Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM190003A
|
00:39 Previously on Law of Love & Liberty:
00:43 There is something special. Thompsonville is maybe a dot 00:47 on the map but we know that God is here. 00:51 We are standing 00:55 in His presence 00:59 on holy ground. 01:03 This is the first sermon 01:05 in our Law of Love & Liberty series on the 10 Commandments. 01:09 Jesus 01:12 is life 01:15 to me. 01:20 What is the finger of God? 01:21 The finger of God according to this verse is the power of God. 01:25 It's the power of God to cast devils out of people. 01:30 It's the power of God to remove sin from our lives. 01:33 It's the power of God to completely eradicate 01:36 the devil. He's going to write in our hearts His law of love. 01:41 That's what we see taking place here. 01:43 This is the promise that we see taking place here 01:45 in Hebrews chapter 8. 01:51 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting: 01:54 Law of Love & Liberty. 01:56 Are you having a blessed time? Amen! 01:59 I LOVE Camp Meeting and the excitement of Camp Meeting 02:02 and the time we get to spend in the Word of God. 02:05 And we welcome you at home! 02:08 Thank you for tuning in. We're already getting e-mails 02:10 and messages hearing that you have been blessed by 02:13 the meetings. This is our second sermon here this evening. 02:17 One of my absolute favorite preachers Pastor John Bradshaw. 02:23 He is a man of the Word... a man of God. 02:27 But what I like most about him is that he practices 02:30 what he preaches. He is a genuine person who loves God 02:35 and loves His people. I love to hear his warmth, 02:38 his humor, and him share from his experience 02:41 from the Word of God. 02:43 He's preached for well over 20 years. 02:46 He just returned last night from Australia. 02:49 The message he will be presenting this evening 02:51 is God's Governmental Sovereignty. 02:55 His wife Melissa came with him and they have two wonderful 02:58 kids as well. But before he speaks 03:01 Ryan Day, who's an integral part of the ministry 03:05 here of 3ABN... The Lord has blessed him 03:08 to speak AND to sing. 03:10 He will be bring us the song I'd Rather Have Jesus. 03:14 The next voice you will hear after that of Pastor Ryan Day 03:18 is our friend Pastor John Bradshaw. 03:46 I'd rather have Jesus 03:52 than silver or gold. 03:57 I'd rather be His 04:02 than have riches untold. 04:07 I'd rather have Jesus 04:13 than houses or lands... 04:18 I'd rather be led 04:23 by His nail-pierced hand. 04:28 Than to be the king of 04:34 a vast domain 04:39 or be held 04:42 in sin's dread sway. 04:49 I'd rather have Jesus 04:55 than anything 05:00 this world 05:03 affords today. 05:14 Oh, I'd rather 05:19 have Jesus 05:22 than men's applause. 05:26 I'd rather be faithful 05:32 to His dear cause. 05:37 I'd rather have Jesus 05:43 than world-wide fame... 05:48 I'd rather be true 05:52 to His holy name! 05:58 Than to be 06:01 the king of a vast 06:07 domain 06:09 or be held 06:12 in sin's dreadful sway. 06:22 I'd rather have 06:27 Jesus 06:31 than anything 06:41 this world 06:46 affords 06:50 today. 07:11 Amen! 07:16 There is a reason why Ryan sings and I don't. 07:22 And you just heard the reason. 07:25 Good evening everyone! 07:27 Good evening! Really a blessing to be here. 07:29 If you fall asleep while I'm speaking tonight, 07:32 it's OK... you're probably done it before. 07:34 Lots of people do. 07:36 When I meet an anesthetist or an anesthesiologist I say: 07:40 "Hey, you and me... we kind of do the same job. " 07:43 But anesthesiologists will turn to me and say: 07:46 "No, no... but a big part of my job 07:48 is to wake 'em up. " And then I say: 07:50 "Well, that's kind of my job too is to wake them up. " 07:53 But if you fall asleep tonight, you know, like I said 07:56 it wouldn't be the first time I've ever seen it done. 07:59 However, please watch for something: there's a fair 08:02 possibility that I'll fall asleep tonight. 08:05 I mean, I'm doing OK but 08:07 last night I arrived home after being in Australia 08:10 for about 32 days. 08:12 We conducted four evangelistic series at the same time. 08:15 My colleague Eric Flickinger did two and I did two 08:18 and we did four It Is Written evangelistic meetings 08:20 in four different locations across the very large city 08:23 of Melbourne which has a population of around about 08:26 five million people. 08:27 How did it go? Well, with 58 churches on board 08:30 you can be sure that things went pretty well. 08:32 God blessed. Lots and lots and lots of decisions 08:35 made; many baptisms. 08:37 We're just thanking God that He is on His throne 08:40 and we have a little privilege of being able to work 08:42 alongside Him and walk along side Him 08:45 as He is doing His work... and so that's good. 08:48 And before I get started it would be remiss of me 08:50 not to tell you this. And that is 08:53 to pay credit... this is a little back-hand bragging 08:56 but you're not even going to notice. I'm going to be 08:58 so smooth about it you are going to say: 09:02 "Wait, is he just bragging? " 09:05 And the person next to you will be like: 09:07 "No... because he wouldn't do that. " 09:11 That's right... I wouldn't do that. 09:13 But I just need to pay credit to 3ABN 09:17 for having such fine... 09:21 What are you laughing at? It's not time to laugh yet. 09:25 For having such fine taste in Christian programming. 09:28 Amen! Now the reason I'm saying that is because 09:31 five of the television programs that they air 09:34 which all happen to be produced by It Is Written 09:36 but... Five of the programs that they air 09:39 between them they recently won 18 awards. 09:42 Isn't that fantastic? 09:43 Eighteen awards. So of course I would like to thank 09:46 our production team at It Is Written but mostly 09:48 this is credit to 3ABN for their fine taste 09:52 in choosing programs to air that win lots of awards. 09:56 That's really all I'm saying. 09:59 Danny, that was a compliment to 3ABN, wasn't it? 10:02 That wasn't any? Was that? 10:04 There you go... that's all right. 10:06 That's right. I knew you'd see it that way. 10:10 What a great organization! 10:12 They know how to pick 'em! 10:17 Well done... well done. 10:21 Well, with that 10:24 it's probably about time for us to start 10:27 and so we shall pray. 10:29 I'm so glad for our subject tonight. 10:33 I'm really glad. I hope that you're glad too. 10:35 By the time we get into it and done with it 10:36 I pray you're not only glad but blessed and encouraged. 10:40 So let's pray together now... let's do that. 10:42 Our Father in heaven, 10:44 we are grateful to be able to be in this place 10:47 which is Your place tonight. 10:49 We're thankful to be in Your presence. 10:51 But as we gather together in this room, 10:55 but as we gather together around this planet, 11:00 we are gathering together around Your throne 11:03 asking that we would hear from the great Monarch 11:07 of the universe... from our great Sovereign Lord. 11:13 As tonight we speak about the sovereignty of Almighty God 11:18 we ask, Lord, that we would be blessed, 11:22 that our searching of the Scriptures would yield 11:27 many gems. We ask You to guide our thoughts 11:31 and speak to our heart and own us and have us. 11:34 And we pray gratefully tonight in spite of ourselves; 11:38 we pray claiming the merits of the shed blood of Jesus. 11:44 And it is in Jesus' name that we pray. Let us say Amen. Amen! 11:50 Amen. Early in the 1990's... 11:52 actually it may well have been in 1990... 11:55 a little mystery emerged on the streets of England. 12:00 Not only in London but London largely 12:03 and in various places... but largely London. 12:05 People would try to figure out just who this could be. 12:08 Just who this could be. I'm not suggesting this 12:10 is a mystery with any great eternal import. 12:13 I don't mean that. I'm not suggesting that 12:15 you've missed out on anything. I don't mean that. 12:17 But for the people that walk the streets of London 12:20 this was a mystery because from time to time 12:23 and from place to place various works of street art 12:29 would appear. 12:30 Some of it was dark; much of it was humorous. 12:33 And it was all really rather well done. 12:35 Oh, no, there was nothing that rivaled a da Vinci. 12:37 There were no Rembrandts there. 12:39 There was nothing that looked like a Monet or a Gogan 12:42 or a van Gogh... nothing like that. 12:45 Street art, but kind of cool, kind of cute. 12:48 Very clever street art. 12:50 I'm not endorsing all of it by the way 12:52 but this was a little mystery because people started to ask 12:55 then: "Who is this? " 12:57 "Just who is this? " 12:59 Well it emerged that the works of art were being created 13:02 by someone who went by the moniker of Banksy. 13:06 Banksy... B-A-N-K-S-Y. 13:08 Banksy. And from then until now - 13:11 and this is the better part of 30 years - 13:13 Bansky has become a tremendous celebrity. 13:16 In fact, some of his actual works of art 13:19 have sold for really rather respectable sums of money. 13:23 And he created little art works in surprising places. 13:28 Offbeat places... whimsical places. 13:32 And these things would pop up and no one ever caught the 13:34 artist in the act. Very clearly he painted or created 13:39 under some supervision. Maybe under some guard 13:42 and very obviously in the dead of night. 13:45 And from that day to now no one actually knows 13:49 who the artist is other than calling him Banksy. 13:53 That's what he goes by. 13:55 Very talented but clearly anonymous 13:59 and happy with his anonymity. 14:01 "Who is he? " "He's Banksy. " 14:03 "Ah... but who is that? " 14:06 Tonight we ask a far more pressing and far more important 14:10 question. We are speaking about the Maker of heaven and earth. 14:13 And we ask ourselves: "Who is He? " 14:16 There are many people who see the works of nature 14:18 and they will say: "Well that got here by accident. " 14:20 "That got here by some cosmic mistake. " 14:22 That nature that you see - be it a mountain or an ocean, 14:25 an animal of great complexity or rather less complexity, 14:29 the laugh of a little baby or the rather miraculous flight 14:32 of a bumblebee or a bird - 14:34 who made that? How'd it get here? 14:36 Some will say: "God. " Others will say: "Oh, no... 14:38 evolution did that. " 14:39 Others will say: "An accident did that. " 14:41 Some will say: "There was an explosion; there was a big bang. 14:44 That's who did that. " We would say: 14:47 "God did that! " And somebody might say: 14:50 "Who is this God? You mean that tyrant? 14:53 You mean that killer? You mean that bloodthirsty one? 14:56 You mean that destroyer? Is that who you mean? " 14:58 And we would say: "Of course that's not who we mean. " 15:01 "Ah... but who do you mean? " 15:03 "We mean God. " 15:04 "Who is this God that we should worship Him anyway? 15:07 Who is this God? " 15:08 If you have your Bible or you have a device, please 15:10 turn to Revelation chapter 4. 15:12 And I'm going to confess to you tonight 15:14 that we will be here and there as we look in the Bible 15:18 at a picture of the Sovereign God. 15:22 Absolutely fundamental and foundational 15:25 to what we are looking at tonight... 15:28 in fact, across this entire Camp Meeting weekend. 15:32 We would look in Revelation chapter 4 15:35 and we would begin in verse 10 where the Bible says 15:38 that the four and twenty elders 15:40 "fall down before Him that sat on the throne 15:43 and worship Him that liveth forever and ever. 15:47 And cast their crowns before the throne saying: 15:51 'Thou art worthy, O Lord, 15:54 to receive glory and honor 15:57 and power for Thou hast created... ' " 16:00 How many things? "ALL things 16:02 and for Your pleasure they are and they were created. " 16:07 The Bible begins with the most famous words 16:10 in all of literature - 16:12 and I don't mean just Christian literature: 16:14 "In the beginning... " Tell me: 16:17 "God created... " What? 16:19 "the heavens and the earth. " 16:20 He spoke and it was done. 16:23 He commanded and it did what? It stood fast. 16:27 It is only God 16:29 who can speak to the nothingness 16:32 and bring "somethingness" out of it. 16:34 There was nothing at all. 16:36 God spoke: Boom! I believe there was a big bang. 16:38 Boom! when God spoke. 16:40 He spoke and there was light and then there was atmosphere. 16:45 And then there were five... well, four, four, five 16:49 depends on how you want to term it... 16:51 more days of creation. And by the time God had done 16:54 it was indescribably beautiful. 16:57 The God Himself said... the Majesty Himself said: 17:01 "Very good! " He spoke it into existence 17:04 with the exception, of course, of humanity. 17:07 It was God who got down in the dust and formed man 17:09 out of the dust of the ground. 17:11 And He got close... close... it was intimate. 17:14 And He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. 17:17 The man became a living soul. 17:19 Adam was created and then 17:22 Eve was fashioned from the rib of Adam... handmade by God. 17:26 Handmade. And so God is Creator. 17:30 He is Lord of all; He is Sovereign. 17:32 But let's go a little deeper than that... 17:33 well a little further than that. 17:35 I want to try to round out the picture of God 17:37 just a little bit. 17:38 God is Sovereign, and let's stop to think about what that means. 17:43 Sovereign... where does the word come from? 17:46 Sovereignty is supreme power or authority. 17:50 A Sovereign is a supreme ruler. 17:53 And you know why we have that word supreme? 17:55 Because it comes from the Latin word super. 17:58 That's where it begins. 18:00 So a Sovereign... that comes from a French word 18:03 souveraine from the Latin originally 18:06 super. And this is where we get this picture of God... 18:09 super meaning above. 18:12 So God, Sovereign over all, Maker over all, 18:16 "in the beginning God created. " 18:20 And I don't want to share anything with you tonight 18:22 merely to put another colorful or otherwise thought into your 18:25 mind. I'm not trying to fatten up your store of information 18:28 or sharpen up your spiritual weapons. 18:33 No, I'm not trying to do that at all. 18:35 By the time we're done my prayer is that we would have 18:38 a more complete picture of God. 18:39 A greater understanding of God - even if it was this much - 18:42 'cause this much can move a mountain Jesus said. 18:45 And a greater love for... a determination to experience 18:49 a deeper surrender to God. 18:51 Who is this Sovereign God? 18:54 Who is this Creator God? 18:56 I want you to turn with me in your Bible to the book of Mark, 18:59 Mark and chapter 4. We are not going to look 19:01 at merely one passage tonight. 19:02 We will look at several. 19:04 Mark chapter 4 and we want to pick it up 19:06 in verse 35. 19:09 Mark 4 and verse 35. 19:11 "And the same day when the evening was come 19:14 He said to them: 'Let us pass over 19:18 unto the other side. ' " 19:20 Now I want to make sure that you got that. 19:22 "Let's pass over to the other side. " 19:25 Where were they going? Can you tell me, please? 19:27 To the other side. It was the other side of the lake. 19:29 This was the Sea of Galilee. 19:31 "We are going to the other side. " 19:34 That was the determination of divinity, 19:37 and unless God spoke up and said 19:39 "There has been a change of plan" 19:42 unless that happened 19:44 they were indisputably going to where? 19:47 The other side. 19:48 All right. That's not our main point, but 19:50 it's too good a point to miss and we shall come back to it. 19:53 "And when they had sent away the multitude 19:55 they took Him even as He was in the ship. 19:58 And there were also with them other little ships. 20:00 And there arose a great storm of wind 20:04 and the waves beat into the ship 20:06 so that it was now full. " 20:09 There is another passage telling the same story 20:11 and it says they were "in jeopardy. " 20:13 It was very clear they were in danger of losing their lives. 20:16 They could swim one would imagine. 20:18 They were fisherfolks. 20:19 But there was a raging storm. The waves were up; the wind was 20:23 howling down from the Capernaum end of the lake. 20:26 Rain was beating down. 20:27 You've been in storms where you feared I would think. 20:31 You've been in storms where you wondered what's going to happen 20:33 next. I don't know if you've ever been out on the 20:36 water and feared for your life. I have. 20:38 I used to live not on the edge of but with a great view 20:42 of a beautiful lake back in my home country of New Zealand. 20:46 And I wore a younger man's clothes at the time 20:48 and so I was not... 20:51 oh, young and stupid is really what I was. 20:53 And we had a friend whose dad had a little holiday place there 20:57 and he had access to a boat. 20:58 It was a little aluminium thing. 21:00 Aluminum... aluminium. 21:02 In civilized countries we say "aluminium. " 21:08 Had a little outboard motor on it. 21:10 And we were in a bay... in a wee bay. 21:13 And out beyond the bay the wind was howling 21:16 and the waves were up. And I don't mean they were giant 21:18 but they were up, you know. 21:20 And it was as bouncy and rocky out there as anything 21:22 but where we were it was glassy... not glassy calm but 21:24 it was calm. And my friend Wilber - John - we called him 21:28 Wilber - my friend John and I 21:29 said to our friend Brett... 21:32 We said: "Brett, why don't you take this thing 21:35 out beyond the good weather and give us, you know, 21:37 we'll have a little bit of fun? " 21:38 And he said: "Oh, no, no... that would be crazy. 21:40 I'm not going to do that. " 21:41 He knew from experience you just don't do that. 21:44 My friend John and I had no idea. 21:47 We just thought this would be fun. 21:48 Eventually we wore him down. 21:51 How's that for peer pressure? 21:52 And he consented to jeopardize all three of our lives 21:56 and take the boat out there beyond the calm water. 21:59 Oh man! We were up and we were down 22:02 and we were rocking and we were rolling 22:05 and there was water getting in the boat. 22:06 And we both looked at him and we said: "Who's crazy idea 22:09 was this? " And he looked at us. 22:11 "What are you talking about? 22:12 We should get us back there as quick as you can. " 22:14 He said: "It's just not that easy. " 22:16 And it wasn't. 22:17 And we likely wouldn't have perished, 22:19 but man we were worried. 22:21 And I think about that when I think about these guys. 22:23 I've never had really a worse experience than that 22:26 on the water and I don't want one. 22:27 But here were these fishermen in the midst of a howling gale. 22:30 The rain was beating down. 22:31 The waves were beating up 22:33 and they thought they were going to die. 22:35 And the interesting thing was 22:37 is the Bible says that He - Jesus - 22:41 was in the hinder part of the ship. 22:44 The hinder part. 22:46 In the stern... back there. 22:47 He was what? He was asleep on a pillow. 22:52 And they woke Him up and they said: 22:54 "Master, carest Thou not that we perish? " 22:58 "Don't You care that we are going to die out here? " 23:02 "Don't ya care? " 23:03 And Jesus' response was really interesting. 23:06 He rose up and rebuked the wind and the waves... 23:08 I'll come back to that. "He said: 'Why are you so fearful? 23:12 How is it that you have no faith? ' " 23:15 I want you to think that through before we really get 23:17 to the main point. 23:19 Jesus said: "You all don't have any faith. " 23:22 Here they were in a storm and they were about to die. 23:25 I would not be surprised if one of them had said: 23:27 "Man, that is easy for You to say. " 23:29 "You were sleeping and we were in the process of dying 23:33 and You were asleep. We saved You! " 23:39 Jesus was right... they didn't have any faith. 23:41 And how do we know that they didn't have any faith? 23:43 Because Jesus had said: "We are going to the... " 23:46 other side. Didn't matter how much rain there was. 23:49 Didn't matter if they sank to the bottom of the sea. 23:51 It didn't matter. Jesus said it plainly and clearly: 23:54 "We are going to the other side of the lake. " 23:58 There was nowhere else that they could possibly have gone. 24:01 He spoke and they were going. 24:03 Come on... say "Amen. " Amen! They were going! 24:05 When God speaks something is going to happen. 24:08 The same word that Jesus speaks to us today 24:11 is the same word that He spoke 6,000 years ago 24:14 when He said: "Let there be light! " 24:16 There is creative power in the word of God. Amen? 24:19 Amen! Great power! 24:21 But come back up here. 24:22 "He arose... " verse 39. "He rebuked the wind 24:25 and said to the sea: 'Peace, be still. ' " 24:30 And you could have said that till you were blue in the face 24:32 and it would have just kept on howling. 24:35 Although... let me tell you this: 24:39 I was at a Camp Meeting once and we were in a tent 24:44 and it was raining cats and dogs. 24:47 And, of course, there was amplification 24:50 and there was a microphone and speakers that worked very well. 24:53 But no matter how loud I spoke 24:56 they... people just could barely hear me. 24:59 Barely. You know how it is when you can hear someone 25:01 but there's rain. And I hadn't even started. 25:04 And I had a whole sermon to go yet 25:06 and I thought: "This is going to be rough. " 25:08 I said: "Let's pray that the rain will stop. " 25:10 And so I prayed: "Father in heaven... " 25:12 And the rain is bucketing down! 25:14 It's hosing down! "Lord, bless the message 25:18 and in spite of the preacher bless the message. " 25:20 It is POURING DOWN! 25:24 And then I prayed: "Lord, we would really appreciate it 25:27 if this rain would stop. " 25:28 It got louder! Pouring down! 25:33 And I prayed: "Lord, if it's Your will 25:36 that the rain keep on then let it go. We'll be happy. 25:40 But we are asking You if You wouldn't mind 25:44 stopping the rain. " It just kept on! 25:48 Man, it was raining like you never heard! 25:50 And I prayed: "And we thank you... 25:53 Pouring down! "in Jesus' name. " Pouring down! 25:58 Amen. STOPPED! 26:03 Right on cue! Stopped! 26:07 And I don't mean it eased off. 26:10 It didn't ease off. It was like you turned off 26:12 the tap in the kitchen sink. 26:14 Bam! Just like that! 26:17 And of course I was not surprised... 26:27 Who would be? 26:31 So 3 or 4 weeks later I'm at another Camp Meeting. 26:35 This one's in Oklahoma 26:37 and there were tornado warnings. 26:40 And by the time... anyhow... 26:42 and the weather was really bad. 26:45 And I say: "OK, they can hardly hear me now. " 26:47 It's not a tent... it's a tin roof. 26:50 And I'm thinking: "Man, you know, I've gotta pray here. 26:53 Last time I did this I prayed and the rain stopped. 26:56 Let's pray. " 26:58 "Father in heaven... " I prayed. The rain is pouring down. 27:01 And I'm thinking to myself: "Right now I'm batting 1,000 27:05 on rain. I'm winning every time, one out of one. " 27:12 And there was something back there that said: "Just go 27:14 and pray... just ask. 27:16 If God doesn't give it to you, it's God's thing not yours. " 27:19 Amen! 27:21 I chickened out... I didn't even pray. 27:23 I didn't even ask that the rain would stop. 27:26 I'm thinking: "Not this time. " 27:28 Lack of faith, huh? Lack of faith! 27:31 Who is God? He is Sovereign. 27:33 He is Sovereign over the wind and the waves. Amen! 27:37 He's Sovereign! 27:39 Now if He determines that the flood is going to come 27:41 and wash your house away that's His problem. 27:45 I'm not saying that lightly. I'm not saying that 27:47 flippantly, but God has demon- strated that He is Sovereign. 27:52 He calmed the wind and the waves. 27:55 They stopped. The disciples said: "Whoa! " 27:58 "What is that that happened? " 28:01 I'll give you another story, and I'm spending too much time 28:03 on this. But this is such a great story 28:04 I need to tell you. So in Kenya 28:06 holding my very first evangelistic series. And this 28:10 was years ago. And the children said to me 28:12 where I was staying... I was staying in a certain home 28:14 and the kids said to me: "Pastor, there will not be 28:17 a meeting this afternoon. It is going to rain. " 28:20 I said: "No, no, no... it's not going to rain. " 28:21 They said: "It's going to rain. " I said: "No, it cannot 28:23 rain because I have to preach. " And we're preaching outdoors. 28:26 Two o'clock in the afternoon. 28:29 "No, Pastor, it's going to... " I said: "No, no, 28:31 it cannot rain... it cannot rain. " 28:33 And I'll never forget the words of the 16-year-old boy. 28:37 He said: "But Pastor, it MUST rain. " 28:42 They could see the signs in the weather 28:44 and when it looks like that it's going to rain. 28:47 And I said: "No, it's not going to rain. 28:48 You guys gotta learn something. " 28:50 I opened up to a passage in the Bible 28:52 and I wish I could remember which one it was. 28:54 Right now I don't recall. 28:55 I said: "See, God's in control of the weather, isn't He? " 28:58 And they nodded and they said like: "Yes He is, but it's still 29:02 going to rain. " 29:05 I said: "No, it can't rain because the people have to 29:07 hear the Word of God so let's pray. " 29:09 And so we knelt down to pray 29:11 and we knelt in a little circle in their living room. 29:13 And I prayed and I presented this promise 29:15 before God and I placed my finger on it 29:17 and I said: "Lord, I know You can read this. " 29:19 And I'm praying two prayers at once. 29:21 I'm praying that God would keep the rain away 29:23 and I'm praying the silent prayer 29:25 "You've gotta answer this prayer 29:27 'cause I've really stuck my neck out here, and these kids, 29:29 I mean... this would be faith building 29:31 so You've gotta answer the prayer. " 29:33 And so then we walked later in the day 29:36 a mile or two to where the preaching was taking place. 29:38 And the kids said: "Pastor, it's going to rain. " 29:40 And I looked up and in the distance 29:41 it was just as dark... that dark grey-blue 29:45 color that you know is rain. 29:47 I said: "No, no, we prayed. God will answer our prayer. " 29:50 The other prayer: "You've got to answer our prayer. " 29:55 I stood up to speak 29:57 and I'm looking out there to where the kids are sitting 29:59 on the grass and they're looking up. 30:02 And they're looking at me. 30:03 And they're looking up. 30:04 And they're looking at me. 30:06 Because by the time I was half-way through the sermon 30:10 there was rain pouring... 30:13 not on us but around us. 30:15 360 degrees around us! 30:19 Everywhere you turned 30:21 no matter where you turned you could see rain 30:23 hosing down. 30:25 And the kids are looking at me like... looking up. 30:28 They came to me after the sermon and they said: 30:29 "OK, Pastor, it can rain now. " I said: "No! " 30:32 I was pushing my luck. 30:36 "It cannot rain now 30:38 because we've got the Bible study classes... 30:41 the baptismal preparation classes. 30:43 Not until after that can it rain. " 30:45 And they looked at me like I was out of my mind. 30:47 And so the classes took place about 40 minutes 30:50 still it's raining 360 degrees around us but not on us. 30:53 They came to us and they said: "It's gonna rain now. " 30:56 I said: "No... not for about fifteen minutes 30:58 because the people have to get home and stay dry. " 31:01 They couldn't believe what they were hearing. 31:03 Fifteen minutes later 31:04 it was time for us to leave. 31:06 I said: "Let's go. " And as we started walking home 31:08 man, the heavens opened up! 31:11 Boom! It rained like you wouldn't believe. 31:14 I had my Bible under whatever clothing I was wearing, 31:18 walking. Soaked! Drenched to the bone! 31:21 Thought we were going to drown walking home! 31:27 Can God control the weather? 31:29 Yes! Why can He do that? 31:31 Because He is Sovereign. 31:32 He is Sovereign God! 31:34 It's what He does when it works for His glory. 31:38 Amen! When it works for His glory. 31:41 Now brothers and sisters, you talk about Sovereign God 31:43 and you will say: "Yeah, but the wind blew away my house. " 31:46 Or: "The rain came and flooded my basement. " 31:48 OK. I wish I could explain that to ya 31:51 other than "Sometimes bad things happen. " 31:54 And sometimes good things happen. 31:56 The good that you don't deserve happens to you all the time. 31:59 So when the bad that you don't deserve happens to you 32:02 there's no point shaking your fists in God's face. 32:04 He is still God! 32:06 And let me tell you something: 32:07 you are not gonna get out of here with your possessions 32:11 anyway! Amen! 32:14 When we get there, we're not takin' it with us. 32:16 It's not ours anyhow. 32:18 It is God's... not ours. 32:21 God's! God is Sovereign. 32:23 And He spoke one day - Christ did - and He said: 32:26 "Peace, be still! " 32:29 And it was still. I want to make an application here. 32:32 There might be a storm ranging in your heart 32:34 in your life tonight. 32:35 It might be a storm of illness; financial challenge. 32:38 There might be an interpersonal storm. 32:40 Maybe the foundations of your marriage are starting to crack 32:43 and you don't know how to polyfiller up the gaps 32:45 quickly enough. It might be... you name it. 32:48 But Jesus is fully able 32:51 to stand up and speak to the storm in your life 32:53 and say: "Peace, be still! " 32:55 And if He doesn't calm the waves and the sea, 32:57 He can certainly calm your heart. 32:59 Come on and say "Amen. " Amen! Because He is Sovereign. 33:01 He is mighty and He is perfectly willing and able 33:05 to be as mighty in your life as you need Him to be. 33:09 AMEN! Where else is Jesus Sovereign? 33:12 He is Sovereign everywhere! 33:14 But I want to tell you He is Sovereign over the elements 33:16 of nature. He's... you might say 33:20 "The weather is all of that. " Yeah, but I would have only had 33:22 one. This time I've got two. 33:23 So I'm splitting them up like that. 33:25 He's Sovereign over the elements of nature 33:28 and I want to show you this in Daniel and chapter 3. 33:30 Daniel chapter 3... you know the story. 33:32 There shouldn't be any surprises here. 33:34 I shouldn't even be able to take you anywhere in the Bible 33:36 that would surprise you. 33:37 You go to Daniel chapter 3 and you know the story. 33:40 The king set up a golden image 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. 33:45 Set it up on the plain of Dura. 33:47 And he said: "Come on out everybody 33:49 and inaugurate this image. 33:51 We are going to have you all bow down and worship it. " 33:55 And it was perfectly acceptable for him to do that. 33:59 Culturally, socially, religiously. 34:02 No matter how you cut it up 34:04 what he was doing was entirely in sync with the times. 34:08 "Let's bow down and worship the thing 34:10 when you hear the music play- ing - that Babylonian music. " 34:15 Babylonian music is especially suited for bowing down to idols. 34:20 "When you hear that Babylonian music, bow down. " 34:24 But there were three young men who did not bow down. 34:28 Simply wouldn't do it. 34:30 And this is quite phenomenal. 34:36 I'll get to the main point second. I'll get to the 34:38 secondary point first. 34:39 The secondary point is what one would think 34:41 is the spectacular point... but it's not really. 34:44 And so we read in verse 19 that they wouldn't bow down. 34:47 Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury. 34:50 I love this: "And the form of his visage - 34:53 his appearance - was changed 34:54 against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. " 34:56 So he went from calm and serene to just angry and twisted 35:00 and bent. "He commanded the most mighty men 35:04 to cast them into a burning fiery furnace. " 35:06 Now you're going to love this: 35:08 "So these three men were bound in their coats 35:10 and their hosen and their hats and their other garments 35:13 and were cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 35:17 Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent 35:20 and it was exceedingly hot 35:22 the flame of fire slew the men that threw our three friends 35:26 into the fire. But these three men - 35:29 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - 35:30 fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 35:34 Nebuchadnezzar was astonished! 35:37 He said: 'Didn't we cast three men 35:39 bound into the midst of the fire? ' 35:41 They said: 'True, king. ' 35:43 He answered and said: 'Lo, I see four men 35:45 loose, walking in the midst of the fire 35:46 AND THEY HAVE NO HURT! 35:51 And the form of the fourth is like 35:53 the Son of God. ' " Or, a son of the gods. 35:57 Can you imagine somebody going into the flames 35:59 and having no hurt? 36:01 I just read a fascinating story. In fact, 36:03 Melissa found this when she was doing some research 36:06 for her My Place With Jesus ministry. 36:08 And she found this wonderful story just very recently. 36:11 In West Virginia a church was devastated by fire. 36:15 Absolutely burned to the ground. 36:17 And you think that this is fiction? It's not. I've seen the 36:19 picture. Everything was burned to virtually nothing 36:23 except for the Bibles. 36:26 Amen. 36:27 Except for the Bibles. No joke! 36:29 This was in mainstream news just a... 36:33 Don't give me: "You can't trust anything in the news. " 36:35 We're not getting political here. 36:37 But in regular news just recently. 36:41 Church is burned to smithereens 36:42 and the Bibles have been preserved. 36:45 So God is able to do it. And He does it again 36:47 and He does it again. But here went these three men 36:50 into the fire. The fire couldn't touch them. 36:52 Why? Because God is Sovereign over the fire. 36:55 Amen! He's supreme over the elements. 36:58 There is nothing over which God is not supreme. 37:01 Nothing at all! 37:05 I've never had that happen to me... never! 37:08 I've been singed... a little burned. 37:11 Thank God never anything terribly bad. 37:13 But whenever I have tangled with fire, the fire wins 37:16 and I come second. 37:17 This was different. And now I want to get back to the main 37:20 point. Not the secondary point... the MAIN point. 37:24 Because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 37:27 answered and said to the king: "Oh Nebuchadnezzar, 37:29 we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. " 37:32 They were not being smart alecks. 37:33 They were simply saying: "We don't have to think twice. " 37:37 "We don't have to sit here stroking our chins 37:40 wondering how we should respond. " 37:42 They said: "If it be so, 37:45 our God whom we serve is able to deliver us 37:51 from the burning fiery furnace. 37:53 And He will deliver us out of your hand 37:58 O king. " That was BOLD! 38:01 But they followed it up... this is the main point: 38:05 "But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, 38:08 we will not worship your god or serve the golden image 38:14 which you have set up. " 38:16 "It doesn't matter to us whether God delivers us 38:19 from this mess or not 38:20 we are still not going to bow down. " Amen! 38:26 And you know that Daniel chapter 3 is simply 38:28 a mirror of what takes place in Revelation chapter 13. 38:31 Why was God able to deliver them? 38:33 Because they threw themselves at God's feet and said: 38:36 "We are hanging on... we have nothing else. " 38:39 And they had said: "It's up to You; we simply trust You. " 38:43 "It's up to You. " 38:44 Somebody asked me a question the other night 38:46 during this event, one of the evangelistic meetings 38:48 that we just did in Melbourne, Australia. 38:50 And they said: "Should I tithe on my income 38:52 because I have a lot of bills? " 38:54 And my answer was: "Absolutely you should! " 38:56 You are not going to see God work a miracle 38:58 unless you put it out there and say: "I need You 39:01 to work a miracle. " Amen! And that's what He does. 39:03 When the boss says to you: "You've got to work on Sabbath" 39:06 now I can't promise you exactly what's going to take place 39:08 except that God is going to come through for you. 39:12 I've known many people who have lost jobs 39:15 over the Sabbath, but I have not known anyone 39:19 who's ever been worse off. 39:20 My own wife's father. He said to the boss: 39:23 "Listen... I've had a change of heart. I've given my life to the 39:25 Lord. I've had kind of a re-configuration in my 39:29 Christian experience. I can't work Friday night 39:31 to Saturday night... sunset to sunset. 39:33 I'll work any other time. " 39:34 "I'll work Sunday. I'll work Monday night, 39:36 Tuesday night, Wednesday night. Do whatever I need to do. " 39:39 He said: "You be here on Saturday or you're going to 39:41 lose your job. " He said: "No, no, no, 39:43 no... I cannot be here but I... " 39:44 "Don't even bother coming Monday. " 39:48 So of course Friday night he's at home. 39:50 Sabbath morning he's in church. 39:53 Monday morning he's back at the work site 39:56 and there's someone else doing his job. 40:01 And the boss said: "I told you not to come back 40:03 if you weren't going to be here on Saturday. " 40:06 And this was a few years ago. He didn't know anything about 40:09 public affairs and religious liberty. 40:11 He didn't know anything about that. He didn't even think 40:13 to call a lawyer. He figured he'd go to his lawyer in heaven 40:16 and talk to God. 40:17 He said: "Well man, I'm in a bit of a fix here. 40:20 I've got three girls in church school 40:23 and we've got bills to pay and we are trying to get ahead. " 40:26 And the Lord said to him: "There's another way. " 40:28 "What other way? " 40:29 He said: "Why don't you open a business doing those things 40:32 that you're good at and like so much? " 40:33 He said: "A business? Me? I don't know anything about 40:35 opening a business. " "Well give it a try. " 40:37 So he opened a business. 40:39 The story does not end with him becoming as wealthy 40:42 as Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. 40:44 But the story DOES end with his three girls 40:47 going through Christian elementary school, 40:48 and church high school, and church college as well. 40:52 Amen! And he made it with money to spare! 40:55 Did God come through for him? 40:57 Yes, because as somebody said 40:59 "You can't walk on water unless you get out of the boat. " 41:03 Amen! God is Sovereign ladies and gentlemen. 41:06 He is SOVEREIGN! 41:07 And these characters here in the book of Daniel 41:10 chapter 3: they weren't going to bow down 41:13 to no lousy golden image... 41:15 not even if their lives depended on it 41:18 because they recognized 41:20 that the Monarch to whom they were answerable 41:23 was not Nebuchadnezzar but the God in heaven 41:27 who is Sovereign over all. Come on, say "Amen. " 41:31 Amen! That's right. Here they were in Egypt. 41:32 Have you seen Egypt? Big old place. 41:34 You can hardly get from one place to another 41:36 from where God was trying to get them 41:38 without the Red Sea getting in the way. 41:39 And God said: "Out you go. " 41:41 And they said: "All right. " 41:43 And God led them. He had already shown Himself 41:45 in a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud 41:47 and so at least Moses was trusting. 41:49 And they get down to the edge of the Red Sea 41:50 and God says: "Keep on going... keep on going. 41:53 Hold out your hand; something great is going to happen. " 41:55 And he held out his hand 41:57 and you saw something happening that had never happened before. 42:00 Who could do that? 42:02 I'm going to tell you tonight 42:04 if God can keep three men from being burned 42:06 in the fire, if Jesus was with them in the midst of that fire, 42:11 if Jesus can calm the wind and the waves 42:14 and keep the rain from stopping an evangelistic meeting 42:17 in the middle of nowhere in Africa, 42:19 if God can cause the Red Sea to open up 42:22 and let His people cross that thing on dry land, 42:25 then God can move in your life. 42:28 He's not only Sovereign over the wind and the waves. 42:31 He's Sovereign over what's going on in your life, too. 42:33 Oh yes He is! 42:35 Sovereign...super. He is the supreme Ruler. 42:39 That's what God is! Amen! 42:41 And here we are, human beings. We ignore God 42:44 and we go about our own business 42:46 and we build monuments to ourselves. 42:49 There they were at Jericho. They had a handsome city 42:52 and it was a walled city. 42:54 You read the story in Judges and chapter 6. 42:56 And God said: "No problem; those walls are going to fall. " 42:59 "OK... how is it going to happen? " 43:03 God said: "I have a very high-tech plan. " 43:08 "This is going to involve walking and shouting. " 43:13 You know, Joshua... good for Joshua. 43:15 But what about the men in the army who were just 43:17 taking orders? They must have thought 43:19 "We don't trust this guy... vote of no confidence. " 43:23 I mean, I'm thinking somebody had to have thought that. 43:26 Can imagine them walking around Jericho 43:29 and someone's explaining to his friend: 43:30 "You know what we're going to do? 43:31 We're just going to walk around the city. 43:33 And on the seventh day - we do it seven times - 43:35 we shout. " 43:40 The guy's going to defect. 43:42 "I think I'll go fight for them. " 43:46 And they walked and they shouted. 43:49 Have you seen? Have you ever seen a walled 43:52 city before? You know what these walls are like? 43:55 They're not made of cardboard, man. 43:57 They're not paper mache. 43:59 They're the real thing. Great big stones 44:02 carved out of a quarry of some kind 44:05 stacked on top of each other. 44:06 Some of these walls are big and wide. 44:10 And they walked and they walked 44:14 and they SHOUTED 44:17 and what happened to the walls of Jericho? 44:19 Fell down! Just fell down! 44:23 God is Sovereign 44:26 even over the monuments we make to ourselves. 44:30 There's a great story. Peter is in prison. 44:33 In prison! He's behind gates and walls 44:36 and there are men... I'm going to read it. 44:37 I can't help it... I've got to read this. 44:39 We're going to go to Acts chapter 12. 44:41 This is such a beautiful story. 44:42 Acts chapter 12. I want you to know tonight 44:44 that God is Sovereign. 44:46 Ladies and gentlemen, He is Sovereign; He is Lord! 44:49 He is the supreme Ruler. 44:50 There was... "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of 44:54 all flesh" God said one day. 44:56 And then He asked a question: 44:57 "Is there anything too hard for Me? " 45:00 Oh no there's not for God is God! 45:02 "Peter, therefore, was kept in prison... " Acts 12:5 45:05 "but... " listen... "prayer was made without ceasing 45:09 of the church unto God for him. " 45:11 I think this had a lot to do with it. 45:13 "And when Herod would have brought him forth, 45:15 the same night Peter was sleeping. " 45:16 That's gotta tell you something! 45:17 James had just lost his head. 45:20 It appeared that Peter was going to lose his 45:23 and he's in prison sleeping. 45:26 Sleeping. 45:27 I just read, I just wish I could tell you what, where somebody 45:29 said: "I couldn't sleep; I was awake all night. " 45:33 Peter was sleeping. 45:35 What does that tell you about his trust in God? 45:38 This brother believed that God was Sovereign. 45:40 Whether he lived or died, it was of very little consequence 45:43 as long as God was glorified. 45:46 And Peter knew that his heart was in God's hands. 45:48 So Peter is busy snoring in a jail cell. 45:52 He's bound with chains... plural. 45:55 And the keepers of the prison... sorry: 45:58 "And the keepers before the door kept the prison. " 46:01 So this is plural as well. 46:02 More than one. "Behold, the angel of the Lord 46:05 came upon him. A light shined in the prison. 46:07 He smote him on the side. " Bam! He was a heavy sleeper! 46:12 "He raised him up saying: 'Arise up quickly' 46:15 and his chains fell off! " 46:18 Amen! How can that happen? 46:20 It can happen because there is a Sovereign God 46:22 stronger than any human chain. 46:24 "Chains fell off. The angel said: 'Gird yourself; 46:28 bind on your sandals. ' " He did it. 46:29 "He said: 'Cast your garment about you 46:31 and follow me. ' And he went out and followed him. " 46:33 "He didn't know that it was true what was done by the angel. 46:36 He thought he saw a vision. 46:37 When they passed the first and the second ward... " 46:41 you've gotta love that... 46:42 "they came unto the iron gate that led unto the city. 46:46 It opened to them of its own accord. 46:50 They went out and passed on through one street. 46:53 The angel departed and Peter said: 46:56 'What in the world? ' " 46:58 In fact, Peter said: "God is great! " 47:01 "God is supreme; God is Sovereign. " 47:03 You know in Revelation chapter 16 47:05 hail stones about 70 lbs. each 47:07 are going to come battering down on this earth. 47:09 They will absolutely devastate the monuments that we have built 47:12 to ourselves... every last one of them... 47:14 because God is Sovereign. 47:16 God is able; God is supreme. 47:18 God is over all. He is the SOVEREIGN GOD! 47:22 And so when God then said: 47:26 "I am the Lord your God that brought you out of the 47:28 land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, 47:30 you shall have no other gods before Me" and so on 47:34 we know who we're talking about. 47:36 We are talking about the Creator... 47:38 the One who spoke and it was done. 47:40 The One who said to Jeremiah: 47:42 "I knew you while you were in the womb. " 47:45 I'm going to tell you something: people are forgetting that 47:48 God is Sovereign. You know that. 47:50 People in the world acting as though there is no God. 47:54 Taking life. 47:55 Acting God. I just read a terrible story. 47:58 It's so terrible... I'll tell you about it. 48:01 Seventeen-year-old woman in the Netherlands. 48:03 Seventeen. You've gotta believe that the devil runs 48:06 the government of some countries 48:09 in spite of what otherwise you would call good people. 48:13 The devil is in charge. 48:14 Seventeen-year-old girl was euthanized. 48:16 Euthanized! You know they use euthanasia in some countries 48:19 in Europe. Now she had had some terrible experiences. 48:22 Some terrible experiences. 48:23 I won't go into the details. Terrible experiences. 48:26 And she said: "I am seventeen years old 48:28 and I'm so depressed. 48:29 I just don't see how I can face life. " 48:31 Now you have to have a doctor to agree that 48:33 ending someone's life is best. No sweat. Doctor signed the 48:36 certificate. Killed her. 48:38 And her life was ended because she was depressed. 48:42 I'm not minimizing depression. 48:44 I know it's a beast, it's a monster. 48:46 I understand that. 48:48 But we can't think a) that there's no way out 48:52 and we cannot begin to think that we are... 48:55 that we are sovereign. 48:56 That we get to choose who lives and dies. 48:59 That we can say "It's just a clump of cells. 49:02 Let's remove it from the womb; it has no right to go on. " 49:05 The heart may be beating, but what does that mean to me? Huh? 49:09 No, no, no, no... we allow God to make those decisions. Yes! 49:13 Not you and me. It is God who is Sovereign over all. 49:17 We've got no right going down those roads. That's right! 49:21 I tell you what: it's going to be a fearful time 49:23 in the judgment for those folks who decided 49:25 that they would play God here on the earth... 49:27 a fearful, fearful time. 49:30 God is Sovereign over the animal kingdom. 49:32 There was Daniel in a den filled with hungry lions 49:35 in Daniel chapter 6. The king was beside himself. 49:38 "Man, I got tricked! I got shanghaied into this 49:40 and here I am casting the best guy into a den of lions. " 49:43 "Oh my goodness... I got buffaloed! " 49:46 And then he comes down to the lion's den: 49:48 "Daniel! Daniel! " And Daniel cries out: 49:50 "I'm fine... I'm fine! " 49:51 It's not written in the text but you know he said: 49:54 "Lions need to be fed, though. " 49:56 "Send down that lion food. " 49:59 "Lions need to be fed but I'm fine! " 50:02 I wouldn't trust myself in a den of lions. 50:05 Oh man! We wouldn't want to do that. 50:08 But God is Sovereign over those lions. 50:10 It was God who caused the animals in two's and seven's 50:13 to march from out of the jungle, out of the woods, 50:16 from across the fruited plain, 50:18 and all take their place orderly on Noah's ark. 50:20 God... He's Sovereign over all of that! 50:24 He is God... He is Sovereign! 50:27 And so He speaks and He says: "Thou shalt 50:29 and thou shalt not" and we say: "Yes! " 50:32 Now, granted, it will rub your fur the wrong way. 50:36 If you are halfway human, the will of God will often 50:39 cut against yours because we are growing. 50:42 But what do we say? "Not my will, God, 50:45 but Your will be done. " 50:47 Let me tell you something: 50:48 there's one area where God is Sovereign but He demonstrates 50:51 His sovereignty in an interesting way. 50:53 Could God change the human heart? 50:55 Could God change your mind if He wanted to do that? 50:58 Yes He could. 50:59 But when Eve was about to take that fruit from the serpent 51:03 and put it in her mouth and bite it 51:05 could God have intervened? Yes He could have 51:07 but He chose not to 51:10 knowing full well that death would come to this earth. 51:13 Knowing full well that Jesus would die on the cross. 51:17 Any other sovereign that you know of 51:20 who could have known that the earth would have been plunged 51:23 into chaos, that death would come, 51:25 and his or her son would die 51:27 could have stopped it immediately... but not God. 51:29 So God is either the crazy One 51:32 or the only sane One. 51:34 God understood that His sovereignty would be 51:37 demonstrated not by power, not by force. 51:39 Look at the wind and the waves and see God control them. Amen! 51:43 Look at the lions closing their mouths instead of opening their 51:46 mouths. That's beautiful. 51:48 Watch the animals go on the ark. 51:50 The fire didn't even scorch the hair on Daniel's arms. 51:55 Didn't even singe his eyebrows. Sorry... 51:57 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 51:59 Didn't even singe the hair on their heads. 52:02 That's not the greatest evidence that God is Sovereign. 52:07 One day Jesus Christ was hanging on and old rugged cross 52:13 and some smart aleck started baiting Him. 52:16 And they said: "He saved others... 52:19 if He be the King of Israel let Him now come down 52:23 from the cross and we will believe Him. " 52:26 "He saved others... Himself He cannot save. " 52:30 Wrong! 52:32 He saved others... Himself He WILL NOT save! 52:36 Who is this? 52:38 What kind of sovereign does that? 52:40 Woman taken in adultery as guilty as sin. 52:43 Jesus says: "I don't condemn you. " 52:45 Woman at the well: "Where's your husband? " 52:46 "Oh, no, I'm not married. " "Ain't that the truth! " 52:49 "Ain't that the truth! " 52:52 "You're a serial marrier. " 52:59 And instead of rebuking this woman whose morals were so lax 53:02 she didn't go to the well when others went 53:07 she didn't want to incur their wrath or see their frowns. 53:11 Instead of rebuking her Jesus said: "Hey, there's 53:13 a way out of this, lady, and I am The Way. 53:15 Because even though you deserve to die 53:17 I shall die for you. " 53:19 Now that, brothers and sisters, is the supreme example 53:23 of God's sovereignty. It is a sovereignty of love. 53:26 Amen! The Sovereign absolutely didn't have to go to the cross 53:31 but He went because that's what sovereign love does. 53:36 We're not talking about sov- ereign anger or sovereign wrath. 53:39 Sovereign love. We are going to see fire 53:42 come down from God out of heaven in the end of time. 53:44 BOOM! The earth is going to turn into a lake of fire. 53:48 Sin will be gone... sinners will be gone. 53:52 But no, that's not the greatest demonstration 53:54 of the sovereignty of God. 53:57 Jesus was hanging on an old rugged cross 53:59 and about the ninth hour He cried with a loud voice 54:02 saying: "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? " 54:06 And that is to say: "My God, My God, 54:09 why have You forsaken Me? " 54:11 He was repeating the words written by David in Psalm 22:1. 54:16 "And Jesus, when He cried again with a loud voice... " 54:19 verse 50... "yielded up the ghost. 54:22 And behold the veil of the temple was rent 54:23 in twain from the top to the bottom. 54:25 The earth did quake and the rocks rent. " 54:26 And God said in the silence: 54:29 "I am Sovereign. " 54:32 Sovereignty is demonstrated best not by force but by love. 54:35 Amen! And the sovereignty of God was revealed then 54:39 and for all time by the Sovereign, the Creator, 54:43 the One who spoke, the One who with His own finger 54:46 wrote the law on two tables of stone 54:48 but here He wrote love on two beams of wood. 54:52 Head rested on His chest; He perished. 54:56 Before long blood and water flowed and God said: 55:00 "That's what sovereignty looks like. " Amen! 55:05 The mighty Sovereign who caused the rain to fall or not, 55:09 the mighty Sovereign who caused the fire to burn or not. 55:11 The mighty Sovereign who caused the lions to bite or not. 55:14 Ah, the mighty Sovereign who hung on an old rugged cross 55:18 and died so we might live... that's sovereignty. 55:23 And so we know about God's sovereignty, 55:25 but when we experience God's sovereignty 55:26 will we? What do you do about God's sovereignty? 55:29 It's good to know that He spoke 55:31 and created the things we see and much of what we don't see. 55:36 But is He speaking to your heart tonight? 55:38 Does He have your heart? 55:40 You could talk about God being sovereign until the cows come 55:42 home, but if He's not your Sovereign 55:45 then that knowledge will ultimately be a curse to you 55:47 and not a blessing. Is He your Sovereign? 55:50 Does He have your heart? 55:51 What's He speaking to you about tonight? 55:54 "It is God who works in you both to will and to do 55:57 for His good pleasure. " 55:59 As long as you let Him. He won't force His way. 56:02 That's sovereignty. 56:04 In days of old sovereigns would behead, execute. 56:07 Have killed and hung those who disagreed with them 56:12 or ticked them off. But God? No. 56:15 God gives us time. He is patient and He is loving. 56:19 He is merciful and He is gracious and He says: 56:21 "Will you respond? Will you respond? " 56:23 The sovereignty we see in the spectacular 56:26 is designed to lead us to the cross. 56:29 And God asks us today: "Will you respond? " 56:33 "Will you accept? " 56:34 "Will you surrender to the Sovereign 56:37 and to the sovereignty of love? " 56:41 Let us pray together now. 56:44 Our Father and our God, 56:46 in the name of the mighty Sovereign Jesus 56:51 we come to You. 56:53 Mighty God, we know You are supreme. 56:56 You are the supreme Ruler. 56:58 You have supreme authority. 57:00 Of course, that perplexes us sometimes 57:03 because we know that You could heal Grandma, 57:07 You could heal this child or that child. 57:10 We know. But You have given us evidence - 57:14 plenty - that we can trust You in spite of what may perplex us. 57:20 There is only one God who opened up the Red Sea. 57:23 That's You. You caused a flood to inundate the earth. 57:26 You are supreme. Only You could do that. 57:28 You closed the lions' mouths; You caused the flame 57:32 to back off instead of press on. |
Revised 2019-07-10