"sovereignty" Tagged Sermons

The Last Judgment

For 1000 years the Old and New Testament saints will rule and reign with Jesus Christ on this earth. During this time, Jerusalem will be the city of the King. Finally, world peace, which since the fall of man has been promised by many but delivered by no human being, has been implemented by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The Roman Empire was alive and well during those days. It promised the world PAX ROMANA. They promised to eradicate thievery on the highways and piracy from the seas. Most people believed them and felt secure for a brief period of time. Centuries later, the Pax Britannica, the British peace, calmed the world for about a century. It also brought a level of economic prosperity to many nations.
What about today? For a brief period of time after the 2nd world war, the United States of America believed that she can bring calmness and economic prosperity to the entire world. It did not last long. According to the Bible, another world power will arise soon, also promising world peace and an economic prosperity that will last forever. The problem with all these human efforts is the fact that there is only ONE WORLD RULER WHO WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS PROMISED PEACE ON EARTH, and that is Jesus Christ, the creator and owner of the entire universe.
It will be PAX MESSIAH. For that to happen, Jesus will return to this earth, bind Satan and invite the saints to reign with him for 1000 years.
God gave men and women free choice. Such implies the opportunity to choose from at least two options. How can you say you have free choice if you don’t have more than one option? That would not be loving or just, and God Almighty is both and much more.
We all know the story. How the Lord allowed Satan to enter the garden and tempt Adam and Eve, to see if they would freely choose to obey Him. Thats exactly what the Lord will do one more time AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM REIGN.
The 1000 year reign on this earth will conclusively demonstrate that people reject Jesus Christ not so much because of their environment, but because OF THEIR DEPRAVED, FALLEN NATURE.
Listen, not even 1000 years of peace will cleanse humankind of its sinful nature. This final rebellion after 1000 years of peace on earth will tell all creation why Jesus Christ had to die on Calvary. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 1000 years of righteous rule cannot eradicate the sin in people’s hearts. Only the crucified and risen Jesus Christ can perform that miracle, and it won’t happen unless WE CHOOSE TO SAY YES TO HIS CALL. That’s the only way we can obtain eternal life.
The Great White Throne judgment is reserved for all those who have chosen to reject God’s offer of salvation. They have refused the grace of God, now they will be judged by the things written in the books. This judgment is reserved for those who said: I do not need Jesus; I can manage just fine on my own. I am good enough. I will stand in my own works, on my own record.
The unbelieving dead will be raised at the end of the millennium to be judged in their resurrected bodies. They will already have died physically, now they will die spiritually.
Physical death means separation, your soul or spirit is temporarily separated from your body. But the second death involves a far worse separation; you will be ETERNALLY SEPARATED from the PRESENCE OF GOD.
Some of them will say: I DON’T BELIEVE IN HELL.
Let me tell you that the CHARACTERISTICS of God necessitate hell:
Justice, His love, and His sovereignty are just some of those.
So, all those who will stand before the final judgment, know exactly why they are there and that they are guilty before a holy God. While most of them have forgotten many of their sinful acts, God’s holy angels have not overlooked a single one of them. They are all written in the books and will be brought before them on that final judgment day.
Some people object to this Biblical truth, saying: If God is all merciful, why is He not giving the people one more chance to receive His mercy, even if they are in hell?
Answer: How can a place devoid of God’s mercy (hell) accomplish what no measure of His grace could accomplish on earth?
If hell could reform those who choose evil, then they could be saved without Christ, who is the sole means of God’s salvation.
Also, God cannot force free creatures to be reformed. Forced reformation is worse than punishment, for punishment honors the freedom and dignity with which God endowed His human creation. Humans are not objects to be manipulated; humans are subjects to be respected. God will respect their free choices.
Listen, the only alternative to eternal punishment is robbing persons of their freedom by forcing them into heaven. This would not be heavenly but instead would be “hell” for them, since they would be trapped in a place where everyone is loving and praising the Only they want most to avoid. Without an eternal separation of evil from good, there would be no heaven, an eternal preservation of good. As we all know, evil is contagious and must be quarantined, like a deadly plague. If God did not eventually separate the tares from the wheat, the tares would choke out the wheat; an eternal heaven necessitates an eternal hell.
And we should never forget, unbelievers prefer to be distanced from God in time. Why should we not expect this to be their chose state in eternity?

Refuge In God’s SOVEREIGNTY

We have already learned that all of us are subject to spiritual warfare; that Satan and his demons have built strongholds in our mind, that is, make us believe certain doctrines that are contrary to the Word of God. And we all have learned from the Apostle Paul’s admonition that such strongholds, such doctrines that contradict the Word of God, must be pulled down, demolished, pulverized.
When we read these verses, we can easily come to the conclusion that the battle is entirely in our hands and in our power. However, as we will find out today, these weapons of warfare are MIGHTY IN GOD. And the battle of our mind, bringing our very thoughts into captivity, cannot be done apart of OBEYING THE WORD OF GOD.
Who is really in Control? You, Satan or God Almighty?
THE ANSWER MUST ALWAYS COME FROM THE BIBLE, which happen to be our standard for living.
God’s sovereignty does not mean that you have no responsibility in spiritual warfare. Although the ultimate outcome is not in question, what happens in your life will be affected by how you respond. Listen, Satan is not deciding what is going on in your life. It is God Almighty who has His own purposes for allowing the enemy access to your life, and God’s purposes are always only for your good.
Because Jesus found refuge in God’s sovereignty, the attitude was one of absolute obedience, the obedience unto death, having confidence in His Heavenly Father as Jesus Himself focused on the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).
Satan did warfare against Jacob and his sons. Satan’s intent was to destroy them all, so God could not fulfill His promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After Joseph was sold into slavery, and the brothers struggled to survive in Canaan during a great famine, God finally revealed His ultimate purposes to those involved. Satan wanted to derail God’s purpose by using evil means, but God meant it for good. He will always turn into good what Satan means for evil. All our spiritual battles are in our mind. The way we think. Strongholds, Paul calls them. Do we think according to the Word of God or according to the things we feel or hear?
No exception.

Be an Outlet for God’s Blessings

The sovereignty of God. But what does that mean. It means that God has a very specific plan and purpose for all of us. It is always perfect in it’s wisdom and perfect in it’s timing.
HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE RULED BY SOMEONE WHO KEEPS ALL THE BLESSINGS FOR HIMSELF AND TREATS HIS SUBJECTS WITH CONTENT?
Joseph said to Pharaoh, listen, I am not the one who has the wisdom and knowledge to interpret dreams. Such wisdom belongs to God. He is the one who will give Pharaoh the answer, not me. He probably will use me to do it, but it does not come from me. Apart from Him, I am nothing. Joseph did not receive such honor to absorb it for his own good and to bake in the Egyptian sun of power and prestige. God wanted Joseph to be an outlet of His blessings. He now had all the power to provide and protect for all the people under his care.