I was listening to John Piper’s sermon on the Supremacy of Christ in ministry from the “Together for the Gospel” conference this morning during my run.  The message is rich in so many ways, but one particular point stuck out to me.  John made mention that Christ is not the “ticket” to anything:  wealth, prosperity, health, peace, etc.  Those things may very well be given to you by Christ, but He is not the ticket to them.  Christ is the goal.  He is the aim.  He is all and supreme.  Almost in a throwaway comment, John says something like, “A ticket just gets you into the show, but once you are in the show, you just throw the ticket away.”  That struck a chord with me.

 

Presently, so many people that I know, practically everyone really, is being pushed to the breaking point.   There are financial difficulties, physical challenges; marital strife, work (or lack of work) stresses everywhere.  Now, before I go forward, I know some very Godly people who are walking through these challenges seeking God’s glory and praising Him in the midst of it all.  However, so many folks are struggling, at the end of their rope, and completely bewildered.  One of the reasons for that is that Jesus has been the ticket to the show and not the show itself.

 

This was once again impressed upon me over the last week as 1.2 million people registered for the lottery to the Michael Jackson worship…err…memorial service.  I’m sure some folks will keep their tickets for mementos or maybe sell them on ebay for $300, but what folks really wanted was access to the event.  I probably have a couple of old tickets to some old heavy metal shows from the 80’s but I can’t tell you where they are.  The ticket is just access to something else.

 

Well, if Jesus is not supreme, if He is not the purpose and goal of your life, if you don’t live and strive for His glory, but instead make Him your ticket and means by which you hope to acquire all the things you want, then you will suffer and grow bitter when you see those dreams fall apart.  Who knows, maybe God gives you all of those things, but if Christ was the mere means for you to get them, your acquisition will be your god and that god will disappoint.

 

Our goal, our scriptural purpose is to make Christ preeminent in all things.  He is not a means to anything, but He is instead the end of all things, our glory, our hope, our God.  We will not reduce Him to a lotto ticket, an insurance card, or anything else.  We must worship Him who is lifted high above all else and trust Him for the wisdom and provision of those things that we ask for and need.

 

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

 

 

Below is a mid-week email I sent out to the folks at Sovereign King Church.  Then I thought about how so many folks are struggling right now, so I've included it as an encouragement for general consumption.
--
Hey Gang,
 
How ya living?  Surviving?  Dying?  Thriving?  Perhaps a mixture of all 3?  Please know that I am praying for you, but even more, know that God's love and affection rest on you now because of His complete satisfaction with His son, Jesus, in whom you trust.  God is ordaining some very challenging circumstances for everyone right now, but He is also ordaining grace to sustain you in the midst of those trials.  In each moment of each day, whether joy or bliss, call out in faith for help, or even call out for faith to call out. 
 
I found this poem the other day from John Piper, and it has been an encouragement to me.  I hope it will be to you as well.  It speaks to the grace that God gifts His people.
 
Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
Nor flight from all distress, BUT THIS,
The grace that orders our trouble and pain
And then in the darkness is there to sustain
 
One of the promises of Jesus' New Covenant is found in Jeremiah 32 where it says:
 
40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
 
See you all very soon,
 

Gordon

After posting this yesterday, I received a note from a friend questioning the position of God's ordaining all things, including challenging circumstances for His people.  In light of that, I have posted the following scriptures speaking to their concern.  My post yesterday was not intended to incite debate but encouragement.  My response is simply meant to support the Biblical position of my note.  I pray for your peace and discernment for any who care to read through these scriptures.

G

God's Complete Control Over Creation

 

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
 

Col 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him.
 

Heb 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
 

Col 1:17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
 

It is no wonder, then, that the apostolic word to the philosophers in ancient Greece was, "in Him we live and move and exist" (Act 17:28).

 

God's Complete Control Over the Earth

 

"All things come from Thee, and from Thy hand" (1Ch 29:14)!
 

Psa 65:6 Who dost establish the mountains by His strength, being girded with might; 7 who dost still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples. 8 And they who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of thy signs; thou dost make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy. 9 Thou dost visit the earth, and cause it to overflow; Thou greatly enrich it; the stream of God is full of water; Thou dost prepare their grain, for thus Thou dost prepare the earth. 10 Thou dost water its furrows abundantly; Thou dost settle its ridges; Thou dost soften it with showers; Thou dost bless its growth.
 

Psa 104:10 He sends forth springs in the valleys; they flow between the mountains; 11 they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they lift up their voices among the branches. 13 He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works. 14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man, so that he may bring forth food from the earth, 15 and wine which makes man's heart glad, so that he may make his face glisten with oil, and food which sustains man's heart. 16 The trees of the LORD drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon which He planted . . .
 

Jer 14:22 Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not Thou, O LORD our God? Therefore we hope in Thee, for Thou art the one who hast done all these things.
 

Act 14:17 . . . and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.
 

God's Complete Control Cannot Be Stopped

 

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, "My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure."
 

Dan 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, "What hast Thou done?"
 

Pro 19:21 Many are the plans in a man's heart, but the counsel of the LORD, it will stand.
 

Isa 14:27 For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?
 

Psa 115:3 But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.
 

Psa 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
 

Rom 9:19 You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?"
 

God's Complete Control Over "Chance Events"

 

Pro 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.
 

Job 36:32 He covers His hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark.
 

Jon 1:7 And each man said to his mate, "Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us." So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
 

God's Complete Control Over the Details

 

Mat 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
 

Jon 1:17 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
 

Jon 4:6 So the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant. 7 But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it withered. 8 And it came about when the sun came up that God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah's head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, "Death is better to me than life."
 

God's Complete Control Over Nations

 

Act 17:26 . . . and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation,
 

Psa 33:10 The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.
 

Pro 21:1 The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.
 

Dan 2:21 And it is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men, and knowledge to men of understanding.
 

God's Complete Control Over Calamity and Evil

 

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, 7 the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.
 

Amo 3:2 You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities. 3 Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment? 4 Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something? 5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it? Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all? 6 If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?
 

Job 1:21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."
 

Jer 15:2 And it shall be that when they say to you, "Where should we go?" then you are to tell them, "Thus says the LORD: Those destined for death, to death; and those destined for the sword, to the sword; and those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity. 3 And I shall appoint over them four kinds of doom, declares the LORD: the sword to slay, the dogs to drag off, and the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 And I shall make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem."
 

Jer 18:11 So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, "Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds."
 

Pro 16:4 The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.
 

Ecc 7:14 In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider--God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him.
 

1Sa 16:14 Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him. 15 Saul's servants then said to him, "Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well."
 

God's Complete Control Over People

 

"Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker--An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, 'What are you doing?' Or the thing you are making say, 'He has no hands'?" (Isa 45:9).

 

Pro 20:12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made both of them.
 

Exo 4:11 And the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?"
 

Psa 139:13 For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. 14 I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well.
 

Joh 9:1 And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him."
 

God Controls the Free Actions of People

 

 

Lam 2:17 The LORD has done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word which He commanded from days of old. He has thrown down without sparing, and He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the might of your adversaries.
 

Gen 20: 6 Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her."
 

Gen 45:9 Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, "Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay."
 

Dan 1:9 Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials . . .
 

Neh 2:8 . . . and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house to which I will go. And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me.
 

Psa 110:3 Thy people will volunteer freely in the day of Thy power; in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Thy youth are to Thee as the dew.
 

God Controls the Sinful Actions of People

 

Pro 16:4 The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.
 

Gen 50:20 And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
 

Act 2:23 . . . this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
 

Act 4:27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined to occur.
 

Deu 2:30 But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today.
 

Exo 9:12 And the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses.
 

Exo 10:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may perform these signs of Mine among them . . ."
 

Jos 11:20 For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
 

 

God Ordains the Days of Our Lives

 

Psa 22:9 Yet Thou art He who didst bring me forth from the womb; Thou didst make me trust when upon my mother's breasts. 10 Upon Thee I was cast from birth; Thou hast been my God from my mother's womb.
 

Psa 71:6 By Thee I have been sustained from my birth; Thou art He who took me from my mother's womb; my praise is continually of Thee.
 

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
 

Num 24:23 And he took up his discourse and said, "Alas, who can live except God has ordained it?"
 

Pro 20:24 Man's steps are ordained by the LORD, how then can man understand his way?
 

Job 14:1 Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil. 2 Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. 3 Thou also dost open Thine eyes on him, and bring him into judgment with Thyself. 4 Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one! 5 since his days are determined, the number of his months is with Thee, and his limits Thou hast set so that he cannot pass.
 

Jam 4:13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that."
 

God's Complete Control Over Judgment

 

Pro 16:4 The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.
 

Rom 9:10 And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad, in order that God's purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, "THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER." 13 Just as it is written, "JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED." 14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION." 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH."
 

1Pe 2:8 . . . and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
 

Jud 1:4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
 

 

Joh 17:12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
 

God's Complete Control in Salvation

 
 

Eph 1:4 . . . just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
 

2Ti 1:9 . . . who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity . . .
 

2Th 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
 

1Th 1:4 . . . knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you.
 

Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect?
 

Mat 25:34 Then the King will say to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
 

 

Joh 6:65 And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father."
 

Joh 17:9 I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine.
 

 

God's Control of Understanding and Knowledge

 

Joh 3:27 John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven."
 

Mat 13:11 And He answered and said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted."
 

Luk 8:10 And He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, in order that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND."
 

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."
 

Joh 12:39 For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 "HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES, AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART; LEST THEY SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED, AND I HEAL THEM."
 

God's Control of Spiritual Birth

 

Joh 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
 

Joh 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
 

1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead . . .
 

Eph 2:5 . . . even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) . . .
 

Col 2:13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions . . .
 

Tit 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit ...
 

God's Control of Repentance and Faith

 

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.
 

Phi 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake . . .
 

Act 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
 

Act 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
 

2Ti 2:24 And the Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth . . .
 

Act 5:31 He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
 

Act 11:18 And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
 

 

God's Complete Control of All Things

 

"His sovereignty rules over all" (Psa 103:19). My God ordains all things.
 

Isa 46:9 Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, "My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure."
 

Eph 1:11 . . . also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will . . .
 

Rom 11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
 

Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
 

1Co 8:6 . . . yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
 

Psa 103:19 The LORD has established His throne in the heavens; and His sovereignty rules over all.
 
(Multiple sources including Berkhof, Strawbridge, etc)