Let me ask you a question in
a way of an introduction to this morning's message. Can you imagine
a group of men, say 100 men or even 200 men, getting together
to build a skyscraper without any plans, any wisdom,
Any ability to build that? I can't imagine anybody starting
to work on a project like that without some kind of a set of
blueprints to instruct them. Our Lord Jesus instructed us in building a house to lay a
sure foundation. Don't build a house on sand,
build it on a solid rock. And if we're going to lay a sure
foundation, we have to know the measurements, we have to know
how big the house is going to be. Then he told us to be sure
and sit down and count the cost, in case you don't have enough
to finish the project. Because if we start something
and then can't finish it, and somebody else comes along and
finishes it for us, the person who finishes the project is the
one who gets the glory. Well, that's what Arminian doctrine
is doing. It's telling us that Christ wasn't
able to finish His work, so we have to finish it for Him. And
they're robbing God of His glory and getting the glory to themselves. The Word of God is plain. There's
plenty of scripture to teach that this whole creation was
purposed by God. The salvation of His elect was
purposed by God before a star ever twinkled in the sky. Our
names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life from the foundation
of the world. Jesus Christ is a Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. His blood is referred to as the
blood of the everlasting covenant. He loves His people with an everlasting
love and with loving kindness He draws us unto Himself. You
just can't deny it. Our Lord mentioned over and over
and over again that His Father gave Him a people. They were
given to Him in the eternal covenant of grace before time began. I want to ask you, if you will
please, to turn to Proverbs 16. Proverbs 16. It was God's own
purpose and grace that planned this salvation of His people.
We read in 2 Timothy 1.9 that God has saved us and called us
with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the foundation of the world. It was God's own purpose
and grace that chose us in Christ before this world was created.
It was God's own purpose and grace that determined that Jesus
Christ would be the Savior of His people. It was God's own
purpose and grace that determined that Jesus Christ would be born
of a virgin, that God our Creator would become a man. It was God's
own purpose and grace that determined that Jesus Christ would establish
a perfect righteousness for His people by His perfect obedience
to His Heavenly Father's will. It was God's own purpose and
grace that determined that Jesus Christ, by the supreme sacrifice
of Himself, would satisfy the holy justice of God. and pay
the redemption price in full for our sins, removing our sins
from God's sight forever. And it was God's own purpose
and grace that predestinated us unto the adoption of children. It was God's own purpose and
grace that brings His blood-bought children unto the preaching of
His gospel. And it was God's own purpose
and grace to give us His Spirit to guide us into all truth. Now here in Proverbs chapter
16, in verse 4, we read these holy inspired
words, The Lord hath made all things for Himself, yea, even
the wicked for the day of evil. The Lord hath made all things
for Himself, Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Now that
perfectly harmonizes, that last part of verse four perfectly
harmonizes with the fact that God is the divine potter and
we're the clay and he forms the vessel as it pleases him. Some
are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, others are vessels
of mercy which God afore prepared unto glory. I've titled this
message, Where Do I Fit In? And I told my wife earlier, I
never feel like I'm ready to preach the gospel. I'm human and I know who I represent. And I know how important it is
for a preacher to make sure that what he is preaching is the truths
of the gospel. And God's preachers repeat themselves. We don't mind. For you and for me, it's safe.
It's not, it's not, Something that's difficult for me to do
is I'm not straining to get this out to tell you the truth. I
love to tell you the truth over and over and over again. Repetitious preaching is the
best way to learn truths of the gospel for the glory of our Savior. And so, where do I fit in? I'll guarantee you on the authority
of God's Word, we fit in somewhere. Now let me take you to Colossians
chapter 1, and like I've said, I repeat myself a lot, and I
use a lot of the same scripture, but that's okay. I don't mind. Let me mention some thoughts
before I read this passage of scripture in Colossians chapter
1. Elijah and all those false prophets fit right in where God
had determined them to fit in. And after God proved that Elijah
was His prophet, Elijah was instructed to kill all of those false prophets. That's where they fit in. There
was a wicked woman that those prophets served, those false
prophets served by the name of Jezebel. She was thrown out of a window,
and this is where she fit in. God kills and God makes alive.
She was thrown out of a window, and it killed her. And the dogs ate the flesh of
that wicked woman. And we read this in the Scripture,
The carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung. Now that's where
she fit in. That's exactly where she fit
in. You can find fault with God if you want to, but this is what
his word teaches. Now just as a point of interest,
Jezebel was her daddy's little baby girl at one time. Those
wicked men who crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, that's where
they fit in. It was by the determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God, and those wicked men were mama's
sweet little baby boys at one time. I'm saying that to tell
you this, the love of our parents has absolutely nothing to do
with the salvation of God's elect. It's God's eternal love that
he himself set upon a particular people that would be with Christ
giving him all the glory forever and forever and forever. So if
you're with me in Colossians chapter 1, look at verse 12. Giving thanks unto the Father
which hath made us fit, made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in life. Now God is not a benevolent
old man. with a beard down to his feet,
up in the heavens wringing his hands, hoping against hope that
somehow things are going to work out. That's the image that a
lot of people have of the God of this Bible. That is not the
God of the Bible. Our God is on His sovereign throne
of glory, and we read this concerning Him, all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing, and He, that is God, does according
to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What
doest Thou? Now where do I fit in? Do I fit
in with the majority of the people who look to a God who can't do
anything unless the created being allows him to do it? Or do I
look to God who's working all things after the counsel of His
own will, who tells us plainly that all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing And He, God Himself, does according
to His own will an army of heaven and amongst the inhabitants of
the earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What
dost thou? Now, the majority of the people
of this world, and most of the people don't go to church. Well,
I shouldn't say most. Well, I think that's a fair statement.
Most of the people don't go to church, but they're religious.
People will worship anything. And all unregenerate men and
women believe that there's a little good in everybody. And all we
have to do is just fan that little spark of good and it's going
to burst into a flame of good that will allow those people
to produce a righteousness that God will accept. I'm not making that up. We were
there. In our unregenerate state, we
thought our good would outweigh our bad. Even a person who murders
somebody will justify themselves by saying, I only murdered one.
I know people who murdered four or five. If we're going to compare
ourselves with anybody, and it's not wise to compare ourselves
with others, but if we're gonna compare ourselves with anybody,
let's compare ourselves to Jesus Christ. Now, beloved, I'm telling
you the truth. God demands perfection. I'll say that again. God demands
perfection. We cannot be accepted in God's
sight unless we're as perfect as God himself. You say, that
lets me out. That does me too if I'm depending
on my own righteousness to make me perfect. But my perfection
is found in Jesus Christ and only in Jesus Christ. He's perfect. Everything about Him is perfect. His thoughts, His mind, His steps,
everything that He did when He walked on this earth was perfect
in God's sight. So if our view of self is that
our good will outweigh our bad, then we've missed it. The Word
of God teaches us differently. Here's where God's children who've
been enlightened by the Spirit of God fit in. There is none
that doeth good. No, not one. Romans 3.12. They that are in the flesh cannot
please God. Romans 8, 8. In my flesh dwelleth
no good thing. Romans 7, 18. And you go on and
on and on and on. Now this is what's being taught
in most churches where today's professing Christians go to worship. God loves everyone. And Jesus
Christ died for everyone, and God has given all men and women
a free will to accept or reject Christ to gain favor with God. It's being taught that God has
cast a vote, the devil has cast a vote, and unregenerate men
and women cast the deciding vote. That is not true. In our unregenerate
state, We love darkness and will not come to the light. We hate
the light because our deeds are evil. And if we come to the light,
our deeds will be reproved. Well, here's what the word of
God says. All workers of iniquity, God
hates. God hates all workers of iniquity. That's in Psalm 5.5. The Word
of God says, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore
with loving kindness have I drawn thee. That's in Jeremiah 31.1.
Now if God loves us with an everlasting love, there never was a time
when he hated us. Oh, we were just as wicked We
were deserving of God's wrath just as well as those who were
vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. But God loves us with an everlasting
love. Can you get a handle on that?
He never ever hated his people. He has always seen us in Christ
and his love for us is in Christ and nothing can separate us from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So we read in
the scripture where God loves us with an everlasting love.
We read also where God says, Jacob have I loved but he saw
have I hated. We read in the scripture where
you believe not because you're not my sheep, referring to some
who did not belong to Him. And our Lord says, I laid down
my life for the sheep so He didn't die for everybody. He laid down
His life for those who are His sheep, who were chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. And what the people of
this world today are doing, and have been doing it ever since
the fall of Adam, really, what they're doing is making themselves
to be the one who gets the glory, that they belong to God because
of what they're doing, and instead of seeing God's love bestowed
upon a particular people, they trample underfoot the love of
God, they make the cross of Christ of no effect, Jesus Christ means
nothing to them. Can I say that again? Jesus Christ
and His finished work means nothing to them. They serve a different
Jesus. They have a different gospel.
A different spirit directs and guides them. It's the spirit
of evil. God says, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy. So then it is not of him that
willeth, Nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
Now I ask you this question again. Where do I fit in? Look at verse
13. Well, I didn't deal with the
last part of verse 12. God hath made us fit to be partaker
of the inheritance of the saints in light. Now, God has qualified
us. He has given us His Spirit. He
has redeemed us. He has washed us clean in His
sight. And He's made us fit to be partakers
of the inheritance and sight of the saints in light. Now to make us heirs, adjoined
heirs with Christ is what God has done by purchasing us with
His own blood We have a full inheritance waiting for us. An
inheritance with the saints in glory where we'll be in the presence
of Jesus Christ forever. And sweet fellowship with the
saints here on this earth while we're waiting for that time when
we can go to glory. God has made all things for Himself. It is God who has made us, not
we ourselves. Now look at verse 13. Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated
us into the kingdom of His dear Son. God is the one who's delivered
us from the spirit of darkness. I said a moment ago that we love
that darkness. We didn't want out. We didn't
want to come to the light. Jesus Christ is the light. He's
the true light. And it was Jesus Christ who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, who commands the light to shine
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This relationship with God is
not by chance. It's a miracle of the new birth,
and only God can perform that miracle. And He delivers us from
the power of darkness. And we, as God's enlightened
children, have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. Our text
says that God has translated us into the kingdom of His dear
Son. One of the meanings of the word
translated is to turn away. God has turned us away from a
wrong view of our majestic God. He hates sin. He cannot even
look upon sin. God has turned us away from a
wrong view of ourselves. We know, we know that we've sinned
against God and we deserve nothing but His wrath. It's not just
murderers and child molesters and bank robbers. All liars shall
have their place in a lake of fire. And we come into this world
going astray and speaking lies. I didn't have to teach my children
to lie. I'm waving at Shelly, our oldest
daughter. I had to teach them not to lie. That's just the old nature. And
if God doesn't give us a new heart, we'll justify every lie
we've ever told or every evil deed that we've ever done. But
God has turned us away from a wrong view of self. And God has turned
us away from a wrong view of Jesus Christ. He didn't try to
redeem us. He redeemed us. He by Himself
purged our sins. He took care of the sin debt
forever, so that not one thing can be laid to our charge. Does
that bless you? Brethren, I'm telling you the
truth. God sees us in His darling Son just as if we had never sinned. God Himself justified us because
of Christ. We have this wonderful truth in dwelling within us, which
is Christ sent us the hope of glory, that because of Jesus
Christ, we have been redeemed, purchased, bought back. Look
at verse 14. Speaking of Jesus Christ, it
says, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. The blood of Jesus Christ is
referred to as the blood of the everlasting covenant. And He,
Jesus Christ Himself, met all the conditions of the everlasting
covenant so that God sees us in Christ just as if we had been
doing what Jesus Christ did for us. I said earlier that Jesus
Christ is perfect. And while He walked on this earth,
everything He did is perfect in God's sight. And we were in
Him, so that makes us perfect in God's sight. That's the righteousness
that God is pleased with. Not with any righteousness of
our own, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Now, Jesus Christ
is the one who translates us into His eternal kingdom, and
we have redemption through His blood. Even the forgiveness of
sins is what verse 14 says. Brethren, God forgives sinners.
God forgives sinners, but only one way. That's through Christ. God has forgiven us for Christ's
sake. Not for what I have done, not
because of my parents, not because of my church affiliation, not
because of anything that man produces, but all because of
what Christ has done for us. God has forgiven us for Christ's
sake. Someone said that you can sum
up the gospel with one word, substitution. Jesus Christ became
what I am, sin, so that I can become what He is, righteous. Isn't that wonderful? That's
good news. Good news for a sinner. But people
today don't believe they've sinned enough to be tossed into hell. They don't believe that. They
don't. You talk to them. Find me a sinner. I can't find too many of them.
Not one that is truly, genuinely aware of the sinful condition
that they're in. We're bankrupt. We have no hope
in our unregenerate state. There's no hope in man. But our
hope is in Jesus Christ, Christ in us, the hope of glory. So
God has forgiven us for Christ's sake. Now, our text says that
God has delivered us into the kingdom of His dear Son. translated
us, turned us away from self, turned us to God. And in verse
14, it says, we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. And Verse 15 says that Jesus Christ
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. Now, no man has seen God at any
time and lived. God is invisible. But Jesus Christ
is the image of the invisible God. And when he walked here
on this earth, his disciples said, show us the Father and
we'll be satisfied. He said, have I been so long
time with him? You have not seen me. He doesn't
see me, has seen the Father. He said in another scripture,
I and my Father are one. Jesus Christ is the true and
living God. He's the express image of God
the Father. All of the attributes of God
are found in Jesus Christ. Anything that we can read about
concerning God, And His majestic being is found in Jesus Christ,
our risen Lord and Savior. He's the true and living God.
who works all things after the counsel of His own will, and
in Him, in Jesus Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. Jesus Christ, our text says,
is the firstborn of every creature. That does not mean that Jesus
Christ was a created being. It means that all things exist
because of Jesus Christ, which the next verse plainly teaches. It says, for by Him, Look at
verse 16. For by Him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers,
all things were created by Him and for Him. And that's what
we read in Proverbs 16, 4, all things are made of God, even
the wicked for the day of evil. Jesus Christ is the one who said,
let it be, and everything came into existence. And Jesus Christ
is the one who has made all things exist, everything, not just the
created things, but everything that's taken place by His divine
providence. He is moving upon the affairs
of this earth. He has not turned the reins of
His creation. absolute sovereign control over
and to the hands of sinful men and women. He's running this
show. He's Lord of all. And the Word
of God teaches that. And if we confess with our mouth
that God has raised Him from the dead, and confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, we'll be saved. And the word Lord means supreme
controller. He controls it all. Even Every single person that's driving
into a city or coming away from a city, God controls every heart. It's like a river of water. He
turns those hearts as it pleases Him. And one day, God, divine
providence, turned me and my wife into a little church building
up in Northern California, where the true gospel of God's sovereign
grace and mercy was being preached, where what we refer to as the
doctrines of grace was being presented from the pastor of
that church in a way that it could not be denied. You know
what he did? He took us into the scriptures.
And when I came away from that worship service that first morning,
I looked at Judy and I said, that makes more sense than anything
I've ever heard in my life. Well, unknown to me, the Holy
Spirit was teaching me. God had sent His Spirit into
my heart. And the next Sunday, the Lord
just opened my eyes to Jesus Christ, who He is and what He
has done for me. And that's what He's doing to
all of His blood-bought children. Now I ask you again, where do
you fit in? Where do I fit in? If I'm a vessel
of mercy that God Himself prepared before the foundation of the
world to be a recipient of His glory, if God has brought me
to the point where I see Him as my Lord and my Savior, here's
where I fit in. I will see Jesus Christ as God,
my Creator. I'll see Him as the third person
of the blessed Trinity. I know people hate the doctrine
of Trinity. They're just religious people.
They don't want to believe that Jesus Christ is God, they refer
to Him as a God. They don't want to believe that
the Holy Spirit is God, but our Lord said, referring to the Holy
Spirit when He shall come, He referred to Him as a person.
So there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. But
Jesus Christ is the true and living God. We'll have no problem
with that. If God has enlightened our minds
to the truth, we'll have no problem in bowing down to Jesus Christ
and acknowledging that He is my Lord and my God. and will
have no problem with His perfect work of redemption. We'll believe
that Jesus Christ by Himself purged our sins. We'll believe
that by one supreme sacrifice of Himself, He sanctified us,
made us holy in God's sight. He perfected us. We'll believe
that He fulfilled all the conditions of the everlasting covenant.
We'll believe that God has mercy on us for Christ's sake. And we'll believe that God raised
him from the dead, that Jesus Christ was delivered for our
offenses, but he was raised again for our justification. We won't
have any problem with that. And we won't have any problem with wanting to come where the
gospel is preached on a regular basis. We'll want to be there
as often as we can. I realize there's sometimes we
can't be where the saints meet, but we'll want to be. Our heart's
here. We'll want to support the gospel
with our time, with our monies, with our prayers, with our talents. This is our desire to walk as children of light
for the glory of Jesus Christ, our King. And we have problems. We still have the old nature.
We still have wrong thoughts that go through our minds. We
still do things we shouldn't do and don't do things that we
know we should do. But we look to Christ, who did
everything that God sent Him to do. Spoke every word that
God moved Him to speak. had every thought directed by
God himself, performed miracle after miracle after miracle for
the glory of God his Father. That's why he was here, to do
the will of God the Father. And he did that for me. He did
that for his people. so that God can have mercy on
us for Christ's sake. This will be our desire if we
fit in this wonderful plan of redemption purposed by God before
a star ever twinkled in the sky. We'll want to serve the true
and living God, and we'll cry out daily, God forgive me for
my failures. Thank you for my Lord Jesus. who never failed. He couldn't. God cannot fail. I was just talking
to a pastor friend of mine up in Rescue, California, and we
delight in this truth. If God could fail, he would cease
to be God, but God cannot fail. Jesus paid it all, all to him
I owe. Sin has left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.