Sermons
He Who Sits Above the Circle of the Earth
Isaiah was one of mankind’s first personalities to publicly denounce “The Flat Earth Society.” He lived 2750 years ago and he understood astronomy even when it contradicted conventional scientific theory. Under divine inspiration the prophet perceived a spherical dimension of the earth when he said God “sits above the circle of the earth.”
As a matter of fact, when you study God’s geometry you’ll see the circle dominates. The earth, sun, moon, and stars are all roundly configured. Even God’s throne has an unbroken rainbow surrounding it and a circle of angels and elders praising Him.
To a great degree, church architecture has abandoned configuring pews in long, straight lines and has assigned them the plane of a circle or semi-circle. It seems the tide of worship flows more freely in a fanned-out fashion.
(Harbinger) But what was in Isaiah’s mind when he pictured God “sitting above the circle of the earth?” It is this: God sits in the ultimate position of authority. He is the preeminent, all-powerful ruler of every square foot of this planet; nothing is beyond His reach and no one escapes His oversight.
Satan is the “prince and power of the air,” but somewhere beyond those boundaries, God “sits above the circle of the earth!” And I want to use this message to talk about the sovereignty of God. I want to declare to you that it is incorrect and unbiblical to view God as anything other than the Sovereign and Supreme ruler of the universe.
(Example) In the 18th Century the Doctrine of Deism influenced many Christians. Deism pictures God as creating the universe but then sitting back and letting it tick away. It teaches that God does little more than furnish general oversight of creation and doesn’t intervene in governing the details of individuals, nations, or nature.
(Example) Then there is the more recent doctrine of Open Theism. Open Theism denies that God is omniscient and suggests that He learns new things as time elapses. He doesn’t know the choices men will make and that means He has to improvise and adjust His plans as life unfolds.
Saints of God, Deism nor Open Theism do not represent the God of Scripture. The Almighty God of the Bible governs everything from insects to arch-angels. He knows the decisions we’re faced with and the choices we will make. He knows our thoughts before they enter our mind and our words before they escape our lips.
Revelation 1:8 says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." That means God knows as clearly what will happen at the end as He knows what happened at the beginning and He knows everything in between!
David said, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You do exalt Yourself as head over all” (1CH 29:11).
The Psalmist declared, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens; His sovereignty rules over all.”
Daniel said: “He . . . changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings.” In other words, God is actively involved in this world.
It sounds like the writers of Scripture understood God to be the supreme potentate of the universe.
(Transition) But in all honesty, much of modern-day society doesn’t acknowledge God’s sovereignty. They don’t see God as Isaiah pictured Him, “sitting above the circle of the earth.” So why do people deny God’s sovereign rule of the world?
A. People reject God’s sovereignty when they witness disorder, evil, and the injustices of life.
Nobody can deny that life is plagued with these ills. But this does not mean God is not sovereign or that He has lost control!
When you study the Bible you find that God gave Adam fair warning of this! God told Adam that his disobedience would bring death. And along with death come disorder, evil, and injustice. A lot of ill was set in motion when Adam sinned.
But there was another consequence of Adam’s rebellion against God. When Adam sinned he transferred man’s dominion over the earth to Satan. The apostle said in 1 John 5:19: “We know that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”
That’s not to say Satan sovereignly governs the affairs of earth any more than Adam would have sovereignly governed the earth had he not sinned. The Apostle Paul said ‘every power and authority is subject to God.’ But here is what we must remember about Satan’s rule of terror. Even though God has allowed evil to plague this planet He has yet to relinquish His sovereignty. And that is despite what the media will say. Listen to headlines that, in a subtle fashion, suggest God has lost control. “Federal Building Bombed”; “Twin Towers Toppled”; “Earthquake Rips City”; Tsunami Kills Thousands”; and “Swing Flu Now Pandemic.”
Do you hear how those headlines seem to question God’s sovereignty? While those headlines are true, and the world is plagued with problems, God hasn’t lost control. Despite appearances God is still in charge!
(Illustration) I heard the story of the husband that died, had a beautiful funeral, but the wife later discovered he had willed everything to another woman. His tombstone was carved with the words, “Rest in Peace.” The wife was livid when she discovered the Will, so she asked if the tombstone could be amended. The engraver told her that the only thing possible was to add to the inscription. So underneath the words, “Rest in Peace,” she had added, “Until We Meet Again!”
Obviously, that woman lost control of her husband, but God never loses control! God may allow Satan to prowl about as a roaring lion, but He is no less in control. I want to illustrate the sovereign rule of God as it is revealed by recent history.
One of the greatest attempts of the 20th Century to dethrone and dismiss Christianity was Communism. How many remember the name Nikita Khrushchev? In 1960 Khrushchev, the Soviet Premier, said this: “by the year 1980—the building of socialism would be completed and the era of Communism would be ushered in” (IBID, Otis, page 46).
I believe Heaven takes note when leaders make such arrogant assertions. Here’s what happened during this predicted “Era of Communism” of the 1980’s:
The USSR collapsed.
The Berlin Wall was flattened as low as the walls of Jericho!
Communism in Romania was overthrown.
Czechoslovakia is no longer a communist republic.
Bulgaria removed its red star from atop its Party headquarters and is now a Democracy.
Poland and Hungary now exercise democratic elections.
Despite the defiance of Communism, and every other evil, Jesus Christ still governs the nations and works every earthly event into His master plan!
That’s what’s amazing—that God can perfectly fulfill His plan despite man’s rebellion! There are few theological issues more complex than understanding man’s free will to act and live as he pleases, and balancing that against God’s sovereignty. And yet, the Bible clearly sets forth both doctrines. Men are “free moral agents,” while at the same time God is sovereign and “works out all things for the praise of His glory.”
(Illustration) I read the story of the Seminary professor who parked his car and fastened that anti-theft device to his steering wheel. He then locked the doors and activated the alarm system. A student saw it unfold and said, “Doctor, don’t you believe in the sovereignty of God to protect that car?” The professor responded, “Yes, I believe in the sovereignty of God, but I also believe in the total depravity of man!”
What we must remember about the issue is this. God is in the process of fulfilling His predetermined plan of the ages despite man’s rebellion. He controls the king’s heart; He sets up one nation and brings down another; and He changes times and seasons. God never loses control!
(Transition) There’s another reason people deny God’s sovereignty. And it’s based on the issue of pain and suffering.
B. We are tempted to think God has lost control when we suffer discomfort or when our life spins out of control. But that’s never so!
(Illustration) Awhile back a College campus redesigned its library. So in order to direct the students a sign was placed over the entrance to the library. It read, “Due to reorganization, the basement will be on the second floor, one half of the second floor will be on the first floor, but one half will remain on the second. We suggest you ask for help.”[i]
What a depiction of life. We can’t always determine the right floor or piece together the puzzle, but that’s alright because here is what God asks: “Lean not unto your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He would direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
God wants us to remember something when we experience a Job-like trial or when we are “cast to the lions.” Regardless of what happens, God wants us to remember He is always good! Even when life hurts terribly, God is always good! And the second thing God wants us to remember is that He is perfectly wise! We can always trust that God’s goodness and infinite wisdom will work for us in a just and fair manner.
That means making us feel comfortable or immediately extracting us from a fiery trial aren’t always the priorities with God. It may be that God sends a trial to form us into Christ’s image or to get us to comply with His will. Despite how we dislike it, the Scripture says tough times build character and discipline.
(Transition) There’s one more issue I’ll mention that dissuades people from believing in God’s sovereignty.
C. People deny God’s sovereignty over the world when they don’t interpret life through the revelation of Scripture.
Every issue of life should be interpreted through the Bible. When men lay aside the Bible and try to make sense of life through science, philosophy, or mere human events they will always arrive at the wrong conclusion. God’s Word must guide our thinking or we will be dismayed! Let me illustrate that.
Have you ever wondered how the Israelites perceived God when they were in Egyptian captivity for 400 years? Here they were enslaved, oppressed, and trapped in a foreign country. When they interpreted life through their circumstances, they probably had difficulty believing God was more powerful than the nation of Egypt. They thought the Egyptians were in control, not God!
Unlike Moses, they hadn’t heard God’s voice at the burning bush. Moses knew God’s determinations! When it was time for God to act, not even the mightiest monarchy on earth could hold back an unarmed nation of slaves from escaping their grasp and walking through an open sea! Despite Israel’s perception problem, God never lost control!
Here is what we must understand when God doesn’t display His power when we hurt or according to our timetable. God has a higher plan. God has a way that glorifies His name. Isaiah 40 says, “My ways are not your ways, and neither are My thoughts your thoughts. As the heavens are high above the earth so are my ways and thoughts higher than yours.”
(Illustration) Sometime back I was in California and spotted an old, rusty, battered car that looked like it had been hauled from the junkyard. There was a sticker plastered on what was left of the rear bumper that declared two words: “God Rules”! I agree with that statement, but it struck me funny that it was plastered on an automobile ready for the scrap pile. It would have been more impressive and convincing on a Lamborghini or Royles Royce.
But here is what the owner of that vehicle understood. He lived with the divine revelation that regardless of how battered, rusty, and ruined life appeared, God was still in control! And that’s what we need to understand.
I want you to pause for a moment and consider the type of people that God used to announce His power over evil and declare His message of triumph. In most instances it wasn’t kings, princes, or military geniuses. It was people like the apostles and prophets that the world maligned and mistreated. People who were cursed, stoned, and martyred.
Sometimes the messenger is maligned but the fact remains, “God Rules”! He never loses control regardless of what happens in life.
(Illustration) Sometime back I read a story that would have easily made the pages of Holy Scripture had it happened in Bible days. In commenting on the story Paul Harvey said, “It was either the most phenomenal coincidence that ever occurred, or it was an act of God.” It happened in Swan Quarter, N.C. in 1876. (There are a stack of sworn statements and legal documents to confirm it.) A group of Methodists had a dream of building a Church. The town was situated in a valley so securing an elevated lot above the flood plane was necessary. The Church approached a prosperous land-owner about property two blocks from downtown but he wouldn’t sell. They were disappointed but settled for acreage on
Granted, occurrences like this aren’t commonplace. But God birthed a dream within an entire congregation, then made it appear impossible to achieve, and then through the power of floodwaters resurrected everything they wanted with a sovereign miracle.
(Quote) In May 2001 President George W. Bush delivered the commencement address at Yale University. During his speech he said this. “'When I left here [Yale], I didn't have much in the way of a life plan. I knew some people who thought they did. But it turned out that we were all in for ups and downs, most of them unexpected. Life takes its own turns, makes its own demands, writes its own story. And along the way, we start to realize we are not the author.”'
Conclusion
God is in control and He has your life properly charted! And the repeated revelation of Scripture is this: God’s people don’t have to always be in control, they just need to be under control! Being under God’s control is the safest place we could possibly be.
Sometimes our view of God perceives Him ruling the nations and commissioning the Heavenly hosts, but it’s difficult imagining Him intricately involved in our personal lives and never losing control. But let me assure you, God is in control.
The One that “Abides in the circuit of the Heavens,” and governs the movement of every corner of the cosmos is also invisibly, yet actively, involved in your life. When we stand before God’s throne with our glorified bodies, “knowing even as we are known,” we’ll discover that God’s direction, protection, and provision for our lives surpassed anything we ever dreamed.
Copyright © 2009 by Pulpit Today
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