Steven Lawson: Our Sovereign God

well I have been asked and given the wonderful privilege of speaking to you on the sovereignty of God and so as you have your Bibles I invite you to turn with me to the Book of Psalms to Psalm 103 as I walked into the sanctuary today r/c asked me he said will you be preaching on Romans 11:36 and I said well I will if you want me to but I have a different text that is in my heart you know Spurgeon used to say he would go into a study on Saturday evenings to determine what to preach and he said wherever he opened his Bible every verse was crying out preach me preach me put me in your notebook take me to church with you don't listen to the other verses so I think we understand what Spurgeon was saying so my heart has been married to Psalm 103 and verse 19 for this occasion so I want you to have it in front of you because we will spend our time together I trust expounding with this glorious verse has to say the title of this message is our sovereign God Psalm 103 I want to read just this one verse verse 19 the inerrant the inspired and the infallible word of the Living God reads the Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his sovereignty rules over all I well remember that day in seminary when dr. Sproul addressed us with that raspy gravelly voice men the doctrine of the sovereignty of God is God's favorite doctrine and then he added pause punch and it would be your favorite doctrine if you were God and he explained to us that the sovereignty of God means very simply that God is in charge and that God is in control of all things the sovereignty of God is the foundational truth that upholds all Christian theology it is the bedrock doctrine of all doctrines it is the Atlas that upholds all other truths namely that God is and that God reigns aw pink writes that the sovereignty of God is quote the foundation of all Christian theology the center of gravity in the system of Christian truth it is the Sun pink says around which all of the other planets circle pink adds that the sovereignty of God is very simply this God is God not merely a name but in reality any other picture of God is but a distorted caricature of who he really is any other image of God of a dethroned deity is such an idol that has been raised up the fact is the sovereignty of God is the very central truth of his being that God is and that God reigns it is the goddness of God virtually every preacher and every great theologian down through the annals of history who have been mightily used by God have been those men who have been champions of the sovereignty of God Jonathan Edwards writes quote absolute sovereignty this what I love to ascribe to God God's sovereignty has ever appeared to me a great part of his glory it has often been my delight to approach God and adore him as sovereign God Edwards went on to say those who have received salvation are to attribute it to Sovereign Grace alone and to give all the praise to him who makes them to differ from others John Piper is right when he calls the sovereignty of God the Continental Divide of all theology it is what separates the men from the boys one drop of water on one side of this mountain ridge flows into an ocean of man centered religion man centered ministry man centered worship and man centered evangelism but one drop of truth on this side of this continental divide flows into an ocean of God centered living God centered worship God centered evangelism God centered missions the Continental Divide is this truth that God is absolutely sovereign it is the determinative factor in our ministries I want us to look in this session today at verse 19 the Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his sovereignty rules over all you will note that verse 19 let me just give you the big picture of Psalm 103 verse 19 is in the emphatic position everything in this Psalm has built up words to this knockout punch of a statement the psalm begins in the first two verses as it ends in the last three verses with bookends of praise for God bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His Holy Name bless the Lord O my soul and forget none of this benefits these are the bookends around this Psalm and everything in between from verses three through nineteen are the reasons for which we are to rise up and to bless the name of the Lord in other words our doxology must be built upon a firm theology and beginning in verse three and running through verse 19 David lays out for us the reasons why every one of us every moment of every day should rise up and sing the doxology to God because everything about God is great he's great in his power he's great in his promises he's great in his every aspect of his being but as he now comes to verse 19 it is as if david lists up his hands and seeks to magnify god as high as he possibly can and announces and declares to us this very absolute sovereignty of almighty god this is the mount everest of this psalm this is the Mount Everest of Christian theology this is the Mount Everest the high ground of truth as we look at verse 19 I want to give you three main headings as we work our way through this text I want you to note with me first the establishment of God's sovereignty notice how verse 19 begins the Lord has established his throne in the heavens who has established God's sovereignty who has given to him supreme authority and the answer is no one has given to God's sovereignty there has been no Church Council there has been no deliberation outside of God's self that has put the crown upon his head the diadem of sovereignty no what we see here is that God himself has established his own throne in the heavens God's sovereignty is derived his own nature God's sovereignty is intrinsic to his own being he does not derive sovereignty from anyone else our from anything else rather God's sovereignty arises up from within himself God has sworn by himself and has established his own sovereignty he identifies himself to us in verse 19 as the Lord please note all capital letters signifying that this is Jehovah Yahweh who has established his throne as this name this title that God has chosen for himself means that God is self-existent self-sufficient independent autonomous not dependent upon anyone or anything but that the entire universe finds its dependence in him that he is the creator the sustainer the maintainer of all that there is that he is the God who is lacking in nothing he is immutable the God who was and who is and who shall be forever I am Who I am this is the God who has established his throne in the heavens Stephen Charnock the great Puritan writes that this established sovereignty of God originally resided in his own nature he did not derive it by birth or commission God is the sole cause of his own Kingdom and of his own sovereignty would you note the word established it is this self-sufficient sovereign God who has established his own throne this word established means to erect to set up to prepare to ordain to fix God has fixed and God has ordained his own throne in the heavens and it will never be moved and God will never be impeached from his throne of sovereignty when we come to the end of the Bible in Revelation chapter 4 john is caught up into the heavens and as soon as he enters into heaven the very first object that john sees is the throne and everything in heaven is measured by its proximity to the throne God is on the throne the 24 elders are around the throne there are cherubim under and over the throne there is fire coming out from the throne there is praise going to the throne there is the primacy and the centrality of the throne in heaven this God has established his throne would you note that he has established his throne it is not a round table that God has established for others to come and sit with him and to debate the issues of Providence he has not established a pew in which God would sit and listen to others dictate to him God has not established a chair by which he merely passively watches and observes the unfolding of human history God has not established a bed for God to rest and to sleep no God has established in the heavens a throne and it is upon this throne that God is seated and every moment of every day God presides God governs God directs God ordains God fixes the Lord has established his throne and it should be of note in the heavens that is to say God's throne is above all the Thrones of this world his throne is above the throne of the Babylonians and the Chaldeans and the Canaanites and the Egyptians the throne of God is above every other power and every other seat of authority in this world every power is subject to this throne that is established in the heavens he is the Most High God he is exalted above all the peoples Psalm 99 verse 2 God has no equal God has no peer God is above all Isaiah said I saw the Lord sitting on a throne lofty and exalted meaning high and lifted up God is towering in the transcendence of his sovereignty God is elevated highest ranking highest standing he is supreme over all this is the establishment of God's throne in the heavens and every person every group every church every ministry every nation every continent is in subjection to this throne what is spoken from this throne must dominate our lives the critical issue in every decision and in every ministry is what does this sovereign God say every knee will bow before this throne every life will appear before this throne every soul will give an answer to this throne the establishment of God's sovereignty and it is fixed and it is standing and it shall endure throughout all of the ages to come Kings come and they go kingdoms rise and they fall but this is the fixed point in the universe God has established his throne in the heavens I want you to note second as we look at verse 19 not only the establishment of God's sovereignty but secondly the exercise of God's sovereignty it is one thing to reign another thing to rule it is one thing to possess sovereignty it is another matter to exercise sovereignty I want you to note that God is no mere figurehead who has been propped up upon his throne know this God who has established his throne in the heavens the text says his sovereignty rules over all this word rules means to exercise the functions of a monarch it means to determine the destiny and the route of all that is under his purview sovereignty is an attribute of deity without which God would not be God the word sovereignty means above or superior to all others chief greatest supreme supreme and power rank and authority holding the position of ruler and despot independent of all others it is this chief position of the preeminence of God's sovereignty that the psalmist declares again and again and again it is the ringing note of the Psalter Psalm 93 verse 1 the Lord reigns Psalm 96 verse 10 say to the nation's the Lord reigns our message is not smile something good will happen to you today our message is the Lord reigns God is and God reigns Psalm 97 verse 1 the Lord reigns some ninety-nine verse 1 the Lord reigns this is what God does as God this is at the top of God's job description if you will it is to govern and manage and sustain and rule and overrule the entirety of the universe let me flesh this out a little bit more his sovereignty rules over all please note if you would the exclusivity of God's rule this is not a shared sovereignty God is not a co-regent there are no separation and balances of powers in heaven this does not say that Satan reigns as many today would have us believe where they see a demon behind every bush and as one person told me who came out of such a movement that we were led to believe in the sovereignty of Satan no the god of this age and the prince of this world is as Martin Luther once said the devil is God's devil please note this does not say the Lord and Satan rule as if there is a dualism here and a cosmic tug-of-war between two equal parties now this does not say circumstances rule as the deist would have us to believe that God has created everything out of nothing and now sits back with his arms folded and watches passively the unfolding of the events of this world and as a mere spectator of what takes place here and we'll come back at the end and soar everything out no this does not say circumstances rule this says the God who has established his throne in the heavens this is the God who rules please note it does not say man rules that would be humanism this does not say God and man rules that would be synergism this does not say good luck in blind faith rule that would be fatalism the alignment of the planets good luck our good karma bad karma there's nothing of such pagan myths in this text this is pure unadulterated truth if dr. Sproul has said the unvarnished truth his sovereignty dominates and controls all by primary and secondary causes first Timothy 6 verse 15 says he who is the blessed and only sovereign the king of kings and the Lord of lords no the Lord exclusively reigns would you please note secondly the constancy of his reign would you note the verb tense here his sovereignty rules present tense overall this does not say that God wants ruled at the beginning in a time when Israel was created and the the Red Sea was parted and Jordan River was backed up and Daniels lying din saw the invisible hand of God once back then God reigned but not now to the contrary 24/7 24 hours a day seven days a week God does always rule a police note this does not say God will cool as if God's rule will not begin until the time of the second coming of Jesus Christ it's not that we're here just trying to hold the fort well Satan is reigning until Christ can come back no this says right now the Lord reigns he reigns constantly there is never a time never a moment but that God is occupying the throne and with total omniscience and full omnipotence sovereignly governing and appointing all things we know that God causes all things to work together for good also would you note that this reign of God note the activity of it the Lord reigns I want to say again he's not a mere passive observer and only periodically intervening into the affairs of history but God does actively intentionally purposely rain on an ongoing basis Ephesians 1 verse 11 let us hear it again God works all things according to the counsel of his will let us drink deeply from this well the eternal decree of God from before the foundation of the world that God is a working God every moment of every day and this implies the irresistibility of his reign there can be no successful opposition to this reign this is no empty announcement of sovereignty this is the declaration and the proclamation and the exaltation of raw sheer irresistible sovereignty psalm 115 verse 3 but our God is in the heavens he does whatever he pleases Psalm 135 verse 6 whatever the Lord pleases he does in heaven and in earth and in the seas and in all the deeps in heaven on earth and even under the earth God does sovereignly reign Daniel 4 verse 35 all of the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing but he does according to his will in the host of heaven and no one can ward off his hand or say to him what hast thou done this is the exercise of God's sovereignty he exercises it effortlessly freely independently without any consultation from lesser powers isaiah 6 verse 9 i am god and there is no other I am God and there is no one like me so what defines God and separates him from Bay land and Nebo and the other pagan gods what marks the one true Living God it is this that follows listen to this declaring the end from the beginning meaning God stands at the beginning he declares the end and every step that leads back to the beginning it is all for ordained by God that is the true God and from ancient times things which have not been done saying my purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure truly I have spoken truly I will bring it to pass I have planned it surely I will do it that is God that is the God whom we worship that is the God whom we trust that is the God whom we serve the free and full reign of God's supreme authority does this have an effect on our ministries does this have an effect on what we sing in church how we approach this God does this set the tone for the life of the church should this affect our preaching should this have influence on our teaching what does this have to say about our evangelism what does this have to say about world missions this says that we should be those who are constantly and continually championing the goddness of God I want you to note finally the extent of God's sovereignty we have seen the establishment of it and we have seen the exercise of it but nope at the end of verse 19 the extent of it this is so vitally important are their jurisdiction limits on his sovereignty are their boundaries that are placed on his sovereignty is God's sovereign in certain spaces of time and not sovereign in other realms this makes such a bold statement and his sovereignty rules over all if he did not rule over all he would not be sovereign there are no restrictions to God's sovereignty save his works working in perfect consistency with his own attributes there are no designated areas that are off-limits to his rule god reigns over all peoples and over all things God reigns in all places and at all times there is no person no event no circumstance no molecule no atom outside the Dominion of his sovereignty God reigns over heaven and the earth and hell God reigns over things that are seen and unseen God reigns over things that are animate and inanimate God reigns over things that are natural and supernatural I want you to think with me under this heading the extent of God's sovereignty God's sovereignty is over all the nations is that a good message for us to hear in these days in which it seems among the chaos of the nations that this world is about to self implode into destruct but God says in Isaiah 40 verse 15 behold the nations are like a drop in a bucket collectively cumulative all of the nations have been squeezed out of an eyedropper they are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales behold he lifts up the islands like fine dust all the nations are as nothing before him meaning they have they bring about no alteration to his eternal purposes they bring about no change to his plan a from before the foundation of the world God will never reroute his plans to Plan B or C or D or e all the nations are as nothing before him they are regarded by him as less than nothing and meaningless the psalmist says the Lord nullifies the Council of the nation's he frustrates the plans of the peoples the counsel of the Lord stands forever the plans of his heart from generation to generation to generation if sovereignty is over all of the rulers of this world they are all subject to do his bidding Daniel for 25 the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever he wishes dr. Sproul was absolutely correct this president has been appointed by God the last president was appointed by God and once they're in office proverbs 21 verse 1 the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord like rivers of water he channels it whichever way he wills he is Lord and sovereign over circumstances the lot is cast into the lap but it's every turning up is from the Lord there is not a sparrow that falls apart from the Lord every hair on our head is numbered every appointment is a divine appointment every step has been fixed by God the steps of a righteous man are ordained by the Lord and he delights in his way though he falls he should not be hurled headlong because the Lord is the one who holds his hand the Lord is sovereign over our successes and failures proverbs 21 says the horse is prepared for the day of battle but victory belongs to the Lord we should have a strong national defense we should arm ourselves for self-protection but ultimately the victory is from the Lord promotion comes not from the east or the west from the south it comes from the north where God is some boast in chariots and some in horses but we will boast in the name of the Lord God is sovereign over decision-making proverbs says the plans of the heart belonged to man but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord proverbs says many plans are in a man's heart but the counsel of the Lord will stand God is sovereign over the number of days that we have here upon the earth the psalmist says in your book they were all written the days that were ordained for me when as yet there was not one of them all of the days that you and I will spend here upon the earth have already been fixed and ordained by God and recorded in his eternal decree George Whitfield said we are invincible until our work for God is done God is sovereign over human hearts the book of Acts records that a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira was listening to Paul and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul the Lord opened her heart that heart had been locked shut that heart had been bound by sin and by Satan and in a moment God opened that heart the very same word just a footnote as she is later in this chapter when they came and arrested Paul and Cyrus and threw them into the Philippian jail and in the middle of the night as Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God God sent an earthquake you remember that and the doors were opened very same word that is used earlier with Lydia's heart her heart was a prison house of sin her heart was bound by her sinful nature until in that moment of sovereign regeneration God opened her heart God is sovereign over the new birth John 1 verse 13 says that we are born referring to being born from above to be born again remember a woman came up to George Whitfield and said why do you keep telling us we must be born again he said dear woman because you must be born again so how are we born again and it back the question what did you do to bring about your physical birth John writes in his prologue who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God that is monastic regeneration my friend there is only one active agent in our new birth and that is the operation of the free mercy of our sovereign God in heaven God is sovereign over repentance God must grant repentance God is sovereign over saving faith Jesus is the author and perfecter of faith who authored saving faith within you who turns your heart to Christ that you might believe upon him Jesus is the author and perfecter acts 13:48 as many as has been appointed to eternal life believed let me ask you three questions number one which comes first believing or being appointed to eternal life according to this text first we are appointed to eternal life and then we believe there's a cause-and-effect relationship the cause is the appointment by God the effect is the exercise of faith by man's second question do any more believe as many as were appointed to eternal life believed the answer is no more belief third question do any less belief and the answer again is no only those sovereignly royally appointed by God in eternity past are those who within time believe God is sovereign over human wills so then it does not depend upon the man who wills or upon the man who runs but upon God who has mercy God is sovereign over church growth acts 2:47 and the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved Jesus said I will build my church I will not build your church and you will not build my church I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it that is a statement of the extent of the sovereignty of Almighty God to build his church God is sovereign over worldly wisdom 1st Corinthians God says I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world not a sovereign over his enemies you remember in Acts chapter 9 Saul of Tarsus with letters in hand public enemy number one of God and of Christ in the church with letters in hand is on that Damascus Road to go and apprehend the Christians and to bring them back to Jerusalem to stand trial and perhaps like Stephen to be stoned to death and it was on that Damascus Road the light came shining out of heaven and it knocked saul of tarsus off his high horse and in a moment Lord what will you have me to do that has been a microcosm of every conversion in every regeneration in the history of mankind it is the sovereignty of God even over his enemies that his kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and it will move forward and he is sovereign over human destinies does not the Potter have a right over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common what if God although willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known endured with much patience vessels of Wrath prepared for destruction and he did so to make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of Mercy which he prepared beforehand for glory this is the extent of God's sovereignty it is a totai sovereignty it is a total and complete sovereignty over heaven over earth over hell over every person in every place in every generation this is the God whom we must preach this is the God whose name we lift high this is the God who must have the place of preeminence in every one of our worship services this is the God that we announce to our lost neighbors and to the in it to the ends of the earth say to the nation's the Lord reigns beloved this is the Continental Divide of theology this is what separates a man centered worldview from a god centered reformed worldview one has man in the center are Satan in the center or God in man in the center or circumstances in the center or random events in the center but this other has the triune God eternal father eternal son eternal spirit who from before the foundation of the world established their sovereignty in the heavens and they rule over all one of the great Bible teachers of a few decades ago was Donald Grey Barnhouse 10th Presbyterian Philadelphia doctor Barnhouse was a young man in the ministry had been a graduate of Princeton and was invited to come back to chapel that he might preach before the distinguished faculty and student body it was a very imposing assignment for young Barnhouse and as he stood into the pulpit to preach he was very aware that on the front row was one of the most brilliant minds in all of Christendom dr. Robert dick Wilson a man who is said to be fluent in fifteen Semitic languages and as he preached the Word of God that day he was faithful to God he was aware of his professors presence and at the end of the message as he came down out of the pulpit dr. Wilson came up to him and said young man I will not hear you preach again for Barnhouse that took all of the wind out of his sails he thought why what have I done to fail and then the professor said this I always come to here my boys preached one time and all I want to know is are they a big Gadar or a small God er are they a small God er and cannot believe in the inerrancy of Scripture are they a small God er and discount Providence are they a small God er and say that God cannot perform miracles are they a small God er that God is subject to the whims of the times or is God hey big daughter who has established his throne in the heavens whose sovereignty reigns over all you young man are a big God er and God's blessing will be upon your ministry I want to ask you the diagnostic question are you a big God er do you believe that God has sovereignly created all that there is that he has spoken it has come to pass and that God is governing the affairs of this world do you believe that God is sovereign over every human life every human heart every human will every human destiny the building of the church the expanse of his kingdom do you believe that God undertakes his own cause here upon the earth and guarantees the success of the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ if so a smile of God is upon your ministry because God will honor the man and honor the woman who honors the glory of his throne and of his name may the lord give us renewed confidence that the throne is occupied and it is this sovereign God who is enthroned and who reigns may every decision of our ministry may every launching of works that we do for God may we say that from him and through him and to him are all things to God to be the glory for ever and ever amen let us pray father there is a shock and awe in our hearts this morning as we behold again in pages of Scripture this truth which you have recorded so long ago we are filled with wonder astonishment amazement we are overwhelmed and be wildered by this that you and you alone have established and fixed and ordained your throne and the heavens and that your sovereignty totally completely fully and freely rules over the entirety and totality of all that you have created we are humbled by this we are brought to our knees by this and yet we know that you open a door that no man closes and that you set before us open doors for ministry and God plus one makes a majority would you encourage and fortify our hearts and our faith at this time as we gather in this conference but no matter how desperate or difficult the hour may be where we serve you alone remain God and you continue to be at work within us both to will and to work for your good pleasure we rise up to bless your Most Holy Name that you are the Blessed and only sovereign a King of Kings and the Lord of lords that is declared in this house this day and may all of your people read and fear that you are God and there is no other in Jesus name we pray amen

Channel: Ligonier Ministries

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Length: 48min 23sec (2903 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 17 2015