Isaiah 6: 1-5
Last week:
We began looking at some examples of God’s sovereignty in action
1/ God sovereignly guides us in His purposes for our lives, for His glory
Example: God guiding Abraham and Sarah in the Negev
2/ God sovereignly blesses us in His purposes for our lives, for His glory
Example: God blessing Israel as they left the slavery of Egypt
Here are some more examples of God’s sovereignty in action
3/ God sovereignly protects us from danger in His purposes for our lives, for His glory
Romans 9: 17-18 ‘God chooses to show mercy to some, and He chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen’
Example: Exodus 14: 5-8
8 ‘God (sovereignly) hardened the heart of Pharaoh…so he chased after the people of Israel’
Exodus 14: 13-14, 31
13 ‘watch the Lord rescue you today’ 14 ‘the Lord Himself will fight for you’
31 ’they (the people of God) were filled with awe…they put their faith in the Lord’
Do you think God is capable of protecting you from danger?
Yes, of course!
Today, we don’t have the Egyptians chasing after us to kill us, but there are all different kinds of dangers that God sovereignly protects us from
Testimony: As a young kid with my friend Noel/ setting containers of solvent on fire in his father’s garage – could have blown ourselves up!
Even though I wasn’t a Christian at that time/God protected me from danger
I have always remembered this and it has inspired my faith in the sovereignty of God
4/ God will sovereignly save Israel in His purposes, for His glory
You might be thinking “what has Israel got to do with me?”
More than you think?
God chose Israel to be His people that they would be a blessing to all the nations of the Earth (Genesis 12: 1-3)
Since Israel’s beginning 4, 000 years ago the devil has done all he could to destroy Israel
In the last World War alone (1939-1945) 3 million Israelis (Jews) were destroyed by the Nazis
This evil world hates Israel and the Jewish people
The Great Apostle Paul said
Romans 10: 1 ‘Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved’
Dear Friends, Israel will not be destroyed, God’s sovereign Grace has been upon Israel since its beginning
And by His sovereign Grace Israel will be saved
Romans 11: 26-31
It was in this knowledge that the Apostle Paul went on to extoll the sovereignty of God!
Romans 11: 33-36
Dear Friends, because of the existence of Israel today and God’s unfailing promise to save Israel tomorrow we can be fully assured that God is sovereign in our salvation too!
5/ God sovereignly promotes His people into positions of influence in His purposes, for His glory
Proverbs 3: 5-6 ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take’.
Proverbs 15: 24a ‘The path of life leads upward for the wise’
Example: God sovereignly promoted Daniel, a Jewish refugee, to become the Ruler of Babylon
Daniel 1: 9, 2: 21a, 2: 48
Dear friends, you can work hard your whole life for promotions and more money, but still die a ‘nobody’, with nothing!
But, with God’s sovereign blessing your life, your ‘path’ will lead upwards!
Next time: more examples of God’s sovereignty in action
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