I'd like to read the first six
verses. Malachi 3, verse 1, Behold, I
will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before
me. And the Lord whom ye seek shall
suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant,
whom ye delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts, But who may abide the day of his coming?
Who may stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire
and like fuller's soap. And he shall sit as a refiner
and purifier of silver. And he shall purify the sons
of Levi and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer
unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the
offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord as
in the days of old, as in former years, and I will come near to
you in judgment. I will be a swift witness against
the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against false swearers, against
those that oppress the hireling and his wages, the widow, the
fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right,
and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord,
I change not. Therefore, ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed." Let's pray together. Our Father, we ask You this morning
to bless the time that we have, this short amount of time that
You Bless to the hearing the preaching of Your Gospel. We
ask You, Lord, to help us to hear. Help, I pray as I preach. Bless Your Word. Bless our understanding. Help us to worship for Christ's
sake. Amen. We've been studying the God that we worship. And in this study, we've looked
at different aspects of our mighty God. And today
I want to look at God who does not change. God is immutable. That's what immutable means.
change. He never changes at all. There's no hint. He's immutable in who he is,
in his nature. He's immutable in his thoughts. He's immutable in his will, in
his counsel. God doesn't change. Here's what
Malachi, the prophet, as the Spirit of God, gave him utterance. He said, I'm the Lord. I'm Jehovah. Look again, capital L, capital
O, capital R, capital D. That means Father, Son, and Spirit.
I am Jehovah. I don't deviate. change at all. I've heard people say prayer
changes things. No, it doesn't. That's not scriptural. God doesn't change. And because
I don't change, you sons of Jacob, you sons of promise, You sons
of mercy, those who in yourselves are tricksters and liars and
supplanters, that's what Jacob means. But you remember, the
Lord told Jacob when he wrestled with him. He said, you'll not
be called Jacob anymore. That's what you are in yourself.
But you'll be called Israel because you're a prince with God. But
in ourselves, We are sons of Jacob. James 1.17 says, Every good gift,
every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father
of lights. Now let me stop right here and
just say this. Everything obviously that God
does is good. No matter how it appears to men,
it's good. It's good for His honor. It's
good for His people. It's good in justice. It's good. It's good. Every good gift, but
ultimately, The gift that comes from Almighty God from above
is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is good. He cometh down from
the Father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow
of turning. Now this is what we want to do
in this little short study this morning. We are going to establish
according to the Scriptures that God does not change. The way that he thinks right
now is eternal thought. One day with the Lord is a thousand
years. He said, I am. I am. The way he thinks is the
way he's always thought. Because he never changes his
character, his word, ought to be never evil spoken of or thought
of or disregarded. You know the most amazing thing
to me, this way we all are. We read the Scriptures, the Holy
Scriptures, and it just accepts that the Spirit of God would
arrest us and bring to our heart the realization of what He just
said. We just pass over that like it was nothing. Does the Lord look upon His sheep
right now in mercy and love and compassion? Yes, He does. He's
always looked upon them that way. Jeremiah 31.3, "...hath appeared
of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, with lovingkindness have I drawn
thee." God draws His own unto Himself in time because He has
always loved Him. He has never looked upon His
sheep in wrath. I heard someone tell me that
one time. They said, well, before the sheep
were called out of darkness, they were under the wrath of
God. Well, 1 Thessalonians 5, 9 says,
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture says, Who hath
saved us, 1 Timothy 1, 9, Who has saved us and called us with
a holy calling who saved us, who always looked upon us in
mercy. If God looked upon His people
in wrath at one time and then didn't look upon them
in wrath at another time, then He changed. He changed in His
attitude. Something changed. And the Scripture
says with Him there is not even a shadow of turning. It doesn't even appear as though
that God changes. Forever, Psalm 119, 89, O Lord,
Thy Word is settled in heaven. The Lord is good, His mercy endures
forever, and His truth endures to all generations. So, we know
this, God doesn't change. So everybody will say, well now,
I agree with you. I agree with that. We've settled that part in our
mind, in our hearts, and God doesn't change. Amen. All right,
well let me ask you this. When we read a scripture that
appears to imply that God changes, here's what we're going to have
to remember. I'm going to read one to you in a minute. When
it appears in scripture that it gives a hint or it seems to
give an insinuation that God has changed somewhat in his attitude. What do you do with that? Well,
remember, I said one time, if you ever find a scripture that
appears as though that it contradicts something that you've heard before
concerning the truth of God's sovereign grace, what do you
do? Set it on a fence post. and take
a shot at it with a scripture that you know, that you understand. Here's one we understand. I am
the Lord. I change not. Now, if my mind settles anything
in my heart, it should be this. doesn't change. And when I say
God doesn't change, I mean He doesn't change His mind. He doesn't
change His will. He doesn't change His work. He
doesn't change nothing. Nothing changes. Now, if we know
that, then whatever else we look at that appears to maybe insinuate
Did God change? And He doesn't mean that. God, Numbers 23, 19, is not a
man that He should lie, neither the Son of Man that He should
repent, change His heart, change His
will, change His mind. That's what repent means, to
change the mind. Now, Genesis 6 says, it repented
the Lord that he had made man. Some will say, well, what that
means is God made men and he saw that they fell in the garden
and then after they got out of the garden and they started to
multiply and it just got to the point to where things just got
out of hand. And then they started looking
and seeing what was going on. And all of a sudden, he realized
that the thoughts and the intents of every man's heart was evil
only, continually rebellious against him. And he got to thinking
about it. And this thing had gotten so
out of hand It had just frustrated him and he just decided that,
oh man, I'm sorry I made these guys. Now when you first read that,
you'd think that's what it has to mean. It repented the Lord
that he made man. And except for Malachi 3.6, if
there was no Malachi 3.6 Or if there was no James where there's
neither shadow of turning or variableness with God, you'd
say, well, the Lord saw that things got out of hand and He
changed His mind. He just repented. It repented
the Lord that He made man. But here's what we know. God's
not a man. He doesn't change His mind. What
does it mean? Whenever the Scripture sets forth
something that appears that sin now has triumphed over the will
of God, what do you do? Never let it be insinuated that
God Almighty ever changed His mind, changed His will. He said, I don't change. This is the only way that any
Scripture that appears as though that it sets forth that God has
changed His mind is set forth in light of truth. This is the
only way. God will change not Himself, not His mind, not His
will, but He will change in our eyes the direction of His providence. It will make it in our eyes. to be shown that God has now
manifested His eternal will and purpose, that which He always
purposed to do in our eyes. God will change the manifestation
of His perfect will, unchanging will, to us. Now, 1 Samuel 15. 1 Samuel 15. was the king that everybody wanted. Give us a king. Samuel said,
you don't want a king. Yeah, we want a king. Samuel said, God is your king.
And they said, no, we want a king just like everybody else. And
Samuel said, you're not thinking right. What you're saying is
God is your king and the Lord always was their king. God was
always their master. He was always their Lord, their
God. So this is what we want. Okay? God's going to give you just
exactly what you want. But let me tell you what's going
to happen. He's going to take you to the cleaners, this King
that you want. He's going to take you. Now, God has always
purposed. He is the King. He is the Lord. I am the Lord. I am your God
and you're my people. We want a King. Okay, here we
go. Verse 11, 1 Samuel 15, 11. Now,
you remember this. God Almighty. I'm going to start
in verse 10. God Almighty has always purposed,
I'm the Lord. I'll have no other gods before
me. No one, no one will take my place in the eyes of my people. Nobody. And God just may allow a man
or a woman to do just exactly what they want to do. But if
God is going to show mercy to you, He's going to show you what
you are and who He is. And He's going to take down everybody
that you set up in your eyes over Him. We want a King. Verse 10, 1 Samuel
15, 10, Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,
It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king. Somebody
will say, Wait a minute, did God change His mind? You know
better than this. You know better than that. Did
God change His mind? God always established He was
their King. That's what Samuel told them.
God is your King. It repented me that I have set
up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me.
He has not performed my commandments. It grieved Samuel, and he cried
unto the Lord all night. And when Samuel rose early to
meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul
came to Carmel, and behold, He set him up a place and has gone
about and passed on and gone down to Gilgal. And Samuel came
to Saul, and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord. I have performed the commandment
of the Lord. Now, just stop for just a minute. Here is the man that the people
wanted set up as their king. And Samuel, from the words of
our Lord, said, You don't want Saul. You don't want him. Yes, we do. We want Samuel. We
want Saul. So therefore, here's Saul. He's
going to play the religious part. You know, he's going to play
his religious card and pull out. Well, here's Samuel. Here's the
prophet. So let me talk religious in front of Samuel. And Samuel
said, What meaneth then this bleeding of the sheep in mine
ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul says,
They have brought them. from the Amalekites, the people. I didn't really want to do that.
I mean, I'm the king, I understand, but they, you know, the people. For the people spared the best
of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice unto the Lord thy
God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed. So any time that there
was something that appeared as though that there seemed to be
some consistency and obedience, Saul joined in on that part of
it. Yeah, we killed everybody else.
I was in on that. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay,
and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night.
And he said unto him, Stay on. And Samuel said, When thou wast
little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the
tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?
And the Lord sent thee on a journey and said, Go and utterly destroy
the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them till they
be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not
obey the voice of the Lord? But didst fly upon the spoil,
and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said unto
Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone
the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag, the king
of Amalek. and have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil,
sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have
been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings
and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold,
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of
rams, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Stubbornness
is as iniquity and idolatry, because thou hast rejected the
word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned, I have transgressed the
commandment of the Lord in thy words, because I feared the people
and obeyed their voice. And therefore I pray thee, pardon
my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord,
Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee. For thou
hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected
thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to
go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle and rent
it. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom
of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor
of thine that is better than thou, and also the strength of
Israel." Now you notice that strength is in capital, you know,
you're talking about the Lord himself, will not lie nor repent,
for he is not a man that he should repent. Then he said, I've sinned,
yet honor me now. I pray thee before the elders
of my people and before Israel and turn again with me that I
may worship the Lord thy God. So Samuel turned again after
Saul and Saul worshiped the Lord. Now, let me ask you this. When
it says that It repented the Lord that he set Saul to be king. Did God change his mind? No. What did God do? God Almighty gave them just exactly
what they rebelliously asked for and showed them what they
are. repented the Lord that He made
man. Did God change His mind? No.
Well, somebody says, well, it appears as though that He did.
No, He didn't. Settle it in your heart that
whenever it appears as though that something is said in Scripture
that insinuates God changed His mind, He did not change His mind. My counsel shall stand. I will do. All that I purposed,
everything that God Almighty has established eternally is
so. And because He never changes,
that's why God's people are not consumed. If God changed in any
way, then His eternal counsel that He has predestinated Ain't going to work. He said,
I don't change. God gave Israel exactly what
they wanted. He set up Saul. God's eternal counsel was, I'm
your Lord. I'm your God. Give us Saul. You can have him. And when it's
all said and done, God is still their King. And He's going to
judge Saul for his rebellion. And He's going to deal with the
nation of Israel because of their rebellion against Him. And He's
going to teach them, the only reason you're not consumed is
because I don't change. What comfort should we have knowing that we
call upon Him who does not changed. Lord, keep me from the silliness
of my flesh and my nature. Lord, teach me. When I ask, before I even pick up the Scriptures,
teach me to ask. Lord, give me a right interpretation. Give me a right knowledge. Teach
me through this. Don't let me look upon your blessed
book and read something that appears as though that it's confusing
to your nature, to your character, to your will, to your purpose. Lord, let me read this aright.
Let me behold the wonder of your glory. And let not the presence
of my own nature think anything disrespectful of you. Cause me to bow in closing how endearing it is
to the heart of every believer of the immutability of God in
salvation. Salvation is accomplished eternally And it's revealed in time to
the recipients of God's mercy, grace. Think back upon yourself. You know, while we're just thinking
back, I mean, time would prohibit us from considering the failings
of Abraham, Lot, David, Moses, The apostles think about Peter
when he denied the Lord three times. I think about that Scripture
that says that. He that denies me. Before me
and I'll deny you before my father in heaven. Say, well. Why didn't the Lord
deny Peter before his father? Peter denied Him. There's a contradiction. No, it's not. God Almighty, who
eternally purposed to show mercy to Peter, took that act of rebellion,
and that act of rebellion, that transgression, was nailed to
His cross. and the Lord Jesus Christ put
it away. I'm going to have mercy on whom
I'm going to have mercy. I don't change. And it doesn't
matter how it appears to you. You foolishly may think that
I change. You foolishly may question my
counsel. But may we all this morning be
brought to this thought Lord, forgive me for questioning you. And for thinking that you act
any way other than. According to your immutable counsel
and will for Christ's sake. Amen. Let's take about a 10 minute
break and we'll come back.