Sermon Tone Analysis

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God who reigns supremely, sovereignly and faithfully
/St John’s// Toowoomba, Lord’s Day 22 October 2006/
!!!  
!!! Scripture Readings    /2Chronicles 20:1-12; Isaiah 45:9-13; /
!!! /Romans 11:33-36                /               
!!! Sermon
!!!!!! Introduction
In one of his letters to Desiderius Erasmus, the man Luther deeply admired for his insight in theology and doctrine, and who also played an enormous role in having the Bible available in German to the German people, once receive a letter from Luther with these words in it:  "/Your thoughts of God are too human/."
Upon deeper investigation one would probably find that the most dishonouring and degrading conceptions of the rule and reign of the Almighty are now commonplace in many pulpits.
To countless thousands, even among those professing to be Christians, the God of the Scriptures is quite unknown.
Preaching in many cases is focussed on man and his needs, whilst the attributes of the Person of God are only mentioned in as far as they could contribute to the improvement of man.
I was told that a scholar in the languages of the Bible studied different translations carefully.
Comparing the translations with the original languages, he found that the modern translations in numerous cases translate the Scriptures in such a way that the emphasis more and more fall on the object and not on the Subject.
In other words, as man’s philosophy about this Word and himself developed, translators of the Bible kept up by beginning to place man closer to the actions in the narrative of the Bible, while God as the Subject is not the centre anymore.
The same can be said about some hymns sung by Christians all over the world these days.
It is amazing to hear that many songs centre upon man and his needs.
God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ in some cases become an add-on to the life of the person, instead of the sinner who sees his position before the throne of God as that of a sinner deserving death, but instead receiving grace and who now serves God as a bondservant to the glory of the Father.
God rebuked apostate Israel “…you thought I was altogether like you.” (Psalm 50:21).
Maybe this will be the charge against an unfaithful Christendom who perhaps made an image of God according to their own image.
We will not be able to rightly /serve/ God if we do not rightly /know/ God.
We cannot make a stereotype of God and then worship it.
God is only to be worshipped as He revealed Himself.
But before we know how He revealed Himself by studying his Self-revelation as found in the Scriptures, we would commit idolatry.
This is the challenge of the church today: to first of all introduce people to God as He revealed Himself.
In this we need to be very diligent; it is not something that can be added later on after we introduced a watered-down Gospel and worship.
!!!!!! God reigns supremely
It is hard for modern man to comprehend the unlimited power of the omnipotent God.
To some that means that such a God might invade the fortress of man’s "free will" and reduce him to a "machine."
This idea then lowers the all-effective Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ to a mere "remedy," which sin-sick souls may use if they feel to do so; and they weaken the powerful work of the Holy Spirit to an "offer" of the Gospel which sinners may accept or reject as they please.
We assume that heathen outside of Christendom form "gods" out of wood and stone, but millions of heathen inside the Church manufacture a "god" according to their own mind.
A "god" whose will is resisted, whose designs are frustrated, whose purpose is checkmated, possesses no title to Deity, and is so far from being a fit object of worship, merits nothing but contempt.
Let’s look at what the Bible teaches about God:   He is the Potter, we are but the clay in His hands to be moulded into vessels of honour, or to be dashed into pieces (Ps.
2:9) as He pleases.
So trivial and powerless is man compared to the Most High, Scripture says the God laughs:
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
(Psalm 2:4)
The absolute and universal supremacy of God is affirmed in many scriptures.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
(1 Chronicles 29:11-12)
Listen, “You /are/ the ruler of all things”, present tense; not "will do so in the Millennium."
“O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven?
You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations.
Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand You.
(2 Chronicles 20:6)
Before Him presidents and popes, kings and emperors, are less than grasshoppers.
But He stands alone, and who can oppose Him?
He does whatever He pleases.
(Job 23:13)
The God of Scripture is no make-believe monarch, no mere imaginary sovereign, but King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Job says:
; “I know that You can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
(Job 42:2)
All that He has purposed He does.
All that He has decreed, He performs.
/Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him./” (Ps 115:3)
Why? Because:  /“//There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.”/
(Proverbs 21:30)
God’s supremacy over the works of His hands is vividly depicted in Scripture.
Lifeless matter, irrational creatures, all perform their Maker’s command.
Look at the story of Jonah:  God controlled the tempest.
The used the situation to lead the sailors to fear Him.
God sent the fish, spoke to fish and Jonah was vomited out when and where God wanted.
God controlled the hearts of the Ninevehites and the repented.
God sent the wonder plant for Jonah and took it away as He wished.
God’s supremacy is also demonstrated in His perfect rule over the will of man.
The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases.
(Proverbs 21:1)
Romans 11:36 teaches that God /“ … works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will/.”
And further: "/For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things: to whom be glory forever.
Amen/".
Men may boast that they are free agents with a will of their own, and are at liberty to do as they please, but Scripture says to those who boast
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
(James 4:13,15)
The children of God have a sure resting-place for their heart.
Our lives are neither the product of blind fate nor the result of unpredictable chance, but every detail was ordained from all eternity and is now ordered by the living and reigning God.
Not a hair of our heads can be touched without His permission.
; In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
(Proverbs 16:9)
What assurance, what strength, what comfort should this give the Christian!
"/My times are in your hand/" (Ps.
31:15).
Then let me "/Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him/" (Ps.
37:7).
!!!!!! God who rules sovereignly
The sovereignty of God may be defined as the way in which the supreme God /exercises/ of His supremacy.
It is the Supreme God in action.
It is of little comfort if we only we would know God as supreme if we do not understand[RS1]  the way in which God acts supremely, showing his deeds in sovereignty.
There is only One who[RS2]  is really Sovereign:  God.
God is infinitely elevated above the highest creature, He is the Most High, Lord of heaven and earth.
Subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent; God does as He pleases, only as He pleases always as He pleases.
None can stop Him, none can hinder Him.
So His own Word expressly declares: "/My counsel shall stand, and //I will do// all My pleasure/" (Isa.
46:10).
; He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” (Daniel 4:35)
; He alone is God
Divine sovereignty means that God is God because He alone is God.
He is on the Throne of the universe, directing all things, working all things "/after the counsel of His own will/" (Eph.
1:11).
Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon on Matthew 20:15 and said about God:
There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s Sovereignty.
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