Sermon Tone Analysis

The admonition commit to (gōl ʾel, lit.

“roll to/upon” cf.

Gen 29:3, 8, 10; Ps. 22:9, 37:5) connotes a sense of finality; roll it unto the LORD and leave it there.

Introduction:

These past few weeks we have been looking at Proverbs thematically and today we look at the theme of God’s sovereignty.

As we turn to , it is interesting to note that God’s sovereignty is explained in as a unit in these fifteen verses rather than selected proverbs throughout the book.

What do we mean when we say God’s sovereign?

To put it simply, when we say God is sovereign, we are saying that God is in absolute control of all things and he ordains everything according to the purpose of his will.

To say God is sovereign is to say He governs the universe and human affairs for his own purposes and ultimately for his own glory.

But this raises some issues for both Christian and non-Christian.

Even Christians have trouble believing in the sovereignty of God.

For example, one popular pastor questioned the sovereignty of Jesus.

One viral video that popped up on my news feed this past week was from a popular preacher Steve Furtick on a Youtube clip said “The One Thing Jesus Could Not Do”.

One viral video that popped up on my news feed this past week was from a popular preacher Steve Furtick on a Youtube clip said “The One Thing Jesus Could Not Do”.

There’s one thing that even Jesus cannot do.

One thing that the Son of God cannot do.

Even Jesus cannot override your unbelief…He wanted to, he was prepared to, and he was able to, and he couldn’t.

This is problematic because what Furtick is saying is that Jesus does not have power to overcome unbelief.

When we read Scripture, we read something else.

Christ has the power to raise the dead.

He does have the power to overcome unbelief as a man who had a boy who was demon possessed and hurting himself “I believe, help my unbelief” ().

Christ has power to convict men of sin and draw them to God.

For the non-Christian, If God is in control of all things, then why is there so much evil in the world?

And if he is sovereign over evil, does that mean he is the author of evil?

And if God is completely sovereign, how can we meaningful speak of human free will?

There’s one thing that even Jesus cannot do.

One thing that the Son of God cannot do.

Even Jesus cannot override your unbelief…He wanted to, he was prepared to, and he was able to, and he couldn’t.

God’s sovereignty.

We believe that God is in control of all things.

If God is in control of all things, then why is there so much evil in the world?

And if he is sovereign over evil, does that mean he is the author of evil?

Does that mean that we do not have free will?

If God is absolutely sovereign, in what sense can we meaningfully speak of human choice, of human will?

The Bible answers for us that God is sovereign and we are responsible.

As finite creatures, we cannot understand how these two truths go together, but we must trust what God has revealed in His word.

God’s sovereignty does not eliminate human responsibility and accountability as we will see in our text today.

These two truths are set side by side in Scripture and are not contradictory.

There are many other truths that the Bible set side by side that may appear contradictory, but actually are not.

For example,

We can say the Bible is both a human and divine book.

We can say that the person of Christ is both human and divine.

We can see that the Trinity is both three and one or one in three.

There are truths revealed in Scripture that the human mind cannot grasp.

So the Bible also affirms that God is completely sovereign and we are completely responsible for the choices we make.

Example: When God exiled his own people through Babylon, God said he was going to use Babylon as in instrument of his judgment.

But God also judges Babylon for being used as an instrument of judgment.

So when it comes to making decisions and planning, we are responsible, yet God is the One ultimately in control of every decision we make.

As we look at the text, we will see that the doctrine of God’s sovereignty provides great comfort to the believer.

It also provides strength to continue to do the Lord’s will in our everyday life.

Today, Proverbs teaches us that God is sovereign over everything and he exercises his sovereignty through a righteous King.

We see three ways God exercises his sovereignty in the world.

So when we ask, What is God’s plan for my life?

What are God’s plans for my plans?

We can Today, Proverbs teaches us that God is sovereign over everything and he exercises his sovereignty through a righteous King.

God is sovereign over the plans and details of our lives.

He is sovereign over the evil we experience in this world.

And he exercises his sovereignty through an ideal and messianic King.

I. God’s Sovereignty in Planning (vv.

1-3)

First we see that God is sovereign over the details in our lives.

He is sovereign over our plans.

Again, Proverbs does is not against wise planning.

A. Plan

The Bible does not diminish human responsibility.

We are not robots in God’s world.

He are people who are responsible for our actions.

The heart is the center of our thinking, planning, loving, and doing.

In our hearts, we plan, we think, we strategize, we reason what is the best course of action we should take.

So when it comes to what school we should go to, or what major should we take, whether or not we should get married, or what type of job should we do, or whether or not we should rent or buy a home, we should give wise thought to these things.

We should plan.

We should get wisdom.

We should pray.

We should be informed by God’s word.

But understand that even in your plans, understand that God is the One who ultimately decides.

“The answer of the tongue is from the LORD.”

When I look back at my life, I never thought I would be a pastor.

Did you know that my first year of college I was an visual arts major at UCSD?

What if someone from CFBC never invited me to Bible study at Oswalt in 2005?

That was the same day I was playing a paintball tournament and we were losing.

What if I never lost those games?The only reason I went to Bible study that night was because I didn’t want to be in a hotel room drinking with my friends and wanted to try something different to make my sadness go away after losing.

And even after finishing college, I wanted to be a philosophy professor.

But in 2009, Pastor Ed had an heart attack and I was sitting in the front row at Sonrise elementary when he asked me to preach his sermon as they were taking him to the hospital.

What if he asked someone else to preach?

What if I never made eye contact with him and just went to the ambulance?

I would have never gone to Master’s Seminary.

What if I never met Helen?

What if I was a missionary?

But God knew that he wanted me to marry this beautiful woman that God brought to CFBC the same year I came.

As I look at the what if’s in my life, I cannot help to think that God was sovereign.

God made the decision.

God had a plan.

Yes, I planned and purpose in my heart to do certain things, but God knew better.

Yes, I had a plan, but the answer belongs to the Lord.

And I’m sure you can say that is true in your own life.

God used good things, bad things, even terrible things to bring about his sovereign and good plan.

Secular people have a false sense of control in the world.

Because we live longer and have better technology, we have a sense that we can control the world we live in.

People living 500 years ago didn’t believe that because they have a shorter life expectancy and it was normal for infants to die on a regular basis because of a lack of medicine and healthcare.

But even though we live longer and have technology that improves living, it does not mean we know whether we are going to live tomorrow.

Americans don’t know how to deal with suffering because we are wealthy and live very comfortably.