As believers, we see God's sovereignty in action and we recognize God's sovereignty in action, but not so, unbelievers. Unbelievers see random chance in action. They see chaos. They see human free WILL in action—anything but God's sovereignty. Because apart from divine illumination, the human is offended by the very concept (it's not a concept, but a fact) there there could be no
free action allowed them where God leaves the human absolutely alone to either impress or not impress Him; to give something to Him that He never had before; to show Him something that He's never seen.
The irony (one might even call it a comedy) is that human beings who are, at every moment, doing exactly what God absolutely wants them to do, are completely aware of the divine influence. They feel no compulsion and so, like dumb animals, they assume that no compulsion lies upon them. Thus, God causes their very denial of His causes. (This is where the comedy comes in.)
But now, please forgive me for the comparison of humans to dumb animals. That was rude. I repent of it. It was thoughtless of me. Some people accuse me of being mean, and maybe they're right. I have done the dumb animals a great disservice here by comparing them to human beings. For, as Isaiah writes in 1:3 (Amplified Bible): “The ox [instinctively] knows its owner, And the donkey
its master’s feeding trough, But Israel does not know [Me as LORD], My people do not understand.”
Speaking of Isaiah, chapter 10 is one of the most illustrative examples of humans—even kings—being unaware of Who influences and controls them. I'll save the surprise for the video, but let's just say that the King of Assyria imagines that HE is wreaking havoc among nations, being ignorant that it is God bringing him up against His people Israel, to discipline them.
And then there is 1 Kings 22, where we get a behind-the-scenes look at HOW God influences those who've no perception of the influence. This is one of the most startling passages of Scripture. It is incredible at how few profit from it. Few take their doctrine from it. Rather (strangely), they develop strange and selfish teachings against it. So strong is the false teaching of human
free will that any verse or passage refuting it gets shoved rudely into the shadows, covered with a blanket, and set about with razor wire. No looking! Our entire belief structure crumbles to pieces here!
A big thank-you to Rodney Paris of Texas who has put some nice frogs and turtles and such behind a teaching highlighting the ignorance of humanity and the marvelous work of God. This tape—Part 6 of the eight-part presentation called The Sovereignty Series—has been sitting in a storage unit in Ohio for ten years. Rodney told me, "Dig up these tapes and get them to me, Zender. I'll
digitize them and set them to some terrific turtles."
So here you go. I recorded this particular message in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada—in a church hall, of all places—in the fall of 1997. The greatest thing about truth is that it is timeless. I learned of the sovereignty of God in 1986. Where? From Scripture. Romans chapter 9, specifically. From there it was just a matter of 1) building a fortress of Inspiration confirming God's
control of His creation, 2) filling in the blanks, and 3) exposing (after learning of) the underbelly of Satan's subtle (and not-so-subtle) lies causing tens of billions of people over the centuries to fall into the error of human free will—"limited" and otherwise.
I commend this message to God, Who inspired it. Thanks to Harry and Leila Watts of Ontario, Canada (who I believe are both dead now), who invited me into this assembly to teach. Leila believed in me while others (among mostly staid Canadians) were less than enthusiastic concerning "the wild man from Ohio." It was Leila who convinced the assembly in Kitchener to let me in. I brought
my wife Marcia to this meeting for moral support; I reference her in the talk. Marcia also provides some funny dialog from the studio at the beginning of this presentation.
May God cause the truth to take root in you. May He invite you behind the stage of life to show you why everything that happens—happens. It is a privilege granted to few in this eon.
From the edge of the bottom of the Floridan peninsula,
Martin Zender
June 13, 2021
