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Proverbs 16 What Does Proverbs Say About God's Sovereignty 9.15.19 · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  All right, well, this morning we are going to get into Proverbs. You guys know we've been in this Proverbs series for a bit now, and we walked verse by verse, chapters 1 through 3, and then have since been in the topics of Proverbs. And we're going to continue in that today. So we're going to ask ourselves today, what does Proverbs say about God's sovereignty?
• 0:28
  Now, there are a few topics in Christian doctrine that give rise to as many questions as God's sovereignty. It's one of those topics that's difficult to understand, but it's interesting to talk about. It's kind of like women. Difficult to understand. Interesting to talk about. I heard a funny quote recently. It said, men and women have one thing in common. Neither of them trust women. I just thought that's pretty funny.
• 0:59
  Or it's like, you know, difficult to understand, but interesting to talk about, like why the Dodgers never win the World Series. I mean, it's a second place again and again and again. And every year, Pearson comes up and brags to me that they get to the World Series. And every year, I tell him, you're the best loser out of everyone. Like, you're the best loser. If they win next month, I will apologize formally and repent.
• 1:28
  I'm not going to join. I'm not in the Dodgers club yet, but I'll apologize. The sovereignty of God. When we get to Proverbs and talk about the sovereignty of God, I want to give you guys a little disclaimer before we get into it, which is Solomon in Proverbs does not write a dissertation on the sovereignty of God. There are a number of verses, but again, it's not this extensive explanation of the sovereignty of God.
• 1:58
  But he does introduce the idea of God's sovereignty into the complexity of life. And so the verses in Proverbs about God's sovereignty walk alongside verses on anger, anxiety, teachability, laziness, alcohol, and sexuality. And they mean to illustrate God is intricately involved in the affairs of the world. So woven throughout,
• 2:30
  The tapestry of our lives is the mysterious hand and authority of God. And so before getting into Proverbs 16, what I want to do is define the sovereignty of God, right? Because if we're going to be talking about this for the next 30 minutes or so, we need to know what we're talking about. John Piper has defined the sovereignty of God this way. When we say, and as I read this, think about this in relationship.
• 2:58
  in relation to like a king ruling over a kingdom, right? Like medieval times kind of thing, okay? When we say God is sovereign, we mean he is powerful and authoritative to the extent of being able to override all other powers and authorities. Nothing can successfully stop any act or any event or design or purpose that God intends to certainly bring about. Now,
• 3:27
  When you think about that definition in relation to a king ruling over a kingdom, who's going to stop the king's authority? No one. His rule is absolute. Like the peasants, what are they going to do, right? Nothing. But the king's jurisdiction ends at the kingdom's walls, right? As soon as you get outside those walls, it don't really matter what the king says, right? Our God, however, is not like...
• 3:58
  an earthly king. His jurisdiction has no end. Which, if you've seen The Dark Knight, the Batman movie, God's jurisdiction having no end means he's kind of like Batman, but like a little better, you know what I'm saying? Because Batman, his jurisdiction has no end, you know? But his jurisdiction has no end. There are no walls beyond which God goes and loses his authority, right? One man said this.
• 4:28
  There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, mine. Not a square inch that isn't his. One verse I think that succinctly describes the sovereignty of God and will help us this morning to categorize our thoughts in Proverbs is Job 42, verse 2, which says, I know that you can do all things. No purpose of yours can be thwarted.
• 5:00
  And so Job 42 verse 2 teaches that God's sovereignty is two things. It's limitless and it's unstoppable. And it's these two descriptions that will help us categorize our thoughts from Proverbs about God's sovereignty. And so first this morning, let's talk about God's limitless sovereignty. God's limitless sovereignty. Look at Proverbs chapter 16 verse 4. The Lord has made everything for its purpose.
• 5:32
  even the wicked for the day of trouble. Another translation says, the Lord works out everything for his own ends. I think that we can rightly understand Proverbs 16, 4 to mean that God has a plan for everything. One man said this, there are no loose ends in God's world. There are no loose ends in God's world.
• 6:01
  God is not playing zone sovereignty in heaven over the universe. It's like, all right, Gabriel, like you got the Middle East, Holy Spirit, like you got America. All right, Michael, like you get the galaxies and all that because I can only handle this little bit. So like zone, right? Coverage. That's not what God does. Ephesians 1.11 says, God works all things according to the counsel of his will.
• 6:31
  So what I want to do real quick is I want to expand on Proverbs 16.4 because it's one of those verses that can be easy for us to read really quick and then skip over. But let's read it again and think about how much this includes and how expansive Proverbs 16.4 is. The Lord has made, what does he say, everything for its purpose.
• 6:59
  The Lord has made everything for its purpose. And so what we're going to do is we're going to kind of go through other scriptures that expand on this everything idea from Proverbs 16.4. What does it mean that God has made everything for its purpose or everything for his own ends? Scripture teaches us that God is sovereign over nature.
• 7:25
  That's one realm of his sovereignty. Listen to this, Psalm 135, verses 6 and 7. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
• 7:52
  My wife and I live up near 120th and Huron. And I have the privilege every day when I drive to work of driving down 120th from Huron to Federal. And if you know that road, it slopes down toward Federal, right? And the view I get of the mountains whenever I drive here is incredible. Like I'm so glad I don't live in California anymore. You know what I'm saying? I just, it doesn't lose its...
• 8:20
  majesty to me, you know, except when it's like really dirty and foggy and then I can't see anything, you know, which is nasty. But I drive down the hill and I see the mountains and it's incredible. And I don't know if you've ever seen this, but when a storm is coming over the mountains, but it's not here yet.
• 8:39
  it can often look like there's a tidal wave of clouds rolling over the mountains and it's about to just crash onto the front range. You know what I'm talking about? You can see it's like billowing and you just go, oh my gosh, right? All of that cloud is moving at the command of God. Every molecule in those clouds goes forth at his word.
• 9:06
  I kind of geek out about clouds. I think they're awesome. And I don't know the names for any of them or anything. I just think they look cool. And so whenever we go on planes, even if I'm sitting aisle seat, I'm stretching, looking out the window, just like, oh my gosh. Because clouds are incredible, and every shape that they take and every form that they have is from God. He's sovereign over that. Listen to Job chapter 37. For to the snow.
• 9:37
  He says, fall on the earth. Likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour. By the breath of God, ice is given and the broad waters are frozen fast. He loads the thick cloud with moisture. The clouds scatter his lightning. They turn around by his guidance to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world, whether for correction.
• 10:03
  or for his land, or for love, he causes it to happen. Our God is sovereign over the natural world. And you guys will remember too, when Jesus is on the boat in the Sea of Galilee with his disciples, and the storm comes and crashes on the lake, and they start to lose control of the boat, and they begin to fear for their lives. They wake Jesus up, right? He stands up, he commands the storm to just stop. And after he does that, his disciples look at him and they say,
• 10:31
  What sort of man is this that even the winds and the seas obey him? He had a power they had never seen. Our God is sovereign over nature. But not only that, our God is also sovereign over animals. The animal kingdom. Listen to Psalm 104. It says, These animals all look to you to give them food in due season.
• 10:59
  When you give it to them, they gather it up. When you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed. When you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. And Matthew 10, 29 says, not one sparrow will fall to the ground apart from your father.
• 11:20
  I love what John Piper says about that specific verse. He says, imagine just a huge jungle in South America where no humans live. It's just pure wilderness. There's a bird in that jungle that's flying around and doing its thing that no human will ever know about, but it falls to the ground and dies. And yet God knows. He knows. And it happened at his command. He's sovereign over animals.
• 11:50
  Scripture also says that God is sovereign over the nations. Listen to 2 Chronicles 20 verse 6. O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Psalm 33 verses 10 and 11 say, The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing.
• 12:19
  He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever. The plans of his heart to all generations. There is not a nation that has ever existed that has done so apart from the will of God. Every nation on earth right now exists because of God. He is completely sovereign over all of the nations. And not only...
• 12:51
  is God sovereign over nature and animals and nations, but he's also sovereign over seemingly random events. You guys are in Proverbs 16. Look at the very last verse of this chapter, verse 33. It says this, the lot or rolling dice, the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from.
• 13:16
  the Lord. And so even the things that the Hebrews would have thought as completely chance or completely random, Solomon is saying, no, no, no. Those things happen under the sovereignty and authority and will of God. Even something like rolling dice. So this means that every time you guys are playing Yahtzee and you're about to roll that Yahtzee on the last thing and you got one die to roll, you have one chance and you don't get the Yahtzee, that's on God.
• 13:42
  That's not on you. It's not your rolling technique. I've heard that a thousand times. And I say, no, I rebuke that. It's God. This is why I play that game super prayerfully now. I'm just like, God, give me a Yahtzee. Done. Boom. Like, let us all bow down. But seemingly random events are under the sovereignty of God. And then lastly, God is also sovereign over people. He's sovereign over people, now church. I think when it comes to God's sovereignty over nature or over...
• 14:11
  animals, we have no problem accepting that, right? But when it comes to God's sovereignty over people, I think that's harder for us to accept, isn't it? Like, God, how could you possibly be sovereign over us? Our sinful hearts do not like it. We'd like to dictate to God what he can and cannot do, and yet scripture makes it clear that he's sovereign over people.
• 14:38
  Our prideful hearts chafe against the thought of God exalting himself to a height where we cannot depose him from his throne or set ourselves on it. We don't like that idea naturally. But listen to what scripture says about this. Proverbs 16, look at verse 1. Look at verse 1 with me. He says, the plans of the heart belong to man. But the answer of the tongue, right, what actually comes out is from the Lord. Look at verse 9.
• 15:11
  The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. Flip a few pages ahead to Proverbs 19 verse 21. Proverbs 19 21. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Now look ahead to Proverbs 21 verse 1.
• 15:44
  The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will. The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of God. And we say, God, how is it just that you could be sovereign over the hearts of people? And over and over again in scripture, it just says he is, he is. Even over Kings, Ezra chapter six, verse 22.
• 16:12
  After all these people had come back to Israel from the Babylonian captivity, right? And they're rebuilding their lives. This says the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them so that he aided them in the work of the house of God. Now, this is incredible because you're talking about an enemy king, an enemy king to Israel. And yet God turns and inclines his heart in such a way that he helps the people of God.
• 16:41
  Before the people ever came back from the Babylonian captivity, well, at that time it was the Persian captivity, right? King Cyrus, if you've read Nehemiah, King Cyrus, who's just a Persian king, he's not part of the Hebrew people, God uses him. In fact, Isaiah calls him God's chosen servant, who would be the instrument by which the people of God would be allowed to travel back to their land. Just over a...
• 17:10
  A king, a Persian king. And God says, no, I'm sovereign over him. Acts chapter four, look at this. Verses 27 and 28. It says, in this city, which is Jerusalem, Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, they gathered together to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. You guys, the context of this is the cross, right?
• 17:41
  The most wicked act that humanity has ever committed. The worst sin, crucifying the Son of God. And yet Acts 4 says that happened according to your plan, God. You gathered these people. You orchestrated it in such a way that the Messiah would be crucified. So we may not understand that completely, but that happened according to your plan. God is sovereign over people.
• 18:11
  Every human decision and every human will is under the sovereignty of God. And so not only does Proverbs 16, 4, right? Proverbs 16, 4, the Lord has made everything for its purpose. Not only does that extend to nature and animals and nations and seemingly random events and even over kings, but it also says the Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of.
• 18:43
  God operates according to justice and does not let the wicked escape punishment. A lot of times when I get to preach from up here, I reference Psalm 73 because it's one of my favorite psalms. It's really honest. And it's a psalm of Asaph. And he begins a psalm by saying, God, truly you are good to your people, right? Like he's saying, God, I believe. I believe what you've said. I believe in what you've done. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped because when I look out at the world,
• 19:11
  And I see all of these celebrities and politicians and leaders, rich people who have no regard for you. It doesn't seem like they actually get justice. And so I know that you're a God of justice. You have handled your people with care and with love. But what I'm seeing in the world doesn't exactly make sense. And at the end of the psalm, he goes,
• 19:38
  wearisome to me. I'm tired of thinking about how God interacts with all of this sin and wickedness in the world. It was wearisome until I went into your sanctuary and I discerned their end. Their end is destruction. So they may seem to have everything in this life, but Lord, you have made the wicked for the day of trouble. They will not escape justice. And he says, even though
• 20:05
  My heart and my flesh may fail. God, you are the strength of my heart and my portion forever. I will trust in you. There's been a lot of controversy lately about the whole Jeffrey Epstein thing. And I read an interesting article recently about a guy named Al Mohler. If you don't know him, he's just like wicked smart. And he...
• 20:32
  He was responding to, obviously, this whole scenario, but also to many Christians who had looked at this guy's suicide and all the wicked things that he did, and they said he escaped justice. He was waiting to be tried, right? And we were going to give him justice, but he took the easy road out. He escaped all of it. And this writer of this article, he said, man, he...
• 21:00
  You think he may have escaped your justice? He has not escaped God's. He has not escaped. He has stood or is standing before God now, receiving what is due to him. God does not let the wicked go unpunished because he is just, and he exacts just retribution for every act. And so you guys, God's sovereignty, when we think about this, it's limitless. Don't think of a swimming pool.
• 21:37
  Think of the ocean. We're not talking about God's little sovereignty within his little kingdom walls, right? It extends to everything. So not only is God's sovereignty limitless, however, it is also unstoppable. It is unstoppable. Turn ahead to Proverbs chapter 21, to the very end of the chapter, verses 30 and 31. Proverbs 21, verses 30 and 31. He says this,
• 22:17
  No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the Lord. Now, if you guys are familiar with your Bibles and especially with your Old Testament, you will know that God over and over again orchestrated the outcomes of Israel's battles, right?
• 22:43
  They're facing an army that is just way bigger than they are. And God says, you don't have to worry because I'm going with you. And because I am with you, you will win. And then what do we read about? They win. And then other times when Israel's fallen into sin, God says, don't go fight them because I am not with you on this battle. And they're like, okay, well, we've got the ark. And the ark is kind of the...
• 23:06
  The magic thing that's going to make us win because it's the presence of God. And God says, no, I'm not going to go with you. And they bring the ark into battle. And what happens? They lose because God is not with them. If you've been reading in the Cinco reading plan, we're pretty much done with Isaiah. Oh, we're finishing it up. And at one point in Isaiah, the Assyrian army sends like this general to Israel to basically intimidate.
• 23:36
  Israel. And again, the Assyrians at this time were the world power. They were the greatest and strongest nation. Their military is better than anyone else's. And they were brutal. But this guy shows up to kind of the Jerusalem doors, you know, the gates of the city. And he starts talking to some of the leaders of the city. And he says, we have conquered so many other nations who prayed out to their gods and were not delivered.
• 24:05
  why do you think you're any different? Do you think you're going to cry out to your God and he's going to save you? Because he won't. You should give up. Give up. Your God is nothing compared to us. And Hezekiah goes and prays, says, God, you've got to help us. And what happens? That night, the angel of the Lord goes out and destroys 185,000 men in their army. 185,000. Like...
• 24:32
  And it says the Assyrian army wakes up and there are just dead bodies everywhere. God is like, you do not come against my people and you do not come against me with your pride. I am the sovereign one over the nations. I am not like these other gods, unable to defend. I am the Lord. Listen to this, Isaiah chapter 46. Excuse me. Isaiah chapter 46, verses 9 and 10. He says, I am God.
• 25:07
  And there is no other. I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose. My counsel shall stand. What I have said will come to pass. And oh man, you want to know something else? That's cool. I've been reading through Isaiah, right? One of the proofs that God uses
• 25:37
  to show his people that he's actually God is declaring the future. He's like, these other gods, tell me, all these idols, can you say the future? Go ahead. And they can't. And he says, you want to know how I'm God? I can declare the future. So when I say something is going to happen in the future, it will happen. Because I'm just that sovereign. Listen to Daniel chapter 4. It says, his dominion is an everlasting dominion. And his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
• 26:06
  All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. And he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? God, what are you, what do you think you're doing? None can say that to him. Because again, his rule has no limits. His word is unstoppable. And so no human cunning.
• 26:33
  No intelligence, no amount of wisdom can thwart the purposes of God. Church, his sovereignty is limitless. It is also unstoppable. Now, this topic, when we think about the sovereignty of God, generates thousands of questions, doesn't it? I mean, probably, as we've been reading all these verses and talking about his sovereignty, especially over people, it most likely brings up questions about, God, how does your rule interact with human will?
• 27:08
  How does divine sovereignty interact with human responsibility? And what about all the wickedness and the crazy people out there? And just how chaotic this world seems to be. What does your sovereignty mean for those things? Now, this morning, I am not, nor do I have the time to give you answers to every single one of those questions. However, I am going to encourage you to think hard about those things.
• 27:39
  Search the scriptures and seek man eagerly and humbly to understand and embrace the sovereignty of God. And as you and I travel to our destination, right, of embracing and glorying in the sovereignty of God, I want to provide.
• 28:00
  kind of a train track that your train of thoughts can travel along, okay? Now, a train track is made up of, like, you've got the two steel rails, right? And then you've got what are called the sleeper beams underneath, those wooden things that connect or that the two rails are attached to, right? So as we're thinking about the sovereignty of God and asking a lot of questions, many of them hard questions, I want to give us kind of some guides along which we can think, okay? So the first steel rail of the train track to God's sovereignty is...
• 28:30
  That God's sovereignty is governed by his justice. It is governed by his justice. Church, scripture never credits God with sin. It only ever credits him with salvation. If you were to jettison this steel rail of God's justice and throw it away, the train would derail, right? If you get rid of God's justice, you can go to some pretty dark places in your mind when you think about the sovereignty of God.
• 29:08
  Listen to Isaiah chapter 30 verse 18. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him. And then Deuteronomy 32 verse 4 says, The rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. If you get rid of the justice of God,
• 29:34
  but you retain his sovereignty, you end up with an evil God. So that's the first steel rail of the train track, right? Now, on the other side is the other steel rail, and that is that God's sovereignty is governed by his mercy. It's governed by his mercy. Listen to Exodus 34, verse 6. The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
• 30:02
  He doesn't just have a little bit. He's abounding in it. Romans 15, 9, it says, God sent Jesus to ransom sinners in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. And then Ephesians chapter 2, this is beautiful. It says, but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. It is by grace you have been saved. Our God is a merciful God.
• 30:33
  And if you jettison this side, right, this steel rail, what you end up with is a God who is a dictator, who is not loving, and who does not have your good in mind, because it's really just about him. However, that's not the picture that scripture gives us. His sovereignty is governed by his justice and by his mercy. And then lastly, those sleeper beams underneath, right, which hold these two rails in their place.
• 31:02
  is that God's sovereignty is governed by his wisdom. It's governed by his wisdom. Romans 11, verses 33 through 36 says this, Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?
• 31:34
  For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. I love that because Paul is like, if you think that you're smarter than God, what counsel are you going to give him? I mean, really, that he doesn't already know. What gift are you going to give him that he should be indebted to you? What are you going to do? Nothing. He has all wisdom. He knows what he's doing. I explain it to the youth students sometime like this.
• 32:04
  The makers of your iPhones or your smartphones, whatever you use, right? Like, Apple knows how an iPhone works. I have no idea. I'm like, invisible Wi-Fi signal. That alone, I'm just like, I'm tired, right? God, the strength of my heart and my flesh may fail. Like, you know how Wi-Fi works. But I don't know how that works, but the engineers do. Why? They created it. And in the same way, when you think about God and his...
• 32:34
  status as the creator of the universe, he knows how things work. He knows your heart better than you do. And he knows my heart better than I. He knows. He has all wisdom. And so God's sovereignty is governed by his justice, by his mercy, and then by his wisdom. And so you guys, this morning, as we think about kind of this big topic of God's sovereignty, I want you to just leave today with this thought.
• 33:05
  Your God is not small. He is not small. He is huge. His understanding is colossal and his wisdom is unfathomable. He is infinitely just and infinitely merciful and infinitely wise. And he has a plan for everything. So as you guys consider this, just remember, man, God is just, he's merciful and he's wise.
• 33:37
  Don't let any of those parts go because your train's going to derail, right? But hold fast to scripture. And I hope that all of this that we're talking about would just enrapture our hearts and draw us up into worship because our God is big. And he hasn't just been just toward us. He's also been merciful. And because of that, he's worthy of our praise. We're going to close today with a song.
• 34:05
  That we know it's so sweet to trust in Jesus. And as we do that, I would encourage you to think about the things we were just talking about. About how big your God is. And as we think and sing, man, let's truly worship him. I'm going to pray and then we'll sing. God, you are massive. And I pray that your sovereignty in the word would not be one of those things that we shy away from. Or not be one of those things where we take all of our questions and hide them away.
• 34:37
  But God, I pray that we would bring them to you and bring them to each other and wrestle with this hard topic, all the while trusting that you are just and merciful and wise. God, our understanding is nothing compared to yours. So as we sing, man, be glorified. Pray that we would exult in your sovereignty. And we pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.