God’s Sovereignty

2. God’s Sovereignty Fight or Dance?

3. Definitions • Sovereignty: The reign and rule of God upon all of creation as the King of everything. God’s will is accomplished as we submit to His rule. • Providence: How God’s sovereignty over creation and the world plays out. How does God work in the world? Is everything that ever happens, whether good or evil, His will?

4. God Must Be Sovereign because… • God’s sovereignty stems from His attributes and characteristics. All-Powerful All-Knowing Sovereignty Everywhere Present All-Sentient Creator and Sustainer

5. Perspective • We struggle with God’s sovereignty because power for humans brings to light their faults. Power fo God brings to light His glory. • God has the ability to control every minute detail of every molecule in creation.

6. God as King • God owns everything, but not everything that happens is His will. At least two factors affect history along with God’s will: • Because sin invaded our world, evil men and evil principalities affect history and creation. • God gifted humanity with a free will that seeks its own desires and decisions.

7. Sovereignty and Free Will • God is greater than our decisions and the evil that is in the world At any time, He can choose to exert His will, and has been doing so throughout history. God actually turns evil situations around for our good. • Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. • Genesis 50:20As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

8. Troubles and Hardships • We live in a fallen world and we have evil desires within us. God will use troubles and hardships • To establish trust in Him • To strengthen our faith.

9. Troubles and Hardships • James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. • Romans 5:3-5 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

10. God’s Will • God’s will is both general and specific. • His general will refers to the big picture, the whole plan of God for humanity, history, and creation. • His specific will refers to what He has revealed to us through His word, such as moral laws, salvation, and sanctification. • The goal is for our will to line up with God’s will.

11. God’s Will • God’s will for every human being is: • Salvation. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. • Sanctification. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality

12. Predestination and Foreknowledge • Predestination says that God knows beforehand every possibility and contingency, every choice we could make and where it would lead. • Foreknowledge is God’s active role in our life, where God decides a certain path for us.

13. How God’s Sovereignty Affects Me • When we go through trials and hardships in life, we are experiencing growing pains. God is establishing the foundations of your faith in Himself and strengthening your trust in Him to work everything out for your good. • Stop trying to control everything. Don’t become anxious or afraid. Your Farther is King over the whole universe!

14. How God’s Sovereignty Affects Me • Submit to God’s will for life. He knows what’s going on in the world .He knows what’s going on in you. • The bottom line of God’s sovereignty is trusting Him to accomplish His will. Trust in God’s sovereignty brings unmatched peace to our lives.