"Crown Him!"
October 24, 2004

The Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 95: 1 - 7
The New Testament Lesson: James 1: 17 - 18

To convince people that having God in control is a comfort and have them accept God’s sovereignty

I.  It is very important for us to know that God is in control.
   A. I want my children to know I’m their father.
        1. Early this week Robert and I had a morning disagreement.
            a. It was one of those loud disagreements!
            b. It involved the way he was dressed.
            c. I know all the parents have been through similar interactions.
            d. This case involved how low his pants were riding.
            e. (in his defense, it wasn’t nearly as bad as some kids)
        2. I approached him with as kind a voice as I could that early
            a. He responded with some heat.
            b. finally as the argument grew, he insulted me.
            c. “You’re acting just like a father!”
        3. Friends, I tell you honestly, I was able to stifle my laughter!
            a. of all the insults, he managed to come out with a compliment.
            b. I told him I was acting like a father because I was one
   B. People at times have that same argument with God.
        1. They chaff under the restrictions and guidelines God has given.
        2. They don’t like the way that God is running the world.
        3. They try to assert the plan that they have devised.
        4. But God is unaffected by all the wrangling we do.
   C. It is a primary doctrine of our church that God’s in control.
        1. We call this the Sovereignty of God.
            a. God has fashioned the earth according to His own will
            b. There is no law that controls God or what God decides.
            c. God alone is the Supreme Being
        2. We believe that God has a specific plan for the world.
            a. God created the world for His own pleasure.
            b. Like a great artist, he has made a beautiful world.
            c. All the elements within the world work toward the divine ideal.
            d. Within it there are great wonders.
        3. We believe that God has a specific plan for our lives.
            a. human being are the greatest wonder that God has created.
            b. He has made a creature with self awareness & moral understanding
            c. We can be in relationship with God since we carry the divine image
        4. Those who accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior have committed themselves to:
            a. attempting to discover God’s will for their lives.
            b. trying to live their lives to fulfill God’s purpose for them.

II.  God’s sovereignty is a good thing because God is the giver of good gifts.
   A. James tells us that God is the author of every good gift.
        1. Like a father God provides for our needs and even our wants.
        2. Nothing good comes to us except it comes from God’s hand.
        3. We even come to recognize that many things we dislike actually contribute to The Divine Good.
            a. In fact, that’s one of God most important promises.
            b. “All things will work together for good for those who love God.”
        4. Many things we will not like.  We are forced to simply trust God.
   B. The doctrine of God’s sovereignty is not popular in our era.
        1. Because we want to exercise our will, we resist God’s Sovereignty
            a. People struggle with the sense that God is in control, not them.
            b. Charles Spurgeon noted this in a sermon saying: “There is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, no truth of which they have made such a football, as the great… doctrine of the Sovereignty of the infinite God.  Men will allow God to be everywhere except on his throne!”
            c. People have always wanted to believe they are in control.
            d. It started with Eve and Adam and will never change!
            e. Yet it is only an illusion.
        2. The reality is that for God to be God, God must be sovereign!
            a. Any other thought is to give God’s power to another.
            b. And God is not longer omnipotent.
   C. There is no reason to be afraid of God’s control because God has declared and proven his love for us.
        1. Hannah Whitehall Smith: The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life
            a. She had a friend who was hesitant to yield to God.
            b. She was afraid of what full surrender to God’s will would mean.
            c. Would God ask her to do something horrible?
        2. Hannah asked her to imagine that the woman’s child fully yielded.
            a. In such a case, what would she do?
            b. Would she enslave her and make her do terrible things?
            c. No, she would lovingly and wisely guide her into the very best.
        3. How can we suppose that our loving God would do any less for us?

     Friends, I am asking you to do nothing more than accept the inevitable today.  God is God, let there be no doubt about that.  God’s will is going to be done, do not doubt that either.  Our choice is not whether or not to allow God’s will to be done, but whether or not we will accept it willingly!  We can either enter the future God has planned with eager joy or with heals dug into the ground and making huge furrows as God drags us.  But why should we resist?  Every good and perfect gift comes done from our Heavenly Father and he has planned nothing but the very best for you!