This morning, I want to look
at the everlasting covenant made between God the Father and God
the Son for the foundation of the world. Mercy is used in the
Bible 240 times in the Old Testament. Mercy is God's sovereign choice
to show grace, His grace, and His salvation to those He has
chosen. In Romans 9, God said to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. That's God's sovereignty and
His right. Grace is God's free and undeserved
mercy, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that is not
of yourself, it is the gift of God. The word covenant is used
292 times in the Word of God, including covenant breakers.
That's what men are, covenant breakers. When a covenant is
made, then to break it is unjust. God is just. God is not a man
that he should lie. What does agreement mean? It's
the understanding between two parties, and it takes into account
the responsibilities of both those parties. The covenant made
between God the Father and God the Son, we have no part in that
covenant. We are the beneficiaries of that
covenant. God's people are chosen by the
Father, purchased by the Son, sealed by the Spirit. The Lord
Jesus Christ purchased His people at Calvary, taking the full wrath
of God for the sins of His people. In Luke 22, Christ withdrew from
the disciples. He kneeled down and prayed, saying,
Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless,
not my will be done. And then appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, and strengthened him. And being in agony," Christ
was in agony. He was taking our sins. He prayed
more earnestly, and he had sweat, which was as great drops of blood,
falling to the ground. Our sins were laid on Christ.
He was made sin for us. Christ was holy, He was just,
He was righteous, He was pure, and He was made the sin of His
people. He took our sins and He was in agony. He had never
known sin, never committed one sin in thought or in deed, and
He took all the filthiness of His people and He bought them.
Christ fulfilling that covenant made between God the Father and
God the Son. This covenant can never be broken.
God's people are chosen and they are the beneficiaries of that
covenant. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now in Romans 8, he
shows us all these things. I'm going to read this to you,
you don't have to turn. And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God." Now see, everybody usually stops
there. And we know that all things work together for good that love
God. But it says, "...to them who are thee called, according
to what? His purpose. For whom He did
foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren,
Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom
he called, them he justified. Whom he justified, them he also
glorified. So what shall we say then to
these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that
spared not his only Son, but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? And
who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? IT IS
GOD THAT JUSTIFIES. WHO IS HE THAT CONDEMNS? IT IS
CHRIST THAT DIED. Yea, rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Tribulation, distress, persecution,
famine, nakedness, peril, or sword? At is it written, For
thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are counted as sheep
for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him, that loved us. We are conquerors,
being the beneficiaries of that covenant made between God the
Father and God the Son. We are conquerors in what Christ
did, not what we do. It's what HE did. Everything
in salvation is what Christ did, not what you do. For I am persuaded, I believe,
I know this, that neither death, nor life, nor 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 us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now
then, there's not one thing in that text that man does to obtain
salvation or to keep it or be kept in that covenant made between
God the Father and God the Son. Not one thing. In verse 30, whom
he did predestinate, meaning to predetermine for ordained
purpose to appoint or ordain ORDAINED BY AN UNCHANGEABLE PURPOSE. THEM HE ALSO CALLED, THEM HE
ALSO JUSTIFIED, AND WHOM HE JUSTIFIED, THEM HE ALSO GLORIFIED." I know
that people say in verse 32, it says, He delivered Him up
for us all. Well, all's defined by the Scriptures
before and after. Whom He did foreknow and whom
He did predestinate. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect. That's who all is in God's elect,
who He chose before the foundation of the earth in that everlasting
covenant. Ephesians 1, according as He
hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Now whose
will? His will. to the praise and glory of His
grace, wherein He was made accepted in the Beloved, and who is the
Beloved? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are accepted to
God by what Christ did, not by what we do, in whom we have redemption
through His blood for the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace. WHEREIN HE HATH ABOUNDED TOWARD
US. THIS US IS THE ADOPTION OF CHILDREN BY JESUS CHRIST TO HIMSELF,
IN OUR WISDOM AND PRUDENCE, MEANING UNDERSTANDING, HAVING MADE KNOWN
UNTO US THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL, ACCORDING TO HIS GOOD PLEASURE,
WHICH HE HATH PURPOSED IN HIMSELF. Ephesians 1 verse 4, According
as he hath God the Father chosen us in him, God the Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love, in him, in God the
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There's not one thing in that
covenant made between God the Father and God the Son that man
does. We're beneficial to the covenant and it cannot be broken. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that are decalled according to His
purpose. John 6, all that the Father giveth
me shall come to me. Him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast him out. For I came down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me." And
what was the will of the Father? It was that covenant made between
God the Father and God the Son. Christ came to fulfill that covenant,
to purchase the people that He had chosen before the foundation
of the world. In John 6, and this is the Father's
will, which has sent me, that of all which he hath given me,
I should lose nothing, but shall raise it up again at the last
day. And this is the Father's will, which has sent me, that
every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have
everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Now who will see the Son? All
that God the Father hath given the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. John 6, verse 44, No man can
come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him,
and I will raise him up at the last day. You see, all that the
Father gave the Son, every soul that God the Father chose before
the foundation of the world, was purchased by Christ before
the foundation of the world. The covenant between God the
Father and God the Son was made before the foundation of the
world. In Revelation 5, And one of the elders said to me, Weep
not, Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Root of David, that's Christ, hath prevailed to open
the book and loose the seven seals, and beheld, lo, in the
midst of that throne, and the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a Lamb, as if it had been slain. This
covenant made between God the Father and God the Son is an
everlasting covenant. I know I keep repeating that
because that's what it is, it's everlasting. Hebrews 13, 20. Now the God of peace brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd
of the sheep through the blood of the what? The blood of the
everlasting covenant. The covenant can never be broken.
All that are in Christ Jesus our Lord are safe. He paid the
penalty of sin. Christ is our surety in that
covenant and we are the beneficiaries of it. I want to show you some
of the people, some of the Old Testament before Christ was ever
born. Noah, he's approximately 2,400 years between the flood
and the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Genesis 6 they say,
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The whole world
was flooded. God killed every living creature
on the earth. God saw the wickedness of man,
and every imagination and thought of his heart was only evil. God saw their heart. They were
wicked in every thought. But the Lord said unto Samuel,
I repeat this every time I get up here, but I love it. Look
not on his countenance or the height of his stature, because
I have refused him. For the Lord said, seeth not
as a man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but
the Lord looketh on your heart. It's like the Pharisees and the
Sadducees. You can fool a lot of people, but you're not going
to fool Christ. He knows what your heart is. He knows if you
love him or not. and He has to make you love Him.
Noah was a beneficiary of that covenant between God the Father
and God the Son before the foundation of the world. Noah had been given
a new heart, a new spirit to love God. God taught Noah who
God was and who He was. Out of the whole world, God saved
Noah and his family. That's what was in the ark. God's
love, His mercy, and His grace were inside. Outside was God's
wrath and justice and penalties for sin, His holy justice. The
Lord Jesus Christ had paid the penalty for sin for Noah, and
He was saved. He was in the ark, which represents
the Lord Jesus Christ. God saw Christ, that precious
blood, that pitch that was all over the ark, and God shut Him
in. And God made a covenant with man and every living creature
on the earth, that He would never flood the whole earth again.
And He puts the beautiful bow in the sky, that beautiful rainbow,
when the sun shines through the rain, and the covenant that He
will not do it again. That covenant is sure because
God made it. Man has no part in that covenant
either. God made it and He keeps it. and Ezekiel, and I will give
them one heart, and I will put a new spirit in you, and I will
take away that stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give
you a heart of flesh, that thou wilt walk in My statues, keep
My ordinances, and do them. You shall be My people, and I
will be your God.'" A new heart in Ezekiel 36 will I give you,
and a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away that
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of
flesh. And I will put My Spirit within
you, and cause you to walk in My statues. And you shall keep
My judgments and do them, and you shall dwell in the land that
I gave your fathers. And ye shall be My people, and
I will be your God. and Titus, in hope of eternal
life, which the God that cannot lie promised before the world
began, but hath in due times manifested His Word through preaching."
That's what John, Gabe, Paul, that's what they all do. That's
what God's preachers do. They tell you the truth about
the God of the Bible, about His justice, His holiness, His mercy,
His grace, and how God the Son purchased His elect people on
the cross by the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. God's children were chosen by the Father and purchased by
the Son, and this covenant is sure. I read this every time
because I love it too. David said in 2 Samuel, Although
my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things ensured, and this is all my salvation,
and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. Numbers
23, God is not a man that he should lie, neither a son of
man that he should repent. Hath he said it, shall he not
do it? Or hath he spoke it, shall he
not make it good? God cannot lie. His oath is covenant
assured, in Hebrews 6, wherein God willingly, more abundantly,
to show unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his
counsel, affirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable, meaning
unchanging over time, or unable to be changed, that by two things
in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation who have fled for refuge, and that refuge is Christ,
to lay hold upon the hope, that hope is Christ, set before us,
which hope we have as an anchor for our soul, sure, steadfast,
and which entered into the veil, whether the forerunner is for
us eternal. Even Jesus made a high priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek, and we know Melchizedek's priesthood
had no beginning and no end, and neither does Christ. In that
passage, God cannot lie. Our hope, our consolation and
refuge and anchor for our soul is the Lord Jesus Christ, And
that covenant made between God the Father and God the Son, and
it's sure, and it cannot be broken. God cannot lie. For when God
made promises to Abraham because he could swear by no greater,
he swore by himself." Think about Abraham. The Lord tells Abraham
to take his only son Isaac, the one in whom he loved, and offer
him for a burnt offering. Abraham rose up, saddled the
asses, took Isaac and the wood, and went to where the Lord Jesus
told him, where God told him to go. When Abraham arrived on
that third day, Abraham saw the place afar off where he would
offer his only son for a burnt offering. Don't you know Abraham's
heart and soul were broken for those three days? He was taking
his only son to slay him and offer him to God for a burnt
offering. Abraham took the wood. He laid it on Isaac's back. Isaac
carried the wood on his back, the very thing that would consume
him, the fuel for the fire. Christ carried that wooden cross
up Mount Calvary. Isaac was bound and laid on that
altar of wood. Christ was laid on that wooden
cross and spikes were driven in his hands and feet. Isaac
went willingly. Christ came to do the will of
God the Father, the surety of that covenant made between God
the Father and God the Son. Isaac said to his father, we
have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt
offering? And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself
a lamb for a burnt offering. Abraham raised his hand to plunge
that knife in his son. And an angel of the Lord said,
lay not your hand upon that lad, for I know that you fear me.
for you fear God, for thou hast not withheld thine only Son from
me.' Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket."
See, the Lord provides all that He requires. He provided Christ,
the Lamb of God, in that covenant. Made between God the Father and
God the Son, the Lord Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world. Isaac went willingly with Abraham.
Abraham knew that God would raise his son from the dead. He knew
his son was coming home with him. And I know that because
it said in Hebrews 11, 19, By faith, Abraham, when he was tried,
offered up Isaac. And he that had received the
promise offered up his only begotten son, accounting that God was
able to raise him even from the dead. Now Moses, Moses went up
Mount Sinai. Moses spoke with God face to
face, and it tells us that in Exodus 33, 11. And the Lord spake
unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And
Moses said unto the Lord, See thou sayeth unto me, Bring up
this people. And thou hast not let me know
whom thou wilt send with me, yet thou hast said, I know thee
by thy name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now
I pray thee, if I have found grace in your sight, and consider
that this people, and God said, my presence
shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest, and Moses said,
If your presence go not with me, don't carry me up." Moses'
peace and rest was in Christ, the covenant made between God
the Father and God the Son, Naomi and Ruth. Naomi left Bethel with
her husband, Elimelech, and her two sons, Milan and Chilion,
and they went to Moab. Elimelech dies. Her two sons
take wives, Orpha and Ruth. Both Naomi's sons die. Naomi
returns to Bethlehem. Naomi told both Ruth and Orpha
to go back to their families. Orpha, which means stiff-necked
and turn away. Orpha went back to her pagan
gods and her family. That's where her heart was, like
Lot's wife. She looked back at Sodom, and
God killed her. Naomi was going back to Bethlehem,
where life was. Ruth claimed to Naomi. She said,
entreat me not to leave thee. Where you go, I will go. Where
you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people,
and thy God, my God. Where you die, I will die. Ruth
went back to Naomi, to Bethlehem, which means the house of bread.
When Naomi returned, the people said, isn't that Naomi? And Naomi
said, call me Marl, for the Lord hath dealt very bitterly with
me. I went out full, but the Lord hath brought me home again
empty. Naomi had left the house of bread, the bread of life.
The Lord afflicted her. The Lord afflicted her and brought
her home. She said she was dealt with bitterly, but the Lord showed
her great mercy bringing her home. How many people you know
leave this gospel and come back? I mean, I can't think of very
few, very few ever leave here and ever come back. They leave
the house of bread and they say, I will not have this kind of
God reign over me. Well, this is the God of the
Bible. This is the one that will reign over you in justice or
in mercy. And that's how it is. But Naomi
had to go to Moab. to fetch Ruth and bring her to
the house of bread where she would meet Boaz, her kinsman
redeemer, the one that would give her life. Boaz is a picture
of Christ. When Boaz spoke to Ruth, Ruth
fell at his feet on her face and bowed herself to the ground
and said, why have I found grace in thine eyes that you should
take knowledge of me seeing I am a stranger? Isn't that what we
are? Isn't that what a sinner says
to Christ? Manoah and his wife in Samson. Manoah's wife isn't
given in the Word of God. It wasn't for us to know, but
the Lord Jesus Christ knows her name. It's written in the Lamb's
Book of Life. She was purchased in that covenant
made before the foundation of the world between God the Father
and God the Son. Manoah's wife was barren. The
angel of the Lord appeared and said, You're barren, but you
shall conceive and bear a son. The Lord's going to give her
life in the womb and in her heart. She's going to bear a son and
call him Samson, and you shall be a Nazirite. He's going to
be a Nazirite from the womb. A Nazirite meaning consecrated
to God. Manoah offered bread to the angel
of the Lord, and the Lord said, I will not eat your bread, but
you can offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord
God. Manoah asked the angel, what is your name? And the angel
replied, it's secret. What does secret mean? It means
wonderful. In Isaiah 9.6, for unto us a
son is given. and the government shall be on
his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Manoah knew that he had spoken to God, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Great I Am. Manoah said to his wife, We shall
surely die, because we have seen God. She said, if the Lord was
pleased to kill us, He would not have received a burnt offering
and a meat offering at our hand, neither would He have shown us
all these things. What she was saying was, why
would He kill us when He's revealed Himself to us? Why would He kill
us? All these Old Testament saints
lived before Christ, were ever born. to show you that this everlasting
covenant was made between God the Father and God the Son before
the foundation of the world. There was a Savior before there
was ever a sinner. Adam walked with God in the cool
of the evening. God spoke with Adam in Adam's
sin. Adam said, I'll be my own God.
I want to know as much as He does. And who slew that lamb? Who shed the blood? God did. He covered Adam with His salvation,
Christ's salvation. Christ's righteousness. Abel
brought a lamb slain before God. Christ had taught Abel who God
was and what Abel was, a sinner. He taught and he teaches all
his saints that were chosen by the Father and purchased by the
Son. Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jacob,
Joshua, Joseph, Lot, Rahab, Gideon, Samson, Naomi, Ruth, Samuel,
Elisha, Elijah, Daniel, David, Solomon, Nehemiah, Esther, Isaiah,
Isaac, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, Job. And what did Job say? He lived 3,000 years before Christ
was born. He said, I know that my Redeemer
lives. God said, Before I formed you
in your belly, I knew you. And before you came as forth
out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet
unto the nations. Then Jeremiah said, O LORD, behold,
I cannot speak, for I am a child. God said, For thou shalt go to
all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command you, you
shall speak. God said to Jeremiah, Don't be
afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you. Thus
saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand
and touched his mouth, and the Lord said unto him, Behold, I
have put my words in thy mouth. All that are bought with a price
in that covenant between God the Father and God the Son shall
be called taught of God in John 6 45 as it is written in the
prophets the old testament and they shall all be taught of God
every man that hath heard and learned of the father shall come
to me in closing the everlasting covenant Made between God the
Father and God the Son, Christ purchased us, bought us with
a price, shed his blood, paid the penalty for sin. The Lord
Jesus Christ is our surety in that covenant, and we are beneficiaries
of that covenant. Paul Mahan sent me a quote the
other day from W. Fenner in 1626. It said, Saving
grace is a secret that no man knows but the elect. Ah, if you
believe what I've said this morning, you are so blessed. The Gospel
is a mystery and it has to be revealed to you. How do you come
to Christ? You come to Him as a beggar.
You beg for mercy and your heart cries out and you say, against
thee and thee only have I sinned. Mary Magdalene fell at Jesus'
feet and washed Him and kissed Him. She washed Him with His
tears. Judas kissed Christ on the cheek. Don't you see the
difference? Don't you see the difference
there? It's just too familiar. All that God the Father gave
God the Son in that everlasting covenant, He will lose nothing.
All shall come to Him and all will be taught of God. that you're delighted to show
mercy. And Lord, we thank you for your
precious word. Thank you for the word we've
heard this morning, Lord. Truth, taken straight from your
book, the book of life, the living word. Lord, we're so thankful that
you are God, that you do as you please, in heaven and on this earth,
and none can stay your hand or say unto you, what do you do? What you do is you plead. The Lord will come to you this
morning, bowing to the truth, your honor, The Lord has become praying for
us, friends and family. The Lord does have no desire
to bow before you. The Lord is very eager to
hear your prayers. The Father, we pray that you might
continue to show mercy. Lord, we believe that there are
still in this world those that you saved from the foundation
of the world, but you've yet to call them. So Lord, we pray
you'll be redone in all these things. Lord, we thank you for
this family here. That's some years. We pray, Lord, that you continue
to bless us. Continue to bless your word.
Keep your word in this place. And cause it to be spoken with
power and authority. Lord, we thank you for your precious
blood that you shed on Calvary Street to cover all our sins. to be your will that you keep
us and bring us back to this place again.