10/16/2024
Living in a country where each man and woman has a vote, makes it hard for us to understand the true concept of sovereignty. We tend to think that each of us has the ultimate say in most everything we do, but that is not true. We might cast a vote on Election Day, but beyond that one vote all else is God’s will. He is truly sovereign, and we can see this very clearly in His selection of those He calls, as opposed to those we elect. Let’s explore His Sovereignty today.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 KJV
E.M. Bounds says it this way...
"God is Sovereign of earth, of heaven, and of the choice of laborers in His harvest. He delegates to no one else." - E. M. Bounds
When we attempt to select those who will gather the harvest of souls for God we will fail. God's thoughts and desires are beyond our ability to fathom, and only He calls those He wishes to serve Him in this capacity. We can influence God's selection in one way; we can pray that He sends the best servant to us. Pastor Bounds writes of this as well:
"Prayer honors God as sovereign and moves Him to His wise and holy selection. Prayer gets God to send forth the best candidates and the most fit people and the people best qualified to work in the harvest." - E. M. Bounds
As we seek to confirm the sovereignty of God in scripture we find that there are many examples, but one of my favorites in the Old Testament comes from Daniel:
“And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”
Daniel 4:35 KJV
And from the New Testament comes a restatement from Isaiah 45:9-10, We find it in Romans...
“Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”
Romans 9:19-21 KJV
Our God is sovereign and we don't choose Him, but rather, He chooses us. The wonderful part of this story is that He has indeed chosen us. His love for us is so great that He sent His own Son to suffer and die to reconcile us to Himself. All we are left to do is accept His grace... or not. We aren't choosing whether he is our sovereign God, but only whether we will personally accept that as fact. Oh how foolish to think otherwise. Some, in their foolishness, want to believe they have a vote in who God is... they do not.
John, in the book of Revelation, wrote of the sovereignty of God and what is yet to come in these words:
“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”
Revelation 19:6 KJV
God is not ours to control or order about (as some attempt to do in their prayers and desires), we are His and He is Lord over all. God's will is without question and perfect. When we clothe ourselves in that will, He will claim us as His children; and as His beloved. Jesus is the son of the One Sovereign God:
“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:17 KJV
And what about us?
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
Romans 8:16-17 KJV
So, God is sovereign over us and all of creation. We kneel before Him in all things and, in as much, He loves us as His children. We are not given any power of ourselves save through His will. Jesus taught us how to pray the acknowledgement of this in the Lord’s Prayer, and then showed us how we are to pray it when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane… listen as he teaches us to acknowledge God’s sovereignty, and then does exactly that when He acknowledges it Himself in His own prayer…
“Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:9-10 ESV
And Himself in the Garden…
“Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.””
Matthew 26:42
God is sovereign, and we are not; how foolish it is to believe otherwise. Oh, He gives us the ability to choose to believe or not, but our choice never changes who He is, or the power He has over us, and over all of creation. He loves us and our disobedience doesn’t change that. By example, He sent Jesus to redeem us while we were yet sinners. His will was done in this, and it is always done. And our limited choice is simply whether we will acknowledge it or not. What peace and joy we have when we choose correctly.
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
Prayer:
Father thank you for calling us to believe in you, and to serve you. Thank you Lord for reigning sovereign over us, and ruling us from within your perfect will, your goodness, mercy, grace, and steadfast love never change. Thank you Holy Father for allowing us to choose whether we will acknowledge you or not, but thank you all the more that our choice changes nothing regarding who you are, nor your sovereignty over us, and in all things. Lord we praise you above all, and hallowed be thy name. We understand your sovereignty and honor it from bended knees. Lord, hear our prayers today, and every day, even as a father hears the cries of his children, and tends to them out of his undying love for them. Father, your judgement is perfect, final, and beyond question, and yet you hear our choices, and our desires, then treat us gently; having determined to love us all, even those you wish would worship you. Help us to make the right choice Father, and to acknowledge your love, and an absolute rule over us. But if we should ever choose wrongly, we pray that we will return to your open arms just as the prodigal son returned to his home… a waiting home, and a loving father whose will never faltered, and love never changed for his son. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who was, and is, and is to come. Holy are you whose love for us is the same now and forevermore. You have chosen to love us, and our rebellious natures might break your heart, and bring you dismay, but it will never change the love you have for us. Help us Abba to see that heartbreak is just another byproduct of loving much. So hear us as we pray for your will to be done in our lives, and hear us as we ask you to strengthen our faith and belief in your absolute rule over us, and all things. Help us to take every pain in life knowing that your goodness follows, and your will is being done through it.
And all of heaven and creation said… God is Great! Amen, Amen, Amen!
““For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.””
Malachi 3:6-7 ESV
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV
Rich Forbes