Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Another Deep Mystery God’s Sovereignty │ Msg 411

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Another Deep Mystery God’s Sovereignty │ Msg 411 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: My life was changed in the summer of 1961. I
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Speaker 1: was already a Christian. In fact, I was between my
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Speaker 1: second and third year in graduate school in theological studies.
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Speaker 1: My wife and I had been asked to join a
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Speaker 1: church in Northern California where we would be interns for
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Speaker 1: that summer. That is, another fellow and I would be interns,
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Speaker 1: and that young man, Gib Martin, lived with us during
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Speaker 1: that three-month period of time.
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Speaker 2: It was a time, as you can imagine, when I was.
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Speaker 1: Struggling with some real truths that were becoming inescapable for me.
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Speaker 1: When you're in graduate study and when you are doing
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Speaker 1: intensive kind of work in the biblical text, You have
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Speaker 1: to come to terms with things. You can no longer
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Speaker 1: leave them in the realm of theory. You have to
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Speaker 1: get off on one side or the other. And a
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Speaker 1: major battle of mine at the time was the sovereignty
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Speaker 1: of God. It was a battle for me practically because
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Speaker 1: Cynthia and I were uncertain as to our future. She
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Speaker 1: was carrying our first child. We were in the midst
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Speaker 1: of indecision regarding our Our years in ministry, we had
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Speaker 1: no idea what God's plan for us was. I had
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Speaker 1: been close to some friends in seminary who had gone
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Speaker 1: to seed on the doctrine of sovereignty. And they had
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Speaker 1: taken it to ridiculous extremes. So they had become almost heretical,
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Speaker 1: in my mind, with the doctrine. And it frightened me.
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Speaker 1: I was afraid of it. She and I had been
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Speaker 1: married over six years, and our marriage, while it was
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Speaker 1: not really weak, it wasn't as strong as it needed
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Speaker 1: to be. And we knew with a child coming, we
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Speaker 1: would be pressed with their assignments of parenting, and neither
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Speaker 1: one of us had come from homes where we had
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Speaker 1: had great models of parents. good homes and homes where
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Speaker 1: we were loved, but the parenting process was lacking, at
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Speaker 1: least from our perspective.
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Speaker 2: And so all of that was kind of caving in
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Speaker 2: on me.
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Speaker 1: And I remember the project I undertook that summer on
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Speaker 1: my own, not having plans to teach anyone else. I
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Speaker 1: just wanted to dig through the summer into a book
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Speaker 1: that had 12 chapters that would sort of fit the
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Speaker 1: weeks that we would be away from school.
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Speaker 2: And I chose the book of Daniel.
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Speaker 1: And I remember as if it were yesterday, digging into
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Speaker 1: the fourth chapter, to which I'd like to have you
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Speaker 1: turn for the next few minutes. I had never really
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Speaker 1: made a serious study of the book, certainly not on
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Speaker 1: my own. And so I decided that in my times
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Speaker 1: with the Lord, I would spend a pretty good chunk
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Speaker 1: of my morning time per week I would spend time
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Speaker 1: in that given chapter. And it was in our fourth
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Speaker 1: week up at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California,
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Speaker 1: that I came upon the truth that was destined to
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Speaker 1: transform my thinking. Now, if you don't know Daniel 4,
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Speaker 1: you don't know that it begins with a dialogue and
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Speaker 1: ends with a monologue. Actually, it revolves around a dream
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Speaker 1: that a king named Nebuchadnezzar had. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was
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Speaker 1: a proud man.
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Speaker 2: And the dream troubled him.
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Speaker 1: I'm sure he broke out in a cold sweat by
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Speaker 1: the time he awoke that morning. And he couldn't find
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Speaker 1: any of his wise men who could interpret the dream
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Speaker 1: for him. And finally, there sort of emerged out of
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Speaker 1: the woodwork a prophet named Daniel. Daniel not only interpreted
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Speaker 1: the dream, he exhorted the dreamer, which was quite a
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Speaker 1: challenge since Nebuchadnezzar was the sovereign over that kingdom. And
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Speaker 1: all he had to do was turn thumbs down and
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Speaker 1: Daniel's life would be a memory. But Daniel had the
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Speaker 1: divine courage to look Nebuchadnezzar right in the eye, as
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Speaker 1: all true prophets would do, and tell him the truth.
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Speaker 1: As he interpreted the dream, He exhorted Nebuchadnezzar to do
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Speaker 1: something about the truth that it represented. My eye has
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Speaker 1: fallen upon verse 24 of Daniel 4. This is the interpretation,
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Speaker 1: O King, and this is the decree of the Most High,
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Speaker 1: which has come upon my Lord, the King, that you
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Speaker 1: be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be
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Speaker 1: with the beasts of the field and you be given
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Speaker 1: grass to eat like cattle. and be drenched with the
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Speaker 1: dew of heaven and seven periods of time will pass
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Speaker 1: over you until you recognize that the most high is
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Speaker 1: ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on
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Speaker 1: whomever he wishes. And in that it was commanded to
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Speaker 1: leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your
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Speaker 1: kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that
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Speaker 1: it is heaven that rules. Therefore, O king, May my
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Speaker 1: advice be pleasing to you. Break away now from your
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Speaker 1: sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities, by showing
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Speaker 1: mercy to the poor in case there may be a
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Speaker 1: prolonging of your prosperity. All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar, the king.
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Speaker 1: A little chill runs up my spine when I read
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Speaker 1: these words as I reflect back on that summer morn
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Speaker 1: in Palo Alto. I remember as if it were yesterday,
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Speaker 1: taking a pencil from my desk and underscoring two lines
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Speaker 1: that are almost identical. In verse 25, until you recognize.
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Speaker 1: And verse 26, after you recognize. Look closely at what
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Speaker 1: those phrases enter into. All of this will happen to you, Nebuchadnezzar,
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Speaker 1: until you recognize me. that you aren't sovereign over your life.
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Speaker 1: Until you recognize that the most high is the ruler.
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Speaker 1: This will occur to you and things will not change
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Speaker 1: until after you recognize that it is heaven that rules. Recognize, recognize.
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Speaker 1: The Hebrew verb is know, K-N-O-W. Perhaps the word acknowledge
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Speaker 1: is a better one than recognize. And the NIV so
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Speaker 1: renders it. You can recognize something and not be involved
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Speaker 1: in it. But you can't really acknowledge something without there
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Speaker 1: being some kind of acceptance, involvement, even embracing.
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Speaker 2: And I think that's what he has in mind.
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Speaker 1: Nebuchadnezzar, until you embrace the truth that you aren't sovereign,
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Speaker 1: but God is, that you don't rule your life, but
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Speaker 1: God does, you will never break from that insane experience.
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Speaker 1: Stop and think for a moment of the word sovereignty.
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Speaker 1: There is a smaller word right in the heart of
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Speaker 1: that term, and it is the word reign, R-E-I-G-N. Sovereignty.
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Speaker 1: Nebuchadnezzar conducted his life as if he were reigning over it.
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Speaker 1: He thought he did. Daniel comes on the scene and says,
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Speaker 1: from this dream that God has given you, You need
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Speaker 1: to know that there is another way of viewing life,
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Speaker 1: and that is that the eternal God of heaven, your creator,
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Speaker 1: not only made you and gives you breath for your lungs,
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Speaker 1: but he reigns over you. Must have been a tough
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Speaker 1: pill for Nebuchadnezzar to swallow. Next verse, verse 29. Notice
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Speaker 1: the first two words, 12 months. In fact, 12 months later,
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Speaker 1: God has patiently allowed Nebuchadnezzar to let that truth wash
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Speaker 1: around in his mind. Do I reign over my life
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Speaker 1: or does God? Am I sovereign or is he? Is
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Speaker 1: he in control or his ways being carried out or
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Speaker 1: am I in control pulling off my ways? Well, his
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Speaker 1: answer is in verse 30. Look at 29 first. Twelve
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Speaker 1: months later, He was walking on the roof of the
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Speaker 1: royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, is
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Speaker 1: this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built
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Speaker 1: as a royal residence by the might of my power
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Speaker 1: and for the glory of my majesty? While the word
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Speaker 1: was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven saying,
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Speaker 1: King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared sovereignty has been
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Speaker 1: removed from you. And watch what happens. You will be
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Speaker 1: driven away from mankind and your dwelling place will be
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Speaker 1: with the beasts of the field. You will be given
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Speaker 1: grass to eat like cattle and seven periods of time
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Speaker 1: will pass over you until you recognize, until you acknowledge,
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Speaker 1: until you bow to the truth that the most high
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Speaker 1: is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it
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Speaker 1: on whomever he wishes. Immediately, not 12 months later, But immediately,
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Speaker 1: that word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. And he was driven
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Speaker 1: away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle. And
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Speaker 1: his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until
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Speaker 1: his hair had grown like eagle's feathers. and his nails
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Speaker 1: like bird's claws. He went completely insane. He lived literally
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Speaker 1: in the field. I doubt that they could contain him.
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Speaker 1: In his insane state, he not only acted mad, he
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Speaker 1: was mad. Totally removed from the realm of logic and reason,
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Speaker 1: totally unable to do the work, Of the sovereign of
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Speaker 1: the land. He lived like a beast. He lived like
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Speaker 1: the fowl of the air. Out in the fields. The
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Speaker 1: story isn't over. I think Daniel gave Nebuchadnezzar the pen.
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Speaker 1: And said here you write the rest of this chapter.
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Speaker 1: At the end of that period I Nebuchadnezzar. Raised my
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Speaker 1: eyes toward heaven.
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Speaker 3: And.
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Speaker 1: And my reason returned to me and I blessed the
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Speaker 1: most high and praised and honored him who lives forever
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Speaker 1: for his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom
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Speaker 1: endures from generation to generation and all the inhabitants of
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Speaker 1: the earth are accounted as nothing. And he does according
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Speaker 1: to his will in the host of heaven and among
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Speaker 1: the inhabitants of the earth. And no one can ward
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Speaker 1: off his hand. Or say to him. What hast thou done?
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Speaker 1: At that time my reason returned to me. And my
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Speaker 1: majesty and splendor were returned to me. For the glory
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Speaker 1: of my kingdom. And my counselors and my nobles began
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Speaker 1: seeking me out. So I was reestablished in my sovereignty.
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Speaker 1: And surpassing greatness was added to me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar. Praise,
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Speaker 1: exalt and honor the king of heaven. For all his
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Speaker 1: works are true and his ways are just. And he
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Speaker 1: is able to humble those who walk in pride. With
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Speaker 1: the same pencil I had used to underscore those other
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Speaker 1: two phrases. I circled six statements. Six two word segments.
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Speaker 1: Verse 34. His dominion. Verse 34.
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Speaker 2: His kingdom.
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Speaker 1: Verse 35, His will. Verse 35, His hand. Verse 37,
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Speaker 1: His works. Verse 37, His ways. It is all of God.
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Speaker 1: I sat and stared at that passage of scripture for
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Speaker 1: I don't remember how long. My heart beat faster. In fact,
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Speaker 1: I remember it beat in my throat. I broke out
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Speaker 1: in a bit of a sweat. I struggled with the truth.
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Speaker 1: And finally, I put it to bed. And I told
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Speaker 1: the Lord that I would release the fight. And I
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Speaker 1: would acquiesce to his plan. I invited him to take charge.
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Speaker 1: Of my life.
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Speaker 2: I gave him.
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Speaker 1: The birth of our firstborn. I gave him my marriage.
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Speaker 1: I gave him my future. I gave him the next
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Speaker 1: two years I would be in seminary. And the balance
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Speaker 1: of my life. And I finished the time on my knees. Weeping.
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Speaker 1: With a sense of relief. I don't tell you the
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Speaker 1: story that it might sound dramatic. I repeat the story
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Speaker 1: because it changed my life. I needed the reminder several
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Speaker 1: years later when God led in our family for Cynthia
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Speaker 1: to have two miscarriages and we lost two children. The
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Speaker 1: sovereignty of God came to my rescue in those tragic hours.
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Speaker 1: We needed the reminder when Cynthia We were involved in
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Speaker 1: a collision that broke my son's jaw and injured my
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Speaker 1: wife seriously and totaled our car in the icy streets
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Speaker 1: of Houston. We needed the reminder in the years that
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Speaker 1: would follow when there would be hard times. We need
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Speaker 1: it today. Good times and hard times, happiness and hardship,
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Speaker 1: gain and loss, promotion, demotion, joy, sorrow, ecstasy, tragedy, confusion, clarity.
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Speaker 1: His sovereignty covers it all. That summer morning, 1961, I
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Speaker 1: decided it would be His dominion and kingdom, not mine.
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Speaker 1: It would be his will and his hand, not mine,
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Speaker 1: his works, his ways, not mine, that I would spend
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Speaker 1: the balance of my life promoting. It transformed my life.
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Speaker 1: I also promised him that every chance I got when
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Speaker 1: I had a chance to speak of his character, sovereignty
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Speaker 1: would get the vote first and foremost. And that by
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Speaker 1: his grace, I would carry out of a faithfulness in
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Speaker 1: promoting that whole doctrine every chance I got. This is
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Speaker 1: my moment. This is one of several moments I have
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Speaker 1: had in ministry that's followed that time to speak on
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Speaker 1: behalf of the one who rules and his way is
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Speaker 1: always right. It doesn't always make sense. It can't always
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Speaker 1: be explained. It isn't always pleasurable and fun. But it
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Speaker 1: is always right. And that's what Nebuchadnezzar had to acknowledge.
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Speaker 1: In fact, not until he did, did true reasoning return
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Speaker 1: to him. I think, I think, Not until we embrace
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Speaker 1: God's sovereignty will we have the ability to reason theologically.
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Speaker 1: Until then, we will be too important in the plan.
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Speaker 1: Man's opinion will be too significant to us. And we
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Speaker 1: will churn and wrestle and struggle our way through this
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Speaker 1: Christian life rather than living it relieved and, if I may,
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Speaker 1: relaxed in his plan. On your way back to the
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Speaker 1: book of Job, stop off in Proverbs 21, just the
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Speaker 1: first verse. Proverbs 21, verse 1. Long before Daniel said
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Speaker 1: those words to Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadnezzar wrote them for himself,
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Speaker 1: God had led Solomon to write this proverb. The king's
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Speaker 1: heart is like channels of water in the hand of
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Speaker 1: the Lord. He turns it wherever he wishes. Isn't that great?
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Speaker 1: We look upon these great kings and these great presidents
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Speaker 1: and these great governors and these great mayors and these
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Speaker 1: men of state and these men and women of significant
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Speaker 1: importance internationally. And we suck in our breath in awe.
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Speaker 1: And yet God is able to move their hearts like
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Speaker 1: his finger would reach down and retrace the destiny of
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Speaker 1: a river. It's no problem to him. He moves it
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Speaker 1: wherever he wishes. And he isn't through doing that. And
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Speaker 1: I might add, it isn't limited to kings. It's true
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Speaker 1: of you and me. Now, that's hard for you if
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Speaker 1: you're a proud person, especially if that pride is connected
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Speaker 1: with stubbornness. Usually they go together. You resist that thought
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Speaker 1: because you see the fear of it's going to seed.
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Speaker 1: And I understand. In fact, you can name some people
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Speaker 1: who have gone through some awful times and you say,
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Speaker 1: you're telling me that God smiled on that, that he
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Speaker 1: was responsible for that, that he allowed that. Well, let's
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Speaker 1: take an example from Job. Turn back. Remember Job. Let's
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Speaker 1: locate chapter 38. Here is a man who lost everything
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Speaker 1: but wife and life. Children, home, livestock, servants, bankroll, everything.
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Speaker 2: Lost his health.
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Speaker 1: His body was covered with oozing skin ulcers from the
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Speaker 1: crown of his head to the sole of his feet.
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Speaker 1: I can't imagine such pain. And on top of that,
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Speaker 1: he had to listen to the talk of Eliphaz and
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Speaker 1: Bildad and Zophar and Elihu, so-called friends, who came to
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Speaker 1: lecture him. On why he was getting what he was due.
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Speaker 1: And he sat through that.
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Speaker 2: And he listened.
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Speaker 1: Finally, God spoke to Job. Chapter 38. He breaks the silence.
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Speaker 1: He comes in and he addresses Job personally. Then the
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Speaker 1: Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind. That's the way
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Speaker 1: the Lord saw all that counsel before he stepped on
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Speaker 1: the scene. Ever been in a place like that? Never
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Speaker 1: been in a quandary and then you've had people volunteer
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Speaker 1: their counsel and push their advice and drop little letters
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Speaker 1: on you or phone calls and it's conflicting and it's
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Speaker 1: confusing and it's anything but comforting. It's a whirlwind.
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Speaker 2: And you long to hear God's pristine message.
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Speaker 1: I have in my notes Read chapters 38, 39, 40,
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Speaker 1: and 41. But we haven't the time for all of that.
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Speaker 1: So I'm going to just, I'm going to pick and
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Speaker 1: choose my way through this section.
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Speaker 2: This is a great section where God says.
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Speaker 1: To Job, I am in charge. I know what I'm doing.
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Speaker 1: My way is right. Pain, suffering, and all, I am
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Speaker 1: reigning now. sovereign over you. There's a series of rhetorical
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Speaker 1: questions that he asks Job. Who is this that darkens
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Speaker 1: counsel by words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins
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Speaker 1: like a man and I will ask you and you
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Speaker 1: instruct me. Where were you when I laid the foundation
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Speaker 1: of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who
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Speaker 1: sets its measurements since you know? Who stretched the line
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Speaker 1: on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who
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Speaker 1: laid its cornerstone? When the morning stars sang together and
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Speaker 1: all the sons of God shouted for joy. Who enclosed
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Speaker 1: the sea with doors? When bursting forth, it went out
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Speaker 1: from the womb. When I made a cloud its garment
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Speaker 1: and thick darkness its swaddling band. And I placed boundaries
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Speaker 1: on it and I set a bolt and doors. And
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Speaker 1: I said, thus far you shall come, but no farther.
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Speaker 1: And here shall your proud waves stop. Have you ever
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Speaker 1: in your life commanded the morning, Job? Ever caused the
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Speaker 1: dawn to know its place? Ever brought one sun.
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Speaker 2: Onto the skies?
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Speaker 1: Ever made it happen that it might take hold the
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Speaker 1: ends of the earth and the wicked be shaken out
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Speaker 1: of it? It is changed like clay under the seal
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Speaker 1: and they stand forth like a garment. And from the
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Speaker 1: wicked their light is withheld and the uplifted arm is broken.
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Speaker 1: Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Have
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Speaker 1: you walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the
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Speaker 1: gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you
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Speaker 1: seen the gates of deep darkness, Job? Have you understood
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Speaker 1: the expanse of the earth? Tell me if you know
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Speaker 1: all of this. Where is the way to the dwelling
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Speaker 1: of light? And darkness, where is its place, Job? That
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Speaker 1: you may take it to its territory. That you may
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Speaker 1: discern the paths to its homes. Verse 22. Have you
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Speaker 1: entered the storehouses of the snow? Have you seen the
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Speaker 1: storehouses of the hail? Which I have reserved for the
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Speaker 1: time of distress. You ever seen that in the scriptures?
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Speaker 1: Our newspapers report disaster strikes. Blizzard sweeps across the north midwest.
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Speaker 1: And we say what a tragedy. God says I had
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Speaker 1: my storehouses all ready. And I sent the snow.
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Speaker 3: Yes.
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Speaker 1: Either that or he is partially sovereign. He is almost
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Speaker 1: in control, which is a strange way to put it.
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Speaker 1: That's like my being almost a husband or almost a father.
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Speaker 1: You are or you are not. He goes on to
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Speaker 1: talk about it. Verse 31, look at this. Can you
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Speaker 1: bind the chains of the Pleiades? or loose the cords
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Speaker 1: of Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its
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Speaker 1: season and guide the bear with her satellites? He's talking
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Speaker 1: about the stars, the constellations above us. You have any
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Speaker 1: control over that? No, I can make lenses that help
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Speaker 1: me see it, but I can't change the direction of it.
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Speaker 1: I can go wow on occasion. I can stand back
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Speaker 1: in amazement, but I can't change the movement. Do you
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Speaker 1: know the ordinances of the heavens are fixed their rule
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Speaker 1: over the earth? Chapter 39. Look at 39.19. Do you
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Speaker 1: give the horse its might? Do you clothe his neck
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Speaker 1: with a mane? Do you make him leap like the locust?
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Speaker 1: His majestic snorting is terrible. He paws in the valley
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Speaker 1: and rejoices in his strength. He goes out to meet
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Speaker 1: the weapons. He laughs at fear and is not dismayed
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Speaker 1: and he does not turn back from the sword. Describes
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Speaker 1: that further. Verse 26. Is it by your understanding that
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Speaker 1: the The hawk soars, stretching his wings toward the south.
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Speaker 1: Is it your command that the eagle mounts up and
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Speaker 1: makes his nest on high? Job listens to all of this.
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Speaker 1: Look at 41 verse 1. Can you draw out Leviathan
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Speaker 1: with a fish hook? The Leviathan represented the denizens of
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Speaker 1: the deep. These great, huge creatures, the monsters of the deep.
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Speaker 1: Or press down his tongue with a cord. Can you
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Speaker 1: put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw
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Speaker 1: with a hook? Will he make supplications to you or
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Speaker 1: will he speak to you soft words? He goes on
25:54
Speaker 1: asking all of these questions all the way through these chapters.
25:57
Speaker 1: And finally, finally, Job hears enough. Verse 1, chapter 42.
26:02
Speaker 1: Then Job answered. And he said, I know that thou
26:11
Speaker 1: canst do all things. and that no purpose of thine
26:15
Speaker 1: can be thwarted. Job got four years seminary education in
26:18
Speaker 1: three chapters. He got it all. He dumped the truck
26:21
Speaker 1: on Job. Job says, I've got it. I got it.
26:24
Speaker 1: I see it. I see it's clear. It's clear.
26:29
Speaker 2: No purpose of thine can be thwarted.
26:31
Speaker 1: Remember that.
26:33
Speaker 2: Don't scissor that out of your Bible. Leave it there.
26:37
Speaker 1: When God says it shall be done, it will be done.
26:41
Speaker 1: If it makes me unhappy, if it makes me unhappy,
26:44
Speaker 1: if it hurts, if it hurts, if it ruins my reputation,
26:48
Speaker 1: if it ruins my reputation, God says it shall be
26:51
Speaker 1: done and his purpose will not be thwarted or he
26:55
Speaker 1: is not sovereign. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore,
27:04
Speaker 1: I've declared that which I did not understand things too
27:06
Speaker 1: wonderful for me, which I did not know here now.
27:12
Speaker 1: I will speak. I will ask thee and do thou
27:14
Speaker 1: instruct me. I have heard of thee by the hearing
27:17
Speaker 1: of the ear, but now my eye sees thee. And
27:19
Speaker 1: look at his final response. I retract. I repent. I
27:26
Speaker 1: lay down my arms. I repent in dust. And ashes.
27:36
Speaker 1: You want to know who's in charge around here?
28:03
Speaker 1: He's in charge.
28:09
Speaker 1: How does his resume read? He must see the end
28:13
Speaker 1: from the beginning. Whoever is sovereign must have total clear perspective.
28:19
Speaker 1: He must have no match on earth or heaven. He
28:22
Speaker 1: must entertain no fears, no ignorance and have no needs.
28:26
Speaker 1: He must have no limitations and always know what is best.
28:29
Speaker 1: He must never make a mistake. He must possess the
28:34
Speaker 1: ability to bring everything to a purposeful conclusion and an
28:37
Speaker 1: ultimate goal. He must be invincible, immutable, infinite, and self-sufficient.
28:44
Speaker 1: His judgments must be unsearchable and his ways unfathomable. He
28:49
Speaker 1: must be able to create rather than invent, to direct
28:53
Speaker 1: rather than wish, to control rather than hope, to guide
28:58
Speaker 1: rather than guess, to fulfill rather than dream. And that's
29:04
Speaker 1: just a half page of my thoughts. That's our God.
29:11
Speaker 2: The one who says it shall be and.
29:13
Speaker 1: It is done and it shall not be and it
29:16
Speaker 1: is not done. How often we puny human beings speak
29:21
Speaker 1: as though we are in charge and we are free.
29:25
Speaker 1: William Wordsworth in a piece entitled Prelude says, The early
29:29
Speaker 1: part of the piece talks about how wonderful it was
29:32
Speaker 1: for him to escape the city where he had been
29:34
Speaker 1: pent up so long.
29:36
Speaker 2: And now he says, I'm.
29:37
Speaker 1: Free, free as a bird to settle where I will.
29:41
Speaker 1: Free as a bird? As a bird? One theologian writes,
29:48
Speaker 1: the naturalist knows that the supposedly free bird actually lives
29:52
Speaker 1: its entire life in a cage made of fears, hungers,
29:57
Speaker 1: and instincts. It is limited by weather conditions, varying air pressures,
30:03
Speaker 1: the local food supply, predatory beasts, and that strangest of
30:09
Speaker 1: all bonds, the irresistible compulsion to stay within the small
30:14
Speaker 1: plot of land and air assigned it. The freed bird is,
30:21
Speaker 1: along with every other created thing, held in constant check
30:25
Speaker 1: by a net of necessity, only God. is free. You
30:33
Speaker 1: and I know nothing of freedom. Bound to a very
30:38
Speaker 1: particular climate, to a particular set of conditions in which
30:42
Speaker 1: we could survive at best, struggle most often. Bound by relationships,
30:50
Speaker 1: bound by hang-ups, bound by nature, Relying on God for
30:57
Speaker 1: the very impulse that causes the heart to beat and
31:00
Speaker 1: the lungs to work and the body to move.
31:03
Speaker 2: And the mind to think.
31:05
Speaker 1: Free? Really free? We strut as though we are free.
31:13
Speaker 1: But the matter of fact is, we are incredibly dependent people.
31:22
Speaker 1: God knows no such dependents. Only he occupies an unthreatened throne.
31:31
Speaker 1: He never will come close to meeting his match. Now,
31:37
Speaker 1: what does sovereignty mean? I see how it affected Job,
31:42
Speaker 1: but in the eyes of the Apostle Paul, who perhaps
31:46
Speaker 1: developed it as well as anyone in the 9th, 10th,
31:48
Speaker 1: and 11th chapters of Romans, what does he have to
31:53
Speaker 1: say about God's sovereignty? You must make your own study
31:58
Speaker 1: of Romans 9, 10, and 11. And if you don't
32:01
Speaker 1: struggle with the chapters, you're not really studying them. You'll
32:06
Speaker 1: think you have it all solved in chapter 9, and
32:09
Speaker 1: then you'll come upon chapter 10. And then you'll be
32:13
Speaker 1: struggling all over with what was said in chapter 9
32:15
Speaker 1: in light of chapter 10.
32:18
Speaker 2: And then you finally come.
32:19
Speaker 1: To a great doxology at the final four verses of
32:22
Speaker 1: chapter 11, where I'd like you to turn now, 1133.
32:26
Speaker 1: And you will perhaps, as I did, sigh with a
32:28
Speaker 1: sense of incomprehensible relief, leaving some of the mystery with God.
32:35
Speaker 1: Allow me the 33rd verse. Oh, the depth of the riches,
32:40
Speaker 1: both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable
32:47
Speaker 1: are his judgments and unfathomable his ways. Don't look up.
32:57
Speaker 1: Keep studying those words. This brilliant apostle under the direction
33:05
Speaker 1: of the Spirit of God presents the Lord our Father
33:11
Speaker 1: as being full of wisdom and knowledge. So whatever is sovereign,
33:18
Speaker 1: whatever is expressed in sovereignty is bathed in wisdom and knowledge.
33:26
Speaker 1: When he makes his decisions, which are called here judgments,
33:30
Speaker 1: they are unsearchable because we live in a finite realm
33:35
Speaker 1: and he in an infinite. We live in the temporal now.
33:39
Speaker 1: He lives in the eternal forever. So his decisions, his
33:44
Speaker 1: judgments are unsearchable and his ways, while they are right,
33:49
Speaker 1: are often unfathomable. You cannot get to the bottom of them.
33:55
Speaker 1: You come often to the place where you say, I
33:58
Speaker 1: just accept it. And that requires a humility. Hard for
34:03
Speaker 1: the educated, intelligent person of today. I've come up with
34:08
Speaker 1: a simple definition. Sovereignty means our all-wise, all-knowing God reigns
34:15
Speaker 1: in realms beyond our comprehension to bring about a plan
34:21
Speaker 1: beyond our ability to alter, hinder, or stop. Our all-wise,
34:29
Speaker 1: all-knowing God reigns in realms beyond our comprehension to bring
34:35
Speaker 1: about a plan beyond our ability to alter, hinder, or
34:42
Speaker 1: to stop. Let me go further. Let these thoughts flow
34:50
Speaker 1: freely through your mind. His plan includes all promotions and demotions.
34:57
Speaker 1: His plan would mean both adversity and prosperity, tragedy and calamity,
35:02
Speaker 1: ecstasy and joy. It would envelop illness as much as health,
35:07
Speaker 1: perilous times as much as comfort, safety, and ease. It
35:12
Speaker 1: would be at work when we cannot imagine why, because
35:17
Speaker 1: it is so unpleasant, as much as when the reason
35:20
Speaker 1: is clear and pleasant. His sovereignty, though it is inscrutable,
35:26
Speaker 1: would be over all handicaps, all heartaches, all helpless moments.
35:33
Speaker 1: It would be at work through all disappointments, broken dreams,
35:36
Speaker 1: and lingering difficulties. And even when we cannot fully fathom why,
35:42
Speaker 1: he knows. When we cannot explain the reasons, he understands.
35:47
Speaker 1: And when we cannot see the end, he is there,
35:51
Speaker 1: nodding nobly. Yes, that is my plan. Look further at
35:59
Speaker 1: the three verses that follow. Who knows the mind of
36:01
Speaker 1: the Lord? Who became his counselor? Who has first given
36:05
Speaker 1: to him that it might be paid back to him again?
36:10
Speaker 1: For from him and through him and to him are
36:12
Speaker 1: all things. If you want to alter sovereignty and make
36:18
Speaker 1: it temporal or limited, you've got to get rid of
36:20
Speaker 1: all things. Just as you must do that in Romans 8, 28.
36:26
Speaker 1: If he says all things, he means it. And it
36:33
Speaker 1: is for his glory forever. According to this 36th verse,
36:36
Speaker 1: to him be the glory forever and ever. Our sovereign
36:40
Speaker 1: is the master and the mover. He is the giver
36:42
Speaker 1: and the receiver. He is the originator for it says
36:46
Speaker 1: from him. He is the enforcer through him. He's the
36:49
Speaker 1: provider to him or all things. And lest we think
36:55
Speaker 1: of this as a blind, bitter fate, remember it is
36:58
Speaker 1: for his greater glory forever. What does it not mean?
37:05
Speaker 1: Right about now, some of you are getting real nervous
37:07
Speaker 1: about me. You've already begun to plan the letter you
37:10
Speaker 1: want to write, saying, Chuck, I think you've gone off
37:14
Speaker 1: the deep end. This, like with Paul, much learning doth
37:19
Speaker 1: make thee mad. Let me put your mind at ease.
37:25
Speaker 1: It was the madness of that kind of extremism that
37:28
Speaker 1: kept me from embracing sovereignty. That was why the wrestling
37:33
Speaker 1: went on so long. And it isn't that I don't
37:35
Speaker 1: still at times wrestle, I do. But when this doctrine
37:39
Speaker 1: is taken to unbiblical extremes, hear me, people allow themselves
37:46
Speaker 1: to become passive, uninvolved, lacking in zeal, irresponsible, and not
37:55
Speaker 1: striving for personal excellence. All is of God.
38:00
Speaker 2: He does everything. I find it.
38:03
Speaker 1: Interesting that the apostle who writes this grand three chapter
38:07
Speaker 1: declaration and ends it on such a high point, the
38:10
Speaker 1: zenith of it is the last four verses of chapter 11,
38:14
Speaker 1: comes immediately into chapter 12 and devotes the balance of
38:18
Speaker 1: the book of Romans to our responsibilities. You ever thought
38:21
Speaker 1: about that? The doctrine of the book is chapters 1
38:26
Speaker 1: through 11. But when he gets to chapter 12, it's
38:29
Speaker 1: all duty. The very ones that he instructed saying God
38:33
Speaker 1: is in control, God is in charge, God is sovereign,
38:36
Speaker 1: God is responsible. He says, I urge you, brethren, by
38:40
Speaker 1: the mercies of God, that you present your bodies. He
38:42
Speaker 1: doesn't tell God to present his body. The command is
38:46
Speaker 1: to the believer. Look at it.
38:48
Speaker 2: Verse 1, chapter 12. There's urgency.
38:51
Speaker 1: I urge you. By the mercies of God, I plead
38:55
Speaker 1: with you to present your bodies.
38:57
Speaker 2: There's responsibility.
38:58
Speaker 1: In fact, verse 2 says, don't do something. Do not
39:03
Speaker 1: be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
39:05
Speaker 1: renewing of your mind. You have a responsibility not to
39:09
Speaker 1: let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.
39:12
Speaker 2: Oh, don't worry about that.
39:13
Speaker 1: I believe in sovereignty. Well, so does the one who
39:15
Speaker 1: wrote it. And he says it's our responsibility. In fact,
39:22
Speaker 1: there's activity in this passage. Look at chapter 12, verse 6.
39:26
Speaker 1: Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace
39:28
Speaker 1: given to us, let each exercise. them accordingly. If you
39:32
Speaker 1: have the gift of prophecy, then exercise it according to
39:35
Speaker 1: your faith. If it is service, then serve. Verse 7.
39:38
Speaker 1: If it's teaching, then teach. If it's exhortation, then exhort.
39:42
Speaker 1: Verse 8.
39:44
Speaker 2: If you have the gift of giving, then do it
39:45
Speaker 2: with liberality.
39:46
Speaker 1: Verse 8. If you are to lead, then do it
39:48
Speaker 1: with diligence. And if you show mercy, do it with cheerfulness.
39:52
Speaker 1: In fact, he even cares about relationships. He says, don't
39:54
Speaker 1: let your love be with hypocrisy. Verse 9, let love
39:57
Speaker 1: be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what
40:01
Speaker 1: is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
40:03
Speaker 1: One command after another. One imperative after another. And it
40:07
Speaker 1: goes on into chapter 13, into chapter 14, into chapter 15. Oh, yeah,
40:13
Speaker 1: we have a sense of responsibility. God's sovereignty does not
40:17
Speaker 1: mean that I'm released from responsibility, does not mean I
40:21
Speaker 1: have no interest in today's affairs. I cannot be bothered
40:24
Speaker 1: about decisions. I need not concern myself with the eternal
40:28
Speaker 1: destiny of other people. Doesn't mean that at all.
40:31
Speaker 2: Somehow there has to be a balance. In his book,
40:35
Speaker 2: The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W.
40:37
Speaker 1: Tozer writes very wise words, and I quote, God sovereignly
40:42
Speaker 1: decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice.
40:46
Speaker 1: And man, from the beginning, has fulfilled that decree by
40:50
Speaker 1: making his choice between good and evil. When we choose
40:55
Speaker 1: to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign
40:59
Speaker 1: will of God, but fulfills it. Let me read that again.
41:05
Speaker 1: When he chooses to do evil, that is, when man
41:08
Speaker 1: chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the
41:11
Speaker 1: sovereign will of God, but fulfills it. Inasmuch as the
41:15
Speaker 1: eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make,
41:21
Speaker 1: but that he should be free to make it. If
41:25
Speaker 1: in his absolute freedom God has willed to give man
41:28
Speaker 1: limited freedom, who is there to stay his hand or say,
41:31
Speaker 1: what doest thou?
41:34
Speaker 2: Man's will is.
41:34
Speaker 1: Free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign
41:38
Speaker 1: could not bestow moral freedom upon his creatures. He would
41:42
Speaker 1: be afraid to do so. Then he gives this fine illustration.
41:48
Speaker 1: An ocean liner leaves New York bound for Liverpool. Its
41:53
Speaker 1: destination has been determined by proper authorities. Nothing can change it.
41:59
Speaker 1: This is at least a faint picture of sovereignty. On
42:03
Speaker 1: board the liner are several scores of passengers. These are
42:08
Speaker 1: not in chains. Neither are their activities determined for them
42:12
Speaker 1: by decrees. They are completely free to move about as
42:16
Speaker 1: they will. They eat, they sleep, they play, they lounge
42:19
Speaker 1: about on the deck, read, talk, all together as they please.
42:25
Speaker 1: But all the while, the great liner is carrying them
42:29
Speaker 1: steadily onward toward a predetermined port. Both freedom and sovereignty
42:35
Speaker 1: are present here, and they do not contradict each other.
42:38
Speaker 1: So it is, I believe, with man's freedom and the
42:40
Speaker 1: sovereignty of God. The mighty liner of God's sovereign design
42:45
Speaker 1: keeps its steady course over the sea of history. God
42:49
Speaker 1: moves undisturbed and unhindered toward the fulfillment of those eternal
42:54
Speaker 1: purposes which he purposed in Christ Jesus before the world began.
43:00
Speaker 1: We do not know all that is included in all
43:02
Speaker 1: these purposes, but enough has been disclosed to furnish us
43:06
Speaker 1: with a broad outline of things to come and to
43:09
Speaker 1: give us good hope and firm assurance of future well-being.
43:16
Speaker 2: You know that choice would include our choice of destiny.
43:21
Speaker 1: It's at this point that I have a major battle
43:23
Speaker 1: with those who buy the entire message of Calvinism. I
43:29
Speaker 1: personally believe that our Lord God has given us the choice.
43:34
Speaker 1: One can choose for and can choose against, but he
43:37
Speaker 1: cannot choose the consequences. If one chooses against the person
43:42
Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ, he thereby steps into God's decree that
43:47
Speaker 1: that individual will be punished eternally. If one chooses in
43:52
Speaker 1: favor of the Lord Jesus Christ, then the results are
43:55
Speaker 1: known to you, the rewards of heaven, the blessing of
43:58
Speaker 1: forgiven sins and eternity with God. God rules, God reigns,
44:05
Speaker 1: and his way is right. Where will all of it lead?
44:11
Speaker 1: Last part of verse 36, to him be the glory forever. Amen.
44:17
Speaker 1: Don't think that most people think of that. Most of
44:22
Speaker 1: us think, how will I get the glory?
44:25
Speaker 2: What will be the benefits to me?
44:28
Speaker 1: How will I be blessed? In God's sovereign plan, your
44:32
Speaker 1: life may be painful, disappointing, difficult, in fact, inexplicably confusing.
44:40
Speaker 1: But God somehow in the final say will get all
44:45
Speaker 1: the glory.
44:46
Speaker 2: I thought of that.
44:47
Speaker 1: When I looked into 1 Corinthians 15, 24 to 58.
44:52
Speaker 1: We seldom look at that passage, and I want you
44:54
Speaker 1: to look with me. 1 Corinthians, next book to the right,
44:58
Speaker 1: if you're not familiar with your Bible, chapter 15, verse 24.
45:04
Speaker 2: We come all the way to the end of time.
45:07
Speaker 1: Just before heaven dawns and we step into eternity future.
45:11
Speaker 1: And God is wiping up the final plans for this
45:14
Speaker 1: earth and all of its inhabitants. I love this section
45:17
Speaker 1: because it's so final, so clear. 1524, then comes the end.
45:22
Speaker 1: What does that sound mysterious? I mean, you read a
45:27
Speaker 1: book and you come to God's writing. Now the end
45:31
Speaker 1: and you get to see what he's going to do. Look,
45:34
Speaker 1: then comes the end. when he delivers up the kingdom
45:37
Speaker 1: to the God and Father, when he, that is the
45:40
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ, has abolished all rule and all authority
45:44
Speaker 1: and power, meaning on this earth, all human rule, authority
45:48
Speaker 1: and power. For Christ must reign until he has put
45:53
Speaker 1: all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that
45:58
Speaker 1: will be abolished is death. For he has put all
46:04
Speaker 1: things in subjection under his feet. But when he says
46:09
Speaker 1: all things are put in subjection, it is evident that he, God,
46:14
Speaker 1: is an exception who put all things in subjection to him.
46:18
Speaker 1: The NIV renders that. Now, when it says that everything
46:22
Speaker 1: has been put under him, it is clear that this
46:25
Speaker 1: does not include God himself who put everything under Christ. Now,
46:29
Speaker 1: verse 28. And when all things are subjected to him,
46:34
Speaker 1: then the son himself also will be subjected to the
46:40
Speaker 1: one who subjected all things to him. That God may
46:48
Speaker 1: be all in all. Is that great or what? At
46:54
Speaker 1: the very end, it says that God may be all
46:58
Speaker 1: in all. That's what Heaven's Door will read. God is
47:03
Speaker 1: all in all, even in tragedy, even in tragedy. Even
47:06
Speaker 1: in loss, even in loss. Even in joy and sorrow, yes,
47:10
Speaker 1: even in all of that. Even in earthquake, yes, and
47:14
Speaker 1: I don't know how, I don't know why. Even in
47:17
Speaker 1: calamity that'll take lives, yes.
47:21
Speaker 2: Yes, even there.
47:23
Speaker 1: Even in your home that's been split apart for who
47:26
Speaker 1: knows whatever reasons.
47:28
Speaker 2: Yes.
47:29
Speaker 1: That God may be all in all. That's the last
47:33
Speaker 1: line of the book. God rules.
47:41
Speaker 2: God reigns.
47:43
Speaker 1: And his way is right. It leads to his glory.
47:47
Speaker 1: You know deep within the heart of men and women.
47:52
Speaker 1: There is this. that we really don't have the final answer.
47:59
Speaker 1: There is this little hidden clause that says there may
48:03
Speaker 1: be a God after all. I love the story Donald
48:07
Speaker 1: Barnhouse tells in his book on Romans. My assistant tells
48:11
Speaker 1: this story about his class in the philosophy of religion.
48:15
Speaker 1: In one of the graduate schools of an Eastern university,
48:19
Speaker 1: they were discussing a certain book where the author had
48:21
Speaker 1: thrown God out of his considerations in the first chapter However,
48:26
Speaker 1: in the last chapter of the book, the writer seemed
48:29
Speaker 1: to sneak God back into his pages. My assistant asked
48:34
Speaker 1: the reason for this treatment of God. Why was he
48:38
Speaker 1: brought in now, since the author of the text had
48:42
Speaker 1: no use for God in the greater part of the book?
48:45
Speaker 1: The professor was quite frank in his reply. Since he
48:48
Speaker 1: knew the author of the book under discussion, his answer
48:50
Speaker 1: had some significance. Quote, Well, the author doubtless expected to die,
48:57
Speaker 1: and he was just playing it safe. You bet. You
49:02
Speaker 1: want to find a person who is humbled one second
49:06
Speaker 1: after he dies.
49:11
Speaker 2: One second.
49:14
Speaker 1: And he is totally at a loss to determine his future.
49:20
Speaker 1: And God's sovereignty steps over his life and sets in
49:24
Speaker 1: plan his decree that that man or woman has rejected
49:28
Speaker 1: and resisted for years. That God may be all in all.
49:39
Speaker 1: Why do we care about this? What in the world
49:44
Speaker 1: is worth all the sweat? First of all, the sovereignty
49:51
Speaker 1: of God relieves me from anxiety. It doesn't take away
49:57
Speaker 1: my questions. It takes away my anxiety. When I rest
50:01
Speaker 1: in it, I am relieved of the worries. Second, it
50:08
Speaker 1: frees me from explanation. I don't have to be the
50:12
Speaker 1: answer man. I find ease in saying to certain individuals
50:18
Speaker 1: at critical times, you know, I don't know. I can't
50:25
Speaker 1: unravel his full plan in this. The problem with learning
50:32
Speaker 1: a little theology is we start thinking we can unscrew
50:35
Speaker 1: the inscrutable. You know, we can fathom the unfathomable. There's
50:41
Speaker 1: no depth to which we cannot go. That's not true.
50:44
Speaker 1: There are some times when those who know the most
50:47
Speaker 1: simply must back off with hands behind their back and say,
50:52
Speaker 1: it's beyond me. I don't know why God closes doors
50:57
Speaker 1: and opens others. I don't know why some reject him
51:00
Speaker 1: and become vessels of wrath. I don't know how that
51:04
Speaker 1: fits in. I don't know how evil is for good.
51:08
Speaker 1: And I don't know how the interplay between the two
51:10
Speaker 1: in some way glorifies God, but I know ultimately it
51:12
Speaker 1: does because God will be all in all. I don't
51:16
Speaker 1: have to explain it. Third, it keeps me from pride.
51:22
Speaker 1: When I got a hold of that thought in 1961
51:25
Speaker 1: and it began to visit me on a regular occasion
51:27
Speaker 1: through the balance of my education and then on into ministry,
51:31
Speaker 1: I have returned to it again and again and again.
51:33
Speaker 1: And it stood for me like a steer in a blizzard.
51:38
Speaker 1: It's helped me face some of the most difficult times.
51:41
Speaker 1: It's kept me before God on my face. I hope
51:45
Speaker 1: this isn't misread. I have many, many battles. I have
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Speaker 1: numerous sins. In fact, recurring sins that plague me and
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Speaker 1: I wrestle with and I confess. I bring them before God.
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Speaker 1: But I have to tell you, because of my firm
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Speaker 1: confidence in the sovereignty of God, pride is not a
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Speaker 1: major battle for me. People ask me all the time,
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Speaker 1: how do you keep from being proud? That's always a
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Speaker 1: surprise question. I never think of being proud. I think
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Speaker 1: of being grateful that he's given me breath and the
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Speaker 1: ability to think and to minister and to serve. He's
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Speaker 1: sovereign over my life and he's sovereign over your life.
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Speaker 1: He's sovereign whether you accept it or not. You'll know
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Speaker 1: it a second after you die. You may not know
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Speaker 1: it right now. He rules and his way is right.
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Speaker 1: John Oxenham, back in 1913, called it God's handwriting. He
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Speaker 1: writes in characters too grand for our short sight to understand.
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Speaker 1: We catch but broken strokes and try to fathom all
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Speaker 1: the mystery of withered hopes, of death, of life, the
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Speaker 1: endless war, the useless strife. But there, with larger, clearer sight,
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Speaker 1: We shall see this. His way was right. His way
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Speaker 1: was right. I'd like to respect your privacy for the
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Speaker 1: next few moments and have you close your eyes and
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Speaker 1: bow your head. I'd like to invite you to come
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Speaker 1: to the place, not where there was an accidental death,
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Speaker 1: but where there was a planned crucifixion Not an earthly murder.
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Speaker 1: But a heavenly decree fulfilled the death of Christ. Like
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Speaker 1: you to walk through the blood. I'd like you to
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Speaker 1: feel the wounds. In your mind's eye, I'd like you
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Speaker 1: to look at the son of God. Who went to
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Speaker 1: the cross. And died. That we might live. That God
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Speaker 1: might be all in all. Now look into his face.
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Speaker 1: He's dead now. On that cross. That's how much he
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Speaker 1: believed in the father's will. He believed enough to die
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Speaker 1: for you. Oh he's come back. He's gloriously alive. Every
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Speaker 1: Easter we celebrate it.
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Speaker 2: Every Lord's Day.
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Speaker 1: He's been raised. But do you have life because of
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Speaker 1: his death? You ever submitted yourself to his right to
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Speaker 1: rule over you? You ever simply accepted the gift that
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Speaker 1: he packaged for you in blood and wrapped with his
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Speaker 1: own body on the tree? Do it now. Do it now.
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Speaker 1: That choice is yours. The consequences are fixed, as are
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Speaker 1: the rewards, but the choice right now is yours. Give
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Speaker 1: your heart to Christ. Lord God, I'm grateful for that
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Speaker 1: moving moment in the summer of 61 when I was
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Speaker 1: forced to come to terms with an issue that had
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Speaker 1: been troubling me and really haunting me. I'm grateful for
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Speaker 1: the comfort it has brought over the years. I'm satisfied
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Speaker 1: that you were directly involved in that passage in Daniel
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Speaker 1: when my eyes fell upon it. And I thank you
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Speaker 1: for preserving this account of King Nebuchadnezzar and of Job
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Speaker 1: and from Paul's writings as well. So that we might
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Speaker 1: learn that you rule and that your sovereignty is right.
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Speaker 1: Your way is right. Some who hear these words struggle,
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Speaker 1: perhaps because the handwriting now is difficult. Hard to accept
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Speaker 1: or hard to read. I pray that you administer in
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Speaker 1: a very special way to those who are struggling. Coming
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Speaker 1: to terms with your right to rule over them. Get
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Speaker 1: glory to yourself as a result of whatever is occurring.
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Speaker 1: And may your name. Be lifted up, almighty, sovereign God.
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Speaker 1: Through Christ, we pray. Amen.
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Speaker 3: The preceding message, Another Deep Mystery, God's Sovereignty, was copyrighted
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Speaker 3: in 1987, 1988, 1994, 2000, and 2024. And the sound
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Speaker 3: recording was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R. Swindoll, Incorporated.
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Speaker 3: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
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Speaker 3: commercial use is strictly prohibited.