So if you'll take your Bibles
now and turn with me to Malachi chapter 3. Malachi chapter 3. My text will be found in verse
6. I've entitled this message, The
Immutable Love and Purpose of God. The Immutable Love and Purpose
of God. The Scripture says for, I am
the Lord. I change not. And that's exactly
what immutable means. It means changelessness. God
does not change. I change not. And the result
of this is very good. Listen to this. Therefore, because
I do not change, and we're going to see how God does not change
in some of His characteristics, in His nature, in His purpose,
God does not change. And because of this, He says
this, Therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. Now, as we entered into this
building this morning, I know this, I've been filled with anxiety
all week. For the last month, I've been
filled with anxiety. To tell you the truth, the last three
years have been full of anxiety for me. I have been full of anxiety
and fear concerning future things. And I know this is true of all
of us. If you're a believer in Christ, I know you're anxious
about future things. We're always thinking about the
past. And when we think about the past,
we think about our sin, our inability, our failure. And so we become
anxious about the future because what? We desire to be better
Christians. We do. We desire that our faith
should grow. Our love for Christ should grow.
We desire that we should do those things that we failed to do so
many times in the past. And we reflect on these things
and we desire to be better. And so what do we do? We make
resolutions. We make determinations to do better. David did that.
He said, I will. He said, I will do this. And
that's good. There's nothing wrong with these
determinations. We should make them. We should
determine to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Is that not our determination this morning? To worship Him
with all of our hearts? I know this, we want to worship
Him with all our heart. I know this, we are not able
to worship Him. But that does not stop us from
desiring to do it. That does not stop us from trying
to do this. Well, we're commanded to do these
things. And so we desire, we make resolutions to be better,
to do better, to stop this and start that. We do that. We think
of the sin in the past We regret those things. And what do we
do? I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want to. So we try to
be better. We determine to be more zealous
in our works, our good works. But no matter if we even keep
these resolutions or if we fail to keep these things, I want
you to know this. The desire for these things proves this.
We are mutable creatures. We are changeable creatures. Very mutable. This is because
we, by nature, are sinners. We are sinners. We change because
we are never satisfied. Isn't that why you want to change? If you were satisfied, would
you want to change? No. And even if you are satisfied,
guess what? You're still going to change. We are sinners. We change because
we are not satisfied. We change because we are not
yet perfect. We as believers, we have the
perfection of Christ in us, but yet we know this, the old man
is still that rotting corpse hanging about our neck, and we
desire to rid ourselves of him. We desire that change. So we
are not perfect. You know, I hear this, a man
wants to turn over a new leaf. I'm just going to turn over a
new leaf. What good does that do? It's the same old leaf, isn't
it? Just a different side. A lot
of men try to become more holy. They realize they're doing bad,
they realize they're doing wrong, and they just say, well, I need
to get right. Not just that, but painting the
tomb. What you need is new life. You
need a new heart. You need something that you don't
have. And that is something only God
can give. It is a new nature. A new nature. We the believers, we have that
new nature. And I want you to know this, that nature is immutable. That nature is holy. That nature
is perfect. But because of the old, because
we are still one man, two natures in one man, we are constantly
warring within ourselves. And so what does this produce?
Change. Change. You know this, I'm not what I
want to be. Isn't that right, believer? What do you want to be? I want
to be like Him. Praise God I'm not what I was.
I'm thankful for that change. The change He's made in my life.
The change that He gave me a new heart, a new life. Gave me faith
in Christ. Even that I have that, I want
to grow in those things. So in this world, we shall all
face changes. Some seem good and others seem
to be ill. But the Scriptures are clear
that there's a time and a purpose for every season under heaven. But I'll tell you this, if you're
a believer in Christ, there's one truth in this changeable,
mutable world that will give you comfort. It is an anchor
for your soul. It is this. You may change. The world around you may change.
But God never changes. Never. Never. You know, it always concerns
me, somebody come and tell me, well, I like the God of the New
Testament. I don't like the God of the Old Testament. You see,
they're wrong in this. They believe God changed. Somehow
He changed. No, God has always been the same
as He was from eternity. God says this, I am God. I change not. Why? He's perfect. There's no need
to change. He is perfect. He does not change. He says this, He changes not
because He says in this, look at your text, for I am the Lord. I want you to know this, that
there is only one God. One God who is the great I Am. If you go over to Isaiah, I'm
going to have you flip a couple of places here. Isaiah. Isaiah
chapter 44. I'm just going to read these
really quickly. But these show this. Look. In Isaiah chapter
44, look at verse 6. "'For thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer,
the Lord of hosts, I am the first and I am the last." Listen, beside
me there is no God. It is as though God looked to
his left and God looked to his right and said, I am all alone. I am the only Lord God. Beside me there is no God. Look at chapter 45 and verses
5 through 8. Chapter 45 and verses 5 through
8. Here God says, I am the Lord,
and there is none else. There is no God beside me. I
girded thee, though thou hast not known me. You that do not
know God, listen, it's God that girds you. God gave you life. God gave you breath. It is this
God that upholds you. It is this God that has sustained
your life so that you have not yet fallen into hell. God says,
now you have not known Me. And what I... I sustained you.
I girded you. This was true of us before we
came to Christ. Isn't that right? That they may know from the rising
of the sun and from the West, that there is none beside Me.
I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light and create
darkness. I make peace and, listen, create
evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. Drop down, you heavens from above,
and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up. Let them
bring forth salvation. Let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, hath created it.
What? I have created salvation. I have made salvation. Why? Because I'm the only one that
can do it. I am the Lord. There is none else. Now, the
gods of men are many. I want you to understand that.
In this world, there are many gods. They are false gods. And this is because man by nature
is a god factory. We all have our opinion of who
God is. When you grew up, you had an opinion of who God is.
Your grandma, your mom, taught you who God was, and that became
your opinion of who God is. And then you formed your own
opinion. Man by nature is a God factory. And so, the gods of men are many. Man is an idol maker. And the
gods of men are all alike. Now you can put any name you
want to on that God. You can call Him Jehovah. You
can call Him Jesus. You can call Him Allah. You can
call Him Buddha. You can call Him any name you
want to. But the gods that men make up
are all the same in this one aspect. They are all mutable. They are all changeable. They're mutable. God said to
them, now thoughtest that I was altogether such in one as yourself.
See, you're mutable, and so when man makes up a God, he makes
a God like himself. I believe God's like this. Why?
Well, I'm like that. And so they start making up laws
and rules that they think they can obey. And they say, well,
my God made those. No, you made them. You made up
your God. You thought your God was like... But God says this,
I am God and there is none else. I'm by myself. And this is how
He reveals Himself in our text. I am the only Lord. And how shall you know that your
God is God? That's important, isn't it? How
do you know your God is God? Only if your God is immutable,
unchangeable. I am the Lord. Here's how you
can tell. I change not. I change not. The God of the Bible does not
change. Any God who can change His nature,
His character, or His purpose is not God. Let me say it again.
Any God who can change His nature, His character, Or His purpose
is not God. Because if God changes, then
He would not be perfect. The God of this world is always
evolving. Isn't He? Haven't you seen this
in modern religion? That the God of this age is evolving. Preaching is no longer a necessity,
right? Why? Because we've evolved. Our God has evolved past that.
No. My God doesn't change. He doesn't
change His method, His means, or His motive of salvation. Man's God is always evolving
with His culture. Their God is One that may love
men one minute and hate them the next. The God of this culture
may have a purpose. But because of man, his purpose
is thwarted. That's not God. Why? Because
my text tells you, I am the Lord, and this is how you know I change
not. I change not in character, I
change not in nature, and I change not in purpose. Let me tell you
a couple of things. I'm going to just deal with two
things this morning. For time's sake, I can go through every
attribute of God and show you that God does not change in His
holiness. God does not change in His singleness. God does not
change in His righteousness. God does not change in His means
of salvation. I want to just take two things,
though, this morning. First of all, God does not change in His
love. And second of all, God does not
change in His purpose of salvation. Those are two things this morning.
Let's look at this first one. The true God of Scripture does
not change concerning His love. Go to Jeremiah chapter 31. Jeremiah
chapter 31. See what God says about His love. Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse
3. The Scripture says, The Lord
hath appeared of old. Where is that? How long ago is
that? Eternity. The Lord hath appeared unto me
of old. Saying what? Yea, I have loved thee. And what's the duration of this
love? With an everlasting love. And what's the result of this
we see as purpose. Therefore, here's my purpose. With loving kindness have I drawn
thee. Because I loved you, what? I
purposed to draw you. Both of these things are immutable. First is love. Let me illustrate this. Because
some people think God's love is ever-changing. One day a man
wakes up. One man wakes up in the morning.
The sun is shining. Birds are singing. He gets out
of bed and everything's going his way. All of his dreams are coming
true. He wins the lottery. His job is going well. His family
loves him. He goes to bed at night and he
looks up and he starts to pray. He said, man, God must really
love me. Another man wakes up and the
day is cloudy, rainy, snowy. It's horrible. It's bitter. Bitter,
cold, everything in his day seems to go against him. All of his
dreams, all of his plans are collapsing. His wife leaves him,
his child dies. He goes to bed that night and
says, surely God must hate me. Let me tell you this, neither
of these are true. Neither of these are true. We
cannot determine the love of God or the hatred of God based
on circumstance. You will never know the love
of God based on your circumstance. Isn't that what happened to Lazarus?
Lord, him whom you love is sick. And what? Lazarus died. Now, did that determine that
God hated him because he died? No. There were many people in
Jerusalem that day that lived. Did God love them because they
lived? No. You can't determine God's love
based on circumstance. And I know we're all guilty of
this. I know we're all guilty of this. Because God does not
change. His love does not change, nor
does His hatred change. Isn't that right? The mercy and grace of God are
just as immutable as the wrath and justice of God. Why? Because God said, I am the Lord,
I change not. I'm going to prove it to you.
Go to Romans chapter 9. You know this well. But this
shows you right off very clearly that God's love as well as His
hatred is immutable. Romans chapter 9. Look at verse 11. This is speaking
of Jacob and Esau, sons of Isaac. It says, For the children, not
yet being born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God, according to election, might stand, not of
works, but of him that calleth. It is said unto her, The elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. Now, when did God love Jacob
and hate Esau? The Scriptures are clear before
they were born, having done any good or evil. Why? I am the Lord, I change not. Now Paul, anticipating man's
anger and frustration at this, he'll say this, you'll ask me
this question, what shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness
with God? Is God unfair? Is God unjust? What's Paul's answer? God forbid. God forbid. He said to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then, it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but God that showeth mercy. Salvation is by the mercy of
God. God loved Jacob and hated Esau
before their birth. God did not hate Jacob and then
love him. God did not love Esau and then
hate him. Otherwise, God would what? Change. And what does God say? I am the
Lord, I change not. I change not. Both of these children
were sons of Isaac. sons of Adam, born dead in sin
like you and me. We were all born in this same
corrupt condition. Both men could never please God. Neither one of them, by their
works, could ever merit the love of God. And had God not in sovereign
grace loved Jacob, there would have been nothing Jacob could
have done to ever deserve the love of God. Both men actually
deserve what? God's hatred. If we go by merit, that's why
He says, it's not of him that willeth or him that runneth.
It's not of works, but of grace. Neither could ever be worthy
of such love or mercy. Yet God had set His love upon
Jacob from eternity, and God who does not change loves all
of His elect with an everlasting, immutable, unchangeable love. Now you see why, you that are
believers in Christ, you see why this is a comfort. Don't
you see this? If you are loved of God, that
love never changes. However much God loved me from
eternity, He loves me now. And however much God loved me
from eternity, He will always love me. Why? I am the Lord,
I change not. His love is immutable love. It is an everlasting love. It is an eternal love. Are you
a believer in Christ this morning? If you believe in Christ, listen,
and this is going to enter into it, because if God loves you,
He purposed to save you, and you're saved because of that
purpose, which is a manifestation of what? His love. How do I know
if God loves me? Do you believe on His Son? That's
the evidence of your election. That's the evidence of this immutable
love being yours. So if you believe this morning,
listen, here's your comfort. I am the Lord, the only One.
There's no other God but Me. And I don't change. I have loved
you. I do love you. And I will forever love you. I change not. Secondly is this,
the purpose of God does not change. The love of God does not change.
And so then the purpose of God does not change. This is another
great difference between the God of this age and the immutable
God, is this matter of purpose. Purpose. Now, the God of this
age has a plan. Ask any Arminian preacher, he'll
tell you that God has a plan for your life. That's a common
saying. God has a plan for your life. But the problem is, He cannot
perform it without your consent. This is the God of this generation,
friends. I'm telling you, it is. Their God desires to save
men. As a matter of fact, He loves
all men. But yet somehow, in the end,
He hates them. Sends some of them to hell. And
so, their God desires to save all men, and He loves all men,
and so He sent His Son in the world to die for all the sins
of all men, but He still can't save them. He still can't save
them because they can resist His purpose. His purpose is to
save them, but if He doesn't, it's because they resisted it.
They thwarted His purpose. And so when a man dies in his
sins and he goes to hell, it's because that man thwarted the
purpose of their God. That's their whole doctrine.
This is not the doctrine of Holy Scripture. This is not the God,
the living God. Why? Because our God, who does
not change in love, does not change in His purpose. Whatever
God purposed to do, listen, He does. Whatever God purposed to do in
eternity always comes to pass in time without fail. Without fail. Let's see a couple
of places like this. Go to Isaiah chapter 55. Consider this morning the Word
of God. As I'm preaching the Word of
God to you, I want you to know this. It's going to accomplish
exactly what God intends for it to. Isaiah chapter 55, and look at
verse 10. For as the rain cometh down,
and the snow from heaven, and returneth not it thither, but
watereth the earth, and make it to bring forth in bud, that
it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater." That's
an easy thing to understand, doesn't it? The rain comes down,
it has a purpose. Isn't that right? Rain has a
purpose. It doesn't come down and go back
up, does it? It comes down and it accomplishes
what it was sent to do. It was sent that it may grow
food. That it may give seed to the
sower and bread to the eater. And it does that, doesn't it?
what it does. So God says this in verse so,
even so, just like that. Shall my word go forth out of
my mouth? It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please. What's His word going to accomplish
this morning? Not what the preacher pleases. Not what you think it
should. It is going to accomplish that
which God pleases. And it does it every time. Paul
said we are always triumphant when we preach the gospel. We're
always successful. We don't feel successful. I don't think I've
ever really felt successful when I've preached the gospel. But
we are. Why? Because God who purposed
His Word to go out It goes out, and because He doesn't change,
it accomplishes what He purposed. Now listen, this morning, if
you are lost, and God sends this Word to your heart, and you believe,
you know why? Because He purposed it. If this
morning you don't hear this Word, and you go out the same way you
came in, why? God purposed it. Whatever God
intends this Word to do, it's going to do it. Do whatsoever
I please. And the thing we're into, I send
it. Go to Isaiah chapter 46. Look
at this. Isaiah chapter 46. I like this
chapter because God here in this chapter is showing the difference
between a false God and Himself. And He ends up summing it up
in this way. False gods, they have eyes, they
can't see, they have hands, they can't touch, they can't move,
they only go where their Maker lets them go. They can't tell
what happened before, they can't tell you what's going to happen
next. Look what God says about Himself in verse 8. Chapter 46, verse 8. Remember
this. And show yourselves, men, bring
it again to mind, you 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. Now what's the difference? Here
it is. Declaring the end. When did He do that? When did
God declare the end of all things? 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. You see, whatever
God determines to do, He'll do. Why? I am the Lord, I change. This is why when our will is
crossed by God, we're upset. God's will is like that wheel
in the wheel. It went straight forward. It never turned to the
right, never turns to the left. Yet, when our will is going this
way and God's will goes this way, who's winning? You know
who wins. God will crush your dreams. He'll
crush your schemes. Why? His will, whatever He determines,
is going to happen. When did He declare that? When
did He determine it? From the beginning. And whatever He determined,
He will not change. Go to Jeremiah chapter 29. Look
at verse 11. This is God here talking about
delivering. Now, this is His purpose. You
want to know this purpose that God determined from eternity,
this purpose that doesn't change, this purpose of God that will
be executed in time. It's declared here. He says in
verse 10, For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years
be accomplished that at Babylon I will visit you and perform
my good word towards you in causing you to return to this place.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the
Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected
end." God is telling the nation of Israel, I've determined something.
What? Seventy years and you're going
to be set free. Now what happened? In history, you can mark it down,
it was exactly seventy years and the decree went forth and
they were freed. Why? What God purposes, He accomplishes. He said, so does God in spiritual
matters. This is a physical thing, but
it is a picture of a spiritual thing. In all spiritual Israel,
to all God's elect children, to all those that God loved and
purposed to save, by nature we are born what? Captives. We are
born captives to sin. But God says this even to us,
I know my thoughts. Did you know the thoughts of
God towards you when you were lost? No, you didn't know them and
you didn't care. But God did. He said, I know my thoughts towards
you. What are they? Thoughts of peace. You know, God always
thoughts of peace toward us. His thoughts were always of peace
toward us. evil. To give you something. What is
God's purpose? It is to give you an expected
end. To give you a sure hope. How? By covenant. A covenant,
a sure covenant. David said this, The Lord hath
made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things. God's purpose in this covenant
is order. And everything is taken into
account, isn't it? All things are ordered. The purpose
of our salvation is ordered. The means of our salvation is
ordered. And the application of our salvation
is ordered, isn't it? And not only is it ordered in
all things, but what? It's your wife. For I am the Lord. I change not. My purpose to save
you will not change, to give you an expected end. An expected end. The covenant
given to David was concerning what? Christ. Christ. Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This eternal covenant of salvation
was purposed by God. Do you realize that The whole
Trinity of God is involved in this purpose. The Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit are all in this purpose. The immutable Father, He loved
you, and He chose you in sovereign mercy. The immutable Son agreed
to be the surety and representative, the Redeemer and High Priest
by making an offering for our sins unto God. This was His purpose. The purpose of the Son was to
what? Die for you. Remember when He was standing
there and Judas came with that band and Peter pulled out his
sword and cut off the ear of that? He said, No. He said, No. This is why I came. I have a
purpose. My purpose is to be your representative. If you seek Me, what does He
say? Let these go free. See, His purpose was to be a
substitute. And the immutable Holy Spirit,
He purposed to call every elect sinner to faith and repentance
by regeneration. By giving us a new nature and
faith in Christ. Therefore, all that God has purposed
to save from eternity shall be saved in time. Why? I am the
Lord, I change not. He purposed to save us by the
Savior, to quicken us by the Spirit. He purposed to give us
faith in the work and person of Jesus Christ. But you and
I were born captives to sin, and Satan, we were bound in chains
of sin. We could not do any righteousness. We could not please God. We could
not make ourselves acceptable. So what then must the purpose
of God be? If God purposed to save you,
what must happen? He must make you acceptable.
Make you acceptable. Go to Jeremiah chapter 30 and
look at verse 11. He said, For I am with thee, saith the Lord. What's his purpose? To save thee. Though I make a full end of all
nations, whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full
end of thee. But I will correct thee and measure,
and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. For thus saith the
Lord, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. There
is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up, that
hast no healing medicines. All thy lovers have forgotten
thee. They seek thee not, for I have
wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement
of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquities, because
thy sins were increased." You see our incurable wound? God
says, I intend to save you, but let me tell you something about
yourself. Your wound is incurable. Have you found that out about
yourself? That your wound of sin is incurable. If God is ever going to save
you, He has to show you this. That you cannot save yourself. Look at verse 17. Here's God's
purpose. How is He going to save us? For
I will restore hell unto thee. I will heal thee of thy wounds,
saith the Lord, because they called thee an outcast, saying,
This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after." You see, God says this.
I have a purpose. Your wound's incurable to you,
but it's not to me. I'm going to heal your wound. How is He going to do this? Look at verse 21. "...And their
nobles..." shall be of themselves, and their
governor shall proceed from the midst of them. And I will cause
him to draw near, and he shall approach unto Me. For who is
this that engaged his heart to approach unto Me?" You know who
that governor is? Christ. How are your wounds going
to be healed? By this governor who approaches
God in your place. by one who brings an offering
to God that is acceptable. When Jesus Christ came into this
world as a man, He came as a representative man. Your representative. He
came and died in your stead. He came and accomplished righteousness
in your place. And then what? He approached
unto God with His own blood. And what did God say? Except. And therefore, God can say this
to us in verse 22, You shall be My people, and I will be your
God. Oh friends, Jesus was always
the purpose of God for our salvation. He was anointed of God to be
the servant of God, and by His obedience He honored the law
of righteousness in our stead. The Father purposed that Jesus
Christ should be made an offering for sin, that He should bear
our sins in His own body, and that He should be made a curse
for us, and that He should tread the winepress of the wrath of
God alone. And what is the result? He shall
see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. Now listen,
if God is satisfied with Christ's offering, how long was He satisfied
with that offering? He said, I am the Lord, I change
not. God was always satisfied with
the offering of Christ. When Christ purposed to give
the offering, God was satisfied. As a matter of fact, you can
see in Ephesians 1 that we were accepted in the beloved before
the foundation of the world. Scripture says God saved us,
and then what? He called us. He called us. accepted that one offering for
Christ. He was satisfied. His immutable
justice is satisfied. His immutable law is honored
in our stead. So then, this is the will of
the immutable God that all the Father gave Christ in must and
will come to Christ. This is the purpose of God. The
immutable purpose of God. That everyone Christ died for,
everyone the Father loved, will come to Him. Isn't that exactly what Jesus
said? All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me. I am so thankful that I have
come to Christ. Have you come to Christ? Who did that? You or Him? Whose
purpose was it? You willingly came to Christ,
but really whose will was it? It was the will of the immutable
God who came to Christ. It was the fulfillment of His
purpose. I believe in Christ. The only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, that He is
my righteousness, my wisdom, my sanctification and redemption.
Why? Because God purposed Him to be
such. Of God are you in Christ, who
of God has made unto you wisdom, righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. I declared in this morning, hope
for sinners. If God ever changed, there would
be no hope. There'd be no certainty, would
there? But I tell you, there's hope
for sinners because God doesn't change. Listen to conclusion.
I am the Lord. I change not in love. I change
not in purpose. Therefore, what? There's hope. You wicked sons of Jacob are
not consumed. There's hope for sinners. There's
hope for forgiveness. There's hope for eternal life.
I tell you, believe on Christ now. You that believed on Christ
a minute ago, believe on Christ now. Isn't that what we do? Faith is ever-present. We always
are believing on Christ. Why? Why do you continue? Why
is it that we're still here? I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, your faith will continue.
And you, sons of Jacob, will not be consumed. You see, the
God who purposed to save us is still saving us. And He will
save us. That's what Peter says. You are kept. You are kept. By what? The power of God. The power of an immutable, unchangeable
God. Therefore, you have this hope.
You will not be consumed. Isn't that a good hope? Isn't
that just take the burden off? If you die right now, you will
not be consumed. Now how do you know that? Listen,
my God doesn't change. He's loved me from eternity and
He will always love me. His purpose was to save me. Christ
accomplished that salvation for me. The Spirit of God applied
that and the Spirit of God keeps me. So when will He change His mind
about you? What if you were God? I change my mind about myself
all the time. God doesn't. No matter what happens
in time, God doesn't change. And none
of His people shall be consumed. All that God loved and purposed
to save, He will. Praise be to God who purposed
and accomplished and applied our salvation He who loved us
still loves us. He who made us righteous will
never impute our sins unto us. He who promised to bring us to
Himself will not change. He will bring us to glory. He will raise us up incorruptible,
undefiled, to be with Him forever. Why? I am the Lord. I change. We change all the time. But I'm
so glad my salvation does not depend on me. It depends on a mutable, unchangeable
God. Therefore, I know this, I will
not be consumed, but rather accepted. I pray God
will give you comfort in this. Let's be dismissed in prayer.
Our gracious Father in heaven, immutable, sovereign, holy, and
just God, I thank you, Father, for your divine love and mercy,
your immutable love and purpose. that you have accomplished in
Christ and that you have applied by your spirit. It is my heart's
desire this morning, Father, that you would even apply it
to your people who are lost, that you might call them today,
that they might believe, that they might find comfort in the
immutable counsel of the living God. Forgive us our sins. Cleanse us of our unrighteousness
through the blood of Christ. Bring us back again to worship
you in Jesus' name. Amen.