Sermon Tone Analysis

*Sovereignty 7.*

We have had a bit of an interlude, there was Christmas and the holidays; and then I did a couple of talks on what happens when you die.

But you may recall that last year I started a series on the sovereignty of God, and today I want to take up that theme again.

This morning I want you to take your shoes off!

Well not literally – I will spare the one sitting next to you.

But as we look at the sovereignty of God – we are looking at His very nature and being!!

We are on holy ground!

*[P]* Many struggle trying to understand the sovereignty of God, their minds struggle with the implications – but we are dealing with the very nature of God! Do you think that your mind can understand Him?!!

It is not a matter of comprehending with you mind but of taking our shoes off and worshipping.

If we look with natural understanding we will run into a mental impasse; so let us simply accept what the revelation of God tells us; because the human mind cannot comprehend God; but these things are revealed to us by the Spirit.

[*1 Corinthians 2:9-10*/ //but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God./]

As the saying goes: “there are two sides to the coin”; so it is with the sovereignty of God.

*[P]* We are so accustomed to viewing things from man’s perspective, from our view-point; that we often ignore the other side of the coin.

And I would like to redress that imbalance – to look at the Sovereign, the one whose head is on the coin, the One who is on the throne, who acts according to His own will and is accountable to none.

Like any coin you can only see one side at a time, and if you are looking from an earthly point of view you will see the tail, man’s affairs; and be unable to see the Sovereign, the Head over all.

If your memory is good, you will recall that I started by talking about יהוה’s sovereignty over inanimate things: *[P]* things on earth, *[P]* the land, geological events; sea, the One in control of the waves; the air the One who controls the winds, the weather.

Then I looked further, *[P]* beyond our planet, to יהוה’s control over the unimaginably vast heavens, the stars.

Then from the massive I looked at God’s control right down to the most miniscule detail, *[P]* the seemingly random quantum events.

There is nothing outside יהוה’s control!

Glory to His Name!

He is almighty in power, control, in knowledge and wisdom directing every event from the most huge and powerful right down to the most tiny and insignificant.

יהוה has a will and His will prevails!

That is OK for inanimate things than have no will of their own; so I then moved on to יהוה’s control over life *[P]* – first vegetation then animals.

He is sovereign over all.

You may get the impression, and you are probably right, that I am skirting around the issue of the sovereignty of God over man – because that is where we run into the most problems – the conflict of us having a free will with the fact that God is in sovereign control over all.

Well, it is something I want to address, …… but not just yet.

You may say that I have talked about יהוה’s sovereignty over inanimate and living things; things on earth and in the heavens, the massive and the miniscule – what is left?

In actual fact, a vast amount!

The thing is, that I have only talked about the natural realm, visible, tangible things.

Many in our society would think that that is all there is – the ruling philosophy is naturalism~/materialism.

But there is a whole realm that they completely overlook!

There is a whole area that they deny and it is very real, very present and very powerful and pervasive!

There is a whole spiritual realm.

*[P]* We patronizingly refer to “primitive” societies that worship spirits – but those spirits are very real and have real tangible power – as many a missionary has found out.

It is not primitive superstition and ignorant imagination.

Jesus spent a lot of His ministry on earth casting out demons – were they the imaginary superstition of the people?! Did Jesus imagine them?

They spoke and acted!

They were real alright!

Did spirits cease to exist, sort of become extinct?

They are not mortal, they don’t die!

No, they are just as real, present and powerful today!

In fact more powerful today because our denial of their existence gives them completely free reign.

Yes, the spirit realm is real – and yet all our science and cleverness completely ignores a present reality, overlooks a vast proportion of creation – it is woefully incomplete in its understanding of the universe.

The so called “primitive” tribesman is actually less ignorant than many in the western world.

There is not only a natural realm there is a spiritual realm – the Scripture acknowledges it and gives much insight into that which our natural senses cannot perceive – and as with everything else that we have considered, the Bible reveals that יהוה is in absolute sovereign control over all.

Look how much of our popular culture is based on the idea of goodies and baddies – the good battling evil in a titanic struggle.

The baddies almost win but the goodies prevail in the end: Starwars, the Lion King, the old westerns, Harry Potter, Batman – it’s all the same basic idea – it is called dualism *[P]* – light and dark good and evil in an eternal battle.

It is so much a part of our culture that it has infected our theology – there is satan and God battling it out; the Kingdom of God fighting the kingdom of the devil.

It affects some of the weird concepts of spiritual warfare that are around.

Let me say that it is utterly and completely WRONG!

*[P]* Do you not know that the battle has been won?!!

That יהוה is sovereign over all?!! *[P]* Including all the spiritual realm?! Let us look at what the Bible says about יהוה and the spiritual realm.

It reveals an Almighty Sovereign who is in absolute control, on the throne directing all according to His will.

He is vastly, supremely and infinitely more powerful than all else! Hallelujah! *[P]* He made them!

This is no dualism, no close fought fight!

If you get involved in casting out demons, it had better be based on a sound theology that יהוה is sovereign!

Else you might end up like the sons of Sceva!

So let’s look at that realm that is unseen but very real – spirit beings.

There are spiritual beings that God created.

As with everything else we have looked at God’s sovereignty stems back to, and is based on, the fact that He made them.

If you make something it is yours to do with as you please.

God made spirit beings and He made them as His servants – to carry out His bidding – we call them angels *[P]*.

The word means “messengers”, those that are sent on errands.

They are glorious beings and we revere them because they are powerful and mysterious and supernatural.

But they are simply servants sent on errands.

John, who was closer to the LORD than any other disciple, had a vision of angels that overwhelmed him.

[*Revelation 22:8-9*/ //And I, John, am the one who heard and who saw these things.

And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed these things to me.

And he said to me, “Do not do that!

I am your fellow slave, and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book.

Worship God!”/] Hear how the angel described himself?

John, who had seen a vision of Jesus in His glory, fell down to worship the angel – but the angel called himself a “fellow-slave”.

He was a slave, he carried out orders; he simply existed to do the will of his Master.

Who is his Master?

יהוה!

He is sovereign, in control; He gives His orders and His slaves carry them out.

He is sovereign over the angels.

[*Hebrews 1:14*/ //Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?/]

We have this lofty idea about “ministering” and “ministry” – but the word simply means “service” – angels are servants and they serve – that is their role.

[*Hebrews 1:7*/ //And concerning the angels He says, “The one who makes His angels winds, and his servants a flame of fire,”/ ] Hebrews is quoting [*Psalm 104:4*/ //who makes His messengers the winds (or spirits), His attendants a flame of fire./]

where winds can also mean spirit – it equates angels with servants, spirit beings are His messengers, they wait upon Him to do His bidding.

[*Psalm 103:20-21*/ //Bless יהוה, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word!

Bless יהוה, all you His armies, you who serve Him, doing His will./]

It says it over and over again in that verse – they are powerful but they “/perform His word/” – they do what יהוה tells them to; they “/obey the voice of His word/” – they obey, simply do what they are told to by יהוה; they “/serve Him/” – servants who do His bidding, they “/do His will/” – in just one verse 4 times it tells us that angels are simply servants that do what they are told to by יהוה – He gives the orders, they carry them out.

He is sovereign, in control, directing them, telling them what to do.

This is what we see יהוה doing in: [*Psalm 91:11*/ //For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways./]

They help mankind, protect, but only at יהוה’s bidding – servants under direction and control of their Master – He is sovereign over angels.

We see the same thing in the NT, particularly in the Christmas story – God sent a number of angels as messengers at that time, He sent another to get Peter out of prison.

We do not have time to look at all the instances – but in every case they are sent by God, they are His “messenger-boys” – I will just site one reference as an example, it is what God will do at the end of the age: [*Matthew 24:31*/ //“And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other./]

God is sovereign over the angels, He /sends them out/; but, in explaining the parable of the tares; Jesus said: [*Matthew 13:41*/ //“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,/ ] Jesus also sends the angels, He is sovereign over them.

Jesus is acting sovereignly, in a way that is solely the prerogative of יהוה Himself – an indication that Jesus Himself is God because He exercises sovereignty over the spiritual realm.

But then the Bible tells us that there was a rebellion among the spirit beings, satan was cast out and, along with him, fellow spirit beings.

Doesn’t this mean that יהוה is not in control?

After all, they rebelled and did their own thing, not His will.

So let us look at those spirit beings that rebelled – what we call demons *[P]* – evil spirits who aligned themselves with satan.

They are opposed to God, they are in rebellion; their will is adamantly opposed to God.

But, do you know what?

יהוה is still sovereign!

We just get glimpses of how the spirit world operates – but you will find Scripture consistent.

Take a look at: *[P]* Judges 9:23 – it is the time of the Judges and the nation of Israel was in a low place spiritually.