I'm sure of it. My soul. Good evening. Let's all stand
together. We'll sing hymn number 110. 110. ? Alas, and did my Savior bleed
? ? And did my Sovereign die ? ? Would He devote that sacred
head ? ? For such a worm as I ? have done, he groaned upon the
tree. Amazingly, grace unknown, and
love beyond degree. Well-minded son, ? Darkness hide
? ? And shed His glories in ? ? With Christ the mighty maker died
? ? For men that preachers sinned ? ? But drops of grief can bear ?
Be seated. We'll sing hymn number 352. 352. Jesus, lover of my soul. water's roll, down the Tipper's
Steep. Life is best Safe into the haven,
God O receive my soul ? Refuge have I found ? ? Takes
my helpless soul ? ? On thee ? ? Eva leave me not alone ?
? Will support and comfort me ?
? All my trust will be with thee ? my defense Thou, O Christ, art all I want. Your world is all in me. Raise the fallen to the face All sin full of sin I am Thou
and full of truth to cover me. Let me take a leap Spring Thou
art within my heart Eternity. Good evening. I'd like us to
turn and read together tonight a familiar song, Psalm 46. A psalm I know you've read many
times and has been read publicly many times, but it spoke to my
heart today and gave me a measure of comfort, and I hope it does
that for you tonight as we read it together. Steve read in a
study tonight, Psalm 23, and it said there, yea, though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. And I believe this psalm goes
along with that. And I like how this psalm starts.
It starts this way, God, God is our refuge, and we need
a refuge. God is our strength. We have
no strength. All we need is God to be our
strength. God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Therefore, and I love this, therefore
will not we fear. Can we be so bold to say we will
not fear? Like Scott used to tell us a
lot, it's never presumption to believe God. Therefore, because
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,
therefore will not we fear. Consider it who it is we trust. Though the earth be removed and
though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though
the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains
shake with the swelling thereof, Selah, there is a river. The streams whereof shall make
glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the
Most High. God is in the midst of her. She
shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that
right early. The heathen raged. The kingdoms
were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth
melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge,
Selah. Come behold the works of the
Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh
wars to seize unto the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow
and cutteth the spear in sunder. He burneth the chariot in the
fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among
the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth.
The Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Our kind and gracious and merciful
Heavenly Father, we join our hearts together as one tonight
in praise and adoration and thanksgiving for your great goodness and mercy
to us and your long-suffering. Thank you for the the blessed
gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that gives us such
peace and such assurance. And Lord, if we can but fix our
eyes upon him, oh, how, what peace floods our souls, keep
us ever looking, ever trusting, ever believing him and him alone
for our salvation, our standing, our righteousness before thee. We pray that you'd meet with
us tonight and send us that stillness of heart as we bow before you,
as we open our Bibles and hear the word preached, and hear what
our Savior has done for us. We have an everlasting righteousness.
We have eternal redemption through him that can never be taken away. It's been established and settled
from all eternity. And it's in your purpose to save
your people. And you are God. And you are
our Savior. You are our refuge, our hiding
place. Thank you for our dear Savior.
Thank you for one another. We remember those that are weak
and frail. We do remember Brother Bill and
Fran and what they're called to go through. Give them grace,
give them peace, give them assurance, give them faith, give them joy
in the midst of sorrow and pain. And deliver them if you'd be
your will. Lord, please remember our children and our grandchildren
that don't know you. They're concerned about many things,
but Their soul was no concern to them. Their sin, their need
of a savior. Lord, we know that you can awaken
them, intervene in their lives, we pray, cross their paths with
the gospel. Leave them not to themselves,
their own will and their own way. Thank you for this gathering.
Thank you for our pastor. Thank you for the word we heard
this morning. We pray for Brother Bruce as he comes and we thank
you for him. What a blessing it is to have
men like Bruce that's willing to come and preach to us and
open God's word. Bless him, strengthen him, enable
him. Bring honor to your son. He alone
is worthy. It's our desire that he be magnified
and glorified and we'll be enabled to love him more. And go with us through the remainder
of this service, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Amen. So, It's a blessing. It's been a
while since he's played his violin, and I'm sure thankful he done
it today. I am. We're blessed to have a
dear, dear friend of this congregation, been here as much as anybody,
preached here as much as anybody, and I wish he'd just move down
here and be the preacher here. That's what I, you know, I'd
love for that to happen. But I love him and his wife,
Cindy. We're just so happy for him. And Brother Bruce, thank
you for coming. I know you've been had a long
weekend, but you come bring the Lord's message. It is a joy, a truly joy to be
here. I've said this before, but there's
really no place else I'd rather be tonight than here with you
dear saints to worship the Lord. And I appreciate Houston playing. He knows, he knows that gets
to my heart when I come here and he plays, and I appreciate
him doing that. I have a simple subject tonight.
And that's the title of my message. The Simple Look at Predestination. And I'm just a, still, I was
raised here, I'm a poor old hillbilly, and I never got much of an education. I don't know how I got through
high school. But I understand predestination. And I understand
it because I just go to the scriptures to see what it says. And as we
look at it from the scriptures, without man's opinion, it becomes
so, so simple. And it's just used, the word
itself, only four times in the scriptures. And that's what I
want to look at with you tonight. A simple look at predestination. And I want us to begin over in
Romans chapter 8 and verse 29 and verse 30. Very familiar passage
of scripture. I want to look at this passage
here and then I want to look at Ephesians chapter 1. Let's read verse 28 and 29 and
30 of Romans chapter 8. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. And now he tells us his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified,
and whom he justified, them he also glorified." God does many
things, doesn't He? The Bible says He's a working
God. His hands are everywhere, involved
in everything, and He does so many things, and He does them
for so many reasons. One of the reasons God works
and does things is because He wants to. It's just His desire. It pleases Him to do so. Whatsoever
the Lord pleased, that did He, in heaven, in earth, in the sea,
in all deep places. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were created." God doesn't
do everything just so you and I will notice what He's done.
He does many things that nobody will ever see, nobody will ever
know that He's done. There's universes, they tell
us, There are galaxies outside of our galaxy. Billions of them,
they tell us. No eye has ever laid eye on them.
No man has ever seen them and never will see them. God never
created them for man. He never created it for any eye
to see. He created it simply because
He wanted to. He was pleased to do it. God
does many things that He does to get Himself a great name in
our hearts. that we might praise Him for
it. I want you to turn quickly and hold your finger here in
Romans 8 because we're coming back, but look over in Psalms
chapter 145 and verse 1. Psalms chapter 145 and verse
1. God does so many things that
you and I will see these things and praise Him for it, and we'll
go tell others and they'll praise Him for it. Look how David says
it in Psalms 145, I will praise thee, I will extol thee, my God,
O King, and I will bless thy name forever and ever. Every
day will I bless thee, and I will praise thy name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness
is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy
works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak
of the glorious honor of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works,
and men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts, and I will
declare thy greatness." What God lets us see about His works,
He lets us see for that reason that we may stop and say, Oh
Lord, What have you done? What have you wrought? Bless
your wonderful and glorious name. God thirdly does things that
men would fear Him, that men would stand in awe when He shows
them what He's done. I know that whatsoever the Lord
doeth, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it and
nothing can be taken from it, and God doeth it that men may
fear before him." Creation, you look up and you know who created
this, and you stand in awe, don't you? When I consider the heavens,
the moon, and the stars that you've made, what is man that
such a creator is mindful of him? We stand in awe. We fear
him. He does wonderful things that
nobody else can do. He does things because he wants
and desires to do humanity good. Why does he send his son? and
to rise on the good and the evil. Why does he send rain on the
just and the unjust? Why does he give us fruitful
seasons and fill our hearts with gladness? He's pleased to do
humanity good. Humanity is not good. He doesn't
do it because humanity is good. He does it because he's pleased
to do humanity good. unmerited, unmerited goodness
and kindness, isn't it, what God does? So He does all of these
things for one reason or another, and there are some people, there's
a multitude that no man can number that God has did spiritually
good. He's did them eternally good,
and He's did that because all along He purposed to do that
for them. Not just temporal blessings,
but eternal blessings, even eternal salvation, and that's what we're
looking at tonight when we talk about men and women being saved. It's because God has predestinated
them to be saved. This word predestinate is only
written four times here in the New Testament that we're going
to look at, and it simply means, one of the simple definitions
means to appoint beforehand, to predetermine something. God
has predestinated. He has predetermined ALL THINGS
before time. Everything that takes place in
time has been predetermined for time, and God has did that. He's predestinated everything. But our text tonight in the text
in Ephesians pertains to God's predestinating certain individuals
to life eternal, to salvation, and that's what you and I want
to look at. The first thing tonight we see then as we simply look
at predestination is this, that predestination is of certain
individuals. God did not predestinate nations. He did not predestinate races
of people or groups of people. When you're talking about eternal
salvation and eternal life, God has predestinated INDIVIDUALS
to salvation. Notice how our text reads here. Look at it again in verse 30.
For whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
of many brethren. Moreover WHOM he did predestinate,
THEM he also called, and whom he called, THEM he also justified,
and WHOM he justified, THEM he also glorified." He foreknew
people. It was PERSONS, and look here
how He says this. He doesn't say He foreknew what
they would do. He foreknew that they would repent
and believe. It says NOTHING about what the
person would or would not do. It's the PERSON THEMSELVES whom
God has predestinated. Them and whom? And this word here, foreknowledge,
it has to do with a person, and only God can foreknow a person. You ladies, you have your babies,
you mothers, and you didn't foreknow that little baby. You had no
idea what that baby would be, what the baby would grow up to
be. YOU DID NOT KNOW THAT CHILD THOUGH IT WAS IN YOUR WOMB. ONLY GOD CAN FOREKNOW SOMEONE
BEFORE THEY'RE BORNED. and before time God foreknew
a great host of individuals out of Adam's race, and He provided
for them." What did He do for them? He predestinated them to
be conformed to the image of His Son. Now, so far I don't
see a thing here that's confusion, do you? There's nothing, if we
just look at this like it's written, there's nothing here to confuse
us at all. If you'll look at this word FORENO,
it's only written four times in the whole New Testament, the
word itself. It ALWAYS has to do with individuals,
and NEVER what the individual would or would not do. Has God
cast away His people, which He foreknew? elect according to
the foreknowledge of God the Father? Even it said of Jesus
Christ that He suffered the things that He suffered according to
the foreknowledge of God the Father. And here we have this,
He foreknew whom? Whom, not what, but whom. and because, Donny, he foreknew
you." And that word, can't we just tie it up and say that fore
means beforehand, and knew is an intimate word. It means intimacy. Adam knew his wife. He loved
his wife. God foreloved His people, and
He predestinated them. But it's people, isn't it? It's
individual. has nothing to do with nations
or groups of people or races of people. It's people all over
this world from all nations and all tongues. Some of you, hopefully
all of you, were predestinated by God. Secondly, notice this about predestination,
and this is so important to you and I. It's something that God
did. Everything here has His name
and fingerprints all over it. Those He did foreknow, He did
predestinate, He called, He justified, He glorified. It s His mighty
act. It s His wondrous works. You
don t see anything of flesh here. You don't see anything of man's
WILL here. You don't see man's FINGERPRINTS
here. This is God's WORK! It's what
He did! And isn't it a glorious thing?
We talk about how glorious creation is because God did it, and we
look at it and we think, How WONDROUS this is! And we look
at His secret providence and We look at the nations and everything
looks so confusing, but we know His hand is working and ordering
all things, and we say, What an amazing act! But NOTHING is
so amazing as this here. This is eternal. This is what
God did out of love in choosing and predestinating a great host
of people out of Adam's work. What a wondrous act. What a mighty
act that God has done. Aren't you thankful? I think
probably because so many today don't like this and pretty well
don't like this is because they can't see their fingerprints
here. has nothing to do with man and
his works and his will and his choices and his decision. When
we talk about predestination, who did it? Thirdly, when we look at predestination
here simply from the scripture, we see this about it. It's unchangeable. It's unchangeable. Those whom
he foreknew them he also glorified. Their names were written in the
Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world, and
not one single name was erased. There were mansions prepared
for them in heaven, and no mansion will go unoccupied. Not one seat
will go unfulfilled. Not one person will be unaccounted
for. There is no weak links in this
chain. It's unchangeable. Somebody said,
You mean the number can't be increased? No, sir. No, sir. That's settled. But thank God
they won't be decreased either. It's unchangeable. Whatsoever
thing God does, it shall be forever. Oh, doesn't that give you assurance?
If you're here tonight and you've been brought to Christ and you're
in the Lord Jesus Christ, what a foundation of assurance this
is! No matter where you go or what
you do or where you're at, the difficult situation you find
yourself in. There's one thing for sure, your
salvation has been FIXED! You're justified tonight because
God FOREKNEW you, and He predestinated you, and He called you, and therefore
He WILL MOST CERTAINLY glorify you. I always look at this verse,
and I think it's very telling that the Apostle Paul adds NOTHING
between justification and glorification. And in our experience, I mean,
it's full of stuff, isn't it? He called us, we believe on Him,
and He justifies us by faith in Christ. But boy, between that
faith and glorification, there's some long valleys, there's some
steep hills. There are some things that devastate
you, that turn your world upside down, but it just don't matter. And that's what Paul is saying
here. These things are not considered here because he's showing to
us that the eternal purpose of God in predestination is fixed
and nothing will change it. And that's such a wonderful ground
of assurance. I remember one time, it's been
decades ago, I wasn't very old in the Lord, but I went in one
of those deep holes that sometimes preachers get in, and I was in
a deep one. And I didn't know what in the
world was gonna happen to me. I didn't think I'd ever get out
of this hole. And I saw these two verses of scripture. I saw
it so instantly and so quickly. My eyes were open and I saw just
what I've been telling you. And I'm telling you, I came out
of that dark hole and I just sat in heavenly places in the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it gives you assurance. It's fixed. It's unchangeable. I am God and there is none like
me. I declare the end from the beginning,
I have spoken it, I will bring it to pass, I have purposed it,
and I will also do it. Fourthly, what does God predestinate
these individuals to? It mentions four things here
in our text. He's predestinating here in verse
29 to be conformed to the image of His Son. He's predestinated these people
to be made exactly like His Son. I don't know who could find fault
with this when you consider the end of predestination. If a man
says that I love Christ, I adore Jesus Christ, and then he s opposed
to predestination, how could that be since God has predestinated
these people to be JUST LIKE THE CHRIST that He professes
to love? If you love and adore Jesus Christ,
wouldn t you want everybody to be just like Him? That s God
s purpose in predestination, and it begins in the new birth. When He calls you to repentance
and faith in Christ, He makes you a new creature. You're created
in Christ Jesus, and there's a creature there that's never
been before. He doesn't make over the old
nature. He's a new creation. And what
does He look like? Well, Paul said it like this,
put on the new man. which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness. He's created in the image of
Him that made Him. That begins here, doesn't it?
I look at you over this crowd, and I've known some of you for
a long time. I see Christ in you. Did Jesus Christ trust His
Father? Yes. Don't you? Jesus Christ gave all. Is that
not your desire? Jesus Christ said, Father, not
my will, YOURS be done. Don't you pray that? Even in
your sickness, in your distress, don't you pray, Father, not my
will? You're just like Christ. You've
got this old man that's contrary and opposed, but I'm talking
about the new creature within. He's just like Jesus Christ. And that's God's purpose. And
it starts here. And someday, brothers and sisters,
you're going to be just like Christ. And there's not going
to be anything that even has the slightest appearance not
like Him. We'll see that just in a few
minutes. He mentions three more things
here. He's predestinated us to, and it's so easy to see this,
not only to be conformed to the image of His Son, but He's predestinated
us to the call. He's predestinated us to be justified. He's predestinated us to be glorified. Those four things in this passage
of Scripture that He's predestinated us to. And that's so easy to
see, isn't it? Men look at this, and they'll
avoid it. I was at a particular place one
time, and one of the elders got up to read the scripture, and
he began in verse 1 of Romans chapter 8, read down through
verse 28, and said, Isn't that a wonderful passage of scripture?
And when he lowered his head and began to read again, he picked
up at verse 31. He completely left out. Verse
29 and 30. That's just not being honest,
brothers and sisters. And when men say things like,
well, it's just too deep for us to understand, I say again,
I don't have much education, but I can read. And when I come
here and read this simple text, it explains itself. and it's criminal not to deal
with it honestly because it's so simply understood if you'll
just look at it. It's not complicated. I don't
think it's complicated. I don't think that's the problem.
I think the problem is men don't like it. But you do. You do. You love it, don't you? Remember the book that The man
sent a book to Brother Barnard, and he entitled the book, The
Despised Doctrine of Election, and he said, Brother Barnard,
read this and let me know what you think about it. And Brother
Barnard sent it back with a note, said, Change the title. I don't
despise God's election. A BUNCH of us out here do not
despise God's election, and you don't despise this truth, do
you? Two more places, look at it over
in Ephesians chapter 1. This is the SECOND two places
in the scripture that this word is used. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse
4 and verse 5. He begins in verse 3 by blessing
God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ because He's blessed us.
He has blessed us. with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ. And verse 4, it said, According
as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Here s the third place this word
is used. and He said, We've been predestinated,
and who did it? God did it. To what END? He predestinated
us unto the ADOPTION of children. Now, remember the passage that
I just read a minute ago where He said He's predestinated us
to be conformed to the image of Christ, that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren. And here in this verse he said
he s predestinated us unto the ADOPTION of CHILDREN. I will be their father, and they
shall be my sons and daughters, saith the LORD. What is God s
purpose in predestination? It s to have a family. It s all
about the family. God is our Father. Jesus Christ
is our brethren. He s our great brethren, and
you and I are children. God is a family man. He created
the family in the beginning, didn t He? You know why Satan hates the
family. You know why he s seeking with
all his might to tear the family apart. What's homosexuality about? It's just a strike against the
family. What's all the divorce is about?
To tear the family apart. The earthly family has been torn
apart, and what has it done to our country? What does it do
to family units? Oh, it tears them apart, does
it? But listen, brothers and sisters, God not only had an
earthly family, God's got a heavenly family, and that heavenly family
will never be torn apart. Never. Never. I love that, don't you? I love
the family. I love my wife. I love the children. I love my dad. And notice what he says here
in my text, Having predestinated us unto the ADOPTION of children. There's three aspects of adoption
that we read about in the scriptures. One of them we call the LEGAL
aspect of adoption. You don't just go and adopt a
child. You don't just go out there and
say, I'll take your child, and I'll adopt your child, and I'll
raise your child. It just doesn't happen that way.
It's got to go through the courts. You have to get a lawyer. You
have to have the papers written up. It has to be all legal. There's a legal aspect to adoption. And God just didn't go adopt
His people. They have to be redeemed. It
has to be according to justice, to the courts. in the fullness
of time God sent forth His Son, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption
of sons." It CANNOT be contrary to the law! God can't just say,
I love those people and I predestinated them to be conformed to the image
of My Son. They're going to be My children,
so that's that. No! What about the law? It has to
be according to the law. The law has to be satisfied.
So the Lord Jesus Christ REDEEMED us from the curse of the law. That's the LEGAL aspect of adoption. Then you got another aspect of
adoption, and that's the spiritual aspect of adoption. He redeemed
us from the curse of the law to adopt us as sons, and because
you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your
hearts, crying, Papa, Papa. Ain't that wonderful? And here's
what's wonderful about it, God predestinated us to that end. Sometimes what parents and what
children complain about that's adopted, that the children have
no resemblance at all of their dad or their mother. And they
just don't fit in. And they don't do well. God takes
care of that. The primary characteristic of
a son is put in their heart, and what is that? The SPIRIT
of his son! He sends forth the SPIRIT of
His only begotten Son in our hearts! And listen, I know this
is a statement, but you who have been adopted and you've had the
Spirit of God's own Son sent into your heart, you're just
as much a son of God as Jesus Christ is. Isn't that amazing? And to witness that in your heart,
He gives you the Spirit of His own Son. to bear witness with
your spirit that you are a child of God. You've not received the
spirit of the bondage again to fear. You've received the spirit
of adoption, whereby you cry, Papa, Papa. I read that, and
it's what the Greeks said that meant, and I just can't get over
that. I love that, Papa, Papa, Papa. You hear little babies
say that sometimes, Papa, Papa. Don't you say that? Oh, sometimes
you get homesick and your heart gets heavy. You say, Papa, don't
make me wait too long. Papa, Papa. This is God's act. And there's
another aspect of adoption, and that is physical. Look how he
says it down here in Ephesians chapter one. And look in verse 13. No, it's in verse 11, I'm sorry.
Look in verse 11. In whom also ye have obtained
an inheritance, No, it IS in verse 13, I m sorry, look down
in verse 13. And whom ye also trusted, ye
trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. After that ye heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and whom also after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,
which is the earnest of our inheritance, that s the damn payment, until
the redemption of the PURCHASED POSSESSION unto the praise of
His glory." And you know what He s talking about there when
He talks about the redemption of the purchased possession?
He s talking about the BODY. Look, hold that, and look back
in Romans chapter 8 with me. In Romans chapter 8, a very familiar
passage here, He talks about this. In Romans 8 and look in
verse 22. Look in verse 22. Romans 8 and verse 22, For we
know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together
till now. And not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we groan
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that is to say,
the redemption of our body. Christ has redeemed the body,
and the Father has predestinated us to be conformed to the IMAGE
of Christ's BODY as well as His SOUL. Someday you're going to
look just like Jesus Christ. I don't understand that. The
Apostle John did not understand that. He said, It don't even
yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when He shall
appear, we shall be like Him. And I'm just saying, brothers
and sisters, that that's God's purpose in predestination. There's
going to be a multitude in Heaven that no man can number. And they're
going to have glorious bodies just like Jesus Christ, their
Lord and their Savior. And it's all because God has
predestinated them to that end. One more place this word is mentioned,
and it's here in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 11 that I was going
to read to you a minute ago. Look at this. Ephesians chapter
1 and verse 11. in whom also ye have obtained
noninheritance, being predestinated to this inheritance, according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. This has to do with two things. He predestinated them to noninheritance. Peter talked about that inheritance,
didn t he? He said it's incorruptible, it's
undefiled, and it fades not away, and he says it's reserved in
heaven for you. Paul said it like this, For the
hope which is laid up for you in heaven. And he said, There
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, not to me only,
but all those who love his appearance. It s reserved, it s laid up,
it s certain because God has predestinated them to that inheritance. It has to do with that. But it
also has to do with something else here. The last portion of
this verse said that being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who works ALL THINGS, EVERYTHING, after the counsel of his own
will. And what this word here tells us, this aspect of predestination,
it s telling us that God is working EVERYTHING without exception. now and time according to what
He purposed and planned before the world. He is a working God. His hand is in everything, and
everything is working according to His purpose. What a mighty God. That's why
we bow before Him. This is why we worship Him. This
is why we tell of His mighty acts. There's nobody like Him.
Nobody can do these things. His hand is everywhere, guiding
and working, though it s so secretly done. There it is. You say, Bruce,
how do you know? It tells us here. It tells us. He worketh all things after the
counsel of His own will. We talk about accidents. I guess,
I don't know how else we're gonna say it. We had an accident today.
It's so ingrained in us, I don't know what else we can say. We
had an accident. Poor people that we are. By chance, something happened.
By chance, something didn't happen. But oh, when we look to heaven,
there's no such things as chances and accidents. And we don't have
to consider all the second causes. We consider the first cause.
And when we consider Him, there He is working and ruling and
doing. And it must be all good because
He does it. And what a MYSTERY that He does
it in this sinful, fallen world! How could He not involve Himself
in SIN and CORRUPTION because He s holy? He can do these things
and it doesn t corrupt Him because He s holy. Paul doesn t give us these scriptures,
and then Try to explain to us how it all works out. Romans
chapter 8, verse 29 and 30, He didn't stop and say, Now here's
the way all this is working. When He comes here and He says,
God is predestinated, He s working everything, He didn t stop in
Sinai here, how He s doing it, we couldn t have figured it out
anyway. It s too mysterious. There s no need for Him to tell
us, Here s the way it is, here s the way you figure all this
out, it can t be figured out. God is too big, He s too mysterious. We just read it and live in the
faith of it. That s all we can do, isn t it?
That's all we can do, and that's enough. That's enough. How and why and everything else
is his business. Ours is just to believe him.
You wanna know if you're one of these? Then come to Christ.
Give yourself up to Jesus Christ the Lord. Say, Lord, save me.
I'm yours. Save me. And don't let him go
until he gives you the assurance that he's did it. And then you
can go back and put yourself in these scriptures. He predestinated
me. He called me, justified me. And
he'll glorify me. All things work out for good
we know. Such is God's great design. He orders all our steps below. For purpose is divine. This is
the faith that keeps me still. no matter what the test, and
lets me glory in His will, for well I know it is best." So now the future holds no fear. God guards the work begun, and
mortals are immortal here until their work is done. I love this. Someday the path
He chose for me. will all be understood. In heaven's
clear light, I'll say, all things worked out for good. And we know
it will and has and does because he did it. Father, thank you. Thank you,
oh, our father, our papa, our papa. Thank you in the name. for the glory of our dear Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for this, dear people.
Thank you for letting me see them again and speaking to them and looking
into their eyes. Your children, your people, your
loved ones, your family, your redeemed ones, the ones that
you so provided for Carefully watch over every moment of every
day lest they suffer any hurt. Thank you for letting me know
them and fellowship with them. Thank you for Donnie and Shirley.
Uphold him, give him grace to go out and to come in and to
lead this congregation. Bless them, Lord, for your glory.
Thank you for your mighty acts and for your wondrous works.
In Christ our Lord's name, amen. Thank you, Brother Donnie. Thank God for that. Yes, thank
the Lord for that. Here's another place, Brucey,
I know you know about it. But in Acts 13, 48, same word,
predestination. As many as were ordained predestinate
to eternal life, what'd they do? Simple, simple, simple. Oh, I loved it, I loved it. Thank
you, brother. Oh, God bless you. 42, number, page 42. Let's stand
together in saying this. And Bruce, you go back there
and let everybody say something to you. Tell you how much they love you
and appreciate you. Oh, that was so good. So good. Bring forth the royal diadem
and crown him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem
? Ye chosen seed of Israel's race
? He ransomed from the fall ? Hail Him who saves you by His grace
? And crown Him Lord of all ? Hail Him who saves you Let every kindred, every tribe,
on this terrestrial ball To Him all majesty ascribe and crown Oh, that with yonder sacred throne
we at His feet may fall. We'll join the everlasting song
and crown Him Lord of all. We'll join the everlasting song
and crown Him Lord of all. Oh, what a blessed evening. Oh, what a wonderful evening.
That's good. See you Wednesday, God willing.