Thank you. I'm going to begin this evening
in the book of Ephesians, chapter 1. Ephesians, chapter 1. I want to read one verse, verse
11, Ephesians chapter one. My subject is God's purpose regarding Christ Jesus. God's purpose regarding Christ
Jesus. Ephesians 1 and 11, in whom,
and you know this, most of you know this, but it needs to be
repeated often. that everything we have as the
children of God is ours in Christ Jesus. We were blessed with all
spiritual blessings in Christ. We were chosen in Christ. We
were adopted in Christ. We were accepted in Christ, redeemed
by Christ, bought by Christ. And here he says, in Christ Jesus,
Also, we have obtained an inheritance. He speaks of it as that which
is ours already. We have already obtained an inheritance
because you see, if God purposed it, you may as well mark it down. It is as good as done. The scripture says that God calls
those things that be not as though they were. If God has determined
something to happen, well, you can, as we say, take it to the
bank. It's sure. So in him, in Christ Jesus, also
we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. Now you know, I'm sure, that
the God of the Bible is the God of purpose. Everything that ever
happens, happens because God has purposed it to happen. I'm sure that all of us, and
this is true of every man, woman, boy, and girl, we have all on
occasion set out to do something and we really didn't have a real
detailed purpose of how we would arrive at accomplishing that
which we wanted. And sometimes we kind of work
it out as we go. And maybe our purpose has to
be changed or altered, something like that, just like we was talking
about the roof a while ago. If they run into some rotted
boards, well, that's gotta be taken care of. That's unforeseen. And that's the way it is with
us. We do things, and there are things that we don't have any
control over. And though we may purpose things,
we can't purpose every single detail because we don't know
what we might run into as we pursue that which it is we want
to accomplish. Sometimes we even act without
thinking, without considering the exact way that we will arrive
at that which we hope to accomplish. That person who is wise and reasonable
and thoughtful will give deliberate consideration to that which they
want to happen and the best way that you can achieve your purposed
intent. Well, our God is all wise. And in old eternity, our great
and glorious God purposed all things that would ever, ever
happen. Big things, little things. He, God designed all things. He ordained all things. And nothing
is ever going to happen that is outside the control or the
purpose of God. God didn't create all things
and then abandon the works of his hands, leaving creation up
to mankind to do with according to that which they desired. God
is a hands-on creator, and he is working his purpose in everything,
and it doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't matter what kind
of person you're talking about. I mean, you can even consider
the most evil creature who has ever existed, and that's the
devil. Yet nothing, nothing that Satan
has ever done or will do ever comes to pass except that which
God purposed for him to do. If God hadn't purposed that he
exist, that Satan exist, he wouldn't have existed. You believe that? I believe that. It's what scripture
says. If God hadn't purposed that this
thing called sin exist, well, sin wouldn't have existed. If
God had not purposed that Adam would deliberately defy God and
fall into sin if God hadn't purposed that. He didn't make him sin,
but he made him in such a way that he would sin. If that hadn't
been purposed, it never happened. But you see, the fall of Adam,
and consequently our fall in Adam, that took place so that
God would reveal and manifest His greatest glory, which is
the salvation of sinners like you and me through a suitable
substitute, our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, three great truths give
me comfort. Every time I'm in a little bit
of a trial or something like that. I fall back on these three,
and you should too. There are three great and valuable
truths that you ought to always lean on, especially in times
of trouble, trial. These things will provide relief
for your soul. Number one, the purpose of God.
That's what I've been talking about here for the last couple
of minutes, the purpose of God. Since God purposed all things,
then we must necessarily reach this conclusion that everything
that ever happens will accomplish God's will. Everything. We read in Ecclesiastes, and
those of you who lived through the 60s, and you remember the
60s song, The Birds, no relation to me that I know of. They sang
a song based on that passage of scripture in the book of Ecclesiastes. To everything there is a season. To everything there is an appointed
and determined time, and a time to every purpose under heaven. You get that? There's a time
for every purpose under heaven. Well, whose purpose? That's God's purpose. Is there a time for all of your
purposes to come to pass? No. Because what you purpose to do
and what I purpose to do, it all depends on whether God has
purposed for it to be done the way we intend for it to be done. Our purpose never cancels out
or outweighs or frustrates what God has purposed. And if what
I have purposed to do with my puny little brain, having weighed
things out, if what I have purposed to do is not according to what
God has purposed to be done, then my purpose will fall by
the wayside. And that's the way it is with
yours too. You see here in Ephesians 1.11,
we learn that God's the God of purpose. And He necessarily had
to predestinate all things in order for His purpose to come
to pass. He had to. So therefore, this One who purposed
all things and predestinated all things, He must have all
power, He must have all wisdom, He must have all knowledge, and
he must have absolute control over everything, both good and
evil. There's a passage in Isaiah 46,
11. You got a minute? Turn over there
to it. I'm gonna get you to turn to
several scriptures with me, and I want you to go to this one
with me, Isaiah chapter 46. And verse 11, Isaiah 46 in verse
11. In fact, I'll back up to verse
10, Isaiah 46, 10. The Lord says, declaring the
end from the beginning. You know what that means, in
the beginning, before time began, in the beginning, God declared
what's gonna happen all the way to the end of time and into eternity. So we're out here in eternity,
what I call eternity past. I don't have a patent or a copyright
on that, but that's the way I look at it. Back yonder in eternity
past, God purposed all things And everything during time is
fulfilling his purpose all the way till time is no more. God purposed all things. He declared
from the beginning. Who did he declare this to? Well, it means he declared this
to be his will, his purpose. All these things are gonna happen.
Well, creation took place roughly 6,000 years ago. And I'm persuaded
that God in his infinite wisdom, in his determination to prove
men to be foolish, he created things so that they look ancient.
They look old. And so man comes along with his
brilliance and says these things are millions and millions of
years old. Man's only been here roughly
6,000 years, give or take. So, back then, in the beginning,
all the way to whenever the end of time's going to be. I don't
know when it's gonna be. There are a lot of date setters.
A lot of people say, well, surely the Lord's coming back now because
things have never been this bad before. I beg your pardon. They have been this bad. because
man is no worse today as far as his depravity is concerned
than he's ever been. We're not, evidently we have
the limit of the transgressions, the iniquities of this world
have not reached that limit that God has set. Because when that
When the world reaches that limit, when iniquity has been fulfilled,
or completely filled, and all of God's people have been brought
into the salvation of God, that's when the end will come. So, He
declared from the beginning, everything, all the way to the
end. And things are happening just
exactly the way he declared that they would. And from ancient
times, the things that are not yet done, things that are not
yet done now, what does God say? He says, my counsel shall stand,
I'll do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, like he did to feed Elijah. The man that executed
my counsel from a far country, that's Cyrus, who freed the Jews out of Babylonian
captivity. And God says, yea, I have spoken
it. I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it. There it is. I have purposed
it. Whenever something happens, anything,
Let's say at the end of today, maybe you turn on the nightly
news or whatever tomorrow night. All the things that have happened,
you can say, my God purposed all those things. He purposed
all those things. Now that's the purpose of God.
Here's the second thing that gives me great comfort. That
is the providence of God. For you see this last statement,
I have purposed it, there's God's purpose. I will also do it, there's
the providence of God right there. That's him bringing his purpose
to pass. I had a, and I appreciated the
email. I get emails from people and
a lot of times they ask me questions. And I had a fellow wrote me not
too long ago, perhaps he's watching tonight, and he said, would you
give me a good clear definition of what providence is. And I did. It's God working out
His purpose. When did God purpose all things? Before the world began, back
in eternity. Well, what is providence? Here's
what providence is. God doing His will, working His
will out during this thing we call time. He's doing what he
purposed. And that gives me comfort. Providence, you see, is the daily,
constant, sovereign rule of God over all things for the accomplishment
of his eternal will and purpose. That's what providence is. And
if you know God, you get a lot of comfort from that. What is predestination? It is
God's sovereign, eternal, immutable, unchangeable, unalterable purpose. What is divine providence? That's
the accomplishment of God's purpose. That's God working out his purpose.
And there's your good theology lesson for tonight. That's good
Bible doctrine right there. Learning something about God.
Predestination is God's purpose. Providence is God bringing his
purpose to pass. And we know that all things work
together, Romans 8, 28, for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. And then I said three things
that greatly encouraged me. One's the purpose of God. Number
two is the providence of God. And the third thing is the purchase
of God. Tell you what helps me is to
remember, meditate upon, think upon the fact Christ paid my
debt of sin. I can't be condemned. I can't
be. I'm not under the law. The law
condemns to death everybody who's under the law. But God's law has been fulfilled
for me and satisfied by my Lord Jesus Christ who purchased me
in his redemption by blood. I have nothing to fear from the
justice of God. I have nothing to fear from the
judgment of God. When I stand before the Lord
and in the last day, and I'll bring it out in the message in
just a little bit, we must all stand before the judgment seat
of Christ. We must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ. When I stand there, I believe in that day the people
of God will stand in boldness. because we will stand having
been washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and robed in
the garments of God's own salvation. He's the one who has clothed
us. And when God looks at all of
his people, when he looks at you, he sees his son. That's why he's well pleased.
And if that doesn't help you, If that doesn't motivate you
to honor God by believing Him and resting in Christ and seeking
to do those things that are honoring to God, if the substitutionary
death of Christ for you doesn't cause you to seek the glory of
God, I don't think you understand what substitution is. This gives me great comfort.
I'm debt free. I don't owe God anything. Well,
I know that I give him thanks, I give him worship, pitiful though
it may be, yet I worship him and I give him thanks through
Christ Jesus, my Lord, in whom God sees me always. Those three things help you.
Purpose of God, the providence of God, and the purchase of God.
I'm bought and paid for. I'm somebody else's property. Our Lord Jesus, my Lord Jesus,
he paid a debt he did not owe, and I owed a debt I couldn't
pay. And he stepped in and says, Father,
I'll take his indebtedness, charge it all to me, put his iniquities
on me, charge his transgressions to me. I will pay every farthing
that he owes. And that's what he did. and before a holy and righteous
God, I owe nothing. So how do you know, Jim? God's
brought me to believe Christ. Now, that brings me to my subject,
and I'm just going to touch on these. I could preach a message
on each one of them, and maybe in time I will. But this brings
me to talk to you about the purpose of God regarding The purpose
of God regarding Christ. And I want to show you things
that must happen to the Son of God. Now go back to that passage
in Luke 2. And be ready, I'm going to give
you several references to look at because I don't have time
to spend much, I can't spend too much time on any of them.
But I want to show you these. And sometimes I'll just read
them, sometimes I'll quote them, sometimes I'll have you look
at them. But Luke chapter two, this is a passage that Matt read
to us a little earlier. Our Lord Jesus is being taken
by Joseph and married to Jerusalem, as was accustomed for them to
do. They went to Jerusalem, it's
the feast of the Passover. All the Jewish males had to go
to Passover, then 50 days later, Pentecost, and then in the fall,
the Feast of Tabernacles. That was required of all the
Jewish men. But for Passover, and for the
other two as well, a lot of women went. Wasn't mandatory for them,
mandatory for the men. But here, Joseph and Mary take
a 12-year-old boy, He's the Lord of glory, Christ
Jesus. Can you in your, deep in your
imagination, can you imagine the Son of God who is eternal
and all glorious, the creator of all things? Can you imagine
that Son of God joining with our flesh And growing up, he
swaddled when he was a baby. Had to be diapered, fed, dependent
upon his earthly mother. Mary was not the mother of God.
No way. She's a mother of the human nature
of our Savior. She gave birth, this virgin gave
birth to Jesus, our Lord. And he was dependent upon her. I can't comprehend that, because
you see, the whole time when he was an infant, as God, he's
upholding all the world by his own power. There's no way you
can comprehend that. That just defies all human logic. When it comes to the duality
of the natures of our Lord Jesus, divine and human in one body,
and you can't divide them, you'll never figure that out. You say,
well, maybe we will in glory. We'll have more understanding
and more wisdom. That's the greatest thing. Without
controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest
in the flesh. And there the Son of Man, the
Son of God, grows up. He's 12 years old. He's a 12-year-old
young man. Ever learning, just absorbing,
his human nature absorbing knowledge. God can't learn anything. Our Lord Jesus grew in wisdom
and in stature and in favor with men and God. Let the theologians
debate that, I'll just rejoice in it. And as Matt read to us, Joseph
and Mary Yeah, they're going about the temple in Jerusalem
and our Lord Jesus is answering questions and asking questions.
Just his mind was like a sponge. His human nature. And most likely when they traveled
to Jerusalem, he was with either the women or the men. And because
they usually kind of, in the caravan, went separately. When
he came back, evidently he wasn't with one group or the other.
He wasn't with one group or the other, but I suppose that the
women thought he was with the men, and the men thought he was
with the women. I don't know how that worked out, but they
supposed that he was with them. That's the greatest tragedy of
all, is to suppose that the Savior's with you, and he's not. Maybe that's the way it is with
some of you? Some of you who are watching,
you just suppose, well, I've been in church all my life, Jim.
I suppose the Savior's with me. That's a great supposition. You see, eternal life is to know. It's to know God in Christ Jesus. Now, don't guess about this.
Well, I assume I've been in church all my life, been in Sunday school.
I was enrolled in Sunday school from the cradle roll. Well, bless
your heart, that's good. But that didn't mean everything's
all right in your heart between you and God. Don't suppose he's with you.
Do you know him? Do you know him? Well, once they found out his mission,
well, they hightailed it back to Jerusalem. And they got him
alone, and they began to verbally chastise him. Why have you dealt with us this
way, he said. They said to him. And Mary said,
your father and I, we've sought thee with sorrowing. We thought
something bad happened to you. You know how you parents, you
know what it feels like for your child when he was growing up
and to get lost in the crowd or something. You're missing
him. Boy, all of a sudden, you get
nervous. And at verse 40, 49, he says,
how is it that you sought me? Wished you not, now watch this,
I must be about my father's business. I must be, I have to be. You see, this is the purpose
of God regarding Christ. He was there in the temple as
a student, but also as a teacher. He's there because God purposed
for him to be there. And he says to them, don't you
know, I must be, I must be about my father's business. And he
was always about his father's business. He said in John nine, verse four,
I must work the works of him that sent me while it's day,
the night cometh when no man shall work. Christ came on a
mission. God sent his son not to condemn
the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He
came to save his people. That's the Father's will. So
number one, Christ must attend to the will of God. What's the purpose of God regarding
Christ Jesus? Christ must suffer, bleed, and
die in order to save his people from their sins. Turn over, turn
back to Matthew chapter 16. And I'm gonna move along here.
Matthew chapter 16. Peter has made a tremendous declaration
of the identity of the Lord Jesus. And he said, you're the son of
God. You're the son of the living
God. And after that, verse 21, from that time forth, right after
that declaration of who he is, from that time forth began Jesus
to show or manifest on his disciples how that he must go. There's
that word must, that's the key word. He must go into Jerusalem
and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and
scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day. He
must. He must suffer. He must bleed. He must die. He must. Why must
he do that? Because we've sinned. Somebody's
got to answer for our sins. That's the Lord Jesus. See, the
death of Christ was no accident. It was on purpose. It happened
on purpose. Christ said to Nicodemus, as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, what's
the next word? Must the Son of Man be lifted
up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have
eternal life. In Luke 22, 7, it says the Passover
must be killed. It must, why? Because God purposed
it, that's why. God's Passover lamb must be killed. He must suffer, he must bleed,
he must die on the cursed tree. Why? Because God purposed it.
You say, well, didn't wicked men nail him to the cross? Yes,
wicked Romans. Didn't the Jewish religious leaders
who despised him, didn't they kind of arrange everything? Yes,
they did, as according to their wills. But whose purpose is behind
it all? That's the purpose of God. Because
I'm gonna tell you something, that's the only way God could
in justice ever save you. That's the only way. Somebody
said, well, he could have saved us any way he wanted to. Maybe he could have just snapped
his finger and we'd be saved. You insult the wisdom of God
in killing his son for sinners when you say stuff like that.
You charge God with the death of his son foolishly. There was no other way, because
God's holiness demanded a perfect sacrifice to put away the sins
of His people, and only the death of His darling Son could do that. This is not an option. This wasn't
one of many ways God could have chosen to put away the sins of
His people. It's the only way. Surely you
see that. To say God could have saved any
way he wanted to is really a statement of heresy. That's what it is. Foolish people say stuff like
that. He had to die. He must die. And Acts 2 says he was delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. He must die to fulfill scripture. You remember when they came to
arrest the Savior, Simon Peter wasn't too happy
about it. And boy, he pulled out his sword.
Apparently, he was the only disciple who had a sword. And I mean,
he's gonna get some blood here. And he cut off the servant's
ear. of the high priest, the high
priest's servant. Malchus was his name. Cut his
ear off. Bleeding and whatever. Savior
picked up the ear, reattached it. Told Peter to put your sword
up. He said, because thus it must
be, the scriptures must be fulfilled. They must be. That's why he had
to die. The scripture said he would die.
Read Psalm 22, read Isaiah 53, any number of passages of scripture. It's absolutely necessary. He
must die at Calvary in order for God to save sinners. Because
by his death, the righteousness of God was revealed. By his death,
the sin of man was exposed and put away. The justice of God
had to be satisfied. Our sins had to be forgiven and
the love of God had to be made manifest. Number three, Christ must be
raised from the dead and exalted. You can jot this down if you
want to. John 20, verse nine. He must rise again from the dead. He must. Paul said he was raised
again for our justification. You see, a dead Christ is of
no value to anybody. How do we know he did the job
that the Father sent him to do? How do we know our sins were
put away? How do we know everlasting righteousness
was brought in for the people of God? Well, we know this way. A tomb in which he lay, a borrowed
tomb, where never a man had laid before. It gave up the dead. He rose. His resurrection shouts out,
sin has been dealt with for God's people. God is satisfied. He raised him from the dead and
exalted him. He must be raised. He must be. Here's the fourth thing, Christ
in his finished work Look at Mark 13, 10, Christ and His finished
work must be preached throughout the whole world, that is to all
nations. Look at Mark 13, verse 10. The Savior said this, and the
gospel, what is the gospel? You could say, what is the gospel,
or you could put it this way, who is the gospel? Somebody is
the gospel in what he accomplished. Christ and his work of redemption
finished to the satisfaction of God. That's the gospel. Now watch it. And the gospel
must, must first be published throughout all nations. It must
be. This gospel must be preached. Why? Number one, because God
purposed it. Number two, because God's got
a people out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue. Folks
got it here. Jim, why do you keep on preaching
the gospel? The Lord's got a people. Some of them are watching and
listening right now, in addition to you folks here. Some will
be listening to CDs in the future sometime, according to God's
purpose. Some will be watching the DVD
in the future, according to God's purpose. And they've got to hear. They've got to hear how God can
be just and holy and righteous, and yet save poor old wicked
folks like you and me. They've got to hear. They've
got to hear about Christ, who He is, what He did, why He did
it, where He is now. They've got to hear. That's why we keep preaching.
Keep preaching. This message gives God the glory,
and it's the only message that does us any good. Here's the
fifth thing. All of God's elect must be saved. Look at this passage, John 10.
Look at John chapter 10, verse 16. John 10, verse 16. Christ said, and other sheep.
Here he sets himself forth as the good shepherd. Other sheep
I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. I must bring them. Why? That's the purpose of God. God's
purpose. He has purposed that the shepherd
save the sheep, redeem the sheep, seek the sheep, and bring them
unto himself into the fold of salvation. Of the sheep I have
which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice. His voice is the gospel. See, if I fail to preach the
gospel, the voice of God hadn't been heard. the voice that calls
the sheep in. There shall be one foe, one shepherd. All of the people of God must
be saved. And then I'll give you this,
number six, Christ must reign as king. Jot this reference down,
1 Corinthians 15, 25. He must reign, he must. till he's put all of his enemies
under his footstool, under his feet. He must reign. He must
reign for the salvation of his people. He must reign because
he earned the right to reign. He's the Lord. God made him Lord
over all. And he must reign because nobody
can stop him. He must reign as king. He's been
exalted. having all dominion and authority.
Number seven, he must come again. He must come again and raise
our bodies. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 53. He must come again. And when he comes again, something's
gonna happen to the bodies of all of his people who have departed,
going all the way back to Abel, the first man who died for the
cause of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15, 53, for this
corruptible, and here's this powerful word again, must, must
put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Christ must come back. He must
come again to raise our vile bodies. He must come again to
destroy all of his enemies. He must come again to create
all things new. He must come again to reign gloriously. And lastly, Christ must come
to judge the world. To judge the world. 2 Corinthians
5 talks about that. For we must all, 1 Corinthians
5 10, for we must all appear. We must appear. He's coming back. He must sit on the throne of
judgment because he said the father judges no man but he's
committed all judgment to the son. And we must stand before
him. You must stand before him. And in that great day, how will
you stand before him? Will you be in him without fear,
boldly, standing with all the people of God? About whom the
Savior will say to the Father, behold, I and the children that
thou hast given me, here they all are, you entrusted them to
me, I brought them all home. Or will you stand by yourself? And if you appear before God,
God the Son by yourself, you'll have an unhappy, everlasting
ending. You can't hardly call it everlasting
life, it's everlasting death. He must, He must judge the world
and we must stand before Him. So take comfort, people of God. Take comfort in the purpose of
God, the predestination of God, the providence of God, and take
comfort in the purchase of God. Our shepherd, our elder brother,
our savior is the sovereign who's working all things after the
counsel of his own will. He's working. That's providence. May God give us a greater measure
of faith to believe him and rest in him. Because his purpose is surely
coming to pass. No matter what your attitude
toward his purpose is and toward his providence, it doesn't matter
what your attitude is as far as whether things gonna come
to pass or not. How you react to things, that's
irrelevant. God's already ordained all things. Lord, give me, give me a spirit,
the spirit of a man who is bowing to your will, delighting, delighting
that my Lord does all things well. Give me that kind of spirit. And I'll be more contented. I
sure will be. I'll be contented in that one
who paid my sin debt. Get those black folders out again.