Greetings again my Brethren. Okay let us finish up this section as we look at the final and most mysterious character attributes of God His sovereignty. By way of review and looking at Revelation 3:20-22. We have already looked at five principles or reactions we can make to God’s call in our lives out from these verses and they are: attention, opportunity, perception, recognition, and response. And now we will look at the sixth sovereignty. As I said, “sovereignty” is one of God’s most mystical character attributes as well as one of if not the most important. One thing I have learned is God is God and I am not. If I was God I would handle things in this world so much differently, but God is God and I am not. So many things happen in our lives and we scratch our heads and blink as life seems to pass us by and as we seem to get rolled, but we must believe God is in charge and we must believe He knows what He is doing. I use (when I first became a Believer) to believe God knows and controls everything, there is nothing that happens in our lives without God controlling it, but that would be more a Calvinistic approach to God’s will for our lives where He makes things happen as the Master marionette and all we can do is allow the strings to control our living. Now I believe God does intervene in our lives and does call some shots, but for the majority of our living God is dealing with us out from our heart attitudes and decisions we make and often is doing damage control in our lives to keep us on the path He has and the call he has on our lives. Most of the troubles and problems in are our lives our fault. We like to blame the Devil and even God, but in reality it is our unruly tongue, selfish desires, and our rebellion to what God has already told us that gets us in trouble with God and man. Well once we realize God is not the puppet Master then we can begin to see God as He is and His sovereignty. God needs not our approval or concurrence for things (what we would call good or bad) to happen in our lives. Oh no, God is God and we are not. We only recognize God for who He is the supreme Master of all things, learn of Him to make righteous choices, and then go along for the ride. And the intent of God for us learning about His sovereignty is NOT so we can see ourselves as mindless slaves, but in our response to Him this will result in overcoming things instead of being overcome by things through Him who (that would be God) “hath made us kings and priests.” God’s heart for us is to be an overcomer in life. Recognizing God’s sovereignty is the beginning of us becoming (a process of learning and ever learning (2 Timothy 3:7)) an overcomer. John tells us in the Book of Revelation, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.’ (Revelations 3:21) Notice the order here. First we must overcome then we get to be sited with Him (God) in His throne. Most Christians would think we get sited in the throne and then we have the ability and power to overcome, but not so in God. So too with inheriting the things of God promsied to us through salvation. John again helps us here. In Revelations we read, “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” (Revelations 21:6-7) Inheriting the things of God are not automatic they are for ONLY those who have overcome their self, the world, and the devil. In that order. Unless we have allowed God to strengthen us in the inward man and have entered into that learning process of learning and ever learning we will NEVER overcome our self. It will be alive and screaming to be satisfied from evening to morning. Unless our flesh has been dealt a death blow by the Spirit of God we will never be able to overcome our love for the world. Because our flesh is alive there will be a hook in our jaw that pulls us back into the world. Our love for the world will be real and present because our flesh wants to be satisfied. John also tells us, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17) And if our flesh and our love for the world is alive how can we have victory and overcome the Devil? For us to have a chance to overcome the Devil our flesh and our love for the world must be put to death by the Spirit, then there will be no hook to snag our heart and thoughts pulling us back away from our goal of overcoming the Devil. Lastly John helps again, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11) All of this comes out of seeing God as a sovereign God, because He is God and we are not.
Next month we will look at God’s knocking. Do you hear Him calling? Please know God is calling. Walter Beuttler said if you build God a temple He will inhabit it. Have you built God a temple? If you do He will abide and wait for you.
Written by David Stahl
