Turn back with me again, if you
will, to Isaiah chapter 14. I was thinking, I thought of a title this morning,
and I thought, well, that's not appropriate probably, but when
I read my scripture here, it's in the scripture itself. God's,
what I was going to title it is, God's purpose purposed. And that's what it tells us here
in verse 26. This is the purpose that is purposed. God's purpose always is fulfilled. It always comes to pass, doesn't
it? I want to read this again and then we'll make a few comments. The Lord of hosts has sworn,
saying, Surely as I have thought it, so shall it come to pass. The Lord says here that he just
has to think something. And it's going to come to pass,
isn't it? Can you or I do such a thing? We purpose to do lots
of things, but we're hindered in many ways. We can't bring
it to pass, can we? but this one can, God himself. Surely as I have thought it,
it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it
stand. Verse 26, this is the purpose
that is purposed upon the whole earth, and this is the hand that
is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts
hath purposed, and who shall disacknowledge? And the answer
to that is no one can, can they? No one can deter the Word of
God. They can't disannul it. They
can't make it of no effect. And his hand is stretched out,
and who can turn it back? And there again, the answer is
no one. No one can turn the hand of God. It's declared Many places, many
places in the Scriptures. And I know that the free will,
the religion of our world does not like, I'm satisfied, they
do not like such a verses in this Scripture. Because God,
this tells me that God is sovereign. And that God does as He pleases. Well, I have a free will. No,
you don't my friend. You may have a will, But the
Scriptures declare that our will, my will, is in bondage to sin. We can't do nothing else, can
we? We can't do nothing. We're in bondage to it. We're
in bondage. And the Scripture says here,
As I have purposed, so shall it stand. God's Word shall stand. Not because I say it, but because
the Word of God has declared it. Throughout the Scriptures,
we are told that God has a purpose of grace according to which He
sovereignly rules the world. In Romans 8.28, the Scripture
tells us there, For we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are thee called according
to what? To His purpose. This is the purpose
that God has purposed. To save the people that He loved
before eternity. And to save the people that Christ
died for. He died for them, didn't He? And to bring, the Holy Spirit
is going to bring all of those people for whom God gave to His
Son. And for whom Christ died for.
The Holy Spirit is going to bring everyone to Jesus Christ, to
a saving knowledge in Him. James tells us in Acts 15, 18, Known unto God are all His works
from the beginning of the world. Why? He's God, isn't He? He's
God. If all of God's works were known
to Him from the beginning, and they were and they are, then
all were certain to be accomplished from the beginning. And if they
were certain, it must be because God purposed and ordained them. And if He ordained them, and
He did, didn't He? He ordains all things. He ordained
them from the beginning before the world ever began. Who has
done such a thing that could do that? No one but God is there. No one but God. God's purpose
of grace is His sovereign, eternal work of redemption in predestination. In predestination, what did God
do? He acted in total sovereignty,
didn't He? In total sovereignty. He was
moved and constrained by nothing but the good pleasure of His
own will. We are plainly taught by the
Scriptures that all who are finally saved, and there is a people,
there is a remnant that the Scriptures talk about, that the Lord Jesus
has redeemed. All who are finally saved and
obtained inheritance of heaven and glory in Christ have been
predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all
things after the counsel of His own will. That what? That we should be to the praise
of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. The purpose of God
and predestination is the glory of His own name in the salvation
of His elect. When the Jews were captives in
Babylon, their plot seemed hopeless. Their deliverance appeared to
be impossible. But God promised. That made the
difference. But God. Aren't you thankful
for the buts in the scriptures? But God promised that He would
do it. Their deliverance was irreversible
decreed. And the same is true regarding
the deliverance and salvation of God's elect in every age,
out of every part of the world. As the Jews were His elect among
the nations in the Old Testament, so there is a remnant according
to the election of grace, according to Romans 11, 5. A people whom God has given to
His Son. I thank God for that. Had God
not elected, had God not chosen, had God not given a people to
His Son to redeem, What would happen? The whole human race
would have perished, wouldn't it? Religion hates the word election. They hate the word chosen. But
I love it. And I know you who believe in
Christ are trusting in Him. I know you love it too. Why? That's our hope, isn't it? Christ
is our hope in that He redeemed us. A people whom God has given his
son from eternity. A multitude, not just a few,
not just a few. What did Abraham, what did the
Lord tell Abraham? That he told him to look up,
see if he could count the stars. The sands by the seashore, that's
how innumerable your people's gonna be, your children. That's
the Lord's people that he came to redeem. A whole host of them
in there. This elect remnant, what's going
to happen? Since they are an elect remnant,
God will search them out. And from all places, from all
the corners of the earth. And in due time, He will call
them by His, what kind of grace? Irresistible isn't it? Irresistible. We may think, people may think
that they're resisting God. But even in that, they're only
fulfilling His will. Who can resist the will of God?
No man can, no man. No man can resist it. He will
call them by His irresistible grace and bring them to a saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ. We know that from experience,
don't we? We know that from experience. And not only will He bring them,
and give them a saving knowledge
of Christ, but He will also keep them. If the Lord didn't keep
them, what would happen? I'm sure we'd fall away, wouldn't
we? We'd fall away. He will also keep them until
everlasting, so that not one of His elect can ever, ever perish. As we saw there in Isaiah 14,
God's purpose Cannot fail, can it? It cannot
fail. If it fails, we're going to fail. The Lord of hosts has sworn,
it says there, saying surely as I have thought, so shall it
come to pass. As I have purposed, so shall
it stand. The Lord of hosts hath purposed,
and who shall disannul it? No one. The Lord, our God, has
made a full and complete provision in His eternal purpose of grace
for the salvation of His elect. And we can see this in 2 Timothy
1 verse 9. And He hath bound Himself to
the accomplishment of His purposed grace with an oath. Hebrews 1,
6. Hebrews 6, 17. And this thing
called salvation, Don't want to call it that. I guess it'd
be okay to do that. This thing called salvation is
something that God has purpose to do. He's purpose to do it. Not just do it if man will let
him. Isn't that the religion of our
day? Turn loose and let God. That's a dishonor. And that's a disgrace to the
triune God. Who can let God do anything?
Who can prevent Him from doing anything? No one can. No one. In Daniel 4.35, He tells
us that all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And none can stay His hand, nor
say unto Him, What doest Thou? No one. God does as He pleases,
doesn't He? The Scripture declares He does
as He pleases. He has purpose to do it. Not
just do it if man will let Him. God's ability to do is not limited
to man letting Him do. In no way, my friend. The basis of the believer's security
and assurance is the purpose of God. Like I said a minute
ago, had God not loved, had Christ not died, had the Holy Spirit
not called, what would happen to the human race? We would all
perish wouldn't we? And all the Lord had to have
done was just let us alone. Just let us alone. Not breaking
up on my will or your will. And we would have perished. We
would have went headlong to judgment. And God would have cast us into
hell. But thank God for His redeeming love, His redeeming grace, His
electing grace, His predestinated grace. Oh, I thank God for it. Had God not chosen me, I would
have never chosen Him. Had He not loved me, I would
not love Him. The Scripture tells us that,
doesn't it? We love Him because He first loved us. People talk
about loving God all the time, but they never say nothing about
why they love Him. They don't have any clue about
the love of God. They just don't. If one of God's elect should
ever perish, it must be by their departing from Him. And this
will never happen, because God won't let it happen. Or through
them being snatched out of His hand, And that won't happen. The scripture tells us it can't
happen. In John, I believe it is chapter 10. Or by God Himself
casting them off. That's not going to happen. But
none of these things can ever come to pass. God's purpose of
grace will not allow one for whom Christ has died to finally
perish. It won't happen. From eternity,
God declared that none of His chosen would ever be permitted
to depart from Him once He had called them. We find that in Jeremiah 32,
40. He has promised that none can pluck us out of His hand.
Aren't you glad of that? John 10, 29. None can pluck us
out of His hand or separate us from His love. Romans 8, 39. And we can lay none of this to
our doing, can we? It's all the doing of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Why? Because God gave Him a people
from eternity. And He's going to save them.
He's going to bring everyone and present them before the Father
when this thing is all wrapped up. He's not going to be a failure,
is He? For one to die, to perish for
whom Christ died, that would be a mock throughout eternity
to the Son of God. Satan could say, ha ha, here's
one for whom you died that you didn't get. That's not gonna
happen. The scripture says he shall not
fail. He shall not fail. I believe
that, don't you? He shall not fail. And He has promised that He will
never leave us nor forsake us. You know, sometimes we think,
we wonder, Lord, where are you at? Where are you at? You've
left me. Where are you at? But He promised, didn't He, that
He would never leave us? We may think He's not there, and I have
different times, thought, man, He's left me. He's left me to
myself. But I go back and find that promise
where He said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews
13, 5. If you now trust the Lord Jesus
Christ, be assured. If you're looking to Christ and
Him alone, nothing else, nothing you've done, nothing you can
do, nothing you would do, trusting in Him only, you can be assured
of this, that you're secured in Him. Isn't that a happy thing
for the believer to be able to lay hold on? to know that we're
secured in Christ because of what He's done, not me, what
He's done. Your eternal salvation was secured
from eternity by the infallible purpose of grace. Aren't you
glad of that? The believer, man, we're so easy
to get so down and out, but we have so much to be thankful for.
we have so much to be thankful for. Even if I don't have good
health, that's only going to be just for a season. There's
going to be an end to that. But to know Christ, that's an
everlasting thing, isn't it? Everlasting. We talk about the believer, but
then what about the ungodly? the wicked, the reprobate, the
scriptures talk about, who will forever suffer. And rightfully so. You know,
we came into this world, the scripture tells us, speaking
lies. Came from the womb, speaking
lies. And we're sinners. We're sinners. But there's people
that's lost and there's people that's perishing now. Remember
the rich man. The scripture says that in hell
he lift, not lifted. I know some of the translations
use the word lifted. That puts it in the past tense. But the word lift puts it in
the present tense. He's still lifting his eyes.
He's in torment. Torment there. Did God predestinate
some men and women to hell? No. And that's kind of a touchy
subject. Our pastor is speaking on that
in Romans there about Jacob and Esau. That he hated Esau and
he loved Jacob before they were born. The scripture tells us
neither one of them having done any good or evil. Why? That the purpose of God according
to election might stand. But as we declare that, boldly
declare that the believer is safe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we boldly say that God chose a people from eternity for whom
he would save and that his elective purpose can never be altered.
With equal boldness, we assert that no one was predestinated
or ordained to eternal damnation, except that eternal damnation
is just and righteous consequences of unbelief, of unbelief. The vessels of wrath, the scripture
tells us, are fitted for destruction by their own sin and unbelief. But the vessels of mercy God
has aforeprepared unto glory, by His blessed purpose of grace,
according to Romans 9.23. Had God not purposed to save
Zion, then what would happen? All would be lost, wouldn't it?
All would be lost. In Ezekiel 33.11, the scripture
says there God takes no pleasure in the
death of the wicked. And I've had different thoughts
about that, but I think it's because the death of a wicked
man can never satisfy the justice of God. It takes a perfect, sinless
sacrifice to redeem a fallen, helpless man. And only the man
Christ Jesus could do such a thing. Be warned, as surely as God has
purposed the salvation of every believer, it is His purpose to
destroy every unbeliever. If you continue in your sin, God will destroy
you. And that man will. I'm not asking
you to do something. If God leaves you alone, you
will perish. You will perish. That's all He
has to do to us, isn't it? Just leave us alone. He will
not rescind this purpose. If you, or if I, by unbelief
fit yourself for destruction, God will destroy you. I don't know, I assume everyone
here knows Christ, trusted in Him. But if you don't, the only thing
I can say is to call upon Him. Call upon Him while He's near. That's what the scripture tells
us. Call upon Him while He's near. Seek Him while He may be
found. And the scripture also tells
us this, that to fall upon this rock, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and be broken. Fall on Him and be broken over
your sin. Or else He will fall upon you
and grind you to powder. And I trust that that would not
be the case. I want to close in reading some
more verses there in Isaiah. I just want to read them to you.
Isaiah chapter 19 and verse 12. Where are they? Where are the
wise men? And let them tell thee now. And
let them know that the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. Isaiah 23 verse 9. The Lord of
hosts hath purposed it to stain the pride of all glory and bring into contempt all the
honorable of the earth. The Lord will not share His glory. Isaiah 46, verse 8. We'll go back to verse 8. Remember this. And show yourselves,
men, bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. Remember
the former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like
me. Me. Declaring the end from the
beginning. He's God. He don't want to declare
the beginning to the end. But He said, I declare the end
from the beginning. He's God. He's God. And from
ancient times to things that are not yet done. Who can do
such a thing? Who can do such a thing? saying
my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country,
yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to past, I have
purposed it, And I will do it. The God that purposed is purposed
in it. All His sayings come to pass. So many times, I don't know how
many times in the scriptures that I've seen where, and it
came to pass. And it came to pass. It's just
full of them. Just full of them. Why? Because God said it and He's
able and does bring it to pass, doesn't He? May the Lord bless
His Word to your heart. If you'll stand, we'll be dismissed.