Who God is: God is Sovereign

Manuscript Template

Title:  Who God is: God is Sovereign

Focus Statement:  God's sovereignty means that even when we cannot understand His ways, we can trust His character and His purposes.

Function Statement:  Like Job, move from demanding answers to trusting God.

Tweetable Phrase:  Faith is not knowing what God is doing; faith is knowing God knows what He is doing.

Main Text:  Job 42:2

Supporting Text:  Job 1-2

Redemptive Closure (point to Jesus):  Philippians 4:6-7 / Isaiah 55:8-9 / Matthew 6:10 / Matthew 26:42

Benediction:  Daniel 4:35

WELCOME

Good morning!!! My name is Ryan Hanson, and I have the honor of serving here at The Light KC as the lead pastor. I’m so glad you’re here with us.

‌Welcome to those joining us online. We hope you're doing well and hope to see you in person in the coming weeks.

And a special welcome to those joining us for the first time. We’re so glad you chose to be here.

ME/INTRO - Tension

I don’t know about you, but there is one question that I ask more than any other, and yet rarely if ever get an answer to.

The question is...

WHY???

I’ve wanted to know WHY so many things happen...

I have wanted to know WHY things are the way they are, even if they are far outside of my control...

Why...I born where I was born?

Why...I born into the family I was born into?

Why...I am not good in the things I want to be good at?

Why...I am good at the things I have no interest in?

I have wanted to know WHY I didn’t get things that I think I’ve earned and deserve...

Why...did I not get that interview?

Why...did I not get that job when the interview seemed to have gone so well?

Why...did I not get that promotion when I know I am the most qualified?

I have wanted to know WHY relationships and families are so full of tension...

Why...doesn’t that person want to be friends?

Why...are things so tough with my family?

Why...can’t people just love me for me? Why...are there always conditions?

Why...don’t my kids behave like other kids?

Why can’t I be like other parents who seem to have it all together?

I have wanted to know WHY things happen that I never wanted to happen...

Why...did that accident have to happen?

Why...did they have to get sick?

Why...do I have to be going through this?

Why...won’t this end?

WE - Tension

Do you find yourself asking WHY things happen the way they do?

Do you find yourself frustrated that, if you’re like me, you rarely get answers, and the answers you get aren’t all that satisfying?

Do you find yourself turning to God to answer all the WHY questions you want answered?

Maybe more pointed, do you question WHY God allows the things that He allows?

Why didn’t God stop the disappointments, setbacks, hurts, pains, and tragedies from happening?

If I’m honest, in the middle of the storms of my life, I ask all these questions.

I know that God is Sovereign - which means that anything that God wills to happen, will happen, and cannot be stopped by anything we do.

If that’s true, WHY doesn’t God just will the bad things out of existence, so we don’t have to go through them?

Maybe you have gotten stuck in this line of thinking as well.

The reality is that theologians teach that there are actually (5) different WILLs that God has.

Sovereign Will - What God has decided will happen and cannot be thwarted - Isaiah 46:9-10 / Ephesians 1:11

Moral Will - how God wants us to live (but it’s our choice if we follow His moral will or not) - 1 Thessalonians 4:3 / Micah 6:8

Permissive Will - What God allows because of our Free will but does not always approve of - 2 Peter 3:9 /

Redemptive Will - God’s choice to bring good out of the brokenness that we create - Romans 8:28 / Genesis 50:20

Personal Will / Individual Guidance - how God leads specific people - Proverbs 3:5-6

It’s easy for us to only focus on God’s sovereignty,

asking WHY God allowed something to happen

blaming God for allowing the negative events of our lives to happen,

and looking past the reality that God might have had a reason we don’t understand

or the events that happen God didn’t want to happen either, but allowed because He gave us free will

and the negative event is a consequence of the choices we or others have made

This problem is not new to us...people have been struggling with making sense of the tragedies they face forever.

Chronologically the story of Job is one of the oldest stories in the Bible.

It is believed that Job lived at the same time as Abraham in Genesis 11

And today, as we start our Summer Series, we’re going to look at the life of Job and his search for the answers to the WHY questions in his life.

I’ve titled our Summer Series “Verses to Live By: Truth for the Road Ahead”

Throughout the summer we’re going to look at a different bible verse each week.

Throughout the summer these verses will attempt to answer three questions that I think we all need answers to

WHO IS GOD

WHAT DOES GOD DO

WHAT DOES GOD CALL US TO DO IN RESPONSE

Each week, we’re also going to have a memory verse (with accompanying memorization aid) so that together we can be intentional about putting scripture deep in our heart and allowing the Holy Spirit to

transform our thinking

guide our decisions

deepen our faith

You can get the verse of the week memorization aid at the info desk after service.

As we begin, please turn with me to [Job 1:1 - Sanctuary Bible Page # 402]

We’ll have the scripture on the screen, but if you have a Bible with you, or Bible app on your phone, I’d encourage you to turn to the passage and follow along. There is nothing that replaces having God’s word in your hand.

AND... if you don’t have a Bible, we have Bibles under the seats. If you don’t have a bible and would like one, please come see me after the service and I’ll get you one you can keep.

Let's dive in.

GOD - Text - HEAD

In my opinion, Job is one of the most interesting and relatable books in the Bible.

Let’s start right at the beginning, Job 1:1, which reads:

Job 1:1–3 “1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.”

Job was doing everything right. Because Job feared God, which means he had a profound life-altering reverence for God’s power, holiness and authority, Job lived a blameless life. He followed God’s commands, he shunned evil, and he did everything he could he help his kids do the same.

Job was the type of person we are all called to be.

God even called him the greatest man among all the people.

Yet, the story of Job takes an unexpected twist involving a conversation between God and Satan.

Continuing in Verse 6, we read:

Job 1:6–12 “6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” 8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”

This seems like quite an odd conversation that raises a bunch of questions in my mind, like...

Why is God talking to Satan?

Why is Satan wandering the earth?

Why does God point out Job to Satan?

Why does Satan question Job’s character?

The answers lie in the fact that the name Satan has a pretty layered meaning.

We typically associate the name Satan with the fallen angel,

who wanted the glory that God is due for himself,

who got Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit leading to the fall and opening the door to sin entering the world,

who tempted Jesus in the desert,

and works to keep us from putting our faith in Jesus as our LORD and savior.

And that is all true.

But the word Satan also means

Accuser

Adversary

Satan was traveling the earth, acting as a prosecutor looking for flaws in humanity to present to God

Satan’s goal in the book of Job wasn’t to find individuals who were sinning, but to prove that no one loved God for who He is.

Satan wanted to prove that God’s relationship with humanity was transactional;

That humanity only obeyed God’s commands to get God’s blessings, protection, and wealth from God

Not because they loved Him or wanted a relationship with Him

God believed His relationship with Humanity was genuine and offered Job as an example of someone with genuine love for God

Whereas this doesn’t match the way we typically think of Satan, I think it does highlight a trap that we can all to easily fall into.

Do we truly love God for who He is, or do we comply with God’s laws and commands in a selfish attempt at earning His blessing?

Well Job’s love for God was put to the test.

Picking back up in verse 13, we read:

Job 1:13–19 “13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

Job lost everything.

Donkeys

Sheep

Camels

Servant

Children

And in the next verse we find Job’s response.

Job 1:20–22 “20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

I know that if this happened to me, I would be broken.

I don’t know exactly how I would react, and I hope I never have to fine out, but I doubt that I could worship and praise God through that kind of pain.

I’ve found in my life, it is very hard to see any good in the middle of a tragedy.

I naturally narrow my focus to only the bad, and start asking WHY in an attempt to make sense of what’s happening.

If everything was taken from you, what would your response be?

Would your first response be to worship and praise God?

Would your response be to look to God and ask WHY?

Do you believe, honestly believe, like Job that “God gives, and God takes away” and that God should be worshipped and praised for both?

Well, as if enough wasn’t done to Job, Satan was not convinced. Satan got permission from God to afflict Job directly.

In Job 2:7 we read:

Job 2:7–10 “7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. 9 His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”

I know if this happened to me, I’d be done.

When I think of excruciating pain, I think of wearing a T-Shirt with sunburned shoulders.

Yet, Job’s whole body was covered in boils

puss filled soars

that are painfully throbbing all the time

And it must have been excruciatingly painful if Job was willing to scrape himself with broken pottery.

I’d imagine, there was no position where he could find relief.

I’d imagine he was miserable all the time.

Satan had taken every blessing away from job and now brought him to a state of constant excruciating pain, and yet, through all that happened to him, Job did not sin.

He maintained his genuine love for God.

All this happened in the first 2 chapters of the book of Job.

Keep in mind the book of Job is 42 chapters long.

The remaining 40 chapters are about Job trying to make sense of what happened along with his wife and three friends.

The next 40 chapters is about Job seeking to answer the question of WHY.

And throughout those 40 chapters I think there are 5 things that Job learned about WHY trials happen, that we can all benefit from.

The first thing that Job learned was:

1. Just like Job, when things happen, we do not know the reason that God is allowing it to happen, or the purpose that God is using theses events to accomplish.

All Job could see was the pain and the loss

In Job 1:11, Job lost all his possessions

In Job 2:5, Job lost his health

But, God was using Job’s faith, devotion, and genuine love for God to thwart Satan’s desire to accuse humanity of only wanting a transactional relationship with God

Satan was humanities adversary, accusing all of humanity of a shallow quid-pro-quo relationship with God

God was the defense attorney and Job was the key witness in the trial proving humanity was more than Satan accused them of being

I used to know a pastor who would, when people were struggling, ask them, “What is the thing behind the thing?”

He was pushing us to look past our current circumstances and think about the deeper meaning to the events we were experiencing.

So when you are facing your next trial, ask yourself “What is the reason God is allowing this, and what purpose is God going to accomplish through this?”

The second thing that Job learned was:

2. Typically trials come upon us out of no where, very quickly, and more often than not when we’re doing well and feel secure in our lives.

We saw this very clearly with Job.

He was doing great until one day, without notice he lost all of his possessions and all of his children died.

Thinking it couldn’t get worse, he was then afflicted with painful boils.

Has this been your experience?

Does life’s catastrophes come without warning, typically at times when you think life is going well?

Job had it right.

We live in a fallen world, where sin runs rampant.

Because God loves us and wants a genuine relationship with us, God allows us the free will to make choices, even bad choices.

Sometimes we bring catastrophe upon ourselves through our own bad choices.

Sometimes we are the collateral damage to the bad choices of others.

But, please know, that God does not cause the pain in your life.

God’s will is to redeem the pain that we bring upon ourselves or others inflict upon us.

Remember Joseph, who was sold into Egyptian slavery by his jealous brothers.

God didn’t cause that

But God used that to bless Joseph and save the Israelites from famine

God’s will is to do the same for you.

The pain you’re experiencing now may be severe, but know that

God didn’t cause it

God is with you through it

God wants to redeem it, using it for your good and the good of others

The third thing that Job learned was:

3. Often during trials it feels like God is not present and has left us to fight the battles alone

Listen to Job’s response to God in Job 30:20, it reads:

Job 30:20–21 “20 “I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me. 21 You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me.”

We know that God did not leave Job.

Deuteronomy 31:6 is one of God’s great promises, it reads:

Deuteronomy 31:6 “6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.””

In the middle of our pain, it may feel like we are all alone.

That is one of Satan’s greatest tricks...to isolate us in our pain.

The truth, that we all have to hold onto, is that God is always with us, always loves us, and always working for our good

even if we don’t understand it when it’s happening

The forth thing that Job learned was:

4. The longer the trial goes on, the more irrational our thinking becomes.

Do you suffer from this?

Listen to Job in Job 7:11:

Job 7:11 “11 “Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”

I think this describes me pretty accurately.

When I am struggling, my thinking becomes more irrational.

I stop thinking, I start complaining, and if I’m not careful, I’ll become very bitter

Job is a reminder that we need to stay in God’s word

No matter how we feel, we need to maintain a steady diet of the word of God

No matter how hard they are to believe in the moment, we need to hold tight to God’s promises

and we need to believe those promises even when they don’t seem to be lining up with our reality,

because our interpretation of reality easily becomes skewed by the pain we’re feeling.

When I am in the middle of one of life’s trials, my daily devotion switches to a study on the promises of God.

I get a list of all the promises God makes in the bible and I read through them every day

I need to remind myself of God’s truth, because the reality I’m experiencing

is temporary

and is distorted by my emotions

What promises has God made that you need to turn to right now?

Remember God is sovereign. If He promises it will happen, nothing is going to stop it.

God permits the consequences of our choices and other’s choices to play out, but His promises don’t change.

I don’t know about you, but I find a lot of comfort in that.

The fifth thing that Job learned was:

5. Many times the people we look to for comfort are the very ones that Satan uses to get us to question God

Job turned to his wife and friends for answers to his WHY questions, yet they gave him terrible advice.

Job’s Wife (Job 2:9-10) - “Curse God and die”

Job got council from his 3 Friends

Eliphaz (Job 4) argues that the innocent never perish and only those that sow trouble will reap it. Implying Job did something sinful to deserve what he’s going through.

Bildad (Job 8) suggests that Job’s children’s deaths are due to their sin and promised that if Job sought God earnestly and proved himself pure God would restore his property

Zophar (Job 11) accuses Job of claiming moral perfection and suggests that God overlooked some of Job’s sins, telling Job that he deserved worse than he was experiencing

Have the people in your life ever given you terrible advice when you’re going through trials?

Have you been tempted into listened to their advice when you’re not getting the answers from God that you’re seeking?

As easy as it is to listen to people’s bad advice, Job gives us the blueprint for what we are supposed to do.

Job 42:5 “5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”

It is here, at the very end of the book that Job gets his epiphany moment.

C.W. Carter, a biblical commentator on the book of Job describes Job’s epiphany like this:

The God of traditionalism, about whom Job has heard so much during the extended debate with his accusers (v. 5a), is a vastly different God from the God of Job’s experience in the Prologue, who now appears to him in a renewed and vastly more wonderful way. The former was the God of the traditional “wisdom-schools” of Job’s day, the God of an extreme mysticism, but who was at the same time a God of hard justice expressing his non-ethical, non-personal will in fixed unalterable laws that demanded payment in suffering for every evil deed. Such a theology proved only to add to Job’s sufferings as its claims were pressed upon him by its advocates. Job’s vision of God, like that of Isaiah (Isa. 6:5), was of a personal, ethical, all-holy God, and was both morally and spiritually transforming. As Job thus encountered God, he melted into insignificance, as every man must when he becomes aware of the immediacy of God’s holy, infinite presence.

Carter, C. W. (1968). The Book of Job. In Job-Song of Solomon (Vol. 2, pp. 166–167). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Job doesn't finally understand everything that happened to him—but he does come to trust the God who does.

YOU - Takeaway - HEART

What pain are you experiencing or burdens are you carrying that you've been trying understand by asking the question of WHY?

What unanswered questions have you been demanding that God explain?

How have you been blaming God for not using His sovereignty to free you from your pain and trials?

How do you need to give up on knowing WHY things are happening, and start trusting that God knows what He is doing?

WE / JESUS - Redemptive Close - Call to Action - HANDS

This is why Jesus taught us to end our prayers with “your will be done” in the Lord’s prayer.

Matthew 6:10 “10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

We may never know the why, but we’re called to have the faith that can look past our current circumstances and trust that God’s will is better than anything we can think or imagine.

Jesus modeled this for us in the garden of Gethsemane. On the night he was betrayed, tried, wrongly convicted, and killed on a cross, Jesus prayed to the Father.

Jesus prayed in Matthew 26:42 “42 “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.””

Jesus didn’t want to die, but He knew that God had a plan to save humanity from the consequences of sin through His death.

Jesus knew that He had to die, so that each and every one of us could live.

Jesus voluntarily submitted to God the Father’s plan, trusting that it was exactly what needed to happen.

Job came to the same realization.

At the end of the book of Job, while talking to God, Job says this:

And this is our verse for the week...that we’re going to memorize together...

Job 42:2 “2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

And I think if you look back on your life, you will agree that this already applies to your life.

They say hindsight is 20/20, and at least in my life that is true.

When God first made it clear that I was supposed to go into full time ministry, a door opened.

The church I was attending posted an executive pastor position.

I had an MBA...

I had been bi-vocationally working in churches for almost 20 years and done all the roles that report to an executive pastor...

I had the perfect resume for this role

And I went to the church and everyone already knew me

Yet, they gave it to someone from across the country.

I was devastated.

I asked WHY 100s of time in 100s of ways.

And 2 years later God blessed me with an answer.

I had a job and didn’t need the executive pastor role, the guy that they hired did.

Instead of giving me the executive pastor role, they offered me a non-paid teaching pastor role, which turned out to be a huge blessing.

This was 2 years before COVID and when COVID stated and attendance started dropping, he was let go.

Looking back, if I quit my job, to take a role, just to be let go 2 years later, I would have been FAR MORE DEVASTATED than I was in not getting it.

In hindsight, me not getting the role was the best thing for me.

BUT...it didn’t feel like that when it happened.

Where are you still asking WHY?

Where do you need to submit to God’s will for your life this week, even though it doesn’t make sense?

Where do you need to stop searching for the WHY, and start TRUSTING God?

This week I encourage you to pickup a memorization aid at the info desk after service and join me in memorizing Job 42:2.

I want that truth hidden deep within my heart.

That even when I don’t understand, I know that God can do all things, and no purpose of God’s can be thwarted.

PRAYER 

Will you join me in prayer...

SONG 

As we enter into our final song, I want to open the steps up front as an altar to anyone who needs God this week. The steps are open for you to pray to the God who is with you, who loves you, you wants to give you His peace.

‌

You may feel a hand on your shoulder as I or one of the elders join you in prayer.

BENEDICTION 

Daniel 4:35 “35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?””

This week...

Let’s stop asking WHY things happen

Let’s stop blaming God for allowing pain into our lives

Let’s recognize that

God didn’t cause any of our pain

God doesn’t will any of us to be in pain

God does want a genuine relationship with us, which requires free will

That that free will means that God allows us to make decisions that have consequences

That those consequences cause us and other pain

Let’s follow Job’s example, and stop ASKING WHY, and start TRUSTING that God knows that He’s doing

Let’s take the good days with the bad days, and allow God to work all our days for our good

Quick reminder...

2nd Friday Movie Night - Friday at 6:00

INVITE / INVITE / INVITE

Live action Lilo and Stitch

If you’re new, please fill out the card in the seat back and stop by our info desk, or see me. We’d love to say “hi” and get you know you a bit better.

If you’d like to get more information about taking your next step of faith, fill out the card in the seat back and give it to me or turn it in to the info desk.

I hope you have a great week.

Go in peace.

You are dismissed.

DISCIPLESHIP QUESTIONS (download into APP)

Can you share a moment when you had to trust that God had a plan, even when you didn't understand it?

What are some ways you can remind yourself of God's character and trust in Him during tough times?

In what specific areas of your life do you find it hardest to give up asking 'why' and start trusting God?

How can we practice trusting God's sovereignty when we are faced with unanswered 'why' questions in our lives?

How does acknowledging God's sovereignty change the way you respond to life's challenges and trials?