I'm reading this morning from
the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2. Matthew, chapter 2. This is a passage of Scripture
commonly used around so-called Christmas time. Nevertheless,
we're going to look at a few verses this morning. Chapter
2 of Matthew verses 1 through 3, I am reading, Now when Jesus
was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
and king is spelled with a small k, in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying,
Where is he that is born king? of the Jews, and King is spelled
here with a capital K. Where is he that is born King
of the Jews? For we have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship him. And when Herod the King,
small k, had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem
with him. This king, small king named Herod,
when he heard of a king, a great king that had recently been born,
he was troubled. And all Jerusalem, it says, was
troubled as well. Everyone was troubled. Now, listen. carefully. The heart of salvation
is God reigns and rules. The sovereignty of the Lord. His sovereign salvation. That is the heart of salvation.
No one would be saved if God did not purpose it and if God
did not perform it. That is the heart of salvation. And it is the only source of
true peace and joy for the believer. The only source of true peace
and joy in a world full of sin and suffering and chaos, it seems,
is that God reigns and rules over all things. And this makes
the believer, the true believer, I mean the one who truly believes
God, it makes the believer very happy, gives peace, and yet it
makes the world angry and troubled to hear of a sovereign God. What rejoices the hearts of God's
people angers the world. What makes the true believer
very happy makes the unbeliever very mad. What gives the believer
great peace troubles the world. I am talking about, we are dealing
with the sovereignty, the absolute reign of God Almighty over all
things and all flesh. I am reading to you from Daniel
chapter 4, and it says this three times in this chapter in Daniel. The Lord through His prophet
says to a man named Nebuchadnezzar who lifted himself up with pride,
who thought he had accomplished great things, that he thought
that he had done great things, the Lord said to him, You are
going to know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men,
and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Now this is written three
times, said three times. The Most High, with a capital
H, speaking of God, ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth
it to whomsoever he will." And down in verse 35, verses 34 and
5, it says, "...that he liveth forever, whose dominion is an
everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to
generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing,
and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and
among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his
hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" Did you hear that? It says, "...he doeth according
to his will in heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and none can stay his hand. None can stop him. Nothing and
no one can stop him or say unto him what doeth that. You cannot
even question him. In the book of Job, the oldest
book in the Bible, it says, ìHe giveth not an account of his
matters to anyone.î Now, this or that is absolute reign and
sovereignty. That's what we mean when we say
sovereignty. That is absolute and total control. Total, unquestionable, unchangeable
rule and authority. Now, our modern generation knows
nothing of absolute sovereignty. It has been so long since there
has been a true king reigning and ruling in a kingdom that
our modern generation really knows nothing about absolute
sovereignty. I mean unquestionable, unchangeable
sovereignty that no one can do anything about it. There was
a man named Saddam Hussein. He's a poor example of a little
reigning king, but nevertheless, It's the only one we have in
our generation that he did as he would, as he will, with whom
he will, because he will. Now, that is sovereignty. A little
despot, though he was, yet he did as he pleased, with whom
he would, and just because he would. But he was quickly and
easily deposed by a more powerful foe. So he is not a very good
example of absolute sovereignty. There have been truer kings,
more powerful kings ruling and reigning sovereigns in history
than Saddam Hussein. The pharaohs of Egypt were very
powerful men. The kings of Persia. King Saul
in Israel, King David and King Solomon, Julius Caesar, and a
few in the British kingdom, Edward and Charles and some. But some
of these were powerful reigning monarchs who had their way, or
so it seems. And yet here is sovereignty. I mean absolute sovereignty,
that there is none more powerful, that none can stay in the hand
of this King. In Revelation 19, verse 16, speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ, it says, His name is King of Kings. He is the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. That is, kings do according to
his sovereign will. As great as those kings I mentioned
to you were, as powerful as those men were, they were doing the
will of the king of kings. There are lords even today in
Parliament. Well, they go by that name. They
don't have much authority, but nevertheless there have been
lords or rulers down through time, and yet Scripture says
he is Lord of lords. That is, the lords, the reigning,
the rulers, the princes and rulers of men do as he wills for them
to do. Now, here is sovereignty. Listen
to Proverbs 21, verse 1. And all I ever want to do is
tell you what God's Word says. what God says about Himself.
Oh, that men and women would quit listening to what men say
and read for themselves what God says about Himself. Throw
away all these modern translations or perversions of God's Word. Buy you an old King James Bible
and read what God says. I like the King James because
it's in the language of a king, and that's who God is, a king.
It has sovereign language, majestic language. Well, listen to Proverbs
21, verse 1. Now, here is sovereignty. Proverbs
21, 1, the king's heart is in the hands of the Lord. As the
rivers of water he turneth it, whithersoever he will. Did you
hear that with me? The King's heart, the reigning,
ruling, most powerful man on this earth, his heart is in the
hands of the Lord who turns it whithersoever He will. Now that's sovereignty. Listen
to this, Proverbs 16, verse 4, and I wish you would mark this
down and look it up for yourself. It might change your whole theology. If God willed, if God the Holy
Spirit would teach someone this and get it through their mind
and heart, that's the only way anyone's going to believe this
and bow to it is if God sovereignly overrules, reigns over, and controls
their thoughts. Well, listen to this. Proverbs
16, verse 4. The Lord hath made all things
for himself, even the wicked, for the day of evil." Have you ever heard that verse?
No, because you won't hear it by modern so-called preachers,
but there it is. The Lord hath made all things
for himself, even the wicked, for the day of evil. Listen to
Proverbs In the same chapter, chapter 16, verse 33, verse 33
says, ìThe lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing
thereof is of the Lord.î In other words, men seem to think they
are doing what they want to do and will do, yet it says, ìThe
whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.î My, my. My, my. Well, as I said in the
very beginning of this message, the heart of salvation, the only
reason anyone is saved is because God sovereignly saves them. The only way anyone will be saved
is God overrules their sinful will and mind and heart and they're
dead in trespasses and sin unless God who is life gives them life.
They will not live. The heart of salvation and the
believer, the true believer's peace and joy in a chaotic world,
a seemingly chaotic world, it is not going out of control because
God reigns. The believer's peace and joy
in this world is what makes the world angry and troubled
that God reigns. Herod the king was troubled at
a hearing of a rival king. And over in Revelation 11 it
says the nations were angry when God spoke of His sovereignty.
That is the enmity against God that Romans 8 verse 7 says, the
carnal mind, the natural man, is enmity against God. Why is
that? Because man thinks he's in control. Man thinks his will
is being done, it's free. Man thinks that he is doing as
he pleases when in fact God reigns over him and rules. And he despises,
man despises any and all authority over him. It started in the garden
with our earthly parents. They didn't want to be ruled.
rebelled, and we are born that way, born hating authority, and
it carries on down in every aspect of this life. It starts with
rebellion against God Almighty. But salvation is realized when
God Almighty sovereignly comes to a center and reveals Himself
to them, the Lord reigning and ruling, and they bow the knee
to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Make us do that this
very morning. Amen.