The Ways of God

Q: What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over all creation, accomplishing His purpose according to His own will (Isaiah 46:9-10). The sovereignty of God is a core doctrine in Scripture, emphasizing that He is in complete control over all things. Isaiah 46:9-10 reminds us that God declares the end from the beginning and that His counsel shall stand. This means that God's purposes cannot be thwarted by human effort or will. In Romans 11:33, the Apostle Paul praises the unsearchable wisdom of God's judgments and ways, highlighting that His decisions are beyond our understanding. The assurance of God's sovereignty provides comfort to believers, knowing that all things work according to His divine plan, for His glory.

Q: How do we know God's ways are higher than ours?

God Himself teaches that His ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). In Isaiah 55:8-9, God contrasts His thoughts and ways with those of mankind, declaring that His are higher and beyond human comprehension. This highlights a fundamental aspect of God's nature: His wisdom and understanding far exceed our own. Throughout the Bible, we see examples of God's ways being misinterpreted or not understood by people, demonstrating that His plans are not only different from human expectations but are also infinitely better. Understanding this concept is crucial for Christians as it encourages trust in God’s providence, especially during difficulties when His purposes might not be immediately clear.

Q: Why is trusting God's timing important?

Trusting God's timing is essential as His timing is perfect and part of His sovereign plan (Ecclesiastes 3:1). God's timing is crucial in the life of every believer, as seen in Ecclesiastes 3:1, which states that there is a time for everything under heaven. This emphasizes that God orchestrates events in our lives according to His perfect schedule rather than our own. Throughout biblical history, we see many instances where God acted at just the right moment. For instance, Paul was called by God's grace 'when it pleased God' (Galatians 1:15), showing that God’s actions are never premature or delayed. Trusting in God's timing builds our faith and reliance on Him, reminding us that He is working for our good and His glory.

Q: What does the Bible teach about God's purpose in adversity?

The Bible teaches that God often uses adversity for His purposes and to glorify Himself (Romans 8:28). In Romans 8:28, we find the profound truth that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. This includes adversities and trials, which can serve to strengthen our faith, draw us closer to God, or develop our character. Through historical narratives, such as Joseph's suffering and eventual rise in Egypt, we see God's ability to turn seemingly negative situations into platforms for His glory and our benefit. Understanding this enables Christians to view hardships through a lens of faith, knowing that God is at work in every aspect of their lives.

Q: Why should Christians bring others to Christ?

Christians are called to bring others to Christ as it is through Him that they find true redemption and life (John 14:6). The call to bring others to Christ is rooted in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), where Jesus instructs His followers to make disciples of all nations. Bringing others to Christ is essential because He is the source of life and salvation (John 14:6). The sermon emphasizes that it is not sufficient merely to lead individuals to religious practices or teachings; the ultimate goal is to lead them to a personal encounter with Christ. This ensures that their faith is grounded not in human wisdom or traditions but in the transformative power of Jesus, who redeems sinners and offers them eternal life.

God brings his sheep, his chosen ones, his elect, to Christ. He brings them to Christ, to
where they not only sing the words that we just heard, but they believe those words.
He is the One. He is the One. When afflictions
flood the soul and waves of trouble roll, when you need a friend
to help you, He's the One. He's the One at all times to
you that believe He's precious. But God has His own ways and
His own time to bring His sheep to Himself. And he'll bring them. He said, other sheep I have,
them also I must bring. He'll use various means and people,
but he'll bring them. He'll bring them. He'll bring
them to himself, and he'll get all the glory for doing it. He'll
not share his glory with another. One plows and one plants and
one waters, but God gives the increase. You can put that down. We're laborers, but he's the
husbandman. The seed only grows by his power. The son quickeneth whom he will. William Cowper wrote a hymn years
ago. I received word yesterday there's
a new book out on the life of Cowper. William, they call it
Cooper over in England. But the new book out is the story
of his life. It's a big, big book. He's called
the Poet of Paradise. He wasn't a preacher, but his
influence, for the glory of God, some say is greater than that
of the Westleys, even Whitefield. contemporary of John Newton and
a close friend. And William Cowper wrote this
hymn, God, God moves in a mysterious way. His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps on the
sea. He rides upon the storm. Deep in mysterious minds of never-failing
skill, he treasures up his wise designs, he works his sovereign
will. Ye fearful saints, fresh-couraged
tote, the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy, and
they will burst. with blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord. This is what I'm shooting at
this morning. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense. Trust him for
his grace. Behind the frowning providence,
he hides a smiling face. And I believe we need to be reminded,
and I trust that I'll be able to do that today, we need to
be reminded often that our ways are not his ways. In fact, he said, let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him
turn to God. For he said, your ways are not
my ways, they're just not my ways. And your thoughts are not my
thoughts, as the heavens are high above the earth, so are
my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. And one scripture that I was
reading forty years ago, in a Bible conference in Psalm 103, verse
7. When I read that scripture and
stepped down out of the pulpit and sat down beside Brother Barnard,
he nudged me and he said, did you ever look carefully at that
verse 7? I said, well, I just read it.
Yeah, I looked at it. He said, real carefully. I said,
well, no, not really. He said, you see what it says?
He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the children of Israel. He said, I don't want to just
see God act. I want to know why he did what
he did. I don't want to just see God's acts of judgment. I want to know the ways of That's right. We need to be reminded
that our Lord accomplishes his divine purpose in his own way,
not our way, his way, in his own time. For his glory, and the only way
that he can get all the glory is to accomplish his purpose
by his divine providence in his way. at his time. His purpose, he worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will. His own way, David said, our
God is in the heavens, he hath done whatsoever he pleased. Whatsoever
the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, earth, in the seas,
and all deep places. His own time, Paul acknowledged
that. He said, when it pleased God. who separated me from my mother's
womb, and called me by his grace. He revealed his Son in me." When
was Paul saved? When did God reveal his Son in
Paul? When it pleased God. God used a light, God used an
experience, God used Ananias, God used various things, God
set the time and the way, and he does it for his glory. I tell
you, the God of man's imagination, and a lot of people today have
a lot to say about God. They talk about God as if he
were their intimate friend. The God of men's imaginations
works as they expect him to work, and he works as they design for
him to work, according to the pattern that they understand. Men will let you know right away
that they understand God. But the living God, the living
God is responsible to no man. The living God accomplishes his
purpose. He is not responsible to any
creature, and he will accomplish his purpose according to his
will, in his own time, in his own way, in keeping with his
character for his glory. That's so. Let me show you something
over here in Romans before I read the text. Romans 11. Romans 11, listen to this. Verse 33, all the debt, all the debt of the riches, both
of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his
judgments, his ways past finding out. The depth of the riches, both
of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable, unsearchable
are his judgments, his ways past finding out. Who hath known the
mind of the Lord? Do you? Do I? Who hath been his counselor?
Who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto
him again? Of Him, through Him, to Him are
all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. So be it. I can give you many illustrations
of this, of God working things according to His way and His
will, His purpose for His glory, contrary to the way we would
do it. God will keep Abraham childless
until he's a hundred years old, and then promise him an heir. When Saul's womb is dead and
beyond bearing, and Abraham is an old man, a hundred years old,
then the God of purpose and providence and sovereignty comes and tells
him, you'll have a son. and then refuses Abraham's help. God will allow Satan to lay hold
upon one of his choicest servants, Job, and allow Satan to persecute
him, harass him, and break him, and then bless him with twice
what he had before. God will lead Israel jubilantly,
happily into Egypt, where his servant Joseph is second to Pharaoh,
and lead Israel right down into Egypt, happily, to find supplies
during a famine. And a lot of them, the homestead
there, raised their family and then put them in bondage for
400 years. Not my way. That's his way. God will refuse Moses' efforts. Moses, 40 years old, in the prime
of life, strong, influential, with an end to the palace. Moses could have led a coup and
put favor off the throne. But God refused his strength
and his efforts to right wrongs and embarrassed him in front
of his own people and sent him shamefully out of
Egypt. and kept him in the desert spot
till he's 80 years old. 80 years old, 40 years alone
in the wilderness. According to his own admission,
he couldn't even talk. He said, I can't talk. God said,
I'll send somebody to talk for you. And then when he's 80 years
of age, and has no influence or end or power, God takes him
down into Egypt and leads his people out for his glory. Then he'll pass by the pride
of Jesse's household as Jesse parades his fine sons in front
of the prophet Samuel, and Samuel would crown every one of them.
And God says, the Lord looketh not on the outward countenance,
but on the heart. And then they bring in a lad
from the mountains, whom the father had sent out
there to take care of the sheep, and brought him here, and God
crowned him the illustrious man after God's own heart, leader
of Israel, David. not my way. He'll make Judas an apostle,
allow him to be elected treasurer, and then leave him to his greed. He'll allow the apostle Paul
to be, to live 40 years in religion, allow him to hate the gospel
and persecute the church, and then make him the chief apostle. He will allow the great apostle
Peter to be sifted as wheat by the hand of Satan, and even deny
his Lord, to mold him and shape him and make him the kind of
preacher he ought to be. He'll kill MacShane at 29 and
let John Wesley live to be 90. He'll kill Brainerd at 30, Toplady
at 38, Spurgeon at 58, right in the middle of the most powerful
minister the world has seen since the days of the Apostle Paul,
with an orphanage and a college for preachers and the largest
church and following in 1700 years. and just kill him in the prime
of his life. Take him out and burn the building
down. You do it. Eight years later,
burn the building down. You can't put God in a mold. When you start anticipating the
Lord God and putting the Lord God in a straitjacket and talking
about how he's going to work and how he must work, you're
talking about another God. When men and women try to explain
the Lord God and talk of their knowledge of the ways of God
and predict what he will do, one thing, one thing you can
depend upon, he won't do it. And their God is not the God
of heaven and earth, it's the God of their imagination. That's
right, Bob, the God of this universe reigns. And he's going to put this flesh
under and down. I can tell you what God will
do. God will act in such a way that
he'll accomplish his purpose and his will and his way for
his glory. Let me just read you a passage
in Isaiah 46. Maybe you'd like to turn there
and follow it with me. Isaiah 46. Listen to this. Listen to this. Isaiah 46 now,
and I hope you're hearing and with me and what I'm saying. It must be, it must be understood. David said one time, speaking
of the Lord, Thou thoughtest I was altogether such a one as
Thyself. Listen to Isaiah 46 verse 9. Remember the former things of
old. I'm God. There's none else. I'm God. There's none like me. I declare
the end from the beginning. And from ancient times of things
that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, not yours,
mine. I will do all my pleasure, not
yours, mine. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executed my counsel from a far country. Aye, yea, I've spoken it, I'll
bring it to pass, I've purposed it, I'll do it. That's the Lord
God speaking. His pleasure, His purpose, His
glory. Spurgeon told about a certain
believer who had a large family, and he
had grown children who were not believers. They didn't know God,
didn't profess to know God or love the gospel. And he was greatly
concerned about them, and he prayed for them much. He prayed
that God would save his children, that God would bring all of his
children and grandchildren into the knowledge of Christ. And he, like us, kind of planned
things. And he had it all planned in
his mind, that when he came to die, he was an old man, getting
old and gray and wrinkled and tired, and knew he was going
to die. planned in his mind that when
he came to die, that he would be lying in his bed, surrounded
by his family, dying. Going without to be with the
Lord. And he would be quoting scripture. And in his mind he
thought about how he would sing, I'm going home to die no more.
I'm going home to die no more." He would quote scripture and
sing these great old hymns and praise God, and while his family
were standing about listening and watching him, he would close
his eyes and a smile would come across his face, and he'd go
out to be with the Lord and be taken like Elijah on angels'
wings in chariots of fire to be with Jesus. And all of his family would be
impressed. And all of his sons and daughters
and grandsons and granddaughters would say, I hope I can die like
that. I hope God gives me the grace
of Christ to die like that. But, not so. The ways of God are not our ways. God's not going to share his
glory. God's not going to use human judgment and human ways
to accomplish his purpose. When this old man died, Spurgeon
said, he died with a brain tumor. In such pain and agony, wracking
his body, he wept and screamed and prayed to die. and he was
filled with anxiety about his own soul and his deathbed was
a scene of great anguish and grief and didn't impress anybody. God moves in mysterious ways
his wonders to perform and when you and I think we've got this
thing all figured out And the Lord must do this and must do
that for his glory to accomplish his purpose so that our faith
will not stand in the wisdom of men. Suppose. I can see the
wisdom in that. I really can. Suppose one of
his children had been impressed by what he experienced. And impressed by his singing
and his testifying and his faith. and been persuaded to adopt religion,
their confidence would have been in Him, and not in him. Isn't that right? Why, of course
it's right. It's wisdom, it's the wisdom
of God. It's the wisdom of God. Suppose
Moses had been, when he killed that Egyptian and the people
rallied with him and he had led them out of Egypt with his wisdom
and power and might. Wouldn't have worked, would it?
No. Let's go to my text. I want to
show you something here. In Mark chapter 8. The ways of God, that's the title
of this message, the ways of God. Mark chapter 8 verse 22. And he come at the Bethsaida,
and they bring a blind man to him and assault him to touch
him. Well, I'll tell you this, whatever
the motive of these people, they brought a blind man to Christ.
Whatever the reason, whatever the spirit, they did bring him
to Christ. Now that's the place to bring a sinner to Christ.
Men, elders, pastors, let's preach Christ. Let's bring men to Christ. Now when they brought him to
Christ, the thing they should have done is back off and leave
him with Christ. They brought him to Christ. But
it says here they besought Christ to touch him. They told the Lord
what to do. I'm with them when they bring
him to Christ. When they bring the blind man, here's a man blind
from birth, who's in darkness, never seen, and they bring him
to Christ. If they just backed off and left
him right there in front of Christ and gone on about their business,
that'd have been the thing to do. But no, they told Christ
what to do. They said, touch him. They'd
seen Christ touch others. They'd seen others touch Christ. And so they besought him to touch
him, but the Lord didn't do it. He didn't touch him. He didn't
do what they told him to do. He didn't do what they expected
him to do. And I hope I don't read anything in here, but it's
an illustration of what I'm trying to preach. Our Lord did not do
what they asked him to do, what they expected him to do. It says
in verse 23, but rather he took the blind man by the hand. He
took him by the hand and led him out of town. To me, this is what all the sons
of Adam need, to be alone with Christ, to be apart from the
multitude and the means, and be alone with the Savior. He took him by the hand and led
him out of town. I want to show you something
back in Mark 7. Turn back there just a moment. Mark 7, verse 32. Mark 7, 32. Mark 7, 32. Listen
to this. This is another occasion. And
they bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his
speech. And they beseeched him to put his hand upon him, touch
him. And he took him aside from the
multitude, and put his finger in his ears, and he spit, and
touched his tongue, and looking up into heaven, he sighed. He
sighed. And he said unto him, Ephrathah,
that is, be open. They brought this man to the
Lord, and told him again to put his hand on him. The Lord took
him aside, and he lifted his eyes to heaven, and the Lord
sighed. Turn over to Mark 8 and verse
11. Listen again. And the Pharisees came forth
and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven,
tempting him, do something, and he sighed. Deeply in his spirit. Oh my. Oh my. The ways of men. Expectations
of men. The signs they seek. Our Lord
sighed again. He brought this man deaf and
dumb and he just took him away from the crowd and sighed. They
don't understand. And the Pharisees came and said,
show us, show us, show us, show us and we'll believe. Just like
Satan said to him, make these stones bare, jump off this place
here, command these stones to be bare, do all these things,
he just sighed. Show us a sign. Why does this
generation seek a sign? Verily I say unto you, no sign
will be given. And here in my text they bring
this blind man to him. I believe he saw it again, took
him by the hand, laid him out of town. And when they were out
there alone, he and the blind man, listen, and when he had
spit on his eyes, what does this mean? Well, he did that once
before by Matthew 7, you remember he spit, the man was deaf and
dumb, and he touched the man's tongue and he spoke. I don't believe he spit in the
man's mouth or spit in this man's eye, but he touched his finger
to his own mouth and put it on his eye. Touched the man's tongue like
that and the man spoke. Says here, he spit on his eyes,
he touched his tongue. I know spit's offensive, and
I hear preachers preach that this is a sign that the gospel
is offensive. Maybe so, but I believe what's
shown here is the power of his word, the power of his mouth. Grace poured from his lips. He
kisses me with the kisses of his mouth, she said in Song of
Solomon. in his word is life. This man's
eyes are dead, and our Lord made him see, touched him, touched
him with the word of his mouth. You see, this is, if anybody
here is, if there's people here without a knowledge of God, without
a relationship with the living God, without faith, without Christ. Life's not in the preacher, or
the church, or down front, or the altar, or the baptister,
or any of these. It's in Him. And as I preach, I try to bring
you to Christ, and then back on. to bring you to Christ, to
bring you to consider Him. Don't consider me, or this church,
or whether the Baptists are right, or the Methodists, or the Catholics.
Let them write down. The Word is right. And we bring
you to Christ, just back off, and the life comes from Him. He has this man here that alone,
He and the man, and our Lord touches His eyes. with the word
of his mouth, with the grace of his mouth. He said, Lazarus
live, and Lazarus lived. The power is in him, in his word. It's out of him. And that's what
he's doing here. He's touching his hand. Now let's
see what happened here. See if we can find something
else here. And the Lord spit on his eyes and put his hand
on him and asked him, he said, do you see? Do you see? And the
man looked up and said, I see me in his trees walking. He saw,
but he saw dimly. He didn't see clearly. Boy, I can identify with that,
can't you? I see, but I see through a glass
dimly. I see God's sovereignty. I see
man's lost estate. I see Christ's incarnation. I
see many things. but not clearly. And you know, men that have dim
sight, they have poor understanding,
don't they? And they tend to exaggerate.
He says, I see men as trees walking. I see men as trees walking. Detail
brings out beauty. I see men as trees walking. Our
Lord said that to his disciples one time, he said, I've got several
things to say to you and you're not able to bear them now. I
see, but I see dimly. Now read on. After that, oh may
this be our experience, he put his hands again upon him and
made him, he put his hands upon him. Not my hands, his hands. You know, religion today, this
emphasizes this hands business. I see people waving their hands. I see preachers putting their
hands on people, pushing them. But he put his hands on him.
His hands. And he made him look up. Look
up to Christ. Look up to the Lord Jesus. Look
up. Look to me and be saved. And he was restored, and he saw
every man clearly. When our Lord Jesus Christ was
pleased, and he touched his eyes, and there was a sight, there
was some sight, not very clearly. And I've been there, and I know
some of you have, and I know we're there a lot of times, just
so clearly, so dim. But then one day he's pleased
to put his hand upon us in his effectual grace. And all we see,
we see so clearly, we look up. We learn to look up. We don't
look to somebody else, we look up. We don't look in here, we
look up. We don't look at the lives of
others and find fault, we look up. We don't even look in the
books of the old Puritans, we look up. Look to Him. And you
know, when He touches us and we are brought to look up, Then
when we look back down, we see every man clearly. We
see ourselves. I'm a man of unclean lips. I
dwell among a people of unclean lips. I understand that. You
know, I see myself and I see them. I see everything clearly.
I see everything clearly. And then he said to him, now
listen, verse 26, and I'll close. And what did he do then? Well,
he sent him away to his house. He didn't necessarily send him
to the pulpit, he sent him to his house. He didn't send him
to the mission field, he sent him to his house. He sent him
home. He told another man that. He said, go home and tell people
what great things the Lord has done for you. He sent him home,
saying, don't go into the town and don't tell it to any in the
town. Don't go into the town, and don't
tell it to anybody in the town. You go home. Go home. You see, our Lord Jesus Christ,
and this is the thing we need to understand, is that what he
does in, you know, many times he said to people whom he healed,
here's a blind man, he healed him, and he said, don't tell
anybody, because he didn't come just to give physical sight to
the blind, he came to redeem sinners. And it was not our Lord's
purpose to be known as a physical healer. His purpose was to be
manifested as the redeemer of sinners. And he said a lot of
people follow me for the miracles and for the loaves and fishes,
and he didn't reveal himself to them. What we've got to learn
to do is to tell the true message. the true redemptive glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Not just tell people that ever
since the Lord saved me that I've had a good job or prospered
physically or financially or materially, but I prospered spiritually. The Lord has redeemed my soul.

The Ways of God

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

How do we know God's ways are higher than ours?

Why is trusting God's timing important?

What does the Bible teach about God's purpose in adversity?

Why should Christians bring others to Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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The Ways of God

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

How do we know God's ways are higher than ours?

Why is trusting God's timing important?

What does the Bible teach about God's purpose in adversity?

Why should Christians bring others to Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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