Now my text this morning is in
the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 29. So find Deuteronomy 29. And I also want to re-read the
passage of scripture that I read in the opening of our service
this morning. Romans 11, but my text is Deuteronomy
29, one verse, and that's verse 29. But before I go to that,
I want to read again this passage out of Romans 11. Now, what I'm
going to do this morning in the message is I'm going to talk
to you a little bit about doing the will of God. Doing the will
of God. And before I get started here,
I want you to understand that what I'm going to tell you about
the will of God and doing the will of God is not what I think. It's not the product of man's
wisdom and understanding or opinion, but it's what God's word says. And I believe you'll see that
when I read these scriptures that I'm going to read this morning.
Because this is what God's word says. Granted that men try to
interpret it different ways, they try to tweak it different
ways to bring it down to their level, but you just can't do
that. Doing the will of God. There was a preacher one time
who after he got up in the pulpit, after reading scripture, he took
off his glasses. I don't know why it's always
glasses, but he slammed the Bible shut. And here's what he said
to his people. He said, this morning, I intend
to explain the unexplainable, find out the undefinable, ponder
over the imponderable, and unscrew the inscrutable. That's a bold
claim, isn't it? Well, I'm not going to do that.
And the reason is that I can't do that. And you can't do it. People try to do it, and they
always mess up. And I'll tell you what always
happens when people try to do that. They always try to bring
God down to their level and raise themselves up to His level. And
that's heresy. It's blasphemy, really, what
it is. Well, look at verse 33 of Romans 11. Now, keep your
finger there, Deuteronomy 29, 29. But look at Romans 11.33 again. Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. And the next thing he
says, how unsearchable are God's judgments. You try to search
them out now, and you'll see what I'm talking about, what
this verse is talking about, how unsearchable they are. And
His ways pass finding out. Now what is he talking about,
God's ways pass finding out? Well, he's certainly not talking
about God's way of judgment because God has revealed his way of judgment.
The scripture says, God has commanded all men everywhere to repent
because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained and
that he hath given assurance unto all men and that he hath
raised him from the dead, Acts 17 31. In other words, God has
revealed to us that we're going to stand before Him at the judgment,
and the standard of judgment is righteousness found in the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, in other words, people
who talk about, well, you know, when I get to judgment, God's
gonna weigh my good works with my bad works. That's a concoction
of man. That's not of God. God didn't
say that. In fact, what God says is that
if that's the case, your bad works will far outweigh your
good. In fact, actually the Bible says
you don't have any good works. Not in God's standard now. We're
talking about judgment with God. We're not talking about judgment
with men. Not talking about how we see each other and judge each
other. But how God judges us according
to his standard, which is perfect holiness, perfect righteousness,
and that can only be found in Christ. So God's way of judgment
is this, how do I stand in relationship to Jesus Christ? That's the issue.
Am I washed in his blood, clothed in his righteousness, or am I
on my own? Because if I'm on my own, that's
damnation. If I'm in Christ, that's eternal
glory. That's the issue. He's not talking
about God's way of salvation. God has revealed that way. It's
by grace. It's not what you earn or what
you deserve. It's grace, sovereign grace,
based on the finished work, the obedience unto death, the blood
and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how God
saves sinners. He's not gonna save you by your works or your
will. He saves you by his grace, his
mercy. Well what's he talking about
then when he says his ways are past finding out? Well back now
in verse 36 there he says, for of him and through him and to
him are all things to whom be glory forever. Now what that's
saying is this, everything that happens, he says all things there doesn't
he? Everything that happens will ultimately redound to the glory
of God. God's going to be glorified.
You can mark it down. When we do our best, God's going
to be glorified. When we do our worst, God's going
to be glorified. So the ultimate thing in this
universe is the glory of God. That's the ultimate aim of all
history. Providence. That's the ultimate
aim, certainly, of the salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ. That's
the ultimate aim of God's judgment against the wicked. I mean, it's
all for His glory. Not for yours, not for mine.
It's all for His name. Give unto the Lord the glory
due unto His name. But now here's the thing. Now
hold on to your seats. How God accomplishes that throughout
history and providence? totally mind-boggling I mean
it will turn you upside down that's right you don't believe
me well look at what he says here verse 34 for who hath known
the mind of the Lord have you ever gone through a hard time
you say Lord what in the world are you doing why are you doing
this Who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been
his counselor? Who's been his advisor? You know,
most preachers today, they think they're God's advisors. You don't
advise God. You don't give counsel to God.
Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto
him again? That's what man thinks naturally.
They think, well, if I do this, God will return it to me this
way. He will reward me this way. Well,
that verse is saying that's not so. Who's given to God and it
shall be recompensed? You think you can bargain with
God? Do you think at any time in this life, do you think at
any time in this life you're getting what you deserve and
what you've earned? Boy, oh boy. What does this book say about
that? Well, go over to Deuteronomy
29. Deuteronomy 29. I'll just read this one verse
and I'll give you some of the context here. You know what Deuteronomy
is. Here's Moses. It's the second
reading of the law. Second writing and reading of
the law. Moses wrote the book of Deuteronomy by inspiration
of the Spirit while they were wandering in the wilderness those
40 years. And here they come up on the
brink of the promised land. What Moses is doing is he's reestablishing
the covenant that God made with Israel at Sinai, that conditional
covenant. And he tells them, you know,
he says in verse 9 of Deuteronomy 20, I keep therefore the words
of this covenant and do them that you may prosper in all that
you do. If you keep this covenant, you'll
prosper. Now, let me ask you a question.
If you know anything about the Old Testament, did they keep
the covenant? The answer's no. Did they prosper? The answer's no. There were moments
in history they prospered, but on the whole they didn't, and
then ultimately God destroyed them. That's what happened. Now
let me ask you a question. What would you have done if you'd
been there? Would you have done better than them? You think you
would have? No, and neither would I. Because anytime you see in the
Bible a conditional situation put upon sinners, which is what
we are, we fail. That's what the whole Old Testament
is about. That's what the 1500 year period of Sinai was about. When it's conditioned on people,
we fail. So what's our hope? Let's seek
another covenant that's not conditioned on us, but conditioned on one
who can keep it. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
He kept the covenant, the covenant of grace. So that's what he's
doing. And he reads all this and the
people promise to do what God says to do. And we all do that. We all make promises, especially
when we get in trouble. Oh, Lord, get me out of this
and I'll, you know, whatever you're going to do. I'll do this. I'll do that. I'll go to church.
I'll be good. You know, I used to, when I was
in college, I said, Lord, you get me out of this. I'll never
take another drink. You know, get sick and sad and didn't call
it a good time. But anyway, in Deuteronomy 29,
29, look at this, it says, now look here, it says, the secret
things belong unto the Lord our God. God has secrets. What are God's secrets? Well,
I don't know, they're secret. He hasn't let us in on them.
He hasn't revealed them. Those things which are revealed,
those things which God has made known in His Word unto us and
to our children forever, those things which belong unto us,
when it says they belong to us, that means that's what we're
responsible for, that's what we're held accountable for. Unto
us and to our children forever, that we may what? Do all the
words of this law. You know what fatalism is? Que
sera, sera, you know. Well, here's the thing. God's will, God's sovereign will
is going to be done, no matter what. Somebody says, well, if that's
the case, then let's just throw caution to the wind, let's ignore
the commands of Scripture, and let's just let it fall where
it falls. No. The secret things belong
unto the Lord our God. Who has known the mind of the
Lord? Who's been His counselor? Do you think you're wiser than
God? You know, the person who says, well, if that's the case,
then I'll just go and I'll just ignore what God has revealed. You know what you're doing there?
You're trying to be wiser than God. That's the problem. You see, there's no fatalism
in... God is absolutely, unequivocally sovereign in all things. And
His will, His sovereign will, will be done. Today, tomorrow,
next year, In every way, there's not one thing that God has willed
that'll fail. But the Bible says that's not
a fatalistic truth. He says the revealed things belong
unto us. The revealed things. Think about it. There's a broader purpose, however,
for the secret things belong to God. God's infinite. We're
not. Therefore, he doesn't give us
answers to all our whys and all his ways. Why he does what he
does. Well, I know it's for his glory.
The scripture says that. That's revealed. Some way, I'll
tell you what, some way God's going to get glory out of this.
You believe that? I do. You talk about the power of positive
thinking, that's it, isn't it? But that's from God, not from
some book that some false preacher wrote. That's not from psychology. Some way, God's going to get
glory out of this. But He's revealed to me in His
Word that I ought to strive as a sinner saved by grace to be
an instrument for His glory. That's what he's told me. Not
to ignore his word, not to go against his word. God has revealed,
though, how we can today know him and have the assurance of
salvation and blessing, protection, preservation, comfort. How? In Jesus Christ and him crucified
and risen. the Lord and Savior by trusting
Him, trusting His Word, follow Christ, rest in Christ for all
salvation, for all forgiveness, for all righteousness, for all eternal glory. We're
commanded by God to live in His wisdom. His wisdom that He's
shown us. By entrusting our future to Him
as Lord and not to ourselves, not to our own ideas, not to
our own opinions, not to our own desires. But trust Him. We cannot determine or control
the future. Isn't that right? We cannot determine
or control the future. We make our plans. Nothing wrong
with that. We express our desires. Nothing
wrong with that if they're not opposed to what God has revealed. If I tell you in the future I'm
gonna murder somebody, that's against God's revealed will.
You know why? He said thou shalt not kill. If for some wicked purpose I
do end up murdering somebody, I'll tell you exactly what. God's
gonna get glory out of it some way. That's a startling statement,
isn't it? People say, you ought not say
things like that. I ought not murder anybody. And if I do,
I should be executed. That's right. But you think you've got a better
way? Well, okay. Then you must be
God. Who hath known the mind of the
Lord? His ways are past finding out. We don't determine or control
the future, but we know our future is in his hands. Why doesn't
he tell us more? Well, first of all, because we
can't handle anymore. He's infinite, we're finite.
That's right, we're limited. God is unlimited. Secondly, because
it's His will to have a people who trust and honor Him, who
are totally dependent upon Him. And we've got many questions.
And we can be sure God's secrets are always designed for our good.
How many of you have ever quoted Romans 8, 28? We know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, who are
the called according to His purpose. How do you know that's true?
Well, the only way that it's revealed in Scripture is this
way. God has two wills. You say, well, what are you talking
about there? Well, look at it. He's got His secret will, and then He has His revealed
will. Let me show you an example of it. Go back to Genesis chapter
50. Genesis chapter 50. You know
the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph, he became arrogant, and
his brothers became jealous, and they plotted to kill him. It's what they plotted to do. And what happened? They didn't
kill him. Remember, his oldest brother, Reuben, stepped in,
said, we shouldn't kill him, but what we'll do, we'll just
sell him into slavery. And that's what happened. And
you know what happened in the story of Joseph, how he was a
servant to a man named Potiphar, how he was thrown in jail, how
he interpreted dreams, God gave him that gift, and through that
gift, he was raised up in Egypt to be second to Pharaoh. And
through him, when a famine came, he was able to intercede for
his nation, his family, and bring them into Egypt and keep them
from starving to death. Now, let me ask you a question.
Was it right for his brothers to plot to kill him? Absolutely
not. They were those wicked men. Was it right for them to sell
him into slavery? No. And you remember the story
how when they came back and it was revealed to Joseph who they
were and they knew who Joseph was, they were afraid. They were
afraid Joseph was going to do what? Was going to kill him.
He had that power didn't he? Joseph could have said off with
their heads and that would have been it. But look at what Joseph said,
look at verse 19 in Genesis chapter 50. It says, and Joseph said
unto them, fear not, for I, for am I in the place of God? That's a rhetorical question.
Am I not in the place of? He's saying I'm where God put
me. He didn't look at him and say,
you dirty rotten scoundrels, look at what you've done to me.
No, he said, I'm in the place where God put me. Look at verse
20. Now look, now does that exonerate them? Could they turn around
to each other and say, now look, fellas, we did the right thing
by trying to kill our brother and trying to sell him into slavery.
No, look at it, verse 20. But as for you, you thought evil
against me. What you did was evil. But God meant it unto good. Now what does that say? God meant
it unto good. Now God's not the author of evil
or sin. But he overrules it. He's the
governor of this universe. He doesn't get taken by surprise. You look at a scripture like
that and it just boggles your mind, doesn't it? Doesn't it? That's what it says. You say,
well, it really doesn't mean that. Oh, well, you tell us what
it means. Huh? You think you're wiser than
God? You can't do it, can you? But
God meant it under good. Look at the rest of it. To bring
to pass as it is this day, to save much people a lot. This
is how God worked all things for the good of his people. This is how Joseph's brothers
were kept alive. God overruling their evil. Now, what was God's revealed
will to Joseph's brothers? Well, Exodus 20 and verse 14
says, Thou shalt not kill. In fact, the whole summary of
the law is love your neighbor as yourself. That certainly would
include your brother. Let me show you something else. In Exodus 20 and verse 14 in
the Ten Commandments, it says, Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Turn to Matthew chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1 starts with
the genealogy Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And how he, in verse
1 it says, the son of David, the son of Abraham. And it says there in verse 2
of Matthew chapter 1, Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob,
Jacob begat Judas, and his brethren. That's Judah. This is the line
of Judah, the kingly tribe. He says, Judas begat Phares,
Zeron of Tamar. And Phares begat Esram, and Esram
begat Aram, and Aram begat Amenadab. What are all these begattings
for? Amenadab begat Naasan, and Naasan
begat Salmon. Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab. That's Boaz and Rahab. Salmon
and Rahab had Boaz. And Boaz begat Obed of Ruth,
and Obed begat Jesse. And Jesse begat David the King.
And David the Kim begat Solomon of her that had been the wife
of Uriah. Now, whose genealogy am I reading
here? Well, look down at verse 16.
And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus,
who is called the Christ. That's the genealogy. This is
the human genealogy of Jesus Christ. who was made of the seed
of David according to the flesh. And who did he come through?
He came through Solomon, who was begat of she who was the
wife of Uriah, the result of an adulterous relationship. Now
God's revealed will, thou shalt not commit adultery, David. And
you know David suffered for all that. You know that. You've read
the story of David. He suffered greatly. His family
was a mess. But out of that adulterous relationship
through that human line which God overruled and worked all
things after the purpose of his own will came who? Jesus Christ
the Messiah. Now David When he was committing
adultery with Bathsheba, he did not have in mind that through
this adulterous relationship the Messiah would come, did he?
It would be silly for anybody to conclude such an awful thing. David had in mind to fulfill
his own sinful lust against God's revealed will by way of commandment.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. And yet in God's secret will
all the time, things were going just the way it was planned.
Now that's offensive to a lot of people. You know why? Because God himself is offensive
to a lot of people. You say, how can you say things
like this? Well, let me give you another one. Turn to Acts
chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, verse 22. Now here's God's revealed
will. We've already said it. Exodus
20, 13. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. Well, look
at verse 22 of Acts. Peter standing at Pentecost.
Verse 22. You men of Israel. Hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also
know, him being delivered by what? The determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God. Christ was delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. You have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. It was the wickedness of man
that put it in the hearts of people to murder the Lord of
Glory. That's humanity by nature. Thou shalt not kill. Yet he was
delivered into their hands by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God. And look over at chapter four.
Look over here, verse 26. The kings of the earth stood
up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and
against His Christ. For of a truth against Thy holy
child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate
and the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together
against Him, verse 28, for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy
counsel determined before to be done. Just like Joseph was
delivered to Egypt through the wickedness of his brother His
brothers who meant it for evil, God meant it for good to save
much people alive. In the same way, the Son of God
incarnate was delivered to the hands of wicked humanity to do
what? By His obedience unto death to
save much people. Who? His sheep. And you know
what He said? He said it this way, He said,
I laid down my life of myself, no man taketh it from me. He
did it voluntarily. And he said, I did it to do the
will of my Father which is in heaven. And yet wicked men laid
hands on him. To do what? To go against God's
revealed will by way of commandment. And all the time fulfilling God's
secret will. Now that's the Bible. That's
why this book just confounds so many people. And when you talk about God's
revealed will, you know, God has given us specific commandments
and we're to do our best not to violate His commandments,
His revealed will by way of commandment. We stumble our way through everyday
life knowing that if we're God's children, saved by His grace
in Christ Jesus our Lord, He keeps us, He guides us, He directs
our steps. The Bible says the steps of a
good man, that's a sinner saved by grace. are directed, ordered
by the Lord. He guides us, He directs our
steps, He protects us, even when we mess up. And we do. Even when
we mess up. We see the world in what appears
to us as chaos. You know, when I read the paper,
see the news, it looks like a bunch of chaos out there. Men and women
flaunting their depravity and their sin, they call good evil
and evil good. And behind it all, look at Ephesians
chapter one. Behind it all, God's still on
the throne, governing this universe. He says it right here in Ephesians
chapter one, talking about the complete salvation of his people.
And those who are in Christ, look at verse 11, those who are
in Christ, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, Who
is he talking about there? Those who believe in Christ,
who rest in Him, those who are washed in His blood and clothed
in His righteousness, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him.
There's that word predestinate, people don't like it. You know,
I remember I always tell you about the fellow who told me,
he said, I don't believe that predestination. And I asked him, I said, where
do you think I come, I got that word. I said, it came from the
Bible. being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. That's what it's about. We know
it's God's will, for example, to glorify and magnify himself. He's going to glorify and magnify
his name. His justice, his holiness in
the salvation of his people by his free and sovereign grace
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is not suspended on
your will, it's on the will of God. Salvation is of the Lord.
We know it's God's revealed will that we go into all the world
and preach the gospel. Didn't He command us to do that? We know it's God's will that
all of His elect people, for whom Christ died, be brought
to repentance. Joe read that. Look at John chapter
6. John chapter 6 and verse 37. Christ said it. He said, All
that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. Now
what's he talking about? He's talking about his office as the
servant of the covenant. Savior of his people he subjected
himself to his father's will in the covenant to do what to
save his people and He says in verse 39 and this is the father's
will which has sent me that of all which he hath given me I
should lose nothing But raise it up again at the last day The
Bible says whosoever believeth on him shall be saved. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Will you
call upon His name? You better find out what His
name is first. You say, well, His name is Jesus. Well, in 2
Corinthians 11, I think it's verse 4 or 5, it says there's
another Jesus. Do you know there's another one?
Do you know there's many other ones? How do you know His name? Well, who is he? What did he
do? Why did he do it? Where is he
now? Those are all things that God's
revealed about him. Who is Jesus Christ? He's God
in human flesh. That's who he is. That's who
he is. He's perfect God, the Son of
God, the second person of the Trinity, and he's perfect man
without sin. Matthew 1.21, His name shall
be called Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
Matthew 1.23, His name shall be called Emmanuel, which being
interpreted, God with us. What did He do? Well, by His
substitutionary death on the cross as the surety of His people,
He settled the matter of sin. He settled the matter of God's
justice by shedding his own precious blood as the full payment of
all the sins of all for whom he died. So that they cannot
be charged with sin, sin was charged to him. And they have
a righteousness that answers the demands of God's law and
justice. He put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. He didn't come here and try to
save you if you'd let him. There's nothing in the Bible
about that. That's a concoction of man. That's an emotional,
psychological appeal just to try to get somebody down the
aisle so that we can put another notch in our Bibles. And it doesn't
work. It's not in the Bible. Yes, those who are saved come
to Christ. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. That's what he
says. Anybody who wants to be saved
God's way Shall be saved the problem with man is we don't
want salvation God's way we wanted our way That's the problem And if you do today want salvation
God's way But that didn't come to you naturally. That didn't
come to you because you're better than the person you're sitting
next to who doesn't want God's way. That came to you by a sovereign
act and gift of God's grace. That's how it happens. We know
it's God's will that all of His chosen people for whom Christ
died be brought to repentance. He said He's not willing that
any of them should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
That's talking about His people. We know it's God's will that
all His people come to obey the gospel and follow Christ in the
obedience of faith. That's how God brings them to
Christ. We know it's God's revealed will that we as His people here
on earth walk by faith in Christ, following Him and His word, honoring
Him. I want to honor Him. Do you want
to honor God today? That means honoring Him in what
you say, what you think, your attitude, what you do, Honor Him. Loving Him. Loving
one another in the bonds of truth and unity and peace. Not divisiveness. Not anger. That's not going to help. The
anger, ma'am, will not fulfill the righteousness of God. Will
not promote it. It won't do it. If I were to
say, raise your hand, don't do this, but if I were to say, well,
let's all raise our hands. Do you want to do the will of
God? Every one of us, I'd say, would probably raise their hands
and say yes. It's God's revealed will that
we be instruments of edification and love, not division and strife. We were singing that hymn, Nearer,
I love that hymn. But there's one line in there
that I kind of cringe at a little bit. And it says that Something about
discarding, I can't quote it exactly now, I should have left
it open. Something about discarding the pleasures or the desires
of sin. And the word I had problems with
was a word that appears before that in one of the stanzas, when
it says, gladly discarding the pleasures of sin. And I asked
myself, do I always gladly do that? I don't. Because I want to discard
the pleasures of sin, but I got a fight tooth and nail to do
that. How about you? There's a big part of me that
still wants to just wallow in the pleasures of sin. Whatever
you want to call that, I don't care. Some people say, well,
I call that the old nature and here's the new. I don't care.
You can call it a chicken if you want. I don't care. That's
not the issue and that's not the matter. The matter is we're
in a warfare of the flesh and the spirit. And it's not an easy
thing. We can't even handle it. It takes the power of God, doesn't
it, for us to deal with this. You say, well, do we want to
do God's will? Well, generally speaking, yes.
God has given us that desire if we're born again, if we have
the spirit of Christ. That's what he calls a new heart,
a new spirit. But there's still a big part
of us, the flesh, that keeps us from desiring and doing God's
revealed will gladly and keeps us from doing God's revealed
will perfectly. What did Christ say? He said,
love your enemies. Is that an easy thing for you?
It's not for me. If it's an easy thing for you,
I'll just admit it, you're better than me. I ought to sit down
and you ought to be up here. Well, really, you shouldn't,
because you just make us all feel bad. He said, bless those who despitefully
use you, who say all manner of evil against
you. Bless them. That's God's revealed
will. That belongs to me. I'm accountable
for that. You say, well, if you don't do
it perfectly, does that mean you're lost? Well, if it does,
we're all lost. Some of us might continue to
be dishonest about it, but no, you see, salvation's not based
upon my works, my doing. It's based on Christ. I was reading the book of James
the other day, I read that point where it says, count it all joy
when you fall into various testings and trials. Count it all joy
when you fall into various testings. Now, we have a spirit in us that
motivates us to do that. But I'm going to tell you something.
It's not a medium. When you get into a trial and a testing, I
mean, my first, I mean, I'm a good griper. I'm a good complainer.
That comes easy. But to count it all joy? In Philippians 2 and verse 1,
turn over there and I'll conclude with this. Philippians 2. Now again, we have the assurance
of knowing that God's going to work everything out to His glory.
He's working all things after the counts of His will. There
are secret things that He's not revealed to us. And we couldn't handle them anyway.
You know, think about it. I mean, the scriptures I've read,
can you handle them things? Most people can't. I mean, I
know they're true. But my soul, his ways are past
finding now. You see all that and men go all
kinds of different ways with it. They'll accuse God of being
the author of sin or they'll try to bring him off of his throne.
All kinds of things. You can't figure that out. You
can't explain them, but they're there. But the revealed things
belong to us. Look at verse 1 of Philippians
2. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, any comfort
in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the
Spirit, if any bows and mercies, that's compassion, fulfill ye
my joy that you be like-minded, having the same love, being of
one accord and of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife
or vain glory. That's strife getting our way.
That's what that means. But in lowliness of mind, let
each esteem other better than themselves. Now, is that an easy
thing? Give in. Look not every man on
his own things, but every man on the things of others. Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. who being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. For this reason God also
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
and of things in heaven, things in earth, and things under the
earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Amen. Let's sing hymn
number 299. Day by day is our closing hymn.