will be found in verse 9. The Apostle says, For this cause
we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for
you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge
of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. The
title of the message is The Knowledge of His Will. The knowledge of God's will. Now Paul writing to this church
of Colossae, as we've studied before, In this first chapter
of this epistle, he establishes, first of all, the authority of
his letter. He writes to them an apostle.
He tells them of his office so that they might receive comfort
that this truly is the Word of God. This is the Word of God. He establishes them in their
faith, their hope, and their love, which they had already
received of the grace of God and by the Holy Spirit. He said,
We give thanks to God and our Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ,
of your love which you had to the saints, and for the hope
that is laid up for you in heaven. He establishes their faith, their
hope, and their love. These are the graces of God that
are upon every believer in Christ. Every one of God's elect, when
the Holy Spirit comes, He gives these graces. These graces especially
of faith, which is the root grace. And then out of faith springs
love and hope. And these are the graces that
are upon every believer. So then, this letter we know
is also not only written to them, it is written to us. It is written
to us who are believers in Christ. This book is for us. Now, everybody
can read it. Everybody can read this book.
You can study this book and you can try to understand this book.
You may get some good principles out of this book. But I'll tell
you, this book is only for the saints. This is, if I were to
write a love letter to my wife, you may all read it, but really,
that was just for her. And I tell you, this is God's
letter to His children. This is for the elect, for those
who have believed the truth of the gospel that's written to
us. And so, Paul, by writing this letter, what is the purpose
of this letter? The purpose of this letter is
to confirm their faith, their hope, and their love, to establish
them in it, because of the evil teachers that had gone out into
the world. Antichrists, as John calls them. In Paul's day, evil men and seducers,
teachers of the law, those who would pervert the truth of God's
salvation by free grace, Those who would pervert grace into
an unholy alliance with works, they had gone out into the world.
And Paul says in Romans 16, he tells them, you mark those that
cause division among you. Those that divide you. Those
who offend and are contrary. How do they offend? How are they
divisive? To the doctrine. He said, they're
divisive to what? The doctrine. The doctrine. So, how many gospels are there? There's only one gospel. There's
only one gospel. The gospel of God's grace. And
he said, you mark those out. You mark them out, those who
would teach the law. Mixture of works and grace. And
believers, we should mark those who mix works and grace, mark
those as teachers, those teachers of free will, works, religion,
and then do what? Paul says, should we debate them? Are we to engage them? Are we
to compromise with them? No. Paul says this. Listen what
you should do to false teachers. Avoid them. Avoid them. Why? We're not as strong as we
think we are. That's why. You should avoid
them. You mark them out and you avoid them. Let your conversation
be as becometh the gospel. You should be kind. You should
be gracious. You should be giving. But when
it comes to the gospel, give them not an inch. Avoid them. Give them no audience to hear
their religion. For they serve not the Lord Jesus
Christ but their own belly. And by God's words, by good words
and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. Notice
false preachers aren't running around saying evil things, are
they? They're running around saying good words. They use words
like grace, They use words like the Lord Jesus Christ. They use
good words, and I'll tell you what, they use fair speeches.
They're fair speeches. False religion says good things. They say you need to be kind,
you need to do good in your community. This is one of their new phrases,
impact the culture. That's their new catchphrase,
impact the culture. You should do good. Impact the
culture for Jesus. Give to the good work of God.
Be holy. See, they use good words. None
of those things are so bad. You wouldn't say it's bad to
have a good marriage, would you? You wouldn't say it's bad to
be good with your finances. Those are good words. There's nothing bad about these
words. And I'll tell you, their oratory
skills are very great. False religion has, man, they
are smooth with their speech. But their message is of no value
to the souls of men, nor is it of Jesus Christ. If salvation is in any way the
product or will of man, that message is a message of Satan
and not of God, no matter how good their words are. For we
know that salvation is fully and completely the work of the
triune God alone, we who truly believe, we who have true faith,
a gift of God, we know that salvation is completely and absolutely
the work of God. We know that the Father has chosen
His people in a covenant of grace, gave them to His Son, and by
whom He purposed to save them. We know that the Son in the covenant
of grace took these elect and became responsible for all their
salvation, which He fulfilled when He took our nature as a
man, and as a representative, He honored the law of God, obtained
the righteousness of God for them, died as a willing sacrifice
to God for their sins, And this we know He did victoriously. How do we know that our Savior
was victorious in His work? Because God raised Him from the
dead. Death could no longer hold Him.
The grave could no longer keep Him because He was victorious
in His work. God raised him up to sit on His
throne and to be exalted above all names. And behold, now our
Mediator, our High Priest, our God and our King, Jesus Christ,
sits upon His throne. And what is He doing? He is doing
whatsoever He wills. That's what He's doing. He's
doing exactly what He wills. You and I see chaos. I tell you,
He is seeing order in all things. He is seeing all things are moving
exactly as He determined them to go. This is His will. And now the Spirit of God is
sent forth by God the Father and God the Son into the world
to do His sovereign will. And what is the sovereign will
of the Spirit? It is the same will of the Father,
it is the same will of the Son, which is to save His people. To save His elect people and
to call them by His power, to sanctify them, to be new creations,
to give them life, and faith, and hope, and love, and every
grace. This is the gospel. Anyone who
preaches any gospel other than the sovereign free grace of God
is preaching a lie, a false gospel there to be avoided. And this
is what Paul is doing. He is building on that foundation. He is showing them the surety
of Christ as all their hope. that their faith is correctly,
squarely to be placed on Him as a victorious Savior. And so
what is the result of all this? Paul says, so all Israel shall
be saved. All spiritual Israel shall be
saved. This is our message. This is the message of the gospel.
This is the message sent to comfort God's people. But how do we know our election?
I talked a lot of the people of God, the elect of God, the
chosen of God. How is it that one knows their
election? I'm reading a book and it's just
been wonderful, Mercies of a Covenant God, and the man in that book,
John Warburton, he's struggling with conviction. And he goes
to church and he hears men talk, they preach, about all the blessings
and mercies, but he's confused because that's only for the people
of God. That's only for the elect of
God. And he is so convicted because he knows, I'm not one of them.
How do I know I'm one of them? All the blessings are for the
elect. And here I am, a sinner. How do you know your election
of God, your redemption of Christ? Listen. Faith in Christ. This is the evidence. This is
how you know your election. If God gives you such faith as
to believe on His Holy Son, this is not an act of the will, this
is not an act of your nature, this is an act of God upon the
heart. Faith is the gift of God, not
of works. Lest any man should boast. For
we are His workmanship. Who? Those who have faith. We
are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God before ordained that we should walk in them. Do you
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? How can one believe on Him whom
they have not heard. And that what Paul says, he says,
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
But how in the world shall you ever believe or call upon the
name of Jesus that you've never heard? That you've never heard. And how shall you hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? And Paul, he gives thanks to
God for these saints who believed on Jesus Christ. And how did
they believe? Well, they heard. Look at this,
he says in verse 5, he says, For the hope which is laid up
in heaven, whereof you heard before in the word of truth of
the gospel, which is come unto you as it is unto all the world,
and bringeth forth fruit as it does also in you, since the day
you heard of it. Knew the grace of God in truth
as You also learned of a papyrus our dear fellow servant who is
for you a faithful minister of Christ These saints at Colossae believed
because God sent them a man He sent them a man with that gospel
message a The message I just declared to you. This is the
same message Epaphras had given to these people. This is the
same message these Colossians believed. They heard it. Do you desire
to know if your faith is genuine faith? Do you desire to find comfort
and peace for your soul, to know your election and redemption?
Then you should look at your Savior. Really, it's not your faith that'll
ever save you. It's the object of your faith
that saves you. If you're saved at all, you know
that. You know it's not your faith, it is rather the object.
Look at your Savior and see if He is sufficient to save you. Do you believe in a successful
Savior? Or do you believe in a failed
Savior? The Christ of the seducers and
false preachers is a Jesus who tries to save, but cannot save. They believe in a Christ who
has offered His blood in hopes that somebody won't waste it. This false Christ made salvation
possible for all men, but actually accomplished salvation for none
of them. That Savior is not worthy of
your faith. If you believe in such a Savior,
how do you suppose that you would have any confidence at all to
stand before God? If he died for one person, if
Christ died for one person in hell, how do you suppose that
you would have any hope of heaven? That Christ is not my Christ.
That Savior is not my Savior, not the Christ of God, not the
object of true and saving faith. Behold, my Redeemer liveth. My Redeemer liveth because He
has accomplished salvation, finished it, done the work. Isaiah 42
verse 1 says, God says, behold, my servant, and listen how God
describes what his servant will do, my servant shall bring forth
judgment unto the Gentiles. Does that sound questionable
to you? As though he might bring forth judgment? That he may bring
forth judgment? No, God says he shall bring forth
judgment unto the Gentiles. God says of His servant, My servant
shall not fail nor be discouraged. Did you ever read in Christ's
life that He was ever discouraged at anything? I remember when
He fed the 5,000 and the disciples thought that's a good start.
Man, we got 5,000 new converts. Look at this. This whole place
is packed. We're really rolling now. And
Jesus Christ, after he fed them, said, boys, get in the boat.
We're leaving. Don't you say a word to them.
You get in the boat, and you head across, and I'm going up
into the mountain to pray. He left them there. Why? They were not his sheep. That's why he left them there.
You can read it in John 6 if you want to. John chapter 10. He the one. They were not his
sheep. He left them. You see, he was not discouraged
that they would not believe. They weren't his. You see, Christ
When the Lord Jesus came into the world, the angel said, Thou
shalt call His name Jehovah Saves, for He shall save His people. Who? His people. Save them from
what? Their sins. He shall save them
from their sins. In Daniel chapter 9 and verse
24, 70 weeks are determined. That sound questionable to you?
No, it sounds like 70 weeks are determined. It's what God said.
They're determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish
the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation
for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the
vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Behold, Jesus Christ alone has
done this. He has finished the transgression.
He has made an end of sin. He has made reconciliation for
us by being made sin for us. Who knew no sin, that we should
what? Be made the everlasting righteousness
of God in Him. That's what He came for. To make
us the everlasting righteousness of God in Him. Therefore God
has anointed the Most Holy. Peter declares this in Acts chapter
2, God hath made Him both Lord and Christ. See, Jesus never
asked you to make Him Lord. God beat you to it. God already made Him Lord. Now
you should bow. There's no doubt about that.
You should bow. Because He is Lord. He is Lord. And this message of the gospel
came to Colossae and they heard it and they believed it the same
way we do through the preaching of the gospel. Even so, faith,
love, and hope in every grace comes to us by the Holy Spirit. How? Through the Word of God. That's how. Go to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 and look
at verse 8. When He ascended up on high,
He led captivity captive. Isn't that what I just told you?
Didn't I tell you that Christ is successful? That He had led
captivity captive. He had done away with sin. He
had brought in everlasting righteousness. God has anointed the Holy One.
And He's sitting on the throne of God. What was He doing? He gave gifts unto men. And notice these gifts. Verse
11. Verse 11, he gives these gifts. And these gifts are some
apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors
and teachers. Apostles, we know that those
are the ones who received their message directly from Christ.
Those are no longer here. Prophets, those are the ones
that were given special insights and visions of God. Those that
received special messages from God. Those are gone. And some evangelists, these probably
would be missionaries or people that go out into the world to
preach the gospel. And some pastor-teachers. Notice the word some is not in
front of teachers. That's because it means pastor-teachers. He didn't give some pastors and
some teachers. He gave some pastors and teachers,
which are the same. And what are they given for?
Listen. For the perfecting of the saints for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. In other
words, we're here to preach the gospel to the lost. And when
the lost believe and are saved, this is the perfecting. God brings
that perfect nature into them and they are perfected. But not
only that, but the edifying of the saints. That's what we're
here for. To edify you, to build you up in the faith, to show
you that these things that you have laid hold on, that they
are sure. Don't you need confidence of
that daily? Be reminded of that? I do. Because we're still in
the flesh, we need to be reminded of these things. And notice how long God gave
these gifts, these men, for. Till all come in the unity of
faith, until the last one's brought in. Isn't that comforting? I know we look around and there
are not many gospel preachers. Don't worry about that. There'll
be enough. There'll be enough until he comes.
He'll keep sending them. until we all come in the unity
of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, carried
about by every wind of doctrine by the slight and cunning craft
By the slight of men and the cunning craftiness whereby they
lie in wait to deceive. So what does a preacher do? He
just tells you the truth and he tells you over and over and
over and over again. And what do we do when this truth
comes to us? We learn! We grow! That's what we do. Until when? Until we receive the fullness
of this thing. Until we receive the complete
package. Right now, you and I just have
a down payment. We have the Holy Spirit, the
new nature. We've not received the whole
thing yet. So, until then, what are we to do? Learn. Alright,
who's received so much knowledge that they have no need of anymore?
Which believer? If there's anybody like that,
then man, you definitely don't need to be here. This is for
people who need it. This is for God's people who
need it. And I'll tell you, there's no special gift in the preacher. There's no special power in the
preacher. You know what causes you to grow? The same thing that
saved you, the Holy Spirit. He must teach you. Let me ask you this. Have you not ever looked at this
Word, and all of a sudden the Spirit of God get a hold of your
heart, and man, you could ascend up into glory. You feel the presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ as though He were next to you. As though
the perfume from His beautiful robes and garments, you could
just smell Him. And then the very next day pick
up the same book and it'd be cold and dead. Have you not experienced
that? Why is it that one day you've
experienced such grace and the other day that you've not? Listen,
the Holy Spirit is why. The Holy Spirit is the one that
either shuts it up or opens it up. You're not gonna understand
anything in this book unless the Holy Spirit show you. That's
it. I make it as plain as I can,
but that's not going to help you. The Holy Spirit has to show
you. Has to show you. Paul says this, we in 1 Corinthians,
he says this, we know in part and we preach in part. We see
through a glass darkly. But then, when Christ comes,
we shall see Him face to face. And now we know in part and preach
in part, but then we shall know Him, even as we are known. Now
I see Christ by faith, which is the gift of grace. I love
Christ, which is the offspring of faith. And I have hope in
the bright and fair glories of heaven that awake me, that's
incorruptible, undefiled, and doesn't fade away. which was purposed of God, made
by Christ, and given to me by the Holy Spirit, and is kept
by power, until faith is lost in sight, hope is lost in reality,
and the only thing left to be is love. But until that day,
We must needs learn and grow in the grace and knowledge of
Jesus Christ. And the same means by which we
believed is the same means that the Spirit of God teaches us
through the preaching of the gospel. So this morning, I want
us to enter in to the heart's desire of the Apostle Paul, which
is the heart's desire of every preacher. Every preacher. Look at it. Go back to your text.
I want to show you this. Verse 9, for this cause, we also,
since the day we heard, since the day I heard of your faith,
your love, and your hope, since the day I heard you believed
on the Lord Jesus Christ, do not cease to pray for you and
to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. He says, I desire that you be
filled with the knowledge. Not just any knowledge. Not just
any knowledge. Not earthly knowledge, not human
wisdom. Matter of fact, Paul warns the
church in verse 8 of chapter 2. He says this, you beware lest
men spoil you through what? Vain philosophy. Philosophy. That's the wisdom of the world.
Philosophy. Vain deceit after the traditions
of men, after the rudiments of the world, which is the law,
not after Christ. The wisdom of this world, the
knowledge of this world, listen, is not after Christ. That's not
what I'm here to do. I'm not here to fill you with
all kinds of knowledge. Not earthly knowledge, but rather
knowledge of Christ. The false church of our day tries
to allure men to religion by using philosophy. They start
at earthly wisdom and try to work back to the Scripture. No! We work from the Scriptures as
the solid, infinite, unchangeable, immutable truth. You want to
know what truth is? It's what God says it is. And
I don't care what men think it is. So we don't work from the
worldly wisdom back, we work from this to you. I just tell
you what God says. And so, we start by pointing
sinners to Christ and away from themselves. Away from your works,
away from your own self-righteousness to the only true Savior for sinners,
Jesus Christ. Listen, He is the sum and substance
of this book. He is all of this book. Jesus said that the Scriptures,
search the Scriptures. In them you think you have eternal
life. They are they which testify of me. And in Luke 24, beginning
at Moses and all the prophets expounded unto them, in all the
scriptures, the things concerning what? Himself. Himself. This book truly is a hymn book.
It's all about Him. It's all about Him. Therefore,
it is our heart's desire and prayer that you should have knowledge
of Him. Isn't it something the Apostle
Paul, who received his message directly from Christ, he was
not satisfied with his knowledge of Christ? Paul says, "...that
I may know Him." Know Him. Which of us has received the
fullness of that knowledge? None of us have. And so we must
grow in it. Now then, the first thing he
prays for is this, that they might be filled with the knowledge
of what? God's will. Now as I began to study this
subject of the will of God, I quickly knew I'd fallen into the sea
and was doing business in great waters. The will of God. As I studied, I began to reel
to and fro and stagger like a drunken man. I just couldn't get it.
The more I studied the will of God, the bigger it got. The more
I studied, the bigger it got until it was an exceeding great
weight that I could not bear. I can't fully expound to you
the will of God. It's infinite. It's eternal.
How can a finite creature fully expound the mysteries of His
will? Then I cried unto the Lord, and
he brought me out of my distresses. He caused the waves to cease,
and he washed me safely up into the shallow end of the pool. I felt like Ezekiel. You remember
when Ezekiel waded out in the waters? He went up to his ankles,
then the water went up to his waist, and pretty soon he was
yelling. The water had come up over his head. That's how I felt
when I tried to study the will of God. But then he brought me
back to the shallows. He brought me back to the kiddie
pool. So, I think we'll wait around
there instead of the abyss this morning. Have you seen the greatness of
God's Word? The wonder of His grace? And so let us, by God's grace,
learn of God's will. Now, there are many words in
Scriptures that describe the will of God. The word decree. In Psalm 2 and verse 7, it's
called a decree. In Ephesians 3.11, it's called
the eternal purpose of God. Acts 2.23, it is called the determinate
counsel of God. In Acts 8.29, it is called the
predestinated will of God. He predestinated us to be conformed
to the image of His Son. Now if men and angels have a
will, and they do, even so must the Creator also have a will. God has a will. But unlike man's
will and that of the angels, listen, God's will is not unreasonable,
nor is it guided by impulses. You should know that. You should
know God's will is not like anything like yours. Your will is very
changeable, isn't it? Very changeable. It's based upon
your desires or passions. You change your will in a minute.
God's will is not like ours. It's not guided by foolishness.
How many times you've made a foolish, impulsive decision? Can you count
today how many times you've made an impulsive decision or changed
your mind? God's will is no such thing.
God's will is guided by infinite wisdom and His will is not like
His creatures because it is accompanied by infinite power. How many times have you willed
to do something, but you couldn't do it? God's will is no such
will. God's will is accompanied by
infinite wisdom and power. Therefore, whatsoever God wills
to do, listen, He does. Whatever God wills to do, He
does. God's will is according to His
attributes. It's not like our will, but rather
His will is not one that is made in time, but rather is according
to His attribute of eternity. God is an eternal being and therefore
His will is the same as His attribute. Eternal. Eternal. God's will is eternal. The decree and counsel and purpose
of God is always in the singular tense. Even though there are
many parts of His will. Although His will is accomplished
in many different things, yet we must understand that God's
will is one will. It is one decree. It is one that
was done from eternity. And yet His will is one because
everything that is done in time is according to that foreordained
will before the world began. God's will covers all things,
whether great or small, good or evil. I want you to understand
this, that God's will saturates everything. There is nothing in time or eternity
that is not saturated in the will of God. Everything that God has determined
will come to pass. And everything that has come
to pass, listen, is the will of God. Is the will of God. God's will covers everything.
Great and small. And listen, God's will covers
good or evil. Now we know this, that God is not the author of
sin, nor is He chargeable with sin. Yet we do know that He is
the controller of it. God's will controls it. Allows
it. Permits it. Sin has come upon
man and creation even because God allowed it for His own glory
and purpose. Proverbs 16 and verse 11, The
Lord hath made all things for Himself, yea, even the wicked,
for the day of evil. Psalm 76 verse 10, Surely the
wrath of man shall praise Thee. The remainder of wrath, what?
He will restrain. Who's controlling everything?
Who's in charge of this? Who's regulating everything? God is, and He regulates everything
by His own sovereign will. His own sovereign will. If you
still need further proof of this, then look to the cross. Behold
those men taking the Son of God and nailing Him to a tree. Behold
their hatred, their anger, their fury against the Son of God.
They desired to crucify Him. They wanted to crucify Him. And they willingly nailed His
hands and feet to that tree. They willingly plunged the spear
into His side. And yet, what did Peter say?
They did what you determined before to be done. Even the crucifixion,
the greatest sin that man has ever committed in crucifying
the Lord of glory, and yet God determined it to be done. God
determined it to be done. Can you see how... Are you swimming
yet? Have you been out in the waters?
Because this is something that God has not given us any answer
for. He's just telling us how it is.
Therefore God decrees, God declares to us of His will, that it is
over all things. God did not create the universe
and leave the events to chance, but rather all the circumstances,
all the lot of men and kingdoms, all the providences of time were
purpose decreed by God before the world began. All the days
of men are numbered, as well as the hairs of their head. Jesus said, not a sparrow falls
to the ground without my father's knowledge, without my father's
permission. Believer, this should give you
the greatest comfort in your lot and circumstance. You are
right where you are because God willed it. Does that relieve us of any of
our responsibility for the sin? No, but yet that's what God says. You know, I've seen, there's
a lot of times I have consequences for my sins. If you commit something
and it leads to a catastrophe, well, you can say, well, man,
you know, you shouldn't have done that. But we know this,
that even those are of the will of God. It's inescapable. That God has willed it. He has
decreed it, even from eternity. Therefore, nothing that ever
takes place in time or eternity surprises God. We surprise each other, don't
we? Man, I'm just... I've seen men that just did things,
and man, I'm surprised. God's not surprised. God's not
ever surprised. He's not ever taken back. Nothing
causes our God to be alarmed. Known, known unto God are all
His works. When? From the beginning. And secondly, God's will is decreed all things and is
eternal. It's not only that, but God's
will is unchangeable. Unchangeable. That is because
it's perfect. and holy. His will is molded
by infinite wisdom. Everything God has done and brought
to pass in time was according to His immutable will. You remember the great king Nebuchadnezzar
who was brought down to live like a beast in the field for
seven years. When God opened his understanding,
He said this, All the inhabitants of earth are reputed as nothing. And God doeth according to His
will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth. And who can stay His hand or say what doest thou? Can you? Do you suppose you'll
defy God's will? You won't. God does with you
as he pleases. You not get this? You're nothing. I know that might bruise your
self-esteem. I'm sure that might injure your
feelings a bit. God says you're nothing. God says, I'm everything. And there's nothing you can do
to stop His will, nor will you change it. You'll only do according
to His will. You'll only do according to His
will. Believer in Christ, listen. Thy God has decreed from eternity
that you should be saved. Who then can stay his hand or
say, what are you doing? God said, I will save JD Farmer. Who will stop me? Not even JD Farmer. No. God has purpose to save you. He will save you. Why? Because
His will is unchangeable, immutable. It's eternal. It's eternal. Go over to Romans chapter 9.
We'll see it. I know I'm running behind. I knew this would carry
over. I just want you to see it. Romans chapter 9, verse 11. for the children, speaking of
Jacob and Esau, for the children, being not yet born, neither having
done 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. This is the will
of God, that He loved Jacob and hated Esau. When? When was this love and hatred
of God? It was before they were born. It was not according to their
good or their evil, but rather according to God's own purpose. He loved Jacob and hated Esau. And then Paul, he's going to
anticipate your objection. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? Is God not right to do that?
I know that's what man says. How dare you! How can you dare
love one and not another? That's unfair. You're unrighteous. Should we say that? No, you shouldn't
even think that. God forbid. For he said to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom? Whom I will have mercy. And I'll
have compassion on whom? Whom I'll have compassion. So
then, it is not of him that willeth. See, salvation is not by the
will of man. Nor is it of him that runneth. Salvation is not by the works
of man, but of God that showeth mercy. For the Scripture saith
unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up,
that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might
be declared throughout all the earth. He raised up this man
Pharaoh from his youth, set him up to be the king of Egypt. To
do what? To throw him down and to show
his name to be great. That's all Pharaoh was used for
in his whole life. That was it. Therefore he hath mercy on whom
he will have mercy and whom he will he hardness Listen you walk
out this door this morning you harden your heart and You die
in your sins, that's the will of God But then you say How then am I responsible If God's will is that I be hardened,
that I go to hell, that He hates me from eternity, how then am
I responsible? Well, He anticipates that. Look
at that in the next verse, verse 19. Thou wilt say unto me... Why does He yet find fault? For
who hath resisted His will? How is it that God is sovereign
and man is responsible? All right, I'm gonna give you
the answer. It's real deep. It's none of your business. Paul said, who are you to reply
against God? That's the answer. There's the
answer. You are responsible. If you will
not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will die in your
sins, and I tell you it'll be your fault. And I tell you also it is the
will of God. I tell you it's the will of God. And if you are
saved, if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have
faith in Christ, if you are kept unto glory, it is because God
willed it so. You don't see that everything,
that nothing escapes the will of God? Who are you to reply against
God? Hath not the potter power over
the clay? Listen, to make of the same lump. You see, you know, He didn't
take me from a special lump of clay. He took me from the same
fallen, depraved lump of clay you are. And by his own free
mercy, he made me a vessel of honor. So then, who gets the glory for
this? Not me. Not you. God. God gets the glory. Again, I've only given you just
a small portion of his will, just enough to float around in,
enough to chew on. I hope that God, the Holy Spirit,
will give you such grace. And you are saved. You should
take comfort in that. You that are not saved, you should
plead for mercy. You should plead that God would
will to save you. And I tell you, you should find
great comfort, believers, in that. The knowledge, and I pray
you be filled with this knowledge. Filled. May God even now fill you with
the knowledge of his will.