EastEnders.

What is your

faith worth?

Remember,

without being

complacent,

it will be

all right.

Jesus said

in John 14,

if you love

me, you

will obey

my commandments.

I will ask

the Father

and he will

give you

another helper

who will

stay with you

forever.

He is the

Spirit who

reveals the

truth about

God.

I pray,

friends,

that God

will reveal

the truth

about himself

to us,

about his

majesty,

about his

glory,

about his

sovereignty.

And finally,

always remember

that all we

see happening,

as I've

said,

is predicted

in Holy

Scripture.

Whatever we

may feel,

God is still

in control.

Remember,

without becoming

complacent,

it will be

all right.

I saw a

man,

I don't

know if

he was

Muslim,

Christian,

I don't

know what

he was,

Jewish,

whatever,

and he

was saying

something that

I'd not

heard anybody

else say

in all the

broadcast footage

that we've

seen in the

past weeks

about the

terrible

situation in

the Middle

East.

He said,

in the end,

I believe

that good

will come

out of

this.

He said,

so much

pain and

so much

blood cannot

be shed

without there

being a

good ending.

I have

hope,

he said.

I have no

idea of the

religious statement

to that guy,

but I bless

him for what

he said,

in a world

of turmoil

and helplessness

and hopelessness.

I don't

know whether

he felt his

revelation was

from God,

but certainly,

friends,

don't forget,

while there's a

God in heaven

and there are

faithful people

on earth,

we need not

lose hope.

Why don't we

pray?

Why don't we

pray?

Oh my gosh,

Lord,

there's such

a lot to

take in.

A lot in the

world around

us,

a lot in

our lives.

Father,

I pray for

people in the

house today

who feel

without hope,

who are in

danger of

giving up.

Lord,

would you

please reveal

the truth

about yourself

to them?

Father,

I pray for

those in

the house

who agree

with the

words that

I have

spoken but

still know

that they

are divided

between loyalty

to you,

Father,

and loyalty

to the

things of

this world.

Holy Spirit,

would you

please convict

us of our

sin?

Father,

and Father,

with Jean

who prayed

earlier for

the terrible

turmoil,

Lord,

we pray

that you

would raise

up men

and women

of peace

who would

speak into

these situations

that we've

talked about.

And Lord,

some of them

will no doubt

lose their

lives for

speaking in

such a way.

And Lord,

finally we

pray as

your word

would bid

us.

Come,

Lord Jesus.

Come.

Come in

the grace

and power

of your

Holy Spirit.

Come into

our lives,

Lord,

and set us

on fire

with love

for you

and for

the world

that you

sent your

son to

die for

and that

you love

that much.

So,

Father,

we want

to,

Lord,

in the

words of

Jack D,

we pray

that we

might go

away from

here and

think about

what's

happened

this morning.

Lord,

that we

might not

just know

about the

faithful

remnant,

but that,

Lord,

we might be

part of

it.

And we

pray these

things in

Jesus'

name and

to his

amazing

glory and

the people

who agreed

said together

in a loud

voice,

Amen.