4/19/20 - Let God Be God: Sovereignty - Pastor Jeff Pennington
Let God Be God
A Study on the Attributes of God
#2 The Sovereignty of God
When you think of God, what comes to your mind?
“Sovereign” Defined
Psalm 93:1 The Lord reigns!
Psalm 135:6-7 Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who makes lightnings for the rain,
Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
Isaiah 45:5-7 I am Yahweh, and there is no other;
there is no God but Me…I am Yahweh, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness,
I make success and create disaster; I, Yahweh, do all these things.
Isaiah 46:8-10 Remember this and be brave;
take it to heart, you transgressors!
Remember what happened long ago,
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and no one is like Me.
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.
The LORD Reigns! Let the People Tremble
God has absolute dominion over life, death, every event, circumstance, both in nature, spirit world, and in the lives of mankind!
*Demonstrated in the Old Testament
*Demonstrated by Jesus when he walked on the earth
Absolute power & authority over…Nature, sickness, Satan, demons, death, men, and etc.
John 19:11 “You would have no authority over Me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above.”
Proverbs 21:1 A king’s heart is like streams of water in the Lord’s hand: He directs it wherever He chooses.
Acts 17:23-28 Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live…For in Him we live and move and exist.
Ephesians 1:11 We have also received an inheritance in Him, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will.
A.W. Tozer:
For God to be sovereign, 3 things must be present:
*All-knowing
*All-powerful
*Absolute free
I would add:
*Omnipresent, *self-existent, *eternal, *infinite
A.W. Pink:
God does what He wants, when He wants, with whom He wants
Inappropriate Responses
God’s sovereignty can be troubling to us
*We don’t understand His sovereign will
*We know His sovereign will includes pain & suffering in this life
This can lead us to a land of “whys” & “ifs”
*Harvest of doubt, bitterness, anger, criticism, oppose (Isaiah 45:9-10)
Isaiah 45:9 “Woe to the one who argues with his Maker, one clay pot among many.”
Run to the land of “who”
*Harvest of honor, glory, humility, purity, strength, trust/faith
The Only Appropriate Response
*Let God be God by surrendering unconditionally to His dominion
Proverbs 21:30-31 No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel will prevail against the Lord.
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory comes from the Lord.
1 Peter 5:5 God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
*Take Comfort: God is in control, not you, man, disease, fate, luck, events, Satan, nature
*Cast your cares upon the sovereign God (1 Peter 5:5-7)
*FOLLOW Him:
Fear Him Over all men & things
Learn His ways
Love Him with your whole being
Obey Him
Worship Him
When the sovereign will of God is confusing, scary, painful…
*RUN to Him, take Comfort & Courage in what you do know…Who He Is
Let God Be God!
Romans 8:28-30 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.
