The Sovereignty of God in Providence (2)

Sunday, 5th March 2023

Preached at Monze Ebenezar Baptist Church

The story of Naaman

Introduction

My family and I are happy to be with you in the house of the Lord and to bring the Word of God. Some of the great truths of the Bible about God is that we cannot fully understand who God is. We cannot understand him nor his ways. On the other hand, God is Sovereign. He is the supreme ruler of everything. Nothing happens in his world that he does not know. In fact he governs everything. because he is incomprehensible- we cannot understand him in full

Sovereignty- God is supreme ruler of everything- he does as he pleases Isaiah 46:9-11 “remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” ; -

Providence- God sustains and upholds all things that he has created- Matthew 5:44-46 “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”

1 Chronicles 29: 10-13 David acknowledges the Sovereignty and providence of God.

1 Chronicles 29:10–13 ESV

Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

The story of Naaman demonstrates the sovereignty of God in providence. See Luke 4:27 there were many lepers in Israel but only Naaman was cleansed

Luke 4:27 ESV

And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

We see right on the surface of this story that the healing of Naaman was by divine action. God in his sovereign power ocastrated everything in the life of Naaman was leading to his healing and ultimate salvation. I dont know what is going on in your life, why things have happened the way they have, we are learning from the story of Naaman that God is in control.

While there are may lessons that we can draw from this passage today, I would like us to focus our attention on the Sovereignty of God in providence- That God is the one who governs everything in our lives. There is nothing that takes him by supprise but rather he is active in the lives of the people accomplishing his purpose.

Context-

Redemptive history- promise given to Israel

Blessings and curses

The are in the promised land

The kingdoms have been split- Israel (northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern)

Rise of idolatry and Baal worship,

Elijah labored and now succeeded by Elisha

1 Kings 19:18 judgment on Israel- Syria, Jehu and Elisha will be the Instruments,

1 Kings 19:18 ESV

Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

God in mercy has preserved 7000 who have not bowed their knee to Baal

Implication

God is faithful and his words are true- He said he would punish them if they went into idolatry and in the midst of judgment he remembers mercy- the prophets to come and warn the people, the 7000 remnant who did not bow their knee to Baal

What about you? Are you taking heed to the word of God- 1 Corinthians 10:6 , 11 they are written for our example.

1 Corinthians 10:6 ESV

Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.

1 Corinthians 10:11 ESV

Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.

The Sovereignty of God in people’s Action

Supreme ruler- no one is his equal

He send a bird of prey and summons a man to fulfill his purpose - Isaiah 46: 9-10

He blesses whoever he wants to bless- Verse 1

Naaman- Idol worshipper, proud and arrogant, know it all guy yet we see that God blessed him.

The enemies of God’s people the Syrian Army was given success by God…

Implication

It is in God’s prerogative to do whatever he wants to do. Don’t you wonder when you see some of the blessings God gives to some non Christians- They are intelligent, they succeed in the things that they do.

Remember God is sovereign in what he does- he makes his sun to rise and his rain to fall on the good and the bad

God was showing that he was going to offer salvation to the gentile nations and not exclusively to israel

It does not however mean that if God blesses you as a non Christian then God is pleased with you… No He is giving you an opportunity for you to make things right with God. Don’t mistake the blessings for salvation… it could be that he is preparing you for slaughter like the way a cow is fed well before it is taken for slaughter. Repent of your sins and take advantage of the kindness of God. God’s word is clear- God’s kindness is should lead you to repentance. Or as it is put in 2 Peter 3:9 “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some of you count slowness, but is patient towards you not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance”

2) The sorrows/heartaches of the godly is also under the sovereign rule of God- verse 2

Sad encounter humanly speaking- The remnant family bereft (deprived, robbed) of a daughter.

What could have been going through the mind of their parents

They were the few faithful who taught their children the ways of Jehovah yet the daughter is captured

The young girl taken by the heathens, strong men into slavery against her will

Yet we see also in this that God was sovereign

Lessons

The sorrows and heartaches of the godly are under the sovereign rule of God

All things work together for good Romans 8:28. We may not see the good but it will work still for good

We should not judge the Lord by horrible circumstances we face as an indication of his love or displeasure for us.

Are you blaming God for the circumstance that you lost your beloved ones? God is sovereign over all, we ought to seek his wisdom and faith to believe

Pray that God will give you the wisdom and faith to see James 1:5

3) Human thoughts, decisions and actions are all under the sovereign rule of God

The little girl- The little girl did not keep to herself and say, I will mind my own business, nor did she say- “when in Rome do what the Romans do” But she kept her faith and trust in Jehovah God. She believed His word and spoke to her mistress. We don’t see any bitterness in her but rather genuine concern and sharing her faith to others. From hindsight we see in God’s purposes why she was placed there

Mrs. Naaman-

She believed a slave girl- during the kitchen talks and they were on good talking terms with the husband, she shared the information

The kings of Syria and Israel

Proverbs 21:19 the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will

Naaman and the Servant

He came with pride and arrogance to be healed. He even disobeys the word of God given by the prophet but his heart is turned around and convinced by the Servant

Implications

In all this God was working and directing all the affairs of the people

Lets learn from the little girl…… The decision making process is in the hands of God. So my dear child of God, things are not going on well, they are treating you unfairly, they are denying you “opportunities” those things are meant to make you feel bad, but God will use them for His glory. Let us turn our cries and prayers from me, I and mine to His glory. You have been saved, turn your prayer that God might be glorified in your life, in your circumstances. Pray Lord may your will be done, may you receive the glory in all this. Help me to be strong, help me to trust in you, give me wisdom on what I should do and act that your name will be glorified. God does provide a way of escape - 1 Corinthians 10:13. Trust in God my dear Child of God he is faithful, He is too wise to make a mistake.

God can use anyone to fulfil His purpose- think about this for a moment- God can use anyone to fulfil His purpose- retracing the steps of Naaman whom did God use for the Salvation of Naaman?

Everyone in the process and yet some at least up until that point did themselves believe Jehovah in a saving way. You too might be an instrument of salvation to many- you preach the word of God, You evangelise, you invite people to Church but the great question is, has God changed your heart in a saving way? No one ever went to heaven because they preached God’s word, No one went to heaven because God used them for the salvation of others- The only door is repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ.

Human responsibility -question if Naaman had not pursued the way of salvation as was pointed out, would he have gotten saved? If Naaman did not go to Samaria, if he refused to wash, the servant did not prevail over him, he did not wash in the Jordan river- of course he would not have been cured- so it is with you…. You cant

Conclusion

God is great and awesome. He is sovereign over all creation and he governs everything that happens.

God has also given us Human responsibility to follow the way of salvation as he has directed.

God has provided you with an opportunity to make things right with him. Go to him in repentance and faith and believe in Christ