The Sovereignty of God (Part 2)

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No Compromise Radio Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio with pastor and author,

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Dr. Mike Abendroth. Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing Pastor Mike open the

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Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

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Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the scriptures, verse by verse, with no compromise.

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God is just as sovereign over you as he was over the Corinthians. I don't like to do it all the time, just most of the time.

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If somebody says to me, oh, you're so lucky, I just lie in wait for that question, that statement, that comment.

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If my life was orchestrated by chance, accident, luck, fate, serendipity, karma, coincidence, or kismet, then

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I should be a person with no contentment and with no joy.

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Because what's going to happen in the future? A lot more of random accidents.

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I don't think it holds very true, but you know, it's the people who believe in the sovereignty of God, and another guy who doesn't believe in the sovereignty of God, and the guy that believes in the sovereignty of God falls down the steps, and he looks over to this friend, the friend says, you know what,

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I'm sorry you had that accident, but he looks back at the friend and he said, I'm glad I got that over with. You know, it's like, okay, that can be pushed too far,

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I'm not trying to say that. But either God is sovereign over every molecule and every atom and every proton and every neutron, or he's not.

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And he sovereignly placed you where you are. Clark Pinnock says the opposite, tell me how much comfort this gives you.

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We detect in the Genesis story with Joseph, not some dark, predestinarian decree operating behind the scenes, making sure everything works out right.

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What we do encounter is the freedom of God to respond positively and negatively to man's freedom. God weaves into his plan for history the significant choices that we make.

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History is not a computer printout of programmed decisions set long before by an all -determining deity.

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It is much more like a dialogue between the Father and his human respondents. That doesn't give me joy.

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It gives me sadness and sorrow. If you say to yourself, I would like more contentment,

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I would like more joy, I would like more comfort than friends, if you're a Christian, the doctrine for you is the utter and absolute sovereignty of God over everything.

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So much so that you think when God thinks of the world, he thinks in singular decrees. Ephesians 3, the purpose of God.

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Spurgeon, there is no attribute more comforting to his children than that of God's sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions.

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That sovereignty overrules them. That sovereignty will sanctify them all. We're not

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Muslims who believe in a God who controls everything fatalistically. We're a God who believes that God is personal.

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He's triune and he personally is walking through this world, walking the world through his sovereign hand, doing everything perfectly.

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And if he makes you a Christian, he made you a Christian at the right time. What would be the other result?

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Well, God, thanks for making me a Christian, but you made, you know, it could have been about three years earlier. Maybe I kind of would have liked to sin a few more years and, you know, if you're going to make me a

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Christian, I'm going to have eternal security. I wish you just would have made me a Christian five years later and I could have just sinned a lot more.

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I'm telling you, this is my second blessing right here, the sovereignty of God.

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The primary truth about Christ's substitutionary atonement and then secondly, this is my second blessing, the sovereignty of God.

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If I die today, if I die in a week, if I die in five years, I want everyone here to know that God is sovereign over everything, every molecule.

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I want you to be like Samuel Rutherford who, when persecuted, thrown into prison, said,

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I adore and kiss the providence of my Lord who knoweth well what is most expedient for me and for you and your children.

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So back here in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verses 17 through 24, whether it's your marital status, your social status, your ethnic status, whether you're a slave or free,

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God calls you and your response should be, it is well with my soul. How can I serve you now?

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So for the rest of the time this morning, instead of expositing words and sentences of 17 through 24, which we'll do more next week, let me give you six realms of God's sovereignty that will help you increase your joy and your contentment.

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If you get these six realms down, and since God is a king, He has these realms of His sovereignty,

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I could give you many more, but these six will do for the day. These six are in the new book that should be out in a few months that I wrote.

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And so these six should help you, six realms of God's sovereignty, which stress that God is a sovereign king so that your joy may increase.

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We're going to cover everything. You need to know that God's sovereign. That's what this passage is all about in 1

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Corinthians chapter 7, 17 through 24. The call of God. The first realm of God's sovereignty.

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By the way, this is going to be good for us because the world and the evangelical world aren't quite sure how sovereign God is.

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The first one is God is a sovereign king over all His creation. For your contentment to be there, your joy, you need to know that God is a sovereign king over all of His creation.

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God is this God who is hands -on. He's a micromanager. His throne is established in the heaven as the sovereignty rules over all.

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And as I think of some of the words about God as sovereign, listen to how great these are.

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Lord, Lord of hosts, most high, king, sovereign, almighty, throne.

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Listen to the language of sovereignty. Appointed, established, reign, dominion, rule, decree, ordination, command, predestined, foreordained, authority, control.

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Don't you like that? God is in the heavens and He does whatever He pleases. And I want to try to force you today to never say,

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I know God is sovereign, but. I don't want to give you any wiggle room.

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I know God is sovereign, but. I want to be able to get some flashcards up, you know, two -sided flashcards like kids have.

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And this one says, you know, Lord, and on the back side it says sovereign. This one says decree, and on the back side it says sovereign.

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This side says, you know, the will of man. On the back side, God is sovereign over every one of those things. God is sovereign over all

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His creation. Turn with me, if you would, to Psalm 119. My typical strategy is this.

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When we go through a passage, I don't like to have you turn to a lot of other verses because I want you to park in the passage.

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Today's going to be a little bit different. We've been parking in 17 through 24, and now we're going to go outside to see some other verses to make sure you get this sovereign, distinguishing call where God calls people sovereignly to Himself.

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Psalm 119. 90. God's sovereign over all creation. How about this?

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Your faithfulness in verses 90 and 91, Psalm 119, verse 90 and 91. Your faithfulness endures to all generations.

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You have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment, they stand this day, for all things are your servants.

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Can you imagine the earth, the moon, the stars, the galaxies are the servants of God.

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Serving God. Now, let's go back to that whole dog illustration again. I like to train the dog.

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I don't have that much time to train dogs because once you have some kids in the house, you need to train the kids instead of the dogs. But I like to have the dog trained just enough so it can do a handful of tricks.

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And when I say to the dog, sit. The dog better sit. Stay. Lay down.

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360. It means spinning in a circle. Bang. You're dead. The dog acts like it's dead.

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And then she doesn't like to roll all the way over. She half rolls over like it's some kind of tracer or something. No, you're really dead.

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Bang. Okay. That dog is my servant. And when

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I say sit, stay, come, lay down, that dog does it. And to think that God talks about the earth and the moon and the stars as His servants.

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Go there. Stop there. Sit, stay, come. Around you go. With fascinating obedience, the galaxies instantly respond to the precise commands of God.

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That's why Psalm 135 says, Whatever the Lord pleases, He does. In heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the deeps.

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When it comes to creation, did you know the weather is under the sovereign hand of God? Why don't you turn with me, if you would, to Deuteronomy chapter 11.

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Deuteronomy chapter 11. I don't like 30 % chance of rain.

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Theologically. God is sovereign. And when we talk about rain, here's what we say.

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It's raining outside. Like God's not driving the rain down. You're going to see the kind of language in Scripture.

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It's not, well, it is raining passively. You're going to see things like God is sending the rain.

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It's not a chance of rain. Not some abstract quality, unexpected, random, unpredictable event.

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Like it's a chance occurrence. No, when God sends rain, He sends rain.

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And Deuteronomy chapter 11 and Deuteronomy 28, we'll just look at two sets of verses that are very interesting.

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So you can think that the hydrological cycle, theologically speaking, is governed by God. Deuteronomy 11.

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He will give the rain for your land in its season. The early rain and the latter rain that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.

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And you say, oh, that's just, He will give the rain. Okay. Then let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 28.

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Deuteronomy 28. One more passage. I could give you Leviticus 26 about I give you your rains.

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I could give you Genesis chapter 2. God had caused it not to rain. But here we have

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Deuteronomy chapter 28. My point is God is sovereign over creation. The Lord will open to you

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His good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season. And bless all the work of your hands.

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It shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. John Calvin.

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It is certain that not one drop of rain falls without God's sure command. How about that?

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It is certain that not one drop of rain falls without God's sure command. How about wind?

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Can you control wind? Can you control the sea? Can you put a tether rope on the sun?

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Listen to Psalm 107. For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which He lifted up with the waves of the sea.

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He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Joshua 10. And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped.

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Rabbi Kushner said in his horrible book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Tornadoes, earthquakes are not an act of God.

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Because that would be a case of using God's name in vain. Sovereignty of God is

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God presides over the sun, moon, stars, sleet, hail, snow, cloud, storm, thunder, lightning, earthquakes, fire, ice, floods, famines, tsunamis, forests, and seas.

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Did you know God decides who's going to be born? To whom they will be born? Who's going to be able to bear children?

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Who will not? I think if God's sovereign over creation, He must be sovereign over when He calls us, married or single.

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Number two, God is sovereign over all history. The second thing you should do if you'd like to increase your contentment and joy is recognize that God is sovereign over all history.

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All the election of world leaders, every speck of dust, everything is irrevocably fixed.

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How about Daniel chapter 2? Let's go to Daniel chapter 2. I want you to have a confidence in the sovereignty of God so you can trust

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Him more. The more you trust Him, the more content you'll be, the more joy you'll have. You say, yeah, but God loves me so much,

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His love is infinite. But you can't trust Him. As my father would say, farther than you can throw Him, then there's a problem.

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But He's sovereignly powerful and He's powerfully sovereign. Daniel 2 .20

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To show you He's king of all history. That's, by the way, one of the reasons why I like to read history. Daniel answered and said,

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Daniel 2 .20 God is sovereign over political parties, over the government.

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And in God's universe, what ifs and if onlys are really never a doubt.

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Number three, God is sovereign over the specific details of life. You want joy?

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God is sovereign over the little things in life. By the way, this is why I never gamble. I don't gamble for lots of reasons.

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But God is sovereign over the odds at Vegas because there aren't really odds in God's eyes. It's a sovereign plan of God.

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And I don't really want to gamble away God's money because it's bad stewardship. It reveals that I would be greedy and I'm not supposed to want that kind of money.

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Proverbs says, but God would never let me win anyway. And if He would let me win, it would be probably to judge me.

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Because then you would all go, yeah, pastor got all that money. Gambling. The lot is cast in the lap, but every decision is from the

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Lord. Proverbs 16 .33 I mean, just listen, it almost, it just sounds funnily sovereign.

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And they said to one another, come, let us cast lots that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.

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So they cast lots, and the lots fell on pretty lucky.

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Born lucky. You find me the most minute, insignificant, minuscule, microscopic, infinitesimal, or small event in the universe, and I'll show you

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God made it happen. Listen to what Jesus said. These are not two sparrows sold for a penny, and not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father.

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But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. I mean, just read these verses, and if you're not used to them, they're like a sponge, a sponge.

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They're like a stomach punch. They're like a gut punch for a boxer. And knock your wind out of you if you're not careful.

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These are from the Bible. Ecclesiastes 7. In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider.

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God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

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Lamentations 3. Who has spoken, and it came to pass, unless the Lord commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the

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Most High that good and bad come? Isaiah 45. I form light and create darkness.

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I make well -being, and I create calamity. I am the Lord who does all these things.

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Number 4. God is sovereign over your birthday and over your funeral. He's sovereign over your birthday and your funeral.

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He chose your parents. He chose your DNA. He chose the day of your birth. He knows the day of your death.

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He knows the color of your eyes, your skin, your sex, everything about you. Psalm 139, if you'd like to look at that with me.

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Psalm 139. I could take you to Job 14. Days are numbered. Psalm 31.

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My times are in your hand. But can you imagine God is sovereign over your birthday and on your funeral?

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I had to be born May 12th. 1960. By the way,

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I want you to exercise. I want you to take vitamins. But none of that will prevent you from dying one day earlier, one day later than you're supposed to.

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How about Psalm 139? Your eyes saw my unformed substance. In your book were written every one of them.

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The days that were formed for me when as yet there was none of them. Some people commit suicide because they know they can't control anything in their life, but they must control things so they think they can control the day and the way they die.

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Sad. Two more. We're almost done. Fifth, God is sovereign king over every act committed by man.

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God is sovereign king over every act committed by man. Can you imagine?

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Cyrus is called my shepherd. Cyrus is called his anointed. Why don't you turn to Genesis chapter 45.

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You know the passage well. I want you to realize that evil sin and evil people are not outside the sovereign umbrella of Jesus the king.

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Sinful and unrighteous deeds of humans are under the auspices of God's sovereign control.

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Genesis chapter 45 verse 8. You know the story with Joseph and his brothers? His sinful brothers?

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His wicked brothers? So it was not you who sent me, Genesis 45 verse 8, but God.

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He has made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all the house and ruler over the land of Egypt.

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It was not you who sent me here, but God. God is sovereign over the evil. Make no mistake, those people were responsible human agents, but God's sovereign rule.

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Turn to 2 Samuel chapter 16. I want to try to push you up into a corner and get you to say uncle, and I think

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I can with these verses. If you already believe in the sovereignty of God, you've already said uncle. But here, if you're not careful, as S.

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Louis Johnson would say, this might give you a charley horse between the ears. I thought that was an interesting way to put it, a generation ago.

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2 Samuel chapter 16. Here's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to show you that God is so sovereign over every little detail, that isn't

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He sovereign over your marital state, to whom you were married, what happened, when it happened?

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So then you can go, I'm just going to be content and live for the glory of God, and try to be undoing it and be a rebel against all this.

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2 Samuel 16 .22. Absalom's heinous sin.

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So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went into his father's concubines in the sight of all

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Israel. That's a horrible, preposterous sin.

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Now I have a question for you. A sin that would make Jerry Springer's guests blush. Is that sin under the sovereign hand of God?

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Turn to 2 Samuel 12 .11. Just go back four chapters. 2 Samuel 12 .11. God's word says, shockingly, that was the plan of God.

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That was the plan of God, this horrible, preposterous sin. I can think of a worse sin,

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Jesus Christ getting crucified even though He was innocent. But make no mistake.

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Look at 2 Samuel 12 .11. And I want you to see that God is sovereign over the sinful, wicked hearts of people.

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Thus says the Lord, 2 Samuel 12 .11. Behold, I will raise up evil against you in your own house.

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And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor. I will take your wives,

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God says, and give them to your neighbor. And he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this

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Son. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all

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Israel and the Son. Wow. God is sovereign over evil.

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God reigns over evil. And then one last one. God is sovereign over the eternal destiny of every person.

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Number six. God is the sovereign king over the eternal destiny of every person. My purpose this morning is to show you that in 1

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Corinthians 7 .17 -24, you've got to live in light of your circumstances knowing that God's sovereign.

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So then I just wanted to show you six areas in which God is sovereign. God is sovereign over the eternal destiny of every person.

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Do you like that doctrine, by the way, when you first hear it? Most of you have heard it here. When you first hear the doctrine,

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God is in charge of who goes to heaven and who doesn't go to heaven. If you're like everybody, you're like most people, you're going to say,

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I didn't like that doctrine. I don't like that doctrine. Jonathan Edwards was no different.

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He said from childhood up, my mind had been full of objections against this doctrine of God's sovereignty in choosing whom he would do eternal life and rejecting whom he pleased, leaving them eternally to perish and being everlastingly tormented in hell.

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It used to be, to me, a horrible doctrine. But I remember the very time well when

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I seemed to be convinced and fully satisfied as to this sovereignty of God. True or false?

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Everybody deserves to go to hell. Everyone's born a rebel deserving death and eternal judgment.

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So the real question is not, how could God damn people? The real question is what? How could

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God save anybody? How could God save anyone? And think about it,

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God has to be sovereign over who goes to heaven because he's the one that has to do something in their hearts so that they can go to heaven.

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Who else regenerates people? It does not depend on the human will or on the human exertion, but on God who has mercy.

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Turn with me, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. It is as clear as day. It's God's work that saves us.

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We don't cooperate. We don't assist. We don't do anything. We receive grace. That's all we do.

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And the response to grace is repentance, faith, belief, and everything else. God doesn't have to choose all the angels.

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He didn't. God didn't have to choose every country. He didn't. Jesus didn't have to heal every person.

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He didn't. And God doesn't have to pick every person either.

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And we know God's sovereign in who goes to heaven because only God sovereignly works in people. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 30.

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How do you know who makes people go to heaven? Verse 30 of 1

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Corinthians says, And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus. Not because of you and your pastor.

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Not because of you and your mom. Not because of you and the altar call. Not because of you and anything else.

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Because of Him you are in Christ Jesus. And it has to be all of God sovereign working because verse 31 says,

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So that as it is written, let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. When the

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Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life, what?

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Believe. I don't know about you, but I'm hot.

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The Lord has made everything for His purpose. Even the wicked for the day of trouble. Okay.

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The wrap up is this. God made you a Christian at the exact right time.

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Especially if you're married to an unbeliever. Your response to God should be,

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Thank you for saving me. And instead of me trying to rebel underneath your hand,

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I'm just going to submit to your hand. Know that you do everything rightly. And I might be this person.

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The one person who is used by you God to preach the gospel to my unsaved spouse.

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And if that is my lot in life, Thank you. And if you have that kind of attitude,

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I know two things about you. You'll be a content person. And you'll be a joyful person. If you're single and you say,

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Yes, but I will only be happy if I'm married. I need to get married. I need to have kids.

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I need to have a spouse. Is it wrong to ask for that? No. But it's wrong to pine away when you're not serving the sovereign king.

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No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

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Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible -teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God's Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

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Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

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You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.