If you would, turn with me in
your Bible to the book of Job chapter 23. Job chapter 23. Let me begin by saying how anyone
could read and study the scriptures with any consistency, any consistency
at all, and not see that the God who wrote the scriptures
is sovereign and omnipotent, is beyond me. And the problem
doesn't lie within the scriptures, but within the ones who read
and study them. Many search the scriptures, the
Lord said, and in them, that is in the scriptures, they think
they have eternal life, but the scriptures are they which testify
of Christ. And if we miss Christ in the
scriptures, then we've missed the truth. We've missed salvation. And we can only know that we
have eternal life when we see that eternal life is in Christ. Let me say that again. We can
only see that we have eternal life when we see that it's in
the Lord Jesus Christ. The scriptures testify of Him. Now I'm convinced that if God
does not reveal his word to a sinner, if God does not reveal Christ
to us, we'll never see the glorious things and we'll never have eternal
life. And these are glorious things
that we see in the gospel. And I'm convinced also that the
reason most folks never see that salvation is of the Lord, You
know, that's real easy to say, isn't it? Salvation is of the
Lord. But it's so difficult for the natural man to believe. He
can't believe it. He can't receive the things of
the Spirit of God. They're spiritually discerned.
He can't know them. We think way too highly of ourselves
and way too little of God. Men and women have attached an
undue importance to a man and have given God a second place
to man's will, work, and way. And mankind has convinced themselves
for so long that God is somehow in some way dependent on them
to carry out His will. I heard that all my life. They
are convinced that they must give Him their permission to
save them, that they must exercise their will in order to be saved,
but that's never been the case. Those who think this way are
now, it seems, in full opposition to the true message of who God
is and what His Word declares. But the Word of God is clear
on the matter. It's clear on the matter of who
God is and God's sovereignty, and it's clear on the matter
of salvation, and it has been from the beginning. Who in the
beginning of time created the heavens and the earth? Well,
it was God. And it's the same God that creates
life in a dead sinner. Who said, let there be, and light
was? God did. And it's still God who
commands the light of the glorious gospel to shine out of darkness
into our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That hasn't changed. Who created
man and woman to do His bidding in the world and to tend the
garden of God? Well, it was the Lord. And it's
still the Lord who bids his servants to preach the gospel of Christ
in order to save them that believe. These things have not changed
because God has not changed. who set the boundaries of man's
habitation, who gave his commandment of obedience to man in the beginning,
God did. And God still commands obedience,
perfect obedience to his law for the soul that sins and is
disobedient shall surely die. And who by disobedience to this
great God fell into sin and desired to be his own God, man did. And that's something that we
can take credit for ourselves. And truly the only thing that
I have that was not given to me by God is my sin. Oh my. We could turn almost anywhere
in scripture. I made the comment this morning
that we preach the same message, we just preach it from different
passages of scripture. And we could turn almost anywhere
in this blessed book and prove these things that we believe.
The sovereignty of God is declared on every page of scripture if
God would give us eyes to see. And he gives us glimpses ever
so often by his grace and we rejoice to see it. Preachers
say things like God wants to save a sinner. God has never
wanted to do anything. He does what he wills in the
army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. Men
say Satan wants to destroy them. Satan is just a dog on God's
chain. He can't do anything that God
does not allow him to do. And then folks say the most ridiculous
thing of all. They say that the end result
of man's salvation is determined by the sinner. That couldn't
be further from the truth. This kind of thinking is dishonoring
to God. It really is. And the glory of
God is seen in the salvation of sinners by the choice and
the grace and the love and the mercy of God. How are sinners
saved? Paul said, by grace through faith. God grants the sinner both the
grace and the faith. And it's not of works, Paul said,
that any man should boast. You see, God Almighty will not
allow man to boast. He will not share his glory with
another. And God's glory is manifested
in the saving of wretched sinners by the substitution of his beloved
son. If there was ever, now listen,
if there was ever a reason to worship God, and to give God
all the glory, it would be in the great truth that He sent
His only begotten Son to be a propitiation, an appeasement for His people's
sin. If you ever see what you are,
and sin is what you are, sin's not just what you do, sin is
what you are. You sin because you're a sinner.
If you ever see that, that'll be the best news that you ever
heard, that your sin is put away. And I love to harp on that. I
do. It's what gives me hope. It's
what gives me comfort. It's what gives me rest. This
is God's glory. Moses desired to see the glory
of God and God granted it. And you remember what God said?
He said, I'll make all my goodness pass before thee. Jesus Christ
is the goodness of God. When we preach Him, He passes
before us. Oh, that we might see Him today,
that God might enable Him to pass before us, that we might
see Him in faith. God went on to say, I'll proclaim
the name of the Lord before you. That's what we're doing. Jesus
Christ is the gospel that we preach. Salvation is not in what
we do, but in what he did for us. God said, I'll be gracious
to whom I will be gracious. And I will show mercy to whom
I will show mercy. And it's God's sovereign right
to save whom he will. And that's his glory. God said,
you cannot see my face for no man shall see me and live. God's
too holy for us to look on him while yet in our sin, yet God
made a way in the Lord Jesus Christ for us to see the Father.
He said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Then the Lord
said this, behold, there is a place by me. Now who's that? Well, Jesus Christ is that place
that God shows mercy and grace to sinners. God said, thou shalt
stand upon a rock. Christ is the solid rock upon
which we stand, and the gates of hell can't prevail against
it. Oh my, it's all about Him. It's all about Him. The Lord
went on to say, when my glory passes by, I'll put you in a
cleft of the rock, and I'll cover you with my hand. Isn't it amazing
that all these things point to Him? Christ is that cleft in
which we hide. Christ is that covering that
protects us from being consumed by the holiness and wrath of
God. Oh, in Him we hide. So this morning,
I wanna preach the same message that I preach every week. But
I wanna present the gospel to you this morning from Job chapter
23. And to those who think that God is somehow in some way subject
to the will work and way of man, I would encourage you to listen
to Job in these verses. Job was a man that suffered,
other than the Lord Jesus Christ, suffered more than any man in
the scripture. You know his story. He lost everything
he had. He lost all 10 of his children
in one day. His wife, whom I'm sure he loved,
said, why don't you just curse God and die? Let's listen to
this man. In chapter 23, verse 13, the
verse starts out this way. But he, being God, is in one
mind. That's my first point. God is
in one mind. Now all the acts of God in Providence
have a fixed and settled purpose. Our God is a God of purpose. Purpose. Our God is of one mind. I find great, great comfort in
that. In this life, our crosses are
many to bear. We're born to, and in the sorrow
of sin, sufferings are common and continue. Yet they are according
to God's divine purpose. None of these things come by
chance. Everything God does is by His
order, according to His purpose. All things are ordered and sure.
Why? Because He's in one mind. God
has a fixed course. God does as He pleases. He's
unchangeable in His purpose and in His decrees. He cannot be
resisted. He cannot be contradicted. The
original interpretation for God is in one mind here is literally,
but He is in one. Or even better, God is alone. Now what does that mean? Well, it means a lot of things,
but it really only means one thing. It means that there is
none to advise him. With whom took he counsel? Scripture
said. God has no partner. His designs
are his own. His counsels are immutable. They're unchangeable. None can
divert him. There's none that can influence
him. God is in one mind. God is alone. God is one. There's none that can persuade
him. His purpose is always executed. All things are formed in his
infinite wisdom. His ways are past finding now.
All things are carried out by his omnipotent power. It's vain,
vain for a man to contend with his maker. Why? Because he works
all things after the counsel of his own will, and he's never
been accountable to anyone. Why do men think that God is
accountable to man? Isn't that what the second clause
of verse 13 here tells us? And this is my second consideration.
And who can turn him? Job says, who can turn him? Who
can stay his hand? Who can question him? Who can
say, God, what doest thou? Now the Hebrew word for turn
here means hinder. Who can hinder God? There are
many who think they can. Well, there are many who think
and are of the mindset that the fall of man changed the purpose
and design of God. There are many who think that
God was somehow caught by surprise when man sinned. They think that
his will and his purpose were thrown out of order. They think
that God was placed in a delicate position or put into a precarious
predicament which required him to change his predetermined will.
It's not true. I heard a preacher once say that
when Adam sinned, God had a backup plan. God doesn't need a backup
plan. God doesn't need a plan because
He purposes all things. No sir. Perish the thought. The fall of man was a part of
God's divine purpose. Now, I don't understand that,
but it's so. And even the sin of Adam, though
he did it freely, was according to the divine purpose of God
that God might receive all the honor and all the glory for the
salvation of his people. Now, let me ask you a question
concerning this. When did Christ become the Lamb
slain? Was it when he hung on Calvary's
cross? Well, that's not what the Word
of God says. Though he certainly, hanging on the cross, was the
Lamb of God. God's Word says that Christ was
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The Lord Jesus
and the purpose of God was foreappointed. to be the propitiation for the
sin of God's elect. Jesus Christ, before the foundation
of the world, predetermined to redeem his people by his blood. And what was the promise of God
immediately following man's fall? Did God have to take a couple
of weeks off to mull things over when Adam sinned? No siree. God immediately declared the
victorious accomplishment of salvation when he promised the
seed of the woman would bruise his heel, but he himself would
bruise or crush the serpent's head. And this is speaking of
Christ. And this is speaking of what
God had purposed in eternity for him to do long before the
fall of man ever took place. Now think with me on this. What
would have been the reason for God to have loved, chosen, and
elected sinners in Christ before the foundation of the world so
that they might be made holy and without blame if they had
no sin? Now the sin of man didn't catch
God off guard. You can't catch God off guard.
He purposed to save sinners in Christ before the foundation
of the world for his own great namesake. Friends, God is in
one mind. God is alone. God is one. Who can turn him? That's the
question I want you to consider. Who can turn him? Many years
after Israel was delivered by the mighty hand of God out of
Egypt, his people forsook him and they began to worship false
gods and idols. But God's purpose was not changed
by the defection of his chosen nation any more than his purpose
was changed when Adam sinned. God has always purposed to save
his people by the substitution of the Lamb of God. Many years
later, when the Jews rejected the gospel and Peter and Paul
and the other apostles turned to the Gentiles, God didn't make
some amendment to his word or to his purpose. Well, what am
I gonna do now? You know, God has never thought
that way. And it's the same gospel that
saved the Gentiles, that saved the Jews, and it's the same gospel
that saves today. God's purpose has never changed. I mean to be redundant. All that
has been determined in eternity will come to pass just as God
ordained it. And that's what providence is.
We've said that many times. It is God bringing to pass in
time what He purposed in eternity. And men rebel and men turn their
back on their creator. But in God, there is no variableness
or shadow of turning. And men mock and they make little
of God's word and men brag on their will and their way and
their work. And they make little of salvation
in Christ alone. But God's not moved by what men
do or think. God still saves sinners the same
way. that he purposed to save them
before time ever was. And that's what brings us to
the third thing in our text. Look at it. What his soul desireth,
even that he doeth. God's purpose is always effective. Always effectual. He made the
world out of nothing. Out of nothing. There was no
resistance there. Like me, said He, and like was,
there was no resistance there. What God purposed, providence
brought. And there was no resistance there. None. Who can stay His hand or
question Him? Those who think that predestination,
now listen, this is important, those who think that predestination
and the fulfillment of God's divine purpose makes men unaccountable,
unaccountable for their sin, they don't have any idea what
they're saying. They're in for a rude awakening. Their argument
is this. If God is sovereign, and He has
mercy on whom He'll have mercy, and whom He will, He will harden,
then why does He find fault? For who hath resisted His will? Who art thou? That replies against
God. That's the answer. Who are we
to question God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Doesn't the
sovereign potter have power over the clay? Well, he certainly
does. Can he not make one vessel unto
honor and another unto dishonor? Now, men and women may choose
their own path. They may select their own position,
but this much is for certain. If man by his own choice chooses
sin or whether a man is guided by God's divine grace and chooses
a right, God still is sovereign and on his throne and his will
and his purpose for both the lost and the saved is accomplished. How do I know that? What we see
right here. For what his soul desires, even
that. And if He does it, it will always
be accomplished. He never tried to do anything.
God doesn't have a plan. Plans fail. Plans get changed. But God's will is one of sovereign
purpose. You know these verses very well.
We quote them constantly. Our God's in the heavens and
He's done whatsoever He's pleased. That's my God. whatsoever the
Lord pleased." That did He. That did He. And He did it in
heaven and in earth and in the seas and in all deep places.
Why? Because He's God. What an amazing
God. But I'm telling you, what even
makes Him more amazing is this. In the matter of salvation, in
the matter of God saving sinners, He's also of one mind. God is
alone in the decision of who's saved. Who can turn Him? And knowing this, would it not
be to our spiritual and eternal good to trust Him? Dear sinner,
if you belong to Him, He saw you in your ruined condition
and the fall of your father Adam. But He never turned. He never
changed from His purpose to save you. In sin and iniquity you
were conceived. You came forth from the womb
speaking lies. Your sin was ever before Him. You hated Him without a cause.
There was no reason to hate He who does all things well, but
we did. You scorned His grace. You divided His love. But He
is alone in the matter of redemption. And he wouldn't take no for an
answer. No hardness of your heart could
turn him. Oh, it should have. He was determined
to do you good. And never did his gracious mind
alter in his design of love, mercy, and grace to you. Never. He's in one mind. Who can turn
him? We would not come to Him that
we might have life, but He's of one mind. He wouldn't be turned
from us, and He made us willing in the day of His power. He said
He would have us, and have us He would. He had our names written
in a book of life, and He wouldn't cross them out. He should have
crossed them out, but He wouldn't. Does that not prove that God
is the only one that saves? He's in one mind. By nature,
you and I are double-minded, unstable in all our ways. We speak out of both sides of
our mouth. Yet the Holy Spirit tells us
to draw nigh to God. and He'll draw nigh to you. Cleanse
your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.
How do we do this? While we humble ourselves in
the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift us up. God is of one
mind to save you. Can He be turned from doing so? It's not possible. There's some
things God cannot do. He can't go back on His word. He can't shine his own purpose.
Someone might ask, well, what if I'm not one of God's elect?
If you trust in Christ alone to save you, you are. Now look
at what Job says in verse 14. For he, still talking about God,
for he performeth the thing that is appointed for me. And many
such things are with Him. Now I know you noticed the word
appointed there. What a precious word that is.
I like that word, don't you? God's purpose to save comes by
divine appointment. God appointed sinners according
to His unchangeable purpose. According as His soul desired.
According as it pleased Him. That just makes my salvation
that much more special to me. That God would choose a wretch
like me, have mercy on a sinner like me. It's more than I can
fathom. He appointed His beloved Son
to be the sinner's substitute, the sinner's sacrifice, the sinner's
surety. He appointed Christ to be the
Redeemer and Savior of those that He loved. And it was at
the appointed time, called the fullness of time, and it was
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God that Christ
died in the place of those who were dead in trespasses and sin. They're called out of darkness
into His marvelous light according to the appointment of God. Don't
ever forget who saved you. It's all according to His purpose.
And seeing that God is all wise, all knowing, all powerful, faithful
and true, what he appoints must certainly be performed. Isn't
that what Job said? For he performeth. Now the Hebrew
word for performeth means to make amends. So we can read this. He makes amends the things that
are appointed for me. And many such things are with
him. Besides the things that were appointed for Job, there
are innumerable instances in the world of God's appointments. I see many of them here this
morning. God appointed you unto salvation. God crossed your path with the
gospel. It was no accident. If you're
here this morning, it's not by accident. It's not by chance.
You're not lucky. It's by the sovereign purpose
of God. And all that God might give you
an ear to hear from Him, not me. If you hear from me, you
won't hear much. But all that you might hear from
Him this morning, it's a matter of life and death. Everything
God does in the end, we'll see, was for the appointment and the
salvation of His people. So let me finish by asking you
this question. What do you think of this God
and His salvation? Oh, I'm being as serious as I
can be. We see what Job thought. Look
at verse 15. He said, therefore, am I troubled,
troubled at His presence when I consider, when I consider who
God is, what God can do? He said, I'm afraid of Him. Every
sinner ought to be troubled and afraid with the thought of having
this great God as an enemy. Every man and woman who stands
in their own righteousness ought to be troubled and afraid with
the thought of having this great and terrible God as their judge. Every sinner outside of Christ
ought to be troubled and afraid of God when they consider His
terrible majesty, His sovereign will, His unalterable purposes,
His infinite wisdom, His almighty power, His strict justice, and
His spotless purity. Oh, to stand before such a God
causes me to tremble. Let me rephrase that. It used
to cause me to tremble. And yet if a sinner is troubled
and fears the thought of standing before such a God, it may be
that God intends to show them compassion, mercy, and grace. How so? Verse 16. For God maketh my heart soft,
and the Almighty troubleth me. When God makes a heart feeble
and fearful and broken with the afflictions of sin. When God
makes a heart that cannot endure and bear under the mighty hand
of God, but melts like wax, ready to faint, to sink and to fall.
When God Almighty troubles and makes a heart soft, that word
soft means tender. It could be. that God intends
to save them from the wrath of God to come. Verse 17, because
I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered
the darkness from my face. This was amazing to Job and it
should be amazing to us. That God would not cut us off
in our sin, and send us to hell. That's amazing to me. That's
what I deserve. That's what you deserve. That
God would enable us to see the darkness of our afflicted and
deceitful hearts. What a great grace that is. that
God would enable us to see these things, allow us to see and feel
our state of darkness. I'm telling you, nothing can
humble a pious mind and a proud heart like the sovereignty and
majesty of God and His goodness towards those who didn't deserve
it. Oh, that's so humbling to me. A sinner standing before
a thrice holy God without a righteous covering, who can bear the thought?
A sinner standing before God without a mediator, without a
substitute, is more than the heart can take. But the wise
man said this, Solomon said, the fear of the Lord is what?
The beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the holy
is understanding. Oh, do you fear the Lord? It's
the beginning of wisdom. Do you understand the holy? No, we can't understand Him,
but we bow to the fact that He's holy and we know what we deserve
before a holy God. And that is so humbling, isn't
it? Let me leave you with this thought. It's then that a helpless sinner
calls out for mercy. If God has shown you these things,
cry out for mercy. He delights to show mercy. Are you such a helpless sinner
as this? Has God shown you that? Call
out. Call out unto God, for he delights
to show mercy.