Let's go back to Ephesians, the
first chapter. At least this is where we're going
to start. And then we'll go back to Revelation. But first of all, Ephesians chapter
1. We do believe that salvation
is of God, don't we? Because that is exactly what
the scriptures teach us. We read in one of the psalms
says that salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. If you have been
made the righteousness of God in the Lord Jesus, If His righteousness
has been imputed to you, that is of God. It is God who charged
your sin to the Savior, and it is God who credited the righteousness
of our Lord Jesus to you. Salvation is of the Lord. We
believe that great doctrine set forth by old Jonah A man that God had to teach him
in a most unusual fashion. And I'm sure he learned some
lessons that only God could teach him. And when God teaches you
lessons, you learn. And he learned that it isn't
good to disobey God's will. And he learned that in the belly
of a great fish. And in that whale's belly, Jonah
was made to realize that which he confessed then with his lips. Salvation is of the Lord. What do we mean by salvation?
We mean deliverance from sin. from evil in every aspect of
itself. From the very nature of evil
and the actions of evil and the motivations that are evil within
our own mind and soul. Every bit of evil, every bit
of sin. Christ Jesus, He has saved us
from sin. And this salvation, this rescue,
that's what That's what salvation is, isn't it? It's a rescue.
And nobody else could rescue us but the Lord God Himself. Satan had such an awful hold
on us. He held us captive at his own
will. The world, it certainly did enthrall
us. Our own sin held us captive. Nobody could break the bondage.
Nobody could break the captivity save God the Spirit alone. Salvation then is of the Lord. And that is exactly what is being
said here in this portion of Scripture that has been read
to us by our brother a little bit earlier. Salvation is of
the Lord. It's the clear doctrine of the
Word of God. And here in Ephesians chapter
1, The Spirit of God sets before us the work of God in the rescue
of a remnant of Adam's fallen race. Salvation begins and ends with
God. In salvation, He is the Alpha
and He is the Omega and He is everything in between. Being
the alpha of salvation, this salvation originated with God. It finds its origin in the purpose
of God. And as was read to us in the
beginning before God made the world, God chose a people unto
holiness. He chose a people to be blameless
before Him. That is, He chose us unto salvation. It's not a small number that
He chose. It's a great multitude. John
sees them in Revelation chapter 7. We'll arrive there in three
or four weeks as we study that passage of Scripture. And John
said, I saw them and they're more than man can number. But God has numbered them all. And their names are written down
in the Lamb's Book of Life. Salvation of a multitude of people. of every nation, every kindred,
every language, every part of the world, our Lord is saving
a people from them. And in this salvation, God chose
these people into salvation because they can make no contribution
to their own salvation. And this is where we need to,
we certainly need to understand this this morning. Each of you
and those who are watching on the internet or listening to
this later on, on another date, you need to understand this.
You can't make any contribution to your salvation. This is something
God the Spirit has got to make us to realize because all the
world has the notion there's something that we must contribute
to God in this matter of the deliverance of the rescue from
sin. But we have a spiritual, a great
spiritual problem It is, we're dead in sins. We have no ability. Salvation must come from the
Lord. Indeed, you are responsible to repent, and you are responsible
to believe the Gospel, and I call upon you to do that. But sadly,
we have no ability to do what the Word of God commands us to
do. We lost the ability in Adam. We didn't lose the responsibility,
but we lost the ability in Adam. And God has got to do something
for us. And that's what we ask for ourselves. It's what we ask God for our
children, for our grandchildren, for our neighbors, all of our
other relatives. We say, Lord, do something for
our kinfolk, just like you've done something for us. Give us
a new heart to believe you, because salvation is of the Lord. But
it originated with Him, He chose a people unto salvation, and
then those people were given as a gift to the Lord Jesus,
who redeemed these people. And so it says here, in whom
we have redemption, verse 7 speaking of Christ Jesus, in whom we have
redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of God's grace. Be sure you understand this also.
Wherever you have redemption, you must have forgiveness. The blood has been shed for you. Your sins will be forgiven you. In fact, they've already been
put away. It's just you don't know about it yet. and you won't
know about it until the Spirit of God does a work of grace within
your hearts. Redemption by the blood. So we
love to sing, what can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood
of Jesus. And it takes the blood of the
Lord Jesus that I wrote the song that was in the bulletin I wrote
it last Monday. It's the blood of the Lord Jesus.
That's what breaks our hearts. That's what God uses in our conversion. The doctrine of substitution,
the doctrine that the Lord Jesus was God's offering for sin. We didn't offer Him. We had no
interest in an offering for sin. God offered Him unto His own
justice as the sacrifice. to remove our guilt, to remove
our sins, and to satisfy His justice because salvation involves
the satisfaction of God's pure justice, His inflexible justice
that demands death for sin. And so our Lord Jesus Christ
died for sin and therefore He's been exalted And he sits at the
right hand of God. And then this salvation has got
to be made known to us. Who makes it known to us? Who
reveals the things of God to us? We don't just discover them
by accident. It's the Spirit of Grace who
works within us, that great comforter. that the Lord Jesus says is indeed
the very promise of the Father. It's the Spirit of God who takes
the things of the Lord Jesus and shows them to us. And I'll
tell you, if you've been saved by God's free grace, the Spirit
of God has shown you, He has revealed to you the things of
the Lord Jesus. He's shown you that it is indeed
all of grace. Now, I want to direct your attention
here to a specific verse, and that is verse 11. Verse 11. Concerning these who are the
children of God, who've been given to Christ Jesus by God's
gift, who've been redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus,
these who are called by the Spirit of grace, these people, and also
concerning those who never believe the gospel, Before we ever began our lives,
everything regarding us has already been ordained. Now look at verse
11 again. In whom, in Christ Jesus, we
have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according
to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will." The Word of God teaches this, that before
the world was ever made, everything about our lives was already mapped
out by God. And this verse certainly bears
that out. It says, "...in whom we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated..." What does predestinate? a message last Sunday night on
the subject of predestination. What does predestination mean
or what does it mean to be predestinated? Well, the word means to determine
beforehand. Another word is foreordained. It means the same thing. Now,
the word predestinated is made up of two parts. First of all,
the first part is pre, which means beforehand or in front. Well, in this case, in front
of what? Well, in front of the making
of the world. Before the world was ever made,
God did something. This before we ever existed,
before an angel ever existed, before Lucifer ever fell, when
only God Himself dwelt in the unity of His beautiful Trinity,
God did something. Before He made the world, He
destinated. What does destined mean? Appoint,
decree, determine, ordain. So beforehand, or in front of
the creation of the world, God ordained everything. He decreed
everything. So this, and that which is being
considered at the beginning of the verse, is the inheritance
of the people of God, that's which we stand to inherit. This
inheritance which the people of God, that which we're going
to inherit, these chosen of God, we were foreordained to obtain
it, to receive it, before God ever made the world. And He did
this all according to the purpose of Him, what is the purpose of
God? How would you define purpose?
If you look up this word concerning the purpose of God, it is His
resolute, unwavering, absolutely firm, and even the word stubborn
must be used. Because when it comes to that
which God has purposed, it can't be changed. And so when you look
up this word purpose, you'll find it includes the word stubborn. Because that means unyielding.
That which it won't change. It won't change. The purpose
of God is His resolute, absolutely firm, unwavering and stubborn
will of God. It's not subject to change. It's
what God intends to do. Well, when did God intend to
do whatever it is that He does? Beforehand. Before He ever made
the world. You see, God has His own purpose. We need to remember that. Behind
all of God's outward acts, all of His outward acts toward Israel,
all of the things that happened in the Old Testament, all of
the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, His life, His death,
His resurrection, His ascension, all the things that have been
happening through this age, this gospel age, right up until right
now. In all of this, God has His absolute,
unwavering, unchanging, stubborn purpose. Can't be changed. God cannot change. It says in the book of Malachi,
the Lord said, I am the Lord. I change not. And everything regarding God,
everything related to God, everything God has decreed to do, that cannot
change. It shall stand. His purpose shall
stand. Nobody is going to frustrate
His purpose. It's unwavering. It's firm. It's firm. As I said, and I sort of like
this word because usually if we, you know, we use the word
stubborn with a negative connotation. You say about somebody, he's
a real stubborn person. You're not going to change him. Well, in that sense, and we don't
mean it in a negative way, but this is one of the attributes
of God. God is stubborn in this sense.
You're not going to change him. Nobody's going to change. Nothing's
going to change God. He has His eternal purpose. And
this purpose of God relates to everything. That's the thing
that you want to remember. It relates to everything. It
has to do with everything. And to this eternal purpose of
God, everything is working toward its fulfillment. Isaiah chapter
14 says, "...the Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as
I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed,
so it shall stand. This is the purpose that is purposed
upon the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched
out upon all nations. For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed,
and who shall disannul it?" In other words, who shall frustrate
it? Who's going to frustrate what God has purposed to do?
God's unbending will. God who can't be changed. God
who made all things by the Word of His power. God who keeps everything
going. God who ordained everything that
ever shall be. And that's beyond our comprehension. Who's going to frustrate Him
or who's going to change Him? Nobody. It's for us to bow down and worship
Him, this God who changeth not. And it says, being predestinated
according to the purpose of Him who worketh, who worketh. In John chapter 5, the Savior
said, my Father worketh hitherto and I work. And an interesting
thing about this word worketh, It doesn't just mean God is active. There's more involved in this
word, in this word working. It means He effectively is active
or He is effectually active. In other words, God is working. He is actively engaged in bringing
to pass that which He has set out to do and nothing can hinder
Him. He is actively working. What is happening today? God
is bringing to pass that which He has willed. That which He
has willed. And so, the Lord is bringing
to pass that which He intends to do and His purpose is resolute,
firm, unwavering, and stubborn. He is stubborn in His intention.
He's not going to change. And notice this. He is working
all things after the counsel of His own will, which means
His decision. What God has decided to do. God
has decided to do some things. And that which He has decided
to do really includes all things. It includes all things. And His
will is His own good pleasure. Now let me point out two things. First of all, God, who has his
own purpose, that which is decreed, that which is determined, is
one who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
Within that eternal counsel, he has marked out a people. He
has predestinated them beforehand, before the world was made. He
ordained a people to be his own. He gave them to his son as a
gift. He gave them to the Lord Jesus
in the covenant of grace. The Lord Jesus came into this
world, the very Son of God and the Son of Man. He came to redeem. He came to save. He came to reconcile. He came to make us righteous
by His substitutionary death upon the cross of Calvary. This
is what our Lord Jesus has done. God has resolved to do this. God has resolved that All things
fulfill His will. Let me ask you this question. Just how extensive is the purpose
of God? How broad is the purpose of God? Well, this verse tells us it
includes all things. All things. That means there's
nothing left out. And I know we talk about chance. Talk about luck. Talk about things
of that nature. But really, all things are included
in God's will. All things physical. All things
spiritual. All things eternal. And they're
all, God is working them. So keep that in mind. And the
second thing is this. everlasting purpose of God can
be set forth or expressed in another way. Everything God has
purposed to do is written in a book. It's a book sealed with
seven seals. You see here in Ephesians chapter
1 verse 11, we have the Lord bringing, He's working, He's
bringing to pass that which He purposed to do. And isn't that
exactly what we're studying over here in the book of Revelation?
There's that book, Revelation chapter 5. There's that book,
the scroll in the hand of God. There's God's purpose. There's
everything that God intended to do. Sealed with seven seals
in Revelation chapter 5 and verse 1. John says, I saw in the right
hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within, and on
the back side, sealed with seven seals. This is exactly the same
thing that the Apostle Paul has set forth in Ephesians chapter
1 and verse 11. Here's all things are in the
book. All things are written in the
book. Here's God's purpose. Can't be frustrated, can't be
changed. God, as it were, is stubborn
on this. This is His intention. This is
what God is purposed to do. And this will not change. Nobody
is going to interfere with what He set out to do. Not the devil,
not you, not me, not any great leader, not any great judge,
or ruler, or president, or prime minister, or king on the earth,
because the hearts of the kings are in the Lord's hands. He turneth
them as the rivers of water, whoever which way He will." So
nobody is going to change God's purpose, and it's all written,
as it were, and condensed in a book, sealed with seven seals. And the one, you see, who is
executing God's purpose, It's God who purposed all things,
who predestinated all things, beforehand, before He ever made
the world. The One who's bringing it all
to pass is our Savior. He's our brother. He's our friend. He's our Redeemer. And oh, how
joyful the people of God should be! We should be delighted and
thrilled every day. We should be glad in the Lord
Jesus because everything that unfolds throughout the day, in
my life, in your life, and throughout the world is what God has purposed
to do. And it's being brought about
by the hand of the Lord Jesus. Those hands that were stretched
out and nailed upon the cross to save us, those same almighty
hands are executing the counsel of God. He walks up to the very
steps of the throne of God. He ascends the throne. He takes
the book out of the right hand of Him who sat upon the throne.
And in chapter 6, we've begun to see He's executing the counsels
of God as He opens the seven seals of the book. That's our
Savior. Almighty to save and almighty
to bring to pass everything that God has purposed to do. All of
God's intentions. The Lord Jesus is bringing them
all to pass. He's the only one who's worthy
to do this. John says it, he hears He hears
that there is only One who is worthy to take the book and open
the seals. Who is He? John hears His voice. He is the Lion of the tribe of
Judah. He is the Son of God. And He
is the Lamb who has been slaughtered. He is the One who takes the book. He is working all things after
the counsel of God's will. And we see then in chapter 6
in verse 1, he opens the first seal. Now, as he opens the seals,
and this is everything God has purposed to do, so you understand
that. And we know there's so much of
the book of Revelation that is in sign language, in symbolic
language. God doesn't need books like we
do. We have to get a dictionary and look up a definition of word
because we can't remember everything. But God doesn't need books. So much of the descriptions of
God and of God's purposes, they're written in such a way that they
in some ways accommodate our inabilities to understand God. I was talking to somebody the
other day. In fact, I said, God doesn't
have emotions like we have. God's neither sad nor happy. He doesn't have those emotions. The reason the Bible uses, like,
God doesn't have hands. The Lord said, My hand is not
short and that it cannot save, but God doesn't have a hand.
God's invisible. God's everywhere. He's omnipresent. But we can't even, somebody said,
begin to commence to get started to understanding that. So the
Lord speaks in a way that we can at least grasp it a little
bit. He uses language to accommodate
our infirmities. But He doesn't need a book. But it's set forth so that we'll
understand that just like if you write down, if you have a
daily, maybe a day-by-day planner. I do. And I write down this,
I'm gonna do this. This is my, what I intend to
do this week. I have things that I try to do
Monday. Monday's the day I write. I write songs on Monday. I try
to visit on Monday. Tuesday, I get the bulletin ready
on Tuesday. I'm working on the summer school
lesson for about six weeks off. I'm doing that on Monday and
Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm preparing for Wednesday because
I follow a schedule. So I write it in a book. Well,
God's right on schedule. Except he don't need a book to
write down in. This is for our benefit. Here's
this book. Literally a scroll, sealed with
seven seals. And somebody's bringing everything
in the past that's in the scroll. Here's this gigantic, enormous
purpose of God. That which God intends to do.
This is His firm, resolute, unwavering will of God. Who is worthy to bring God's
will to pass? Just one. The Lamb. The Lamb of God. And all of the
things that happen every day is the purpose of God being fulfilled. Things may seem like they happen
randomly to us, Nothing does. Nothing does at all. The rider on the white horse,
our Lord Jesus, He rides upon the white horse of the gospel.
And He goes forth, as it says in the end of the verse, at the
end of the second verse, He goes forth conquering and to conquer. Because that's in the book. Maybe he'll conquer somebody
today. Maybe he'll pull out an arrow
and put it in his bow of grace. And that sharp arrow will find
lodging. in my heart and in your heart. Wouldn't that be wonderful if
God would aim an arrow of His convicting grace at us today? He goes forth conquering. And
I promise you, if He sets you as His mark, He will get you. He will conquer you. He says
in John chapter 10, talking about the sheep, he said, oh, the sheep
I had, them also I must bring. That's what he said. I must bring
them. Maybe he'll bring another one
today. He might bring another one right out of this audience
today. Or maybe somebody watching at home in pajama church today. He might bring one of them home
today. Send forth the gospel of His Word. It's the Lord, He's
executing the will of God. He goes forth conquering and
to conquer. And then He sees the second horse, the rider on
the second horse. Verse 3, When he had opened the
second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And
there went out another horse that was red. And power was given
to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that
they should kill one another. And there was given unto him
a great sword. The immediate effect of the success
of the gospel is strife and division. Wherever it goes. The message
of the proclamation of peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. It is a glorious message and
it is a message of peace with God through the blessed Savior
and His blood sacrifice. But it stirs up within many people
anger. It stirs up within them emotions
of malice. It causes variance in families. It causes a division. We read
last Lord's Day, Matthew 10.34, the Savior said, Think not that
I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword, and a sword divides asunder. You may be certain of
this, wherever the rider on the white horse goes, wherever our
Lord Jesus Christ goes forth riding upon the glorious gospel
of His free grace, The enemy will also be active. He will
not take defeat gently. And he's going to cause division.
Turn with me a page or two over to Revelation chapter 10. Keep in mind that in the book
of the Revelation there are seven visions. Seven visions that John received,
and in each division, in each vision, each vision, were taken
from the first advent to the second advent, right up to the
end of time. He does this six times, and then
the seventh time, he takes us on into eternity. That's the
last vision. But here in this passage of Scripture,
Revelation chapter 10, We see the Lord taking us upright to
the end. Here is the Savior set forth
as a mighty angel. We will get into this in more
detail when we get to chapter 10. But I want you to look at
verse 5, Revelation chapter 10 and verse 5. And the angel which
I saw, the angel of God, the messenger of the covenant, this
is our Lord Jesus. The angel which I saw, Revelation
10 verse 5, which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth,
lifted up His hand to heaven. He sware by Him that liveth forever
and ever, because it can sware by no greater. He swares by Himself. He swares by the Father, because
it can sware by no greater. Hebrews chapter 6 says that.
who created heaven and the things that are there, that therein
are, and the earth and the things that therein are, and the sea
and the things that therein, that are therein, that there
should be time no longer. He's taking us up right up to
the end. But in the days of the voice
of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery
of God should be finished. The mystery of God should be
fulfilled. The mystery of God should be
perfected. The mystery of God should be
accomplished as He hath declared to His servants, the prophets. What is a mystery in the Bible?
It is a secret that you can't know unless it's revealed. That's what a mystery is in the
Bible. It's a secret that nobody can know unless God reveals it. For instance, we have in 1 Timothy
chapter 3, great is the mystery of godliness. What is that? God manifests in the flesh. And nobody's going to really
know that or believe that apart from Revelation. But that man
walking on this earth 2,000 years ago, who looked just like any
man, he was in fact God in the flesh. Nobody knew that, except
those to whom he was revealed. And I'll show you that in a little
bit. But in this scripture, it talks about the mystery of God,
until the mystery of God is fulfilled. What is the mystery of God? What
is the secret of God? Do you know what God is doing
in this age? In this era? Do you know what
He has been doing and what He will be doing up to the very
end of time? He is sending forth His gospel
into the four corners of the earth and He is drawing a people
unto Himself and making those people to be like the Lord Jesus
Christ that He has predestinated them to be conformed to the image
of His Son. He is bringing lost sinners into
the kingdom of grace. That's what God is doing. That's
the secret of God. God is saving the people for
His own glory. That's His mystery. And John
says, the mystery of God shall be fulfilled. This mystery is going to be fulfilled.
You say, I don't know what God is doing today. Well, I don't
know all the details that God's doing, but I do know in general
what God is doing. He's drawing the people to Jesus
Christ. That's what He's doing. He's
got a people in this world. It's what God's been doing ever
since he made Adam and Eve and they fell. God has been drawing
the fallen people unto himself through effectual grace, through
the gospel of the Lord Jesus. That's what God's been doing.
The Savior expressed it this way. He said, the Son of Man,
Luke chapter 19 verse 10, the Son of Man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost. And that's going on all the way
through this gospel era. That's what He's doing. Are you
lost? Oh, pray He'll find you today. You need the Savior, forgiveness,
righteousness, There's only one who can do the work for you.
That's the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the mystery of God. The mystery of God. And the end
isn't going to come until the mystery of God should be finished. Should be finished. Till it comes
to an end. till everything is perfected,
till all of the lost sheep of the house of Israel have been
gathered safe into the fold, then the end shall come. And
the mystery of God will have been fulfilled. Turn with me
to Matthew chapter 16. Let me give this to you quick
and then I'll quit. And the Lord willing, we'll get
to the rider on the black horse next Sunday morning. But in Matthew
chapter 16, Let me show you this. And for the sake of the lateness
of the hour, look at Matthew 16. The Lord asked His disciples
who He was. They gave several answers. And
then He said to them in verse 15, But whom say ye that I am?
Now watch this. Simon Peter, verse 16. Matthew
16, 16. Simon Peter answered and said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon bar Jonah. And
that just means son of Jonah. His daddy was Jonah. Blessed
art thou, Simon bar Jonah. For flesh and blood hath not
revealed unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. This is the
mystery of godliness. It's been revealed to this man.
He said, flesh and blood didn't teach you this, that I'm God,
that I'm the Messiah, that I'm the Son of the everlasting Father. This is revealed to you. It's
a mystery that's been revealed. My Father which is in heaven,
verse 18, and I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon
this rock, upon this rock of your great confession of faith,
I will build my church. I will build my church. No question about it. And then
he said, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. But they will try. The rider on the red horse, he'll
try to divide, disturb peace, cause trouble, War against God's
people, stir up strife within a family, cause variance. But the Lord Jesus said, I will
build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. You know, back in the Old Testament times, at the gates
of a city, that's where the judges sat. That's where decisions were
made. That's where great determinations
were made. Great designs were made right
there at the gates of the city. And our Lord Jesus is saying,
all the determinations of hell itself, that is death, all the
powers of death, all of their determinations, all that their
designs are, they can't prevail. You know why they can't prevail
against His church? Because He's prevailed. That's
what we learned back in Revelation chapter 5. He has prevailed! He has conquered! And He is taking
care of the purpose of God. And He will build His church.
The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Thank God the rider
on the white horse is going forth conquering and to conquer. And
the rider on the red horse, he's right behind now. He's going
to be assaulting the church. He's going to be assaulting you
and your family. You take a stand for the gospel
of grace. He'll try to divide and he will
divide some people. But don't be discouraged. The
Lamb shall prevail. He shall always prevail. He will
bring to pass that which God has purposed. that which God
is determined to do, the Lamb will bring it to pass. What is
He doing today? What's the Son of God doing today?
He's working all things together for the good of them that love
God, to them who are called according to His purpose. And remember
that word, worketh as pertains to God, means He's effectively
working. He's effectually working all
things together for the good of God's people. So let the rider
on the red horse, let the divisions come if they must come. And remember
this, that's all in the book as well. That's all according
to God's purpose.