Sermon Tone Analysis

*Sovereignty 9.*

I remember, it was not long after we came to New Zealand, we went down south and stayed at Duntroon in the Waitaki valley.

We went to the little church there one Sunday and were invited to dinner by some people who had a farm.

This was the first time I had been to a farm.

Look, I was a kid, so it is a while ago!

No quad bikes in those days, they didn’t even have farm bikes – well, these people were VW nuts, and that is what they used.

They had a VW Kombi van for carting stuff around *[P]*, they had a beetle to go to town in *[P]* – nice and shiny to turn up to church in.

Then they had another beetle they used like a quad bike, for getting around the farm *[P]* – dirty and a bit beat up.

It is nearly fifty years ago, but I can still remember tearing around the paddocks chasing hare with one brother driving and the other leaning out the window with a 0.22.

Now some people maintain that cars have personalities, but it is just as well that cars are not human!

Otherwise the car relegated to farm work might resent the care lavished on the other one being polished up for the trip into town!

The thing is, that there are two identical vehicles; one used for best, the other as a work-horse.

Can’t they do that?

Of course they can!

There is no injustice in that, those people owned those VWs and could do with them as they chose to *[P]*, for the purpose they had in mind.

Choice is a key aspect of sovereignty – you have a will, a plan and a purpose; and in order to carry that out you make choices.

Last time I concluded the introduction to a series looking at the sovereignty of God.

Having prevaricated for a year, looking at God’s sovereignty over every aspect of His creation *[P]*; we started to look at the sovereignty of God over man *[P]*.

I could go through every story in the Bible and show how God is in control – the Divine dramatist is ordering events, revealing Himself and His ways through His dealings with men.

The people involved were just living their lives; they had no idea of the end God was working toward.

So you can have a guy like Sampson getting smitten with a Philistine girl – now, surely that is all wrong!

– but what does the Bible say?: [*Judges 14:3-4*/ //But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a wife among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?”

But Samson said to his father, “Take her for me because she pleases me.” /(surely that is the flesh speaking; yet ….) /His father and mother did not know *that this was from יהוה*; He was seeking for an occasion against the Philistines./

] It was from יהוה! – He was directing events.

Last time I gave just two examples: Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus, two men that יהוה chose to accomplish His purpose – we saw from the Bible’s point-of-view that these mighty kings were mere tools in the hand of יהוה.

He had a plan and a purpose that centred around His people Israel, and He used these kings and their empires to accomplish His plans and purpose.

There is יהוה, the Divine dramatist, directing history according to His will.

Today, we think more of movies – well in those terms, יהוה is the producer, the screen-writer and the director – and He also does the casting – choosing who will play what part *[P]*.

When we study the Bible people do their best to make things complicated and deep – so, instead of saying “choice” they use the fancy term “election” *[P]*.

Instead of those that are “chosen” they say the “elect”.

Now יהוה is sovereign; He can do as He wills, He makes plans, has His purpose and He chooses people to accomplish His purpose; and He doesn’t have to give an account to anybody to justify the choice that He made.

Let’s have a look at this choice at work, please turn to the book of Romans chapter 9 *[P]*.

Just a little bit of background: Paul has given a wonderful exposition of the Gospel that he preached: the righteousness of God Himself that comes to man by faith alone.

This was God’s purpose; and His purposes centre around His chosen people: Israel.

Now Paul came to a real conundrum: the thing is that those chosen people didn’t believe in Jesus!

They were trying to do it themselves by their own efforts and so they missed out.

It looked as if God’s purpose and promises had failed!

So now he is addressing this problem: [*Romans 9:6-13*/ //But it is not as though the word of God has failed.

/(God’s intention had not failed) /For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.”/

(God had made His promise to Abraham and his offspring, but it was not to all of them, God made a selection of a subset, He chose those descended from Isaac)/ That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.

For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” /(so the promises were only to Sarah’s offspring, not to Hagar or Keturah’s.

Then יהוה narrowed the selection even further:)/ And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac/; (remember the descendants were to be through Isaac) /for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s *purpose* according to *His choice* would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.”

Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”/]

*[P]* Now I have heard people say that יהוה knew Jacob’s heart; that he had a heart for God and so He chose him, knowing how he would turn out.

Undoubtedly that is true, but they seem to think it was due to something intrinsic in Jacob or Esau; but Scripture goes out of its way, bends over backwards here, to stress the point that it had nothing to do with the man but solely with God – His choice.

He is sovereign, He does as He wills.

It has nothing to do with them.

Look at verse 10, it says: *[P]* “/They had one father/”, one mother – the same origin, the same genetics.

There was no difference between them.

It says twice: *[P]* that they were “/twins/” – you couldn’t get closer.

It is evident that they were not identical twins but they were exactly the same age, environment, upbringing.

The point is that there was no difference, just two individuals, yet vastly different places in God’s economy.

It says: *[P]* that they were “/not even born/” – the decision had been made even before they had taken a breath.

You can’t say Esau muffed it, that Jacob did well.

In fact it goes on to say: *[P]* that they “/hadn’t done anything/” – to hammer the point home that it had nothing to do with them, it says that they hadn’t done anything; yet the choice had been made.

Do you see how Paul belabours the point, it says: *[P]* that it didn’t depend on being “/good or bad/” – it had nothing to do with what they did, them being good or bad.

Well if it had nothing to do with the men, what did it depend upon?

It says: *[P]* that the choice was according to: “/God’s purpose/” – the sole basis of the choice was יהוה’s purpose; that it would stand, that His will be accomplished.

He is the Divine playwright who has designed characters to carry out the plot that He has scripted so that His purposes might be carried out.

יהוה has a will, a purpose that He carries out.

He ensures that His will is done, His purpose is accomplished and He uses people to do that.

His great purpose is to reveal Himself, make Himself known.

His purpose is to bring glory to Himself as God.

It says: *[P]* that “/God chose/” – it is God who chose, not them that chose God.

God willing we will look at this further in God’s sovereignty in salvation but Jesus Himself said: [*John 15:16*/ //You did not choose Me//, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit./]

Then again it says: *[P]* that it was “/not because of works/” – if I am repeating myself, it is because Scripture does!

Paul is hammering the point home *– it did not depend on works*, on anything that they had done.

It depends upon God, His choice, His purpose; not on man.

He is sovereign.

He makes His choice.

It says: *[P]* that it was because of “/His call/”.

יהוה initiated, He made it happen.

He called one but not the other.

Furthermore it says: *[P]* that it was contrary to natural order – the prophetic word to Rebekkah was: “/the older will serve the younger/” – that was the opposite way to the way it should be.

If it was just left to man and the natural way things happen, who would have received the blessing, the birthright, the inheritance?

Now you can analyze the machinations of Isaac and Rebekah but God was in control, even through all that, in order that His pre-stated purpose came to pass: the older served the younger.

God is in sovereign control, exercising His choice and ensuring that it comes about.

יהוה stated it beforehand – it says: *[P]* “/It stands written/!”

What God says comes about.

In fact if you examine it for a moment, prophecy only works if God actually happens.

God deliberately went out of His way to make it so that there was nothing intrinsic in the people themselves.

What was the reason then?

What was the basis?

It is: *[P]* God’s purpose – His will that He most assuredly will carry out and none can thwart Him.

It is based on: *[P]* יהוה’s choice.

How does He carry out His purpose – He selects, chooses, certain men to be the instrument to carry out that will.

He has scripted the plot and cast the characters to play each part.

Having chosen them יהוה calls *[P]* them – it is based on His call – not man’s abilities, desires, aspiration, character or accomplishments.

God has written the whole history – it is based on His Word *[P]* – “/it is written/” – according to promise, יהוה God’s Word.

יהוה had spoken!

It is solely based on יהוה’s will.

It is all יהוה from beginning to end!

He is sovereign, in control.

He has a will and a purpose and He carries it out – based on His choice, His call, according to His word.

And what was written?

What was the prophetic word?

What was it that יהוה said?: *[P]* “/Jacob I have loved but Esau I hated/!”

You can’t get around it – it is written!

But men try – you should see how the commentaries immediately go to town to try and explain that is not what it means!

They don’t try to explain away that “God hates sin” but “Esau I hated”, it can’t mean that!