Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. If you would, let's be turning
to Mark 4. Mark 4. Mark 4, and I'm just going to
read one verse, verse 41. If any of you heard Mike Walker's
message of the Katie Baptist, I think it was called Peace,
or Peace Be Still, or something like that. He did that message,
and this passage just kind of stuck out at me. So Mark 4, verse
41. And they feared exceedingly and
said one to another, what manner of man is this that even the
wind and the sea obey him? We have here an account where
Christ was on this ship and the ship was full of water, it says.
As far as the men who were on this ship were concerned, it
was going down and they could do nothing to stop it. This great
storm, this great trial brought to them, brought them to search
out Christ for help. Christ was sleeping, even while
the ship was full of water, because it says, it says, they awake
him. They wondered and even asked
him if he cared whether they perished or not. We then see
right here that he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto
the sea, peace, be still. When he did this, the wind stopped
and the sea was still. It says here that there was a
great calm. I imagine that the sea was like
a sea of glass that was so calm. The word for great there, one
of the meanings is loud for that word. The silence was so great
you could hear it, so to speak, once Christ spoke these words.
I imagine that these men were very scared or frightened when
these waves were crashing into the ship. But after the sea and
the wind were calmed by Christ's words, what does it say of them? They feared exceedingly. What
transpired caused them to be fearful, not of the wind or the
water, but of this one who controlled and calmed them both by the word
of his mouth. It says that they said amongst
themselves, as I'm sure they were afraid to say this to Christ,
but they said, and this is my title, what manner of man is
this? We first must be sure to note
that there is one man they were referring to, and that was the
man Jesus Christ. It is what this man did that
caused them to fear exceedingly. He controlled inanimate objects
or things. Just think of this, if he calmed
the storm, and it says here that he did, it was he that brought
on the storm to begin with because he controls all things. I have
nothing new this morning. I want to talk about the sovereignty
of God. So that's my point this morning.
I'm gonna break it down into these things. Sovereign over
flora and fauna. Sovereign over happenings. I
don't know a better word other than to say that. Sovereign over
people. And sovereign in salvation. Number one, sovereign over flora
and fauna. Jesus Christ always does everything
on purpose. There's not one thing about this
earth, about the people on this earth, and about the things that
happen on this earth that will not be to his praise. If there
is anything that Jesus Christ comes to that is not to serve
him, he will destroy. I know I'm on flora and fauna,
but we know that Jesus Christ is not doing things or things
are not happening as some kind of accident. All things happen
on purpose as it is His purpose. There are those who are before
prepared unto glory. Everyone else is reprobate. God
did not have to do anything to cause them to be reprobate. They
are fitted to destruction. There is a scripture that makes
this clear, at least in my mind. John 3.18 says, he that believeth
on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. If you believe not, then you
are condemned already. But there are even those flora
and fauna, if they are not there to glorify and serve Jesus Christ,
he destroys even inanimate objects. Matthew 21, 19 we read, and when
he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it and found nothing
thereon but leaves only, and said unto it, let no fruit grow
on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered
away. He knew it would be this way,
but Jesus Christ, God Almighty, is revealing to us that He is
sovereign over all things. Even the things we might consider
to be small, that we do not even think about from day to day.
He will show us that He is in absolute control. God controls
his creation. That is his creation of man,
but it also means his creation of this big ball we live on with
the trees and the flowers, the rocks and the hills. Ezekiel
17, 24 says, all the trees of the field shall know that I,
the Lord, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low
tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree
to flourish. I, the Lord, have spoken it and
have done it. I know this can also be a type,
but trees this is talking about. But listen to this in Jeremiah
32, 17. Ah, Lord God, behold, thou hast
made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched
out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. He has made
all things, and they are all made by him and for him. Nothing is made without him. So everything is made by him
and since that is the case, he controls all things that happen
since he controls even the wind and the sea. So what do we have
next? Number two, sovereign over happenings. Isaiah 45, seven through nine,
we read, I form the light and create darkness. I make peace
and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things.
Drop down ye heavens from above and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open and let them
bring forth salvation and let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it. Woe unto him that striveth with
his maker. Let the potsherds strive with
the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that
fashioneth it, what makest thou or thy work? He hath no hands. God causes all things that happen
to happen. If it happens, it is because
God has decreed it from before the foundation of the world.
You hear a lot of folks talking about God's plan. I don't want
to be critical here, but God does not plan. He knows all. He has purposed everything from
the beginning. He needed no counsel to do so,
and He will not need any counsel to continue it. I know this poses
this as a question in that passage, shall the clay say to him that
fashioneth it, what makest thou? But people do that all the time.
But cry out as you might, why hast thou made me thus? You will
get no answer from God. God does not answer to anyone.
Then it says, or thy works, he hath no hands. I know most here
who have heard those that say, God has no hands but your hands,
and God has no feet but your feet. Lie. Jesus Christ has hands
and Jesus Christ has feet. He created all things, and He
created them all to His honor and glory. Lamentations 3 verse
37 says, who is He that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the
Lord commandeth it not? This reminds me of those who
like to say, God has a code in the Bible, we just need to figure
it out. God does not speak in code, He speaks in truth, because
He is the truth. It will only come to pass if
he commands it. Isaiah 46, nine and 10, we read,
remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is
none else. I am God and there is none like
me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand
and I will do all my pleasure. Sounds to me like God is in control
of things that happen. But hear one more, Amos 3.6.
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city,
and the Lord hath not done it? He controls all happenings. This
involves all flora and fauna and all animals, but it also
includes all men and women. So he is sovereign over people.
Number three, sovereign over people. Does God control people? Did he create man? Proverbs 21
says, the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. As the
rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will. As has
been said before, if he can control the heart of a king, and that
is not an if of possibility, but an if of confirmation, he
controls the king's heart because he says he does in his work.
But he controls all those who are under the king as well. All
that man does will be to the praise of God. If not, it will
not happen. Psalm 7610 says, surely the wrath
of man shall praise thee. The remainder of wrath shalt
thou restrain. God will not have anything that
is not done to his praise for his use. Just like the fig tree,
he will prevent anything that does not praise him from being.
In fact, he has already done this as it was purposed from
the foundation of the world. He controls the goings on in
the world, even those who rule over us in this world. They will
all do whatsoever He has been pleased to have done. Colossians
1, 16 and 17 we read, for by Him were all things created that
are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him
and for Him. And He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist. He holds all things together,
and they consist, that is, they are put together by Jesus Christ. Why are things the way they are?
Because He has purposed it from before the foundation of the
world. Does that mean that everything
man does is okay? Absolutely not. We have several
scriptures that testify to this. Genesis 50, 50, 20. This is from
here, this is Joseph talking to his brothers. But as for you,
ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring
to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive. There
was much evil that man has done. There is much evil that man has
done that God uses in the fulfilling of his will and he means it for
good to those that love him. Even the evil done by those who
are his, he has purposed it for what? To save much people a lot. There was one event that is the
ultimate showing of God's sovereign love towards those who were his
enemies. What about this ultimate, as
I call it? Because everything God does works
together for good to them that love God. But the scripture we
read of the purpose and will of God, that work that God performed,
that even though men meant it evil against God, he used it
to save much people alive. And here it is. Acts 4, verses
26 through 28. The kings of the earth stood
up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and
against His Christ. For of a truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together,
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done. People joined together, they
did this against God. They meant evil of it, but thank
God, in his counsel, he meant it for good. Good it was for
some. God's ways and his thoughts are
high above man's ways and thoughts. Man thinks he is in some way
doing God a favor, when in fact he is, as he is born in Adam,
fights it against God and his Christ. Proverbs 19.21 says,
there are many devices in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the counsel
of the Lord, that shall stand. No matter what man does and what
man intends by his doings, God has been pleased to bring forth
good for his people. God does all things right, even
when man does evil. God is not thwarted by man's
unbelief. That unbelief that is an active
engagement by man to go against what God says. Man commits trespass. He actively goes against what
God says to do or to not do. But God bethinked. He is sovereign
in all things. He has been pleased to do all
things to his honor and glory. All things that take place have
been ordained of God to happen. All these things that happen
are to save people for his name's sake. God is sovereign in salvation. It is the whole purpose for the
existence of all things. He was pleased to save a people. In fact, his name indicates that
he came to save a people. Scripture says, call his name
Jesus for he shall save his people from their sin. So God is sovereign
in salvation, number four. If you do not believe God has
done all things, including saving a people for his name, if you
believe that man has some part in the salvation of his soul,
if you believe that man in some way helps God out to accomplish
salvation or anything else, at the very least, God has not revealed
himself to you yet. At worst, you are reprobate.
What do we see in Scripture concerning the sovereignty of God and the
salvation of His people? Ephesians 1 verses 3 through
5 we read, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ. According as He hath chosen us
in Him, that is Christ, before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to
the good pleasure of his will. God was pleased to reserve, to
call out, to choose a people for his name from before the
foundation of the world. Why was he pleased to do this?
For his honor and glory. He wanted to honor and glorify
himself. He did all the work and He does
all the work. But He had to satisfy His own
justice. He that is absolutely sovereign,
holy, He stands apart from anyone or anything. And He is just. He has and does all things right. But we who are born from Adam,
those chosen by Him, have offended this almighty sovereign God.
He has no unjust weights and balances. So sin must be punished. He did, and he did this in his
son, Jesus Christ, the God-man. God himself had to take on that
iniquity that we produced. God did not perform the iniquity,
we did. But for those, those enemies
against him, he paid the price to set them free from that penalty.
What does he tell us in Isaiah 25, eight and nine? He will swallow
up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears
from off all faces, and the rebuke of his people shall he take away
from off all the earth, for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall
be said in that day, lo, this is our God. We have waited for
him, and he will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited
for him. We will be glad and rejoice in
his salvation. He is sovereign in salvation.
Had he not been pleased, had he not willed to save some, then
all the world would be damned. His holy law says that all are
guilty before him. But God bethinked, he saved some. Scripture is quite clear. There
is but one who has control over all things. That is God and we
see him in the man, Christ Jesus the Lord. All things were made
by him and for him, and by him all things consist. He controls
the winds and the sea, the rain and the snow, the trees and the
flowers, the birds and the lions. He controls kings and the king's
subjects. He controls the proud, and he
controls them who have been humbled. He controls who is saved, that
salvation being in him and all because of him. He controls all
those who do not believe Him. There are none that would seek
Him had He not caused them to seek Him. Now back to our text
and the sovereignty that He possesses. Jesus Christ is in control of
all things that we go through. In fact, it has been said before
here, and others have said it, God has promised that we will
go through tribulations. This is his sovereign control
to make, to cause his people to wait on him. He is in control
of all things. If you would, turn with me to
Psalm 148, Psalm 148. Psalm 148, and I wanna read seven through
14. Psalm 148, verse seven. Praise the Lord from the earth,
ye dragons in all deeps, fire and hail, snow and vapors, stormy
wind fulfilling his word, mountains in all hills, fruitful trees
in all cedars, beasts in all cattle, creeping things and flying
fowl, kings of the earth and all people, princes and all judges
of the earth, both young men and maidens, old men and children,
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is excellent. His glory is above the earth
and heaven. He also exalted the horn of His
people, the praise of all His saints, even of the children
of Israel, a people near unto Him. Praise ye the Lord. The scripture is clear. The God
of Scripture, the God I serve, the God you serve, is sovereign
over all things. He deserves honor and glory because
He is the Creator. Revelations 4.11 says, Thou art
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou
hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and
were created. God is in control of all things.
If we are to pass through tribulation, then it will be him that does
it. We see this when we read of the three Hebrew men, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. We are going to go through whatever
trial he wants us to go through, and if we are consumed, then
it will be our great God that consumes us. If we are spared,
it will be our God that spares us. Either way, by His grace,
we will stick with the God of heaven and earth by His grace,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God Jesus Christ. Now, as it pertains to tribulation,
I want to go through briefly some accounts, including our
text, to see the sovereign God doing His will. And I just mentioned
one to you. I want to look at these three
Hebrew men who Nebuchadnezzar would send to a fiery furnace.
So if you would, turn with me to Daniel 3. Daniel 3. Daniel 3, verses 1 through 18.
Try to read it fast so I don't take up too much time here. Okay, 1 through 18, Daniel 3,
verse 1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made
an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the
breadth thereof six cubits. He set it up in the plain of
Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king
sent to gather together the princes, the governors, the captains,
the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and
all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of
the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the
princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the
counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the province
were gathered together to the dedication of the image that
Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. And they stood before the
image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then in herald cried
aloud to you, to you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp,
sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall
down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king
hath set up. and whoso falls not down and worships shall the
same hour be cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Therefore, at that time when all the people heard the sound
of the cornet, flute, harp, sackcloth, psaltery, and all kinds of music,
all the people, the nations, and the languages fell down and
worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set
up. Wherefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came near and
accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king
Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. Thou, O King, hast made
a decree that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet,
flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of
music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoso falleth
not down and worshipeth, that he should be cast into the midst
of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou
hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not regarded
thee. They serve not thy gods, nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar,
in his rage and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego. Then they brought these men before
the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said
unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do not
ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have
set up? Now, if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound
of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbuck, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all
kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I
have made well. But if ye worship not, ye shall
be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? And here it is. Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar,
we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be
so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not
serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast
set up. Nebuchadnezzar had set up this
law, and the law was set. All the people in the kingdom
would be required to do exactly as that law had said. But there
is one who is greater. There is one who has glory that
excels far more than the glorious law set forth by this king. This
one who is exceeding in glory would be the one who in the fire
of judgment would save those for whom the fire was meant to
consume.