introduces everybody and everybody
else does all the hard stuff, right? No, I'm thankful for Brother
Royce and how orderly he does things. Go to some places like
my church and you find the pastor don't do things as quite in order,
but it's good to see that and good to be a part of your conference.
Also want to thank the preachers. I've thoroughly been edified
these last few days. It truly is good to hear our
God extolled. It's good to hear Jesus magnified
and lifted up. There's so many things in God's
Word. I think I'm hearing Brother Royce mentioning, you know, that
God doesn't use any fillers. And there's a lot of things to
preach on in the Word of God. And truly, there is. But I'll just be honest with
at least my own heart and mind is I can't get enough hearing
about Jesus. I love to hear preaching about
the church. And we need that. I love to hear
about other things and our commitment to the Lord. But I tell you what,
I love to hear preaching about Jesus and I appreciate the message
of Brother Bryant about Jesus, about the great high priest,
all you men, how you have lifted up Christ in your message and
how everything has come back to Him. And it truly is a blessing. Turn with me if you would this
morning over to Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3 You know, I'm often asked Our
church's name is Sovereign Grace Baptist Church and I Whenever I first came to Joplin,
that was the name they were already using. But as they began to discuss
ordaining me as the pastor there and really kind of putting things
together, they were deciding, you know, should we change our
name? Do we want a different name? And I told them, I said,
I think that name is just fine. I don't have any problems with
that name at all. I think that it tells the story
of what we're there for. We believe in the Sovereign Grace
message of the Bible that God has saved the people sovereignly. And I definitely have no problem
with being a Baptist. And so I didn't have any problem
with ongoing with that name and we all agreed to that and continued
on with that name. But I'm often asked, why? Why highlight Sovereign Grace
Baptist? Why do you dwell so much, preach
so much, promote so much on the sovereignty of God? Shouldn't
you be preaching the gospel more? Well, brethren, you can't preach
the gospel without preaching sovereign grace. A gospel void of sovereign grace
is no gospel at all. Shouldn't you be preaching love
more? Well, we preach love and sovereign grace definitely shows
love. Some people don't think so. The
natural man doesn't believe sovereign grace is love. But the fact that
all of us are deserving of wrath and sinners against God, that
God loved any of us, is amazing. Shouldn't you be preaching holiness
more? in sovereignty of God. Well,
brethren, the sovereignty of God shows God's holiness. He
is committed to righteousness and justice and in all that He
commands as the sovereign displays His holiness. So when we preach
sovereign grace, it isn't just a tulip doctrine that we preach. we are preaching the whole Word
of God. Because the sovereignty of God
is found from cover to cover. Whenever I began to be brought
to the understanding of the doctrines of grace, the sovereignty of
God, these things formed to me in a lot of the things that I
had learned as a young man. But as I began to see this, it
was like, well, you guys only have Romans 9 to cling to. But
brethren, was I wrong? It is almost on every page. But I do believe that these are
valid questions that the brethren ask. Why do we tend to harbor
so much on the sovereignty of God and sovereign grace? And
I believe though there is a precedence found in scripture on the necessity
and the Responsibility, if you'd allow me that word, I don't want
to get too wrapped up in that word because it's misunderstood
in some areas, but the responsibility of the Lord's church to preach
God's sovereignty. And I believe that that prescription
is laid down by God himself. The reason that we stress God's
sovereignty, the reason we call ourselves sovereign grace believers,
the reason why people name their churches sovereign grace is because
I believe, and it may not be in their mind, but I believe
that is because of God's prompting because of what God has taught
us in the Word of God and I believe that is found in our passage
here today. I'm going to read for you this
morning starting in verse 9 of Exodus chapter 3. The title of
my message is Sovereignty is His Glory. And in verse nine, the Bible
says, now remember where we're at in God's word here. Moses
is up on Mount Horeb and he's talking with the Lord Jesus.
I believe it was the Lord Jesus. I think I could, if I had time,
show you that in the previous passages before where I'm reading.
But he is speaking with the Lord and the Lord is having him go
and speak to the people. And in verse 9 it says, Now therefore
behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me, and
I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppressed
them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh,
that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel,
out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who
am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth
the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly
I will be with thee. And this shall be a token unto
thee that I have sent thee, when thou hast brought forth the people
out of Egypt. Ye shall serve God upon this
mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold,
when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto
them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you. And they
shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And here we find it, And God
said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. Now whenever I come to you and
I ask, now what was your name? You say, Roy Smith, Michael Smith,
Bill Willingham. But Moses asked the Lord, what's
your name? And he said, I am that I am.
I mean, that almost is as strange as if someone would ask me, what's
your name? And I would say, Joplin, Missouri, there I live. Well,
that's not what I asked you, I asked you what your name is.
Okay? Well, I'm in the place that I'm
in the place of. That's not what I asked, I asked
you what's your name. Moses asked him his name and
God told him, I am that I am. This word I am, and I'll just
be up front, you guys know very well I am not a learned scholar. I am not a learned man at all. But from my studies I found that
this word behind I am means to be or to exist. When God told
Moses, I am that I am, it revealed something about the character
and the nature of God. God is one who is self-existent. He didn't have a beginning. He
doesn't have an ending. You notice here that it is in
the present. I am that I am. Now, with that
being the case, it's not just the present but the perfect present.
This is talking about, and if you look at the word behind this,
it has to do with, and it speaks of God past, God present, and
God future. We would probably use the terminology
God in the ever-present now. So whether it was in the beginning,
when God created the heaven and the earth, He was. And before
that He was. And He is now. We can probably
even tie that in to, I am the Lord, I changeth not. I am. This phrase, I am that I am,
could lead us to see that God is uncontrolled. He is not only
self-existent, that nothing created Him, nothing started Him, He
has always been, He has always existed, but this word also shows
us that He is who He is. Nobody made Him who He is. Nobody
said, well, I'm going to build you up and make you God. Now
we hear a lot of that in the world today. Make Jesus your
Lord or make God, God. Let God be God. I talked about
that yesterday. But no, nobody controls God and
nobody makes God who He is. He, being God, has determined
who He is. And He is that. We can't change
God to make Him something that He is not. We can't cause God
to turn and be something other than who God is. No man can change
God. God is not affected from the
outward. Nothing can change Him. We often
think that people can change God's mind. God's mind can't
be changed. He is of one mind. Who can turn
Him, right? We cannot change God's mind.
We cannot coerce God. We cannot back God into a corner
and use His words against Him to make Him do what we want Him
to do. A lot of people think that we have a Santa Claus up
in heaven that we can just get what we want out of Him. that
we can make God do things. No, brethren, when God says,
I am that I am, He is saying, I will be who I will be, not
who you make me to be. Now the Bible does tell us, though,
the natural man wants to make God in his own image, as we heard
a while ago. They want to make idols. They
want to make forms. They want to make God. And even
if they don't actually form and create an actual idol, they have
this vision and this picture of Jesus in their mind. Who they
think is Jesus. That's why we talk often about,
you say you believe in Jesus, but which Jesus do you believe
in? Is it the Jesus revealed in Scripture or is it some other
Jesus? See, just because you use that
word doesn't mean that's who you're talking about what's found
in Scripture. Whenever I see this phrase, I
am that I am, I see God saying, I will do what I will do. I do what I do. I do as I please. Nothing tells me what I can do.
Nothing says that I can't do what I want to do. I will do
as I will do. So I am self-existent. I am that
I am. I am uncontrolled. I will do what I want to do.
I will be who I will be. And nothing can change that.
I believe, brethren, that the scripture is very replete. All
throughout it, it talks about that God will not change. He
is the same. Yesterday, today, and forever. And so we see here that God reveals
Himself to Moses as the I Am. That word haya behind that. Self-existent. He is who He is. But turn with me if you would
over just a few pages into Exodus chapter 6. We find out a little
more revelation of who God is. Exodus chapter 6. Look with me,
if you would, at verse 2. It said, And God spake unto Moses
and said unto him, I am the LORD. And if you'll notice there in
your English Bibles, the word LORD is in all capitals. You
know what that means, right? You know the difference between
LORD in all capitals and LORD with a capital L and small o-r-d? This is speaking of Jehovah.
This is speaking of the divine God. It is speaking of God's
proper name. This is God. He said, I am the
Lord. I'm not part Lord. I'm not a
Lord. I am the Lord. And I appeared unto Abraham. unto Isaac and unto Jacob. Now
wait a minute, that was many years ago. How can you have done
that and be talking to me today? Because I am that I am. I am
the self-existent one. I am the all-time existing one. I am the Alpha and the Omega. Matter of fact, I did a little
study on the word here, Jehovah, and there is some If you go back,
there are some that whenever they would write that, and brother
you can correct me on this, they would write that I alpha symbol
omega symbol. Now I don't know what that says
but the Bible says that he is the alpha and omega. He is the
beginning and He is the end. He is the first and He is the
last. And here He can speak to Abraham. He can speak to Isaac. And speak
to Jacob. And He can speak to Moses. And He can speak to us today. He is not confined to time. He is not confined to one space. He is who He is. But notice if you would in verse
3, it says, And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto
Jacob by the name of God Almighty. If you go back and look in Genesis
chapter 17 and verse 1 and 35 verse 11, you'll find that God
revealed His name to them and He said, I am God Almighty. Now
what does the word Almighty mean? We know what that word means.
It means all-powerful. He has all power. Not just some
power, not the power that we give Him, but He has all power.
He is all-powerful. So Jehovah here, the word, He
said, I revealed myself to them as Almighty, but I hadn't revealed
to them what I've revealed to you. I've revealed to you that
I am Jehovah, the self-existing God who is who He is and I revealed
to them that I am the Almighty. Now what do we get out of that?
Why would God say that? He said, listen, the one who
has all power is the one who is who He is. I have all power
and I can exercise that power because I am the I am. I can
exercise that power as I choose. See the difference between the
two words because they're almost synonymous, almighty and sovereign.
But the difference is, is almighty means to have all power, but
to be sovereign means to be able to exercise by right all the
power that you have. A sovereign is someone who has
the complete and total right to exercise all the power within
their ability. And that's what God is. He is
sovereign. He controls all things by His
power, by His might. The purpose of God before the
foundation of the world and its bringing to pass, that's coming
to be His providence, if you will, in bringing all things
about, that is the exercise of His sovereignty. He has all power
to bring about everything that He has said, everything He has
declared, decreed, predestined, whatever word you want to use
there, that God before the foundation of the world that has declared
the end from the beginning has all power and all right to do
all of what He pleases. That's what it means to be sovereign.
And our God is sovereign. We cannot stop His purpose. Because He is the only one. He
is who He is. He is the only one who has that
power. He is the only one who has that
right. And so he tells Moses here, he
said, I revealed my name as God Almighty, but my name Jehovah
was I not known. Now that word Jehovah is the
same word as I am that I am. So whenever we talk about Jehovah,
we're talking about that self-existent, uncontrolled, I will do as I
will do God. Jehovah speaks of God's sovereignty. Jehovah speaks of the One who
has all power and all control. We can't break God up into little
pieces and make him this and make him that. He is who he is. And he's conveying to Moses that
I am not a God likened unto men and their idols. To make them
do, they make me do what they want me to do. It doesn't work
that way. I am God. And I will do what
I will want to do. Now, turn with me to Exodus 33. We go a little bit further into
the revelation of what this word Jehovah, what this word I AM
means. In Exodus chapter 33, look with
me if you would down to verse 18. And he said, I beseech thee,
this is Moses speaking, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all
my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name
of Jehovah the Lord. before thee." Now remember, he's
already told him who Jehovah is. He told him what his name
meant. I am going to show you my glory. Moses asked to see
his glory, but what did God do? He told him his name. He asked
to see his glory, but God told him his name. Now he did show
him glory. He did pass before Moses. A few
passages over. But we see here, He asked him,
what is your name? And he said, let me show you,
or show me your glory. And he said, let me tell you
my name first. Before you can fully understand
my glory, you need to know my name. Before we can ever really, truly
appreciate the glory of God, we need to know who He is in
truth. Brethren, if we have a God that can be thwarted, if we have
a God that lies, if we have a God that is unfaithful, if we have
a Jesus that could sin, brethren, we have no hope. Before we can
behold the glory of God, we need to know, who are you? How do
I know that's glorious? How do I know that this glory
that I'm going to see is the most glory that can be seen?
Well, let me tell you who I am. I am that I am. I'm not Muhammad. I'm not Buddha. I'm not Hare
Krishna. I'm not the Pope. I am that I am. And he says, and I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before thee, and here he says, and I think, again,
I'm open for correction on these, brother, like I said, I know
I'm unlearned. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,
and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. I have no
other reason than to think that that was also his name. He says,
I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee and will be
gracious to whom I will be gracious to. Matter of fact, the structure
of the sentence is almost the same as I am that I am, if I'm
not mistaken. I am that I am. I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious. I will show mercy on whom I will
show mercy. I will do what I will do and
if I will show mercy, I will show mercy. If I show grace,
I will show grace. I can show mercy and grace. Matter
of fact, wasn't that the argument that Paul made in Romans chapter
9 when proving the sovereignty of God? He came back and He came
to this very thing that was presented to Moses. And whenever God showed
Moses who He was and what His name was, He said, I have sovereign
right to exercise power, to exercise My authority to show mercy on
whom I want to show mercy. And grace to whom I want to show
grace to. I have that right. And I surely have that power.
And if I have that right and if I have that power, I will
accomplish all of it. And so whenever he says to Moses,
you want to see my glory? The glory is found in who I am
and what I do. One of the greatest shows of
His glory is I will love who I will love. He hath loved us
with an everlasting love. With loving kindness He has drawn
us. He gave His own Son because why? He loved us. Brethren, to be loved by this
God is a blessing. Ephesians chapter 1 says He has
blessed us with all spiritual blessings. The love of God for
us is a spiritual blessing. He tells Moses, I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious and I will show mercy. So the Lord
Jehovah, I am that I am, His glory is His name. And His name
means I will be who I will be. I am sovereign. That's what His
name means. Now, turn with me if you would. I
want to show you, before I wrap this up, I want to show you a
few verses throughout the scripture where God tells us about His
sovereignty. Genesis chapter 18 and verse
14 The very first part of that there is a rhetorical question
whenever Christ was speaking with Abraham and Talking about
Sarah gonna be with child And he says is anything too hard
for the Lord Well if he is who he is And if He is almighty,
nothing is too hard for the Lord. In Job chapter 42 verses 1 through
2, and for time sake, if you want to write these down and
go back and check what I say, always check what I say. Always
check what any of these brothers say. I love these brothers. They've
been faithful preachers, but we're all fallible. And so you
check, you go home and check what we say. But write these
down, because of time, I'm going to just read through them quickly,
and if you can turn, turn, but I want to read them fast. Job
42, 1-2, Job says this, Then Job answered the LORD, again,
the word LORD there is Jehovah, I Am. Then Job answered the LORD
and said, I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought
can be withholden from thee. Does that not speak of sovereignty?
God's name, the Lord, connected with His sovereignty. Isaiah
14.24 Again, Yahweh, the Lord of hosts, hath sworn, saying,
Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass, and as
I have purposed, so shall it stand. Again, God's name, connected
with his sovereignty. Now, just in a little side note
there, I mentioned yesterday in my message that there are
some of the mindset that God only predestinates eternal salvation,
but that he doesn't predestinate events in time. And then they
say, and I've heard this often when I've discussed this with
men, is that God's foreknowledge is not his predestination. his foreknowing, not in the term
of his intimate love, but his cognition ahead of time. It's
not his predestination. Well, brethren, I don't know
how else to take this when it says, surely as I have thought,
so shall it come to pass. If God has thought it, or if
what you want to say, God has looked down the corridor of time
to see what would happen Isn't that the most theological statement
you've ever heard in your life? If God does see ahead of time
of all things, the only reason he sees what he sees is because
he's declared what he's declared, by the way. But let's just pretend
if that is true, God sees all things. Well, if God sees all
that and knows all that by what he sees and has thought upon
that, well brethren, it says here it is going to come to pass.
So you don't get God out of the conundrum that you think he's
in. By taking either position. Some may say, well I couldn't
worship a God that would elect some and not others. And that God would send men to
hell. that He knew would never choose Him. Well, aren't you
saying the same thing whenever you say that God foresaw our
faith and chose us and saved us? Aren't you saying the same
thing whenever you're saying that God knows who is going to
go to hell, but yet He created them anyway? You're not changing
anything in the argument. It all still comes back to God
is sovereign to do what He wants to do. And so this verse here
speaks of God's predestination. Surely as I have thought, so
shall it come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it
stand. While you're there in Isaiah,
drop down to verse 14-27. For the Lord, again Yahweh, Jehovah,
the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out
and who shall turn it back? You're not going to change it.
You're not going to overturn it. As he was saying, God has
made things the way that it is in this world and man isn't going
to change it by other social programs. He has determined that. Listen, God has also, by the
way, and you'll side note here, there's three institutions that
God has made. He has made the family. He has made the church. He's made the government. Those
are institutions of God. And you notice that one political party in our country
has sought to overturn all three of those institutions. They want
to remake government. They want to remake marriage. They want to remake the church.
They are attacking. You don't think Satan is attacking
the things of God, brethren. There it is. But listen. Who is going to disannul
it? Who's going to cause it to be
turned back? Also in Isaiah chapter 40 verse
12 through 25, the Bible says, Who hath measured the waters
in the hallow of His hand, and meted out heaven with a span,
and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed
the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath
directed the Spirit of the Lord? There's that word again. Who
hath directed the spirit of Yahweh? Or being his counselor hath taught
him? You're not going to teach God
nothing. With whom took he counsel and who instructed him and taught
him in the path? That's why I don't believe that
God learns. One of the brothers said that the other day. God
doesn't learn. Nobody can teach Him. Why? Because He is who He
is. I am that I am. I'm knowledge. I'm all knowledge. I'm all wisdom. I know all things. Why? Because all things are of me,
through me, and to me. I've created all things for my
pleasure. He has done it. He knows it because
it was His purpose and decree. But it says here, "...with whom
took He counsel and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path
of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding."
How men think that they can do that with God is just amazing.
Behold, the nations are as a drop in the bucket, and are counted
as small dust of the balance. Behold, he taketh up the isles
as the very little thing, and Lebanon is not sufficient to
burn, nor the beast thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him are as
nothing, and they are counted to Him less than nothing in vanity.
To whom then will ye liken God, or what likeness will ye compare
unto Him? The workman melteth a graven
image, and the goldsmiths spread it over with gold, and casteth
silver chains. He that is so impoverished that
he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot. He
seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image that
shall not be moved." Now there's a lot to talk about in there,
and I can't get into it, but he's saying a lot here. Have
ye not known? Have ye not heard? Hath it not
been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood from the
foundations of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the
circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers,
that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them
out as a tent to dwell in, that bringeth the princes to nothing.
He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not
be planted, yea, they shall not be sown, yea, their stock shall
not take root in the earth, and he shall also blow upon them,
and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them as
stubble. To whom then will ye liken me,
or shall I be equal, saith the Holy One?" Brethren, if that
isn't sovereignty, I don't know what it is. Isaiah 46, 9-11 says,
Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is
none else. I am God. There is none like
me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand,
and I will do All my pleasure calling a ravenous bird from
the east the man that executed my counsel from a far country
Yea, I've spoken it. I will bring it to pass. I have
purposed it. I will also do it Isaiah 55 11
says so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth it
shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that
which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sin
it and Now I used to believe that that meant that every time
the word of God is preached that that person is going to hear
that word and come to the Lord. That's not what that's saying.
It's just saying whatever the Lord says and determines, that's
going to happen. It's going to accomplish what
He desires of it. Whether it be for bringing, softening,
and bringing, or hardening. Jeremiah 32.7 says, All Lord
God, behold thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great
power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard
for thee. Lamentations 3.37 says, Who is
he that saith, and it cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth
it not? You don't think that God's not
sovereign over everything? What about Nebuchadnezzar? At
the end of days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes unto heaven,
and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most
High." Can you believe that? Nebuchadnezzar. Here's this heathen. Blessing the Most High. Yes,
sir. And mine understanding returned
unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored
Him that liveth forever. It sounds like Nebuchadnezzar
has given glory unto God. Which God? all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing and he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth
and none can stay his hand or saying to him what doest thou
at the same time my reason returned to me and for the glory of my
kingdom mine honor and brightness returned unto me and my counselors
and my Lord sought unto me and I was established in my kingdom
and excellent majesty was added unto me now I Nebuchadnezzar. I kind of think he might have
said, now I Nebuchadnezzar. praise and extol and honor the
king of heaven. All whose works are truth and
his ways judgment and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. Brethren, the Bible says in Ephesians
that he is predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. But in Ephesians chapter 1 verse
22, The Bible says that He had put all things under Christ's
feet and gave Him to be the head over all things. Turn back with
me to our passage in Exodus as I wrap this up. I want to show
you in verse 15. We stopped at 14, but I want
to read you verse 15. We have learned that the name
of God shows that he is sovereign. His name just exudes sovereignty. And in verse 15 he says, And
God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, Yahweh, Jehovah, I am that I am. The Lord God
of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of
Jacob has sent me unto you. This is my name forever. He didn't change His name. Every
generation has had that name. But what else does he say there?
This is my name forever and this my memorial unto all generations. What does that mean? Well that
word memorial there in the Hebrew, it means to call to mind, to
remember, to make mindful, to recall. God is saying, I want
you to keep in mind for all generations, bring the people to mind. Recall
to them My name. Tell them who I am. I want them
to know that I am that I am. His sovereignty is His glory. And He wants that to be known
in every generation. Why do we preach the sovereignty
of God? Why do we stress the sovereignty
of God, preacher? Why is your church sovereign
grace, preacher? Because God has told us, I want
My sovereignty that is attached with My name to be told to every
generation. Now, Brother Royce has taught
me something. Well, the Spirit has taught me,
but Brother Royce has brought that to my mind many times. That
in the mouth of two or three witnesses a thing is established.
Preacher, are you stretching that verse a little bit? Look
with me if you would, Psalm 135. Psalm 135. Starting in verse 1, I praise
You, the Lord, praise You, the name of the Lord. Again, Jehovah,
Yahweh. I praise You, the Lord, praise
You, the name of the Lord. Praise Him, O ye servants of
the Lord. Praise Jehovah. Praise I Am that
I Am. Ye that stand in the house of
the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, praise the
Lord, for the Lord Jehovah is good. Sing praises unto His name. For it is pleasant, for the Lord
Jehovah hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his..."
Let's praise Him for His sovereign election. He has chosen us. He's
chosen us as His people. He's also chosen us as a church.
He has called us out of the world and brought us into bodies wherever
we meet. We are His body there and He
has chosen that as a place for us to come together as one under
His headship. For I know that the Lord is great
and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatsoever the Lord please,
that did He in heaven and in earth and in the seas and in
deep places. That's speaking of sovereignty, isn't it? He causeth
the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He maketh
lightnings for the rain. He bringeth the wind out of His
treasuries. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of
beast? Who sent tokens and wonders into
the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants?
Who smote great nations and slew mighty kings? Shion, king of
the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms
of Canaan, and gave their land for an heritage, and a heritage
unto the Israel, his people. And here it is, verse 13, Thy
name, O Jehovah, O Yahweh, I am. The name, O Lord, endureth forever, and Thy memorial, O Lord, throughout
all generations. His name, Jehovah, to all generations. Hosea. If you would, Hosea chapter
12. Just got two more verses to read,
brethren. Five minutes over, I'm sorry. Hosea 12 and verse 5. Even the
Lord God of hosts, the Lord, Jehovah there, is His memorial. There is three witnesses to this
fact, but brethren, we find, as I said, God is putting Christ
over all things. We find in Revelation chapter
4, the Bible says in verse 8, And
the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and they
were full of eyes within. And they rest not day and night,
saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty." And here it is. Remember, I said that the word
I am had to do with God in the past, in the present, and in
the future. And the beasts were saying, Holy,
Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, which is, and which
is to come. And when those beasts give glory
and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, who liveth
forever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before
Him that sat on the throne and worship Him, that liveth forever
and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou
art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honor, and power for thou
has created all things and for thy pleasure they exist. God's sovereignty is his name. His name is his glory and may
it be a memorial to every generation.