We believe, according to the Word of God, according to the Scriptures, that our God is a God of purpose. He's a God of absolute, unalterable purpose. He's a God whose purpose must be and will be accomplished. Nothing can change Him from doing that which He purposed eternally. Everything that has been, everything that is, everything that shall ever be was purposed by God from eternity. It may seem like to us that things in this world are kind of like a maze. It's time of year, people have big cornfields and they cut a maze through it. People get in there wandered this way and that way. It may seem like to us that's the way our lives are, that's the way the events of the world are. But it's not a maze to God, it's his purpose being fulfilled. No matter what he does, no matter what happens, no matter who governs, No matter the events in the world, no matter the tornadoes or the hurricanes or the tragedies of life as we tend to call them, no matter that, no matter whatever happens, our God is exercising his purpose. Nothing exists, nothing moves, nothing happens apart from the sovereign will of God. Everything in the universe is moving toward a predestinated end. And God in old eternity, having ordained all things, is bringing everything along the exact route that He has purposed. And He will bring everything to consummation someday. And then the saints of God will everlastingly praise our Lord and say, Father, you have purposed all things well. And we will look back, the saints of God, we will look back, and I don't know how much knowledge we will have of our lives here on this earth. But I think we will be, I'm confident that we will be very much aware that all along life's way, we were led by the gracious providence of our God. The Bible talks about the purpose of God quite often. Romans 8, 28, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his Last word is purpose, his purpose. In Romans 9 and verse 11, the apostle writes concerning Jacob and Esau, he says, the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand not of works, but of him that calleth. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 11 he says, in whom we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. And here in Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 11 we read this, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Our God is not making any new purposes. He's not making any new decrees. The Lord doesn't react to men. We react to the purpose of God. And that which God has purposed, He will always fulfill. In 2 Timothy 1-9 we read, who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Here are a few things about the purpose of God. Number one, the purpose of God precedes time. The purpose of God is eternal. Secondly, the purpose of God includes all, all things, all things spiritual, all things temporal, all things that will ever happen. Here's the third thing. The purpose of God has for its particular and peculiar design, the spiritual and eternal benefit of the people of God. Everything God has ever purposed, everything, everything God has ever purposed is for the ultimate spiritual and eternal benefit of God's elect. That's why He made the world for His people. That's why he keeps life on this earth. It's the reason he made this earth in such a way that the elect of God could live in this atmosphere, in this environment. It's true that those who know not God, who will never know God, they benefit from the things that God has made and from the environment that he has created. But make no mistake about it, it's first and foremost for his beloved ones. It's for his elect. And then I'll tell you this about the purpose of God. It's unchangeable and sure. That which God does, he has always purposed to do. And the Lord declares in Isaiah 46 and verse 10, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. You see, the purpose of God pertains to all things, nothing excluded. I can't explain it, but it pertains to the existence of Satan. It pertains to the existence of sin. It pertains to everything. Now let me say this about the purpose of God in grace. Three things. And there needs to be three things stated because we're Trinitarians. The Bible is a book about the Trinity, the Trinity. The Father is set forth in this book as the fountain of all grace. He proposed redemption. He held the everlasting counsel of grace, though that was not a thing that happened in time, that has eternally been so. It's all traced in the Bible back to the Father. He's the origin of grace. And secondly, God the Son is always set forth as that channel of grace. He's the conduit of grace. How does the grace of the Father ever come to us? How can we ever be the recipients of so marvelous and so glorious a salvation that God has ordained in purpose from old eternity? Well, here's how it comes to us through this channel, this pipeline, this conduit of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the channel of all grace. He's the only mediator between God and me and the man Christ Jesus. And thirdly, God the Holy Spirit is set forth as the administrator, the manager, the director, the distributor as it were of the grace of God. I was reading an old writer today and he made this observation and I like the way he worded it. He said, the Spirit of God oversees the dispensing of the grace of God to chosen, redeemed sinners. I like the way that's worded. The Holy Spirit oversees it. In other words, he, according to the purpose of God, directs the grace of God to the hearts that God has chosen unto salvation and those for whom the Lord Jesus Christ lived, died, and arose. For it's the Spirit who regenerates the dead. It's the Spirit who uses the Word of God that incorruptible seed that liveth and abideth forever. It's the Spirit of God who gives us faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the Spirit of God who back in Ephesians chapter 1 is said to seal us, to preserve us in Christ. But let me go back and talk about the Son of God a little bit more. There is no other way by which the grace of God comes to sinners except through Christ the Savior. And that is, be careful here, it's the Christ as he is revealed in the Word of God. See, there are a lot of religions, there are a lot of denominations, there are a lot of so-called churches who talk about Christ. And they say good things about Christ. But we must make sure that when somebody talks about the grace of God through Christ, they're talking about the eternal Son of God. He's not a God. He's not one of many sons of God. He's God over all, blessed forever. Why? Creation is credited to Him. And divine providence is attributed to Him. And salvation is traced to Him. He created, He governs, He rules. He is as much God as the Father is. He is as much God as the Holy Spirit is. And though people may say some nice things about Jesus of Nazareth, if they're not talking about the God of glory, they're not talking about the right Savior. In other words, there's no use talking about that which He did, unless we first of all talk about who did it. Who did it? He's the Son of God. You see, it was in Him that Psalm 85, 10 was fulfilled. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other in the Christ of the cross. I read something about John Bunyan. You ever read anything about Bunyan? Pilgrim's Progress, perhaps? We have copies of Pilgrim's Progress in the book room, in the bookstore, if you want to read, and in the library. You don't even have to buy it. But I read this by John Bunyan. It's an excellent quote. He said, O thou son of the blessed, grace stripped thee of thy glory. Grace brought thee down from heaven. Grace made thee bear such a heavy burden of sin. Grace made thee bear the burden of the curse. Grace was in thy heart. Grace came bubbling out of thy bleeding side. Grace was in thy tears. Grace was in thy prayers. Grace streamed down from thy thorn-crowned brow. Grace came forth from the nails that pierced thy hands. Grace came forth from the thorns that pricked thee. Oh, here are the unsearchable riches of grace. Grace to make sinners happy. Grace to make angels wonder, and grace to make devils astonished. That's a good quote by John Bunyan. And I want you to know this, Christ is preeminent in the purpose of God. Certainly in all the scriptures, and I talked about that here just a few weeks ago. But let me talk about Christ being preeminent in the purpose of God concerning salvation. I'll give them to you quickly. Christ is preeminent in the election of sinners unto salvation. For you see in Ephesians 1 we read we were chosen in Christ, in Christ, unto salvation. And then the blessings of God are in Christ. There are no divine blessings outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. The mercies of God, there's a sense in which the mercies of God are worldwide. But true blessings of grace are only found in Christ. And unless Christ in His glory, Christ in His person, Christ in His work, Christ in His righteousness, Christ in His bloody death, and in His glorious resurrection, unless we see that everything God has for us is in Christ, then we really don't understand the blessings of God. He doesn't bless everybody. Not in the same way he blesses his people, but he only blesses us in Christ. And then, what about predestination? In chapter one, in love, God predestinated us under the adoption of children and predestinated us to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, in Ephesians 1, 6, we read that there is no acceptance with God, no acceptance with God with no exceptions, no acceptance with God except through Christ. And I want to tell all of you and everybody who's watching and anybody who might listen to this CD or watch this DVD at some point down the road, God will not accept you outside of Jesus Christ. You may think you're a good person, that you are a law-abiding individual. God will not accept you outside of Christ. And again, I say, no exceptions. And I've had people say to me things like, well, what about the people who have never heard? What about these people who believe different than we do? No exceptions. There's one way of acceptance with a holy God. And that's through Christ. And that's the only way. That's the only way. What about redemption? In whom we have redemption through? His blood. No redemption outside of Christ. He bought us. He didn't buy salvation for us, not really. He bought us for salvation. We were redeemed, Peter says, by the precious blood of Christ. There was a ransom placed upon us according to the justice of God. And Christ said, I will pay the ransom. And so the Lord says in the book of Job, the Lord said, I have found a ransom. Release them from going down to the pit. Who is the ransom? It's Christ and his death. Justification, the declaration of being righteous. We're justified freely by God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. I'm telling you, as you look through the scriptures concerning every facet of salvation in the purpose of God, it's all in Christ. Forgiveness, redemption, justification, and forgiveness all go hand in hand. It's impossible not to have forgiveness where you have redemption and justification. Regeneration. What is regeneration? The Savior said to Nicodemus, you must be born again. What is regeneration? Well, Paul puts it this way, it's Christ being formed in you because He's our life. That's why Paul says, when Christ, who is our life, shall return, shall come again. He said to the disciples, the 11 disciples there in John 14, I am the way, the truth, and the life. How long will you remain spiritually living, spiritually alive? As long as Christ is in you. And where He takes up His habitation, He abides forever. He's our life. Sanctification. I listened. Someone asked me to listen to a particular preacher. I won't give his name. But he suggested that I listen to this preacher and I listened to him. And he talked about growth and holiness. And he says, as we grow in holiness, we become less and less like the world and more and more like Christ. I got news for you. We don't grow in holiness and we don't grow in sanctification. We're not making any progress in sanctification. You either are sanctified, you either are holy in Christ Jesus, or you're not. He is our sanctification, 1 Corinthians. Who of God, Christ of God, is made unto us? Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, that's holiness. and redemption. Well, that covers it all, doesn't it? Therefore, let him that glorieth glory in the Lord. See, my sanctification is seated on the right hand of God right now. And it got there by way of a bloody cross. And God exalted him. And the holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ has been given to us. Say, well, you don't look holy, Jim. Well, in myself, I'm not. And I'm not growing in holiness either. But in Christ, God can't find any fault in me. because it's the beauty of his son. It's the holiness of his son. Preservation, it's Christ who keeps us. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life. He gives us eternal life and he maintains that eternal life. We're in his hand. He's in the Father's hand. We're preserved. Resurrection? These bodies are gonna have to die. I talked about that a little bit at the grave site yesterday. Gotta go back to the ground. But when Christ comes back, he'll raise our vile bodies and they'll be fashioned like his glorious body. Like he said to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. As surely as he was raised from the dead, so shall we be. and our bodies will be conformed to his glorious body. And he's our glorification. When we've been raised up from the dead in that last day, when the trumpet shall sound, When all of the dead in Christ have been raised, we shall be glorified together, transformed into the very image of our Lord Jesus Christ, made to possess that very glory that he now possesses as our glorified mediator. We will be made like him. Don't misunderstand, we won't be little gods. but we'll be glorified. And forevermore, according to God's eternal purpose, our voices of praise will be directed toward the Lamb of God. For all of the Trinity is to be beheld in the Lord Jesus Christ. And in eternity, the Father and the Spirit will be praised in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because that's how God has purposed it. To the praise of the glory of our great Redeemer. Well, let's sing a closing song. It's a blessing to you. I enjoyed preparing that message. Let's turn to number 300, more secure. We are secure in Christ. More secure is no one ever like the children of God. Hymn number 300, let's stand together.