Worship arts pastor Mike Cosper preached a sermon entitled “Doxology” at The 930 during Sojourn’s August 10 worship gathering.  This sermon emphasizes that our praise for God must flow from a good understanding of who He is and what He’s done.  You can download it for free from our podcast, Sojournmusic.com Radio, available on iTunes and other podcast directories, or simply click the play button below:

Follow along with these sermon notes:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen (Romans 11:33-36).

The Sovereignty of God: Simply means what God wants done, gets done, and nothing is done that God doesn’t want done. God is in control of all things.

Doxology (our praise and adoration) flows from Theology (what we know about God)
True worship flows from a heart hungry to know and see God (Psalm 63:1).
Oh the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God (v. 33a).

Confusion should motivate us to worship - God isn’t confused at all.

It takes humility to acknowledge that we can’t fully understand these things, and that posture is where worship begins.

Suffering and Sovereignty - Israel’s Exile
Great suffering produces great doubts
Isaiah speaks into this suffering, reminding Israel of their smallness (Isaiah 40:10-15).

Yahweh vs. Babylonian Gods and their panel of human advisors.
God doesn’t need counsel from anyone - not priests, not demi-Gods, not celebrities, not you.

They didn’t know what God had in store for them in Jesus Christ.

God doesn’t comfort them by sending them a theology textbook. He doesn’t paint them a picture. He comforts them with his presence (Isaiah 40:11).

True comfort and peace in the midst of suffering or in the midst of any struggle with the sovereignty of God comes not from answers about God, but from the intimate presence of God himself.

Suffering and Sovereignty - Job

God doesn’t owe you anything. God is telling Job that he doesn’t owe him even an explanation of why things have happened (Job 38:1).

For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever, Amen (v. 36)!

1. We praise God (doxology) in response to what we know of him (theology).
Worship requires our careful, thoughtful attention to who God is and what he’s done.

2. Worship is born out of humility, acknowledging both God’s greatness, and our weakness.

3. Worship is born out of hope in a sovereign God, who can keep his promises in spite of the darkness in the world around us.

The Wonder of the Gospel is what should give us confidence in God’s sovereignty, and is the grounds of worship.

Because the Gospel was a beautiful surprise, we should trust that what God has for history will also be a beautiful surprise.

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