His Dominion

Sermon Series Outline (Original)

November 2: Thankful for His Dominion

God Simply Is (Connect God's words at the burning bush, that He is the "I AM", with Solomon's words in Ecclesiastes that there is a season for all things.  God will be whatever He Wills which means that all moments contain God's benevolence, judgment, graciousness, and sovereignty.)

God is Good in the High Points (Reference moments in the Bible such as the consecration of the Temple by Ezra as a moment to remember God.  Reference David's victories and Psalms associated with thanksgiving as evidence God is there in the good times.)

God is Good in the Low Points (Mirror the last section by referencing some of David's Psalms showing thanksgiving for God even as he cries out for help.  Point out our dependence on God's goodness in those moments and reference the healing of 10 lepers in John 17.  Conclude the sermon by highlighting that of the 10, only 1 returned and was "healed by his faith"... use that as a charge to be the 1.)

November 9: Thankful for His Compassion

Compassion for the Outsider (Use the story of the Centurion who asked for healing for his servant as evidence that Christ is compassionate to those seen as outsiders.)

Compassion for the Sick (Use the story of the woman with internal bleeding as evidence that God healed those who were sick.)

Compassion for the Lost (Use the story of the feeding of the 5,000 and point out that it says Christ had compassion on the crowds seeking him.)

Compassion for the Broken (Use the story of Lazarus as evidence that Christ has compassion on all of us for the tragedies sin causes in this world.)

Compassion for the Sinners (Use imagery of the crucifixion and the statement that 'they know not what they do' as a display of God's compassion on us despite ourselves.)

November 16: Thankful for His Desire

God's Image (Start by pointing out that we were made in God's image and then relate this to the fact God is all about displaying His glory throughout the universe... this means that you are a reflection of what God wishes to display... WHOA!)

God's Pursuit (Identify several examples of God enacting His judgment, but also providing pathways for salvation and/or redemption, relating it to a pursuit of us rather than simply destroying us.)

God's Adoption (Point out that the ultimate show of God's desire is in adopting us as "sons".  Reference Paul's words about being "heirs" of the kingdom and how that serves as a now-eternal display of God's desire.)

November 23: Thankful for His Salvation!

Salvation As Promised (Start with imagery of atonement after the fall in Eden, then carry through Abrahamic Covenants, prophecies of Jeremiah, and then Christ)

Salvation For All (Point out that the tax collector in Matthew and Samaritan woman at the well shows God wants forgiveness for even the most rejected and deeply-entrenched sinners)

Salvation Without Qualification (Identify the thief on the cross as an individual who had the 'deathbed confession' and Christ validates his salvation)

Comfort In Knowing

I typically feel very comfortable responding to difficult situations. I’ve always said that I’d ‘brief’ anyone and had no problem jumping into dumpster fires.

One exception: When I don’t know “what game I’m playing”.

Analogy: Similar to the old adage of “bring me a rock”… I just want to know what type of rock you’re looking for.

What annoys me is when I can’t tell what someone is after or what they consider valuable.

It leads to a situation where I don’t know my “role” because I can’t figure out what is driving the person tasking me.

Fortunate for us, we don’t have to wonder that about God. God makes it very, very clear who and what He is.

Exodus 3:11–15 CSB

11 But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.” 13 Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

What we learn… God is sovereign (His IDENTITY).

He does what ever He wills; He is whom He needs to be.

WHAT IT MEANS TO US:

We know we serve a God who is limitless.

We know we serve a God who is all-powerful.

We know we serve a God who is deliberate.

There is comfort in knowing exactly what constraints or bounds our God operates under: none. That gives us a clear indication of who asks us to move, act, and believe. There is comfort in not wondering whether God has the authority to do “this” or “that” because it gives authority to His promise of hope, blessing, and salvation.

That authority lends itself to a related, but distinct, aspect of God: His dominion!

Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 CSB

1 There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot; 3 a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build; 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; 5 a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; 6 a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak; 8 a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

CONSIDER: God made all things and all things occur through God’s Permissible Will (His CONTROL).

If there is a time for all things, and those things occur, that must mean all things occur because God permits it.

God is not just sovereign over His own identity; He is sovereign over all Creation —> DOMINION. (Identity + Control = Dominion)

Many hear God in their own lives (through church, Christian brothers and sisters, Bible study, or in the quietness of their heart) and they question God’s calling as if to say “And who do you think you are?!”, “What gives you the authority?”

Skepticism —> Leads to identity crises

“How much do we follow God?”

“Does God REALLY want us to live as He instructs in the scriptures?”

“How do I know I’m doing the right thing when I feel God wants me to do one thing but the world wants me to do another?”

I thank God for knowing God’s dominion over all things, because it is God’s dominion that gives me the confidence to do what the world or my own mortal flesh do not think I can do.

Read Exodus 3:11-15 and think about the strength of God’s dominion over all. God is whatever He wills to be, and nothing happens without God’s will permitting it. 1) Can you name a time where you didn’t know whether to do a job, or how far to take things, because you didn’t know what authority your task-master had or you knew their authority had limits? 2) Thought Exercise: How much harder would being a Christian be if we served a God who wasn’t totally sovereign? What if we had multiple gods or what is God shared dominion with a Satan-like being. How would that bring into question anything you fell called or instructed to do. 3) Knowing that God IS sovereign and has TOTAL DOMINION over Creation, how does this give us some level of confidence when we know God is calling us to do something difficult?

Knowing God At Our Best

It’s easy to forget God when you are bombarded with the world around you.

For some, forgetting is easier when times are good; for others, it’s when times are bad.

First, let’s look at examples of remembering God in the good times...

Nehemiah 6:15–16 CSB

15 The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. 16 When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.

Moment of Victory: Jerusalem rebuilt!

Follows generations of captivity in Babylon

Successfully secured freedom and restoration of their home

SO WHAT DID THEY DO?!

Nehemiah 8:1 CSB

1 all the people gathered together at the square in front of the Water Gate. They asked the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had given Israel.

Nehemiah 8:5–6 CSB

5 Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” Then they knelt low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Consecrating the Temple

The Temple had been rebuilt after Babylonian captivity.

The people hear the scriptures at the Temple for the first time in their lives.

In this moment of victory, the Israelites remembered their God. They didn’t simply get their home back and suggest they would “get to God eventually”; they seemed to remember THE WHOLE TIME who was enabling them to receive this blessing.

But what happens when you don’t remember God in victory… Remember Gideon and the amazing victory God had given him over the Midianites?

Judges 8:22–27 CSB

22 Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you as well as your sons and your grandsons, for you delivered us from the power of Midian.” 23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” 24 Then he said to them, “Let me make a request of you: Everyone give me an earring from his plunder.” Now the enemy had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites. 25 They said, “We agree to give them.” So they spread out a cloak, and everyone threw an earring from his plunder on it. 26 The weight of the gold earrings he requested was forty-three pounds of gold, in addition to the crescent ornaments and ear pendants, the purple garments on the kings of Midian, and the chains on the necks of their camels. 27 Gideon made an ephod from all this and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

The SNARE of Pride

Inserting ourself as sovereign over a situation detracts from God’s total sovereignty

BLUNT — We aren’t ready to be sovereign! Sometimes God hands us over to our own hubris, ultimately leading to us being ensnared by pride.

So, just as there is great comfort in knowing God is sovereign, we can also curse ourselves by attempting to take some of that sovereignty back.

Everyone wants to be “in charge” until they realize that they don’t have all the answers.

The fact that God gladly assumes the role of sovereign with TOTAL DOMINION is a BLESSING…

...because it means that we are free to enjoy life’s high points as the gifts that they are without worrying about whether we ‘deserve it’ or have the ability to ‘sustain it’.

You don’t… but God does and He has given it to you… so be thankful.

Read about Israel’s thankfulness at God’s sovereignty in Nehemiah 6:15-16, then Nehemiah 8:1,5-6. 1) What is a moment you recall where someone was experiencing a spiritual or emotional high and seemed to totally forget God? Have you ever done that? 2) The Israelites were experiencing an “emotional high” as a people and a nation, yet they never forgot God was at the center. They maintained awareness of God’s dominion. In what ways do people today forget God’s dominion on their own life victories? How does this take away from the role God plays in their life? What danger can come of starting to give yourself more credit for your blessings than God?

Knowing God At Our Worst

Needless to say, we can forget God at our best and we can just as easily forget God at our worst.

Sometimes people have a hard time excepting trials and tragedy. As a result, they instinctively look to forces other than God’s dominion for their comfort.

Matthew 14:24–31 CSB

24 Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. 25 Jesus came toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear. 27 Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Peter’s Initial Faith —> Seeing God beyond the chaos

Peter’s Eventual Doubt —> The circumstances overcame Peter’s faith in Christ’s dominion

Peter began to doubt God’s sovereignty and, as a result, start to sink.

This is a failure on Peter’s part, but in this failure is a beautiful picture of Christ’s grace and mercy.

Christ is sovereign over all… including our own hearts.

So long as we cling to him, even in our doubt and moments of weakness, Christ treats us with compassion rather than disgust.

This is the heart of our sovereign God… one that has every right to treat our disobedience, our rebellion, and our sin with disgust or disappoint.

Instead, God reached out to earth with His righteous Son, and rescued us from the sinking waters.

God didn’t have to do it, but He did. And for this act of divine dominion, we are right to be eternally thankful.