It's a joy. Thank you so much
for being here. It's good to see so many people
out on a Wednesday evening. I bet all of you, just about
all of you, worked today and tired and had to hurry to get
here. Traffic jams. I live in a community
that I think has 30 or 34 houses, the whole community, and they're
scattered out. So I have no idea what you folks
have to go through just to get to the worship service after
working hard all day. So I'll try not to keep you too
long. I just want to leave you with one thought. That seems
awful loud. Boy, I hope I don't scare somebody. Turn with me in Isaiah chapter
52. I want to try, if I can, to just leave you with one thought,
one simple thought, and it is found here in the last portion
of verse 7. I want to read verse 7 to you,
and I want to speak to you from the last portion of this verse.
Isaiah chapter 52 and verse 7. How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
good, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation. And here is what I want to speak
to you for a few minutes. That saith unto Zion, Thy God
reigneth. The preachers The prophets wrote
it. The Holy Spirit gave it to their
hearts. And they preached it to us. They have left it to the
church, the body of Christ, the believers. Thy God reigneth. If I had to say this evening,
I would certainly be apt to say that this statement teaches us
one of the most important truths and one of the most essential
truths in all the Bible. I would be apt to say it is the
most important truth taught us in the Scriptures. Now, that
is saying a lot. I realize that. But consider
this. If God does not reign, then everything
else falls. God's sovereignty God reigning
is the foundation upon which everything else stands and is
built. What is God's decrees? What is
God's purposes if God doesn't reign? What is God's promises? How can they be yea and amen
if God doesn't reign? How trustworthy can God be if
he doesn't reign? So thy God reigneth is the foundation
upon which everything else basically rests. Therefore, God comes here to
these prophets, and the Holy Spirit moves upon them and says,
say to Zion, say to Zion, Thy God reigneth. I don't know of
anything else that is more apt to dispel the fears of the church
than this one little sentence when it gets into their hearts.
Thy God reigneth. Poor Zion, poor church, poor
believer. Zion has a thousand and one fears,
and so many times she can't shake them. She fears one thing, and
she fears something else. A thousand and one fears. And
fear, the scripture says, has torment. He that fears is not
made perfect. He has not grown mature in love. God has not given us the spirit
of fear, but of love and of power and of a sound mind. There is
but one legitimate fear that you and I should have, and that
is fear of God himself. Be in the fear of the Lord all
the day long. Serve Him with fear and rejoice
with trembling. Let us have grace to fear our
Lord. Say to those who are of a fearful
heart, Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with
vengeance, not towards you, with a recompense, but not against
you. But against your enemies, against your sins, against your
trials, He will come and save you. How can He do that? Because
He reigns. God reigns. But all of these
decrees, all of these promises, all of these instructions, what
comfort could they give us? What strength could they impart
to us? What fear could they dispel if
God doesn't reign? It is the most important truth
taught us in the Scripture for that simple reason. I want you
to take your Bibles in just a few minutes. Turn with me here to
some passages of Scripture, and I'll stay here in the book of
Isaiah. Look in chapter 41. Look in verse 10. As you read through the book
of Isaiah, one of the things you see with the church in this
day is that she was of such a fearful heart. She was surrounded by
so many enemies, fighting within, fighting without. And Isaiah
wrote to these people, and you'll notice as you read through this
book, he was constantly saying, Fear not. Fear not. Look what he says in chapter
41 and verse 10. Turn to these passages with me.
Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I
am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee by the right hand
of my righteousness. Behold, all of they that are
incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded. They
shall be as nothing, and they that strive with thee shall perish.
Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that
contended with thee. They that war against thee shall
be as nothing, and as a thing of naught. For I, the Lord thy
God, will hold thy right hand, saying, Fear not, I will help
thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and
ye men of Israel. I will help thee, saith the Lord,
and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Look in chapter 43
and verse 1. Now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that farmed thee, O Israel, fear
not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with you. When thou goest through the rivers,
they will not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee." Why? For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable. I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear for
I am with you. I will bring your seed from the
east, and gather them from the west. I will say to the north,
Give up, to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from far,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth." How important
is it as we read these passages like this to know and to believe
that our God reigneth? The reasons that these scriptures
jump out at and are so exciting and encouraging to us is because
God reigns. Look in a couple of more places.
Look in chapter 44 and look in verse 1. Hear ye now, O Jacob, my servant,
and Israel, whom I have chosen. Thus saith the Lord that made
thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee. Fear not, O Jacob, my servant. and thou Jeshurun, whom I have
chosen. For I will pour water upon him
that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my
Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessings upon thine offspring.
And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the
watercourses. One shall say, I am the Lord's.
Another shall call himself by the name of Jacob. Another shall
subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself
by the name of Israel. Thus saith the Lord, the King
of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first,
I am the last, besides me there is no God." And who as I shall
call, and shall declare, and shall set in order for me, since
I appointed the ancient people, and the things that are coming,
and shall come, let him show unto them. Fear ye not, neither
be afraid. Have not I told thee from that
time, and have declared it? Ye are my witnesses. Is there
a God besides me? Yea, there is no God, I know
not any. One more passage, look in chapter
54. Look in verse 4. Fear not, for thou shalt not
be ashamed, neither shalt thou be confounded, for thou shalt
not be put to shame. Thou shalt forget the shame of
thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood
any more. for thy maker is thy husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel, the God of all the earth, shall he be called. For
the Lord has called you as a woman forsaken, and grieved in spirit,
and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies
will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face
from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have
mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." Look in verse
15. Verse 16, "...Behold, I have
created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire. and bringeth
forth an instrument for his work, and I have created the waster
to destroy. But no weapon that is farmed
against thee shall prosper. And every tongue that shall rise
against thee in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage
of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of
me, saith the Lord." Aren't those wonderful scriptures? I hope
you mark those and just go back and read them. when you have
time to just look at the scripture, instructions and promises, the
shalls and the wheels that are found there in those passages.
And you know what makes them so wonderful? God reigns. Say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. I want for just a few minutes
now to consider two things about this little phrase. Say unto
Zion, Thy God reigneth. Just two quick things and I'll
let you go. Thy God reigneth. I want to look at God's rule
itself. Thy God reigneth. What's the
extent of God's reign? Thy God reigneth. Okay, fine
and good. God reigneth. But to what extent
does he reign? What does he reign over? And
number two, I want to look at this little phrase, saying to
Zion, Thy God reigneth, as a simple declaration of faith. Just say
it. Just say it. It's not a declaration
of knowledge. It's not a declaration of how
much we understand of God's reign. It's a declaration of what we
believe. Say it. Say unto Zion, Thy God
reigneth. First of all, then, how far reaching
is God's reign? To what extent does He reign? Is it limited? We know He reigns
in heaven. That's His throne. But how much
farther does he reign? Well, I want to show you this
from the scripture, and I'm sure you've read this several times.
But if you've never marked this scripture, look in 1 Chronicles,
chapter 29, and look in verse 10. The extent of his reign, he reigns
absolute. He reigns at all times, in all
places. over all events and all circumstances. God's reign is absolute. Now, look what David said. David
is praying here before the children of Israel. In verse 10, he makes
this statement. Wherefore, David blessed the
Lord before all the congregation. And David said, Blessed be thou,
Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Thine, O Lord,
is the greatness and the power and the glory, and the victory,
and the majesty, for all that is in heaven and in the earth
is thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord,
and thou art exalted as head over all." Over all. That's an unlimited reign. Over all, exclusively. in heaven, in earth, and in all
deep places. They came to David one day, and
they asked, David, where is your God? And David said, Our God
is in the heavens, and he has done whatsoever he pleased. He has done it in heaven, he
has done it in this earth, and he has done it in all deep places. How far reaching is God's reign?
He reigns over all things. He reigns over all peoples at
all times. Daniel had this to say about
it. When the Lord sent King Nebuchadnezzar out to eat grass, and his hair
grew out, and his fingernails and his toenails, and he lived
like a beast until God opened his understanding. And here's
what he said. All the inhabitants of the earth
are refuted as nothing in his sight, and he doeth according
to his will in the armies of heaven. and among the inhabitants
of this earth, and nobody can say unto him, What doest thou?"
A man told me one time, he said, I believe what the Scripture
says, that God could reign if he wanted to. And I said, Sir,
the Scripture doesn't say that he could. The Scripture says
he does. It's just not that he could,
but he does. He doth according to his will. were in heaven, in earth, and
in all deep places. Say unto Zion, God reigneth. Why does he say that to us? Well,
I think, brothers and sisters, if our God reigns in heaven and
in the earth and in all deep places, if we believe that as
we should, it would have a sense to dispel some of our fears. Don't you think so? I think so. The second thing about his reign
is this. It's not only a reign that's
overall and unlimited, but his reign is very detailed. It's
very minute. It's technical. Listen to these
passages. In Matthew 10, verse 30, the
very hair of your head are all numbered. But the Master doesn't
stop there. He says in Luke 21, 18, there
shall not one hair of your head perish without the knowledge
and the will and the purpose of your heavenly Father. Not
only does he number the hair, but he knows when each hair falls. And he must permit it. He must
allow it. He knows it. Now, how detailed
is that? How detailed is that? I don't
say this to be funny, but my Heavenly Father has been paying
me a lot of attention. Has he not? Has he not? Isn't that true? Every hair that
falls from your head, he has knowledge of it. I don't know
it. It just gradually went. I pay
no mind to it. I don't care. I've not lost any
self-esteem over it. I don't care to go out in public.
But he cares. He cares. Every hair that falls,
he knows it and has ordained it and has knowledge of it. That's detail, ain't it? You
see the little birds this time of year? I have some feeders
outside. The little birds flying through
the air and stop and eating and fly off. And I often think, there
goes the little And the Father's eye is ever upon that little
sparrow. He flies. And the worms that
rise up out of a little hole and wiggle across the top of
the ground, they do so by the power and purpose and knowledge
of our Father in Heaven. How detailed is His reign? You
can't describe it any more than, say, the hair of your head. It's
very detailed. It's very, very minute. You and I have heard this statement
so many times, that God reigns in creation, He reigns in providence,
and He reigns in salvation. All of us have heard those statements,
haven't we? Let's examine those just quickly for a minute. He
reigns in creation. Look over here in chapter 40.
Here in Isaiah. Look at this. In Isaiah chapter
40. And look in verse 25. Just a couple of places. He reigns
in creation. And when we say that, we'll let
the Scripture say what we mean by that. Look in verse 25. Begin
in verse 25. To whom will you liken me? Or
shall I be equal, saith the Holy One? Lift up your eyes, and behold,
who hath created these things, that bringeth out the host by
that calleth all by names, by the greatness of his might. He
is strong in power, therefore not one of them fails. Why saith
thou, O Jacob, and speaketh, O Israel? My way is hid from
the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God." Look
in chapter 45. Look in chapter 45. He made all of these
things by the word of his power. Look in chapter 45 and look in
verse 12. I have made the earth, I created
man upon it, I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens,
and all the host have I commanded." He made it by the word of his
breath, by his lips, and he commands it all. He commands it to be,
and he commands it to exist. He upholds it by the word of
his power. I'm not surprised, and you're
not either. When the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to the wind and
the waves, and they obeyed Him, we're not surprised at that.
We're not disbelieving at that. Why? He's the Creator. When He
spoke to the fig tree and it dried up with the roots, that
doesn't surprise us, does it? When the sun comes up in the
morning, does that surprise us? We expect it. Why? Because our
God, who reigns, causes it to rise. The rain that comes down
from heaven, who sends that? The Father in heaven. He does
all of these things. He controls and he commands.
And someday, he'll just take all of his creation, all of this
that he's kept in order and kept on course, he'll fold it all
up, just like you fold your jacket or your tie or your coat. and
he'll fold it up and he'll make it all new. He made it, he upholds
it, he reigns over it, and he'll change it and make a new heaven
and a new earth. He reigns in creation. He reigns in providence. There's
a sovereign superintendent over this universe, and it's our God,
Zion's God, that reigns over all creation. The storm, one
said, took a sudden turn. I heard a guy say that one time. He's a meteorologist, is that
what they call him? The storm took a mysterious and sudden
turn, he said. I thought, did it really? Who
bridled that storm? Who rides upon that storm? Who
guides that storm? Our God who reigneth. He does
it. We're concerned right now about
voting one party out and trying to get another one in, aren't
we? Voting one president out soon and trying to get another
one in. I've got nothing to say about
that. That's fine. Do what you can to get good men
in there if you can find such a thing. But I tell you this,
brothers and sisters, no matter what you think about the one
that's in there now, I know who put him there, and you do too.
We may like him or dislike him, but who is it that sets up rulers? It's not your vote. That's what
we think. And that's all right. Vote. But
I tell you, it's God's vote that counts. And God puts his finger
on a man and says, you'll rule this country for the next four
years. And he shall rule for the next four years. I find comfort
in that, don't you? God does it to correct His church. He does it to bless His church
in the country. But He does it. And I'm satisfied
with that. I surely am. God reigns in these
things. He rules in providence. I tell you what, if it was left
up to us and we could get the people in there we wanted, and
they were good people, they were people that we wanted to protect
our liberties and rule justly, you know what we'd do? We'd start
glorying in our leaders. Our country has stood so long
because we have good, godly leaders. Is that what we'd be saying?
When has this country ever had a good, godly leader? Why has
this country stood? Why have we enjoyed our freedoms?
Why have we had the opportunity to live honest and decent lives?
Because God has upheld this country. That's why. Not some silly base
politician. And I say that with all respect.
It's God who has done it. God reigns in the affairs of
men, in the kingdom of men, and sets over it whomsoever he wills. And that settles it, doesn't
it? Now, go vote this fall with that in mind. And I would advise
you to pray more about it. Our God reigneth in salvation. I don't know what we could say
about this book of Isaiah if we didn't say that it was mainly
a proclamation of redemption. That's what this whole book's
about, ain't it? It's a proclamation that God
has chosen a people. Don't we see that? My people,
thy people. God has laid upon Him the iniquity
of us. It's about a Redeemer that's
going to redeem, that's going to call, that's going to give
His people a new heart and a new spirit. That's what this book
is about. And you know what, verse 7, you
know why He calls this such good news. Publishing good news. You know why it's such good news.
You know why salvation is such good news. Because God reigns
in it. That's what makes it good news.
If it was just an offer, wouldn't that be good news? It's good news. Because God said,
you've sold yourself for naught, but you shall be redeemed. That's good news, ain't it? That
shows that God reigns. Look what he says here in chapter
52. Look at this. Look in chapter
52. In verse 6, look at this, Therefore
my people shall know my name. They shall know in that day that
I am he that doeth speak. They shall know. The Lord in
verse 10 says, He hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all
the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation
of the Lord. They shall. They shall. They
shall. God's shalls are irresistible.
They are unavoidable. He reigns in salvation. I think
if I had one scripture to prove, if I needed proof and you needed
proof, that God is sovereign when it comes to this thing of
salvation. It would be in Romans chapter 9 and verse 15. Paul
was talking there about salvation. Election and calling and redemption. And you remember that wonderful
verse. Remember how he said it? I will have mercy. Ain't that wonderful? I mean,
that's spoken with authority. I will have mercy. upon whom I will have mercy."
What is that? I'll tell you what that does.
That makes salvation certain for those of whom God wills to
have mercy upon. He can't be hindered in having
mercy. Mercy is what we need. Mercy is the only thing that
will save us. Mercy is what we're constantly praying for. And if
God reigns, then mercy comes irresistible. The devil can't
stop it. The world can't stop it. Your
sins can't stop it. If God wills to have mercy, he
will have mercy. That'll put you praying, won't
it? God be merciful to me, a sinner. You go back, Your Honor, before
the world ever was. Old Spurgeon says, get on the
wings of faith, and if you can, sail back there to the council
halls in eternity. And notice that invisible hand
as it pins down the names of those vessels of mercy in the
Lamb's Book of Life. Is there anybody there to hinder
that? Nobody's there. And Mr. Scourge says, here's
what you hear as each name is pinned down in the Lamb's Book
of Life. I will have mercy. And you go yonder to the cross.
The devil in his rage, and men mocked, and there the Savior
hangs bleeding with holes in his hands and holes in his side,
and his hair mattered with dried sweat and blood. But you know something? Sin has
just been purged. Justice has just been satisfied.
redemption has just been accomplished. And from the cross, you hear
these precious words echoed, I will have mercy. God reigned. There you lay dead
in trespasses and sins. Your mind was wicked against
God by your evil works. You lay helpless and didn't know
it and didn't care. But when you were dead in trespasses
and sins, God said, I will have mercy. And here is the Holy Spirit
coming through the gospel, and he brings it with power to your
heart. And you live. And you live. Why? Because God reigns in salvation.
And what does he reign in? Mercy. I will have mercy. And we feel so unworthy. Oh,
our sins, we feel so unworthy. But the Lord comes to us and
He says, I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. And all
of their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. He reigns. He reigns. Our only hope, our
only hope of ourselves, our only hope of our lost loved ones is
this, Thy God reigneth. If he doesn't, we have no hope,
and they have no hope. Say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. To what extent does God reign? He has unlimited reign. His reign
is very detailed. He reigns in creation, providence,
and salvation. Say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. My second point is this. We have
in this statement a mere declaration of faith. Here is what the Church
is to believe. Say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. Boy, you remove one of the most
difficult tasks of a preacher, of trying to explain how God
reigns. One of the greatest burdens is
removed from us poor ministers. He didn't say, explain to the
people how God reigns. He didn't say, get up and tell
all the ins and the outs of how God is reigning. He didn't say
that at all. If he had said that, what an
intolerable burden that would have been. He didn't say anything
like that. He doesn't want us to try to
explain it. I've explained to you this evening
from Scriptures all I can say about it. I'm reduced to saying this, and
thank God for it. I don't have to explain it, and
you don't have to explain it. We just say it. Say unto Zion,
just say it. When you just say it, that's
enough for Zion. If you try to go into detail,
you'll just confuse Zion. Just say it to her. She just
needs to know it. Her faith just needs to lay hold
upon it. Just say it. I used to have a
pastor, a friend of mine, and he told me for two or three years,
I just don't know anything about this. I can't explain this. I
can't explain the election. I can't explain particular redemption,
all this stuff. But his whole problem was, I
found out later, it wasn't that he couldn't explain it. He just
didn't believe it. He just didn't believe it. He
doesn't say, explain it. He just says, listen to it. He just says to me, the preacher,
say it. Say it. That's all you need to
do is say it. It's not a declaration, brothers
and sisters, of how much I know. It's a declaration of what I
believe. Just say it. We had a young child,
two years old child, killed in our community. heavy gate from
a trailer. Her and her mother and a couple
of siblings was working outside in the garden. And all of them
were around her when the gate fell and just crushed her little
head. And her mom's a nurse and she was trying to give her CPR.
The mother's face was all bloody with the baby's blood. It was
so sad, so sad. And we just buried her a few
days ago, and one of my neighbors asked me, he said, Do you believe
God caused that? Now, here's where we get into
trouble, Andy. All these scenarios. And we think we have to say something.
But we have to be so careful, don't we? We will unjustly offend
someone. I don't want to do that. And
I don't want to dishonor God. When we talk about things like
this, we have to consider man. There is a place to consider
man. You remember when Joseph was
betrayed. He was put in a hole in the pit
by his brother, and sold down into Egypt. And he was accused
of rape, and they put him in prison. And his feet were swelling
in the stocks, and he was weeping for his dad and his mother. And
finally, he was exalted to the throne, and his brethren came
down, and he made himself real to them. Remember the first thing
he said to them. You meant it for evil. There is that aspect when we
talk about things in life. There is that aspect. Man is
responsible. Man does things that he should
not do, and he will be charged with it. He will give account
for doing it. Peter said of those who crucified
the Lord Jesus, you have taken, and by wicked hands you have
crucified and slain. Look what an awful sin that you've
committed. And you did it. God didn't drive
those nails. God didn't sell Joseph down into
Egypt. It wasn't God that manufactured
that heavy tailgate or pulled the pins out of it. But do we
stop there? It's almost like we're down here
on this low level and we're talking about man and irresponsibility
and his evil and his accidents and all of these things. And
these things grieve us and they break our hearts. But then we
leave this low level that we have to consider. But we come
up here where the air is pure. where everything is cleared up,
where Zion can take this statement of faith and say this, yes, you
meant it for evil. Yes, you did it by wicked hands.
Yes, this and yes, that. But in all of these things, in
all of these circumstances, our God reigned. And I'm satisfied
with that, aren't you? When all we can do is look at
man and put the responsibility upon him and the blame on him. But then we get above it all.
And here's our comfort. Here's our help in the time of
trouble. Through all of these things,
God, in some mysterious way, though He does it so secretly,
He is reigning in it all. and turning it all, not only
for his glory, but for the good of those who love him. And I'm
satisfied with that, aren't you? But we've got to say it. We can't
explain it. But we can say it. And that's
enough. That's enough. Just say it. Two more scriptures, and I'll
close. Look at Psalm 96. Whoever wrote this psalm is worshiping,
giving glory to the Lord. And look how he is saying it.
He begins in verse 1 of Psalms 96. O sing unto the Lord a new
song. Sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his
name. Show forth his salvation from
day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen. his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, he is
greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all
gods. All the gods of the nations are
nothing but idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty
are before him. Strength and beauty are in his
sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds
of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength." Give
unto the Lord glory due His name. Bring an offering, and come unto
His courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty
of holiness. Here before Him all the earth.
Say among the heathen, say among the heathen, The Lord reigneth."
Just say it. This is not talking about the
preacher. This is talking about the church. The preacher has
come here and read from the Word of God, and the preacher has
said to you, Thy God reigneth. Now go to your co-workers, go
to your family, go to your neighbors, and just tell them what you've
heard. Just say it. Say it among the heathen. Zion's
God reigneth. Therefore, the decrees, the purposes
of God, they're fixed. The Church's history has been
already written. The salvation of every lex soul
has already been pinned down and can never be changed. The
promises are yea and amen. God is able to fulfill them all. You can face this frowning world
with a smile, brothers and sisters. You can laugh at Satan's rage. Why? Because thy God reigneth. Face that tomorrow. Get up in
the morning and go on your job with this thought in your heart.
And worship God. And serve Him. And trust Him. And enjoy Him. And let this dispel
every fear that you have that's illegitimate. Say it over and
over and over again until the Spirit of God seals it to your
heart that the God who chose you the Son of God who redeems
you, the Spirit who gives you life. He reigns in heaven and
earth and in all deep places, every aspect of your life. Your
God reigns. Let that sink down deep into
your heart and live in the faith of it. And when death comes,
you will be glad you did, because He reigns thereto. And when you
lift it up to heaven, your motive for worship will never change. It will just get deeper. Look
at this passage in all close. Revelation chapter 11. Look in
verse 16. Look in verse 15. Revelation
chapter 11. Look in verse 15. The last trumpet, the seventh
angel, he sounded, and there were great voices in heaven saying,
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord
and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And the
four and twenty elders which sat before God on their seats,
fell upon their faces and worshiped God, saying, We give thee thanks,
O Lord God Almighty, which art and was and art to come, because
thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned." That
is the way we worship God. This is the way we enjoy God.
just by believing what he says about himself. If he says I reign,
we believe it, and we worship and give thanks. But who is this
text written to? It's written to the church. And I fear what's happening in
our day with some is they can't understand why the world This, in a sense, is the greatest
threat this world has ever heard, that God reigns. If God reigns,
they either bow to him or they'll be crushed under his feet. He'll
either reign in mercy or in judgment. That's not good news for this
world. Therefore, what's their attitude about it all? Well,
we're told in verse 18, And the nations were angry. and thy wrath
is come, and the time of the day that they should be judged,
that thou shouldest give rewards to thy service to the prophets,
and on and on he goes, thy God reigneth.'" Our Father in Heaven.