God Is an Absolute Sovereign

In this part of the sermon: Martin opens with an analogy of the Mayflower's ballast barrels, explaining that believers need foundational truths as spiritual ballast and life-giving water for the 'uncharted…

The pilgrim's use of barrels for drinking water and then for ballast on the Mayflower is used as an analogy for the essential truths believers need in their souls for spiritual life and stability in the 'uncharted sea' of the coming year.

I know that some of you have had the privilege of visiting Plymouth, Massachusetts, and you have seen the replica of the kind of town that our pilgrim forefathers built and in which they lived in the 1600s after arriving on these shores from Great Britain. And most likely, those of you who have been to Plymouth went aboard the Mayflower II, an exact replica built from the very original plans, the original drawings of the Mayflower I. And if you did a thorough tour of that ship with a guide or on your own, you went down into the belly of that ship, and there you saw a strange sight. You would h...

0:00 - 1:25 Read in full sermon

Driving home: None can stay His hand, literally strike His hand, when God stretches out His hand to do what His decree has purposed. Who can slap God's hand and say, hands off?

The story of King Nebuchadnezzar's pride, madness, and eventual restoration is used to illustrate God's humbling of those who think they are sovereign and His ultimate control over all inhabitants of the earth.

And there are text upon text in Scripture that cover the whole gamut. And I want you to just look at several with me here. There is that well-known statement in Daniel 4 and verse 35, covers activity in heaven and upon earth, spoken by a king who thought that he was an absolute sovereign. He walks by the grandeur of his Babylonian kingdom and he swells with pride and spreads his peacock-like feathers in his soul.

18:11 - 18:50 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin provides sweeping biblical declarations of God's sovereignty, including Daniel 4:35 (over heaven and earth), Isaiah 46:9-11 (declaring the end from the beginning), Psalm…

The explanation of a snowstorm by meteorologists is contrasted with the biblical understanding that God ultimately causes vapors to ascend and brings forth wind, demonstrating His specific sovereignty over natural elements.

God says it is in My heart to do it and I will accomplish what I purpose to do. And then you have the ordering of the elements. Why did we get dumped with that pile of snow? Well, the meteorologist on channel 2 and 4 and 5 and 7 and 9 will say because there was a moist weather system forming down off the Carolina coast and because of the movement of the jet stream, etc.

22:57 - 23:24 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin provides sweeping biblical declarations of God's sovereignty, including Daniel 4:35 (over heaven and earth), Isaiah 46:9-11 (declaring the end from the beginning), Psalm…

The seemingly insignificant event of a bird hitting a window and dying is used to illustrate God's minute sovereignty over all things, arguing that if God is not sovereign over this, He is not sovereign over anything.

God is imminent and active in the exercise of His absolute sovereignty in His world. The expansive statement of Daniel, the sweeping declaration of Isaiah, the ordering of the elements, right down to that little bird that is flying and thinks your picture window is open space. And he hits it, breaks his neck, and falls dead in your shrubs. Where was God?

26:04 - 26:36 Read in full sermon

The point: In the face of a dread diagnosis or darkest providence, remember that God was not vacating His throne; He is either there or nowhere.

Martin shares his personal experience of preaching on God's sovereignty over nature and then receiving a cancer diagnosis three months later, using it to illustrate the need for this truth in the face of crushing personal providences.

And I said, what are you going to do? And you go to the doctor and you've had that biopsy. A few days later you hear the dread C word. Little did I know that three months later I would have the biopsy and I would hear the C word.

39:32 - 39:48 Read in full sermon

The point: In the face of a dread diagnosis or darkest providence, remember that God was not vacating His throne; He is either there or nowhere.

Job's response to the death of his ten children and loss of wealth ('The Lord gives, the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord') is used as an example of submission in the face of crushing providences, rooted in God's sovereignty.

Child of God, this has got to touch you at the deepest level of the darkest providence that may break upon you in the coming year. Or you're never going to sit with Job. Ten kids dead in a day. All your accumulated wealth gone in a day.

40:18 - 40:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Let the truth that God is on His throne as absolute sovereign and Christ shares that throne as administrator become the stuff in the barrel of your soul as you face the coming year.

An anecdote about a janitor who, when asked about the book of Revelation, simply stated, 'There's a war, and Jesus is going to win,' is used to convey the core message of Christ's ultimate victory and the certainty of the consummation.

I want to close with this simple incident that I read in a book that I hope a number of you will get.

63:57 - 64:02 Read in full sermon