Topical Sermons - Executable Outlines

The Sovereign Rule Of God
Mark A. Copeland
INTRODUCTION
1. We live in a time of great uncertainty...
a. Turmoil in places abroad
b. Terrorism in places at home
2. It is easy to be filled with anxiety...
a. What does the future hold?
b. Will things get better, or only worse?
3. What attitude should the Christian have in such times as these...?
a. Should we fear the future?
b. Shall we worry for our well-being?
[The answer can be found in remembering that God is in control. But is He really? Even in times of
uncertainty and anxiety? It may help to understand by reviewing “The Sovereign Rule Of God”...]
I. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
A. DECLARED BY THE PROPHETS...
1. Such as Isaiah, who:
a. Prophesied God would have the Medes overthrow Babylon - Isa 13:17-20
b. Depicted the nations as “tools” in the hand of God - Isa 10:5-15
1) Using wicked nations to punish other wicked nations
2) But leaving none unpunished
c. Proclaimed God’s judgment upon such nations as...
1) Babylon - Isa 13-14
2) Assyria and Philistia - Isa 14
3) Moab - Isa 15-16
4) Damascus - Isa 17
5) Ethiopia and Cush - Isa 18
6) Egypt - Isa 19
7) Edom and Arabia - Isa 21
8) Jerusalem - Isa 22
9) Tyre - Isa 23
-- All these judgments came true as prophesied; verifying God’s existence and sovereignty
- cf. Isa 46:8-11
2. Such as Daniel, who:
a. When God revealed Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation, came to realize the
sovereign rule of God - cf. Dan 2:19-21
b. Prophesied the rise and fall of the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman
empires - Dan 2:36-40
c. Explained that Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a great tree and it’s fulfillment was to
impress him with God’s sovereignty - Dan 4:19-26, cf. 34-37
B. THE BASIS UPON WHICH GOD GOVERNED SUCH NATIONS...
Topical Sermons 332