God Alone Is Sovereign

What does it mean to be Sovereign?  When speaking about man's sovereignty, usually the following remarks will sufficiently cover whatever role a man thinks he has ... the greatest in status, authority or power; supreme, dominant; a ruler, monarch or king; perhaps independent and self-governing. 

While it is true that some men have ruled as such for a short while ... in truth, only God has the right to claim the title of Sovereign, for He is the only one that can fulfill or meet all of these requirements.  Look at some of the things only God can do ...

God, as the Creator of all things, upholds, directs, disposes, and governs ... all ... creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest event to the least, by His wise and holy Providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, with goodness, grace and mercy ... forever.

Yes ... God governs the world, but the truth is, we cannot always see the reasons of His conduct, nor know why He does this, omits that, or permits a third thing.  We will never know or understand the depths that are involved in the government of God; but even so ... all is just and right with what He does.

The way God governs is through His Providence, which is ... "guardianship and control with His foresightful care."

God by His providence governs the world, and has determined particular things and operations to particular times.  And He isn't new at it; He has been doing as He pleases with the earth for a long time now.  God always has a purpose for what He does and even a time when it is to be performed.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 ... "To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven ..."

Try as you may, you will not always understand God's providence and in many of those times you will not be able to comprehend why He does what He does.

Ecclesiastes 9:1 ... "For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God ..."

Solomon draws this conclusion from what he had seen of the character of God ... that the righteous, the wise, and their conduct, were all in the hand of God, and are in His power.

Ecclesiastes 9:2 ... "All things come alike to all ..."

All things come alike to all ... this is generally very true.  There are general blessings, and general natural evils, that equally affect the just and the unjust.  But God often makes a difference and His faithful followers many times witness interventions of Divine Providence on their behalf.  But there are also many times when they don't see a difference.  But even so, whether He intervenes or not ... in this all is right.

The evils that are in nature are the effects of the fall of man and the sin brought into the world by that fall; and many times God will not alter or suspend natural laws to favor individual cases.  Again, we cannot always see the reasons why He does one thing one time and another thing another time.

There is enough evil in the world to show that man has fallen from God, and enough good in the world to show that God deals with him in mercy.

I cannot see therefore, that there is any rational cause for me personally, to stumble or give up my faith at the way God dispenses His providence to man ... whether I judge such acts to be good or evil in their nature.

The duty then for us in all of this, which is taught by His providence ... is that of patience, perseverance, faith in God, and a belief that He is in perfect control of all things, seen or unseen.

Isaiah 8:17 ... "And I will wait for the Lord, Who is hiding His face ... and I will look for and hope in Him."

The word "hope" means to anticipate with confidence while waiting for the answer even when God seems to distance Himself from our problems.

Exodus 33:19 ... "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."

On whom ... God was saying that His mercy would be distributed according to His sovereign will, and not to all, but to whomever He thought fit to give it.

The Apostle Paul speaks to this in ...

Romans 9:14-15 ... "What shall we conclude then?  Is there injustice upon God's part?  Certainly not!  For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion (pity) on whom I will have compassion."  (Amplified Bible)

So ... Paul is asking ... To what conclusion shall we come to on the facts before us?  Shall we suggest that God, by bestowing His mercy in this manner, (not to all men, who are in equal circumstances, but to whomever He chooses) is inconsistent with justice and equity, and not being fair and impartial?  Paul is saying ... no, we won't suggest any such thing.

Okay, as I often do, let me state ... "my opinion" ... very plainly so there is no misunderstanding about what I am saying ...

"I believe, because God is Sovereign, He can do and will do whatever He wants, anytime He wants ... and there is nothing anyone can do about it."   Now for my disclaimer ... this is just my opinion, and you know how much that is worth ... not very much.

But I do believe we need to learn that whatever God does is right and just, and most likely needed.  He therefore may dispense His blessings to whomever and with whatever terms He pleases, because every action undertaken by Him is for our ultimate good.  God cannot be wrong.  Or late.  My advise to you is ... if you don't like these facts ... get over it.

We will be better off if we accept the truth that God's ways are higher then our ways; that He can and will do whatever He pleases, and that no man has a right to complain.  Save your breath ... it wouldn't do any good anyway.

The Unpardonable Sin

Believers as well as theologians have debated for years as to the meaning of the phrase ... "the unpardonable sin."  This term isn't found in the Bible, nor is "the unforgivable sin" which would be the same thing.  So what is it, and how is it committed? 

At first glance, the word "unpardonable" looks to suggest an "act" of some kind that someone will not forgive ... even if that person asks for forgiveness.

My dictionary defines unpardonable as ... "a fault or offense too severe to be pardoned; therefore it is unforgivable."

I'm not too worried if man decides not to forgive something I have committed.  It might make me feel bad that they won't forgive me, but life will go on.

But what about God?  The Lord is going to be the final judge as to whether we spend eternity with Him or separated from His presence in darkness.  I don't even want to think about where that place of separation from God will be.  Most people call it Hell.

So where did this conception of doing something that even God won't forgive come from?  How about ... right out of the mouth of Jesus.

Matthew 12:31-32 ... "I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.  Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."

Wow ... what is all that about?  A sin that shall never be forgiven.  I thought all sin, past, present and even uncommitted future sin was placed upon Jesus as He hung on the cross.  Jesus carried that sin with Him upon the cross ... right?  In fact, the Apostle Paul said something like ... "He became sin, who knew no sin."  (2nd Corinthians 5:21)

I'm not going to deal with the legality of sin today, (now that Jesus has become the sacrifice for all our sin) but even so, I want to put this statement Jesus made to His Jewish contemporaries in context, in it's scriptural setting.

Right before Jesus made this statement about forgiveness, someone was brought to Him that was, as Matthew put it ... "possessed of a devil, was blind and couldn't speak."  So Jesus proceeded to heal this individual which amazed the people and caused them to assume He was "the Son of David" ... meaning the Messiah.

But when the Pharisees heard that the people thought He was the Messiah, they said in response that Jesus ... "healed by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of the devils."

This is what led Jesus to declare that blasphemy will not be forgiven.  Blasphemy as described in this scripture, in simple terms, is giving credit to the devil for the miracle that the Holy Spirit of God performed.

So I turn again to the dictionary to look up the educated definition of blasphemy ... "the act or offense of profane talk or speaking sacrilegiously about sacred things of God, including His miraculous acts."       

Profane talk ... (speaking with irreverence or disrespect concerning something sacred) can be considered a type of blasphemy.

Speaking sacrilegiously ... similar to profane; (regarding sacred things as secular.) 

By this we see that God will not share the recognition or glory with anyone ... especially with the devil.  Why is that?  Because God is so holy that such a statement, (or in this case, a charge against the Holy Spirit in Jesus) became ... "an offense too severe to be pardoned; therefore it is unforgivable."

The Pharisees were supposed to know God.  How could they watch Jesus heal and deliver this person from the demonic powers that bound this individual and then proclaim that it was the power of the devil that freed him from the power of the devil's captivity and bondage?  Now that's ignorance. 

Jesus even asked them ... "If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?"

If there is a lesson to learn from this unforgivable situation that the mouths of the Pharisees got themselves into ... it is to be slow to speak, and when we do speak ... give God all the credit and praise for every good gift that comes your way.

The Pharisees thought they could discredit and harm the good reputation of Jesus and the works of the Holy Spirit in His life.  Didn't happen, did it?  Instead, they ended up in deep trouble ... unforgivable blasphemy ... as far as we understand it.  But in truth, forgiveness is up to God. 

I don't know if any of these Pharisees were ever forgiven for this sin.  If any of them later accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord ... then they were forgiven.  You may ask ... "How do you know that?"   John 3:16 says ... "Whosoever believes" ... which includes even those who speak out of ignorance and unbelief.

May I give you my opinion on the unpardonable sin?     

"The only unpardonable sin, is sin that is unconfessed."

Only One Way

I was leading a Bible study group once when the question was asked ... "If someone never hears of the name of Jesus, could they make Heaven?"  What they were asking was ... is there another way, other than through the death of Jesus on the cross that God will accept in place of the blood of His Son.

Knowing that some people will never hear the gospel story, never hear the name "Jesus" spoken to them even one time, brought this next question.  "How can God hold them responsible for sin without having a knowledge of the Law, the same way He does with those who do have the Law or those who hear and reject the Gospel?"

Have you ever heard that ... ignorance is no excuse?  Evidently God agrees with this statement.

In Romans, the Apostle Paul is arguing that even though the average Gentile, having no knowledge of the Law given to Moses, no written revelation of God; although invisible to their eyes, if they attentively considered the apparent beauty, order and operations of the natural world, they will know and perceive that there is a God and that He is everywhere.  God's power, dominion and providence is so evident they cannot plead ignorance as their excuse.

Romans 1:18-20 ... "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men ... Because that which may be known of God is apparent and evident to them, for God has shown it to them.  For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood and comprehended by the things that are made ... so that they are without excuse."

God has given those without the Law and those who have never heard the name of Jesus, so clear and abundant evidence of His existence, that they have no excuse.  Nature itself is saying, open your eyes, look and see.  And if that's not enough, God has also sent His Holy Spirit into the world to draw all men unto Jesus through the conviction of sin.  Men intuitively, or instinctively know right from wrong.

Because all men are without excuse, Paul explains that God does not show partiality or favoritism to those with or without the Law in Romans 2:11-15 ...

"For there is no respect of persons with God.  For as many as have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law ... for when those which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves ... and therefore show the law as being written in their hearts ..."

Those who want to believe that even the heathen, who have never heard about Jesus or the law of God; who do by nature or know intuitively what is right or wrong, by following their own consciences as works of righteousness; therefore ... become a law unto themselves ... and through these natural acts, God will allow them to gain entrance into Heaven.

Let's say, for sake of argument, if this was true ... would they then, be saved by their own works?  If this was truly the case, when doing by nature the things contained in the law ... wouldn't they then fall under the judgment of the law?

If so, I ask this question ... "can the law save anyone?"

Paul's answer to that question is found in Galatians 2:16 ...

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

If I understand the essence of what Paul is saying; then by observing any law, God's Law or even being a law unto yourself (by nature) ... no man can ever be "saved," meaning to be justified and declared righteous with God ... by keeping legal rituals or by doing the works of any law.

In the third chapter of Romans, Paul asks if Jews are better off than Gentiles because God gave the Law to Israel.  His answer is  ... (v9-10) "No, that they are all under sin; there is none righteous, not one."  And in (v20) he says ... "Therefore  by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

In this portion of scripture, we see that both, Jews with the law, and Gentiles doing by nature the things contained in the law, therefore have ... the knowledge of sin ... and as such are without excuse.

Sin requires a sacrifice ... and our works, even if we could keep the law, which we can't, would not be a sacrifice.

God made a covenant with man when He said it would take the shedding of blood to cover sin; and even in the new covenant it took the blood of Jesus to not just cover sin; but to do away with it once and for all time, thereby making our own works through the law ... useless and unable to save us.

So, if the works of even believers in Jesus won't save us ... how then will doing good works by nature, (what is right and wrong) save those who have never heard of the name of Jesus?

The Apostle Peter made it pretty clear when he said this in ...

Acts 4:10-12 ... "Be it known to all of you ... that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth ... there is not salvation in any other, for there is no other name ... given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Salvation is based on the blood of Jesus.  If there could have been another way, why did Jesus die?

If there is another way, then Jesus died for no reason, He suffered for no reason, and He left His position in Heaven to be born of flesh, to become man for no reason ... if there was another way.
   
Consider the words of Jesus in John 14:6 ... "I am the way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by me."

There's only one way ... Jesus ... and that's as it should be.
     

Peace

Shalom ... peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Are you the one that I am supposed to bring peace to your heart and mind today?  Are you troubled by something bigger than you alone can handle?  Well ... you're not alone if you know Jesus.

"Let not your heart be troubled" ... meaning agitated.  Jesus spoke these words right after He said, "my peace I give unto you," in John 14:27.

The word peace means ... "a quietness and rest in your heart, peace to set your mind at one again, so your thoughts will no longer be scattered by fear."

You have heard the expression, someone is "scatter brained."  That's what is meant here ... the thoughts in your mind are all over the place, you're agitated, upset, perhaps from worry over a problem you can't fix.  If you could fix it you would, but it's something beyond your power or ability to do so.

Agitation means you are stirred up inside, you have a uneasy nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach because you're unsure about what is going to happen.  These are the normal feelings of the flesh ... usually without any feelings of peace with them.

In times of trouble, the flesh will never bring you any real peace.  So you cry out to God and pray the greatest prayer ever prayed, just like Peter did when, after walking on water he started sinking.  The greatest prayer ever prayed went something like this ... "Lord, help!"   Why is this the greatest prayer ever prayed?  Because it was prayed with sincere desperation and need of His hand.  

We've all been there ... needing help.  And there is nothing wrong with needing help.  Who better to turn to, then Jesus.  I've cried ... "Dear Lord, help!" ... many times.

Do you know what starts the help coming your way?  By believing what God said is really true.  By saying within your heart ... "I'm going to give this problem to my Lord and trust Him with it.  It may be bigger than me, but it's not bigger than Jesus."

I am writing these words, that you might have peace.  That sounds like something Jesus would have said.  Well look at this, He did ... "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."  (John 16:33)

The peace Jesus is speaking of, is not just meaning a calm, tranquil, serene, peaceful and untroubled experience for a day or two.  Jesus is speaking of those times in life when it seems as though, not only nature ... but hell itself ... is trying to destroy everything you hold dear in life.  Your kids get sick, a bad accident happens, your house burns down; cancer, a death of a loved one; you lose your job, and on and on, etc.

Not all, but some of these things have happened to me in the past.  And yes ... for a moment or two ... I lost my peace.  So I cried out, "Lord, help!"  And He showed up and ushered in His peace.  His peace brings a calm and a rest to your heart and mind.

Psalms 27:5 ... "For in the time of trouble He shall hide me ... He shall set me upon a rock."  The word hide means ... to cover over, to protect.  The rock is the sure footing and foundation of the Word of God.  You can build your house of faith on that.

Psalms 37:39 ... "The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their strength in the time of trouble."  The word salvation here means ... rescue, deliverance, help, safety.  The word strength means ... a fortified place, a fortress, a rock.

God's peace is not an abstract.  It is more than just a feeling or a nice thought.  The world's peace may be an abstract ... something "not having a physical existence."  But we are not dealing with the natural world.  God is in a different dimension. 

God works in the realm of the spirit, with faith.  Faith is not material ... but according to Hebrews 11:1 ... "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  I believe God's peace is also in the same realm as faith.  It's something real that the Holy Spirit can pour into your heart and mind. 

Colossians 3:15 ... "Let the peace of God rule your hearts ..."  Paul is saying, do not allow problems to govern or prevail over your peace.

In Ephesians 2:14, Paul flat out tells us what our peace is ... "He (Jesus) is our peace."
 
I conclude therefore, that whatever the problem or situation you may find yourself in, the Lord can bring the peace of God that quiets your heart, mind and soul, bringing you rest.  How can you rest if you are troubled or worried?

I will close with this little jewel from Karen Cooper who is, the "KingdomMom."  She said once, when the storms of life came her way, she asked herself ...

"Who am I feeding?  Who am I agreeing with?  Who am I going to believe?  I made a choice to believe God's Word.  To stand on what I know is true.  Bad reports will not choke out the Word of God in me.  God rules over the storms of life.  Not man.  He calms.  He protects.  He provides.  So I think I'm going to go take a nap."

Now that's rest!  

Shalom ... peace dear ones.

A Ring of Fire

Some time ago, a woman came up to my wife Peggy and said that she had seen (in a vision from the Lord) something that Peg was going to experience in the future.  So, being polite and attentive, she listened to what this person had to say.

Let me say first of all, she was not a stranger.  We know her.  We worship together as part of the same body of believers.  She loves God and knows how the Lord works through the Holy Spirit.  She once shared what she saw (in a vision) about our grandson she doesn't really know ... and it was right on target.

I really don't know if these pictures she sees are visions or just dreams.  The Scripture speaks of young men seeing visions and old men dreaming dreams, so I assume it is the same with women.  But really, who can understand women?  I'm just kidding ladies.

Now, before I go into detail about what was shared with my wife, let me say this ... "warning" ... whenever someone, anyone, those you know and especially those you don't know, come to you with ("I have a Word for you from the Lord") be wary and proceed with caution.

1st John 4:1 ... "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

The words Peg received from this friend and like believer in Jesus went something like this ...

"I saw you standing in a ring of fire like a round burner on a gas cooking range.  It was much larger in diameter though, because you were not standing in the fire, you were not burning, but the fire was flaming in a circle all around you." 

Then she went on and said ... "Do not be afraid, do not worry, everything is going to be alright.  You will come out of this just like pure gold." 

Whether or not these are the exact words ... they are the message of the picture she saw in her spirit and gave to Peg.

Okay, now what are we to do with this information?  It didn't sound very good to us.  It's not exactly uplifting.  In fact it could create fear, not hope and peace.  But if it was from the Lord ... then there would be nothing to worry about.  So we just filed it away on our spiritual shelf where we store the things we don't understand or know how to use.

Time passes ... about two weeks later, we hear from one of our closest friends that she has been diagnosed with cancer.  It takes Peg's breath away.  Fear and dread set in.  "Dear Lord, no ... this isn't happening to her.  She is a child of God.  She is a bright light for you in a darkened world.  She is a teacher of the Word, a prayer warrior" ... but bad things still happen to good people.

So you are a Christian, a believer in Jesus.  Does that mean you will never get sick or have a disease attack your body.  I don't think so.  That's why Jesus was scourged and beaten bloody with that cruel Roman whip for our healing.    

In Matthew 8:17, speaking of Jesus it says ... "He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah; He took our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases," referring to Isaiah 53:4-5 which adds ... "and with his stripes we are healed."  

Believers often need His healing power. 

King David said in Psalms 34:19 ... "Many are the afflictions of the righteous ..." which is very true; even so, we are believing that the last part of this scripture will also come to pass ... "but the Lord delivereth her out of them all."

Solomon, David's son said in Ecclesiastes 9:2 ... "All things come alike to all ..." meaning no one is immune from the evils of nature.  Misfortune can fall on anyone at anytime.  What is that old saying ... "But for the grace of God, there go I."

At first I am thinking, evidently Peg is going to have her faith tested as she stands with our dear friend.  It's Peg's faith that goes through the fire, not Peg herself, since in the vision she isn't standing in the fire itself.  Her faith may be tried by fire to see if it is real faith or just hope as she goes to prayer on behalf of our dear and close friend.

But during the next week the Lord brings to my attention the story in 2nd Kings 6:14-17 of Elisha and his servant surrounded by the Syrian army. 

The Syrians have come to capture Elisha and have surrounded the city of Dothan at night where Elisha and his servant are dwelling.  The next morning, the servant looks out and sees the Syrian army of chariots and horses surrounding their city.  So he asks Elisha, "What do we do now?"  Elisha answers him ... "Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."  So Elisha prays that God will open his servants eyes so he can see spiritually ... and when he looks again ... "the whole mountain around the city was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha."

God's chariots of fire were between them and the enemy.  God's angels formed ... "a ring of fire" ... around Elisha and his servant.

Why did God remind me of this story?  Could it be, when all we can see is the problem, like the disease of cancer or anything else that causes fear to rise up in our hearts, we need to take a second look and see the forces that God has placed all around us.

The ring of fire that was surrounding Peg was not something to fear, but rather was revealing the truth ... a ring of fire ... like Elisha saw, that God has placed spiritually around us for protection. 

This then raises a question ... how can bad things get through this hedge of protection? 

I don't know. 

Even so ... everything is going to be alright.  But make no mistake about this ... the battle is real.

Will it take more effort on God's part, to dry up this cancer than it takes to dry up a cold?

In Jeremiah 32:27, God is speaking and says ... "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?"

The answer to both questions is ... no.



Comments welcome.