I have sung with joy that song
since I was 17 years old. He brought me out of the miry
clay. I recall one of the very first
times I tried to explain to someone that salvation is by God's sovereign,
free, eternal, electing predestinating grace in Christ Jesus. This fellow looked at me and
said, well, if that's the case, it was all finished before the
world began and there's nothing we can do about it. And I thought,
well, what's wrong with that? And I've been getting a little
flack, as you can imagine, from fellows throughout my life in
preaching. Brother Moose Parks, I've been
studying this fourth chapter of Hebrews the last couple of
weeks, and while I was preparing this message the other day, I
got a note from Brother Parks. I don't ever visit those Internet
theological mudslinging sites. I just don't have time for it,
don't fool with it, don't want to see it. But Moose keeps me
abreast when folks decide to take your pastor to task. written
several articles and thought that somehow he was saying something
I wouldn't like. He said he believes in eternal
justification. Yeah, yeah, I do. Sure do. Because the book teaches it.
My subject this morning is done from eternity. Done from eternity. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 3. Look
at the very last line of this verse. The works were finished
from the foundation of the world. Is that what your Bible says?
The works were finished from the foundation of the world. They were finished from eternity. What works? All the works involved
in the saving of God's people. That's what the text is talking
about. It is talking about that rest into which some must enter,
which was represented by the typical land of Canaan, where
Joshua could not give the people rest, though he brought them
into the land that typified rest. It's talking about God's free
grace, God's salvation, all the benefits, all the blessings,
all the gifts of God's grace bestowed upon sinners in time
and enjoyed by God's elect to eternity. All of it was finished
from the foundation of the world done from eternity. I recall. Many many years ago,
but the Feral Griswold was preaching for me when I was pastoring at
Lookout, West Virginia I was oh, this must have been about
75 or 76 someone there and Feral told a story true story. He had
just recently received a letter from a young man in Nigeria This
young man was one of those fellows who made his living by running
by running as a messenger. And he was 17 or 18 years old.
And he had been running through the African jungles, a little
pig path, running from one place to another, from one village
to another. And as he was running, he stepped on something that
kind of slipped under his foot. And it looked down, it was a
piece of paper. And he picked it up. And he began to read that
piece of paper. the name of Pharaoh Griswold,
pastor of Minor Heights First Baptist Church in Birmingham,
Alabama. And the paper was a tract, a
gospel tract that Griswold had written. And that young man read
the gospel of God's grace that Pharaoh preached to him, and
he contacted Pharaoh because God had given him faith in Christ
Jesus the Lord. And Pharaoh said, I got to thinking
about that and I couldn't remember the tract. I couldn't remember
having written it. I couldn't remember having produced
it. And then I got to checking and
found out that about 18 years ago, this was when Farrell was
telling the story, just about a few months, maybe a year before
this young man was born, I wrote the tract. And we had several
thousand published specifically to be distributed in Nigeria. And they're all gone. Don't even
have a copy of it. But someone found the tracts
and probably in disgust just threw it aside in the jungle.
And here it is in the middle of nowhere and 18 years later, a young man chosen of God from
eternity, running from one village to another with no thought of
what was about to happen, stepped on the tract God had planted
for him according to his purpose of grace, and thus called out
his elect in time according to that which he purposed from eternity. This is what we know. We know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose. And the Lord God does just such
things as this every day, every day. He arranges things special. He arranges things special so
that at the appointed time of love, the sinner loved of God
from eternity, accepted in Christ from eternity, blessed of God
with salvation in eternity, comes to experience His grace in time
and to enjoy it unto eternity. and everlasting life with Christ
Jesus the Lord. If you know God, that's what
God has done for you. He raises up nations and puts
down nations. He brings wars and ends wars. He causes people's paths to cross
and He breaks up families and brings families together. All
for one purpose, and that's the saving of his people by his almighty
grace. And that's all because it was
done from eternity. Contrary to popular opinion,
the God of this book is a God of sovereign, absolute, immutable,
unalterable, unconditional purpose. And as the purpose of God is
absolute, universal, unalterable, and unconditional, so the grace
of God is absolute. It is unalterable. It is unconditional. If the works were finished from
the foundation of the world, then it seems rather obvious
to anyone who understands that, then there's nothing we can do
about it. If the works were finished from the foundation of the world,
you can't add anything to it, and you can't take anything from
it. It can't be earned by you, and
it can't be destroyed by you. It can't be brought by you, and
it can't be put away by you. It's God's work, according to
God's purpose, done from eternity. Turn with me, if you will, to
Romans chapter 8. Now, we could look at many passages of scripture.
I thought about going to Ephesians chapter 1, but I think one of
the clearest commentaries on our Lord's statement in Hebrews
4 and verse 3, the works were finished from the foundation
of the world, is found here in Romans chapter 8 and verse 28,
29, and 30. Every purpose of the Lord shall
be performed. that the purpose of God according
to election might stand. And here, the purpose of God
according to election is given to us in very, very clear terms. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called. Now, I remind you, because it
is so contrary to what you hear and read everywhere you go with
regard to God's providence. The apostle does not here say,
we know everything's going to turn out for good. We know somehow
something good will come from this. That is not the teaching
of Scripture. That is not the teaching of Scripture.
Somehow something good's going to come out of this. Somehow
everything's going to turn out for good. I'll guarantee you,
go to the funeral home and somebody will come up to Brother Bruce's
family and his wife and his children, the family and the congregation,
and they'll say, well, something good will come out of this. That
is not the teaching of Romans 8.28. The teaching of Romans
8.28 is that God brings everything to pass exactly according to
his purpose to save his people. God calls you to breathe. You
just never bit on your nail. God did that. You know God doesn't take your
minute things like that. He controls minute things. Every minute thing. Even the
falling of a blade of grass and the mowing of grass. God controls
it. Everything. The most minute things. All of them together. Because
controlling the minute, he controls the great. and brings to pass
exactly what he purposed from eternity so that the appointed
time of love, every chosen sinner is met head on by God's grace
and can't resist it. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. Verse 28 tells us what God is
doing. This is what God's doing. He's
saving his people. Verse 29 tells us what his purpose
is, what God shall do. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, now he tells us what God has done. Verse 29,
this is what he's doing. This is his providence. Verse
28, rather, verse 29, this is what he's done. He predestinated
us to be conformed to the image of his son, that his son might
be the firstborn among many brethren. Verse 30, he tells us what he
has done. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified,
and whom he justified, them he also glorified. The very first
sermon I heard from this portion of scripture in Romans chapter
8, verses 28, 29, and 30, Shelby and I had been married just a
few weeks. And we had been members of Hillcrest Baptist Church in
Winston-Salem for about six weeks, where Brother Daniel Park's dad
was pastor. And Brother Park's Ask a fellow
who had come in that night for the evening service, a tall,
lanky, slim fellow, muscular built fellow, but just very slim. And I'd never seen him before,
but he walked in and Brother Parks asked him if he'd preach
for him that night. The man was Brother Harry Graham. And he
stood up and called our attention to Romans 8, 29 and 30. He said, I'm going to try to
preach to you tonight about a golden chain of grace. with five unbreakable
links in the chain. And it began to give us that
chain of grace. Let's look at it together. Here
are the links in the chain. First, foreknowledge. Whom he
did foreknow. Whom he did foreknow. He also did predestinate. Now, be sure you observe, as
I told you in the past, that every verb in these two verses,
Romans 8, 29, and 30, is in the absolute past tense. In the Greek,
it would be called the aorist tense. It means it was something
done in the past with no further limitation or action. This is
something God did in the past at one time. It's finished. It's
settled. It's done. Nothing can be put
to it. Nothing can be taken from it.
Whom he did foreknow, then he also did predestinate. Foreknowledge. Foreknowledge.
If you talk to folks about God's election, they'll turn to this
passage of one of those in First Peter and they'll say, there
you see, God looked out with a great foreknowledge because
he's God and he knows everything and he saw that you would let
Jesus save you. He saw that you would make your
decision for Jesus. He saw that you would choose
Jesus, so he chose you. That's how election works. No,
that's how free will idolatry works. That's God taking credit
for something he didn't do. That's making God's purpose depend
on your purpose. That's making God's will to be
bound by your will. That's making God's decision
from eternity to be controlled by your decision in time. That's
nothing but the worship of man, not the worship of God. Foreknowledge
with God is not an attribute. God's attribute is omniscience. He knows all things because he's
God. Foreknowledge is an act of God. It is an act of God. It is not
a prescience, a pre-science or a pre-knowledge. It is rather
God's act from eternity. And the word carries with it
four distinct, very clear meanings. The word foreknowledge is often
translated in scripture. In fact, it is most commonly
translated in scripture foreordained. Christ Jesus is the lamb who
verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world.
That's the very same word that's translated foreknowledge when
we're told that we're elect according to the foreknowledge of God in
1 Peter 1. So foreknowledge is God's eternal
ordination. The Holy Spirit is here telling
us that God in his purpose of grace foreordained somebody to
be conformed to Christ. That's what he says. He foreordained
you unto eternal glory, foreordained you unto salvation. If ever you
come to know God's grace, it's because God foreordained you
to his grace. Our Lord Jesus was crucified.
by the hands of wicked men, we're told in Acts chapter 2, verse
23, who did exactly what they wanted
to do. Frank Hall, those men wanted
to see his blood spewing out of his body. They wanted to see
him tormented. They wanted him dead. They did
exactly what their haming hearts wanted to do. by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. Don't say they did it and
God knew about it. They did it by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. Everything foreordained
in God's purpose, but foreknowledge is never used with regard to
things. It's always with regard to people.
He foreordained you, who are His, unto everlasting life, unto
everlasting glory. And in order to accomplish that,
foreordained all things to bring it to pass. He predestined you
to heavenly glory, and to accomplish that, predestined all things
to bring it to pass. Foreknowledge doesn't only carry
the idea of foreordination, it carries the idea of love. eternal
love Our Lord says in the last day depart from me you cursed. I never knew you Well, why is
it sending them to hell if he doesn't know who they are If
he doesn't know what they've done that's not what he means
he said I never loved you Jacob have I loved but Esau have I
hated is I I didn't know you I got no Jacob I never loved
you. I never loved you. Somebody said
to me this week, a fellow said to him, that passage, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. That means Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I loved a little less. He said, well, if that's
the case, then you have to read it this way too. Jacob have I
hated a little less than I hated Esau. That's not what the book
says. I love Jacob. And I hated Esau. Now, if you've got a problem
with that, take it up with God. He's the one who said it. He's
the one who said it. What's this mean, then? Foreknowledge.
It means that God, before the world was, loved his own with
an everlasting love. Loved them before there was anything
in them good or bad. Love them before they've done
anything good or evil. Just because he would love them. Just because he would love them. Mabel Dix said to me down here
a couple of weeks ago when she was here, I guess Mabel's, she's
in her 90s now, isn't she? Somewhere close. She's getting
up there. If I got a little too old, she'll forgive me. She said,
you know, Mother Dawn, I've always wondered Why God would save me. And I found out this morning,
because he was pleased to. Why would God love you? Because
he's pleased to. That's all. I have loved you
with an everlasting love. Adam knew his wife Eve. That's not hard to understand.
God introduced her to him. But that's not what the word
means. When the scripture says Adam knew his wife Eve, Adam
loved his wife. And so when God says He foreknew
you, He's declaring His eternal love for you. Foreknowledge also
speaks of a prior approval. The Lord knoweth the way of the
righteous. And He knows the way of the wicked
too. That's the reason He punishes them for their wickedness. But
He doesn't know it as He knows the way of the righteous. The
Lord approves of the way of the righteous. Before the world began, Rex Bartlett,
God approved of you. He accepted you in Christ, in
the Beloved. Do you understand that? The Lord
God approved of you in Christ Jesus before the world was, looked
upon you with complacency, with satisfaction, with delight, as
righteous and holy as his own son, because God accepted you
in his son, one with his son. This word foreknowledge carries
with it the idea of security as well. Nevertheless the foundation
of God stand assure having this seal the Lord knoweth them that
are his Now think of it if you are now a child of God if you
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ You were known of God from eternity
loved chosen owned approved of accepted and secured in Christ
according to the eternal purpose of God's grace before the worlds
were made. You're one of those whom he did
foreknow. Oh, blessed, blessed, blessed
revelation of grace. Secure. God secured you in Christ before
ever you fell in Adam. Secured you in Christ before
every witness draping my mother's womb speaking lies Secured you
in Christ unto the day of your calling. This is how the book
puts it you who are sanctified by God the Father and preserved
in Jesus Christ and called Jude 1 verse 1 You're sanctified by
God the Father, set apart by him in eternal election and preserved,
secured in Jesus Christ unto the day of your calling and called
by his spirit. Now, look back at Romans chapter
8 again. Romans 8 verse 29. Here's the
second word. Whom he did foreknow, then he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. that
his son might be the firstborn among many brethren. Now don't
be afraid of the word predestinate or the doctrine of predestination
and don't be ashamed of it. People seem a little timid about these
things, some who profess to believe it. I sometimes hear preachers
who preach and they claim to believe the Bible, claim to believe
the gospel of God's grace, If they're getting a crowd of folks
who don't like predestination, they take great care not to mention
it. Predestination is a Bible word. It's taught throughout
the Word of God. It's not just something taught
here and there. It is taught throughout the Word of God. If
God makes a prophecy, how many prophecies do you reckon there
are in the Old Testament? There's a bunch of them. You know what
prophecy is? It is not God just telling what
might come to pass. It is not God just telling, now,
now I tell you what, if things work out just right, this is
what I've got planned, and if things go the way I've got them
planned, this is what's going to come to pass. Oh no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no. Prophecy is God telling you what's
going to be done. Telling you what's gonna be done.
In fact, he says if any man speaks a prophecy and it does not come
to pass, that man's a false prophet. If any man speaks by me a word
of prophecy and it comes to pass, that man speaks as my voice.
That's what God says. A prophecy then is God declaring
that which he has predetermined. Predestination is taught everywhere
in the book. Now, either you believe in predestination,
or you can't believe one word of prophecy. Either you believe that God sovereignly,
absolutely rules the universe, or you can't depend on one word
spoken in this book. You can't depend on it. Oh, no,
no, we believe God's faithful and true. I am too. I think I have demonstrated that
you can depend on me. You can depend on me. If I tell
you something, I'll do it. Maybe. Maybe. I dead sure do it if I'm
able. If I have control of what I planned. The simple fact is I don't have
control over my next breath. And I can't tell you absolutely
that I'll do anything. All I can say is if I'm able,
you can count on it. I'll be there. If I'm able, you
can count on it. I'll do it. If I'm able, you
can count on it. I'll be here to preach tonight.
If I'm sick as a dog, if I can get up and walk over here, I'll
be here to preach tonight. You can count on it. But I might not be able. One of you fellas might be turning
the other way while I'm crossing the driveway and run over me
before I get here. I don't have any control over anything. Not
so with God. That means you can count on Him
because God rules everything according to His purpose of grace
and predestination. What has God predestinated? He's
predestinated that we who are foreknown by him should be conformed
to the image of his son, that his son might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Those whom God foreknew in electing
love, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his own dear
son, and he brings it to pass exactly as he purposed it. We
are conformed to Christ by God's free grace. That's what salvation
is. There is a climactic conformity. So that if God today visits you
in mercy, if God today visits you in mercy, this is what's
going to happen to you. God Almighty will drop down from
heaven in infinite, irresistible, unseen grace. and open your heart
and drop life in your soul. He'll make you a new creature
in Christ by the marvel of the new birth, causing you to be
made partakers of the divine nature so that suddenly that
man who walked in with nothing but enmity against God has a
new nature that loves God. That woman who walked in, in
rebellion and deliberate willful unbelief, said, I will not believe,
suddenly finds herself believing God because of it made new, conformed
to Christ. And believers are gradually conformed
to Christ in the sweet experience of grace. And when I say that,
understand what I mean. By the power of God's spirit
dwelling in us, by the power of the word working in us, By
the loving nurture and discipline of our Heavenly Father, the lives
of God's saints are molded to Christ. Believers do grow in
the grace and knowledge of our Redeemer. This conformity of
God's elect to Christ isn't something we perceive in ourselves, though. If you do, something bad wrong
with you. Something bad wrong with you. I've told you this
before, first time I preached in California. A fella came up
to me and said, we need to talk. And I said, okay. He said, uh,
he said, you would be surprised to know how spiritual I am. And I said, I'm sure I would
be. That same fella, I tried to ignore
him all week. He came up to me again. He said, he said, Ben
Brown, we need to talk. You'd just be astonished at how
much I know. And I said, I'm sure I would be. And I managed
not to talk to him all week. But that's not what I'm talking
about. I'm not talking about men going
to the gym, the spiritual gym, and working out in front of a
mirror so they can look at their muscles and say, look here, how good
I am. No. You can do that down here at
the health club with your body, but not spiritually. You see, the
believer growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ is made
more and more submissive to the will of God and made more and
more to repent of his rebellion against it. We're made more and more patient
in suffering and made more and more to confess our horrible
impatience. The more a man believes, the
more he struggles with his unbelief. The more we're made to love our
God and love our brethren, the more we're overwhelmed by our
lack of love. Is it not so? Do you not find
it so? Every believer does. We're made
more gracious, more forgiving, while we repent of our hardness
and our reluctance to forgive. And this conformity to Christ
soon shall be a consummate conformity. In resurrection glory, we shall
be exactly like it. I read to you in Revelation 14
earlier today about Brother Bruce's worship. The first thing I thought when
I got that call last night How happy I am for him. Ronnie's just like the Savior
now. Just like it. Does Christ have any sin? Does
he? Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no. None. No guile in his mouth.
That's Bruce. Is he without fault before God?
Without fault. That's Bruce. So it shall be
me soon. so it shall be you who are his
soon. Predestination marked the house
into which grace would come, paved the road by which grace
would travel to that house, set the time when grace would enter
the house, and guaranteed that grace would actually enter at
the appointed time. Nothing's left to chance. Nothing's
left to luck. Nothing's left to blind fate.
Nothing's left to man's imaginary free will. God's great design
and predestination is this, that his son might have all the glory,
that his son might be the firstborn among many brethren, having preeminence
in all things. All right. Here's the third word,
the third golden link in this chain called Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. Now, the word called here is
not the word we would use if we were talking about me preaching
the gospel and calling you to come to Christ. That's not the
word. The word called here doesn't refer to the effectual call of
grace by which God the Holy Spirit effectually, irresistibly calls
his sinners to come to Christ. There is a general call. We preach
the gospel. I don't know who God's elect
are. I call every one of you come to Christ. Believe in the
Son of God. I go everywhere I can preaching
the gospel to everybody I can with no discrimination because
I don't know who the elect are. Don't have a clue who they are.
I call all. But there is another call that
comes accompanying the preaching of the gospel, called the effectual
call, the irresistible call, by which God the Holy Spirit
sweetly forces sinners to come to the Savior. You mean God forces
people to believe? Well, of course he does. How
else do you think they'd believe? Of course he does. You wouldn't
believe till he did. He sweetly, irresistibly causes
his people to be willing in the day of his power. But that still
is not the word here. The word that's used here is
a word that distinctly means to name. To give a name to. so that those who were foreknown
by God and predestinated unto everlasting life are named by
God as His own, named His sons. Turn to 1 John chapter 3. I'll
show you an example of it. 1 John chapter 3. When a young couple has a newborn
child, Somebody asked, what'd you call him? What'd you call
him? Everybody knows exactly what
you mean. What's his name? What name did you give him? That's
the word that's used here. Look at 1 John 3. Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should
be, you see it? Named the sons of God. You see, adoption doesn't take
place in time. not spiritual adoption, not our
adoption into the family of God. That took place in eternity.
We were adopted as the sons of God for eternity. And we come
to experience adoption by the arrangement of divine predestination
in time. We were called, named the sons
of God. Therefore, the world knoweth
us not because it knew him not. The apostle says in Galatians
4, and because ye are sons, Not in order to make you sons because
you are sons god sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts
crying ever father Now look at verse three verse two beloved
Now are we the sons of god? We were called God's sons, Bob,
from eternity, named his sons from eternity. Now, by the call
of God, giving us faith in Christ, we are by the experience of grace,
the sons of God made his sons in experience, made his sons
by God's free grace in Christ Jesus. This call is talking about
a call that was given us before the world began. God. has saved us and called us within
holy calling, named us with a holy naming, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. If that's so, then when a person
is Saved in time when a person is born again in time when a
person believes on Christ in time Then what you're saying is this
which was done in eternity is just brought to light in time
Well, that's it. That's what the book says We
set it for what the book says look at 2nd Timothy chapter 1
2nd Timothy chapter 1 I Just quoted verse 9 God has saved
us and called us within holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made. Wow. What a strange word. Manifest. This calling. This gift of life, this eternal
salvation done from eternity is made manifest by the appearing
of our Lord Jesus, our savior, Jesus Christ, who has abolished
death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. God commands the light. to shine
out of darkness by the preaching of the gospel, shining in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. All right, look at this next
word. Here's the fourth word. Whom he called, then he also
justified. Justified. Remember, This is in the past
tense. This took place before the world
began. Now folks get upset with that. And I know why they get upset
with it. I know exactly why they get upset with it. And I'm not looking for a way
to put it. I have already decided how I'm going to state it. I
want you to hear how I state it. Because they still want their
finger in the pie. They get upset with it because
they don't dare. They don't dare deny that man
has anything to do with his salvation. That man contributes nothing.
That man places no part or has no part in this work. Because
if we say it's done from eternity, then that, well, that just moved
man out of the way. Does, doesn't it? It sure does. And God says it was done from
eternity. Justified. Justified. Well, how could you
be justified before you were ever born? Stop and think about
what you're saying. Who would deny that justification
was accomplished at Calvary? Who claims to believe in redemption?
I don't think you were born then, were you? Oh, no. We were justified from eternity. How do you think Abraham was
justified? Now some folks have the idea that God used a spiritual
credit card He swiped it and said we'll put this off for a
couple thousand years. They will it'll be done I'll act like Abraham
was justified, but that's not what he did. He justified Abraham
David was justified justified justified From eternity. What's that mean? It means exactly
what you think. Our sins were cancelled before
they were committed. Our debt was paid before it was
incurred. The curse was removed before
it came. The law was mended before we broke it. Justice was satisfied
before it was offended. We were justified in Christ before
we were fallen in Adam, accepted in him before we went astray
in our father Adam. Justified. Brother Don, don't
you, don't you believe men must receive it? Well, of course we
do. Of course we do. Justification
by faith is not justification accomplished by faith. Oh, no,
no, no. Oh, no, no, no, no. A thousand
times no. Justification is received by
faith. It's received by faith. This
hand, this hand, you're going to reach out here and take this
glass. and receive some water. But it didn't create the water.
It just received it. And we who believe by the hand
of faith receive that which God accomplished in eternity, that
which Christ purchased at Calvary, but we contribute nothing to
it. We just receive by faith that which God has done for us
and brought in us by his grace. Whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate. Whom he did predestinate, then
he also called. Whom he called, then he also
justified. Justification is one of those
all spiritual blessings with which God's elect were blessed
in Christ before the world began. Thomas Goodwin said, we may say
of all spiritual blessings in Christ, what is said of Christ,
that his goings forth are from everlasting. When Christ became
our surety in the covenant of grace, God looked on him and received him and trusted
to him. all our souls, all our salvation,
and all His glory, and the triune God, trust in Christ the Lamb,
slain from the foundation of the world, says, done from eternity,
justified in Christ Jesus. Now, here's one last word, one
last link in this golden chain. Whom He justified Then he also
glorified. I can't say much about this now
because I don't know much about it yet. But soon, soon, see yonder on the throne of glory
sits a man who is a perfect man. A whole man. A man once made sin, but who
never sinned. A man who suffered and died for
sin and thus put sin away by the sacrifice of himself. A man
who lived on this earth in perfect obedience to God, to every command
of God, to all the will of God. A perfectly righteous man. A
man without fault before God without
fault before God perfectly holy Christ Jesus the Lord and he
deserves everything he's got and that glory which he has now
the glory he possesses right now Is the same glory he had
as the lamb slain from the foundation of the world when he was accepted
into our surety Did he pray like that father? The hour has come
glorify thy son with thine own self with the glory which I had
with thee before the world was Well, what's he saying? If you've
already got it, why are you praying for it? He's saying father Manifest
it to everybody Show the world The glory you've given me And
he seated him in his right hand. Soon, that'll be me. Soon, my brother, that'll be
you. Soon, my sister, that'll be you. Entering into that which was
done from eternity in Christ the Lord. I've often thought I'd like to leave here, whatever
God's rage is all right, I won't complain. But I'd like to leave
here like George Whitefield did. He got done preaching one night
and he sat down and went to glory. Entered into rest. I'd like to
get done preaching, say amen, and leave here just like that. and then glory shall be mine. God make it yours. Amen.