For the Lord, an angel divine,
to heal the afflicted, a humble creation will we bow their way,
with true adoration their lips do I pray. Alright, go back with me to Deuteronomy
32. Deuteronomy chapter 32. I thought about saving this for
Sunday since more people are generally in the service on Sunday
morning, but I was reminded, and I'll announce it now, that
my pastor will be here preaching to you on Sunday. I'll bring
the Bible study, and then he will bring the morning message. And so I thought I would bring
this message tonight. Read with me again verse 39 of
Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32, verse 39. See
now that I, even I, am he. And there is no God, that's a
small g, that means a little ruler. There is none with me. I kill and I make a lot. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can
deliver out of my hand. Now, this verse kept running
through my mind in the wake of this recent tragedy at Virginia
Tech. That's what it was. Tragedy. Tragedy means a terrible event
that ends in death. And it was a tragedy. And in
no way do I want to diminish the sorrows and the sufferings
of the families and the friends that were involved in that. There
are a lot of grieving, heartbroken people right now. I'm certain
of that. And I'm sorry for their loss, the loss of parents, the
loss of their children, brothers and sisters and so forth. But
this message is meant to give us, God's people, those who profess
to be God's people, meant to give us some hope and some peace
in the midst of a sinful, increasingly sinful, exceedingly sinful and
violent world. And this should give us some
scriptural answers as to how and why things like this happen. Read it again. Read it with me
again, okay? Deuteronomy 32. And my father
used to say this, see now. You see here. I guess old southern
men used to say it that way. Now you see here, and this is
our Lord. See now, that I, even I am He. There is no God with me. I kill. And I make a lot. I wound. That means someone gets
sick or whatever. I do it. And I heal. Neither is there any that can
deliver out of my hand. What I purpose to do can't be
stopped. Now, this is God's word through
Moses. Moses' song. As I said, they're
singing this in heaven right now. And this is not the only
time that this is written. Do you remember Hannah's prayer?
She quoted this. And 2 Kings, it's quoted again,
the Lord kills and makes a lot. Very plainly, God's Word says,
I kill and I make a lot. Look with me at Isaiah chapter
45. Isaiah chapter 45. Now, we're
going to look at several verses of Scripture together. We're
going to stay in Isaiah. And turn over to the book of
Job. A few other places, but keep your place here in Isaiah
45. Isaiah 45. Now look at this with me. Verse
5 through 7. Now most of you know these verses. Everyone does not. I hope you're
looking at them, though. This is the Word of God. Not
the words of men. I am the Lord, verse 5. I am Thee, Lord, Thee, Lord. That means Thee, Sovereign, Ruler,
Controller. Thee, that means only one. I
am Thee, Lord. There is none else. There is no God beside me. I girded Thee, though Thou hast
not known me. that they may know from the rising
of the sun, east and from the west, that there is none beside
me. I am the Lord. There is none else. I form the
light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. Now somehow, some way, God Almighty
is in absolute control of all things. Even the sin and the
evil that men do works out God's will and God's purpose. Look at verse 9 here of Isaiah
45. He says, Woe unto them that striveth with his Maker. God is our Creator. Remember
that. That's the first truth we have
to come to. All human beings need to come
to. That God made us. Therefore, He owns us. Right? If you make something,
it's yours. He said, I am the potter. Look
at verse 9. Let the pot sherd strive with
the pot sherds of the earth, but shall the clay say to him
that fashioneth it, what makest thou? That is, you can't do that. Shall the clay say to him that
fashioneth it, he hath no hands? That's the first thing we need
to understand, is that God is our Creator. And being our Creator,
He owns us. And He said, cannot I do with
my own what I will. Romans 9, He says it, of the
same lump, to make one vessel under honor and another under
dishonor. What if God willing to show His wrath? What if God
willing to show His mercy? You can't reply against God.
He's the Creator. And it's no... That's why there is a worldwide
conspiracy to try to disprove creation. You see? If God is
not our Creator, then we don't answer to Him. He doesn't own
us. There is no personal being up there who owns us and who
is our owner and our judge. You see? If men can disprove
that, that's what they're trying to do. It can't be done. The
heavens declare His glory. The firmament showeth His handiwork.
Day unto day, others speak. There's no language where their
voice is not heard. His eternal power and Godhead is clearly
seen, but only a fool would say there's no God. He's our Creator,
verse 9. Our Creator. And He's the Potter. Okay? I said the first thing,
and that is, but here's another thing we need to understand about
God. We need to understand that we
cannot understand God. And that He must be a God we
cannot understand. Because if He's not, then He's
like us. Right? Fickle, finite, failing,
fallible, making plans, they get messed up, makes other plans.
It's not like that. He says, as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways and your way. He said, Thou thoughtest
I was altogether such a one as yourself. Psalm 50. But I'm not. He said, I'll set things in order
before you. I'll establish. He said to his people, I've chosen
you that you might know that I'm God. There's none else. That
I'm God and you're not. And no one else is. The Lord. The God. One of the first things
we need to understand about God is that we cannot understand
God. Because He is God. God is Spirit. What are we? Flesh. God is unseen. What do we live
by? Really now, what do we go by?
Sight. God is eternal. We'll find out. God knows the end from the beginning.
We know now. We don't know what the next moment's
going to bring. That's very fitting at this time. We don't know what the next moment's
going to bring. God, Acts 15, 18 says, Known
unto God are all his works from the beginning. Look at Isaiah
46. Isaiah 46, 10. Just turn over
one page. Verse 10, he says, declaring
the end from the beginning and from ancient time the things
that are not yet done. Say, my counsel shall stand.
I will do all my pleasure. That's our God. And I'm so glad. I'm glad that my destiny is in
His hand, aren't you? Job 33. Now hold Isaiah and turn
over to Job 33 with me. Job is acknowledged by most as
being the oldest book in the Bible. The actual first recorded
book in Scripture. Job, Job 33. And these words, you need to
be careful reading the book of Job. Well, all of God's Word, but
you need to know who is speaking. Because the Lord said of some
of these fellows that came to talk to Job, He said they didn't
speak that which is right concerning them. Remember that? There were three friends that
came to talk to Job, and they were mocking Job, and they were
trying to come up with answers as to why all this happened to
Job. They didn't know. And they were self-righteous
fellows. And they were accusing Job of all kinds of things he
wasn't guilty of. They were trying to come up with
answers. They were trying to figure out God. And God said,
they haven't spoken that which is right concerning that, that
Job did. And this man named Elihu did.
There's a young man that sat in the background while these
three older fellows talked for Counting Job. His name was Elihu,
and God sent him. And everything Elihu said was
inspired by God. Alright, these are the words
of young Elihu. Verse 13. Look at Job 33. He said, why dost thou strive
against him, that is God, for he giveth not account of any
of his matters. He giveth not account of any
of his matters. In other words, God does not
explain himself. He doesn't have to. He doesn't
need to. Right? Did your father, your
earthly father, ever say this to you when you were a young
person, when you'd ask him something or question something he was
doing? Did he ever say to you, because I said so? Huh? Most of the time he said that
when you were questioning his authority, when you were saying
something in rebellion to him. Right? Me. Me, anyway. Did your
dad ever say that to you, Stephen? Most of the time it was because
you were being rebellious. But why, Dad? Why? And there's
nothing he could say to make you understand. You weren't old
enough to understand, were you? You weren't capable of understanding.
There's no way. Our Lord said to His disciples
one time, He said, I have many things to say unto you, but you're
not able to bear them now. And so he would say, our father
would say, our earthly father would say to us, because I said
so, and that's good enough. Because I'm your father. He giveth
not account of his matter. But why? Don't strive with it. Don't do it. And don't cry. My dad used to
say this too. Ron, that's right. Or I'll give you something to
cry about. That's murmuring and complaining,
isn't it? We have very little to murmur and complain about.
Most of our lives have been spent with countless blessings. Many long years when we didn't
give God a thought. And then some troubles come along,
which we mean, or they wouldn't be. And we question him and murmur
and complain. Well, he giveth not account of
his matters. However, God, look at verse 14,
God speaketh once, Elihu says, God speaketh once, yea, twice. God has written the book, Sister
Jeanette, hasn't He? God has written a book, in essence,
to explain Himself. Hadn't He? Can a man by searching find out
God under perfection? No. No. But we can find out all
we need to know about God. He wrote a book. God has spoken
once, yea, twice. That means Old Testament and
New Testament. Through the Law and the Prophets. Through the
Prophets and the Apostles. By the Prophets and in the last
days by His Son. Once and twice, but men perceiveth
it not. That's what he said. Men don't
care. We're living in a day, our modern
day, though there are more Bibles owned by more people, this is
a day in which nobody cares what this book is saying. I mean,
really, they don't care. You know it's so, don't you?
can blatantly do things that are expressly
forbidden in God's Word publicly and not apologize for in the
name of God. Well, we'll not go there, but
God speaketh once. Psalm 19, don't turn there, but
you know that passage that talks about two books, the book of
creation. declares His glory. If God had never written this
book, there would be enough to know about Him to worship Him
in the creation. And then God wrote this book.
The commandment of the Lord is just and right. The fear of the
Lord is clean. You love that passage, don't
you? Psalm 19. Well, men don't pay
any attention. God wrote a book. As we said about the Proverbs,
remember? 870 Proverbs. Solomon wrote 3,000, but 870
were enough. Aren't they enough? One chapter,
chapter 8 is enough. Chapter 1. But how many Proverbs
does the average person know? One? I don't care. Men perceive it not. And then
things happen to men and women. And they wonder why. We read
that Moses' song, that whole song, that's what that was about,
wasn't it? How God, you know, led people and so forth and did
all He did for them and they provoked Him to anger and worshipped
gods that weren't gods and on and on it went. So He said so. And things happen and they wonder
why. They cry out. Go back to Isaiah
45 with me. They cry out, they cry unto God.
The only way we can understand our God and His purposes, as
we said, the only way is how He reveals Himself in this book. Okay? This is the only way that
we can understand. Modern philosophy. Right now,
all the experts are getting together. to ask how, why, what, what can
be done to stop this, and so on and so forth, aren't they? They grope. This book, God's
Word, says they grope for answers like blind men. This book says
they, meaning the people of this world, grope for answers as blind
people, as in the dark. They don't have any. Barbara,
there's only one place that we can look for any answers. Right? Only one place. Now look at this.
Our Lord says to us, now we are here as believers. That means we believe God. We
believe God is God. Don't we? Don't we, Vicki? We believe God's word, don't
we? This is God's word. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Really now, is there a doubt in your mind? Sherry, is there
a doubt in your mind? Honestly, there's not. Because God has
indeed proved himself through this book. And things that are
taking place are proving this book, aren't they? We believe God's word. So he
says, assemble yourself, verse 20. Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together. Well, here
we are. We're all huddled up, aren't we? That's good. This
is a good place to be. These are good people to rub
shoulders with, aren't they? You know, I'm real jealous of
this Wednesday night. This is my favorite service.
This is a time when we deal with things that the church deals
with. I mean, I speak to most everyone
in here as if everyone in here were believers. And we deal with
things, you know, mostly the promises of God to His people. Well, here we are. It says those
that are escaped of the nations. Escaped. No less than Lot, John. No less
than Lot we've escaped Sodom. How? The Lord laid hold on us. The Lord chose us, called us,
laid hold on us like a lot because we lingered, being merciful unto
us and drew us out, escaped to the nations. Assemble yourself. He said, They have no day. Here's
us, here's we, but here's they. They have no knowledge that set
up the wood of their graven image, that pray unto a God that cannot
save." Did you hear that? Right now, as I said, all these
experts are getting together to try to figure out why these
terrible things happen. And the religious leaders to
whom most people are turning to for answers right now, 999,000 out of a million, or more than
that, 999,900 out of a million are saying that God had nothing
to do with it. Aren't they? This is the leaders of people,
the religious leaders. Back in Elijah's day, There were
850 false prophets on Mount Carmel. And one man of God, Elijah. 851, that was years ago when
the population on the earth was, I don't know how many, just a
fraction of what it is now. So the ratio is, our Lord said
many false prophets in the last day. And the majority of them
are saying, these blind leaders, the Lord called them blind leaders
of the blind, Melanie groping in the dark. And to a man and
a woman, they're all saying, God had nothing to do with this.
God didn't want it to happen. Aren't they? You know they are.
You hear them. You once sat under pillows like
that, didn't you? Didn't you? You sure did. Sammy,
you and I were blessed. We never had to hear that, did
we? Christ called them blind leaders
of the blind. They're saying that God didn't
want this thing to happen, that God had nothing to do with it,
but it did happen, didn't it? It did. Now, they call our God a monster. Wouldn't you call a God who loves
somebody, who just doesn't want things to happen, a father at
all, he's standing over on the sideline and there's something,
some bad things going to happen and he doesn't do anything about
it. Isn't that a monster? A God that cannot save. Who needs it? What good is it? Everything's
happened and he can't do anything about it. He doesn't want it
to, but he does anyway. What good is it? Well, who do they ascribe it
to? Who do they ascribe this to?
Satan. That means Satan's more God than God is. Who should we be praying to then? Who should we be calling on to
stop it? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? And there's nothing more foolish
than the religious wisdom of this world. A God who cannot
say. Who needs him, Jeanette? Who
needs him? But now, you that are escaped
of the nations, By the sovereign grace of God, look at verse 21,
"...tell ye, bring them near, yea, let them take counsel."
Who had declared this from ancient times? Who had told it from that
time? Had not I the Lord? There is no God else beside me.
He keeps saying this, doesn't he? He keeps saying this, doesn't
he? Over and over throughout this book and others. Why? Well, you hear men today say
these very things. Let God be God. Make Him Lord. And God keeps reminding His people,
us, whom He hath revealed Himself to. He keeps reminding us, I
am God. He says, I am. Not, I want to
be. Not, I will be if. Not if you,
no, I am. That I am. There is none else. I love the
way he says that. There is no little G.O.D. with
me. There's no little God with me. There's nobody in charge
of anything except what I delegate. None. None. And he told Job, and Job started,
you know, trying to figure things out. And when it was all over,
he said, who is this? Remember that in Job 42? Who
is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? You
know, I thought Job was saying some pretty good things. God
says, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He said, where
were you? And he kept going. Charles, he
kept demanding of Job and all his friends, where were you when
I laid the foundation of the earth? Where were you when I made the
planet and I told the sea, I mean the mighty ocean, one wave of
which can kill a thousand sailors, when I told it to stop? Here's
a touche, you're coming no further. Tsunami, where'd it come from?
God sent it. Where were you, God kept saying,
when I did this? Had you not heard? Had you not
known? We have. And the only way we've
known is God revealed Himself through this Word. There is no
God. Satan is not God. Let's look at that. Job 1. Job
chapter 1. I was talking to a fellow on
the railroad years ago. And he was so religious. And
like most people, he sure hated the truth. And I was trying to
talk to him about our God and God's Word. And I brought up Job. And he got almost angry with
me. He said, everybody wants to talk
about Job. What do you want to talk about? The reason being is he
couldn't, there's nothing he could answer. There's no way
he could answer this. He couldn't argue with it. So
he didn't want to hear it. This is God's glory. And this
is our peace and our comfort. Look, this is all our comfort.
David said that. This is all my salvation. Look
at Job chapter 1. Job 1. Now, like we said, according
to blind fools, Satan is behind all the evil and he's doing as
he will and God can't stop him. Isn't that right? That's what
most say. What saith the Lord? Job chapter 1, look at verse
6. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the Lord. I don't know what this is talking
about. Neither do you. Neither does any man. But here
it is. And Satan came also among them.
He had to present himself. In other words, I don't know
what this was, but they had to come and Satan had to come too. Look at verse 7, And the Lord
said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? He knew where he came from. He made him. Huh? The angels created beings. Lucifer
was a created being. He was an angel. Our Lord said
in Isaiah 14, well Isaiah 14 talks about his fall. And our
Lord said, I beheld Satan fall. I was there. I put him down. I did. The Lord. I'm the Lord.
He wasn't. I was. I am. And I put him down. And he's on a chain. That's what Jude said. He's on
a chain. And all of them are. Look at that. Satan, whence comest
thou? I think he's mocking Satan. Satan
answered, from going to and fro in the earth, running around
like a chicken, walking up and down in it. Didn't the Lord say
that to his disciples, Satan hath desired thee to sift you
like wheat. Satan, as a roaring lion, seeketh
whom he may devour." Didn't the Lord say that? Well, look at
this. The Lord said unto Satan, Hast
thou considered my servant Job? There is none like him in the
earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and
escheweth evil. Of course, Satan had considered
him. He wanted him bad. He wanted to bring him down,
but he couldn't. Why? Satan answered, verse 9,
Job fears you for nothing. Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast thou not made an hedge about
him, and about his house, and about
all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of
his hand, and his substance is increased in the land. You've
hedged him about, I can't get to him. I can't touch him. Is it just one man he's talking
about? Is Job the only man on earth that God did that to him?
No, he said concerning all his people, he gives his angels charge
over them. Now look at what Satan says in
verse 10, verse 11. But, now here's Satan talking
to God. Satan says to God, put forth
thine hand. Now, you touch him, all that he hath,
and he'll curse you to your pain. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Behold, all that he hath is in thine hand. I'm giving you permission
to do something. Only would I give you permission
to do. Take away everything he has,
but you can't kill him. That's our God. Do you hear me? That's our God. That I, even I, am he. Satan answers to me, God said. Can't touch you. Oh, he desires
you. Sift you like wheat. Seeking
whom he may devour. But God's put a hedge about you.
Well, what happened? A tragedy. Terrible. Terrible tragedy. Look at this.
Job chapter 1. The Sabaeans, I'll paraphrase
it for you. The Sabaeans massacred. There
was a massacre of all of Job's servants. A massacre. A bloody massacre. Are you with
me? Where's my bell? There was a massacre. Killed
all of Job's servants. Men, women, young people. And
then, right after that, a fire fell and destroyed all of Job's
earthly possessions. Sheep, shepherds who kept them,
everything. And then he had sons and daughters.
Juanita, he had a bunch of children. And they were all partying in
a big house. They were all partying. A bunch of party animals. And a wind blew the house down
and killed them all. Who did it? I kill and I make a mess. God did it. Listen to Job. Let's hear what
Job said. Now, these are his children. You think he's grieving? Huh? You think he's grieving? These
are his children. He's lost everything and everybody,
except a worthless wife. And he said in verse 20, Job
arose, rent his mantle, shaved his head, fell down upon the
ground and worshiped. And Job said, naked came I out
of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord
gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of
the Lord. Job didn't sin or charge God
foolishly. Job did not know why God did
that. And the rest of this book is
spent with him trying to figure it out. Well, that's not all that happened
to Job, is it? Not all. God smote him from the
sole of his feet. Have you ever had a boil? Have you ever had a boil on your
body? One boil? God smoked him. He allowed Satan
to. But God didn't. I wouldn't. God
smoked him with boils from the bottom of his feet to the crown
of his head. And he sat in the ashes with
us, scraping his boils. That's one of God's children. Who did this? God did. Explain it. I can't. That's what
it says. He's a just God. Go back to Isaiah
45. I told you I was going to take all the time I need. I haven't
been in my allotted time yet. Isaiah 45. And the Bible studies
Sunday morning on disciples falling asleep three times. So you'll want to hear that.
I know you're weary, but folks, my, my, this is the most relevant
and helpful. Right now, we're most blessed
to know these things. It's only going to get worse.
Our children, your children are hearing this. And if they come to know this
God and trust this God, they have nothing to fear. You have
nothing to fear. This is your only hope. Margaret,
when they go out, this is your only hope. Who? God. Come what may. Well, Isaiah 45. He said, I'm
God, I'm a just God. Verse 20. Oh, don't you love
this verse? He said, I am a just God. Verse 21, just God, I'm a just
God. This is what Moses or Abraham
said. Abraham went down, was going
down to rescue his nephew Lot from Sodom. That's when Abraham
said that. He was going down to rescue his
Well, the Lord came to him and said, I'm going to destroy all
of Sodom. The wickedness of that city has
come up, and I'm going to destroy men, women, and children. People. People. People. And Abraham said, oh,
oh. He said, if you find twenty righteous
in the city, will you spare it? He said, I will. And he kept going down, didn't
he? Down to ten. Lord, if you find
ten, will you spare the city? I will. And this is when Abraham
said, Shall not the judge of the earth do right? Yes, he will. If you find ten, will you spare
the city? I will. He didn't find ten. As a matter of fact, there was
only one. And he sure didn't look like
it, did he? A lot. The Lord destroyed the city.
Shall not the judge of the earth do right? Yes, in all things,
in all ways, in everything that he does. Everything that he does
is right. Whatever God does is right. Whatever
happens is right, because God did it. Years ago, listen to this. Listen
here, I'm going to conclude this message in about 48 minutes. No, I'm just kidding. It won't be long, but this thing's
built into a wonderful climax, okay? Years ago, there was a book written
that pretty much sums up modern theology. It went this way. I think some so-called preacher
wrote it. It's called When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
Do you remember when that came out back in the 70s or whatever?
When Bad Things Happen to Good People. That pretty much sums
up modern That's the assumption of all, really, is that men and
women are basically good people. And then bad things happen to
these poor, innocent, good people. Isn't that what folks think?
Circumstances happen to them. Environment happens to them.
They're victims of the environment. Satan happens to them, makes
them go bad. Their mama or their daddy treated them bad, so they
just turned out bad. It wasn't their fault. They're
basically good people that just went bad. That's not what this book teaches.
As a matter of fact, this book teaches exactly the opposite.
Scripture says in Psalm 14, the Lord looked down from heaven
upon the children of men to see if there were any. Any. And what did he conclude? And this is quoted throughout
the scripture. He says there's none that doeth good. No, not
one. Isn't that what he said? Before the flood, before the flood, it says God
looked at man. Let me, I wrote it down here.
He said, listen to this, in Genesis 6, right before God sent tsunami,
if you want to call it, the flood, God saw that every imagination
of man's heart was only evil every day. Ed, you know that
scripture, don't you? Genesis 6, 5, and 6. That's what
it says. That's what God said. And he
went on to say it repented him that he had made man upon the
earth. He said, I will destroy man. He's a just God. He's holy. You
cannot explain things that happen by the love of God. The only
way you can explain it is the holiness of God and the wrath
of God against sin. God is just. He said first, I
am a just God. I do what's right. I give people
what's right. And a Savior. And he said, I'm a savior. I give some people grace. I give some people salvation. None of them deserve it. It said
there right after that, right after he said, I'm going to destroy
man. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. I know one man that sings of
the sovereign mercy and grace of God. His name is Noah. In
the midst of a wicked and perverse generation, God chose him to
reveal himself to. And his sons, Shem, Ham, and
Japheth, and their wives, and put them all on an ark in a boat,
which is Christ, and saved them. Spared them from that untoward
generation, from that wicked people. And then, Kelly, after
it was over, after the flood, oh my. Then after it was over,
God said the same thing. He said, though the imagination
of man's heart is wicked. Who's He talking about? Job,
Shem, Ham, and Jacob. They're sinners, but they found
grace. God spared them. God spared them. Put them in
an ark. So this book, you know what this
book is about? It could be renamed. We could rename this book. You
know what I'm going to say? When good things happen to bad
people. Couldn't it? This whole book,
from Genesis to Revelation, is about when good things happen,
good and good, to bad people. That's God's theology. Let me give you an illustration
in closing. Romans 8 says this, that those
who are called according to God's purpose, all things work together
for good. All things. Doesn't it? My neighbor said to me the other
day, she told her preacher when her husband died that she didn't
want him reading Romans 8, 28. And I can see why. You know,
that's about all they read at funerals. She said this too,
I don't want you reading Psalm 23. What did he do? He didn't. He's
a hireling. He's going to do what a woman
with money tells him to do. That would have been the first
thing I would have read. But anyway, she doesn't believe
that. All things work together for
good. This is all our hope, isn't it?
All our peace, all our comfort. All things work together for
good. for good. It doesn't say for, you know,
maybe most things, all things, all things. And so since God's
ways are not our ways and God's thoughts are not our ways, the
things that we think are bad. Right. Let me give you some illustrations,
God had and all the Israelite babies, listen, listen, God had all the Israelite babies
killed, massacred. Do you know the grief
of those mothers? Nobody knows except one that's
lost one. Who did that? God said, I killed. Didn't He? Didn't He? Could that
have happened had God not? No. I thought about this one lone
gunman. I mean, God couldn't stop one pinhead, puny little
guy. God couldn't stop him. Come on
now. God had all the Israelite babies
in Egypt, not Israelite, but all the Egyptian, yeah, all the
Israelite killed. Firstborn. Killed. To spare one. To put one in a basket. One baby in a basket. And put
him out in a river. Because this is the only way
that Pharaoh's daughter is going to have him. And he's going to be raised in
Pharaoh's house. He's going to be raised in the
most noted schools of the day. He's going to have all the wisdom
that the world can afford him. And then he's going to deliver
Israel. That's not the way we would have
done it. Great grief for all the parents Oh, it's indescribable. Scripture says this over and
over. Rachel howling for her children. And they were not. But great mercy for those babies. Every one of them went to be
with the Lord. They didn't have to grow up in
slavery. Feel the whip, great mercy. Here's
a man, here's another one, a man being used by God to spread the
gospel all over the world. Greatest theologian ever lived,
greatest preacher ever, the man used by God greater than any
other, even more than Moses. Apostle Paul. God said, I'm going to use you
to spread this gospel all over the world. And He was. And then
one day, they got Him and they threw Him in a dark dungeon in
a jail cell. And He stayed there until they
cut His head off. Why? Well, so He would have time
to write several letters. So he'd sit down, and various
men would come to him. His eyesight was bad, and they'd
take dictation. He wrote several letters, fourteen
of them to be exact. And we have them now. And that
gospel went all over the world. It went further by doing that
than it would have if he hadn't been put in prison. We wouldn't
have done it that way, would we? My, my. And in these last days, the greatest
illustration of all, the greatest illustration of
all is God's purpose. And this is, it's all revolving
around there. God sent his son into this world to save an innumerable
people. People that no man can number.
He hasn't numbered. God sent his son into this world
to save people. How? By killing him. By killing him. Did you hear that? By killing
him. Like a corn of wheat. And on and on we could go. In
our day, in our time, there are illustrations of many young,
vital mothers with children, members of churches stricken
with cancer. Men who are right-hand members
of the church and children. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. He knew every one of them. He
knew everything about them. Whether or not they knew him,
I don't know. But he knew everything about them, Vicki. And man's
days are determined. The number of his months are
with the Lord. His bounds are set. He cannot pass. The Lord hath determined the
very means of our death. And nobody can stop it. And what
is that? Is this fatalism? No, it's truth. It's our God. And God is just. And every soul, as days are numbered,
the instrument of their death is already determined by the
Lord. And you know, I brought this up to you not long ago. You remember this number 6500. Sixty-five hundred. Anybody remember
that? Sixty-five hundred. That's how many people died today
in the United States of America. Today. People can't see the forest with
trees, Debra. I had a thing here I was going
to read you, but I'm not going to do it. It's what people die
of. About 18,000 people die a year
of flu. Can't cure the flu. Who sent it? 6,500 people a day. And they don't consider it. They
don't consider it. And He said to us, Oh, that they
were wise, in Moses' song, and consider their latter end. Here's
the thing. The end. The end. The end of everyone who fears
God, the end of everyone who trusts the sovereign Lord, is
indescribably good and glorious. The end. The end. We have here no continuing city.
We look for one whose builder and maker is God. Scripture says
weeping may endure for a night. And we go through these things,
and we're all going to go through them. Death has disappointed
all of us, and God determined the mean. But He says to His
people, joy, indescribable, unending joy, cometh in the morning, that
morning being one eternal, bright morning, like the sun coming
up. Joy. Come at the end. Oh, the
end is what's important, you see. This world has a dire prophecy
concerning this world. But the end for God's people
is good. Say ye to the righteous, those in the ark, it shall be
well with you. The end. Okay. That's the end. Stand with me. Our God, we thank You that Thou
art God. Thank You for letting us know,
revealing Yourself to us. And though we preach in part,
we know in part, yet we are glad for what we know. And when someday all things will
be very clear, we'll know even as we've been known. We look
forward to that great day. We really do. The Lord teach
us to trust you, to fear you and not fear man. Let us say
with the psalmist, whom shall I fear and what shall I be afraid?
We trust in the Lord. He is our strength, our protection. We thank you for your protecting
grace. We do ask for your protection.
We call upon you Watch over our children, all these things. But
Lord, let us rest in knowing that Thou art God, and beside
Thee there is none else, and all things according to Your
good and perfect will, and work together for our good. We have
met together in Christ's name to give You all honor and glory.
Amen. Thank you very much.