The Lord continues to lead us in our worship this morning, and now it's the peace offering where the animal would be slaughtered, but the body would be returned to the worshiper who would bring it home to his house where they would invite the priest, the local priest, and they would have a fellowship meal symbolizing that peace between God and man has been restored. Listen to the call this morning, Psalm 33, and the call for us now to not offer another lamb, but to worship in light of the Lamb of God. Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in him. rejoicing his fellowship, brothers and sisters, it's feeding upon the word of God, it's hearing the glorious promises he's given us, it's being encouraged, it's being rebuked, it's being laid low and humbled, and it's returning to our Lord and Savior as the basis upon which we live, move, breathe, and pray. So brothers and sisters, let's come to the Lord now through the calling of God, through the example of the psalmist, and let's fellowship. Turn with me if you would in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 5 and in your notes as well. Please turn there and locate those notes and use them and follow along. Take notes and fellowship with Christ. I'll be reading verses 8 through 11, the text that we're currently on. Peter here is giving his final charge, his final word, as I've written it here, the final word to the people of God as they were going into battle, the battle of suffering and persecution and trial. And so this is his final word. And we've looked at two points already. We're in the middle of a third, and that word revolves around understanding that earthly suffering is basically from God and learning about it. So listen further to that as we close up our study of 8 through 11. This is God's word, the word of our King. Let me invite you to stand together with me as we read it. Hear now the word of our Lord. Be of sober spirit. Be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you to him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. Let's pray. Father, what a delight and joy it is to gather here around your word with the anticipation of fellowshipping with you, Lord Jesus. God, we pray, open our eyes. We pray, O Lord, show us your glory that we might behold and be fed and filled and refreshed in Jesus Christ. God, give me grace to preach your word with fidelity. That Lord truly, as we leave here, we leave here not saying, what a song or what a this, but what a God, what a salvation, what a Lord. Oh God, give us the grace to serve you on the peaks and in the valleys. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated. Some of you know, back in 2008, I had back surgery. I'd been working on a herniated disc for a couple years. Through an MRI, I discovered I was 40% prolapsed, so 40% of my disc was in my spinal column, wherever it was, or, you know, pushing against the nerve. And through therapy and core strengthening, the orthopedic surgeon said it would reabsorb. Well, one day I was given a An anonymous gift to go to a specific doctor who had a machine that I could use to help absorb that disc, but he had to manipulate my spine first. That was the condition. And in the process of manipulating my spine, my 40% prolapsed disc became a 90% prolapsed disc. And I was in the worst pain of my life. So we went back to the orthopedic doctor, and he went, 90 break, what in the world did you do? And I didn't tell him because I was embarrassed. Went to surgery, pre-op, went to the room, got the dress on. And I don't guys, I don't know about you, I may be the only one here, but I've got a problem with pain, I really do. So I was not looking forward to any of this. I'm laying there really nervous and uptight, and every medical professional came in. Before they touched me, they explained to me what they were going to do. I'm going to grab your arm, take this massive knife. I'm teasing. I'll take this needle. I'm going to jam it up into that vein of yours. But they didn't use that language. They said, I'm going to gently. And I'll tell you what. I look back upon that time in that pre-op room with three or four different doctors who came in, nurses and medical personnel. And I look back, and it was easy peasy. It really was. I look back upon that as, wow, it was painless, relatively speaking. It was not a big deal in comparison to the pain I was in with my back. It was wonderful. Why was it so? I know it's because they let me know what they were going to do beforehand. And I think, in part, that is why Peter has now addressed suffering 13 different times up to verse 9. in this epistle. This epistle is written, as you know, during the Neronian persecution. It's heated up and so a major theme of this letter is suffering. But yet he comes here to this, and no doubt he stresses it again to let us know the beauty and the glory that awaits us so that we know what's in front of us. As Christ told his disciples in John 14, and now I've told you beforehand, before it comes to pass, that when it comes to pass, you may believe. So don't be surprised, don't be shocked. In essence, it's Peter's message. However, if there's a difference between his message here and the rest of this epistle is he gives us in this passage God's perspective on suffering. He's talked about our perspective, you know, beloved and not be surprised, your eye, et cetera, et cetera, from the worldly sense. There's a lion, a prowling lion seeking to devour you. But now he comes and give us God's perspective of suffering. And we've seen now three different truths from last week. One, earthly suffering is not unique to people. We all suffer. Secondly, it's not eternal. There is a limit to it for Christians on this side of the grave. And lastly, it's not without divine aid. God is there. He himself draws near and tends to us. But that's where we ended last week. This morning, let's pick it up in verse 10b and or 10c, looking at, fourthly, earthly suffering, which you notice, is not truly harmful. Notice with me verse 10. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ. And look at that phrase, brothers and sisters. This is the fifth time he's referenced this in this epistle. I've already preached on this topic four times in our study of Peter. This is the fifth time he references the eternal glory that awaits us. What is that eternal glory? Well, brothers and sisters in Scripture, I'm going to review with you briefly. In Scripture, we learn it's a glorious place, and there's this glorious pattern after which we will be glorified. Let's talk about both of those. First, the glorious place. If you have your Bibles, 1 Corinthians 15, you want to turn back there. Do, because I'm going to be spending just a little bit of time. Listen to what the Bible describes this place as being, which is why it is described as glory. 1 Corinthians 15.35, I'll pick it up there. Paul wrote, but someone will say, how are the dead raised and with what kind of body do they come? You know, what is it that awaits us? He says, you fool, that which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And that which you sow, you do not sow the body, which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. Peter here, or Paul here, introduces us with this language of saying, guys, understand, brothers and sisters, that when you die, the body that's placed in the ground is a seed. And you know, a kernel of corn looks a whole lot different than when that corn grows. Right? The kernel looks completely different. And that's what Paul's getting here. First, understand that the eternal state is a whole lot different from what you and I both see, feel, know, taste, touch, and hear on this side of the grave. Now with that introduction, he then launches into his teaching. Notice, skip down to 42. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It's sown a perishable body. Idea beyond that, subject to deterioration, subject to death. It's raised an imperishable body, that's the opposite. Our bodies will not be subject to decay or death or sickness. It's raised, so our glorified state, we will not suffer any kind of deterioration or sickness or death 43, it's sown in dishonor. The word for dishonor carries the idea of we're born in sin, we're under the wrath of God. That's the idea of dishonor. It's raised in glory. We're not in sin anymore. We're not under God's wrath. We are under God's pleasure, His joy, His glory, His glorious delight in us. But beyond that, brothers and sisters, we're sinless. And what that means right now in the Reformation, the language was, we are simultaneously just and sinful. Simul justis et precator, right? Just and sinful. In glory, we will be just in both our position and our practice. Perfect before God. Notice. It's sown in weakness. It's speaking of the fact that our bodies are so fragile, so weak. You know, if you're driving 30 miles per hour, that is a fatal crash. 30 miles an hour typically is a fatal crash. Now, if you drive 30 miles an hour and just feel how slow it seems in a car. We are so fragile. On top of that, we're so unable to do what we want to do. Romans 7, that's not just morally, but even physically, right? One of the marks of being a 50-year-old, do you guys know this? Is you have to just simply walk to get injured. Right? You'd be walking, go, whoa, ow. And now you're limping for two weeks. That's a 50-year-old. Okay? That's how weakness is, right? It's sown in weakness, but would you notice it's raised in power. You know what that means? We have, not only do we, are we no longer weak, no longer are we fragile. Whatever we do there, we will never be damaged in glory. But secondly, everything we want to do, we'll be able to do. That's the idea behind raised in power. Anything we want to do physically, we'll be able to do. You mean we will be able to jump off a high rise and land on our heads and not die? I don't know anyone who'd want to do that. So you're not going to do that, but whatever you want to do, you'll be able to do by grace. Incredible. Notice it's sown a natural body. We'll define this in a moment. It's raised a spiritual body, the word in the Greek, a pneumatikos body. Now, this is where I want to go to. Skip down, down to verse 47. Pauline has a lot to say, and then he now gets back to the main point, verse 47. For the first man is from earth. What's an earthly body? What's a pneumatikos? What's a spiritual body? That possibly raises the question, the possibility that in heaven we're disembodied spirits. We're not physical. We're simply spiritual, and that is wrong. Paul explains that in 47. The first man is from the earth. Earthly, the second man is from heaven, as is the earth, as is the earthy, so also are those who are earthly. What he means by that is this. When God made our bodies, he made our bodies, our physical bodies, to fit the world in which we would live. Right? If we were watery instead of earthly, if we were watery, we'd have lungs. We probably have our lungs. We have gills. We have fins. We have flippers. But because we live in an oxygen-aided area or world, we have lungs. We don't have fins. We have hands and feet and legs. and we eat, and so we fit the world. God made us, specially designed us, to fit the world in which we would dwell. Well, that's the idea. As of the earthly, so is the earthly. And so is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have born or reflect the image of the earthly, now I can look at you and say, yep, you belong on this earth, you fit in this world, versus think of science fiction and an alien, whoa, that guy's purple, he doesn't fit this world. He has eight arms. He's a biped or whatever, a multi-ped, right? He doesn't fit this world, but we do fit this world as though we have the reflection of the image of the earthly. We shall also bear or reflect the image of the heavenly. In other words, we were going to have a body that's fit to live in the new heavens and the new earth. So that's our glorious place. We're going to live in a place which is completely different. Think of the kernel and the corn. Completely different from what you and I both understand and know now. It'll be a corporeal, it'll be a physical existence, but it won't be like we think now because we're in a state of sin, And we're in a state where the the earth is groaning because it's subject to futility and we're in decay. Death has descended. Brothers and sisters, you look at a sunrise and go, oh, they're so beautiful. Do you understand that is a sunrise that you're calling beautiful in a fallen world? Imagine what it's going to be like in glory, an unfallen world. Okay, so that's where we're going, but this text says more. Would you notice it says, we have been called to his, to God's eternal glory. You know what that tells us? Not only will it be a glorious place, but the pattern after which we ourselves, our bodies shall conform is God himself. You go, explain that, 1 John 3.2. John does. He says, Beloved, now we are children of God. It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him face to face. John says that we in the glory, when we have our glorified body, are going to look like Jesus Christ. Let me ask you something. What does Jesus Christ look like? Most of you are going to think of all of the earthly descriptions of Christ, and I don't mean physical, but what we see in the Gospels. You've got to go to Revelation 1 to see what Jesus Christ looks like today. And that's what we're going to look like. So brothers and sisters, notice this incredible point. That's what awaits us in God. Everyone in Christ, that's what awaits you. It's a certainty. Now notice the text. He says, we've been called to this eternal glory in Christ. to His eternal glory. We've been called. Now we're going to talk about this in one moment, but that calling is the calling of a divine king. the King of kings and Lord of lords, nothing on this earth can thwart what we just read, what we just saw, what we just studied, nothing. If you are in Christ, no suffering, no difficulty, no injury, both physical, emotional, psychological, none of that will keep you from what awaits you in Christ. So ultimately, we can say with Paul, suffering is momentary and light. It's not ultimately harmful. Yes, temporally it hurts. It doesn't feel good. But in the end, man, oh man, look what we have in God. Wow. So fourthly, we learn from this text, brothers and sisters, earthly suffering is not truly harmful. Yes, it might physically damage us, and yes, it might hurt us mentally and emotionally. Of course, there's scarring there. But let me tell you something, you will not spend eternity scarred. You will be made whole and complete in God, which makes the physical sufferings, the emotional and mental struggles of this life, they will seem at that moment momentary and light. Now, you might from this conclude, therefore they're worthless, right? I mean, we don't have to worry about suffering. It's just nothing. We can be stoics and say it's not a big deal. Pain and suffering, don't worry about it. Brothers and sisters, not only is suffering not something that can ultimately hurt us or truly be harmful to us, but fifthly, would you notice earthly suffering is not worthless. It's not worthless. We're not stoics. Okay, there is a purpose behind the madness. Would you notice with me finally 10 C or D. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who calls you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself, notice, perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. It's the most amazing thing. I'm gonna argue from the greatest to the least, okay. If God can take the greatest assault against himself, the cross. Satan's greatest moment, Revelation 12, Satan hates Christ, and that's what he's ultimately after. He's not after us, he's after Christ, and therefore he's after us, not trusting him, loving him, accusing him, slandering him, because he can't get to Christ anymore. Read Revelation 12. He can't get to Jesus, so he turned his focus upon us. But his ultimate objective is Christ, and that is why when Christ was on this earth, he was constantly assailed. We read about it in Matthew 4 and other such verses where Christ is in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. But that's not the only time. Do you know Satan attended the Last Supper? He inhabited Judas. When Judas left, so did Satan. But brothers and sisters, Satan was there. Satan was there at the cross. Satan was there in the garden. Satan was alive and well attacking Jesus Christ. And yet, you know what God did at that moment of Satan's glorious hour? He used that to redeem his people back to himself. Amazing. I mean, you talk about incredible God. He took the worst that Satan could throw at man and transformed it into the most glorious act of redemption imaginable. And if God can do that at Calvary, what can he do with physical suffering? What can he do in your life with difficulties, mentally, emotionally, physically? What can he do, brothers and sisters? If he can do that at Calvary, what can he do? Well, you know what he can do? He can do at least four things and a whole lot more, but the text here says four. Notice, he himself will perfect us. The word for protect there, you've got the definition. No, you don't, okay? Online, they got the definition, but you don't here, okay? What does it mean? So I'll read more of my notes. I was gonna summarize. It speaks of bringing something to wholeness, completeness, or maturity. The word is the word for maturity, okay? So God himself is going to use your suffering to mature you by grace, to mature you in grace, to mature you as a child of God, to grow you up. Secondly, he himself will confirm us. The word for confirm, sterizzo, means to set fast. So I want you to think in the context of gardening. I was given a little seedling about three years ago, maybe, from the greenages of an autumn blaze maple. And now it's a lot bigger than that, but it's still in a tub. And this spring we plan on planting it. Well, an autumn blaze, it's still weak, it's still small, is going to be a tree with a caliper of two feet, three feet, a massive tree. Well, when I transplant that tree and that tree becomes this massive tree, immovable, you just have the word confirm. It means to be planted in a place where you can't be moved. So God not only is going to use trial to mature you, but he's going to make you steadfast in Christ. He's going to make your life in Christ firm. Think about it. The more that a tree gets beat up, the stronger it gets. Trees in place with a lot of wind become a very, very strong wood. That's what makes them firm. Roots really firm. That's the idea here to be confirmed. He will perfect us through the trial. He will confirm us through the trial. However, autumn blazes, interesting. You know, autumn blazes, if you've ever seen them, they're beautiful fall trees. They line the street at the banks. Have you ever been at the banks in the fall? Beautiful red trees. But they got a problem, and the problem is, after five years, if you don't supplement iron in the soil, they become really, really, their leaves are not green, they're yellow. Now, they're healthy, but they're not. This three-foot caliper tree, which no wind could ever move, right? Solid tree is not necessarily vigorous. That's the third word. Strengthen us. Stenao means to make us sturdy and speaks of vigor, vitality, and strength. So not only will God mature you, not only through the trial is he going to make you steadfast in grace, steadfast in his word, steadfast in his kingdom, but you're not going to be this strong, solid weakling. You're going to be a strong, solid, healthy, vibrant individual. That's the idea. From these four words we get perseverance of the saints. A lot of people think it's one saved, always saved. That is so wrong. Yeah, I mean, at a most fundamental level, sure. But perseverance of the saints is that you're going to thrive, Christian. You're not going to be saved by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin. You're going to thrive by grace. You're going to grow in God. That's what God does with suffering. And then he ends with this last word. And that is, he will establish us. And this word basically speaks of perseverance. It means to lay a foundation, and so it's translated as found or established or from the place. The other three things are going to make us so that we persevere. He's not going to establish us, make us look green for a couple years, only to then diminish later. No, through trial, hear this, through trial, God establishes us. He makes our faith for the long haul. So Peter says, brothers and sisters, you've got to understand, yeah, you're going through a horrible time, but see it from God's perspective. God is not doing things in this life motivated by what is good for you temporally. God is doing things in this life motivated by what is best for you eternally. That's what God's after. And that's what we're after. But we confuse that oftentimes with temporal pleasure. God, I want a happy life. I want an easy life. And God says, hold on. In glory, you'll have a happy life and an easy life and a whole lot more. And that's where all those prayers will be answered. But we say, oh no, Lord, I want it now. And God said, well, the only way you're going to get that now is through the furnace. And so we read glorious promise on 149, 4. The Lord takes pleasure in his people. He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. Great memory verse. The Lord takes pleasure in his people. You know how I know that? Because the psalmist says, because he beautifies the afflicted with salvation. What's salvation? Well, not just justification, but the order of salvation, the order of solidus. All of it, including your sanctification, including your perseverance, including your love for God, and ultimately glorification. He beautifies us. He makes us such beautiful brides prepared for the wedding feast of the Lamb through affliction. And he does that because he takes pleasure in you. He loves you, Christian. We oftentimes think, man, God's doing this because we hear Satan or we hear his demons saying, man, if, you know what, if you had a child and you beat up that child constantly, it would be clear you wouldn't care about that child. So you're going through trial and it's longer than you want. That's the key. It's longer than you care to endure. That must be a conclusion that God doesn't love you. And yet, go back to 1 Peter 5, verse 7, casting all your anxieties upon him because he cares for you. Brothers and sisters, it's because God cares for you, he's not gonna let you go. He loves ya. He cares for you. He takes pleasure in you. And so He's going to make you fit, equipped for glory. And what does that look like? Confirming us, strengthening us, establishing us, maturing us unto His glory and praise. What's our response to this? Family of God, please get this. Set this up in your minds as this massive truth. What is your response? What is the biblical response to suffering on the part of a Christian? What is it? The answer is James 1, 2 through 4, James 5, 3 through 4, a couple of them, many more verses, but let me read them. Consider all joy, my brother, when you encounter various trials. knowing that the testing of faith produces endurance. So one would be to say, I praise God, I'm not an orphan. Hebrews 12. Because God loves me, he disciplines me. And that typically is in the form of things that are not pleasant, like suffering, want, not getting what we want, et cetera. So one is, thank you, God, that you love me so much that you're not going to let me go, joy. But then would you notice, and let endurance have its perfect result. What is that? Listen to that verse again. You're not there, I would guess. And let endurance have its perfect result. What does that mean? You know what that means? Wait a second. God says, through the trial, he's going to give me endurance. He's going to give me maturation. He's going to make me steadfast. And here James says, let endurance have its perfect result. You know what that's called? It's called a passive imperative. It's like be spirit-filled. You can do nothing to be spirit-filled. It's something God has to do in you. Right? Be spirit-filled. But it's a command. How do you do that? Well, you respond. In essence, it's a command of response. It's a command that comes into place in response to something God has done. In the sense of being spirit-filled, his word. Respond to it. Okay? That's to be spirit-filled. Respond to what God's word says with love and obedience and faith and comfort and trust and da-da-da-da. Well, in suffering, how do you let endurance have its perfect result? You work with the trial so that it might produce in us, it might perfect us, confirm us, establish us, and enable us to grow. We work with the trial, in essence, allowing this train, careening down the tracks. You can't stop it, but you can direct it. You direct the trial in your own life to the place of trust, to the place of love, to the place of devotion, to the place of reliance. If you don't actively do that, guess what's going to happen? Trial or difficulty in your life will be met with your flesh. and you'll direct that trial with anger, and bitterness, and frustration, and heartache. You'll become a bitter, frail Christian who's been beat up enough times where you go, I don't know guys, but when I get to glory, I can't wait to give God a piece of my mind. Because he took my kid, and he took my health, and he took my job, and he's done so many mean things to me. Brothers and sisters, when you hear that, pray for them, love them, care for them, but understand, that is someone who did not actively work with the labor pains. That's someone who was a passive recipient and responded in the flesh. Every moment that you live in want, or struggle, or frustration, whether it be an election, whether it be a pandemic. No matter what it is, every moment you live under that, that you respond in the flesh, you are sowing to the flesh. But every time you respond with trust in God, hope in God, let this make me hungry and thirst for God, you are doing exactly what the scriptures say. Let endurance have its perfect result, Romans 5. Not only this, we also exalt in our tribulations. What does it mean to exalt? It doesn't mean you say, you know, clap your hands, woohoo, I'm in pain. No, it means that you take the tribulation and you use it for God's intended purpose. That, brothers and sisters. is how you respond. So would you notice earthly suffering is not truly harmful, but it's not worthless. That is a glorious moment in your walk with God where you can grow leaps and bounds if you'll work with it. But how many Christians across the globe right now are not working with COVID, and not working with the presidential election, and not working with this crisis and that crisis, but allowing them to just get embittered? Why are they doing that? Because they don't understand that they have a role in suffering. You know what the Puritans called this? They called it improving upon your suffering. It's a glorious statement or a title. They called during the Reformation while they're being persecuted and hunted down and massacred. They told their body, improve upon your suffering. That's your calling in scripture. To take the suffering and allow it to produce in you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and you've got a role in that. If you can, I always think of it in this way. Put yourself outside of yourself, and you're a spiritual coach. I'm thinking football coach, but you're a spiritual coach, okay? You're a coach of Christianity, and you're coaching yourself. What would you say if you're a coach, it's the first week or the second week of practice, and your kids are running around, right? You know, in any sport, you've got to get in shape. And they're running around, and they're like, And they're crying, like I was the coach of my son's team. And there was a kid on our team named Ryan, great little kid, but boy, he'd take a lap and he'd be crying on the way back. What would you do on that? Do you just go, no more laps, guys. No more laps. No, because if you do that, he's going to get in a football game and get hurt. And I'll tell you what, those are genuine tears when you break an arm. Running a lap is just owie type pain. We always had this conversation in football season with little guys, the difference between owies and injuries. An injury is a broken bone. A bruise is an owie. You keep on playing. Running a lap is an owie. It doesn't feel good. But you know what? That year that I was coaching, bless Ryan's little heart or parents or whatever. Maybe I'm just saying that because I'm thinking of Andy Griffith maybe. I don't know. But bless his little heart, his mom would meet him halfway on the way back with a candy bar. That's how she handled Ryan's pain. She met him with a candy bar in the middle of a lap. Now, you can do that. You can go through trial, and as your coach, you can say, oh, you poor Christian. Man, look at all that you suffer. Look at how no one suffers like you and you just sow that flesh. Or you can say, Christian, you have not begun to suffer in comparison to what you deserve because of your sin. But because of God's grace, he is using the trials that would kill to strengthen. So don't you dare go that place. Stop worrying. No. And then you begin counseling. You begin talking to yourself like the psalmists did. Oh soul, why are you cast down? D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, in his book on spiritual depression, has a fantastic chapter about the psalmist is talking to himself. Christians, stop listening to your flesh. Talk to your flesh. No, God is good. No, God is great. No, this will work for his glory. We're to work with it. Sixthly, lastly, would you notice earthly suffering is under God's complete sovereign control. Verse 11. To him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. That amen is a slam dunk. We're going to get to that. I mean, that's like the end of the game. We're winning by 1,000 points. And you know, whoever it is, Michael Jordan at the Olympics comes and does a slam dunk. Just icing on the cake. Man, to him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. What is he saying here? Well, this is the second time he shared this. In his talk on spiritual gifts, 1 Peter 4.11, he ends with, to him belongs the glory and dominion. Glory is a description of praise. To him be praise forever. Dominion is not necessarily, not firstly a description of praise, and a description of praise. Dominion is a declaration of something. Let's define the word dominion. It signifies strength and here denotes God's ability to dominate or rule by which everything in the universe is under his sovereign and unassailable control. That's what it means to him be dominion, to him be the one who rules and reigns supreme ever and always. And so we look in scripture and we see this to be so, but our God is in heaven. He does whatever he pleases, Psalm 115. Proverbs 21, the king's heart is like channels of water in the hands of the Lord. He turns the king's heart whatever way he wishes. God is sovereign, brothers and sisters. God is the one, God's the first cause and always the first cause. Daniel 4, Speaking of God, His dominion is an everlasting dominion. His kingdom endures from generation to generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And no one can ward off His hand or say, no one can slap His hand and say, what have you done? God is the one who reigns supreme. You all know, what is it? Psalm 139.7, where can I go from your presence? You all know that Psalm, right? This statement, to God be the dominion forever and ever, in essence is saying the same question, but it's changing it from where can I go from your presence to where can I go from your rule? Where can I go where you're not ruling, where you're not in charge, where you're not sovereign over the moment? Where can I go to say to him belongs dominion forever and ever answers that saying, there's no place you can go. God is sovereign over all. I've given you a list of 15. It was at 50 at one point. I had four pages of my notes, and I thought there's no way I can get through this. So I whittled it down to 15 select quotes. There's so many more I could give you, but notice with me. God's sovereignty over all. Eli's wicked son did not listen to the father's advice. which would have saved them, quote from scripture, for the Lord desired to put them to death. Why didn't they listen? Because God ordained they wouldn't. King Amaziah of Judah did not heed the warning issued to him by Joash of Israel, for it was from God that he might deliver them into the hand of Joash. The psalmist declares the number of man's days is ordained by God, quote, when as yet there is none of them. He also said the Lord does whatever pleases him in the heavens, on the earth, and the seas, and all its depths. The wise men of Proverbs 16, great chapter. The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Four, the Lord has made everything for his own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil. Nine, the mind of man plans a way, but the Lord directs his steps. 33, the lot is cast into the lap, and it's every decision is from God. Isaiah 45, God declares that it is he, the Lord, who forms and creates darkness, causing peace, and creating calamity. I, the Lord, do all these things. Echoing the same theme, Amos rhetorically queried, when a calamity comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? Solomon made the incredible statement, in the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider God has made the one as well as the other. God ordained it. And perhaps no declaration sums up the attitude of the Old Testament than what we read in Isaiah 40. Surely the nations are like a drop from a bucket. They're regarded as dust on the scales. He weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Skip to 17. Before him all the nations are as nothing. They are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. 22, he sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and its people are like grasshoppers. 23, he brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. When you come to the New Testament, same truth being taught. John traced Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ's divine, to God's divine providence. For this cause, they could not believe For Isaiah said again, he has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart. Jesus said, you did not choose me, but I chose you. Matthew 22, many are called, few are chosen. Peter declared that Christ's death on the cross was in accordance with the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. God ordained that cross. The entire church in Jerusalem affirmed God's sovereignty over life as they prayed, for truly in this city, that was gathered together against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever thy hand and thy purpose predestined to occur. To him be dominion forever and ever." In the Book of Acts, Luke explicitly states that when it comes to salvation of certain Gentiles, as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed, Listen to the glory Paul attributed to God when he wrote, God has chosen the Christian from the beginning for salvation. And that not according to works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which has granted the Christian in Christ Jesus from all eternity. And in 1 Peter 2, 8b, Peter explained why so many stumble over Christ. They stumble because they're disobedient to the word and to this doom they were appointed. Christian, again, we go on and on and on. But you got to see from this small list in Peter's statement here, when he says, to him be dominion forever and ever, he is proclaiming the fact that God is sovereign over all things. He is in charge of all things. He's ordained all things. Where can I go from your presence? is the same as where can I go from your sovereign, upholding, or wise counsel care? I can't flee from God's sovereignty. It's everywhere. He upholds all things by the word of his power. But this also tells us a second thing, and this is the thing that, right now, everything I've said to you, as people who are understanding of the Reformed faith, reading this going, yep, yep, yep, ooh, he missed Genesis 50, 20, yep, yep, oh, he missed this verse, right? Okay, well, I had it, okay, I had 50, I'm down to 15, okay, but what we don't do, we say God is sovereign over all, but we don't realize, as Christians, he's sovereign in. That's what this phrase means. Oh, I can accept God as sovereign. But at this point in my life, in my life where I live, in this miserable part of this world, I'm wondering, where's God? Why isn't God here helping me? See, He's sovereign over all things, but He can't be sovereign in this, because this is horrible. Peter says, Christian, as you face the gallows, as you face being tortured better yet as they would be, as you face being wrapped in cloth, dipped in kerosene, and lit alive in Nero's garden to light his paths. as you would be clothed with lamb wool placed in the arena for wild, hungry lions and tigers and bears, whatever, to come out and get you. As you're suffering these things, you've got to understand with confidence, this is what makes us meek, strength under our control. We're not weak. We have meekness. We're strong because we know God is sovereign. In this event too, So we can say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I'm not going to bow the knee to your silly idol because my God whom we serve is able to deliver us and he will deliver us. Look at the second coming, look at when I die. But even if he does not temporally, let it be known to you that we will not worship your idols. Daniel 4.35. Brothers and sisters are beyond. It's not Daniel 4. I forget. Brothers and sisters, we've got that confidence when you understand God is sovereign, not just over all things, but he's sovereign in all things. Listen to Isaiah 43, 1B through 3, and we'll read a quote and we'll be done. God tells us in Isaiah 43, But now thus says the Lord, your creator, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel, the sovereign Lord, do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. Imagine standing on a scaffold with that confidence that God called me by name and I am fully his. Nothing they do to me in the next 20 minutes can touch me. I am God. I belong to God. When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you. And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. We go through trial and we say God is sovereign over all things, but if he's sovereign in all things, then he's not a good God. Brothers and sisters, as we wrap this up, I want you to look at 1 Peter 5 verse 7 one more time. Cast your anxieties upon him because this sovereign God cares intimately for you. Wow. With that, Spurgeon wrote these closing words. Going to prison with Christ will bring us into the palace with Christ. Smarting with Christ will bring us into reigning with Christ. Being ridiculed and slandered and despised for Christ's sake will bring us to be sharers of his honor and glory and immortality. Who would not be with Christ in his humiliation? if this is the guarantee that we shall be with Him in His glory. Look at the text. He's called you to His eternal glory. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. In every situation and all of life, God reigns. Amen. Let's pray. Father, what a delight to feast along with brothers and sisters from generations past who faced severe recrimination for being servants of you. But to feast along with them on such words as are these, this banquet that is before us in your word. God, give us the grace, every one of us, to responsibly respond by, as the psalmist does, talking to himself, correcting his faulty thoughts. No, that's not right, because this passage says this. No, that's not right. God cares for me. God, give us the grace to indeed realize that all that we go through is not worthless, but you have divinely selected it because your glory, your will, and your purpose is to bring us to enjoy you, to be thrilled with you, to make much of Christ and little of ourselves in life and in death. God, so give us a greater love for you, God. May the trials as we work with him soften us as we age. Father, it's so sad to me to see so mean and restrictive and unbending older Christians. God, may Bethel be filled with soft, supple, tender believers who've walked with you for 50 years and just love you and weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. Lord, do that work of grace as we see that yet again, this divine, glorious picture, commentary on our suffering. May we receive a God, and may it strengthen us, encourage us, and enable us to trust you more. We pray in Jesus' name.