Here's a subject that I want
to deal with tonight, the unstoppable purpose of God. You know, only
a fool would embark upon any kind of project, anything that
they wanted to do without having a purpose, without having things
kind of planned out. Only a fool would do that. Our God is no fool, and that
which he purposed to do from old eternity, he will do and
he does it by his own will and by his own power. We determine
to do something, we may even make our plans and have a purpose,
and it may be a very good purpose, but that which we intend to do,
it may or may not come to pass because there are a lot of obstacles
to what we want to do actually happening. But there are no obstacles
to God. He does His will, the scripture
says, in the army of heaven, among the inhabitants of the
earth, and nobody can stay His hand or say unto Him, what doest
thou? God has no limitations. God has no limitations. And that which I'm saying and
what the Scriptures say is that everything that ever comes to
pass in time is the direct result of the purpose of God who ordained
all things, and then by His own power and providence, He brings
these things to pass. The Lord is the God of purpose. And I want to just take some
time. I just want to read some verses to you, and I want you
to read them with me. So let's go to the New Testament
just briefly. I won't take long, but these
are vital verses. Ephesians, first of all, chapter
1. And I'll read these with very
little, if any, comment. Ephesians chapter 1. We're talking
about the purpose of God. We're not talking about your
purpose because what you purpose to do, what I purpose to do,
it may or may not come to pass. We know that. Because we have
limitations. We don't control all things.
In fact, really, we don't control anything. And God controls everything. So pay attention to what the
Word of God says. First of all, here in Ephesians
chapter 1 and verse 11, "...in whom," that is in Christ,
and that's key throughout all of this chapter in Christ, "...in
whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel, after the intent of his own will. There we have the purpose of
God. Look over at chapter 3 and verse 11. Even verses 10 and
11. To the intent that now unto the principalities
and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church
the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose which
he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." When did God purpose all
things? Back in eternity. He makes no
new purposes. God is making no new decisions. It isn't that man acts and then
God reacts. No. God acts according to His
eternal purpose and men react. Men react. Go back to Romans,
if you would, Romans chapter 8. And here's a favorite verse
of all of us who believe in divine providence, that God is the director
of all things and He works all things out according to His will
and purpose for the good of His people, Romans chapter 8 and
verse 28. And we know, we have no doubt
about this. And we know that all things work
together for good, not for everybody. That's not a blank check to everybody. All things work together for
good, but it's for the good of the people who fit this description. For good to them that love God. Do you love God as revealed in
the word of God? to them who are thee called according
to His purpose. Those who have been powerfully
and effectually called to the Son of God, to believe Him. For you, this Word of God is
a very cheerful and encouraging promise that it makes all things
work together for your good according to His purpose. purpose. Look at Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. Speaking of Rebekah, the two
sons that she and Isaac had, for the children being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, the purpose of
God. according to election might stand,
not of works, but of him that calleth." God's purpose. One more, please. 2 Timothy chapter
1. 2 Timothy chapter 1. I'll read verses 8 and 9. 2 Timothy 1.8, Paul writes to Timothy
who's a young preacher, here's the great apostle Paul toward
the end of his ministry. He says, Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. but be thou partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel according to the power of God who hath saved us
and called us with unholy calling, not according to our works."
That's very important that you understand that. This is not
according to your works, not according to anything you have
done, are doing, or will do. not according to our works, but
according to His own..." What's that next word, everybody? Purpose. What is it? Purpose. "...His
own purpose and grace. And then we're informed by the
Spirit of truth that this purpose and grace was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began. All things are of God. See, we
believe because the Scriptures teach that our God is a God of
absolute, eternal, unchangeable, unalterable purpose. Before God ever made the world,
before time ever began, He sovereignly purposed everything that will
ever come to pass. Nothing in this world is ever
left to chance. Nothing in this world is ever
left to luck. Everything is moving, everything
and everybody. We're all moving toward the end
that God's eternal purpose has determined, and we're moving
with precise, absolute accuracy, moving by the hand of God. That's
the teaching of the Scripture. Understand that? Comprehend that? Well, that's way, way, way over
our heads. But believe it, we do. If your God's too little to absolutely
have authority over all things, you have got the wrong God. We
bow at the feet of Him who purposed all things. I've read the scripture
from old eternity. All things are of God. So I'm talking first of all tonight
in this message about divine purpose. I'm talking about the
divine purpose. You say, well, what does this
divine purpose have to do with that passage you read about Israel
in Egypt? Well, I'm glad you asked. I'm
going to answer that question for you. Go back to the Old Testament,
and this time, I want you to go to the book of Genesis chapter
15. Look at Genesis chapter 15. Here the Lord is dealing with
Abraham. Abraham. And I want you to notice that
when God gives to Abraham a revelation of Himself, and when He tells
Abraham of His eternal purpose, This is all associated with the
sacrifices that Abraham offered to God. You see, the Lord is only going
to minister to Abraham, and he's only going to speak to Abraham
through a mediator on the basis of blood poured out. It's always on the basis of a
sacrifice. Has nobody in the Bible ever
went to God for anything that was received by God except they
went on the basis of a sacrifice? That's what we do. We go to God
on the basis of a sacrifice. I just prayed. I said, Lord,
we come to You through the blood of the Savior, the sacrifice
of the Savior. And this is exactly what Abraham
did. Look here in Genesis chapter
15. In verse 6 it says, He believed in the Lord, and he counted it
to him for righteousness. His faith or his belief wasn't
for righteousness, but he believed the Lord who accomplished righteousness. Watch this. And the Lord said
to Abraham, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the
Chaldees to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, verse
eight, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
And he said unto him, take me a heifer of three years old,
perfection now, three years, all of them, and a she goat of
three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle
dove and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these,
that is Abraham took to the Lord. That's what you've got to understand.
Abraham took to the Lord all of these and divided them in
the midst and laid each piece one against the other, but the
birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down
upon the carcasses, Abraham drove them away. Abraham is approaching
God exactly as we do on the basis of blood. Ours the blood of the
Son of God, His was the blood of sacrifices which pictured. the blood and sacrifice of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And when the birds came down,
the fowls came down to pick at those animals, He drove them
away. And when the enemies of the Gospel come to pick at the
Gospel and tear away at the glory of God and the way He saves sinners
by the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ, we rise up and try
to drive them away. That's what we do. Drive the
fowls away. We're not going to put up with
it. Now watch this. And when the sun was going down,
a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and lo and horror of great darkness
fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know
of a surety. Now here's God's Word. Know of a surety that thy seed
shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs and shall
serve them. In Exodus chapter 1, where do
we find Israel? We find Israel in the land of
Egypt. Okay? That's not the land of the Israelites. That's the land of the Egyptians.
And what are they doing in Exodus chapter one? They're serving
the Egyptians just like God said they would. Watch it. And they shall afflict them 400
years. And also that nation whom they
shall serve will I judge." And he will, and we shall see that. And you know very well that he
judged the nation. When he wiped out their pharaoh
and wiped out their army, he drowned them in the Red Sea.
And afterward, they shall come out with great substance. And
thou shalt go in to thy fathers in peace, thou shalt be buried
in a good old age, but in the fourth generation they shall
come hither again, they shall come to the land of Canaan. But
not now. And not in the first generation,
not in the second generation, not in the third generation,
but in the fourth generation. For the iniquity of the Amorites
is not yet full. God had purposed how far the
Amorites would go in their iniquities. Now, who were the Amorites? They
were people who lived in the land of Canaan. And God had set
a boundary of guilt, trespasses, iniquities, and sinfulness. God had set a boundary that they
had not yet arrived at. They're not there yet. They will
be there in 430 years. You see, God has ordained all
these things. So Israel is going to be in Egypt. They're going to enjoy prosperity
for a good bit, but then times are going to turn and be very
difficult for them, and so difficult that we will hear them crying
out, crying out to God for mercy, for His presence, for relief. And He will, in His own time,
have them leave the land of Egypt. be liberated, there will be a
great exodus, and they will then inherit the land of Canaan that
God promised to Abraham, but not until the sins of the Amorites
have reached their fullness. How long will a country last,
just a country, till their sin reaches the boundary that God
has set? How long will our country last?
Who's to say? When the iniquity of the United
States of America is full, then that will be the end of the country.
That's just the way it is, folks. There's an individual judgment
For the wicked, for wicked sinners, those who die in unbelief and
in utter rebellion against God, there's an individual judgment,
but nations are judged in this world. And usually the corruption
comes from within. That's where the destruction
comes. And the Amorites, the Lord says,
they're not ripe for punishment yet. And that's interesting language,
isn't it? Their iniquity hasn't reached
the depth that I have set. But that depth will be reached
in 430 years. And it's going to happen. Here's the divine purpose at
work, you see. God has ordained, He had purposed,
that the land of Canaan, the land that He promised Abraham,
would come to the Jews, would come to His descendants. The
Lord had promised that. In fact, God promised Abraham
He would give them a vast seed, both naturally and spiritually. as numerous as the sands on the
seashore, as numerous as the stars in the sky. Look over at
Genesis 22. We often mention this passage
of Scripture because it's where the Lord told Abraham to offer
up Isaac, and then he was prepared to do that, and Abraham was ready
to kill Isaac, and then the Lord said, stop, there's a ram caught
by its horns in the thicket, kill the ram instead of Isaac. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will
provide, that's what Abraham said, the Lord will provide Himself
a lamb. But look further, as the Lord
spoke to Abraham, look at verse 15. Genesis 22. And the angel of the Lord, who's
that? Christ. And the angel of the Lord called
unto Abraham out of heaven the second time and said, by myself
have I sworn, saith the Lord. See, that identifies the angel
of the Lord. He is the Lord. for because thou
hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy Son, thy only
Son, watch this, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying
I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the
sand which is upon the seashore, and thy seed shall possess the
gates of thy enemies, and in thy seed shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice. and all nations, that is, people
from all nations of the earth, are blessed in the seed of Abraham,
that is, our Lord Jesus Christ." This is the Word of God to Abraham. He said, you're going to have
a great seed, a great number of people. Now go back to Exodus
chapter 1 now. So here is the issue before us
in Exodus chapter 1. The Lord has purposed that Israel
will inherit the land of promise. But they must first of all go
through Egyptian bondage. This is the purpose of God. And
that's what we see unfolding in Exodus chapter 1 is the purpose
of God. This didn't happen by accident.
This happened on purpose. So there's the divine purpose. This is all happening according
to the purpose of God. Now here's the second thing I
want to show you. There's three things I want to
show you in this passage. Number one is the divine purpose.
Here's the second thing, devilish opposition. Now Joseph has died, his brethren
have died, and all of that generation has died. And for a good bit,
things run really well, and Israel multiplies. Verse 7, chapter
1 of Exodus. And the children of Israel were
fruitful and increased abundantly. They multiplied and waxed exceeding
mighty, and the land was filled with them. They're everywhere.
They're really multiplying. Thousands upon thousands of people. How many people were numbered
among Israel when Jacob came into Egypt? The answer is 70. That's as big as the nation was,
just 70. And now they're just growing
numerically, quickly. In fact, when all is said and
done, when Israel leaves Egypt, they've got 600,000 men who are
soldiers, and most likely there are 2, 3, maybe 4 million in
addition to them, women and children. So they grow to be a mighty nation. And then there comes on to the
scene, verse 8, a new king. A new king over Egypt which knew
not Joseph. Now watch it. He knew about Joseph. Hey, they had history teachers
back then. I guarantee you, Egyptian history teachers taught about
Joseph. He was a hero. He saved the nation. This is a Hebrew who was a slave. He's a slave. And he went up. He went up to sit beside Pharaoh. Everybody knew about Joseph.
Even this new king knew about Joseph, but he didn't know him.
And that means not only did he not know him personally, because
Joseph had been dead a long time, But he didn't have any regard
for him. Joseph meant nothing to him.
He knew about him. He knew about him. But there
was no admiration for Joseph in the heart of this pharaoh. He had no first-hand knowledge
of Joseph. He heard the stories, the magnitude
of the mercies of Joseph. He knew about that. But he had
no respect for Joseph. He didn't speak highly of Joseph. And you see, this man, this new
king, this pharaoh, he's a picture of Satan. Joseph is a picture
of our Lord Jesus in many ways. The devil knows about the Lord
Jesus. But he has no respect for Him. He doesn't hold Him in admiration. He despises Him. He tried to do away with Him
unsuccessfully. To no avail. But when he couldn't
get rid of the Son of God, and the Lord Jesus went back to heaven,
that man who's exalted at the right hand of God because he
successfully saved his people from their sins, Satan couldn't
get at him. Satan's going after his people.
See, that's what Pharaoh did. He's going after Joseph's people. He hates them. He hates them. He kept them in bondage. He brought
in cruel taskmasters. He forced them to work for him. So cruel to them. Let me tell
you something. Satan, he has cruel taskmasters
out here, especially in the realm of religion. And you know what they teach?
You've got to work. Work salvation. They keep people
in slavery. In bondage. Forced labor. You've got to do this, you've
got to do that, you've got to live by the law, you've got to
keep it. Now listen, I'm all for morality,
I'm all for decency, of course, but that's not salvation. There's
no salvation comes to any sinner by the doing of any sinner. Salvation
is in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. His doing,
His dying, His rising again. Salvation is in Christ Jesus.
It's not in your works. But Satan, he has his ministers
out here. Cruel taskmasters. Forced labor. And I'll tell you what, most
people live in that bondage. That's what the churches are
filled with. People who are in forced labor. They're in labor
camps. Oh, they don't know it. But they've got to do something.
Live by the Golden Rule. Live by the Ten Commandments. Cruel taskmasters. I'm going
to tell you something. I'll tell you who a cruel taskmaster
is. He gets up behind the pulpit
and he says that God has done all He can do for your salvation. Now the rest is up to you. That's
cruel. That's cruel. Because my friends, there is
nothing you can do for your salvation. It's all of God. And we've got
to learn that. And anybody who says you've got
to live this, I had a man tell me one time, he said, it's okay
to believe, but you've got to live it. Now hang on a minute. We do believe. And after God saves us by His
grace, we seek to honor Him in all that we do. But this living
at part, that's not part of the equation. For by grace He is
saved through faith, and that not of yourself. It's the gift
of God. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He has saved us,
is what the Scripture says. This, especially our country,
they're cruel taskmasters in all of these churches who preach
a false gospel requiring you to do something for your salvation. It's so cruel because you can't
do anything to please God. That's cruel. They want you to work when the
Bible says rest in Christ. And they insist that you work. That's devilish. That's devilish. You see, our Lord Jesus, He saved
His people from their sins. He actually was triumphant in
His death and He was triumphant over death for us. Well, Pharaoh, he's got these
cruel taskmasters. They're cracking the whip. That's
what preachers do. They crack the whip to people.
You're not doing enough. Sometimes people even say to
me, I think you need to preach more on doing. That kind of bothers
me. Has the stench of works upon
it. Let me tell you something, you
who are the people of God, you're not under the law, not for salvation,
not for sanctification, you're not under the law. You're free
in Christ Jesus. Enjoy your liberty. That's what
Paul... Paul, he chastened those verbally
in the book of Galatians who would rob the people of God of
their freedom in Christ. They're keeping people in bondage.
And even there's some sovereign grace preachers who try to do
that. Keep you in bondage. Nancy and
I, years and years ago, we went to hear a guy for a little bit.
Man, I tell you, He whipped us to death and never poured in
the oil and the wine of the gospel. There was no comfort. There was
no rest. I tell you, there's sweet relief
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a blessed rest because He
finished the work of redemption. So we got a divine purpose. I've
got devilish, devilish actions of Pharaoh. Here's the last thing. Determined helpers. Pharaoh goes
to these women, the Hebrew midwives, and he says,
I don't want any more live births of little baby boys. As soon
as they come forth from the womb, you see it's a boy, kill it right
then. I'll tell you something, people
sure can be cruel, can't they? What kind of ruler is that? Killing little babies. But of
course, a lot of people today think nothing of killing them
when they're in the womb. That's barbaric. Really, isn't anything worse
than what Pharaoh wanted them to do? Well, anyway, he said, you kill the little
baby boys. They didn't do it. They didn't do it. These were
determined helpers. Because you see, these women
feared the Lord. By this time, there are hundreds
and hundreds of thousands of Israelites. And two women. Of all people
for God to use, two women. He used them. He uses unusual
vessels, doesn't He? I don't know what the men were
doing. I guess they were just, you know, just breaking their
backs, building the pyramids, being whipped because it didn't
work hard enough. Here are two Hebrew women, faithful. Thank God for faithful women
down through the generations. Women who know and love the gospel.
Women who like those women that were last at the cross, first
at the tomb. Ain't that something? Ladies
of this congregation, I thank God for you. I thank God for
you. been faithful, true to the gospel,
standing firm. That's what these did. These
were determined helpers. Scripture says they feared God.
Blessed is that woman who fears the Lord. And you know what? The Lord took
care of these women. He blessed them. says that he provided houses
for them. I read several different writers
on this and I'm not going to tell you everything that they
had to say, but I tried to read them all and then chew up all
their words and then I come to my own conclusion. I think I
think there are probably a million or two million people in Goshen
now. I think the Lord just provided
houses for them out there where the Egyptians never find them.
The Lord took care of them. They're safe. Just like those
who fear God, we're safe in the house of grace, protected. by our Lord Jesus Christ. Elijah said, Lord, I'm the last
one. The Lord said, you're not the
last one. I've got 7,000. You don't even
know about having bowed the knee to Baal. And maybe the men and
maybe all the rest of the women said, who's going to help us? Oh, we're in such a bad case. Two women that didn't bend the
knee. They said, I don't know what
the rest of you are going to do, but we're going to serve
God. That's what we're going to do. That's what Joshua said. Right? You do what you're going to do,
but as for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord. Whatever
the cost. I'll tell you what, those who
fear the Lord, the Lord takes care of them. He may not bless
you materially. In fact, you may wind up even
losing your life. A lot of people did. You read
Hebrews chapter 11. I'll tell you what, these two
women These two women who were faithful to God, women that God
used, they had a house in glory, not built with men's hands. And they've been in glory a long
time. Thank God He put fear in their
hearts for Him, and they believed Him. And the purpose of God,
which Pharaoh was trying his best to frustrate, it just kept
on going. And you can try to buck God's
purpose if you want to. You can fuss about it and say
that's not fair. You can do anything. You won't
affect the purpose of God at all. You may as well enjoy the
ride. You may as well rejoice in the
One who governs all things and say, Lord, this is Your will. And I bow to You. You're my God. You're my Savior. You're my all
in all. And I worship You. Ah, the purpose of God. Can't
be frustrated. Can't be. Let's sing a closing
song.