See a Vision of God’s Sovereignty and Worship Him for His Sovereignty and Mercy

As believers in Christ, it is crucial for us to see a vision of God’s sovereignty and His mercy so that we may realize that He is the sovereign One working behind the scenes, He is the One above everything, in everything, and behind everything to show us mercy to make us vessels of mercy unto honour and glory. God is sovereign.

We need to see this.

This week in our deeper study with prayerful consideration of Living in the Reality of the Kingdom of God, we come to the topic of, Living under the Sovereignty of God and according to the Mercy of God.

Thank the Lord for His sovereignty. We praise Him for His sovereignty.

This has nothing to do with us, that is, we cannot influence it or change it; God simply is sovereign.

We need to open to the Lord and ask Him to show us a vision of His sovereignty and we need to live under His sovereignty today.

We want to see what is on God’s heart and simply submit ourselves to Him, for He will carry out what He desires, whether we want to cooperate or not.

May we open to the Lord daily, coming to Him in prayer and in His word, so that He may shine on us, impress us with what is on His heart, and cause us to see His sovereignty in all things.

We want to live a life for the building up of the church as the kingdom of God.

It is of His mercy that we are here. It is of His sovereignty that we have seen something of His economy and we are in the church life in the Lord’s recovery.

We are not where we are merely because of our seeking after the Lord and our zeal for Him; all these amount to nothing – God is sovereign.

Even before we were born, He chose us, He predestinated us, and in His sovereignty, He arranged all things for us, around us, and in us.

And whether we like it or not, even our character is arranged by God in His sovereignty, and we can only praise and worship Him for that.

May the Lord enlighten us to see the matter of God’s sovereignty and God’s mercy, and may we live in His sovereignty and under His mercy today.

May we not think that we know that God is sovereign and therefore miss what it really means; may we come to the Lord so that He may enlighten us in this matter, opening the heavens to us to show us what is God’s sovereignty and how we can live under His mercy today.

The sovereignty of God implies His throne, His authority, and His absolute rule; may the Lord cause us to see His sovereignty and live one spirit with the Lord today.

It is Crucial that we See a Vision of God’s Sovereignty: His unlimited Authority, Power, and Position

On one hand, we need to read the Bible and study it so that we may be renewed in our mind and know what the Lord wants from us.

On the other hand, we’re not here merely for some kind of a Bible study, or collecting Scriptural knowledge; we are here to see God and what He is. God is sovereign.

We need to see a vision of God’s sovereignty (Dan. 4:3, 34-35; Rom. 9:18-23).

His sovereignty relates to His ruling, and His ruling is a matter of the kingdom; for us to be a people living in the reality of the kingdom of God, we need to see God’s sovereignty.

Sovereignty refers to God’s unlimited authority, power, and position (Rev. 4:11; 5:13).

Because of His will all things were and were created; He has absolute and unlimited authority, power, and position in this universe.

There is nothing and no one that can limit God’s unlimited authority, power, and position.

He is looking for man to cooperate with Him in the bringing in of the reality of the kingdom; however, God is God, and we as men need to see a vision of God’s sovereignty.

It may seem to us that the situation outwardly is so poor, desolate, and full of degradation, and we are so weak, frail, and full of limitations, but God is sovereign.

He has the highest authority.

He has the utmost power. God has the utmost standing in the whole universe.

There is no God besides our God. Isa. 45:5 says, I am Jehovah and there is no one else beside Me. Besides God, there is NO OTHER God.

God has an enemy, who is very much interested in overthrowing God’s authority; as seen in Isa. 14:13, Lucifer demonstrated that he intended to violate God’s sovereignty. He wanted to exalt his throne above God’s throne.

This rebel and usurper has come with a very specific intention – to violate God’s sovereignty and make himself like the Most High, and in doing so, to bring God and His throne down.

Though it may seem that Satan is prevailing today in human society, in human history, and even in church history, we know how the story ends: in Rev. 22:3 there is the throne of God and of the Lamb, and Satan is cast in the lake of fire. Praise the Lord!

The throne of God and of the Lamb is one of the blessings that we as God’s redeemed will enjoy for eternity!

We will no longer suffer any curse: the throne will be our eternal portion.

Today we need to see a vision of God’s sovereignty, and we need to realize that God’s sovereignty rules over everything.

Today in the situation among men and among the nations it is full of confusion, calamity, and problems because man refuses to acknowledge God’s throne.

May we clearly see that God is sovereign, He has a throne, and He is interested in obtaining a people who will honour Him as the Man on the throne.

How can we apply God’s sovereignty to our situation?

It is not only when we lose our job that we can see God’s sovereignty or when we suffer some difficult situations that we need to acknowledge it.

Yes, God is sovereign when something good or when something difficult happens to us, but this may be a superficial understanding of God’s sovereignty.

When we are persecuted, God is sovereign. In all things, God is sovereign.

We need to pray to see a vision of God’s sovereignty.

As the sovereign One, God is above everything, behind everything, and in everything (1 Kings 22:19).

He has the full capacity to carry out what He wants according to the desire of His heart and according to His eternal economy (Dan. 4:34-35; Eph. 1:4-5, 9-11).

In Daniel 4 we see that the king of Babylon learned the hard way to see the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens.

Satan was there, for Nebuchadnezzar wanted to exalt his throne and was proud of what he has accomplished.

This he did even after he was warned by God, through a dream, that God is the Most High and He gives the kingdom to whomever He wills, if he humbles himself.

But if he didn’t humble himself, God will drive him out from among mankind to eat with the beasts of the field, and there shall he dwell, until he comes to know that the Most High is the Ruler over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills.

Even though Nebuchadnezzar had this dream and was warned by God, he did not humble himself but rather, he became proud of what he had and what he had achieved, so the Lord had a way to humble him.

He looked at all that he had and became proud, thinking that it was because of his power and for his glory and majesty he has done all this.

So he was driven out for a period of time, until, as Dan. 4:33-35 says, he blessed the Most High, praising and honouring the ever-living One, for His dominion is an eternal dominion.

He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and there’s no one who can say to Him, What are You doing? Wow!

God is sovereign. May we see a vision of God’s sovereignty. May we open to Him and be honest with Him,

Lord Jesus, we love You and we open to You! Grant us to see a vision of God’s sovereignty. May we realize that God is sovereign not only in the good things that happen in our life but even more, He is sovereign in the sufferings we have, the persecution we endure, and the difficult things we go through. Oh Lord, may we see a vision of Your sovereignty. May we realize that God is the Most High, the ever-living One, and His dominion is an eternal dominion! May we clearly see that God does whatever He wills both in heaven and on earth, and we cannot tell Him, What are You doing? Amen, Lord Jesus, may we realize that God has unlimited power, authority, and position, and He does all things according to the counsel of His will. We say Amen to Your will. We join ourselves to You, Lord, and we humble ourselves before You. We are nothing, but You are sovereign. It is of Your sovereignty that we are here, getting to know what You are and what You do. We worship You and we praise You for Your sovereignty!

God is the Potter and we are the Clay: He is Sovereign, and we Worship and Praise Him for His Sovereignty and Mercy!

In the New Testament, there’s a portion Rom. 9:19-23 where Paul speaks of God’s sovereignty.

Who can withstand God and His will? rather, who are we who answer back to God?

Shall the thing molded say to him who molded it, Why did you make me thus? Wow.

We need to realize who we are: we are not sovereign but rather, we are God’s creatures, and He is our Creator (Isa. 42:5).

Yes, we are believers in Christ who have God’s life in them, and we are vessels of mercy unto honor and glory; however, at the same time, we are under God’s sovereignty and He is sovereign over all things.

As God’s creatures, we should not resist His purpose nor should we answer back to Him, the Creator (Rom. 9:20).

A good illustration of this is the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis; he was one who learned to live under God’s sovereignty.

He never argued with God, he never rebelled against God, neither did he express his frustration or dissatisfaction with the terrible situation he was in without any reason or fault of his own.

Unbelievers and believers alike today, however, argue with God concerning the things happening to them, their situation, the people around them, etc.

They ask God to fix this or change that person, and because of their discontent and dissatisfaction with God’s sovereignty, they may get divorced, they may move somewhere else, and they make some decisions that are quite strange.

The seed for Rom. 8:28 is the story of Joseph in the Old Testament.

All things work together for good to those who love God; Joseph was one who loved God, and all things – no matter how negative they were, worked together for good for him for the fulfilment of God’s purpose (Gen. 50:20).

Many times we may encourage one another with Rom. 8:29, and we may not understand why things happen, but we know that all things work together for good for those who love God.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is the spouse of a good brother or sister so mean or troublesome to them?

Why are the children of some good saints so troublesome and naughty? Why does our boss give us a hard time, when we do our job to the best of our ability?

Even though we may be able to explain why these things happen to a certain extent, we need to come to grips with the fact that God is sovereign.

As God, He does what He wants to do. He is the Potter and we are the clay.

Joseph was one who remained under God’s sovereign hand and he did not initiate anything nor did he try to escape the situation he was in.

In his dealings with his brothers, with the Pharaoh, with the Egyptians, and even with his own father, he restrained himself, he remained under God’s sovereignty, and he acknowledged that, even though others did things that were evil to him, God turned it all for good.

He understood that God is sovereign. May we keep ourselves under God’s sovereignty all the time.

May we realize that our daily living, our situation, and all the things around us and even in us are under God’s sovereignty.

God is on the throne. As the clay, we have no authority to do anything; God is the Potter, and He made us the way He wanted to make us, He chose us, and He does things in us and around us.

God is the Potter and we are the clay in His hand; God, the Potter, is sovereign (Jer. 18:1-6).

He decides which vessel is made unto honor and which is made unto dishonour.

If we are not willing to recognize God’s sovereignty, if we don’t see a vision of God’s sovereignty, we will live in a state of frustration, unhappiness, and dissatisfaction.

We may desire for things to be different, to have a different family, a different job, a different house, whatever the case may be.

We may desire the greener grass on the other side of the fence.

But if we realize that God is sovereign, we will really gain the benefit of God Himself.

God chose Jacob but rejected Esau, even though we may not have chosen Jacob but rather Esau; God is sovereign.

Whatever is our situation, whatever are our circumstances and the condition of our human life and in the church life, God is still sovereign.

We need to learn to join ourselves to Him so that we may be one with Him for Him to do in us what He wants to do.

He wants to bring in the kingdom; this is done in His way, in His time, and according to His sovereignty, and we join ourselves to Him.

As the Potter, our God has the absolute right over us; regarding us, He has the right to do whatever He desires (Isa. 29:16; 64:8).

May we see a vision of God’s sovereignty and may we simply praise Him for His sovereignty and worship Him for His mercy!

Lord, we worship You for Your sovereignty! We praise You for Your mercy! Thank You and praise You for choosing us. We worship You for all Your sovereign arrangement in our life. Oh Lord, though we may not like the situation we are in or the problems that come our way, we still worship You for Your sovereignty. We believe that You are sovereign. We believe that You arrange all things in our life and in our situation so that all things, matters, persons, and situations work together for good for us, for we love You! Amen, Lord, we love You! Though we may not understand why this or that happens to us, we still love You! Though we may not like the suffering, the problems, and the difficulties in our family life, in our work life, and in the church life, we still worship You for Your sovereignty. We believe that You are our Potter and we are simply the clay; You have the absolute right over us. Oh Lord, we join ourselves to You to be one with You for the fulfilment of Your purpose, fully trusting in You and believing that You are sovereign!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ray Mulligan in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 21-22, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living in the Reality of the Kingdom of God (2024 October ITERO), week 5, Living under the Sovereignty of God and according to the Mercy of God.
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• Hymns on this topic:
  – God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform: / He plants His footsteps in the sea, / And rides upon the storm. / Deep in unfathomable mines / Of never-failing skill, / He treasures up His bright designs, / And works His sovereign will. (Hymns #675 stanzas 1-2)
  – Have Thine own way, Lord, / Have Thine own way; / Thou art the Potter, / I am the clay. / Mould me and make me / After Thy will, / While I am waiting, / Yielded and still. / Have Thine own way, Lord, / Have Thine own way; / Search me and try me, / Master, today. / Whiter than snow, Lord, / Wash me just now, / As in Thy presence / Humbly I bow. (Hymns #449 stanzas 1-2)
  – By His mercy, we’re selected, / Ours a glorious destiny. / Not by running, nor by willing, / But through God’s own sovereignty. / Once we were wild olive branches, / Now the root and fat partake, / Grafted in, rejoice together, / Growing for the kingdom’s sake. (Hymns #1203 stanza 7)