Jeff, thank you for praying for
Deanna. Deanna has been in the hospital
this week for a couple of days, but she's home recovering and
hopes to be back with us maybe by Wednesday. I have a charge from God that's
pretty clear and pretty simple. And I'd like for you to turn
with me in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 52. so that you might
agree with me and understand my responsibility. Not just my responsibility, but
my pleasure, my joy. Isaiah chapter 52, verse 7. How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace. Good tidings is the gospel. The
gospel gives us peace with God, that bringeth good tidings of
good. All that he does for his children
is good. I know the thoughts that I think
toward you, thoughts of good and not of evil. Hard, yes, sometimes,
often, but always good. That publisheth salvation, this
is my charge, that I'm to not defend or debate but declare
this message of salvation. That saith unto Zion, thy God
reigneth. I want to say that this morning. More importantly, I want the
Lord to speak that truth to each and every one of our hearts.
We are so prone to think of ourselves as being in control, and we're
not. I could have titled this message,
Our God Reigneth. I've titled it, Who is Really
in Control? Who is really in control? In another place, the prophet
said, let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice and
let men say, the Lord reigneth. The Lord reigneth. Nebuchadnezzar put it like this
in Daniel chapter four. He said, our God reigns over
the armies of heaven and over all the inhabitants of the earth. He's in control. He reigns sovereign. We have been putting ourselves
up on the throne of God from the time we were born. It's what
happened in the fall. It goes all the way back to the
garden. When Satan said to Eve, God knows in the day in which
you eat of that tree, your eyes will be open and you'll be like
God. And we've had a God complex ever since. And we've been control
freaks ever since the garden. But it didn't begin in the garden.
It began before that. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
14. Isaiah, I'm in the wrong book,
Isaiah chapter 14, and we'll begin reading it at
verse 12. Lucifer, by the way, his name
means light bearer. Ezekiel chapter 38 says that
he was the anointed cherub, perfect in all of his ways, until iniquity
was found in his heart. Lucifer was the angel of angels
in glory. And this is the sin that reared
up in his heart. He was the light bearer in heaven. But with one third of all the
angels, he was cast out of heaven. You say, well, how could that
be? Well, the only explanation for it is that there are elect
angels and there are angels who were not elect. And Lucifer,
though he held such a high position, he was able to fall and took
with him one third of all the angels with him. But here's what
raised up in his heart, verse 12, How art thou fallen from
heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down
to the ground, which did weaken the nations? For thou hast said
in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God. I will sit upon the mount of
the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. will be like thee most high." That was his sin before he was
cast out of heaven. And when we find him in the garden,
he's still tempting man with the same lie. You can be like
God. And second Thessalonians chapter
two says that man has by nature set himself up on the throne
of God. Now, let me ask you a question.
What is there that God has that man wants? Let me ask you a little more
personal. What is it that God has that you often want? Very clear, very simple. One
word, control. Control. That's what we want. If we had the power of God, we'd
change pretty much everything. We'd be in control. If we had
the wisdom of God, we'd change nothing. Oh, how hopeful we are that the
Lord will give us his wisdom this morning and that we will
leave here believing that we're not in control and he is. Another title I thought about
for this message is God is God and we're not. Our God reigneth. all of our attempts to try to
take control of things. And we use so many things in
order to accomplish that end. We manipulate people. We use
power. We use possessions. We use anger. That's a big one. Don't get our
way. We will intimidate someone with
anger and with threats until we get our way. It's all about
control. It really is the root of all
of our sin problems. We often are reminded that the
real root of sin is unbelief. Well, what's the opposite of
our wanting to be in control? Bowing to him who is in control,
and that's faith. That's faith, just trusting Him.
Just believing that He's God and I'm not. And that what He
does is right and good and best. And bowing to that. And what
freedom there is in that. No longer do I have to try to
control people and control my circumstances or be controlled
by someone. God's in control. And the control
that he wields is not only right and best, it's good. It's good. He has nothing but
love. He has nothing but good for his
children. How can I know that? I have to
believe it. I can't see it. I have to believe it. Who's really in control? Oh, we maintain this illusion
that we're in control. It's nothing more than a virtual
reality. I know a man who pretends to
be the pastor of a virtual church because he preaches to a whole
bunch of people online, but he has no fleshly congregation to
meet with. And he said, well, I got a virtual
church. And I say about that, you know what virtual means?
Not real. Not real. And we live in a virtual
reality if we think that we're in control. Our God reigns. I was talking to a man the other
day. The Lord enables you to remember
him. My mailman, I've had lots of
conversations with him. He says he's coming to church.
I hope he does. And I asked him in the driveway the other day,
I said, How's it going? And he responded, John, like
you told me, your friend always responds to you. Live in the
dream. Live in the dream. That's what
he said. And I said, yeah, that's the problem. Dreams aren't real. And most people live a dream.
And then they wake up to a nightmare. You see, we buy into the lie. We buy into the lie that somehow
we're in control of everything. And the greatest demonstration
of this sin is not in the tyrants and the dictators that
murder people out of their attempt to be in control of masses of
men. That's not where it's seen. The
real evil of this sin is seen in free will works religion. That's the pinnacle of it or
the lowest depth of it if you want to look at it that way.
For us to think that God is subject to our will, that he wants to
save but he's not able to save unless we let him. I mean, is
there any other greater demonstration of man setting himself up on
the throne of God than that? We shut down people who don't
let us have our way. And we get shut down by someone
stronger. And the harder we fight to be
in control, the more out of control we become. And the higher, you
know, this thing of being in control works pretty well in
this world. Someone speaking of our president
said, well, he's a narcissist. And someone else said, well,
show me somebody in Washington, DC that's not. I mean, it can
produce some results. You get men intimidated by you,
and you are able to get control, and you can climb up the ladder.
The problem is God's ways are not our ways. His ways are not
our ways. His thoughts are higher than
our thoughts. The way up with God is down.
The way up with God is confessing, Lord, I'm not in control. I'm not in control of anything,
especially I'm not in control of my salvation. You want evidence of being a
sinner? Just look at all the things, the murmuring, the complaining,
the intimidation, the fear, What are all those things evidence
of? I'm losing control. And I got to take it back, because
I'm God. That's what we are. What rest, what peace there is. in being able to bow and acknowledge
the one who really is in control, who really is in control, and
rest in him. You know, one of the hardest
things we have to say is, I was wrong, I'm sorry, please forgive
me. That's a hard thing to say. We
all have a difficult time saying it, don't we? Why? Because somebody's
going to take advantage of that and see it as a sign of weakness
and take control of us. But in fact, it's the greatest
demonstration of strength for someone who acknowledges that
God's in control and I don't have to be under the control
of another person. I don't have to live in fear. I don't have
to live in intimidation. I don't have to do that to others
in order to get power. That's why Paul said, when I
am weak, then I am strong, for his strength is made perfect
in my weakness. With God, the way up is down.
It's just the opposite of the world. Just the opposite. And we won't come to it. Not until the Lord makes us thirsty. Oh, are you the thirsty? You're
thirsting for control? You're thirsting for dominance?
You're thirsting for? Come unto me. Come unto me. Drink. You know, our control is sinful,
it's selfish, it's wrong. It's damaging to us and to others. God's control is holy, is right,
is perfect. Turn with me to James chapter
three. James chapter three. Verse 13. Who is a wise man,
endued with knowledge among you? That's a good question. Am I
wise? Have I been endued with knowledge? Let him show out of good conversation
his works with meekness. What is meekness? It's the opposite
of trying to take control. It's bowing to his control. It's
acknowledging that God has ordained this, that God's in charge of
you, he's in charge of me, and I can be meek, it's strength
under restraint. It's a restraint of grace. It
keeps us from doing what we would by nature do because of our need
to be God. But if you have bitter envying
and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth.
All this bitterness and strife Strife and vainglory go together
always. You show me strife between people
and I'll show you someone who's not getting the control that
they want. They're not getting the credit
that they want. They're not getting the praise
that they want and they're fighting for it instead of just submitting. Give it up. Somebody else wants
it, let them have it. I'm not here to please you, I'm
here to please God. Not here to be controlled by
you, I'm here to be controlled by God. This wisdom, look at verse 15,
this wisdom, descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual,
and devilish." It goes all the way back to the garden. It goes
all the way back to Isaiah chapter 14, the fall of Satan. You know, I think I stopped short
in Isaiah 14 of reading a verse I wanted to read. Let's go back
to that passage just a moment, Isaiah chapter 14. Yes, I don't think I read verse
15. Let's be reminded what verse
14 says. I will ascend above the heights
of the clouds. I will be like the most high. Yet thou shalt
be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit. That's where self-exaltation,
self-control, not self-control in a good way, but trying to
be in control. And the higher we go, the farther
we had to fall. We climb this ladder, this virtual
ladder of imagination, and the higher up we get, the further
it is to fall. Satan is an example of that.
He's the one that got to the highest position, and he's the
one that fell the farthest. He fell into hell. Oh, that we could be free. from
our need to try to manipulate and manage everything in our
lives and be manipulated and managed by other people and just
rest in Christ. What liberty, what freedom where
the Spirit of God is, there's liberty. And the Lord Jesus said,
if I make you free, you're free indeed. What is it to be free?
Is it to be free to just do what I want and act like I want? No,
it's to be under his control. So many verses that speak of
his ability. He is able. He is able. He has sufficient strength. He
has necessary power. He's capable. He understands
all the situation. He's omniscient, so he knows
everything. He's omnipotent. He's got all power to do everything. When he told Abraham that Sarah
was gonna have a child, she's 90 years old, Abraham's over
100. And Sarah laughed. She laughed. That's not possible.
And what'd the Lord say to Sarah? Is anything too hard for God?
Is anything too hard for God? That we would be able to live
our lives in faith, trusting that nothing's too hard for him.
and all the things that we try to fix and we try to, Lord, this
is not too hard for you. I'm not able, but you are. You
are. Let's see what the Lord's gonna
do about it. Let's wait on the Lord. How oftentimes the scripture
tells us to wait upon him. They that wait upon the Lord,
they shall renew their strength. And that word renew in Isaiah
31. Doesn't mean that we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps
and we become strong. It means, that word renewed means
exchange. So when the Lord says, they that
wait upon the Lord shall exchange their strength for his. They shall mount up with wings
as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall
walk and not faint, trusting that what he does is right. Take a breath. Next time you
feel a need to be angry, look up. Lord, I don't know what you're
doing here. Keep me from taking charge. It seems like every time I put
my hand to something and try to be God, I just make it worse. It just gets worse. I'm not God, you're not God,
He is. And this is what faith is. This
is what faith is, trusting Him. Trusting Him first and foremost
for your salvation. Believing Him. Now, when we think
about the ability of God, there are some things that God can't
do. But what he can't do is not his limitation. It is a declaration
of his deity. Because what God can't do is
what we do. And what God does is what we
can't do. Let me give you some examples.
The Bible says that he can't lie. God can't lie. What God can't do, we do. The
Bible says that God can't change. Oh, we change all the time. We
can be charming. and angry in the same moment. We can, as James says, is it
possible from the same fountain for bitter water and sweet to
come forth? We can do it. God can't. He can't change. He cannot be tempted with evil.
God cannot be tempted with evil. We're tempted with evil all the
time. God cannot deny himself. If we believe not, we're in a
state of unbelief. He remaineth faithful for he
cannot deny himself. He cannot deny those who are
his and he will bring them out of that and give them faith again
and again and again and again. He cannot judge the same sin
twice. And he cannot let any sin go
unpunished. These are things God cannot do.
But we do what God can't do all the time. And here we think we're
God. Now this is the amazing thing about God. This short circuits
my little pea brain real quick. When I think about the fact that
I'm not just talking about myself, I'm talking about every living
person in this world. How many are there now? Five
billion or more? And we're all doing the same
thing. And we're all captain of our
own ship and masters of our own destiny and we're all trying
to be God. And yet God, with the billions
and billions of choices that sinful men make every day to
resist him, God has not changed and his purpose has not failed
to be accomplished in any way. He's using the rebellion of all
these people to accomplish his purpose. That's how much in charge
he is. That's how much he's in control. His purpose is not changed in
one bit with all the rebellion of man that goes on in the world.
He's accomplishing his purpose. He's God. Our God is God and
we're not. What a God we serve. What a glorious
God he is. Is he not, if he's able to do
that, is he not able to provide for you and for me? The little
things that we have and the big things that we have, he can provide. Bow to him, believe in him, trust
him. It's what faith is. And doing otherwise is idolatry. It is blasphemy. It is devilish. It is us believing the lie and
setting ourselves up on the throne of God. How evil. Lord, forgive me. Lord, save
me. Lord, help me. What'd that leper say? Lord,
if thou willest, Thou canst make me whole. But what does the religionist
and the unbeliever who has trust in their free will believe? God's
willing, but he's not able unless we help him, unless we do our
part. No, he's able. That leper spoke the truth. Lord,
if thou willest, thou canst. So when we pray, what do we pray?
When we ask the Lord to intervene and do something, what do we
say? Lord, if it be thy will. If it be thy will, if thou willest,
I know you can do it. I know you can do it. You can
do anything. If you will. I know you can. Not my will. Not my will. but thy will be
done. How oftentimes we have to be
brought to that place. Lord, I exercise my will and
look at the mess I've made of things. Those Pharisees said, we be children
of Abraham. What'd the Lord Jesus say? God
can raise, he pointed to the ground. I'm sure there's some
big, probably some rocks there. God can raise up from these stones,
children unto Abraham. And that's exactly what he did.
When he saves a lost sinner, whose heart is hard and cold
and lifeless, he raises from the stones of the earth, children
unto Abraham and gives them faith to believe God, to trust God.
to trust God. Nebuchadnezzar learned this lesson.
He thought he was in control. I mean, he was the greatest man
of the greatest nation in the world. He was king of Babylon. Look at this great kingdom that
I've made. And God turned him into an animal. And then Nebuchadnezzar
came to this conclusion. Those who walk in pride, he is
able to abase. Brothers and sisters, might we
have in our hearts, Lord, if I walk in pride, abase me. Show me. And here's what abases
us when we see him. Every example of anyone that
ever saw God or a vision of God or demonstration of God's glory
came to this conclusion. He's God and I'm not. There's nothing in me like him. Everything about me falls short
of his glory. I'm a sinner. Salvation's of the Lord. In his
wisdom, he devised it. In his power, he accomplished
it. And in his will, he performs
it in the hearts of his people. Turn with me to Romans chapter
four, please. Romans chapter four. Brother, you know, I was thinking
this week, one of the things about, probably I think the most
difficult thing about preaching is that God makes you experience
what you preach. And if you haven't experienced
it, you can't preach it. And it's almost like you have
to experience it at a higher level than anybody else before
you can preach it. I'm not preaching at you. I'm
preaching with you. This is my experience. It's every
son of Adam's experience. Wanted to be God. Wanted to be
in control. Wanted to fix everything. And what a relief it is What
rest there is. This is what William Cowper experienced
when he said that there's a fountain filled with blood drawn from
Emmanuel's veins. He was under such distress. He
actually, before the Lord converted him, spent time in an insane
asylum. He was so mentally distressed
over things that he had no control over. And when the Lord spoke
to him, I guess we read that in the first hour, didn't we,
from Zechariah chapter 13. And the Lord delivered him and
gave him peace. Romans chapter 4, look at verse
19. and talking about Abraham, and
being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when
he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness
of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory
to God, and being fully persuaded that what he had promised, he
was able also to perform. Now we don't sing this hymn here,
but I sang it in years past, standing on the promises, standing
on the promises. We're not standing on the promises.
We're standing on the one who keeps the promises. He's the rock on which we stand.
And he is able to perform that which he has promised. What did
he promise? He promised to save His people.
He promised to put away sin. He promised to conquer death.
He promised to send back into glory. He promised to be our
advocate before the Father. He promised to come again and
receive us unto ourselves. He promised to never leave us
nor forsake us. And we're not standing on promises,
we're standing on the one who made the promises. Abraham was
fully persuaded that he which promised was also able to perform. Perform. I dare say that most everybody
here believes the Bible is the word of God. Believes the promises
that are in the Bible are true. And if you confronted with a
promise of God and say, believe that's true, yeah, I believe
it. And yet how oftentimes we try to mount the throne of
God in our unbelief of the one who is able to perform his promises. Paul said this in 1 Timothy,
he said, I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is
able. He is able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. What do we commit unto
him? We commit our sin, we commit
our hope for righteousness, we commit our soul, we commit our
all in all. I had all my eggs in one basket
is what Paul's saying. I'm not diversifying my assets
here. I'm not hoping that, well, if
this doesn't work, this will work. Lord, if you don't do it,
it's not going to be done. Jude 24, he is able to keep us
from falling and to present us faultless before the throne of
God with great joy. In all the sin and all the unbelief
and all the stumbling and all the trying to be God, he keeps bringing us back. Keeps bringing us back. He's
not gonna let us fall. That's his promise. And he's
faithful to keep all of his promises. God cannot lie. Hebrews 2, verse 18 says, he
himself being tempted, he is able to help them which are tempted. Lord, in my temptation to be
God and try to take control be controlled, whatever, or deliver
me. They tried to control the Lord
Jesus. You think about the Pharisees, Pilate, Herod, the high priest. How many times men thought that
they could intimidate and control the Lord Jesus Christ? What did
he do? He was silent, silent to them. He was unthreatened. by their attempts. Why? Because he was under the control
of his father. And the Lord will give us the
same grace and the same peace when intimidated by man to rest. You think you're God, but you're
not. I know what that means because I do it often. But I know the
one who is God. And he's controlling this. I can be at peace waiting on
Him, waiting on Him. He's able. Our God reigneth. He reigneth. Our Heavenly Father, thank You
for Your Word. Thank You for reminding us again
that You are God and that we are not. Lord, give us a spirit
of grace and supplication. Cause us, Lord, to bow. Cause
us to confess. Cause us to seek your mercy and
your grace and your forgiveness. Remind us of your ability to do whatsoever
you will. Lord, thank you for this table.
Thank you for the bread and for the wine and what it represents
and how it points to the body and the blood of our dear Savior, who himself accomplished what
we cannot do. Lord, give us faith to look to
him as we receive these things. enable us to worship him. We
ask it in Christ's name. Amen. 12 in the spiral him. Now let's
stand together.