UNDERSTANDING THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

This season we are in has made me to think deeply and reflect. Why were a bunch of unschooled fishermen, tax collectors, ex-criminals and social misfits (remember the Samaritan woman, Mary Magdalene) able to do so much and endure pain with such great conviction? I think the answer lies in the their revelation of who their God was, particularly, their UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. So high was the conviction that all 12 Apostles died cruel deaths, all for the the sake of the Gospel. Peter was crucified upside down, Paul was beheaded...only John died a natural death after being banished to a solitary island of Patmos and after being cast into boiling oil, others were speared and burnt alive! Their prayer at the onset of persecution illustrates their UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD, "And when they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, “O Sovereign Lord [having complete power and authority], it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them" (Acts 4:24, AMP). I believe such understanding and conviction is the essence of restoration and powerful revival. A revelation of the sovereignty, power and majesty of God exposes our human nakedness and sin (Is 6:5) hence yields true repentance. Friend, is God calling you and I to a proper UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD in these surreal times? For, behold the coming of the Son of Man is near. Let us draw near to God and seek Him earnestly that we may find Him because He is not far.