And our text will be found in
verse 6. Malachi chapter 3 and verse 6. I've used this title before,
but I'll use it again. A changeless God in an ever-changing
world. A changeless God in an ever-changing
world. Malachi chapter 3 and verse 6
says, for I am the Lord. I change not. And here is the
result and the conclusion of that truth. Here is the hope
and comfort of every believer in Christ. Because I am the Lord,
and because I change not, here it is, therefore, you sons of
Jacob. Now he used Jacob's earthly word,
his sinful name, his surplanter. He didn't use the word Israel
there, did he? He said the sons of Jacob. You sons of Jacob are
not consumed. Now as we enter in tonight and
the first day of 2025, we enter into a brand new year. And as I reflected over that,
we began the year last year on the verge of great worry and
anxiety. We had multiple troubles in this
country and the time was very troubling to many. And then,
you know, you look at the political landscape, the things of the
nation, and people seem to be on the verge of happiness and
think that everything's going to just be great now. Everything's
going to be, we got the right person and, you know, then it's
going to be great. Friends, this country is still
on the verge of collapse, whether you put a right guy in there
or not. It causes great anxiety. So every
time you look at the news, are you not anxious? Does it not get to you? It does
me. It does. It causes me much trouble. You
look at the morality of this nation and you see it in great
decline, not just a slow, steady decline. It's dropped off the
precipice. We live in an age where the gospel
has been rarely heard. The gospel you hear every Sunday,
the gospel you hear every Wednesday is a gospel that is not being
heard in this country. by great numbers. And those that
have heard it, fewer receive it. And the gospel of free will
works religion, abounds, prospers, while the gospel of God's grace
in Christ seems to languish. The wicked seem to prosper. The righteous seem to suffer. This causes us much anxiety. But did our Lord tell us this
about the kingdoms? He said that kingdoms would be
raised up and kingdoms would fall. He said evil seducers would wax
worse and worse, not better and better. And so every year we come to
this time of a new year and people begin to start looking at the
past and seeing all the anxiety. And what do they try to do? They
try to change. People want to change. New Year's coming. So
what do they do? They start swearing and making
resolutions that they're going to change now. They saw the past
and the past didn't do so well for them. So what do they do?
They make a resolution to change. Now why is this? Why do we want
change? Why do we want change in our
government? Why do we want change in our
personal life? Why do we want change in people
around us? We want change because simply
the truth is we're not perfect. We want to change because we
recognize that we're not satisfied because we're never perfect.
And that's because sin has entered into this world. And so everything around us is
changing. I thought of this, the universe.
I told you at the beginning, the universe is changing. Do
you realize the universe is continually expanding? They've measured it.
It just continues to expand. Why? It's changing. Stars, they
go out. New stars are born. I don't understand
that. But I know this. We live in a
very mutable and changing world. This mutability is because of
sin. When Adam sinned, it is at that
moment everything changed. The world was perfectly made. Adam was perfect in his humanity. His wife Eve was perfect until
he sinned. And when sin came, so did change. Everything here is mutable. Everything
is changeable. Nothing is lasting. Have you
found that out? That nothing in this world is lasting. Everything is fleeting. Everything is fleeting. And so in this changeable, mutable
world, God's people are often found anxious, troubled. Troubled. Troubled within and
troubled without. And here tonight I want to give
you, at the beginning of this year, a maxim, a truth, an anchor. While everything else is changing,
here is the anchor for your soul. God says, I am the Lord, I change
not. And because of that, you sons of Jacob are not consumed. Now listen, here's the first
part of that text. I am the Lord. Now what does that mean? That means this, that I'm the
only one. There is no other God beside
me. He said in Isaiah 45 in verse
5, He says, I am the Lord, there is none else. There is no God
beside me. I like that word beside me. It's
as though God looked to the side of him and He said, there's nobody. It's just me. I'm the only one. He said, I girded thee though
thou hast not known me. Isn't that true? When we were
born in this world we had no knowledge of God and yet what
did He do? He's the one that girded us. He's the one that
gave us life. That you may know from the rising
of the sun from the west that there is none beside me. I am
the Lord and there is none else. Listen, I form the light and
create darkness. I make peace and create evil.
I the Lord do all of these things. And he says, drop down you heavens
from above and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let
the earth open up and let them bring forth salvation. Let righteousness
spring up together. Why? I the Lord created it. Now
listen, this is the distinguishing factor between all false gods
and the true God. The true God, the true God is
immutable. And every false god is changeable. The gods of men are many. You talk to somebody and you
explain to them God's immutability, God's holiness, God's way of
salvation is only through Jesus Christ. And they say, well, I
don't believe God's like that. And we both believe in God. We just believe differently about
Him. No, we believe in two different gods. You need to make that plain.
We're not talking about the same God here. If your God changes,
your God's not God. And there are many gods that
are mutable, changeable. Why? Because man's an idol maker.
Man, by nature, desires to have a god of his own making. And so the gods of men all have
this in common. They are all mutable. When I
say mutable, I mean this, they're changeable. They can change. Listen what the psalmist writes.
He says, the idol of the heathen is of silver and gold, the work
of men's hands. Psalm 135, 15. He said they have
mouths and they speak not. They have eyes, but they don't
see. They have ears, but they don't
hear. Neither is any breath in their mouth. And listen, they
that make them are like unto them. An idol is a dead god. He has all the, you give him
all those characteristics. When you make a god, they carved
out his eyes. They carved out his ears. But
His ears and His eyes, they cannot see and they cannot hear. They
are dead gods. And God said those that make
a god like that are just as dead. Therefore, the one true God says,
to those men thou thoughtest I was altogether such in one
as thyself." This is what men make of God. They think of themselves
and they think of a little higher than themselves and they say
that's God. This is why we don't have opinion
groups. I don't care about your opinion. You shouldn't care about
mine. What God says about himself is true. And I say your opinion
and mine are worthless. What God says is true. And God
says I don't change. I don't change. God said, there is no other God.
I'm God. I am the Lord. I change not. Now, any God who can change,
any God who can change in His character, in His purpose, in
His nature, is not God. For if God were to change, this
would mean this. He is not perfect. The God of this world is always
changing, isn't he? The God of this age is always
changing. I don't know if you read in people
like this, and you read the Old Testament to them, and you see
God coming and destroying old countries, nations. He said,
I want you to kill all of them. Well, they say, well, that's
the God of the Old Testament. Well, if God said, I change not. So if your God changed from the
Old Testament God to the New Testament God, then your God's
not God. The same God in the Old Testament is the same God
in the New Testament. He is God, and He does not change. And if your God changed, He's
what? He's not God. He's not God. You think about the God of this
age. He's one that loves everybody. The God of this age loves everyone.
And He will accept you if you're good enough. If you just try
to be good enough, then He will accept you. But if you don't,
then He'll stop loving you. He doesn't love you anymore. If God's love, or God's purpose,
or God's salvation is changeable based on what you do or what
you don't do, then God would change. Why? Because your works
change, don't they? We change, but God is not one
that changes. He says, I change not. Now, for
the peace and comfort of every believer, in Jesus Christ, in
the midst of all of our fear and trouble, I want to focus
on two attributes of God that do not change. Two things concerning
God that does not change. First of all, I want you to know
this, the love of God for His people does not change. The love of God for His people
does not change. And second of all, those who
God loves, He has a purpose for them. And His purpose for them
does not change. His love and His purpose. First of all, the love of God
does not change. Go to Jeremiah chapter 31. I like this. Jeremiah 31. And look at verse 3. Now the Lord in verses 1 and
2 is telling them what He's going to do. The Lord says, I'm going
to be the God of Israel, and they're going to be My people.
Verse 2, the people which are left by the sword found grace
in the wilderness, even Israel, when I went to cause them to
rest. And the Lord appeared to me of
old, saying, Yes. He answers a question before
it was asked. He said, Yes. What was the question? Does He
love us? Yes. Does He love us? Yes. I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. I have loved thee with an ever
lasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
thee. Man by nature sees the love of
God, the love of God, as we discussed it, I preached this on Sunday
concerning circumstances and the love of God. You can't tell
God's love or God's hatred by circumstances, Ecclesiastes chapter
9 and verse 1. You can't tell love or hatred
by all this before you, Solomon said. Yet this is how we as humans,
by nature, this is how we judge love based on what we experience. And so man by nature, he judges
God based on his circumstance. If everything is going well,
obviously God loves me. And if everything is going bad
for you, obviously God doesn't love you like he loves me. That's
how man judges. God's love. But you can't tell
if that's true either way. Because something's going good
for you doesn't mean that God loves you. But if something evil
is going on with you, that doesn't mean God hates you. We cannot determine the love
or hatred of God by those changing circumstances. Why? Because the
love of God does not change. God's love for you doesn't change. The mercy and grace of God for
those He loves are just as immutable as His wrath and judgment. Go
to Romans chapter 9 and see this. Look, see this, when He said,
I have loved thee with an everlasting love, we're going to see who
He's talking about, who He loves. Romans chapter 9 and verse 13, He says, As it
is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. When did God say He loved Jacob? He says that in verse 11, for
the children not yet being born, neither having done good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election might stand. It is
said to her, the elder shall serve the younger as it is written,
Jacob have I loved. He loved Jacob before his birth. When did he hate Esau? Before
his birth. Before his birth. And so it was,
when did the love of Jacob begin? It began from eternity. Why? Because the love of God doesn't
change. You see, God didn't hate Jacob
at his birth and then love him later. And listen, God didn't love Esau
at his birth and hate him later. Why? Because God's love and hatred
are immutable as he is. You see, both men were born of
Isaac and both men were born dead in trespasses and sins.
Both men could never please God. Both men could never obey the
law of God. Neither of them were worthy of
the love of God. Have you received mercy from
God? Have you received mercy? How
do we know if God's love does? Well, have you received mercy
from God? Have you been born again of His Spirit? He said, I have loved thee with
an everlasting love. What is the manifestation of
His everlasting love? Therefore, with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee. I have brought you to me through
Christ. That is a manifestation of my
love for you. If you believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, this is the love of God manifested. All the objects of God's immutable
love are manifested by this faith in Christ alone. Do you believe
on Christ alone? Do you trust him? Have you seen him to be all your
righteousness and salvation? Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. In John chapter 1, he says, as
many as received him, to them gave he the right to become the
sons of God. Who are the sons of God? Well, as many as received
him. How many is that? I don't know.
As many as. As many as what? As many as are
born of God. That's what John says. He says,
as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become the
sons of God. Even to them that believe on his name, which were
born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of
man, but of God. Are you born of God? Have you received Him? If you have believed on Him,
it is because of this, God loved you. What kind of love did God have
for you? An everlasting love. How do I know that? Because God
says, I am the Lord, I change not. I changed not. Have you ever thought of this?
When you consider the love of God, how deep is the love of
God? How wide is it? How high is it? Can you measure it? We seem to try to measure it.
But however high we think it is, it's infinitely higher. However
deep we think it is, it's infinitely deeper. However wide and broad
it is, it's infinitely more wide and broad than we can imagine.
But why? Because the love of God is eternal. It does not waver. It does not
vary. I like that. That's a great thought,
isn't it? That God's love never dips. You
know, He's loving you, He's loving you, then oh wait, then He goes
back up to the top. However high His love is for
you, it's always that high. He never changes in His love.
That's astounding to us. Have you ever loved like that? You and I can't even love those
that we love the most. We can't love like that. Our love varies, doesn't it?
Our love varies based on circumstance. Somebody does something to offend
us, our love does what? It takes a nosedive. Somebody
offends us. Somebody hurts us. Somebody hurts
our family. We loved them. We loved them.
We loved them. They hurt us. We don't love them anymore. Can you listen to what God said?
I've loved you an everlasting love and I change not. at your greatest height of your
Christianity, at your most mature level that God ever allows us
to have. No matter if you bear that hundred-fold
fruit, and then all of a sudden you go off the deep end, now
you're only bearing 30. You're at a low place. Your grace and your love is very
low. You know what? God's love didn't
change for you. because he doesn't change. You know, when Paul says that
in Romans chapter 8, who shall separate us from the love of
God in Christ Jesus? Why? God justified it. Wait a second, the only thing
separating me from God's love is what? Sin. That's the only
thing that can separate us, is sin. But what did God do? God justified me. Paul said,
it's who is he who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect.
It's God himself that justified me. Who then can condemn me? Is it Christ Jesus died? Yea, rather is risen again, and
what is he doing right now? Ever living to make intercession
for us. I change not. He is ever living
to make intercession for us, and that's not going to change. And then Paul comes to that question
of love, and he says, well, if there's no sin, if sin is removed,
the law is satisfied, and Christ constantly intercedes for me,
who then is going to separate me from his love? He said, I'm
persuaded that neither life nor death. Got that? Nothing in life
and not even death. Nor angels. Wow, how powerful
angels. Not angels. Nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate me
from the love of God's in Christ Jesus. Why? I am the Lord, I
change not. The love of God shall not change. Now, why is this? Well, the love of God will not
change simply because the purpose of God will not change. The purpose
of God. Often I wonder how in the world
God could love me. How is that possible? I am constantly, I constantly
see my sin before my face. How is it possible that his love
never changes for me? when my love for Him is constantly
in a state of flux. At times, how can I dare call
my love, love at all? The only way God could love me
is, listen, because I am in His Son. That's the only way God
could love us. is if we are in union with his
most lovable and adorable son, Jesus Christ. And that's exactly
where God put us. Now that is according to purpose. I remember one lady, the story
of one lady, she came up to Ralph Barnard after a message and he
was preaching of God's election and she says, I know the difference
between my religion and yours is this matter of election. And
she said, I don't quite understand it. And he said, well, did God
save you on accident or on purpose? And she said, well, on purpose.
He said, well, you believe election. You believe in election. That's
what it is, purpose. God loved me because he purposed to love
me. And the only way he could love
me continually is if he purposed to save me by a union with his
son. And so this is the second thing
that we should hold on to in every providence, in every circumstance. First of all, God's love doesn't
change. Why? Because God's purpose for me
doesn't change. His purpose. Now, another difference
then between a false God and the true God is this matter of
immutable purpose. The God of this age has a plan
for your life. You'll hear that constantly.
God's got a plan for you. It's a good plan. It's a great
plan. And then He'll tell you all these
wonderful things God wants for you. He wants you to be happy.
He wants you to be healthy. He wants you to be wise. He wants
you to have a good job. He wants you to have a good marriage.
He wants all of these wonderful things for you. He purposed all
these wonderful things. He has a plan. One thing he doesn't
have is the power to do it. He can't do it without your help. The God of this age desires to
save all men. He really wants to. He's working
real hard. He sent his son in the world
to die for everybody. But you know what? The blood
of His Son is not enough. He needs your help. He's got
a purpose to save you, but if you resist, He can't do His purpose. He can't fulfill His will. Why? Because they believe man's purpose
is greater than their God's. And I'll tell you this, it is.
If your purpose and your will are able to thwart the purpose
and will of God, listen to me, your God's not God. Your God's
not God. So when a man dies in his sins,
they say, well, it's because God wanted to save him, but he
just wouldn't do it. He wouldn't allow God to have
his way. So this is not the true God.
That's not the true and living God. Why? Because my God says
this, I change not. So when God purposes to do something,
if he cannot do it, then he has to change. He has to change his
purpose. When you do something, you desire
to do something, and you're dead set at it, and you're running
as hard as you can to get it done, working hard, and all of
a sudden something comes up and stops you. What do you have to
do? You have to change. You have to go a different direction. If something stops the purpose
of God, then God would have to go a different direction. He
wanted to go this way, but He had to change. No, not our God. The true and living God is a
changeless to God. And listen, His word is just
like Himself, immutable. In Isaiah chapter 55, listen
to this. He said, as the rain cometh down
in the snow from heaven and returneth not thither. I visualized it
in my head. The rain comes down. I'll never
see the rain go back up. I don't see it go back up. I
know it turns into gas and goes to the clouds and so forth. The
rain don't go back up. The snow don't go back up. What
does it do? It has a purpose, right? God
sends the rain. There's a seed in the ground.
That seed God purposed to grow so it would bring forth seed
to the sower and bread to the eater. That's what he said. I
did that. And he said, even so my word. That's just how my word
does it. It comes down from heaven and does what? What so ever I
send it to do. Isn't that awesome? Whatever
God's word is to do, it's going to do that. Two people sitting under the
gospel listening, and one person is convicted, one person believes
on Christ, and the other is pardoned against Christ. You know what
that word did? It did exactly what God wanted it to do. Why do you believe and others
don't? Because God sent his word on
purpose to you. And his purpose was this, that
you should believe. And what'd you do? You did exactly
what he purposed to do, to believe. He said, my word goeth forth
out of my mouth. It shall not return to be void. It shall accomplish
the thing whether I please. and it shall prosper in the thing
whereinto I send it." Therefore, when we talk about God's Word,
we talk about His purpose, we talk about His decree, it is
immutable, unchangeable. Behold, the immutable purpose
of God was not just willed of God, but rather decreed. And
what the immutable God decrees, He's going to accomplish, whatever
that is. Why? I am the Lord, I change
not. Go to Isaiah 46. Isaiah 46. When did God purpose to do all
that He's doing? Everything that's happening now
is according to God's purpose. Now, when did God purpose to
do it? Look at verse 10, declaring the
end when? From the beginning. From ancient
times, the things that were not yet done, saying, my counsel
shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. Notice that whatever God's purpose
is in eternity will come to pass in time. That's what He's telling
you. He said, whatever is taking place
right now is what I've determined to take place in eternity. And He gives us a vivid illustration.
Look at verse 11. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east. The man that executeth my counsel
from a far country, I have spoken it, I will bring it to pass,
I have purposed it, I will also do it." And what is he talking
about, this ravenous bird? The man that he names 150 years
before his birth, he calls him Cyrus. Was there any possibility that
Cyrus would not be born? Why? because God purposed it. He said, I'm going to call that
man Cyrus 150 years from now. I'm going to call him, and he's
going to execute my will. Unknowingly, he's going to execute
my will. He's a ravenous bird. He doesn't
even know me. He worships and bows down to
those gods with ears and eyes that can't see or hear. And he's
going to do exactly what I tell him to do. What is he going to
do? He's going to save my people.
Now what happened 150 years later after this was written? What
happened? Exactly what God said would happen. That man Cyrus
delivered Israel from bondage. Just like God said. Now why would
God do that? Because God had a higher purpose.
Cyrus was just an illustration. Cyrus was just a picture of what
he's going to really do. Those people that
God set his love on in eternity, he said, I'm going to send a
man. Look what he says in verse 13, he says, Bring near my righteousness. and it shall not be far off,
and my salvation shall not tarry, and I will place salvation in
Zion for Israel my glory." What is his righteousness? It's Christ.
He said, I'm going to, just like I called Cyrus, that man who
don't know me, I'm going to call my son who does know me, and
he's going to bring something far better than Cyrus. He's going
to bring my righteousness near. And he tells him where it's going
to come. He said, I'm going to bring it to Zion. Very specific,
isn't it? I'm going to bring it to that
little place right there. We're going to start it right there.
And we'll do a very specific group of people for Israel. That's the purpose of God, that
Jesus Christ should come into the world and save those he loves. That's his purpose. You that
believe, you beloved of God. God's purpose from eternity was
this, to save you. To send Christ to come into this
world as your representative and savior. Did that purpose fail? When Christ came into the world,
did he fail to save his people? He did not fail. Look at Hebrews
chapter 10. Look at verse 7. Lo, I come in
the volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will. See, God said in the volume of
the book that Christ should come. That was His purpose. That Christ
should come to do what? His will. Which is what? To save his people.
He said, Above, when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burn,
offering for sin, thou wouldst not neither have pleasure in
which were offered in the law. Then said he, Lo, I come to do
thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second. By the which will, purpose, we
are, what? Sanctified. Through. This is how you that are loved
of God are sanctified. That word means made holy. You
are made holy. Now how is that? By the will
of God. God purposed that you should
be holy. And this is how it happened. Through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ. How many times? Once. How many times were you sanctified?
Once. Did you do any of that sanctification?
You didn't have anything to do with that, did you? That was
the will of God that you'd be sanctified. But it was the will
of God you'd be sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once. Every priest standing daily ministering,
oftentimes the same sacrifice should never take away sin, but
this man, after he'd offered one sacrifice for sins, forever
sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth, expecting
till his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Behold, it was by the decree
of the immutable God that we were chosen in love to be saved,
effectually called to life and faith in Jesus Christ. Over in Jeremiah 29, our Lord says this in verse 11,
He says, For I know my thoughts that I think toward you. Believer, as you go through this
year, as you go through these coming weeks and months, you're
going to look at providence and you're going to think, what is
God thinking? What is He doing? I don't understand. Does God mean ill to me? God
says, no, listen, I know my purpose towards you. Listen. Thoughts of peace and not of
evil. I give you by decree unexpected
end. That's His purpose. Unexpected
end. What is the end of every believer
in Jesus Christ? What is the end? It should be expected. He said,
I'm gonna give you something to expect. We'll get to this
in Romans chapter eight later this week, the Lord willing,
when Paul says we are saved by hope. He said, hope that's seen
is not hope. Why would get a man wait for
it? God has promised us things that we've not yet experienced.
But what is hope? Hope is expecting things that
we've not yet experienced. Which is what? Life. Eternal
life. Eternal peace. Eternal joy. That's the purpose of God for
you. To give you an expected end. an immutable end. And then he
says this in verse 12, then shall they call on me. And you shall
go and pray unto me and will hearken and I will hearken unto
you in that exactly what happened to you to believe. One day. You pray. You saw God. And he what heard you. Now why is that? Because that's
what he purposed to do. I remember J.D., I told you this
many times because I think it's just a vivid illustration of
this, when he was so worried, he said, remember J.D. came in
and he heard the gospel and he said,
you know, what if I didn't come in that night? What if I missed
that? There was no chance he would
ever miss it, was it? Why? Because the immutable God
purposed it. Why are you here? Was that accidental? No, it's on purpose. Why are
others absent? Is that accidental? No, it's
on purpose. Everything God does is on purpose,
friends. And His purpose is this, to give
you the kingdom. I like that. It is your Father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom. And God says, I'm going to gather
my people. And he says, you shall seek me
and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart, and
I will be found of you, and I will turn away your captivity, and
I will gather you from all nations, and from all places whither I've
driven you, saith the Lord, and I will bring you again to the
place wherein I caused you to be carried away captive. I'm
going to do that. Why? That's my purpose. Now name something that will
stop God from doing what he purposed to do. Is there anything in time or
eternity, heaven or hell, in earth or in the seas Is there
anything that's going to stop God from calling His people to
Himself? Nothing and nobody. Our Lord
Jesus Christ said this, that I, according to the will of God,
I shall lose nothing. You see why it's important for
us to understand the immutability of God? Because when God purposed
to save you, what is He going to do? He's going to save you. And so no matter what happens
in time, I thought about David. At the end of his life, he's
laying on his deathbed. What is his hope? What is David's
hope? David's house is in ruin. His son committed incest with
his sister. David committed adultery with
another man's wife and murdered her husband. David's son Absalom
chased him out of the kingdom and then David's son is now David. David's house is in ruin. What's his hope on his deathbed?
He said, although my house be not so with God, although I have sinned and brought
shame upon my house and my name, here is my hope. He, the immutable God, hath made
with me a mutable man. everlasting covenant. Listen to these words. Ordered
in all things. And what? Sure. Ordered in all things and sure. David's hope was in Christ. It
wasn't in his marriage. And so as we go through this
year, we will fail. We will fail and fall We will
bruise ourselves, we will hurt ourselves, we will hurt others to our own shame. God help us and keep us from
doing these horrible things. But I know this, His love and
His purpose for me have nothing to do with those things. It was God who chose me. The
Apostle says in Ephesians chapter 1, he said, Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according as He had blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, according
as He had chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him,
listen, in love, immutable love, in love, having predestinated
us under the adoption of children, that's His purpose, by Jesus
Christ. Did He fulfill that purpose?
Yeah. He said, according to the praise
of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved. He said, who hath redeemed us.
Christ redeemed us. He purposed to redeem us, Did
He redeem us? He redeemed us with His own blood. He said in verse 7, In whom we
have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according
to the riches of His grace. And in verse 13 He says this,
He said, In whom you also trusted after you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after you believed,
you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession under the praise of His glory." You see, everything
was purposed. Your election purposed your salvation.
Christ accomplished your salvation according to purpose, and the
Spirit called you according to what? Purpose. Purpose. And that purpose is immutable,
it was no accidental calling. But of God are you in Christ
Jesus. Tonight, are you in Christ Jesus? Who put you there? God
did. Why'd he do that? Because of
his immutable purpose. His immutable, everlasting covenant. And so tonight, as we embark
on this new year, whether it be a year that is bleak, or a
year of light and joy, Whatever happens. Whatever happens. I know this, because God is immutable,
there's hope for sinners. Because God has purpose to save
sinners. I know this, not all of them
have yet come in. There's still some out there.
There are still some that have not come yet. How do I know that?
Because Christ hasn't come. Now tonight, if Christ Jesus
were to descend from heaven with a shout, in the voice of the
archangel, and the dead in Christ shall rise, and we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up in the air with Him, you know
what I know? There's no more to be saved. But until that day, there's still
some left. Whether one or all the earth,
I don't know. But I know this, if you are a
sinner, there is only hope in Jesus Christ. There is only salvation
in Jesus Christ. Do you believe on Christ? If you believe on Christ, then
this is my hope that I will continue to believe on Christ. Because
God said this, I change. How do I know that God will love
me for the rest of my days? Because God said, I am the Lord,
I change not. What can I expect? Therefore,
you sons of Jacob are not consumed. Why is it that we're not consumed?
Are we any better than any other man? Is there any difference
in us by nature than any other man? No! Why am I not going to
be consumed? Because of God's immutable covenant. Because God purposed that I should
not be consumed. You know what? Then I won't be
consumed. Isn't it astounding that if one
of those for whom Christ died were to fail, Now that's a, I don't know, false religion,
they view this as some kind of badge of honor or something that
God fails. They say, well God wants to save
everybody but he just can't, you know, and they think that's
some kind of giving God glory or something. My hope is this, because God
purposed to save me, because God loved me from eternity, He
purposed to save me, and He is going to save me, regardless
of what happens in time. I am the Lord, I change not.
Conclusion, therefore, because of my covenant, ye sons of Jacob
are not consumed. I think of Mephibosheth and that
covenant, right? When he came and he bowed himself,
he was sure his head was going to roll. I'm sure as soon as
he hit the floor, he thought the sword was gonna swing. And
you know what David said? He said, because you'll eat at
my table because of the covenant that I made with your father. Why is it that our head won't
swing? Because God has made a covenant with Christ for us. What do we
get to do? We're gonna sit at his table,
Tonight, you're sitting at his table. Lame on your feet, but
you're sitting at his table. Why, you're a son. You're a son. Nobody and nothing can change
that. Isn't that comforting? Name something that would thwart
God. Name something that'll stop him. Ain't nothing gonna stop him.
I'd change nothing. I pray God will keep this in
your heart and mind. Let's stand, be dismissed, and pray. Our gracious Father, I pray you
dismiss us with your own blessings and mercies. Please keep this
in our hearts and minds concerning your character, your nature.
You are holy, you're righteous, you're just. You're merciful,
you're gracious, you're loving, you're caring. And all of this,
Father, you say, I change not. And because of your grace and
your mercy and your justice, I know this. We who believe on
Christ shall not be consumed. And we thank you and praise you
for it. In Jesus' name, amen. OK, then. Glad I'm not popular.