23. Come we that love the Lord. Let's all stand together. Number
23. Come, we that love the Lord,
and let our joys be known. Join in a song with sweet accord,
and thus surround the throne. Let those refuse to sing who
never knew our God, but children of the Heavenly King may speak
their joys abroad. The hill of Zion yields a thousand
sacred suites Before we reach the heavenly fields Or walk the
golden streets And let our songs abound Please be seated. Good evening. We're going to be reading from
Psalm 115. for our scripture reading tonight,
Psalm 115. While you find that, I'll make
a few announcements. First of all, I want to welcome
our brethren who are joining us in Sarasota. So, so thankful
and encouraged by, uh, by them and by what the Lord's doing
over there. I want to remind you to, uh, to pray for them
as they do for you. Also, next week is Thanksgiving,
and we will not be having our regular Wednesday night service
a week from tonight. No services a week from tonight.
And this coming Sunday, I'll be preaching, as most of you
know, in Lexington. And Robert and Michael will be
bringing the messages here. So the Lord enables you to pray
for us. That would be much coveted. So
please, please be in prayer for the services up there and for
Robert and Michael who will be preaching here. And Fred and
Mary Jane were going to be here tonight for their last night
before they go home for the holidays, but Fred's having some skin cancer
taken off tomorrow and they weren't able to be here tonight. But
you won't see them until after the first of the year. All right, you have your Bibles
open to Psalm 115. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us. It's not about you and it's not
about me. Don't we need to hear that? I
mean, every one of us wake up in the morning, we open our eyes
and we just interpret everything as us being in the middle of
our universe. And God says it's not about us.
It's not about us. But unto thy name give glory
for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say where now is their God? But our God, he's in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he pleased. Everything that's happening is
happening according to the good pleasure of our God. The natural
man can't see Him, and so he doesn't believe in Him. But through
the eyes of faith, we know that He is, and we know that He is
the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Their idols are silver
and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak
not. Eyes have they, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but
they smell not. They have hands, but they handle
not. Feet have they, but they walk not. Neither speak they
through their throats. They that make them are like
unto them. So is everyone that trusteth
in them." What a description. of man-made idols. There's no life to them, no power
to them, no strength to them, just like the men that make them. No power to them, no strength
to them, no life in them. O Israel, theirs for the people
of God, trust thou in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the
Lord. He is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the Lord, trust
in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. their shield. The Lord hath been
mindful of us. He will bless us. He will bless
the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear
the Lord, both small and great. The Lord shall increase you more
and more, you and your children." God's people do grow in grace.
and they do grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. More
and more dependent upon him, and more of his glory is seen
and believed in their hearts. Ye are blessed of the Lord, which
made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens
are the Lord's, but the earth have he given to the children
of men. The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down
into silent, but we will bless the Lord for this time forth
and forevermore. Praise the Lord. Let's pray together. Oh, merciful Heavenly Father,
we ask that you would send your spirit and power, enabling us
to believe what you have proclaimed. Truly, Lord, we need to be reminded
that it's not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name. Be glory
for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Lord, if you would be pleased
to enable us to set our affections on things above where Christ
is seated at the right hand of God, that we would find in him
our all in all, that you would give us faith to trust him, to
rest in him, to believe that the work of redemption has been
finished by him. Truly, Lord, our hope Our hope
and all our salvation is bound up in thy dear son. We ask it
in Christ's name. Amen. Let's stand together again. We'll
sing hymn number 224 from the Hardback Temple. 224. Let's all
stand. ? I know not why God's wondrous
grace ? ? To me he hath made known ? ? Nor why unworthy Christ
in love ? ? Redeemed before his own ? ? But I know whom I have
believed ? and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. I know not how this saving faith
to me He did impart, nor how believing in His word brought
peace within my heart. But I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day. I know not how the Spirit moves,
convincing man of sin. Revealing Jesus through the Word,
creating faith in Him. But I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I committed
unto Him against that day. I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me Of weary ways or golden days Before his
face I see But I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that
He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against
that day. I know not when my Lord may come
at night or noonday, nor if I'll walk the veil with him or meet
him in the air. But I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I'd committed
unto him against that day. Please be seated. Will you turn with me in your
Bibles to Romans chapter 11, please. Romans chapter 11. I've titled this message, The
Summary of Everything. And I don't use that title in
order to be exaggerating or to try to be clever. I'm almost
titled this, Everything You Need to Know About Everything. That's
the truth. That's the truth. Everything
you need to know about everything. Everything you need to know about
creation, everything you need to know about providence, all
the details of your life, everything you need to know about salvation
is found in God's Word in one simple phrase. And it's there in your Bibles
in Romans chapter 11 verse 36. For of him and through him and
to him are all things. Now as we speak, the most brilliant
minds in the world, are spending their lives and
their fortune, and our fortune as well, on a desperate search
to discover what they call the theory of everything. Have you heard of it? That's
what they call it, the theory of everything. There's too many
holes in every other theory that they've come to, so they're looking
in the physical world in order to explain the reason for the
existence of everything. And they're calling it the theory
of everything. And when they find it, it will
be just that. It'll be a theory, just like
all the theories that men have now. It'll be nothing more than
a hypothesis. It'll be a speculation. It'll
be something that they have schemed in their own minds. And here
the Lord has given to us in such simple language, not the theory
of everything, but the actual summary of everything. It is right there. Of him and
through him and to him are all things. Now Solomon tried to figure out
the truth of this world and how it all fit together. And after
the wisest man that ever lived, the scripture says, you talk
about a man who had an intellect. Here's a man who God said, God
blessed him with wisdom beyond anybody else. And he concluded
vanity of vanities, all is vanity. And that's exactly what men's
pursuits are. They're trying to figure out
what's the cause of things, what's the purpose of things, what's
the meaning of things, and the Lord has given us in one simple
statement. Here it is. Of Him, through Him,
and to Him are all things. Now the natural man cannot receive
the things of the Spirit. They're much like Pilate. When truth, the very person and
essence of truth was standing right in front of him, Pilate
said, truth? There's no such thing as truth.
Don't you know that there's no absolutes in this life? Everything's
everything's up for speculation And Paul put it like this in
Romans chapter 1. He said the foolishness of God
The things that men call foolish you're telling me that everything
that I need to know Everything I need to know the summary of
everything is in that statement of him and through him and to
him are all things Yep That's too simple. That's too foolish. And God says, the foolishness
of God is wiser than man, and the weakness of God is stronger
than man. For God has chosen the foolish
things of this world to confound the wise. If the Lord's pleased
to teach us what this verse means, then we will have wisdom as to
what We need to know about everything. About everything. I'm talking
about everything. Everything in life is summarized
in this one verse. Of him, and through him, and
to him are all things. Let's begin with verse 29. For the gifts and the callings
of God are without repentance. The Lord's never repented. He's
never changed his mind. He's never had a new thought.
He's never gone to plan B. No, the callings and the gifts
of God are without repentance. He said, I change not. We have an immutable God. who
reigns sovereign over the affairs of all men. And he said, I change
not, and therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. Moses put it like this in Numbers
chapter 23. God is not a man that he should
lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said,
and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall
he not make it good? He's not a man like us. Oh, you
thought that I was altogether as thyself. And so you fashioned
a God that had hands like you and mouths like you and eyes
like you, but they couldn't do anything with them, just like
you can't do anything with yours. Oh, the depth. of the riches
of both the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable are
His judgments and His ways, our past finding out." That's right
here in our text. Look, the gifts and the callings
of God are without repentance, for as He in times past As ye
in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy
through their unbelief. The Lord has turned to the Gentiles,
and he's given them faith to believe the gospel. Even so,
have these also not believed that through your mercy they
also may obtain mercy? God has elect people. This whole
chapter of Romans chapter 11 is talking about spiritual Israel.
Not talking about national Israel, it's talking about spiritual
Israel. And he goes on to say that all Israel shall be saved. And if the Lord has withdrawn
his presence from one group and manifest himself to another,
it's all part of his purpose in saving his people. The callings
and the gifts of God are without repentance. He's going to accomplish
his purpose in his way and in his time. so that of him and
through him and to him are all things. For, look at verse 32,
God hath concluded them all in unbelief that he might have mercy
upon all. If we're gonna be saved, it'll
be by the mercy of God. Because apart from his intervention,
as we saw Sunday, we can't believe, we won't believe. We're all bound
up in unbelief. Unless the Lord is merciful to
demonstrate his grace in the hearts of his people, no one
will be saved. And then he brings it to this
crescendo of glory, this benediction, when he says, Oh, the depths! Who can plumb the depths of both
the wisdom and the riches and the knowledge of God? Who can
do it? It's infinite. It's infinite. Just like He's infinite. How
unsearchable are his judgments and his ways are past finding
out. No man can know the ways of God.
That's the only thing we're going to know about him is what he's
pleased to show us. And what he's pleased to show
us, he will show us in the person and work of his own dear son.
Oh Lord, show me Christ, reveal to me who he is so that I will
know of who these things are, through whom these things are,
and to whom these things are, all things, all things. For who
hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor? I've made this statement before,
but I think it's so glorious to think about. God has never,
ever had a new thought. No one's ever taught him anything.
He's never learned anything. He is the glorious I am. He's everything in himself all
at one time. And that's what he's talking
about here. Of him and through him and to him are all things. And what's the rest of this verse
say? To whom be glory forever. You know, sinners are just, they're
brought to bow to this glorious truth. They're just brought,
they're brought to, to not only believe it, but rejoice in it.
Yes, Lord. Yes. Of Christ and through Christ
and to Christ are all things to the glory of Him. Not unto
us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name. be glory for thy
mercy and for thy truth's sake." It's about God. It's about God. Herein is life eternal. Here's life. And here's life
that lasts forever. To know God. The only true God. Not the idols that men fabricate
in their imagination, but the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom he has sent. He's what it's all about. Oh, and if the Lord gives us
faith to believe that, to bow as a mercy beggar, to bow as
a sinner in His presence, and to believe that everything is
of Him, everything is through Him, and everything is to Him. You talk about peace of mind.
You talk about comfort for a sinner's soul. You talk about complete
understanding. Complete understanding. In this
one statement, it's concise. It's condensed. It's comprehensive. Everything
is in this statement. Everything you need to know is
in this statement. Of Him, and through Him, and
to Him are all things. Oh, the Lord. Would the Lord
give us the grace to believe this? would enable us to just
bow and say, oh, that's so simple, but it's so glorious. The hope
that it gives to the hopeless, the food that it gives to the
hungry, the peace that it gives to those who are at enmity with
God, the rest that it provides for the weary soul, oh, And the natural man, I know what
they say, that's too simple. That's too simple. It's the simplicity
of Christ. For truly, all things in creation,
all things in providence, and all things in salvation, everything,
everything, is of Him, through Him, and to Him. Everything. of Him. He's the origin. That's what that means. Three
little simple prepositions here in this one verse, isn't there?
Of, through, and to. Just remember those three words.
Of, through, and to. And the word of means that He's
the author, He's the creator. Everything originated in Him.
There was a time, we can't even speak of it, because I just already
confused eternity by inserting the word time. But there was
a time when there was no time, if that can make sense to you.
We can't comprehend eternity. But before time, before the angels
were ever made, before man was created, before the earth was
made, before the stars were put into the sky, Before anything,
God is. He just is. Of Him. Of Him. He's the origin. He's the first cause of everything
in creation. If the Lord could give us faith
to believe the first few words of the Bible, we wouldn't have
any trouble with any rest of it. In the beginning. Now that phrase is used all throughout
the scripture to describe, that's God's language telling us how
it was before time ever came to be. In the beginning, God created. Of Him. In creation, everything
is of Him. The Lord and the Lord Jesus Christ
was the voice that said, let there be light. Let there be
light. And there was. All things were
made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. Of him in creation are all things. Of him in providence are all
things. of Him in Providence. Now I'm
talking about everything that's taken place in your life today.
Everything that's taken place in everyone's life today. Everything
that's ever taken place in the history of mankind and everything
that's going to take place tomorrow and the next day if the Lord
tarries will be of Him. Of Him. Do you believe that? This one statement, these three
little prepositions describe, they explain everything. Of Him,
through Him, and to Him are all things in creation and in providence. Turn with me to Ecclesiastes
chapter 3, if you will, please. Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Verse 1, to everything, to everything
there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. Everything. A time to be born
and a time to die. It is appointed unto man once
to die. a time to plant, a time to pluck
up that which is planted, a time to kill, and a time to heal,
a time to break down, and a time to build up, a time to weep,
and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance, a
time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together, a
time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing, a time
to get, and a time to lose, a time to keep, a time to cast away,
a time to rend, a time to saw, sew, a time to keep silent, a
time to speak, a time to love, and a time to hate, a time of
war, and a time of peace, what profit hath he that worketh in
that wherein he laboreth? What he's saying is, you're not
gonna change what God has purposed in providence. Here we labor,
that's what Solomon was talking about, vanity, you're not gonna
change the things that God's purposed in time. I have seen the travail which
God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. Oh, how hard we try. How hard
we try to change the events of time. And God says it's all of
me. It's all of me. Now look at the
next verse. For he hath made everything beautiful
in his time. Also, he has set the world in
their heart so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
from beginning to the end. Oh, of him, of him in creation
and in providence. Nebuchadnezzar put it like this
in Daniel chapter four. He said his dominion is an everlasting
dominion and his kingdom is from generation to generation, the
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. They're reputed as nothing. he
hath done according to his will with the armies of heaven and
the inhabitants of the earth. And no man can say unto him,
what doeth thou? And no man can stay his hand.
No man's gonna change what God's purposed. Of him. Everything in creation, everything
in providence is of him. Man makes his plans. We do, we
plan. We should be irresponsible. We should prepare and plan and
pray. But God orders his steps. Don't say, I'm gonna do this
and that. Say, if the Lord wills, I'll do it. If the Lord wills,
I'll do it. The scripture says, the lot is
cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. One of the ways that the Lord
gave the Israelites to discern God's will was the casting of
lots. And you might think, well, that's just a game of chance. No. No, the lot lands in the
lap, but the whole disposing of it is of the Lord. It was
the Lord that determined how that lot would turn out and what
would be done as a result of it. Of Him. Of Him in creation. of him in providence is all things
and most importantly of him in salvation in salvation the Lord
Jesus Christ is the lamb that was slain before the foundation
of the world God in the covenant of grace purposed to save a people
of God there would be no salvation had the Lord not purposed it
Had the Lord not ordained it, everything that happens in time has already happened in eternity. It already happened. In creation, in providence. I've told you what that word
providence means. It's pro video. Pro means before, video means
to see. The movie's already in the can.
It's already in the can. Of Him? That explains everything. It's of God. Everything is of Him. Everything
in creation, everything in providence, everything in salvation. He is
the author and the finisher of our faith. Paul put it like this
in Romans chapter one, verse one. He said, we are separated
unto the gospel of God. If God had not purposed in the
covenant of grace to save a particular people, if he had not chosen
them and elected them, Salvation's of the Lord. It's of the Lord. There's no way, there's no way
for you and I to put away our sin. There's no way for you and
I to satisfy the demands of God's righteousness. Salvation must
be of the Lord. It must be purposed of Him. From
before time ever started, it was purposed of Him. I get a A little bit of humor and disgust
at the same time from these self-professed theologians. Books have been
written on the order of decrees. I mean, they've got long theological
names to describe these orders of decrees. And men sit around
and they discuss, well now, did God ordain the fall before he
ordained election? Or did creation happen first
and then God did such and such? All that does is demonstrate
that those men have no idea who God is. What they're doing is
they're trying to define God in their own terms. And they've
made God to have a hand like their hand. They've made God
to have a mind like their mind. They've made our God to have
time like their time. There's no order to decrees. He doesn't plan things like we
plan things. You know, we talk about God planning
something. God's never planned anything.
He purposes it. And it's all purposed, if you
will, simultaneously out of his own nature. It's of him. Salvation is of the Lord. Our God has never been taught
anything. He's never had to consult a counselor.
He's never learned anything. He's never had a new thought.
He's God. Of Him. Of Him. He's the author. He's the origin. He's the first cause of everything
in creation, everything in providence, and everything in salvation.
It's all of Him. It's all of Him. That's why Paul
said, all the depths of the riches, you see that? Of the wisdom and
the knowledge of God. Who can plummet? They're unsearchable. His ways are past finding out. This is not something that we're
to try to understand or something we're trying to figure out or
comprehend. Oh, He's far beyond that. He's
unsearchable. No. This is a glorious truth
of who our God is that's just to be believed. Believed. Everything is of God. Everything is through God. Everything
is through Him. If the preposition of means that
he's the origin of it, and that he's the first cause of it, he's
the purpose of it, then the word through means that he's the means. He's the instrument by which
he carries out his purpose. He's the agent. It's his hand that carries out
everything in creation, in providence, and in salvation. And so everything
is not only of Him, but everything is through Him. In other words,
when God said, let there be light, and there was, that was the first
day of creation. You know, the intelligent men of this world
will tell you that That the reason we know that the universe has
been around billions of years or millions of years is because
we know that it takes that long for light to get to us from those
distant galaxies. And the fact that we can see
those galaxies means that we're looking at things that took place
millions of years ago. You know, the stars and the sun
and the moon weren't made until the fourth day. The first day, light was made. They're judging everything on
the theory of light. And light was there before what
we know to be the source of light was ever created. It was through
God. wasn't just of him, it's through
him. Let there be light. He's the
source of all light in creation. Turn to me to Colossians chapter
one, if you will. Colossians chapter one. Verse 16, for by him were all
things created. that are in heaven and that are
in earth, visible, invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him
and for Him. There's a simple enough explanation. Everything, the angels, the devils,
the things we see, the things that we don't see, everything
was created by him and for him, and he is before all things,
and by him, all things consist. Those men that are looking for
the theory of everything, they're trying to discover what they
call the God particle. By Him, all things consist. God's not going to be found out
in a telescope or a microscope. He's only going to be known by
faith. Only going to be known by faith. For without faith,
it is impossible to please God. Look at John chapter 1. Verse one, in the beginning. What's that mean? Before time
was the word. That's Christ. And the word was
with God and the word was God. And the same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not
anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life
was the light of men. Normally we think of having light
before life, but here the scripture tells us that the Lord Jesus
Christ is the life, and in him is the light. If we're to get
any light on understanding the summary of all things, it'll
be because he shed the light of himself in our hearts and
reveal to us his glory as the one who is the originator of all things,
the cause of everything. He's the one that sustains everything. He's the means to everything.
Everything in creation. Everything in providence. Everything
in the circumstances of your life. Oh, that the Lord would
give us faith to believe that. That unexpected event that took
place that derailed you. That thing that you thought,
you know, I didn't see it coming. God saw it coming. He sent it
to you. He brought it your way. Has evil come to the city and
the Lord has not caused it? He's the cause of everything
in Providence. I know the natural man says,
well, my God's not like that. I don't doubt that He's not.
The problem is the God you worship is not the God who is, because
the God who is has everything to do with everything that happens
in time. As evil come to the city and
the Lord's not caused it, as difficult and as sad as it is
for us to experience these things and to see other men experience,
You think that, you think the Lord didn't have something to
do with what happened in Paris this past? No, he had everything
to do with it. Of him, and through him, and
to him are all things. Everything in Providence is to
him. The scripture says, the king's heart is in the hand of
the Lord, and as the rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever
he wills. You think our president's making
decisions on his own? That's not what God says. He
said, the king's heart's in my hand. I turn it wherever I want
it to go. You think the decisions Putin's
making are somehow, you see, this is a summary of everything.
This is everything you need to know about everything. him and through him and to him
are all things everything he works all things together after
the counsel of his own will and when these words were being penned
by the Apostle Paul the Emperor Caligula was murdering Christians
by the thousand. Nero, and Paul said, of him,
and through him, and to him are all things. Paul didn't point
to the evil Roman emperors and say, look what they're doing.
He said, God did it. God did it. What else do you
need to know? See, this is the summary of everything. This is everything you need to
know about everything. Of Him, He's the origin of everything
in creation. He's the origin of everything
in providence. He's the origin of everything
in salvation. Through Him, He's the means by
which everything in creation came to be. He's the means by
which everything in providence comes to be. And oh, bless God,
He's the means by which everything in salvation comes to be. He's
the lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. He's the one who laid down his
life for the sheep. He's the one who satisfied all
the demands of God's law and presented himself before the
Father as our righteousness. He's the one who bore the full
wrath of God's justice on Calvary's cross. You see, of him, he purposed
salvation, and he is the means of our salvation. He suffered
the full wrath of God's justice, He put away our sins by the sacrifice
of himself once and for all, so that of him and through him
and to him are all things, all things. This is not hyperbole. This is not exaggerated speech.
God's not speaking in such a way to try to, it's not a shock factor. God doesn't talk like that. He
doesn't try to shock us with exaggerated speech. He's telling
us the simple, simple, simple truth of how things are. Do you believe that? Of Him, through Him, to Him are
all things. Through Him, He finished the
work. He finished the work that the
father gave to him. He sanctified his people. When he died on Calvary's cross,
everyone that God purposed in the covenant of grace of him
was through him. All God's elect died in Christ,
every single one of them. All God's elect were raised again
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And all that's happening in time
when we profess faith in Christ is already happened. It happened
at the cross. It happened in the covenant of
grace. Why? Because of Him and through Him and to Him are all
things. All things. So that He that sanctifieth,
that's the Lord Jesus Christ, and they that are sanctified,
He was offered up for our offenses and raised again for our justification.
We are sanctified in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, are
all as one. Wherefore, he's not ashamed to
be called their brethren. You say, it's too simple. That's what simple sinners need,
isn't it? You know, that's the thing about
it. Knowledge puffs up. Men love to, you know, they love
to boast in how much they know. And they love to, you know, complicate
things. And it's worse in religion than
anywhere else. Religion's so complicated. It's
so convoluted. It's, you know, you gotta do
this, you gotta do that, you gotta... No! Of Him! Through
Him and to Him are all things. It's not the theory of everything.
This is the summary of everything. This is everything you need to
know about everything. To Him. That speaks of the purpose. The purpose for which all things
are of Him, the purpose for which all things are through Him, is
that all things would be to Him. To Him. To His glory. It's not about us, it's about
Him. It's all to His glory. All things were made by Him and
for Him. The invisible things of him from
the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead,
so that men are left without excuse. Everything in creation,
creation screams of his glory, screams of his glory. Everything
that he's done in his handiwork demonstrates his, it was all
to him. He didn't create all of this. Somebody asked me one time, he
said, don't you think that there's life on, I mean, there's billions
of planets out there. Surely there's gotta be another
planet that's like ours and be life on it. I said, no, I don't
believe that. I said, why would God go to all
the trouble? of making all those billions
of planets if there wasn't life somewhere else. I said, what
trouble? What trouble? No trouble to Him.
He spoke, and it was. And He put it all there to glorify
Himself. It was of Him, it was through
Him, and it's to Him. The purpose of everything he's
done is to bring about his glory. And that's true in providence.
It's not just true in creation. Oh, Lord, give me the faith to
believe that all things really do work together for good, for
them that love you and those of the called according to your
purpose. See, that's not just our good. Our greatest good is His greatest
glory. It's to Him. The events of life
are to Him. That's why He said, count it
all joy, my brethren, when you fall into diverse temptations,
knowing that the trine of your faith worketh patience. And patience,
when it is complete, makes you what? Perfect and entire, wanting
nothing, lacking in nothing. Why? Because you're able to rest
in knowing that it's all of Him. It's all through Him. And it's
all to Him. And everything that's happened
in the history of creation, though we may not be able to see it
all right now, we know by faith that He's done it all. And in
the end, it's all going to be to His glory. Every single bit
of it. particularly in the area of salvation. Oh, it's going to be to Him.
The Lord didn't go through what He went through just in order
to save us. He did it to glorify Himself.
He's going to parade His bride before all of creation one day
as the trophy of His grace. It's to the praise of the glory
of His grace. That's why He saves the people.
God gave the Son a bride for His glory. This is not about
us. It's about Him. It's about Him. It's of Him. He's the origin. He's the first cause of everything
in creation, in providence, in election and salvation. It's
all through him. He's done it all. He holds everything
together in creation. He orders every event of everything
in Providence. And he fulfilled everything necessary
for the salvation of his people. Everything. Every single thing
that God requires from you and from me is found in the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything. There's nothing else.
You can't add to it. You can't take away from it.
Why? It's through Him. And it's to Him. Everything in creation points
to His glory. Everything in providence, through
the eyes of faith, point to His glory. One day we'll see it.
Oh, Lord, now I see. When we see Him in all of His
splendor, and we're made like Him, I think one of the things
we're going to acknowledge, oh, that's what it was all about.
That's what it was all about. your glory, your praise. And we're going to join our voices
with that choir in heaven. Hallelujah to the Lamb. To the praise of the glory of
His grace, whom be glory, whom be glory forever and ever. You see that in the last verse
there? Forever and ever. What do God's people say to that? Everything you need to know about
everything. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father,
we ask that you would Give to your people faith to believe
the simplicity of what you've declared in your word. We ask
it in Christ's name. Amen. In the psalm, let's stand 129. We'll just sing the four verses
and skip the refrain. Let's all stand together. Rejoice, my soul, in every state. Our God remains unmoved. No turns of providence abate
God's care for those he loves. To His decree, God will endure,
Though earth and sky depart. No trials or temptations here
Can tear us from His heart. Our surety knows for whom he
stood, for whom he gave his life. And we who trust his precious
blood possess eternal life. I am the Lord, and I change not,
His God's own promise sure. The Word of God I cannot doubt,
His people are secure. Thank you, Cheryl.