339. The Sovereignty of God (from the Vault)

Transcript

King Of The Hill Metaphor

The One True King

Scripture On God’s Sovereignty

Rejecting Open Theism

Resting In God’s Control

Closing And Listener Invitation

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to Moments of Worship. I'm Keith McMahon, worship pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Yorktown, Virginia. This podcast seeks to be an encouragement to you in the worship of Almighty God each weekday. Do you remember the days as a kid when you played King of the Hill or King of the Mountain? Maybe as an adult, you still play King of the Hill. But you remember, right? You had a ball at the top, and anyone who tried to come up the hill you could throw it at 'em, kind of like dodgeball but up on a hill. And being up on the hill you felt like you were king of the world and that nobody could get to you. You could do as you please and make decrees like a boss. Looking back now is kind of funny thinking about that as little kids doing that. We thought we knew the world and we are in fact not king of the hill, but we thought we were king. Well, friend, there's only one true king, and it is not you. It is not me, it is not the current president, it's not the future president or prime minister. It is God. He is the sovereign one who carries out his divine will perfectly. God is in absolute control of the universe, the apostle Paul states, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together, and he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. God makes his decisions at his divine pleasure, which is always right and always good. God's sovereignty is most beautifully seen in the life of his saints throughout all of redemptive history. Pastor, theologian, teacher John Piper states God does all things according to his sovereign will, and nothing can frustrate or change his eternal purposes. Every event in the universe from the most insignificant to the grandest serves his designs and is in his control. We read in Job forty two two. Job says, I know that you can do all things, no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Well this really gives us a good perspective as we face sorrow, uncertainty, challenges, opportunities ahead. God is not like the open theist who argued that God set things in motion and walked off the stage like a jazz conductor. We don't see that in Scripture. That view is wrong. God is actively carrying out His good sovereign will over and in our lives, intimately acquainted with the details of our life. What a great God He is. We read in Psalm one hundred thirty five six The Lord does whatever he pleases in the heavens and on earth, in the seas and all their depth. Dear friend, today let us rest in the sovereignty of God on this Thursday. I don't know what you may be facing today, what appointments you're going to, what you have at work, what phone calls you're gonna make, what test results you're gonna hear back from, what promotions that you may uh be enjoying today. But let's rest in the sovereignty of our good God. All of his attributes are equally true and active, and this includes his sovereignty. Knowing the character of God and that no plan of his can be thwarted should bring us great comfort. Let us lay down before the Lord our anxiety about the future, our test results that we may find out today, the nation we live in and any other large or small aspect of our lives. We can trust our good, righteous, perfectly wise, gracious, loving, sovereign God. Well, friend, thank you so much for joining me today on this episode of Moments of Worship. Pray that you are encouraged in the Lord very much. Write us a review if you feel encouraged by this ministry. This will help the algorithms of podcast apps. This will enable us to further spread the fame of Jesus' name all over the world. I would love to hear from you via text, via messages, and the apps that you use or email doxology at bbcorktown.org. Well, until next time, let us worship our sovereign God. Thanks for listening.