Turn with me this morning to
Jeremiah in the 33rd chapter. Jeremiah
chapter 33. I'll begin reading in verse Moreover, the word of the Lord
came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up
in the court of the prison, saying, Thus saith the Lord the Maker
thereof, the Lord that formed to establish it, the Lord is
his name. Call unto me, and I will answer
thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest
not. For thus saith the Lord, the
God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning
the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the
mounts and by the sword. They come to fight with the Chaldeans,
but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of whom I have slain
in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness
I have hid my face from this city. Behold, I will bring it
health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them
the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captivity
of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build
them as at the first. And I will cleanse them from
all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against Me, and I
will pardon all their iniquities. whereby they have sinned, and
whereby they have transgressed against me. And that shall be
to me a name of joy, a praise and an honor before all the nations
of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them. And they shall fear and tremble
for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure
unto it." I have been thinking a lot this
week about the will. The will. The will of man. and the will of God. And I think that all of the preachers
of false religion, they make it a point to put all of their
imagined hopes and direct all of their propositions to the
so-called free will of man. But if you stop and think about
it just a little bit, just stop and think about it. A free will simply means that
the one who possesses it actually does all that they want to do
freely. And when you stop and think about
that, if you have any honesty about you whatsoever, you have
to know that in this universe there can only be one free will. That's my message this morning.
The one free will. And rather than being as men
say it is, who claim that salvation is up to man, to be ultimately
decided by man, and depends upon the choice of man, that is a
direct contradiction to what the Bible says. The Bible shows that the will
of man is bound. And it is not free, but is rather
dictated by the nature of man. And that is the nature of sin. We are only of ourselves free
in the sense that we are free to be what we are, sinners. We are free to act within the
confines of the dictates of this fallen nature. And men, because
of this, they do have a will and they do make decisions. And they do make choices, but
they only always choose evil. They always decide against the
true and living God. They always refuse to come to
Christ. That's what he said to some people
in his day. You will not come to me that
you might have life. You will not will to come to
me because your will does not act contrary to your nature which
is against me or enmity against me. And rather to be found in
the Bible as a gift from God or an enablement of God Free
will, supposedly, as we find it expressed, finds its roots
with the devil, with Satan himself. Hold your place here and turn
back to Isaiah 14, Isaiah chapter 14, and listen to what God says concerning this
one who is the adversary of God and the adversary of men's souls. He says of him in chapter 14
of verse 12, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of
the morning? How art thou cut down to the
ground, which didst weaken the nations? For thou hast said in
thine heart, I will ascend into heaven." Here he was, a created
living being. living in the presence of God
until iniquity was found in him, and he was cast out of heaven
along with a third of the angelic host for this very thing which
is rebellion against God. He said, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. I will be God. And that is the
basis of all so-called free will. I will be my own God. I will do as I please. I will be my own Savior. I will establish my own righteousness. And here is a being that was
far stronger than any of us and far more glorious than any of
us have ever been, and far more of himself, if it can be said
so, able to exercise this will. But now you listen to what God
says to him. Yet thou shalt be brought down
to hell. Do you think? that God, who has
power over the will of Satan, do you think He has the ability
to subdue him? Will He show him that there is
actually only one true free will in this universe and every universe? Absolutely. He said, you shall
be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit, they that see
thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying,
Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake
nations, that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed
the cities thereof, that opened not the house of his prison?
all the kings of the nation, even all of them lie in glory,
every one in his own house. But thou art cast down out of
thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of
those that are slain thrust through with a sword that go down to
the stones of the pit, as a carcass trodden under feet." They'll
look at him and say, is this the one that deceived our race? Is this the one who had such
strength? Is this the one that the angel
would not contend with over the body of Moses? Is this the one
who said that he would do this and that and the other? And yet
he's cast down. to the very sides of the pit
of hell. And my friend, not only is that
true of the devil himself, but it is true of everyone who live
and die and base all their hope and all their standing before
God and all their salvation on the same principle, exalting
their will above the will of God. You see, the Bible sets forth
as the only hope for a sinner the sovereign, almighty will
of God, the one free will, the one that
sinners are not called upon to accept as their personal Savior,
so called, but the One who exercises His will in all things. When you turn in the Gospel of
John, it says that Christ came unto His own, and His own received
Him not. But as many as received Him,
To them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name. Here is a whole world of people
who of themselves receive him not. And then immediately he
turns around and he says this, but as many as received him. To them gave he the right the
power to be made manifest as the children of God. Well, why
did they believe? And here are others who didn't
believe. Was it because of their free
will? Was it because they exercised
their will? Was it because they made a choice? No, listen to the very next statement. Even to them that believe on
His name which were born not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." They were born
of God. They were born of the will of
God. And that's in the very first
chapter of the Gospel of John. And Paul follows up on that in
the ninth chapter of Romans calling back to our memory the very thing
that God said of Pharaoh and those of that day. For he saith
to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." Did
you hear that? That's not a man in a theological
seminary standing up to declare some kind of doctrine, and it
is not a preacher talking about it in some ordinary kind of way. That is God, through Moses, and
now through the Apostle Paul, declaring this. I will have mercy
on whom I will have mercy. He doesn't say anything there
about the will of man. Mercy is bound up in the will
of God. And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Paul says, so then it is not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy. It's the will of God. It's not
in man's doing. It's not in man's decision. It's
not in man's will. It's in the will of God in Jesus
Christ that shows mercy. And then he says this through
the Apostle James. He says, "...of his own will,"
God's will, "...of his own will begot he us, birthed us, or brought
us forth to life in Christ, begat us with the word of truth that
we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." There is no
hope in the will of man. But what a good hope the Scripture
set forth in the will of God and His free grace. And the good
news of the gospel is that God's will is free. He cannot be bound by devils. He cannot be bound by angels
or kings or powers or principalities. He cannot have His hands tied
or His will and purpose thwarted by anybody, even those that He
wills to save. I remember a dear brother saying
one time years ago, with regard to this very thing,
he said, God saves His people against their will with their
full consent. And that's absolutely right. He exercises His will. He does all His will. And He has willed and purposed
to save a people by His grace in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
nobody can stop Him. And if He hadn't, and if things
weren't this way, nobody would be saved. We look back at such Old Testament
passages as the one that is before us this morning and it is plain. Paul saying in the last of Romans,
for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope. That's why we live in a hopeless
world. Because man's hope is always
directed back to himself. And there is no hope in us. And
there'll never be any hope in anything done by us. And the
only hope we'll ever have is that hope of grace in Christ
if God is pleased, according to His will, to give it to us. Paul again to the Corinthians,
he says, now all these things happened, all these things that
we read about concerning Israel in the Old Testament, all these
things happened unto them for examples, and they are written
for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. And here we are in this hour
and in this age upon which the ends of the age are come. And it is characterized in this
hour, just as the Scriptures say, a full assault on the throne
of God and rebellion against the Word and Gospel of God. And nothing characterizes that
any more than the promotion of a doctrine called free will. Would you like me to tell you
exactly what that really means? It is the rebel's determination
to be free from God, free from His hand ruling over us. free from His determining all
things that happen to us, free from bringing forth the only
righteousness by which He can save us. That is free will. You see, this chapter has to
do with the prophecies regarding the spiritual blessings of the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ in this gospel age. He has, in these last times,
spoken unto us by His Son. And the return of these Jews
from captivity And the benefits that were to follow them on that
return, they were all types and pictures of what God would do in the restoration. and not the restoration of a
nation called Israel, and not the restoration of those who
are just natural citizens of that nation, but of that nation
that it represented, spiritual Israel. The city that's spoken of here
is Jerusalem. And God's elect, His church,
His people are likened to a city that has been brought to judgment
and destruction. And the walls are broken down,
and the city is in ruins, and the inhabitants are sick and
diseased. But God sends His prophet with
a message. And it's a message about what
God says He will do. You see, the reason why so-called
free will fits in so well in this generation is because men
preach a message, a gospel of salvation by that which they
are to do. If you tell a man that he's to
do this to be saved, he can either do it or not do it. But the true
gospel is a message of what God has done. And if it's something that God
has done, it's too late. Too late. And he is talking here
primarily about that people who are all these things as sinners
that are described here, who fell into this awful estate in
Adam, our father, and all these things. And this is what he says
about what he'll do, and he does so by first identifying himself. Look back at that second verse.
Thus saith the Lord, the Maker thereof. The Creator of all things is
also the Owner of all things. and therefore says, Can I not
do with my own what I please? Thus saith the Lord, the Maker
thereof, the Lord that formed it to establish it." God didn't create this world.
He didn't create people in this world. for this world to be totally
destroyed, taken over by the devil, left to his rule and reign,
and every one of them perish? No, he formed it to establish
it. The Lord, Jehovah, is His name. His name. You see, the salvation of this
world, and more particularly, the salvation of sinners in this
world, rests in God's will. And I can tell you a few things
about God's will. Number one, it's a sovereign
will. Number two, it is a will that
is bound up entirely in His Son to be the Savior of His people
and also to be the righteous judge and king over every person. But I'm thankful to be able to
say that it's also a saving will to His people in Christ. Look with me in John chapter
6, beginning in verse 37. Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke this
in the face of unwillingness. He had already told them that
for the most part, you will not come to me that you might have
life. If you haven't got life, you
must be dead. And therefore, your will is the
same. He says, but all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. How can you say that, Christ?
If this is a matter of man's decision, if this is a matter
of man's so-called free will. No, he says, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that comes to me I will in
no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will. That's the voice of Jehovah's
servant. That's the voice of God the Son
in subjection to the Father's will for the accomplishment of
the redemption of His people. I came not down from heaven to
do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's will
which hath sent me. This means absolutely nothing.
if the so-called free will of man is true. It means nothing. Man's will will never decide
God's will. He never looked down through
time to see what man's will would decide and therefore exercise
his will because of that. That's blasphemy. And this is the Father's will
which has sent me that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing." Here's the shepherd. Of all the
sheep he's given me, I'm not going to lose any of them, but
should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will
of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth
on him may have everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at the
last day. Those verses are not contradictory
to each other. This is the will of God. And
this is simply the language of His covenant, the everlasting
covenant which is totally dependent upon Christ and what He accomplished. The blood that He shed in His
cross death is called the blood of the everlasting covenant,
and because of this, He makes this declaration. In Hebrews 8, he says, For this
is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after
those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their
mind and write them into their hearts. And I will be to them
a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not
teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the
greatest. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins, and their iniquities will I remember
no more." I'll be gracious to her. I will. And then in this 33rd chapter,
beginning in verse 6, he does something that he does
often. He does often. He sets forth in a series of
statements what he will do. which will prove the salvation
and hope and redemption and reconciliation of his people. Verse 6, he says, Behold, I will
bring it, this city, Jerusalem, Zion, which is a picture of the
church, behold, I will bring it, health
and cure, and I will cure them. I'll tell you what free will
is interested in, and that's a cure for our earthly illnesses. It's a desire to have our bodies
healed. It's an emphasis on the welfare
of our flesh. You will not find that in this
book. The Lord Jesus Christ brought
forth when He was here on this earth and enabled the apostles
to do likewise, bringing forth healings of the body, healing
of all the various types of illnesses and afflictions, number one,
to give credentials to who He was and the message that they
preached, and to show what He does spiritually. to men and women who are in this
case spiritually. Sick, lame, helpless, blind,
deaf, dumb. He didn't heal every deaf person. He didn't heal every dumb person.
He didn't heal every lame person. He didn't raise every dead person.
But he did just all of those to show that's our case spiritually. And He healed all those conditions.
But it was to show exactly what He's saying in this sixth verse,
that He cures, that He heals, that He brings health through
the blood atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all our spiritual
diseases have been put away eternally and healed forever. Isaiah records, Surely he hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. And some dummy stands up before
more dummies, and says, we have this healing in Jesus. It is not God's will that any
of us are sick. All we have got to do is claim
it. He says here, by His stripes
you are healed. It is not dependent on your faith. It's not dependent on your will. Men love that because when people
try along that way, all they've got to do when it doesn't happen
is say, well, the problem is you don't have enough faith. That's a win-win situation for
a guy who's trying to glorify himself and fill his pockets. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
But, Peter writes, led by the same
Spirit, saying the very same thing. 1 Peter 2, "...who his
own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we,
being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose
stripes you were healed." Do you ever see in Scripture where
Christ never asks anybody, If you'll do this or that or
the other, if you'll believe this, if you'll fill this proposition,
you'll be healed. You see, this is the total work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. through his sufferings, his stripes,
divine justice laying on him in the place of his people, his
laying stripes that they were due, they were by his stripes
healed in this spiritual and eternal sense of all their sins. And then what does he say? Verse
6 again, he says, I will reveal unto them the abundance of peace
and truth." They could never find peace or
truth by their searching, by their wills. But he says, I will
do this. I will reveal unto them the abundance
of peace and truth. You see, apart from the revelation
of the Word of the Truth to our heart, we're ignorant of God,
and we're ignorant of ourselves, and we're ignorant of our own
condition, and we're ignorant of the way of peace which is
in Christ. Stumbling around like blind men,
which is the way He pictures us. Groping in darkness. If you don't have any idea of
what's necessary to cure you, if you don't have any idea of
your own condition, if you don't have any idea of God's conditions
of peace, you just grope around. He says, I'll reveal to them. Abundance. Abundance. Abundance of peace and truth. I will reveal to them how peace
is made with God." The false gospel says, exercise
your free will, make peace with God. The true gospel says, I
will reveal to you God's way of peace. Here is God's way of peace. Paul
writes in Romans 5, Therefore, being justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Now, he is
talking about peace of conscience, peace of mind, peace of heart. How do we ever come to have that?
Through faith in Christ. But that peace of conscience,
that peace of heart and mind, is only through and by the peace
that Christ made on His cross. He's the one who made peace with
God. Having made peace, the Apostle
says, through the blood of His cross. He tells us the truth.
He reveals to us the truth of salvation. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved. He gives us that abundance
of peace, or rather abundance of truth and redemption, neither
by the blood of goats and cows, but by His own blood He entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. and the truth of righteousness. You don't even have to get out
of this chapter to find it. Look down at verse 16. Verse 16 of Jeremiah 33, "...in
those days and at that time will I cause the branch of righteousness
to grow up unto David, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness
in the land. In those days shall Judah be
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely, and this is the name
wherewith she shall be called the Lord our righteousness. That's the name of God's Jerusalem. That's the name of God's Zion. That's the banner over all His
people. Jehovah-Nissi, I believe it is,
the Lord our banner over us. What is it? The Lord our righteousness. The Lord is our righteousness.
The Lord Jesus Christ is our righteousness. The only righteousness there
is, is God's righteousness. The only sinner who's ever righteous
before God is the sinner to whom, who is made righteous in the
Lord Jesus Christ, God imputing to him that righteousness. And he gives abundance of truth
and he says, But of God are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is
made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." Do you see anything in there
about us doing anything? You see, in Christ, We have peace
with God through the truth. And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. Then he says this, I will. Surely he'll get to our part
after a while, won't he? No, he won't. He's already concluded
our part in the picture. We sinned, we fell, we're like
this broken down city. diseased people. That's us. And
he says, I'll cause them to return. Why would these people be said
to return? Because they were in bondage.
They'd been in captivity. And likewise, we were in bondage
to sin and powerless to deliver ourselves from captivity, and
we did not know the way to God, would never choose anything but
the way that seemed right unto us, which he says is the way
of death, and had no heart or desire to come in his way. But by the sacrifice, by the
obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ our Head, we were liberated from
sin. and death and eternal condemnation,
and because of this, brought in time by His Spirit to Christ. Now, we read in our reading that
Psalm 110, when the father looks at the son and he calls him his
king. Well, you're not a king unless
you've got a kingdom. And you've not got a kingdom
unless you've got subjects in that kingdom. And looking at
all the whole mass of fallen humanity who will not of themselves
come to Him that they might have life. He says to him, thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power. Thy power. He'll make them willing. He'll give them His Spirit. Work in them His grace. Break down all the boundaries. Liberate that captive spirit. And bring them to believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. No man can come to me except
the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I'll raise him
up at the last day. And it is written in the prophets,
And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. Hold your place again and turn
to John 17. Now, this is our Lord speaking to
the Father in what some have called the great high priestly
prayer. Look down in verse 24. Father, I will." He doesn't say, Father, I hope
they're willing. He says, Father, I will that
they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that
they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou
lovest me before the foundation of the world." I will. Do you think there is any way that
the Father could resist answering the prayer of the Son when He
had fulfilled all His will? No, he shows here that his will
and the will of the Father are one and the same. The will of
Jehovah's servant is the will of Jehovah. I will that these
that you've given me be with me where I am. That's glorious. Then he says
this in Jeremiah 33 again, I will build them. I don't like the term church
building. I just don't like it. I don't
find it in the Bible to start with. Because we are not the builders
of the Lord's church. Christ's church is likened to
a building A temple that is built upon Him and joined to Him and
resting upon Him. God's people, God's elect rests
on a solid foundation which it says that the Lord Jesus Christ
is the chief cornerstone. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation stone, a tridestone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. And he that believeth
shall not make haste, shall not be disappointed, shall never
fall, if there rest in all on this foundation." He says to Paul through Paul
in Ephesians, Now, therefore, you are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household
of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets." What's that? Jesus Christ Himself being the
chief cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly framed together
groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are
built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. And
who builds that? He said, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. I will put every one of those
living stones hewn out of that old mine quarry of fallen sinners
of Adam's race. I'll gather them out. I'll shape
them myself and make them fit as a part of that building that is Christ. Then he says
this, I'll cleanse them from all their iniquities. Do you remember what Christ said What the leper said to Christ,
he said, if you will, you can make me clean. Oh, I wish that's what we were
hearing more of in our day. Lord, if you will, you can make
me clean. You know what Christ said? He
said, I will be thou clean. I will. and His will is our cleansing.
And that can only happen through the Lord Jesus Christ bearing
our judgment in our place. Peter says, For Christ also hath
once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened
by the Spirit. He's made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. And this cleansing is that cleansing,
I believe, that is the cleansing of the conscience. He's cleansed us before God and
made us clean, and yet our consciences are often found defiled. And so John says, but if we walk
in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth
us from all sin. cleanses us from all sin. And then he said, I'll pardon
them from all their sin and transgression against me. Now, wait a minute. You say you'll do all these things.
What about if they're not willing? What about if they don't? There's just one free will. And if you're ever brought to
know God, it won't be by your decision or by your natural choice
or anything like that. Free will, as it has to do with
men, will have nothing to do with it. God alone has such authority
and the right to declare the guilty justified in his sight
and his pardon Has to be a just one. Pardon here means to forgive,
and the forgiveness of sin always involves the remission of sins. And almost all things are by
the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is
no remission. And so the Lord says, For this
is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins. And so the apostles went out
and preached, To him give all the prophets witness, that through
his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission
of sins. Pardon, forgiveness, because
sins have been paid for and put away. Let me show you one more passage
in Hebrews. Look down here at Hebrews chapter
10, beginning in verse 5, wherein the apostle reminds us
of a quote found in the Old Testament by the Messiah. Hebrews 10 and
verse 5, Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared
me. All these Old Testament sheep
and goats and whatever never put away sin, and he would not
receive Any of those were the actual pudding way of sin. But
he said, a body you've prepared me. That's the Christ. In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, lo, I come, in the
volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. To do God's will. Above, when he said, Sacrifice
and offering, and burnt offerings, and offering for sin thou wouldest
not, neither hath pleasure therein which are offered by the law.
Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away
the first, that he may establish the second." He's been talking
here about the will of God. Christ came to do the will of
God. All right? Look at the next verse.
"...by the which will." by the which will, or by whose
will, we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. You could just believe that one
verse. He came to do the will of God. By the witch will, we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once. That's where that action is.
Once. God's will in Christ to save and make righteous sanctify,
glorify everything concerning His people was through the offering
of His body as a sacrifice, as a substitute in their place once. Once. It's His will. And thank God
His will is free. Because if it were not, all of the imagined wills of
men, we'd all just go racing off into eternity and perish doing everything our
way. exercising our so-called free
will. And a multitude will do that. But those that are saved will
be saved because of His will. His will in Christ. I've used this illustration a
lot over the years, You know, we say we love our
children. Love the grandchildren. Jules
brought a couple of her grandchildren, just cute as they can be. And
suppose one of those little boys were to run out there in the
middle of Highway 53. Now, she loves them. Well, I'd run out there and snatch
them out of the way of that big truck coming down the road there,
but I really don't want to infringe upon their free will. But you say, those kids don't
have any sense of the danger. They don't know what to do. They
don't have any idea of the difficulty. Well, I know that, but still
can't violate that precious principle in the minds of man, his sovereignty. Well, what would happen? They'd perish. She'd not reason like that. She'd
never stop, ask, Consult them, you, me, anybody, or even herself. She would run immediately and
snatch them right out from the midst of that danger and save
them. You know why? Because that's
what real love is all about. This phony God loves everybody
kind of stuff. God loves everybody He saves. Because He knows their state,
their blindness, their deadness, their stupidness, their ignorance,
their weakness. He knows it all. And to save
them, He will and has and does exercise the one free will. And I am so glad. And that's why he teaches his
people this prayer. After this manner, pray ye. This isn't the Lord's prayer.
This is the believer's prayer. After this manner, pray ye, our
Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom
come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That's my prayer. His free will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. Lord, we bow this day again. before your high and holy and
glorious and sovereign throne. We thank you that you have glorified
your throne, honored every aspect of your being, exercised your sovereign will, and made it a throne of grace
to your people in Christ. Lord, we don't know oftentimes
how we're to pray. We don't know how things ought
to be. But because we have been brought
to see the greatness and the blessedness and the glory and
the wisdom of your will to us in Christ, We can bow with assurance, look
at all the things in our lives, all the individuals in our lives,
all the afflictions and such, and pray with assurance, Thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven. For You've made it
to us in Christ. to be a wise and gracious and
saving will. And we thank you. Amen.