GENERAL SUBJECT

LIVING IN THE REALITY OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Message Five
Living under the Sovereignty of God and according to the Mercy of God

Scripture Reading: Rev. 4:11; Dan. 4:3, 34-35; Rom. 9:15-16, 18-23; Heb. 4:16

I.　It is crucial that we see a vision of God's sovereignty—Dan. 4:3, 34-35; Rom. 9:18-23:

A.　Sovereignty refers to God's unlimited authority, power, and position—Rev. 4:11; 5:13:

1.　As the sovereign One, God is above everything, behind everything, and in every thing—1 Kings 22:19.

2.　God 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.

B.　Romans 9:19-23 refers to God's sovereignty:

1.　"For who withstands His will? But rather, O man, who are you who answer back to God? Shall the thing molded say to him who molded it, Why did you make me thus?"—vv. 19b-20:

a.　We need to realize who we are: we are God's creatures, and He is our Creator—Isa. 42:5.

b.　As His creatures, we should not resist His purpose or answer back to Him, the Creator—Rom. 9:20.

2.　"Does not the potter have authority over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor?"—v. 21:

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

b.　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.

c.　If God wills, He can make one vessel unto honor and another unto dis-honor—Rom. 9:21.

3.　Romans 9:21-23 reveals that God sovereignly created us to be His containers, according to His predestination—2 Cor. 4:7; 2 Tim. 2:20-21; Eph. 1:5, 11:

a.　It is of God's sovereignty that He, the Potter, makes the riches of His glory known by creating vessels of mercy to contain Himself—Rom. 9:23.

b.　Being vessels unto honor is not the result of our choice; it originates with.God's sovereignty—v. 21.

c.　God's sovereignty is the basis of His selection; His selection depends on His sovereignty—vv. 11, 18; 11:5, 28.

4.　"In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory"—9:23:

a.　In His sovereignty God has the authority to make the ones He has selected and called vessels of mercy to contain Him in order that His glory might be manifested—vv. 11, 18, 23-24.

b.　According to His sovereign authority, He has prepared us unto glory— v. 23.

II.　"‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy'…So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy"—vv..15a, 16:

A.　Mercy is the most far reaching of God's attributes, going further than His grace and love—Matt. 9:13:

1.　According to our natural condition, we were far removed from God, totally unworthy of His grace; we were eligible only to receive His mercy—Eph. 2:4.

2.　Man's disobedience affords God's mercy an opportunity, and God's mercy brings man to salvation—Rom. 11:32.

B.　Our concept is that the one who wills will gain what he wills to obtain and that the one who runs will gain what he runs after—9:16:

1.　If this were the case, God's selection would be according to our effort and labor.

2.　On the contrary, God's selection is of God who shows mercy; we do not need to will or to run, for God has mercy on us.

3.　If we know God's mercy, we will neither trust in our effort nor be disappointed by our failures; the hope for our wretched condition is in God's mercy—Eph. 2:4.

C.　If we would serve God in His New Testament economy, we need to know that it is wholly a matter of God's sovereign mercy—Rom. 9:15-16; Heb. 4:16:

1.　If we know God's sovereignty, we will thank Him for His mercy, realizing that we are under His sovereign mercy—Rom. 9:15:

a.　The expression sovereign mercy means that God's mercy is absolutely a matter of God's sovereignty.

b.　Being a vessel of mercy is not the result of our choice; it originates with God's sovereignty—v. 18.

c.　God's mercy to us is in His sovereignty; the only thing we can say to explain God's mercy to us is that in His sovereignty, He has chosen to be merciful to us—vv. 15-16, 23.

2.　In God's sovereign mercy, our hearts are inclined toward Him; because of His mercy to us, we seek Him day by day—Jer. 29:13; Deut. 4:29; Isa. 55:6.

3.　The more we see that everything related to us is a matter of God's mercy, the more we will bear our responsibility before the Lord; however, even our willingness to bear responsibility is of God's mercy.

4.　Because of God's mercy, we responded to the gospel when others did not respond, we received a word about Christ as life when others refused to receive it, and we took the way of the Lord's recovery when others drew back from taking this way.

5.　Regarding His recovery, God has mercy on whom He will have mercy.

D.　Romans 9 reveals the principle that everything depends on God's mercy— vv..15-16:

1.　The apostle Paul applied this principle to the Israelites, showing us that every-thing that happened to them was of God's mercy—vv. 16, 23.

2.　There must be at least one time when we see God's mercy and definitely touch His mercy—Eph. 2:4; Matt. 9:13:

a.　Concerning this matter, our eyes need to be opened at least once; there must be at least one time when we see that everything depends on God's mercy.

b.　Whether we see this all at once, or we realize it through a process, the minute we touch this matter, we touch not a feeling but a fact; this fact is that every thing depends on God's mercy.