Saturday, January 21, 2012

God is Sovereign


Sovereign: God is in control of our lives. His sovereignty is the attribute by which He rules His entire creation. To be sovereign, God must be all-knowing and all-powerful. 

The sovereignty of God means that He is the ruler of the universe and therefore has the right to do whatever He wants.  He is in complete control over all that happens.  

God is not subject to any power or law that can be devised by any one or any power other than He Himself.  All powers and authorities are subject to Him.  He is the one who gives power and authority to mankind.
 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. Psalm 115:3
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.
12 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.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
   and praise your glorious name.   1 Chronicles 29:11-13
 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. 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

But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" Romans 9:20
James MacDonald in Gripped by the Greatness of God, explains it this way: “God’s sovereignty is first painful, then slowly powerful, and over much time seen to be profitable. It is to be studied with great sensitivity for the experiences of others and deep reverence for the One who controls the outcomes of every matter in the universe."
One of the great stories about the sovereignty of god is about King Nebuchadnezzar found in Daniel 4:28-37 captioned in the New International Version of the Bible as The Dream Is Fulfilled
  
28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
   His dominion is an eternal dominion;
   his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
   are regarded as nothing.
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?”
 36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
God's sovereignty is a stumbling block to many who say, if God is in total control, than He should eliminate all evil and suffering from the world. The Christian's response is that the human mind cannot comprehend why God allows evil.  Instead of trying to understand, we are called to have faith in God's goodness and love.
You can TRUST the Sovereign God.  He will do exactly what He says He will do. 
Hear the words of Jesus in John 6::36-38:  “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

If you will come to Jesus, He will not cast you out.

Listen to this from The Message:

Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don't really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don't let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me."
 
Jesus says:  “I hold on and don't let go.”

The Sovereign Lord will care for you!

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
         All the days of my life;
         And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
         Forever.” Psalm 23:6

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