There is one God, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
He is wholly perfect, breathtakingly good, and He is the sovereign almighty Creator and Sustainer of all things.
Last time we looked at the truth that God is good. So exceedingly good. And because He is good, He does good. Everything He makes and does is good. Even the things that don’t seem good, or feel good - God is somehow working all those things together for good. Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. This dovetails with the truth we consider today, that God is sovereign: He is in complete control of everything in the universe. He possesses unlimited power and authority as well as the infinite wisdom and knowledge to wield it, to work all those things for good.
He IS all-powerful (omnipotent). How much power does He have? He has the power to bring [dust] to life, to bring the dead back to life, to form and fire up 200 billion trillion [stars] with a word. 2 words, actually. And He could turn 'em all off again…[snap]. Limitless. Jer 10:12 It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. Eph 3:20 God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by His power that is working in us.
And yes, He is all-knowing (omniscient). He knows all things. He sees all. He sees every thing I do. He knows every thought and intent of my heart. He knows what I am going to say even before I say it. Job 31:4 “Does He not see my ways and number all my steps? [an estimated 216million steps in a person's lifetime]. Hebrews 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. 1Chronicles 28:9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. Psalm 139:4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all. The word is prescient. God knows everything that will happen, and Tozer suggests He even knows everything that could happen!
But wait - there's more! The sovereign God of the universe sustains my very life. Job 33:4 “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” He watches over me, over you. He cares about me and you. Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”
What’s more, He has a plan for my life. A good plan, full of wonder. Psalm 139:16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” Unlike me. Left to my own devices, I don’t make the best choices. Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Numbers 15:39 “It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot.” [The Hebrew word for tassel is tzitzit - these were special devices to help people remember important things, and they were often dyed a shade of blue, which was very costly to produce and became a precious commodity in that ancient Near Eastern culture*].
We all need tzitzits, tassels - reminders. Constant reminders. We need help. We need a Helper, one to rescue us from our very selves. And the all-knowing almighty sovereign God Who made the universe AND me, He stands ready to help me. Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
This all-mighty God Who knows all, He knows my heart (He made it in fact), and though He possesses all power, including the power to form my heart and cause it to beat and pump life-giving blood throughout my entire body, He never forces my heart. Psalm 33:13-15 The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; from His dwelling place He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works. Deuteronomy 5:29 “Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!” Joshua 24:15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Deuteronomy 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.
He gives us a choice. It’s a divine wondrous mystery, the sovereign all-powerful God, He created and is in control of the entire universe, including you and me, and yet somehow still gives us a choice. And He uses all 66 books of [this Book], His Word, to convince us to choose Him. To follow Him. And it should be a slam dunk no-brainer. Because…
Last time we looked at the truth that God is good. He is sooooo good. And like everything else about Him, His goodness is superlative. Good, better, best. He is the best. And 2nd place isn’t even close [Paul calls it manure]. God is so exceedingly good as to be incomparably better. Better than anything or anyone. God is better than ________. Anything you or I might care to write in that space, God is better than that. And if we have difficulty swallowing this truth, if we choke on this truth, we have yet to truly [...taste and see that the LORD is good. Psalm 34:8]. Psalm 63:3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You. Psalm 84:10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. Philippians 1:23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for [that is] very much better. He is so exceedingly incomparably better, that He deserves first place in everything. In our hearts, in our lives, in all we do. Our love for Him exceeds all other loves. It makes other loves look like hate [altho it is not license TO hate]. Our devotion to Him trumps all other loyalties. Or should. They pale in comparison.
He is way better. His ways are way better. What He wants is way better than what I think I want. Ephesians 5:17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord wants. James 4:15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” Mark 14:36 And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I want, but what You want.” His way, what He wants might seem crazy. It might fly in the face of what I think I want. The opposite of what I feel. Counter-intuitive, counter-culture. In the words of Robert Frost, "two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference".
The LIE comes in and says, I am the center of the universe. I am most important. What I want, what I feel, comes first. That’s a lie. Too much navel-gazing. And it betrays us into settling for so many lesser loves, counterfeit joys [as C.S. Lewis puts it, choosing to make mud pies in a slum instead of opting for a holiday at the beach]. I.e. it’s not a failure of our pleasure mechanism. One look at the Starbucks drive-thru lines will confirm that. It’s not that our spiritual tastebuds are malfunctioning. We opt for lesser counterfeit joys because we just haven’t gotten a real taste of how good God really is.
We struggle here because we fail to see the Lord, how much better He really is. But He comes first. Pre-eminent! What He wants comes first. Such that the chief end of man then becomes to glorify God and [by] enjoy[ing] Him forever. We glorify something, we show how good it is BY enjoying it. 1Corinthians 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1Peter 1:8 And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Our greatest joy, our best life, is found right in the middle of what God wants, because He is what we really want… May He grant us the grace today to get a real good taste of how good He really is, a real good glimpse of how great He really is, and to trust and enjoy Him more fully in all that concerns us. He is better, He is worthy, and He's got this.
*At any rate the best and [Vol. 2, p. 970] costliest ancient dyes were the blues and violets and purples that were made from the secretions of various mollusks (primarily Murex brandaris and Murex trunculus) that swarm in the coastal waters of the eastern Mediterranean, particuarly near Sidon and Tyre (whence “Tyrian purple”) but also near Elishah (probably Cyprus). David Jacoby remarks that "twelve thousand snails of Murex brandaris yield no more than 1.4 g of pure dye, enough to colour only the trim of a single garment.”
Reminders: Tassels and cords and forehead bands, annual Feasts, holy days, rituals, memorials - Holy Spirit! [Jn 14.26]
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