11.21.21 - Psalm 115:3

Good morning. If you would, please go ahead and open your Bibles to Psalm 115. We're going to be looking at verse 32 to jump off this morning, Psalm 115 verse 3. And we're continuing our short series titled who we are on the purpose of this series is to remind us of why this congregation exists and what we are to Proclaim and do as the people of God. And this morning, we come to the subject of the sovereignty of God, this church exists to declare the sovereignty of God, but what is that? Right? What is the sovereignty of God? Aw, pink. He's a 20th century author. He wrote a very famous book, called The sovereignty of God, very creative title. And he begins his book with a very good definition of God's sovereignty. Let me, let me read a bit of a lengthy quotation from it. The sovereignty of God, what do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the godhood of God, to say that God is Sovereign, is to declare that God is God, just say that God is Sovereign is to declare that he is the most high doing according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. So that none can stay his hand or say unto him. What doest thou to say that God is Sovereign is to declare that he is the almighty, the possessor of all power in Heaven and Earth so that none can defeat his council's, support his purpose or resist. His will to say that God is Sovereign is to declare that he is. The governor among the Nations. Setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, in determining the course of dynasties, as pleased with him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that he is the only potentate the king of kings and Lord of lords. Such is the god of the Bible. How different is the god of the Bible from the god of modern Christian them. In quote. He wrote that in 1913. I believe how different is the god of the Bible from the god of modern Christian. Many people many Christians say that they believe in the sovereignty of God, but do they? Do they really push on them and you'll find out? Them if God ordains all that comes to pass even sin and suffering, ask them if he chooses whom he will save and whom he will even their sin. Ask them. If God determined in eternity past every single thing that happened in history, ask them and if they answered no to any things and they do not believe in the sovereignty of God, or at least not in the way that they should according to the Bible. Consider the first for example, many modern views of God, some of these are even popular among professing, Evangelical Christians. This idea that God is is ringing, his holy hands in heaven wondering. What man will do. Wondering if man will choose him wondering what we're going to do next. This idea that another one is that God is unable to change the wheels of men that he can and there's something some very famous preachers. Say this God can do anything except interfere with your will that God is in some ways, a Bound by the wheels of men that he cannot do. Whatever he wants because of human autonomy or human freedom. This idea that God is reacting, right? That God reacts to the things that happened in history in it. Is it is trying to keep things together? So men don't destroy his plan. That everyday, his plan and purpose is for the world, is threatened by what men do. And so God has to react and make sure that everything goes how he wants or this. And this is very, very, very common. That God knows the future. But that he has not ordained it. That he only has a symbol for knowledge of the future, but not that he has decreed. What would take place? Brothers and sisters. I don't mean to be harsh, but such views are nonsense. According to the word of God. They are nonsense and some of them. Some of them are just misguided errors, but some of them are blasphemous. God is Sovereign and we're going to see that today from his word. God is God as a w pink said, God is the only being who is absolutely free man's will and actions and choices are creaturely which means they are subject to God's Sovereign Rule and his Sovereign will To all things that come to pass, come to pass because God in his sovereignty, has determined and decreed everything. That's what we're going to see from the word of God today and it would be honest with you, for a moment apart from the message of the atoning works of Jesus Christ. This is my favorite Doctrine. To preach on my favorite Doc and Dupree. Sean. It is majestic. It is hump. It is all inspiring, its warship inducing. It encourages the fear of the Lord, it moves us to reverence, that makes us submit, it teaches us to trust. It reminds us of who we are as creatures, and who God is as the Creator. In the words of Jonathan Edwards, the great Puritan Theologian absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God. So my favorite quotes, that's what I plan to do. This morning is to show you the sovereignty of God over all things from various portions of scripture. And I hope to do. So in such a way, not to bombard you with 10 or 15 texts of scripture might my purpose is to show you that. This glorious truth is inescapable. If you're going to honestly read the Bible and take God at his word and I don't mean that harshly. But it is inescapable for reading the Bible. Honestly, not want to be clear that this sermon will not be an exhaustive treatment on the sovereignty of God and all the derivative things that come with it better men than I could preach A month's worth of Sundays this topic and still have something left to say. So this sermon is undoubtedly going to cause many of you especially those of you who have not come to embrace the doctrine of God's sovereignty and its fullness. This sermon is going to make you have questions. Blaque Questions about God's relation to send questions, about human freedom and Free Will and other things questions about God's justice. And his righteousness. And I'm not going to even try to answer them. At least, not many of them, maybe one or two, but not even nearly all of them. But what I want to do this morning is nail down for you. The foundational truth of scripture that God is Sovereign and we can pick up the pieces later. Writing a lot of us who've accepted this Doctrine years ago, then picking up the pieces for 10, 15, 20 years, right? Where are we? Picking up the pieces? Cuz this this doctor makes us ask a lot of questions. But before we can move on to untangling certain difficult and tough questions before we can move on to those questions, we have to first clearly see that he is Sovereign and then deal with the questions later. So what we're going to do this morning is what is commanded of us, Isaiah 8:20 reads to the teaching and to the testimony, if they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no Dawn because they have no light. So to the word of God, we go. The word is our standard. Please hear me. This is going to be so important. The word of God is our standard, not our finite, tiny minded faulty fallible, human reasoning. Rather our standard is what God has said about himself and his Sovereign rule in his word. So we're going to make our case and rest it there in my prayer now. And through this week has been that we would all see this truth and that we wouldn't just see it. How, how many of us, maybe saw it first. Then, it is begrudgingly, right? Some of you guys ever come to that, why you're studying God's sovereignty? Like why I guess, right. I don't want that to be it. But rather that we would gladly receive believe and rejoice in the sovereignty of God and be moved to worship him for it. And it from there, we would be even more motivated to declare to the world. The Blessed glorious truth about the godhood of God. If that's what it's talking to you is. So with that said, now if you would enable please stand with me for the reading of the inspired inerrant and infallible, word of God. Psalm 115 verse 3. Our God is in the heavens. He does all that. He pleases. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray our Sovereign. God, we come before you and humbly, ask for your blessing upon the preaching of your word. Open our eyes to the truth open, our hearts to receive it. Help us to believe, even the hard things that you said, help us to submit our thinking to your word and all things give us a glimpse of your majesty. This morning Sanctified Us by your truth that our lord Jesus prayed your word is truth. May I ask for these things in Jesus name, and for his sake and then maybe she didn't. What I want to do is begin with a few texts that make General statements, concerning the sovereignty of God will start with the one that we just read. Our God is in the heavens. He does all that. He pleases in contacts. This song Psalm 115 has to do is as you saw the scripture, reading before it before we sung this song has to do with declaring the supremacy of God over the idols of the nation's. Right? In a certs God's Sovereign rule while at the same time to clearing that all the gods of the nations are false gods and are powerless to do anyting an inverse to of Psalm 115. The question is posed. Why should the nation? Say, where is their God? Write the nation's mock, the people of God and ask, where is your god? And they ask that because they have Idols, right? Statues of wood and silver and gold, but the people of God have no Statues by our God is spirit and invisible and it's forbidden images of him. And so what is our reply supposed to be? Where is your god or goddess in the heavens? But that's our first answer. Our God is in the heavens. Our God is high above the Earth. As Paul says the Timothy he is invisible. He is transcendent, right? What was it mean? He's in the heavens. He's Transcendent. He's over the whole created order. He's not bound to one particular Nation, but he is gone over all the nations. Even the Heathen Nations that mock him. They cannot touch him. He looks down upon them from Heaven, ruling over all and he does whatever he pleases. The song that says everything he wants to do. He does that's good. He doesn't ask for permission. He is in the heavens, high above the Earth Road and Majesty, Road and Power. He doesn't consult with the people of Earth. Does he? He does whatever he pleases, he doesn't ask for advice from his creatures. Rather. He does what he wants. Unlike the gods of the Nations that can't hear see smell speak feel or move. Our God does whatever he wants while they cannot do anything. He executes all his good pleasure. He executes all his will whenever he pleases. Why? Because he is God. Because he's gone. This is a declaration of total sovereignty. Nobody tells him anything. He does, whatever he pleases, and he rules over all things from heaven. And notice in verse 3 here. There's no limitation in this verse is, there is no limitations. It does not say, he does whatever he pleases. So long as it doesn't conflict with the will of men. Don't say that. It does not say, he does whatever he pleases in some areas, but not all. No, there are no limitations here because he does as he pleases always in all things forever. God is sovereign. And he expresses this is kingly dominion over all things at all times. Psalm 115 verse 3, but let's turn now it's Isaiah chapter 46 vs 8 through 10. And we see you there. What I want to do is turn to a couple other text. It shows us that God not only does what he wants but that he has a plan and purpose for all things that he's working out in the book of Isaiah. It's one of my favorite books of the Old Testament that longer than Christian God spins a pretty good amount of time mocking and challenging the idols of the nation's, right. It's it's actually really funny. God is really really sarcastic sometimes with the idols of the Nations and one of the things that that God brings up again, if he challenges these false gods, he brings up that. He is the only one who can predict the future. More than that. He is the one who has planned the future, and that is why he can predict it, and Isaiah chapter 46, verse has 8 through 10 weary this, remember this and stand for a recall it to mind. You transgressors. Remember, the former things of old for. I am God and there is no other. I am God and there was none, like me declaring the end from the beginning. And from ancient times things not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purposes and from there. Goes on to give an example of him doing this by using a pagan King. That's what the rest of the chapters about but I want you to see the importance of what God just said in that text about his sovereignty. He says that he has a purpose. He does. He has a purpose that is he has a plan that he is working out in the world. And it's a plan that originated where and his Council and his Council, it began in his mind. God did not make his plan according to the council or input of others. As Paul says in Romans 11, who has given counsel to the Lord. God's plan. This purpose has come from him and he says that he will indeed accomplish everything that he has purposed to do. He will accomplish everything that he has planned to do all of it. And this brothers and sisters is why God declares the end from the beginning to the end of all things from the beginning, because he has a plan and everything that comes to pass as part of it. That's why he can declare the end from the beginning. In the beginning, here is a reference to the beginning of all things, right in the beginning. God made the heavens and the Earth. What is the beginning of all things before? There was anything, there was God's plan, his purposes for creation, and so he can declare how things are going to be because he has planned, how they are going to be. God has a plan. He has purposes for the world. He will bring it all to pass. The text says his counsel shall stand and I'm grateful for for a really good Reformed Baptist. Preacher. James Albert Martin. You should check him out. He's a better preacher than me in preaching. This taxi says noticed that he doesn't say his foreknowledge shall stand. As if I know what's going to happen and I just know it and therefore it must happen to know. This isn't about God, just knowing the future. It's deeper than just a bear for knowledge, as our confession speaks of it is his counsel that will stand his decree, that will stand, his will, that will stand his plan that will stand. He knows the future and his Council will stand because he planned all of it. God is sovereign. Now we turn our attention to one final text. It shows that God has a purpose that he's working out. Very famous One, Ephesians, 1:11. There we read. I know I'm faster than all of you could have them written down already in Ephesians, 1:11. The Apostle Paul says this in him, that is in Christ. We have obtained, an inheritance having been predestined. According to the purpose of him who works, all things according to the counsel of his will. He works all things according to his counsel. Now in the immediate context, the Apostle Paul is saved saying that we Believers have obtained, an inheritance that is salvation because we were predestined by God to obtain it. Sovereign T. Godfrey destined us for salvation before we were born, and we'll get to that later. But then Paul said something broad about God's sovereignty. He says, we were predestined according to the purpose, according to God's purpose. The purpose of ham who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Ensure Paul says that God, predestined and works all things, underlined that things according to his counsel. That is his plan, his will. Again, this means that God doesn't just know all things that will happen. If he doesn't just know what's going to happen, rather. He has predestined all things. And so works, all things according to his plan that he has made an eternity past. God is sovereign. He decreed the future Before Time even began. And even now he's working in creation to bring it about, bring all his plans about that. He has decreed. He controls everything. And this harmonizes very well with our first text, doesn't it? Our God is in the heavens. He does all that. He pleases, he does whatever he pleases. But how far does this sovereignty extend? Right now? I recognize that I've already said God is Sovereign over everything that comes to pass, right? I said, everything already, that much has been proven from the three texts that we've looked at. But what I want you to do is I want you to see this explicitly, and thoroughly from the word of God, because the kingly Dominion and Rule of God, his ability to execute all of his plans. And decrees. His sovereignty is the heartbeat of the entire Bible.

Right at the heartbeat of the whole thing. I think, I think about it more, but I think the only things that are more clear than the sovereignty of God in scripture, is that Jesus is the son of God and that he died and was raised from the dead on the third day. I think that's about the only thing that's more clear in scripture than God's complete sovereignty.

So what I'm going to do now is we're going to consider nine specific areas that God is Sovereign over and I'm going to try to be brief with all of them. I actually had 11 and I got two of them out. I cut this thing down about 15 minutes is going to be like an hour and 15 minutes, but we all watch films, you'll be cool. So yeah, we're going to try to go through this as quickly, but nine thing. And I'm I'm excluding the natural world in the animal kingdom because that's not controversial among Christians. And if you don't believe the god Sovereign over the natural world in the animal kingdom, read Genesis 1 through 8 in Exodus 1, through 12 and then repent of your unbelief because God is in control of the entire natural order kingdoms kingdoms and Isaiah chapter 45 verse 1. God is giving a prophecy concerning a king who hadn't been born yet. A king named Cyrus the same King. That would send the Jews back to Israel and pay for them to rebuild the Temple and their City weather Jerusalem. This kid named Cyrus. And God says this, Isaiah 45 one that says the Lord to his anointed to Cyrus who's right hand. I have grasped to subdue Nations before him and to loosen the belts of Kings to open doors. Before him that Gates may not be closed noticed that God had anointed, Cyrus you anoint Kings theater. Anointed Cyrus as King of Persia before he was even born. What does that mean? God chose, who was going to be king over the kingdom. Each Osiris, that shows us that God is Sovereign over who will be in power and who will rule over the nation's God chooses Kings and there's a whole lot more to Daniel 2:21 the entire fourth chapter of Daniel, Daniel 6, rather Daniel 5, right? There's a whole lot of spots in the Bible that hears this one God chooses Kings. And then God says this, he said that he is taking Cyrus why? The right hand he's given Cyrus power power to do what subdue Nations and loose the belts of King to take away their King. Gallinas from them. God is saying that he will make Cyrus a mighty conqueror of Nations. That Cyrus will strike down other kings rule over their Nations. This means that God determines when Nations will rise and when they will gain power, like Cyrus and his kingdom. And God also then determines when Nations will fall and be taken captive by other nations, like the nation Cyrus was going to conquer. And remember that all of this happens because God has grasped Cyrus his right hand to make it Prosper. Listen. What I'm getting at is it's not just a bear for knowledge that God. This is why I know what's going to happen. I'm going to take his right hand and make sure that it happens. Got it. He's going to insure it because it is his will. Controls all nations. He controls when they rise. And when they fall, he controls who our leaders are and he appoints them himself for his own. Holy purposes, even for judgment. And Isaiah chapter 3, I believe it is. God says, I will give them children to rule over them. God can judge Nations by giving them awful rulers. Does that sound familiar to you right now? Men though. The point is men, do not control their own Nations and Kings. Ultimately do not govern their own Nations. The nations of the world are subject to the will of God and his plans for them. That's the first thing. Second thing I want is to see if it God, is Sovereign over wealth and poverty. He determines, who gets what first Samuel chapter 2 verse 7. And that text. We read this. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings a lowly or rather. He brings low. And he exalts, God determines who gets what quick note here going to get political because our religion is inherently political. We Proclaim. That Jesus is the king of kings communist. Hate God, why? Because God is Sovereign over economic prosperity. Because God determines who gets what. And if your worldview says, everyone has to have the exact same amount. You are at odds with God, Sovereign sovereignty to give to give whatever he wants to whomever. He will throw that out there. Christianity and communism are incompatible disparities will exist between people. He does God chooses to text us very clearly God, chooses, who will be wealthy, and who will be born. Let's bring this down a little bit. He determines, whether or not you're going to get the raise that you would hope for. He determines where we will work and how much we're going to make. He determines what economic hardships were going to have to endure, right? Those those surprised I got man like in a bed like Stroke of Luck, my car broke down and minor Stroke of Luck is going to be rich and poor. He determines your economic hardships. He also decides whether or not you're born into a wealthy poor or middle income families.

Write, God, determines economic statuses. And obviously, please hear this. This, you need to keep this in your pocket and politics and our nation right now. Obviously, God does not feel obligated to make all men financially equal. Does he? Because they're not And he's the one who makes people rich and poor. God, determines economic status is the riches of the world belong to God. As the psalmist says, the cattle on a thousand hills belongs to him. And so he gives wealth to whom he Wills as he Wills God, is Sovereign over money and how much each person gets. A third thing. God is Sovereign, we're starting to get a little bit deeper. Now. Of sovereign, over sickness and health. Once again, I rather for the first time, when we reference this at, we see this in the plagues of Egypt, right? Don't we God sent disease upon the livestock and they died and then God sent boils up on the Egyptians and struck them with disease. God, God sent disease, and made people sick in Egypt. There's no getting around that. He did that.

Let's see another one. Second Samuel 12:15. We see it again. And the Lord Afflicted, the child that uriah's wife born to David and he became sick. Then that might make you uncomfortable when I get it. Hi, I get it, goddess. Look at the child that makes us uncomfortable. But the tax explicitly says that God Did It David's baby got sick. Why? Because God made the baby sick. There's no getting around that. The Lord Afflicted the child. Now, there are many, you especially see this on Facebook from time to time. And I don't mean to sound harsh, but there are many who foolishly say things like this. God doesn't have anything to do with disease and sickness. That's all the devil. Have you guys heard that before? It's always just the devil, but such foolish people have to reckon with this text that says the opposite. Afflicted, the child. Determines who gets sick with what? And when God tells Moses, I believe it's in Exodus 3, I make people deaf and I make them mute and I make them blind. Do I determine who's going to get sick? What they're going to be sick with and when they're going to be sick and to say otherwise is to blaspheme God because you're saying that God is not in control of disease. And if God is not in control of disease, then who is God determines who gets sick and how but not only that. Also determines healing to. I won't read you this text but in second Kings chapter 20, you can read about King Hezekiah and how he was sick unto death, but he prayed for God to heal him. And in verse five. God says, he will spare Hezekiah his life. He'll him and gave him 15 more years to live. What does that mean? Means, god is Sovereign over healing. Just as he is, Sovereign over sickness. He determines who will be healed by what means they will be healed. Whether it be ordinary means of human medicine or whether it will be in immediate miraculous healing from God. He determines. What means they'll be healed with and when they will be healed with and since God determines, who will be healed and not all are healed. What does that mean? God determines, who will not be healed.

Or health is in the hands of God.

Our bodies are subject to his Sovereign Rule and decree. But not only sickness, a fourth thing, God is Sovereign over suffering in general. The Book of Job chapter 1. We read this and verse 12 in the Lord said to Satan behold all that he that is jove all that. He has is in your hand only against him. Do not stretch out your hand. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

And Satan. Did things apparently under the Sovereign rule of God? That result in the death of Joe children and the the loss of all of his wealth. And then Satan goes back to the Lord and says, a man will give anything for his health. Let me take his health from the Lord that you can take his help, But you cannot take his life when I want. You see that job's suffered horribly. And in this example, Satan was the active agent here. Right, but we read that. God allowed it to God. Told Satan. No. Sure, you could have told him now, but he didn't. He allowed it. Could have stopped it, but he didn't and he was the only one that could have stopped it, but he chose not to what must we conclude then. Job suffering must have been part of God's purposes in the world, or he would not have let he would not have allowed it because he's sovereign. A sovereign.

Every single thing that we suffer. And I'm not saying that all of our suffering comes from the devil either there or text that I can show you where God sends pestilence upon people. Again, the Egyptians Gods sent sickness upon them, when we see that God takes the life of people, right? That's not just the devil. I don't want to get the wrong idea, but we see then is that every single thing that we suffer from the smallest to the greatest, in the words of John Piper from criticism to cancer. Everything comes ultimately from the will of God over our lives. There is no getting around it suffering could not fall upon us. Apart from God's will just as suffering, could not fall upon Joe. Apart from God's will our lord Jesus tells us not a hair on our head can be touched apart from the will of our father, not a sparrow can fall from the sky apart from him. And so everything that causes us pain, ultimately, is part of his Sovereign will and plan for us. And the world, God is Sovereign over our suffering. So, whatever happens to us is under the control and plan of our God. Effacing. We're going to start getting real controversial here. We see that God is Sovereign over the choices of men. Proverbs 21 verse 1. The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it, wherever he, God wherever he will. The king's heart is a stream of water. In the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever you will, the king's heart, like a river. If you guys are watching Drone footage going along the river, Rivers, turn, and Ben, and just as a river bends and turns throughout the land, god, turns and bends the heart of Kings wherever he wants their hearts to go. And hear me some people say well that's just Kings. If it's true of Kings who have the most power and sovereignty humanly speaking on Earth. If God controls Kings if God bends their hearts to do as he Wills then how much more does god control the hearts of those of us who are not games.

A king who can decree that someone died and they die. God, Sovereign over them. Is God not sovereign over you middle class American. Course he is. Of course. He is. God bends and turns the hearts of all men according to his will, that's the point here. And listen, this may make you uncomfortable and I sincerely, get it, I get it. But the Bible is telling us here in this proverb. But again, I'm being very selective. I can show you a whole lot more, but we still have time. The Bible is telling us that all of our decisions even are very wheels are subject to the will of God. I hear me. I saw this in my small group on Wednesday. You do have a will you do indeed, make choices and those choices are very much real and very much your own, but they are not free as some people would Define it. And have you believe. Some Christians like to declare that God has nothing to do with our wills and choices. But according to this text that is nonsense. Binns turns and changes Hearts according to his will Your will my will and choices are creaturely, that means that they are under the rule of God, and God has ordained things in such a way that our choices that are really our choices are at the same time, exactly what God has ordained would come to pass before we were even born. Human beings make choices and do exercise their Wills. But all we do have been ordained by God and is subject to his overriding Sovereign Rule and purposes, God is Sovereign over the choices of men. 6 thing. God is Sovereign over sin. Play Sovereign over sin.

And this is probably one of the most controversial statements that I've made this morning with the word of God Bears. This out. In the Book of Genesis, we read the story of Joseph. The son of Jacob who had the coat of many colors. You guys know this story and we read how his brothers hated him and sold him into slavery and then we read house through event. After event, in his life of slavery and imprisonment how God was working to protect Joseph's family, the line of Jesus Christ. How God was protecting them from starving to death in a famine. And at the end of all that in Genesis 50:20, Joseph speaks to his brothers and says, this regarding the fact that they sold him into slavery. Joseph says this as, for you. You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about that. Many people should be kept alive as they are today. No, I want you to, I want you to smoke. I'm going away from my notes for a second. Some people will read that and see and say, see God took something. That was really bad and made it good. No, that is not what the text says. The text does not say that God took an evil thing and then warped it and turned it into good. It's not what it says. What does it say? Joseph is affirming that his brother has sinned against him horribly by selling him into slavery. Joseph says you truly send, you are truly responsible for the wickedness that you did against me. It was really evil. But at the exact same time. Joseph says God meant it for good. What is it? What is it? It refers to them, selling Joseph into slavery. Joseph doesn't say God took something bad and turned it into good. No, he said the exact same action of selling Joseph into slavery was a sin and yet God had ordained that that action would take place for a good purpose.

He doesn't say, God took a bad thing and made it good. He said, God wanted this to happen for a good reason and what you still did was evil. God ordains our sin.

So then this exact same action of selling Joseph into slavery, was a sin and yet God ordained that action for good.

Joseph's brothers were not trying to do the will of God. They did not know that this was God's Sovereign purpose. They were acting according to their hatred and they were sitting. But at the exact same time, God had ordained that they would do so and got ordained that lesson for Action to take place for a good purpose. I know that I keep repeating myself on this, but you have to see this because what we see then is that even sin has been predestined and ordained by God. And at the same time, God hold centers, responsible for what they do, because they truly wanted to do it. There's no getting around this. This is the teaching of the text and there are many other instances of similar things. I could give you in Scripture. All things that come to pass, even sin are ordained by God. The part of his plan and purposes. Imma, give you one more example of this in Acts chapter 2 verse 23. We read Peter's preaching. And Peter says this Jesus delivered up to according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of Lawless men. The Apostle Peter says that Jesus death. That is the death that we glory in the death that save Sinners was according to the definite plan, the predestined plan, the purpose and counsel and decree of God. It was prophesied, was it not? It was foretold. It was certain to happen. Because eyes, as Isaiah says, and Isaiah 53, it was the will of the Lord to crush him. But at the same time, it was also the greatest sin that is ever happened in human history. Is it not the murder of the son of God? The greatest scientist ever happened was according to the predestined plan of God. And Peter says that, even though it was God's Will, and plan that the Jews were responsible for crucifying Jesus. They were still responsible for their actions. So ultimately we see once again in an even greater way than with Joseph that God ordains all that comes to past even sin and yet still holds centers responsible for what they do because they wanted to do it. And maybe you're sitting there saying to yourself as I did, that doesn't make sense to me. But doesn't make sense. I can't reconcile that in my mind. I can't reconcile that God is Sovereign and free Destin's all that we do and yet we are still responsible for what we do. I can't figure that out in my mind. I don't understand how that works. I can't reconcile it and I hear you. But, let me ask you this in response, who asked you to.

To ask you to reconcile, those things in your mind. Who asked you to figure them out? God didn't. God didn't tell you to do that. God doesn't ask you to understand everything. In fact, he says in Deuteronomy 29:29 the secret things belong to the Lord our God. What's the things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever? That we may do all the words of this law explicitly tells us in Scripture that there are things that are beyond our finite human reasoning. And there are things that he did not want to tell or explain to us completely whether that's because we can't understand them as humans. Or he just didn't want to tell us. Our God is in the heavens and he does all the people. He's has. He didn't tell us. But what he has told us, we are to believe submit to and Obey and the word of God, clearly shows us that he is Sovereign over sin.

And so, our responsibility is not to reconcile it. Rather our responsibility is to believe what he said and submit to his Sovereign decree and man's responsibility.

So we submit our reasoning to the word. We believe what he has said and we see again. He is Sovereign over the sinful evil actions of men. He has ordained those actions for his own holy and good purposes. And he holds all men responsible for what they do.

7 thing, we see that God is Sovereign over every single detail of Our Lives. Psalm 139 verse 16. We read your eyes. So my unformed substance in your book were written. Every one of them, the days that were formed for me when, as yet there was none of them. King David says, very clearly that before he was born, while the substance was still, unformed. God didn't just know that God had written in his book every single day of David's life before David lived. His first got it already planned out every single day that they would live every event. Every decision, every hardship, every Victory. Every everything was written down in God's book before, David was born. That is to say, David is affirming that God had predestined every single day of David's life and what God writes is written in stone. God doesn't change his mind. So God will not change his decree over David's life and the same is true for us. All of our days were pre-planned, my God before we'd lift his Divine ordination Sovereign purposes. The Fingerprints of God are all over our lives. Before we are even born, We Exist because he declared that we would exist and has been decreed by him. All that happens throughout, the course of Our Lives has been decreed by him. Listen to do. We not see a wife finds, a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. You obtain favor from the Lord because he gave you your wife. And we say where God, decreed that this would be my wife and he gave her to me and he wrote this, my wedding day in his book. Yes, and he also wrote the day that you find out that your aunt has cancer.

He wrote every day. The day that you find out your best, friend died of a drug overdose. He wrote that day, too.

He wrote everything. His ordination is all over my life, all over your life. All that happens, still. It may feel like chaos to us is not chaos because he wrote it first. He Sovereign over literally our entire lives.

I noticed that this is a Psalm of praise. David isn't begrudgingly saying this read Psalm 139. He's blessing God. The whole way through David is excited. That God is predestined his entire life, David's love for God. Is it fanned into flame as he meditates upon the fact that my life is in the hand of God who has chosen, everything that will happen to me. This is cause for us to rejoice. Once again, our lives me feel chaotic, but they are not God is predestined every second of your life.

He's planted in his Sovereign 1/8 thing. God is Sovereign over seemingly. Random events. I love. This is a whole lot of texts that I could show you. And this one actually kind of sealed. The deal for me about God's sovereignty, over everything, cuz I'm so much people say, God, Sovereign over this and that and this and that but not everything. That's nonsense, Proverbs. 16:33. The lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. Let me give you a modern version of that. The dice are rolled and God decides how they fall. You've tossed a coin god determines whether it's going to be heads or tails. You draw straws, but God decides he's going to get the short one and notice. It doesn't say, God knows how it's going to fall. It says, the decision of the lot is from God. That means god determines it. What does it mean? Nothing is random. Like literally, and I mean that again, how you're supposed to use the word literally. Literally, nothing is random chance. Does not exist. Coincidence is a myth random is not real. Not in the world where there's a sovereign God.

The proverb is teaching us that literally, every single thing that happens happens because God has determined it to be. So it's a lesser to Greater argument being implied here. If God determines such a seemingly insignificant thing, like the rolling of dice, then how much more does God decide the big things that actually matter?

And the answer is Wolf. Course. God must decide everything then. Brothers and sisters. I don't mean to sound harsh here, but to believe in coincidence or chance is to be an atheist. We don't believe in chance. We are Christians. Who do not believe in Randomness? We believe that everything that comes to pass has been decided by God in advance. We believe as Charles Spurgeon says that every particle of dust that dances in the Sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes. Everything is sovereign. And 9th. And lastly. I know I've been up here for 46 minutes. You're alright, 9th. And lastly. We now come to the Glorious truth that God is Sovereign over salvation and in and this point is the most controversial of all, but it shouldn't be right. It follows from it, follows with resistless logic from everything else that I've said. If what I said is true and I believe that it is, I believe, I prove it to you from the word. If God has written every day of Our Lives, if nothing is random, if he is Sovereign over our choices. If he determines everything in our lives, then he must have determined, who would be saved, and who would not be saved. But we don't just need logic to see this. That that would might not even be enough, cuz it's so hard to accept at times. Actually says this all over the place in the Bible, but I only have time to show you one place. Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 through 6. We read the Apostle. Paul. He says, blessed, be the God and father of our Lord. Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ, with every spiritual blessing. In the Heavenly places. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him and love. He predestined us for adoption to himself as Sons through Jesus Christ. According to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious Grace with, which he has blessed us in the Beloved. The text very plainly declares. That God chose us to be in Christ. If you are in Christ, if you are a believer that is it is because God chose you to be in Christ. Paul literally says it in the text. And when did he choose the Apostle says he chose before the foundation of the world.