KNOWING
GOD
Psalm 97
KNOWING GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
Knowing God #2
(Note: This is a series basically on the attributes of
God.)
One of the great attributes of God is that He is
sovereign.
In our last message we started on a quest. The quest is to know God better. Jeremiah 9:23-24
If we are going to know God better we need to know His
sovereignty. And by “knowing” I don’t mean to have an intellectual knowledge
that God is sovereign, but to have a heart knowledge that God is sovereign so
that knowledge of his sovereignty affects the way I live.
For a practical look at the sovereignty of God this
morning I want us to look at Psalm 97.
In this Psalm we discover:
THE REALITY OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
Psalm 97 begins with a great statement of fact.
Psalm 97:1 - The Lord reigneth;
When someone reigns they are ruling, they are in
control, they are kings.
When we say, “God is sovereign”, we are saying, “God
is ruler, God is King.”
God’s sovereignty is attested to in the Scriptures.
Psalms 93:1, 96:10, 99:1, 95:3, Revelation 1:8, 11:15
When I think of the Lord’s reign, I think of God the
Son, the Lord Jesus.
·
Jesus reigns as creator. Colossians 1:16
·
Jesus reigns as the one who holds all things together.
Colossians 1:17
·
Jesus reigns as victor over sin.
God in His reign over earth gave man freedom.
Man chose to rebel against God.
God in his love sent the sinless son of God to pay for
our sins. Romans 5:6
·
Jesus reigns as victor over death. – Revelation 1:18
As victor over death, Jesus wants to give you victory
over death. John 3:16-18
As victor over death, Jesus wants to give you victory
in life right now. Romans 5:17
·
Jesus reigns as heir of all things. Psalm 110:1
Our God reigns! He is sovereign! He is King!
This is reality!
This should effect how you, if you are a Christian
think about things.
It should effect how you, if you are a non-Christian,
think about things.
THE RUDIMENTS OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
What are some of the fundamental principles or
rudiments of God’s sovereignty?
Vss. 2-6 – First of all, see here that God is
awe-inspiring.
Clouds, darkness, lightnings,
fire, melting hills, show Him to be awesome.
God has shown himself to be awe-inspiring on many an occasion. Here are three more.
God showed himself
awe-inspiring to the children of
Isaiah saw God as awe-inspiring in Isaiah 6:1-4.
At the Transfiguration Jesus showed Himself to be
awe-inspiring. Matthew 17:1-2
Not only is God’s Sovereignty awe-inspiring, it
righteous and just. Psalm 97:2
Get this in your mind: whatever God does is right and
just.
You are not always right.
You are not always just.
But God is.
It is easy for us to wonder if what God is doing is
right or just. But in God’s great scheme
of things as the all-knowing, all-powerful God, what He does is always right
and just! Isaiah 55:8-9
Not only is God’s sovereignty awe-inspiring,
righteous, and just, but God’s sovereignty is above all Gods. Psalm 97:7, 9
As God, He tolerates no substitutes!
No other God is to be worshipped! Isaiah 42:8
You may be thinking, “We’ll I’m safe, I don’t worship
any idols.”
I remind you that an idol or a God is not always made
with hands, but it is always made in the heart.
Exodus 34:14 - For thou shalt worship
no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
The rudiments of God’s sovereignty - God’s sovereignty
is awe-inspiring, righteous, just, and above all Gods.
THE RESPONSES TO GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
I see three responses to God’s sovereignty in this
Psalm.
·
RESPOND IN LOVE
Vs. 10 – Ye that love the Lord
Have ever considered loving the Lord because He is
sovereign?
Have you considered loving the Lord because He is
awe-inspiring, because He is righteous, because He is just, because He is above
all Gods?
Yes, we should love Him if He has saved us and we have
everlasting life!
But we would not have everlasting life, if God in His
sovereignty had not provided a way of forgiveness for our sins.
God in his sovereignty declared us Christians as
righteous and just in His eyes through the death of His Son.
There has been many a good king or queen who has been
loved for their rule over a nation.
We serve the King of the universe. Should we not love
Him?
·
RESPOND WITH HATRED
Psalm 97:10 - Ye that love the Lord, hate evil:
It makes sense, doesn’t it? If I love the Lord, I will hate what He
hates. He hates evil.
Now, I have a word of warning for you. It is very easy for us to hate the evils of
drugs, homo-sexuality, murder, and injustice in the world. But I feel that the evil we should hate is
the evil that we allow in our own lives.
Do you a habit that displeases the Lord? Hate it and
forsake it!
Do you have an attitude that displeases the Lord? Hate
it and forsake it.
As a child of God who loves the Lord, I should hate
evil in myself more than any other evil there is!
·
RESPOND IN LOVE
·
RESPOND WITH HATRED
·
RESPOND WITH JOY AND THANKSGIVING
Psalm 97:1 - The Lord reigneth; let the earth
rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
Psalm 97:12 - Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the
remembrance of his holiness.
If we know in our hearts that God is sovereign.
If we have accepted God’s sovereignty as meaning that
God is not only king of the universe, but King in my life.
If we know that nothing can happen today unless God
knows about it in advance and that it is permitted by Him.
Then we should be joyful and thankful to our God who
is KING!
THE REALITY OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
THE RUDIMENTS OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
THE RESPONSES TO GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY