When we started talking about
the existence and being of God, and God having a personality,
all it takes to make a personality, and you can't talk about God
and His existence without telling what He's like. I listened to
a short thing yesterday on Sermon Audio with a discussion of the
sovereignty of God, and one question that people asked, And one man
asked the other, and he says, can a person know the God of
the Bible and not know that He's sovereign? He said, impossible. You can't know Him unless you
know Him as He's revealed in His Word. And He reveals Himself
in His Word. And He answers to no one. And
so when we talk about His attributes, we're just talking about what
makes Him to be God. What makes Him to be God. And
there's God's many, Lord's many. according to the scriptures.
But what makes God worthy of our worship, worthy of our praise,
worthy of our commitment, worthy of our heart, worthy to think
upon, worthy to meditate upon as Daryl prayed? What makes God
this way? What makes Him this way? Well,
several things. But tonight I want to talk about
God's foreknowledge. God's foreknowledge. This is
something that only belongs to God. Then you can't see past
the nose of her face. We can't. We just, you know,
it was not in man to direct his own steps. And oh, here he talked
about, in verse 29, he says, For whom he did foreknow, for
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate. Now, there's
two blessed truths which unconverted men, have fought, do fight, and
will fight until the very bitter end if God don't have mercy on
them. And that's the doctrine of predestination. And that's
the doctrine of God's blessed foreknowledge. And why anyone,
why anyone who claims to be a believer, to be a Christian, why they would
deny things in the Bible, there can only be one reason, is they
don't believe the Bible. They couldn't possibly know God.
They never experienced God setting up His throne in their hearts.
Never experienced God humbling them. Never experienced God's
power upon them. Our Lord Jesus Himself, and this
is one of the things about foreknowledge, He said, I know, I know my sheep. And my sheep hear my voice. I heard a lot of voices and a
lot of things until I heard his voice. And when I heard his voice,
I knew it was his voice. No doubt about it. And let's
consider some things about God's foreknowledge tonight. Let me
tell you, my method's always been to first say what it isn't.
Let me tell you what it's not. And it's not this. And this is
the way the average person believes it. This is the way the average
preacher teaches it. That God looks down through time to see
what will be. And then when he looks down through
time and he sees what will be, he just stands back and doesn't
interfere. Doesn't interfere at all. He
lets men go ahead and do what they're going to do. Let them
act the way they're going to act. But we know that God's not
that way. We don't know what anyone will
do in any given situation, but God knows what people will do
in any given situation. And they teach this, that election
is based upon God's foreknowledge. And he foreknew who would believe.
So since he knew who would believe and who would repent, so therefore
he elected them. I looked down through time, and
I seen that that fellow there is going to believe, and I seen
that one's going to repent. So I tell you what I'll do, I'll
just go ahead and elect them. They're going to do it anyway. You know, that would be all right
if it wasn't a lie. And what you have to deny to
believe that is in the total depravity, the total inability,
the absolute sinfulness of a man to believe that God will look
down through time and see men repent and believe. Nobody can
repent and believe unless God gives them life first. It's a
gift of God. So you see, if you say that God
looked down to see what somebody, and what it amounts to, it says,
it says some make themselves better than others because they
believe and they would repent. And so therefore, God saves them
based on what he sees that they're going to do. Did it look like
Paul was going to repent, believe on the Damascus road when he
had new warrants in his pocket to go give God's people? Did
it look like he was real sorry for his sin and sorry for the
way he felt about Christ when he was on his road to Damascus
on his big white horse and God put him down in the dust? No! Oh, he says, would it please
God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by
His grace? And I'll tell you, when you make
God's will dependent upon man and what He will do, that's not
what the Scriptures mean when it means foreknowledge. They
will not, our Lord said, you will not come to me that you
might have life. And I'll tell you why we can't
believe this. You know, people say, we believe
that's why God elected us. Well, what does the Scripture
say? It says in Acts 13.48, as many as were ordained to eternal
life, what happened then? They believed. They didn't believe
to get eternal life. They had eternal life, and that's
why they believed. They were ordained to it, and
faith came with it. You know all the people who know
that? People who tap into it. Huh? If God ever saved or elected
anyone because he saw in time that they would believe, then
that would make believing a meritorious act. And then that sinner could
stand back and boast and say, you know, I had something that
other fella didn't. I repented. My repentance was
better. My faith was stronger. Now, the Boy Scouts give out
merit badges. And they have a group over in
Kansas City that once a year they have a Book of Golden Deeds. And they give somebody the Book
of Golden Deeds because they've been so good for the year. But
God ain't never looked down through time and seen anything good about
anybody that ever drawed a breath. He said, there's none good, no,
not one. So, oh my, if we're going to
be saving for knowledge that has anything to do with salvation,
it's got to be on God's part. Sure ain't going to be on our
part. Ain't that right? For by grace are you saved through
faith and that knowledge of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works. Why in it of works, lest any
man should boast? We're in His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus, and God made Christ unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption, everything we need. Now, what
does foreknowledge mean? Well, if we're going to find
out what it means, we've got to find out how it's used in
Scriptures, how it's used in the Blessed Bible. That's why
we love the Scriptures. That's why we want to go to the
Scriptures. And you know, first of all, the word for knowledge
is not in the Old Testament at all. But the word know is. And the word know means to have
an intimate acquaintance with, a regard with favor. It means
to have an affection for. Adam knew his wife. Jacob knew
Leah. Jacob knew Rachel. That means
they had an intimate affection. That means it's a term of affection
and held in high regard and favor. And that's why, you know, it
says there in Jeremiah 1.5, it says, God said this about Jeremiah,
before you was formed in your mother's belly, what did he say?
I knew you. I favored you. I had affection
for you. I loved you with an everlasting
love. I knew you. He just didn't know
who Jeremiah was and didn't know what Jeremiah was going to do.
He knew him in an affectionate, appointed, Favorable, gracious
way before he's ever formed in his mother's belly. Huh? And that's why Hosea, you know,
he says this. He said, I'll love them freely.
And he said, among all the people there is only you only. Have
I known? I've known, loved, or appointed. And in the New Testament, it's
used the same way. Let me show you something. Look
over here at John 10 with me just a minute. I'm going to show
you two things here if I can. Well, more than that, John 10,
look at John 10, 14, talking about how this word know is used. Same thing as foreknowledge,
how God knew you before you was formed in the belly. John 10,
14, look what it says here. He said, I am the good shepherd
and know my sheep. I have a high regard for my sheep. I regard them with favor. I have
an intimate affection for them. I love them. I've appointed them. And not only do I know them,
but I'm known of mine. Now, look over in Matthew 7.23.
See what he says here about knowing. About what? This poor knowledge
of God. This intimate affection. If we want to know what to know,
that's a That's why the Scriptures tell us that Scriptures interpret
Scriptures. And that's what they do. One
Scripture will interpret another Scripture. Matthew 7, 23, look
what it says. Our Lord Jesus talking about
a bunch of people. And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you. Why didn't He? They didn't have
no affection for Him. He never graced them. He never
had no regard, no favor for them. No favor toward them, no love
for them, no affection for them. And so he didn't know who they
was, he didn't know what they did, he said they were workers
of iniquity, he said they lied on God, he said they said many
wonderful things, but he said I didn't know you, I did not
have an affection for you. You're not my sheep, I know my
sheep, I have an affection for them. I don't know you. Let me
show you another one real quick over in 2 Timothy 2.19. This
is one that shows us that not only are we loved and we're graced
and highly favored and highly regarded and appointed and loved,
but it shows us here that not only that's going to happen,
but He's going to keep us. This love, this foreknowledge
of God is going to keep us, going to preserve us. In 2 Timothy
2.19, look what it says here. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal, watch it now, the
Lord knoweth them that are whose. The Lord knoweth them that are
His. That's the foundation. That's why He has this seal.
In other words, He loves us and regards us and has affection
for us and knows us. But He's going to keep us. We
have this foundation. It's what our foundation's built
upon. And oh, if any man loves God, 1 Corinthians 8, verse 3,
you don't have to look it up. If any man loves God, the same's
known of Him. God knows Him. He has the right
knowledge. And foreknowledge, the word foreknowledge
is only used in the New Testament. And let me tell you something
here. I was talking to Don Kortner today. He called in. He said,
well, you're going to preach all night. And I said, we'll
talk about God's four nods. He said, let me give you four things
real quick about it. He just rattled it off. And he said,
well, at first, he said, what are you going to say about it?
And I said, well, it has to do with love and affection and regard. And he said, let me give you
four things. But I said, you know, it never has to do with
any event in time. Four nods never has to do with
an event. When people talk about, you know, God foreknew this event
would happen, that event would happen, though He does. It doesn't
have to do with any action that's going to take place. That's why
when anybody says that, you know, God showed me that Christ is
going to come back on a certain day or a certain time, that's
not going to happen. The foreknowledge doesn't have
anything to do with that. It doesn't have anything to do
with what a man does, his actions. Foreknowledge always, in the
scriptures in the New Testament, refers to people, to persons. Never to an event, something
like the event of you believing, or the action of you repenting,
or your action of praying. It has nothing to do with an
event or an action a person does. It has to do strictly with persons,
not what they do, or not what they do not do, not what any
person does in time. It doesn't do whether you do
bad or whether you do good. Foreign knowledge has to do with
people and people only. And let's look at them. First,
let me show you the first time we find it here in Acts 2.23. And that's why whenever you hear
somebody say, well, God's seen what would happen, you know,
no. The scriptures and even predestination
has to do with what people do. Acts 2.23. I ain't going to tell
you the things Don gave to me today. I'll just wait to get
them to you in a minute. I ain't going to give him the
credit for it. Keep that for myself. Oh, we had a good time today.
He taught me something. Let me just give this to you. This was such a blessing to me
today. He told me a priest last night, finishing up the book
of Exodus. And as the tabernacle was finished,
he said, other part of it, you know, typical of Christ, the
glory of God came down. Came down in this cloud, this
great glory of God come down. And he says, of course, we see
everything's in Christ, the glory of God come down. And he said,
we see all the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. All
fulfillment in Christ. He says, yeah. He says now, don't
ever forget this. He says Moses could not enter
into that tabernacle for the glory that was there. He says
the law came enter into this salvation and glory, the salvation
we have in Christ. Moses couldn't enter into the
tabernacle because of the glory. And the law came enter into our
salvation because of the glory of Christ. I'll just throw that out there.
That was worth all what a blessing it was to me. But here in Acts
2.23, look what it says here. Talking about the Lord Jesus.
Now watch what it says. being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. This is not talking about
the crucifixion or an action that's going to take place. It's
a person that was delivered up. God spared not his own son, but
delivered him up for us all. It's a person. Men done the evil
act, but God delivered up a person. Foreknowledge has to do with
the person. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God. God's foreknowledge has set him
forth to be this way. And it's not talking about the
act of crucifying, but who it is that's delivered up. This
is my Son, whom I love, whom I've appointed to this particular
time, this particular place, to this particular being delivered
into the hands of wicked men. And over here in Acts, Romans
8, which I just read a minute ago. Look here with me, just
talking about foreknowledge. Romans 8, 29. And watch what it says, for whom?
You see what it says, for whom he
did foreknow, for whom he did predestinate. So it's a person,
it's people he's talking about here. It doesn't talk anything
about us surrendering our wills and action we do. An event that
takes place in our lives. No, no. It's not talking about
us believing in our hearts. It's our person that's in view.
And it's whom he knew. It's whom he did predestinate.
It's whom he called. It's whom he justified. It's
whom he justified. And let me tell you something.
Eight times in two verses, the word he is mentioned here talking
about acts that God did, not something we did, something he
did. And for whom? Whom he foreknew. People he foreknew. Persons he foreknew. That's the
people he did predestinate. And oh, beloved, in Romans 11,
2, look what it says. So if you want to find out what
something in particular means, go through the Bible. This says
here in Romans 11, 2, God hath not cast away his people which
he foreknew. That he foreloved, that he foregraced,
that he forepointed, that he forehad affection for. He never
cast them away. Oh my. And the love, and let
me show you another one over here in 1 Peter chapter 1. Talking about election and foreknowledge. Poor knowledge always has to
do with people, persons. God foreloved us, is what it
means. God had grace towards us. God
had love towards us. God had an appointment toward
us. He had an intimate acquaintance
of us before we were. That's what He's saying. It's
people that He's done. In 1 Peter 1, in verse 2, look
what it says. according to the foreknowledge
of God, the Father. Oh my! Who is the elect according
to the foreknowledge of God? Back up there in verse 1. Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, entered the strangers scattered abroad.
These people that are scattered abroad. It's the people that
God loved. It's the people that he says
that were elect according to the foreknowledge of God. They're
strangers, and foreknowledge always means God foreknowing
people, persons. And let me tell you this, God's
foreknowledge is not the cause of something happening. Something
precedes it. God foreloved us. God had a high
regard for us. God appointed us. God embraced
us. God had a great love and affection,
loved us with an everlasting love. But something preceded
that foreknowledge before it goes on before Him foreknowing
it. And that's God's sovereign decree. You see, before anything's
going to happen in time, He's got to decree it. His determinative
counsel, His counsel was the ground of His foreknowledge.
And God's foreknowledge was based upon His purpose. He purposed
to have a people. So He has these people. He purposed
to save a people. He purposed to glorify His Son.
So what does He do? Because He decrees to have this
salvation in these people and His Son to come, then the foreknowledge
comes in and chooses them and loves them and embraces them
and appoints them and sets His affection on them. He foreknows
what will be. Because He decreed what shall
be. So God elects His people because
He foreknows His people. And let me tell you something,
and He knows that everything they're going to do is wrong.
They're going to do nothing right. They ain't going to repent right.
They ain't going to believe right. He won't love them anyway. Romans 9, just a minute. See, He foreknows us because
He elected us. And so our election is not in
us, it's in God's sovereign will. Romans 9, 11, look what it says.
For the children, being not yet born, neither having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but him that calleth." So he said,
Jacob had a lot. That's who I had great affection
for. That's the one that I foreknew. That's the one he chose. That's the one he had this affection
for. He saw I have a hatred. I didn't have this regard. I
didn't know him the way I knew Jacob. And you know our election
is not in us, and it's in God's sovereign will. That's why our
Lord Jesus said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babe. Why did you do that? For even
so it seemed good in my sight. And Acts 18.27, you don't have
to look at it, I'll quote it to you. They went down there
to help them, much who had believed, how? Through grace. Through grace. That's where we get our faith,
through grace. And God's choice of persons to be elected, to
be chosen, to be foreloved, to be foreknown, comes from nothing
in us or anything from us. We have contributed nothing.
That's why it's called an election of grace. And God not only knows
the end from the beginning, and let me show you Roman Revelations
5. God not only knows the end from
the beginning, He planned it, fixed it, predestinated everything
from the beginning, and then the people that He foreknew and
He foreloved, He fixed in such a way that they'd all be called, they'd all be justified. that
all be glorified, that all have faith, that all have repentance,
that all have the love of God dwelling in their hearts, that
have everything they need, and that have it all in His blessed
Son. Revelation 5, verse 12, saying, with a loud voice, Worthy
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, riches, and wisdom,
and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every
creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and unto the
earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them,
heard I say, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto
him that setteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and
ever and ever." Everything in this world. He's worthy. He is worthy because He did it
all. All to Him we owe. And I've got
another. I was going to deal with two
tonight, but I won't. I won't. I'll just deal with
that. I was going to deal with the supremacy of God, but I'll
wait till next week to deal with that. It's a little much, ain't
it? But God's for it, Hodges. You
always remember this. It's not Him looking through
time and deciding I'll react to how they act. Well, I see that that fellow
there, he's going to make a fine, fine believer. He's going to
make a fine Christian. Because boy, look at the faith
he's got. Look at them tears and look at
that repentance. Oh, his heart's breaking. I just
believe I'll elect him. I believe I'll choose him. Oh,
my. Wouldn't that be horrible? You
know what, that's why people brag about what they do. That's
the reason they'd rather brag about their free will than God's
free will. That's why they'd rather say,
who do you think you are? That makes God unfair. And that's
why Paul said, who art thou, O man, that replies against God? Shall the thing form, say to
him that formed it, why have you made me like this? And oh my, the very fact that
our Lord Jesus says, I know my sheep. When you go through the
Scripture, you look at how many sheep He called. He called them
by name. In the Old Testament, He started
out with Abel, Enoch, then He called that Noah. Noah only has found grace in
my eyes. Called Abraham by name. Grabbed ahold of Jacob. Just
laid hold on Jacob. You know why? Because he foreknew
him. I love you, Jacob. Is that good? That article that David Edmondson
wrote. Little man, big Savior. Oh, He calls them by name. Even
when they're dead, He calls them by their name. Lazarus, come
forth. Lazarus, come forth. Our Father, in the blessed, glorious
name of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Thank You for Your grace,
Your mercy, Your love, Your foreknowledge of us. You
foresaw us in our sin and our wretchedness, our darkness, our
blackness, our rebellion. And yet You came. You loved us. Loved us. Loved us, Lord, when
we were unlovable. Still unlovable. And yet You
love us. You foreknow us. You had regard
for us. You had love for us. You had
an appointment for us. And You know all of them. You sealed
us with this knowledge that You know us. Lord, we bless You for
it. Strengthen and encourage these
dear saints of God. Bless the Word to our understanding,
to our hearts. So we'd bow down before you and
worship you and honor you and acknowledge you that you're worthy
of all power, glory, and honor, and blessing, and wisdom. Oh,
we do. Lord, we're worthy. We bless
you in Christ's name. Amen.