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As we get to know the character and nature of God
today we want to talk about God's sovereignty that
God is in control
and when
King David says that God is in control he wants us to understand that
God is in control of everything
everything
in the heavens or as we would say theologically the cosmos
and everything here on earth
everything in this world everything in your world
it's yours O Lord
and this is
Your kingdom
notice it doesn't say our kingdom
it says your kingdom
We adore you
as being in control of everything
everything
God is in control of nature
the Bible says
Psalms make it clear that
that everything that goes on the
the wind, the storms, the sun, the rain
The moon, everything
God is in control of that he's set it into
His purpose and plan
History, Isaiah makes it clear that
God's control even affects the land
history
all that takes place it all takes place under the eyes of God
and then God is in control of
our lives
and he's the one that decides when you're born
he's the one that decides when you die
he's the one that decides what talent gifts and abilities you have in the
In-between, between your birth and your death
God's in control of everything, everything in heaven
and everything on earth
now if God is in control of everything it's
reasonable to ask the question well then do I have any choice at all in the
Matter?
and the answer is yes you have a choice
in how you live
destiny is set out
you have heaven and you have hell
just
go to the parable of the sheeps and the goats and as I like to point out it
doesn't list any llamas
you've got sheep and goats; or alpacas either
there is only sheep and goats there is only two destinations eternally
God has set that out
but the day
To day choices we make, yes
God does allow us to choose
the consequences
or the blessings that we want to live by
and we all know that that's very true don't we? that we wake up every day and
it's really up to us whether we commit our day or our way to the Lord
or whether we think we're in control of everything and thereby just live our
lives as we would like
and thereby
suffering at times the consequences of our own imperfection our own bad choices
our own
miscues in life
No, we have
some free will
and that free will has
primarily to do with our expression of how we live our life the choices we make
in life
the consequences
we will experience either
blessings or as the Bible says curse
so if God is sovereign what does that mean? To my
everyday life
well I think there are three implications
of the sovereignty of God for our everyday life
what has to do with our plans that
the sovereignty of God does have an effect on our plans
and simply it means that our plans have a limit to them
Proverbs nineteen twenty one
many are the plans of a person's heart
but is the Lord's purpose that will, what?
prevail
So whose agenda
Is the
more powerful agenda yours or God's?
the Bible says Gods
now I love
Proverbs sixteen one in the good news Bible
we may make our plans but God has the last word and here I thought it was our
spouse
Isn't it your spouse that gets the last Word? No it's God. God is in control
and because God's plan
prevails because God gets the last word
then our human plans, our individual plans they do have a limits to them
but we know that we know there are boundaries to our ability
to plan and don't misunderstand
and me I'm not saying don't make plans
I'm a plan maker alright
I made a phone call the other day for something that's
ten months down the way
when I called
I got somebody, the guy goes
that's ten months away
Who are you anyway
I'm just a busy person I told him and if I don't
make plans then this is not going to happen
I have to plan ahead
he said yeah I guess so
Now I'm a big
planner
but realize on the one hand that
our plans have a limit to them
and because they have a limit
We have to hold them lightly we have to be flexible with our plans
and the more plans you make the more you know that this is true that there's a
limit
and we need to be flexible and I love this passage out of James
now listen
You who say today or tomorrow we will go to
this or that city
spent a year there carry on business and make money
I want to go to that place
why
you don't even know what will happen tomorrow instead you ought to say if it
is the Lord's will
we will live and do this or that
if it's the Lord's will that's the statement of flexibility
we may believe
that God wants us to do
this or that and that's a good thing
but we have to show some flexibility
isn't it true, you know tomorrow is Monday
I've already got
a pretty heavy schedule all lined up but I can guarantee you
because it's Monday
even though I have everything lined out something that's going to happen that is
not planned
and I can't guarantee you that
whatever's not planned is going affect
one of those other things that I have on my schedule tomorrow
I just
I just know it's true
and as much as I like to be planned
up and scheduled up and in control
I know that I'm not ultimately in control
that God has in store for me on the one end may be some wonderful serendipity
will happen in my day
and on the other side
there may be a challenge that
I'm unaware of that I will face
I don't know what
all of tomorrow holds
only God knows
what all of tomorrow holds
for me
because
He is in control
His will, will prevail we cannot swart the will of God
all we can do is cooperate with it
and when we realize that we have some limits
when we realize that we need to be flexible when it comes to our plans
ah
that's the right perspective
when it comes to plans and the sovereignty of God
Proverbs sixteen nine
we should make plans counting on God to what? Direct us
and as we pray to Him and as we
yield to Him
as we wake in the morning and commit our day
And our way
to him
he guides us and leads us
particularly when the things that aren't on our schedule
come our way
Limit, flexibility
a second area and I think this is a big
down to earth day to day
place that God's sovereignty
impacts in effects our life and that is
when we experienced problems in life when we experienced problems in life
The sovereignty of God means that there's a purpose in that problem
that there is a purpose
in that problem
listen the first Peter one
at present you may be temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials
this is no accident it happens to
Prove your faith
which is infinitely more valuable than gold
now I don't know about you but when I have more gold I
don't exercise my faith as much
when I lack gold so to speak, that that's
usually gets me praying at least a little bit more, doesn't it?
when things are going well in life
Well, we do get to exercise our faith but what puts our faith
to the test
Peter says and James as well
is when
things are not all that great or easy and I think
the greatest problems in life
especially when it comes to the sovereignty of God is
the dead ends that we invariably face in life
and the question is
Does God cause those problems
Or does God allow those problems
the theological simple answer is God allows them he doesn't cause them
We are good at causing all sorts of problems ourselves God doesn't really
need to help with that
but God does allow it we have to go all the way back to Genesis chapter three to
understand it don't we?
and simply we are sinful people that live in a sin affected
A sin marred world
and that means that
We'll create problems
one number two
though that the problems that other people have
any impact on our life we're driving along
We're driving the speed limit we are In our lane and all of a sudden a car comes
and runs into us
it was it because we
did anything wrong
we didn't violate any laws but
a law was violated and we're violated in the process we're
smashed into our life becomes at least a little bit of a wreck for a moment or
two
God allows that because we live in a Sin marred world
sometimes we sin sometimes
The sin of other people impacts and Affect our life and guess what sometimes
Things just go wrong
because we're not completely in the presences and the power of God
because we're still living day to day
in this sin marred world and we didn't sin and someone else didn't
sin but
earthquakes
happen I know I've been in three of them
and God is in control
but He has allowed us so to speak the consequences of our own choices
And humanity
has fallen from
the garden of Eden
and therefore we experience sin
no matter whether it's our own sin the sin of someone else or just
the sin that is in the world
God has a purpose in the problems that we face now let me give me a couple of
good examples
take the wife of Job
Job was the wealthiest man in the world
everything was going to his way
and then
everything was taken from him
Wow, you think you having your portfolio look a little weak
is bad
think about having everything
taken out of your life
in fact it was even worse than that then his friends
kind of try to convince him to ditch God that God couldn't be very good
because all these things were taken away from him
and that they would even one step further that they began to privately say
you know Job must have some real hidden sin in his life
because it's very clear that God is trying to punish him
what was Job's perspective
Job one twenty-one
the Lord gave me everything I have
They are his to take away
blessed be the name of the Lord
now it's that perspective
that we all need
in the midst of our problems
That God has a purpose and what was the end result for Job
the Bible says that God blessed him
twofold
what ever he lost God gave him to more and let me tell you whatever you've lost
in this world God will give you hundred fold a thousand fold
because eternity is just that experience
wherever we've suffered
no matter the injustice it'll all be
it'll all be made right when we get to heaven
maybe it's not the loss of wealth maybe it's personal rejection that's your
problem let's look at the life of Joseph for a moment you remember Joseph he's the
cute little kid with the rainbow colored coat
the apple of his father's eye he was the youngest and the older brothers hated it
specially his oldest brother because he's supposed to be the apple of dad's eye
it so what did they do
they grabbed them and threw him into a pit then they thought we don't want
The blood
of at his death on our own hands
I know what will do a caravan of nomads were coming along and they sold
him into slavery
Wow, now by the time we get to
Genesis chapter fifty a lot's gone on in the life of Joseph
but it's interesting how God had a purpose in that didn't He?
in his home town and they were having a famine and so the brothers were sent
to go fetch some food
so they had to go
meet with the secretary of agriculture
and guess who was the secretary of agriculture
their brother Joseph and Joseph had a choice, didn't he?
if he wanted revenge he had the opportunity he could have turned them
away
or
he could look for the purpose in the problem that they created for him
and that's what he did
what was
Joseph's perspective
Look at verse twenty in Genesis chapter fifty
he looked at his brothers and he said you intended to harm me
but God intended it for good
to accomplish what is now being done the
saving of many lives
now I don't know about you but that's not my first perspective that's not my
first response
when I face a problem in life
but I have been
learning God has been teaching me
to look for the purpose that he has in the problems that I face and the tough
ones for me are the same tough ones for you it's when you reach a dead end
and we don't really look for God's purpose or perspective on our problems
and still we
are in a heap at the at the wall the bottom of the wall of this deed end in
our life we've tried all of our smarts and all of our abilities and all of our
ways and we still are at a dead end
and then we finally pray to God and say ok, God
what's your plan what's your purpose
what do you want me to do
to tell you the truth
I don't know but it's not because I'm not smart and haven't tried
It's not because I don't have ability
and I am not saying that
that we will always know
the purpose that God has
in our problem
I've noticed that as I've looked back at the problems in my life I
Can see God's
purpose
isn't it true
that we've all grown more in our time of challenging, difficulty and problems
than we have in our times of ease in life
that's true
then I got smart one day
when I was studying I thought why must I wait
to see God's perspective
why not get
God's perspective in the moment
of my problems and my difficulty
and that's a choice
that we all have
let me give you a
a recent history relatively recent historical illustration of
purpose and problems Gale Borden
was on a ship back to England
he watched the children on that steamer
drink milk that was tainted and they became violently ill
and that kind of got
Borden thinking
I wonder if there is a way that you can take milk and can it
so that when you open it it'll be fresh it won't be tainted with all
these
germs and bacteria that are making
the children
and you know the rest of the story
the problem created a great solution
that's had an impact literally throughout the world, hasn't it?
what's the perspective that you have today on your problems
listen to what
Paul says in second Corinthians four he says this is the reason we never lose
heart
these troubles which are temporary
are winning for us a permanent, glorious solid reward out of proportion with our
pain
Paul has one eye on eternity and one eye on today
As he makes that statement
That God does great things in the midst of our problems if we'll just
look for his perspective
and no matter the pain
or the difficulty or the injustice that you've experienced in this life it
will pale by comparison when you get to eternity God will make it up to you
Why, because He is sovereign
why because he loves you
problems lead us to the third
implication of God's sovereignty and that is that our prayers are powerful
our problems usually get us praying a little bit more and if God is sovereign
it raises the question
are my prayers really just a waste of time
And the answer simply is no, your prayers are not
a waste of time
that in prayer God is in the process of accomplishing what God wants
to accomplish
what does he want to accomplished
Ephesians three twenty
God is able to do
more far more
then we would ever dare to ask or even dream of
infinitely beyond our highest prayers, our highest desires our highest
Thoughts, our highest hopes that's the way it's really written in the original
language
with emphasis
beyond whatever we imagine or whatever we dream and have you noticed when you
face
Dead end problems in your life you have no imagination
you know you've given up trying to dream anymore
God actually has something he wants to accomplish
how could that be
and what gives us that perspective that God has a purpose that he's in the midst
of accomplishing something in you and through you
that comes by prayer
God has a plan and God has the power and we need both of those
and the way that we
Understand God's plan the way that we tap Into God's power
is by praying to Him because he's sovereign and he loves you
and he would never hold back
any good thing from you Jesus says that himself, doesn't He?
God is sovereign
He's got a sovereign plan and
the problems of this world the sinfulness of
this world and us
will not thwart that plan
and God wants to give us his power and he wants us to be able to envision
that plan which is usually far beyond whatever were thinking about
bigger plans
then we have for ourselves
he gives that to us as we pray to him
the God I want you to get to know because it's the God that you believe in
is a God who loves you
in the most personal way in the deepest way he was willing to give his life so
that you could have life
the God I want you to understand that you follow and believe in every day is
a God that has a plan and a purpose for your life each and every day for all
eternity
And knowing that God
being dedicated to that God following that God, yeah
it's put to the test in those problems
it's revealed to us in our prayers
that God
is a God worthy
of your very best
Let us pray
Lord as we come today I know
that there are people who are frustrated about
plans that they've been making that
just don't seem to be coming true
and Lord there are others that
have that in large measure that's called the problem or crisis in their
life
And Lord be at the
rearranging of our plans be at the problems of life Lord
as we pray
Lord we need to know your plan and we need your power
to move forward
Lord what we need is we need your perspective on our plans and our
problems
and Lord we know that
happens when we pray to you when we yeild
our plans
our crisis
Our
day-to-day moments of each and every day to you that Lord
that's what allows
your sovereignty to rule over our lives
to rule in our world as it does in this world and in the heavenly realms
Lord give us your perspective today Lord give us your Holy Spirit
Lead us and guide us empower us Lord give us your perspective
Lord we're thankful for the reminder today that you give us that
those plans and that power and that perspective
are much higher
much greater more divine
than we realize
the Lord we're thankful for the realization today
that that's reality
That's your plan that's your purpose that's who you are
Lord thank you for loving us
loving us each and every day
and declaring that you will love us for all eternity and so we pray in your
Name Amen
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