Advent: Born to Dwell With Bible Study FellowshipSample

God’s Plans Unfurled

God’s sovereignty is evident in the Bible’s accounts of Jesus Christ’s birth. Imagine God’s glorious angels lighting the sky over the shepherds’ heads, announcing the news, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11). And, as Matthew records, God also used a twinkle of light in the night to draw the Magi, step-by-step, to find and worship His Son.

God’s ways always prevail. Part of His good news, proven repeatedly by Scripture, is that no person’s sins or failures can mess up God’s sovereign plan. God preserved Jesus’ life on earth, overruling King Herod’s threats. Jesus would die, but not until the exact time God determined. Jesus would die the death He came to die so we could live the life God intended us to live.

God is Sovereign

Saying God is sovereign means He has ultimate control over everything and determines all outcomes. In other words, God is able and free to accomplish everything He wills. (1) Nothing exists outside the scope of His perfect control. (2) All that was, is, and will be operates under His authority:

• The rise and fall of nations – Daniel 4:34-35
• Details of our daily lives – Acts 17:24-27
• Satan’s opposition – 1 Peter 5:8
• Calling people to salvation – Romans 8:29-30
• Awakening dead hearts to seek Him – Ephesians 1:4

Aspects of God’s sovereignty are beyond our ability to comprehend fully. We have questions like, If God is in absolute control, how can He hold people responsible for their choices? Romans 1:19-20 explains why God’s sovereignty never eliminates human responsibility. Instead, each individual is accountable for responding to the light God shines into our lives. Paul writes to the church in Rome: “What may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Because God is perfect, everything God wills and accomplishes is good. He upholds His glory and the highest and best possible purposes. God’s goodness exists in perfect measure with His sovereign power, even His wrath. None of God’s attributes compete with or compromise any of His other attributes.

Sin’s Faulty Rule

Sin makes no sense. Sin makes us long to be sovereign. However, the truth is we cannot control anything. We start and end life in a dependent state. And that is our position every day we live. But we like to feel that we are in control. When we try to construct a life that feels good and under our control, when we refuse to rest in God’s better (and always best) knowledge and work, we are left with a world that feels haphazard instead.

Resting in God’s sovereignty provides peace in a chaotic world. God:

• knows what we do not.
• controls what we cannot.
• accomplishes what He desires.
• always desires and does what is best.

With God in control, you can cease striving and rest in Him. With God in charge, you no longer need to be anxious. You can obey without worry and rest in Him because He will accomplish what He intends. He has numbered your days and charted your path. (3) Psalm 46:10 puts it together so well, “Be still and know that I am God.” Or, as the angelic chorus tells the shepherds, “On earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). Do you trust God with your life and know His peace?

Questions

1. Where do you see God at work in Luke 2, and what do His actions say about His character?
2. What truths are part of the “great joy” the angels mention when announcing, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10)? How does this message minister to you?
3. In Luke 2:20, the shepherds return to their fields, “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Can you think of a time when God powerfully delivered truths that surprised you, changing your perspectives and priorities?

Related verses:

1. God’s will: Ps 115:3; 135:6; Isa 46:10; Acts 2:23
2. God’s sovereignty: 1 Chr 29:11-12; Ps 47:7-8
3. God’s plan for our lives: Ps 139:16