Monday, April 6, 2009

Beelieve - Know God Intimately: God Is Sovereign

For previous lessons please click here.

Sovereignty means highest, chief, and supreme. God’s sovereignty means that He is the absolute and sole ruler who is independent of all other rule. When we say that God is sovereign, we are saying that He is the number one ruler in the universe with authority and power over all.

Sovereignty:
• God is the chief Being in the universe
• God is supreme in power in the universe
• God is in complete control of all things - though He may choose to let certain events happen according to natural laws which He has ordained.

"The LORD has established His throne in the heavens; and His sovereignty rules over all.” Psalm 103:19

The Bible is full of support for the absolute sovereignty of God both in direct statements like Psalm 103:19 and by the needed implication of His godly perfections as omnipresence, omniscience, and His work in creation and divine intervention.

1) God’s absolute control, His sovereignty over His creation, is based on His godly attributes. All His actions and sovereign plans are always completely in agreement with His own character. God cannot act contradictorily with His character.
(2) This means that in God’s sovereignty, He always does what He considers best. There is no injustice with God and he does not act by chance with man. God’s rule over man and the universe is in complete agreement with His wisdom, love, and holiness.
(3) God’s sovereignty means that nothing escapes His notice. Nothing occurs outside of His sovereign authority and control and nothing occurs by blind chance or fate. As the Bible reminds us:
“The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD” Proverbs 16:33
(4) God uses a variety of devices and ways to accomplish His purpose, but He is always in control of the way He uses either through natural causes or by divine intervention. This is true of nations, individuals, Satan and the demons, and of natural forces (Isa. 10:5-16; Job. 1-2).

His sovereignty can be hard to grasp, we are finite and God is infinite. We are human beings who fall considerably short of the wisdom and knowledge of God. As a result, we need to be careful not to try to subject the Bible and God to our human logic. God’s attributes, as with His sovereignty, go beyond our human understanding. What is incomprehensible to man is comprehensible to God. It is a matter of revelation. If a truth is clearly taught in Scripture, then I must embrace it even if it seems beyond my comprehension.

Though man may question God's authority and even His existence when things are going bad, God is still in control, knows what will take place, and is bringing glory to Himself.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28

He can and does cause everything to serve His purposes. God works all things after the council of His own will.

“Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, F2 for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago.” Ephesians 1:11

People often say: You can never tell what God is going to do -- that's not true!
We can always know what God is going to do!! Work in our situation:
1. To cause it to serve His purposes.
2. To cause it to work for good.
3. To make us more like Jesus.

We may not know exactly how, but we can know exactly what He is going to do. Work for our own good.

God is sovereign; all of His creation put together, whether knowingly or unknowingly, cannot put a stop to His purposes. (Psalm 93:1; 95:3; Jeremiah 23:20).

“The LORD is king! He is robed in majesty. Indeed, the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.” Psalm 93:1

He created mankind and everything else; He alone is worthy to rule and decides what will take place. Do you see a verb in the word sovereign? The verb is: "Reign" and this verb captures the essence of this godly attribute.

Our God Reigns!.


“Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a huge crowd, or the roar of mighty ocean waves, or the crash of loud thunder: "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.” Revelation 19:6


Dear Heavenly Father, when it seems to me that bad things are happening to me or to others I will not turn away from You and I will try not to question why, but I will diligently seek to know the good that You are trying to teach me through the hard and testing times that I may be going through. May I accept the lesson I am to learn with grace and peace. May this situation bring me closer to You and more like Christ.

Action To Take: Think of something in your life at the present time that disturbs you deeply, over which you have no control. Now consciously bow to God’s sovereignty in that area of your life.

10 comments:

Denise said...

Awesome post.

luvmy4sons said...

Amen. Great exhortation...and the only way to true peace and joy...letting God be God-our Sovereign God!

Alleluiabelle said...

This post certainly was timed just right for me today. Today was an especially hard day. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this is what I needed to hear today of all days. Praise, honor and glory to you Almighty Father. Thank you for leading this woman in her post today.

I'm a 'fan' of yours...to see what that means...please stop by my site. I have a surpise for you there.

Your blog is powerful. I get so filled and I am blessed so much in what you have to say and offer here. I have some chronic illnesses that go on in my body daily too, your site is also inspiring for me.

Blessings,
Alleluiabelle

Debra Kaye said...

Michele,

Awesome post, my sweet friend. I was just telling a friend of mine this very fact this morning! God is sovereign and is working the very thing out in your life to make you more like Jesus....and is working this very thing out in my life to make me more like Jesus!

Happy Tuesday, sweet sister! Great teaching this morning! Big hugs!

Edie said...

Hi Michelle! I just wanted to come by and say thank you for your prayers. I so appreciate it!!

God bless and have a great week!

Unknown said...

I needed this! Thank you for the great post, Michele : ) Allison

Cathryn said...

Hi Michele, Thank you for writing what God laid on your heart. It was powerful. By the way, I like your hair color. Love, Cathryn

bp said...

I love that billboard saying!

I'm a fan of yours, come by when you get a chance and see what that means.

i said...

Hi Michele, this is a great post. A good reminder to me too. God bless!

Marsha said...

I loved this quote: "People often say: You can never tell what God is going to do -- that's not true!
We can always know what God is going to do!! Work in our situation."
Yes, He works in ALL situations. He doesn't turn a blind eye. He's always there working for His glory first and our good secondarily.
Another great post.