Excuse me. Now, again, I welcome
everyone that's here this morning and those who are with us live
streaming. If you wish to follow along,
you can turn to Numbers chapter 33. My subject will be found
mainly in Numbers chapter 33 and 34. My title is this, God, is utterly sovereign. That's my subject as well. Now,
someone may ask the question, but preacher, I do not see the
words. I read chapter 33 and 34, and
I do not see the word utter or utterly or sovereign. In the
scripture, how can you say that you're going to preach from 33
and 34 about utter sovereignty? Well, the word God is not found
in chapter 33 and 34 either, but the subject clearly is about
God. This religious world of self-righteous,
egotistical men and women want to justify, try to find anything
with which they can soothe their consciences to try to get away
from the truth of God. But I'm here to say, when you
hear God's truth, it will not work. God will grab your conscience
and you'll either run from it or you will be bowed by it, one
or the other. When you read chapter 33 and
34, you may, along with me, think, should I really preach God is
utterly sovereign from this? Because, as a matter of fact,
chapter 33 deals with this. Israel's deliverance from Egypt
and God's judgment on the Egyptians, and then town, or place, or city,
after place, after town, after city, after place, after town,
after city, then a brief admonition to Israel of what they're to
do to the inhabitants of the land when they enter the land,
and a warning what will happen if they do not, And then it moves
on to a brief description of who's going to divvy out the
land once they have conquered the land. So how can I say that
from this passage we see that God is utterly sovereign? There is a part of me that reads,
or when I read or think of chapter 33 and chapter 34, there's a
part of me that says, man, most of that is boring. Do you think
that? I mean, just they went here,
then they went there, then they went from here, then they went
there, then they went from here, then so and so is to divvy up
the land in this tribe, and so and so from this tribe is to
divvy up the land, and about the only thing that seems to
have any significance is that small, short passage in the middle
of admonition and warning. But before I begin any further
or say anything else, let me say this, when I say God is utterly
sovereign, what do I mean? so that there be no misunderstanding. We're not trying to bring the
truth in through the back door. We're not trying to bring the
truth to men and women by slipping it under the rug and hoping they
trip on it and expose it to them. What do I mean when I say God
is utterly sovereign? Because that phrase is never
found in the scripture. But it's taught all throughout
the scripture. What does it mean that God is
utterly sovereign? It means that he is absolute
fully, completely, in his right and his might, to determine and
control all persons, all places, all things, all circumstances,
including beasts and men and women, and devils and angels. As God wills to do so. Consider the subjects of our
chapter at hand. First of all, briefly, Israel's
deliverance and Egypt's judgment. Look at it. These are the journeys
of the children of Israel which went forth out of the land of
Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. And Moses wrote their goings
out according to their journeys by the commandment of the Lord.
And these are their journeys according to their going out.
And they departed from Ramses in the first month on the 15th
day of the first month on the morrow after the Passover, the
children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all
the Egyptians. God did not have to use 10 plagues
to get Israel free. God was pleased to use 10 plagues
to set the people free. And somebody says, that's just
a play on words. No, that's a totally different gospel. The first one
that God had to use 10, that's a perversion of the truth of
God. That's a perversion of God's truth. But God ordained 10, and
those Israelites walked out of Egypt on the exact day that God
Almighty had ordained, and Pharaoh could not stop it. But it's more
than that. For the Egyptians, what were
they doing? For the Egyptians buried all
their firstborn, which the Lord had smitten among them. Upon
their gods also, the Lord executed judgments. God killed, I have
no idea how many, Jack Meadows, but evidently thousands of infants
that night. Thousands of older people that
night. If you were a firstborn in the
land of Egypt and blood was not on your doorpost in Lennels,
you died under the judgment of God. Romans nine, Paul lets us
know that is God's utter sovereignty. Utter sovereignty, number two.
Think of this. Israel's constant rebellion for
40 years. Have you ever just thought about
that? That's an amazing thing. They left Ramses and they went
here. Then they left the here and went
there. Then they left the there and went another place. How many
times did they constantly murmur and complain and want to go back
to Egypt? And men talk about man's free
will. Why didn't they just do it if that's what they wanted?
Well, that's what they wanted. But God controls even the rebellion
of rebellious men. God Almighty is an utter, absolute,
full, complete, sovereign right and might to dictate, not only
dictate to men and women, but to control them by his mighty
power. You remember God said, go in
and take the land. And the spies, 10 of them said,
we can't do it. What about free will? Doesn't
free will play in there somewhere? Well, man's will plays in there
somewhere, but man's will is not free. For when God told Israel,
you will not go into the land, since they refused to do it the
first time, they jumped up and said, we got free will. Well,
they didn't use those words, but we will go in, isn't that
what they said? And you remember what happened?
The enemy slaughtered them in that battle and they did not
go in. Notice these rebels are moved
from this spot to that spot. That's God's utter sovereignty.
Rebels! When that cloud lifted up, or
that fire lifted up and the Levites had packed everything up and
they started to move out, not a rebel one stayed behind and
said, I think I'll just camp out here for a while. Did they? Why? Because God is absolutely
sovereign. 42 places, and forgive me if
I count them wrong. If you got 43, 44, or 38 or 37,
forgive me if I'm wrong. 42 places God Almighty controlled
these rebels who murmured and complained against God the whole
way. When they rebelled and would
return to Egypt, they willed to do so, but they could not
do so. Right? They would have killed
Moses and Aaron and Joshua and Caleb with rocks, but God slaughtered
the enemy amongst them. When they acted on their own
to enter into the promise, God squashed it through the enemy. God's wise messianic purpose
was this. Israel is gonna be in that land,
and you know why? because Messiah was going to
be born in that land, in a little town called Bethlehem, Euphrates. And God had ordained it, and
Israel would go into the land, despite of even all their rebellious
ways. And Mason, they rebelled for
hundreds of years. And at times, God would move
them into a captivity, but what would God do? God, in wise mercy
and compassion, would move them right back into the land. Would
he not? Why? Because God's messianic
purpose would stand. Read the book of Esther. Read
the book of Esther. Again, God's wise messianic purpose.
That is Israel in the land. It would begin then at that time,
and it could, God had decreed it, and nothing else could stop
it. And Psalm 76 says these words. If you wish to turn to it, you
can. Psalm chapter, the 76th Psalm, I'm sorry. Psalm 76 in
verse 10 says this. You know this passage. Surely,
so in other words, is there any doubt about this? Ain't no doubt
about this, is it? Psalm 76 and 10, surely the wrath
of man shall praise thee. Why? How could that be so? It could not be so unless God
is utterly sovereign. Unless God ordained even the
rebellion of men to his wise purpose, and look, Surely the
wrath of man shall praise thee. The remainder of wrath shalt
thou restrain. You see, man would do a whole
lot worse than he does do. Man would do a whole lot more
than he does do. And man would thwart the purpose
of God if he could. But God won't let it happen.
Because whatever wrath does take place, it's gonna praise God. And if there's any other wrath
that would take place, but it's not meant to be God's praise,
then it will not happen, for he will restrain it. God, now listen to me now, God
is never partly sovereign, any more than he's partly holy. Now
there are some out there, there was one, a big name in the Southern
Baptists, As a matter of fact, Penny and Linda and I listened
last night to a couple old Southern Baptists, and it's just a total
different world of what you hear Southern Baptists preaching today.
But there was a Southern Baptist, and he was pretty big in the
Southern Baptist, you know, thing. I don't even remember his name,
and it doesn't really matter, but he's teaching this now, that
God is mostly sovereign. That God is partly sovereign.
In other words, he's saying God's mostly God. God's partly God,
that is blasphemous. That is blasphemous. Here's the
third thing. God suffers long with man in
rebellion, but even in their rebellion, God has everything
in his sovereign control. Look at chapter 33. Look at what
it says, let me read this part to you. Chapter 33, verse 50.
33, and the Lord spake unto Moses
in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Speak unto
the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed
over Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out
all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy
all there, and I like that the KJV puts it this way, their pictures. Have you got a lot of religious
pictures around your house? Do they hold great sway and you
say, well, I can't put that down and put it in the cupboard because
that's a religious picture. God told the Israelites, when
you go into the enemy's land, which I'm giving you, you destroy
what? All their pictures. It means,
what is that? It's a wish or a desire that
you imagine, and then you put it down on something. Now back
then, they weren't taking camera pictures, but they were making
pictures. of their gods, of their own glory,
of their own selves, of their own egos. And he said, you will
destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images,
and break down all their high places, and ye shall dispossess
the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein, for I have
given you the land to possess it. Well, that don't seem fair. No, that is God Almighty in His
absolute, utter sovereignty. He gives this world to the inhabitants
of this world as He wills, when He wills, to whom He will, and
He is in sovereign control. Even Paul preached this, and
he said, you know what? He said, in Him, we live and
move and have our being. And he hath appointed the bounds
of our habitation. Why do you live where you live
right now? Because that's what God ordained for you. God ordained
for you. As a matter of fact, we know
that Peter, I think it was Peter and John, the account is in Acts
4, verses 23 through 29, and I will not read it, but the very
wrath of men poured out against Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
was predestinated by God before to be done. And that's the worst
act men have ever done. That's the worst act that men
and women have ever done, and yet God Almighty, Mason Lilly,
used it to the salvation of his people. Now if you don't see
God's utter sovereignty in that, then you are still spiritually
blind. And if you think that was just
a spurt of God's utter sovereignty, then you don't know who God is
at all because God don't have spurts of sovereignty any more
than he has spurts of holiness or spurts of righteousness. Ecclesiastes
three puts it to us this way. You can turn there if you wish.
Ecclesiastes chapter three. And in Ecclesiastes chapter three,
the wise man Solomon tells us this. Verse one, to everything. So how much does that leave out?
Nothing. As a matter of fact, if you look
at the list, there's probably nothing you could really come
up with that wouldn't fit into one of the things he mentions
in the list. To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Now what's that?
Season, season, that word in the Hebrew means this, a fixed
appointment. In other words, it is specific. What does the word time mean?
It means duration or terminus. That is how long it will last. So to everything, there is a
fixed appointment and there is a duration and a terminus time
to every purpose under the heaven and then he gives the list. But
why is this so? Look at verse 14 and what it
reads. I know that whatsoever God doeth,
it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it nor
anything taken from it. And why is this so? Hmm and God
doeth it that men should fear before him The God that is preached
in these days is not feared at all that most people in Christianity
and outside of Christianity, because of the apostate religion
of professed Christianity, has no idea who God really is in
this day. He's like some old kind of grandpa
up there that just wants the best for everybody. Ask Pharaoh
if that's so. Ask Pharaoh's armies if that's
so. We may in our own pride say,
oh, that old proud Pharaoh king, he got what he deserved. What
about those guys that were under his subscription under Pharaoh's
army and God drowned them in the Red Sea as well? What about
the thousands, if not billions, I don't know, that fire and brimstone
rained down from God out of heaven and destroyed the rebels. And
God went in there and got ahold of three people. Actually got
ahold of four to start with and pulled them four people out.
One of them turned her back, back toward the place. She turned
into a pillar of salt, just like that. You remember what our Lord said.
He preached a message about Lot's wife. And you remember what his
message was? Remember Lot's wife. God is absolutely sovereign. And when you preach this utterly
sovereign God, if you'll testify this utterly sovereign God to
your spouse, to your children, they will either hate you or
they will embrace you. if you do it like it is, if you
don't play fiddle with them, if you don't try to slip it in
the back door. Well, some of these phrases are
too offensive. The gospel is offensive to mankind
because of our righteousnesses and because of our egos and because
of our self-centeredness and because of our religion. God,
here's number four, God has put all mankind where it pleased
him. He said, here's the man that's
gonna divvy up the land in this area. Isn't that what he said
in 34? And here's the man in this land, in this tribe, that's
gonna divvy up the land to this tribe. Somebody says, well, I
got you there, preacher. What about old Reuben and Gad
and the half tribe of Manasseh? They chose their own spot. Are
you a fool? Why did they choose the spot
they wanted? It was great grazing land. And they had big herds. Who gave them the big herds?
Who made the land great grazing land? God did. God did. Listen, you might get
me. I may say some things that you
might be able to trip me up, but you won't trip up God Almighty's
inspired truth concerning the fact that he is utterly sovereign. Think of it, quickly. None are
outside of God's utter sovereignty physically. Acts chapter 17,
I've already mentioned it. You are exactly where God Almighty
puts you. And you say, well, I'll move
to California tomorrow. Maybe you will, but if you do,
it's because God determined that you move to California tomorrow. You remember that big tsunami
here several years ago come in and swept into, where, somebody
help me out, where was that? Yes, Japan. You remember, thousands
of people died. Why? Because God brought the
tsunami, and God determined they'd be living right there where that
tsunami would hit. Now just maybe, just maybe, and I know I've been
told I don't really believe this. I don't argue with anybody because
I can't prove what this is. I'm giving you, I'll give you
my opinion, but just maybe God took thousands of infants, Mason,
on to glory when they would have been brought up in utter ruin
and idolatry and ego and self-righteous. Just maybe he did, I don't know.
I do not know, but I like to think that so. And then again,
that is my opinion, and you can take it for what it's worth.
It's less than the small dust of the balance. But nevertheless,
none are outside of God's utter sovereignty physically. I mean,
here's the Lord Jesus Christ. He's in the boat with his disciples,
the 12 at that time, and he's asleep on a pillow. boat is evidently
given at this, and given at this. And these, many of them, several
of them are seasoned fishermen, and they were afraid they were
going to die. They woke up, the Lord said,
Lord, we're about to die, don't you care? Now you know what he
did? He said this, peace be still. And that ocean, Mason, and those
waves, and the wind, immediately there was a great I kind of figure
that's probably the calmest that sea had ever been in its time. None are outside of God's utter
sovereignty physically, but let me also tell you this, none are
outside of God's utter sovereignty spiritually as well. We have
the record of Paul preaching the message, preaching the gospel.
It's recorded by Luke in Acts 17, I'm sorry, excuse me, Acts
13, specifically verses 38 through 48 will cover what I'm about
to say here. Paul was preaching to people and he said, there
is forgiveness, but only in Jesus Christ. That's what he preached.
There's forgiveness, but only in Jesus Christ. But there's
some of you out there, you will never believe this. That's what
he said. Behold ye wonders and despise,
you'll perish. Because God said, I will perform
a work in your day that you will in no wise believe even though
somebody will tell it to you. But then some Gentiles evidently
had heard this too and they said, we want to hear about this God.
Boy, isn't that different from today? You would think that with
as much as this small group tries to get the gospel out there,
you think we'd be flooded with people wanting to know who is
this God, wouldn't you think? But they do not. They do not. But then in verse 38 of Acts
13, it says about them Gentiles, and as many as. That lets me
know everyone that. And as many as were ordained
to eternal life believed. And somebody says, I don't like
that. Well, I do. I do. Because God included me in that
many. I thank God for it because had
he not ordained me to eternal life, I would have never believed
God. So none are outside of God's
utter sovereignty physically, none are outside of God's utter
sovereignty spiritually, and nothing turn to Colossians. I'll finish the statement once
you get to Colossians. Paul's official to the church
at Colossae. Colossians chapter one. Again,
remember, none are outside of God's utter sovereignty physically.
None are outside of God's utter sovereignty spiritually. Nothing,
I say nothing, is outside of God's utter sovereignty providentially. Listen to what Paul says in Colossians
chapter one, verse nine, I'll read quickly. For this cause
we also, since the day we heard it, what, heard of what? Their
faith in Christ. their faith in Christ. Do not cease to pray
for you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge
of his will and all wisdom and spiritual understanding. And
notice Paul's always talking about knowing God's will and
proving God's will. He doesn't say a whole lot about
doing God's will unless he says God's the one that will make
you willing to do it. You ever notice that? then that ye might
walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful
in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Strengthen
with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all
patience, and longsuffering with joyfulness. Aren't you glad he
put in there long-suffering? We have to bear with one another
long. Do you understand that? We may fuss at one another, we
may fall out with one another, but if we're both God's people,
we'll get back together. Because if we refuse to, something's
wrong with the one that refuses to, and something's seriously
wrong with them. Go on, give him thanks unto the
Father which hath made us meet. And I remember Earl using this
word, qualified us. He qualified us. You don't make
yourself meet, I don't make myself meet. No one makes themselves
meet. God's got to qualify you for this, what? made us meet
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated
us into the kingdom of his dear son. You know what that means?
I can see a little bit about who God is now. And I can see
a little bit about who I am now. When at one time I was totally,
totally oblivious to both. Oh, I thought I understood, but
I didn't know squat. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, that's the son, even the forgiveness of sins, who
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature,
and then here it is, here it is, for by him were all things
created that are in heaven, that are in earth, whether you can
see them or you can't. Right? Visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers,
all things were created by Him and for Him. Bless God, He will
get Himself glory out of all these things. Remember, surely
the wrath of man shall praise thee. The remainder of it, what's
He gonna do with it? Come on, say it, what's He gonna
do with it? Restrain it. Restraint look and he is before
all things That don't mean he's just in front of it. That means
he is the head of it He's the head of it. He is before all
things and by him all things are held together Listen to me
now Even those who preach a perverted gospel, and who will be damned
for preaching a perverted gospel, God gives them the breath and
the voice box to do so. He could snatch that away from
them in a heartbeat, could he not? Everything is consist, it's
held together by who? By Jesus Christ our Lord. God is never mostly sovereign
any more than he's mostly righteous. God is always God. God is utterly
God. God is absolutely God. And God is utterly sovereign. I rejoice in that and I know
you do too. One day I hope to rejoice in
it to the degree as our Lord did. And it's recorded in Matthew
11, verse 20 through 30. I can't confess to you, I refuse
to confess to you that I rejoice in it like he did, and like he
does, that I do that now. I'm afraid I don't, Mace, I wish
I could. But he said, I thank thee, Father, Lord in heaven
and earth. And what's the first thing he
thanks the Father for? That you've hid these things
from the wise and the prudent. Now if you got somebody you really
love, you care about them, they're pretty wise and prudent, it's
a little tough to swallow that one, ain't it? But he said, I
thank thee. And you revealed it to babes.
Now don't think babes have something up on the wise and the prudent
because the babes have to have it what? Revealed to them. I revealed to them, but let me
tell you something, God Almighty despises human wisdom and human
prudence. Man has some wisdom, God gave
it to him, but man won't give God the credit for it. And man
has some prudence, and God gave it to him. I thank God for the
medical field that we've got today. I know we're going through
this coronavirus, but God could have wiped out half of this whole
world in a blink of the eye. We'd have been sitting back and
what in the world has happened? Let me tell you something, God
Almighty is in absolute, utter control, and if he wants you
to have the COVID virus, bless God, you gonna get it. If he
wants to keep you from the COVID virus, you couldn't get it if
you walked right up on somebody and they coughed right in your
face and you sniffed it up your nostrils. Now does that mean we ought to
be careless? No, but not by any means. But we know our God is
utterly, absolutely, totally God. He is absolutely sovereign. And I also, let me throw this
in for free, I also have read, I don't know how true it is because
you know you hear so many things, that 61% alcohol will kill the
coronavirus. Well that is at least 122 proof
for those of you that may want just a little advice there. Did y'all get that on TV too? That's all introduction. That's
all introduction. Now I'm gonna preach to you my
message. What's the message then to God's people? If God be for
us, who can be against us? Even if he kills me, even if
he's ordained for me to suffer for his name's sake, that doesn't
mean, Ellen, he's against me. Let's bless God if God's for
me who can be against me and he goes on to tell us what can
be against me nothing But he's not for everybody Those of you
that may hear this message and you've heard that lie perpetrated
by men who call themselves Christian pastors or preachers God's got
a wonderful plan for your life that may or may not be true and
But if God's for you, bless God, nothing or no one can be against
you. Because God is, he has, but he
still is, still is! Think about that, my believing
sinner brothers and sisters. God still is actively justifying
us by his son. Now that's a message, ain't it?
That's good news, ain't it? I'm glad God's always sovereign. Again, God is never partly sovereign,
occasionally sovereign, or even mostly sovereign. God never holds
back his sovereignty. He said, I will put salvation
in Zion for Israel by glory. And I'm saying this to a bunch
of stout-hearted people. You know what he said? You could
read it for yourself sometime, Isaiah 46, eight through 13. He said,
I call a ravenous bird from the east. He used, what was it, Cyrus?
Heathen king. And God used that heathen king,
because he said, he's my chosen servant. And he was, for that
purpose. Not necessarily the salvation in Christ, but Cyrus,
that heathen king, was chosen, and he helped the people of Israel
right back into the land. Why? Because Messiah will be
born there. So let me sum this up. That's
probably the briefest message you ever heard me preach. Granted,
the introduction was quite long. But that was my message. Now
here's, I'll sum it up for you. Let us rejoice. And I'm done.