“Sovereign” – Isn’t that a brand of Spark Plug wires?

by Glen on 2002-12-01 00:34:22

Ps 8:1 – O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

Ps 8:9 – O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Isa 1:24 – Therefore says the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: Ah, I will pour out my wrath on my enemies, and avenge myself on my foes!

Isa 3:1 – For now the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and staff– all support of bread, and all support of water–

Isa 10:16 – Therefore the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire.

Isa 10:33 – Look, the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the tallest trees will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low.

Isa 19:4 – I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master; a fierce king will rule over them, says the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts.

Isa 51:22 – Thus says your Sovereign, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: See, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; you shall drink no more from the bowl of my wrath.

Da 4:17 – The sentence is rendered by decree of the watchers, the decision is given by order of the holy ones, in order that all who live may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of mortals; he gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of human beings.’

Da 4:26 – As it was commanded to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be re-established for you from the time that you learn that Heaven is sovereign.

Ac 4:24 – When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them,

1Ti 6:15 – which he will bring about at the right time–he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Re 6:10 – they cried out with a loud voice, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” The dictionary says this about “sovereign”,

“The person, body, or state in which independent and
supreme authority is vested; especially, in a monarchy, a
king, queen, or emperor.”

But God doesn’t rule like Sadam Hussain. God’s other qualities balance his behaviour. In the middle of my sin, he speaks softly and asks me if love Him. I know the answer. But I also know that if I love Him, I will obey his will. There is no other God like this, who approaches so gently to preserve our relationship together.

Romans 9:14-26

14 What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses. 19 You will say to me then, “Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction; 23 and what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory? 24 including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call “my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call “beloved.’ ” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,’ there they shall be called children of the living God.”

Job 40:1-14

1 And the Lord said to Job: 2 “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? F180 Anyone who argues with God must respond.” 3 Then Job answered the Lord: 4 “See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. 5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but will proceed no further.”

6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: 7 “Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me. 8 Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified? 9 Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? 10 “Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. 11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on all who are proud, and abase them. 12 Look on all who are proud, and bring them low; tread down the wicked where they stand. 13 Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. F181 14 Then I will also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can give you victory.

Jonah 3:10 to 4:11

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

1 But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3 And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

5 Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. 6 The Lord God appointed a bush, F4 and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10 Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

Mark 14:32-36

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34 And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” 35 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 He said, “Abba, F117 Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”

Remember:

God is not accountable to man – man is accountable to God
God will use everyone to display His glory – even Pharoah
God has purpose in everything He does

Why does God not give us an explanation for why He does things? (think of the confusion of threads we see on the back of a beautiful tapestry)

Do you choose God, or does He choose you? (predestination vs choice; Calvinist vs Armenian)
The Bible fully teaches both, even though we don’t understand it. This is the nature of God. He has taken the INITIATIVE to save us. John 6:37 – “I will not cast out any who come to me”

I have a friend whose marriage and family are on the brink of disaster. It may be because he has not submitted his obsessions (hobbies) to the sovereign decision and rule of God. One of Wayne Watson’s songs comes to mind.

My Temple is built of wood and of stone
Each space is filled with the things that I own
Idols of gods that call me to bow
Oh, I try to be free, but there’s no freedom now.
No freedom now.

The ones I hold dear, those most precious to me
Some days I set them afloat on an indifferent sea
and these things in first place, they’re worth nothing at all.
At night in my dreams, graven images fall.

And my gods won’t let me sleep.

And what a man sows, that he will reap.
And I toss and I turn at night,
I’ve got places to go, I’ve got battles to fight.
And my gods won’t let me sleep tonight.

Ambitions once good, once noble and pure
now rule with a rod that cannot endure.
These bonds I have forged, with two willing hands,
they’re not easily torn by the strength of a man.

And my gods won’t let me sleep.

And what a man sows, that he will reap.
And I toss and I turn at night,
I’ve got places to go, I’ve got battles to fight.
And my gods won’t let me sleep tonight.

No other gods before you,

No other one besides.

Oh, I want to sleep in peace when I lie down.
All of the voices calling, all of their hands that claw me
Won’t let me lend allegiance to their crown

And my gods won’t let me sleep.

And what a man sows, that he will reap.
And I toss and I turn at night,
I’ve got places to go, I’ve got battles to fight.
And my gods won’t let me sleep tonight.
Please let me sleep.

— No Other gods, Wayne Watson’s “The Fine Line”, 1998

Let’s let God completely rule over us in every area of our lives.