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| Title: *ACHIEVE* Light Orb3 /Visual Prayer Art by Rev.Bola |
God Is Sovereign
If
you were to look up the word “sovereign” in the dictionary, you would find
words and phrases like “superior,” “greatest,” “supreme in power and
authority,” “ruler,” and “independent of all others” in its definition. But the
way I like to explain God’s sovereignty best is simply to say, “God is in
control.”.
Just as peasants always bowed before their king for fear of offending the one who had the authority to take their life, God’s sovereignty compels us to bow before Him. But unlike corrupt earthly kings who abuse their authority to terrorize their subjects, God rules in love. He loves you and wants the best for you.
That’s an amazing promise not only because it demonstrates that an all-powerful God cares about you and me, but because it cannot be fulfilled unless the One Who gives it is all-knowing, all-wise, all-powerful, and all-loving. The promise itself is a testimony to God’s sovereignty.
Think about the implications of that promise. Because God is sovereign and He loves you, nothing will ever come into your life that He does not either decree or allow. Consequently, no matter what you face in life, you can take comfort in the fact that God is sovereign. Answer taken from Why do You Worship God? written and used by Chip Ingram (c) 2004. Click here to read the entire article.
In Psalm 103, a magnificent hymn of praise, David praises God for His blessings and compassion as a loving and forgiving father for his children (vss. He concludes with a universal call for praise (vs. 19-22), but he begins this call with a declaration of God’s sovereignty (vs. 19) for it is God’s sovereignty that gives Him the absolute freedom to do what He does in His blessings and showing compassion to frail and temporal humanity (vss.
Psalm 103:15-19 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 When the wind has passed over it, it is no more; And its place acknowledges it no longer. 17 But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To those who keep His covenant, And who remember His precepts to do them. 19 The LORD has established His throne in the heavens; And His sovereignty rules over all.
One of our problems today is that we have lost the biblical perspective of the majestic greatness of God, and we have a completely wrong focus on God. Phillips points out in his book, Your God Is Too Small, people today see God as: (a) the resident policeman; (b) the grand old man; (c) a parental hangover, or some other short-sighted, twisted view of God.
The sovereignty of God may be defined as the exercise of His supremacy, His infinite rule, His authority and power. Being infinitely elevated above the highest creature in authority, nature, and being, He is the Most High Lord of heaven and earth and all creation whether angels or the heavenly hosts.
Such actions of God’s sovereignty are seen in the life of Naaman the leper as God worked to lead this man to Himself. Of course, men may resist and fail to respond to God’s grace, but even then God rules and uses them for His own purposes as He did with Pharaoh (cf.
Instead of going directly to Elisha, God’s man with God’s Word, Naaman went to the King of Israel where he found no help, only discouragement. But God has His ways and somehow Elisha, who was miles away in Jericho, hears and sends word, “send him to me.”.
Naaman became angry at Elisha’s command to go wash himself. His pride kept him from receiving God’s grace, but again God overruled and used Naaman’s own servant to show him the foolishness of his behavior. As a result Naaman was healed, not only physically but spiritually. .
Even with the right ideas about guidance in general, however, it is still easy to go wrong, particularly in ‘vocational’ choices. No area of life bears clearer witness to the frailty of human nature—even regenerate human nature. The work of God in these cases is to incline first our judgment and then our whole being to the course which, of all the competing alternatives, He has marked out as best suited for us, and for His glory and the good of others through us. But the Spirit can be quenched, and we can all too easily behave in a way which stops this guidance getting through. It is worth listing some of the main pitfalls.
Everyone of us exists for a purpose. God has a purpose (purposes) for our lives—a particular set of works He has ordained for each of us (cf. Even the wicked who reject His plan and pursue their own lives, must eventually experience God’s retribution, which falls in line with God’s eternal plan. It is not my purpose in this short study to discuss all the issues here, but just to make this one emphasis. Our plans and decisions ought always to be made in submission to God’s purposes for each of us, looking to Him to accomplish His will in us. Our great need is to rest in God’s sovereignty and seek to link our lives with the purposes of God.
People are driven or motivated by the things they value. What they value become their priorities which in turn become the objects of their pursuits. Knowing that God has a purpose for each of us (i.e., an individual destiny) ought to motivate us so that it becomes our burning passion to fulfill His will. The plans of our hearts ought to be directed always around the fact that God has a purpose for us today; a purpose which, if pursued, will lead to the overall objectives for which we have each been designed.
From the moment we arrive on planet earth, we begin struggling to discern who we are and what we are here for. We are all born into families, churches, and cultures with many different stories and expectations that early begin shaping the direction and character of our lives. Most importantly, they teach us what is the better future to which we should give our lives.
Implicit in all our lives are certain images, values, and assumptions which influence our actions and the decisions we make. When we become Christians, we begin the process of sorting out which of these are genuinely part of the Story of God and which we have simply absorbed from the world around us.
In 1 Samuel 12:20-21, Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And you must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile,” empty of any ability to provide what people expect to get from the things they are pursuing.
Surely, this is part of the message of Solomon’s “futility of futilities” in Ecclesiastes. This futility carries with it a message of serious irony. Why? Because it is full of surprises. Think about it for a moment. If our value system is not shaped by the Bible (Matt. 6:19-24), the things we value or treasure consistently let us down when we seek our significance, or satisfaction, or security in those things. The energy spent in pursuing what we think those things will provide—happiness, security, satisfaction—consistently lead to failure. The pleasures we think will satisfy us never really do—at least not for long. In fact, they typically just increase our thirst for more. What futile irony!! Such irony is plainly the very fabric of life when it is lived independently of God.
5 Commit your way to the Lord,Trust also in Him, and He will do it.6 And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,And your judgment as the noonday.7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing.9 For evildoers will be cut off,But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
Sovereignty means that God, as the ruler of the Universe, has the right to do whatever he wants. Further, he is in complete control over everything that happens.
God's sovereignty is a stumbling block for atheists and unbelievers, who demand that if God is in total control, that he eliminate all evil and suffering from the world. The Christian's answer is that the human mind cannot grasp why God allows evil; instead, we are called to have faith in God's goodness and love.
A theological puzzle is also raised by the sovereignty of God. If God truly controls everything, how can humans have free will? It is obvious from Scripture and from life that people do have free will. We are not robots. We make both good and bad choices. However, the Holy Spirit prompts the human heart to choose God, a good choice. In the examples of King David and the Apostle Paul, God also works with man's bad choices to turn lives around.
Just as peasants always bowed before their king for fear of offending the one who had the authority to take their life, God’s sovereignty compels us to bow before Him. But unlike corrupt earthly kings who abuse their authority to terrorize their subjects, God rules in love. He loves you and wants the best for you.
That’s an amazing promise not only because it demonstrates that an all-powerful God cares about you and me, but because it cannot be fulfilled unless the One Who gives it is all-knowing, all-wise, all-powerful, and all-loving. The promise itself is a testimony to God’s sovereignty.
Think about the implications of that promise. Because God is sovereign and He loves you, nothing will ever come into your life that He does not either decree or allow. Consequently, no matter what you face in life, you can take comfort in the fact that God is sovereign. Answer taken from Why do You Worship God? written and used by Chip Ingram (c) 2004. Click here to read the entire article.
In Psalm 103, a magnificent hymn of praise, David praises God for His blessings and compassion as a loving and forgiving father for his children (vss. He concludes with a universal call for praise (vs. 19-22), but he begins this call with a declaration of God’s sovereignty (vs. 19) for it is God’s sovereignty that gives Him the absolute freedom to do what He does in His blessings and showing compassion to frail and temporal humanity (vss.
Psalm 103:15-19 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 When the wind has passed over it, it is no more; And its place acknowledges it no longer. 17 But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To those who keep His covenant, And who remember His precepts to do them. 19 The LORD has established His throne in the heavens; And His sovereignty rules over all.
One of our problems today is that we have lost the biblical perspective of the majestic greatness of God, and we have a completely wrong focus on God. Phillips points out in his book, Your God Is Too Small, people today see God as: (a) the resident policeman; (b) the grand old man; (c) a parental hangover, or some other short-sighted, twisted view of God.
The sovereignty of God may be defined as the exercise of His supremacy, His infinite rule, His authority and power. Being infinitely elevated above the highest creature in authority, nature, and being, He is the Most High Lord of heaven and earth and all creation whether angels or the heavenly hosts.
Such actions of God’s sovereignty are seen in the life of Naaman the leper as God worked to lead this man to Himself. Of course, men may resist and fail to respond to God’s grace, but even then God rules and uses them for His own purposes as He did with Pharaoh (cf.
Instead of going directly to Elisha, God’s man with God’s Word, Naaman went to the King of Israel where he found no help, only discouragement. But God has His ways and somehow Elisha, who was miles away in Jericho, hears and sends word, “send him to me.”.
Naaman became angry at Elisha’s command to go wash himself. His pride kept him from receiving God’s grace, but again God overruled and used Naaman’s own servant to show him the foolishness of his behavior. As a result Naaman was healed, not only physically but spiritually. .
Even with the right ideas about guidance in general, however, it is still easy to go wrong, particularly in ‘vocational’ choices. No area of life bears clearer witness to the frailty of human nature—even regenerate human nature. The work of God in these cases is to incline first our judgment and then our whole being to the course which, of all the competing alternatives, He has marked out as best suited for us, and for His glory and the good of others through us. But the Spirit can be quenched, and we can all too easily behave in a way which stops this guidance getting through. It is worth listing some of the main pitfalls.
Everyone of us exists for a purpose. God has a purpose (purposes) for our lives—a particular set of works He has ordained for each of us (cf. Even the wicked who reject His plan and pursue their own lives, must eventually experience God’s retribution, which falls in line with God’s eternal plan. It is not my purpose in this short study to discuss all the issues here, but just to make this one emphasis. Our plans and decisions ought always to be made in submission to God’s purposes for each of us, looking to Him to accomplish His will in us. Our great need is to rest in God’s sovereignty and seek to link our lives with the purposes of God.
People are driven or motivated by the things they value. What they value become their priorities which in turn become the objects of their pursuits. Knowing that God has a purpose for each of us (i.e., an individual destiny) ought to motivate us so that it becomes our burning passion to fulfill His will. The plans of our hearts ought to be directed always around the fact that God has a purpose for us today; a purpose which, if pursued, will lead to the overall objectives for which we have each been designed.
From the moment we arrive on planet earth, we begin struggling to discern who we are and what we are here for. We are all born into families, churches, and cultures with many different stories and expectations that early begin shaping the direction and character of our lives. Most importantly, they teach us what is the better future to which we should give our lives.
Implicit in all our lives are certain images, values, and assumptions which influence our actions and the decisions we make. When we become Christians, we begin the process of sorting out which of these are genuinely part of the Story of God and which we have simply absorbed from the world around us.
In 1 Samuel 12:20-21, Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And you must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile,” empty of any ability to provide what people expect to get from the things they are pursuing.
Surely, this is part of the message of Solomon’s “futility of futilities” in Ecclesiastes. This futility carries with it a message of serious irony. Why? Because it is full of surprises. Think about it for a moment. If our value system is not shaped by the Bible (Matt. 6:19-24), the things we value or treasure consistently let us down when we seek our significance, or satisfaction, or security in those things. The energy spent in pursuing what we think those things will provide—happiness, security, satisfaction—consistently lead to failure. The pleasures we think will satisfy us never really do—at least not for long. In fact, they typically just increase our thirst for more. What futile irony!! Such irony is plainly the very fabric of life when it is lived independently of God.
5 Commit your way to the Lord,Trust also in Him, and He will do it.6 And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,And your judgment as the noonday.7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing.9 For evildoers will be cut off,But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
Sovereignty means that God, as the ruler of the Universe, has the right to do whatever he wants. Further, he is in complete control over everything that happens.
God's sovereignty is a stumbling block for atheists and unbelievers, who demand that if God is in total control, that he eliminate all evil and suffering from the world. The Christian's answer is that the human mind cannot grasp why God allows evil; instead, we are called to have faith in God's goodness and love.
A theological puzzle is also raised by the sovereignty of God. If God truly controls everything, how can humans have free will? It is obvious from Scripture and from life that people do have free will. We are not robots. We make both good and bad choices. However, the Holy Spirit prompts the human heart to choose God, a good choice. In the examples of King David and the Apostle Paul, God also works with man's bad choices to turn lives around.
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*Researched and Compiled by Rev.Bola - 2.May.2014
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