It needs to be said in these days when untrained people have an opinion on just about everything that this is a subject that is not a matter for discussion.

You and I may discuss various views of the end-times, we might discuss what constitutes a fellowship of believers and we might have different opinions on these and other subjects but on this matter of the Sovereignty of God there is no discussion.

God is absolutely, completely, perfectly, entirely, definitely, without any shadow of a doubt the Sovereign God in all and every matter. On that point there is no discussion!

Some say, “It all depends upon our free will as to whether or not He is Sovereign in every aspect”. … No, I do not and cannot and will not believe it and the Bible condemns it.

I believe the subject of the Sovereignty of God is the very bedrock of our salvation and I lay my faith in Christ on the eternal confidence that Almighty God is altogether Sovereign in all and in every thing.

Now, how can I work that out? How can I understand such a thing? The only way God’s Word calls me to understand it is simply by faith.

Can I work it out in my mind? No, I can’t. I accept it by faith.

There are wars and rumours of wars throughout the world, there are famines, terrible tragedies and all sorts … “how is it that you believe a loving God can possibly be Sovereign if He allows those things to happen. If He is as Sovereign as you say, why doesn’t He stop it? It all seems even to be out of His control!”

Without going into a whole theological symposium I would simply point you to the words of Paul for he had to contend with similar reasoning; he wrote, the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. (I Cor. 3:19)

We are on ground where our thoughts are not God’s thoughts, nor His ways our ways.

It doesn’t matter whether or not I can understand why He does things the way He does them. What I do need to understand is that He does all things for the glory of His Name and – as His child – I know I can trust Him completely for the benefits.

When you set aside the concept that God is Sovereign … the devil has you in his way of thinking.

For example, in Mark 8:27 Jesus said, Whom do men say that I am? To his credit, Peter replied, v.29 Thou art the Christ.

Just a short time later Jesus began telling them the reason why He came to earth, v.31 the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

What did Peter do this time? v.32 Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.

Do you see what Peter did and do you see who Jesus attributed as the source of Peter’s actions? Jesus said, v.33 Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

You see, the things of God are not up for man’s discussion. He is Sovereign, He is the King of Kings. … And it is a fact that throughout history this has always been the time of great blessing and seeing God at work when His people recognise this great truth again.

That’s why we need to grasp the Significance of the Sovereignty of God.            …

Simply because if we are willing to give way in one small aspect of this subject God no longer is seen to be Who His Word tells us He is. He ceases to be the Almighty God if you strip from Him anything of His Sovereignty.

The Word tells us that beside Him there is no other. Before the creation of the world, the universes, the angels God was on His own … but even then His company was complete.

He has no need for anyone but Himself … but such is the mercy and grace of God that in His Sovereign will He has created us blessed us with the opportunity of sharing His company.

We are sharing His company this evening as we meet together as His people; but in a far greater way we shall share His company in Glory!

How blessed are we that He made such a privilege possible but the way that He made it possible was through the death of His only dear Son by the shedding of His precious blood on Calvary.

We can’t compromise these truths. It is my aim as your pastor to be faithful in their proclamation.

There are many churches today that get rid of their pastors because they don’t like what they are preaching. (There is quite a lot of what some of them are preaching I don’t like!) But I’m determined that if ever a church is to get rid of me it will be because I am uncompromising in my preaching and teaching of the Word of God and I stand on exactly the same ground as the Apostles, the Reformers, the Covenanters and the great giants of our faith with regards to these Doctrines of Grace and our confidence in the Sovereignty of Almighty God!

I’ve got to! You’ve got to! Forget what the world and the worldly-contaminated preachers say! Listen to what God in His Word tells you!

If you think you see all around you that God is no longer in control of all aspects … then you get your eyes back on His Word and you see what He says!

The reality, - God tells us, - is that He is still on that same throne Isaiah saw Him seated upon and He has never been given it up or been removed from it … as John testified in the fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation.

Praise God He’ll never be removed and not one joy of His eternal plan will ever be in even the minutest detail changed or adapted.

We’ve got to be, - we’ve just got to be! – uncompromising in this whole matter of the Sovereignty of God because it is what His Word teaches.

This doctrine is so beautiful. Some people, though, don’t like the word ‘doctrine’. They think it smells too much of university professors and high-thinking academics. But Bible doctrine is for God’s people to deepen and strengthen their walk with Him. Here is what the Bible says,

	Mt. 22:33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his [Jesus’] doctrine.
	Mk. 4: 2  And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine
	Lk. 4:32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.
	Jn. 7: 16  Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

When the New Testament Church was established on the Day of Pentecost we read, Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine ...

You see, people might say, “I believe this … and that …” As a Christian believer you ought to be believing nothing less than the Apostles’ doctrine … and some of those doctrines Jesus taught drove the crowds away (e.g. Jn. 6:66).

The problem down through the history of the church, - and I tutor Church History, - is that people is that people have always been so easily attracted to any form of doctrine that suits, Paul spoke about that too, Eph. 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. II Tim. 4: 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.

He instructed Timothy, I Tim. 4:6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

You see, we must hold to the doctrine passed down to us … and like the servants who were given the talents, we need to be faithful in their proclamation and teaching so that others will come to know them too.

And surely, to the child of God there is no doctrine so precious and beautiful than this: that my Heavenly Father knoweth all things, can do all things, and nothing is outside His capability except that He can never do anything wrong or half-hearted nor nothing that He will ever have to repair or modify. Mk. 7:37 He hath done all things well.

That is why I love and cherish this doctrine that as Him at its very centre. That is why we need to be uncompromising in our acceptance of it … for the significance of this doctrine is the Sovereignty of God.

It is the most important form of belief that the child of God must hold onto because all the teachings of Scripture start with, come back to, and are centred round this great truth.

I trust over these next few weeks as we look at this tremendous subject that God in His Word will impress it more and more upon our hearts and our minds, for His glory’s sake ... that we would hold it in the great esteem in which our faithful forefathers cherished it too.