three. I want you to look at a couple of verses here today. But before I do that, I want to read you, I pulled off some quotes this morning. I'm going to read these quotes. These are four prominent men that you can find on the internet or TV or radio or in your local bookstore. I wanted to read these quotes to you because I think what between these four men or what they say gives a pretty good idea about what most of modern Christianity is preaching and teaching. and believes, and even if they say they don't believe that, they basically, by their actions towards a lot of things, they actually uphold what these men say. But all these men have lots of letters behind their names, gone to prestigious schools, but I want to read these I want to read these first so you guys can hear what they're saying. Again, these are smart men, men that have been to Bible schools and had all kinds of educations.

But this often shows how that has nothing to do with anything. I mean, to be honest with you, you can have all the degrees in the world and still not have understanding of God's word. because it's a spiritual thing. It's spiritual understanding that's given by the spirit himself. And so just because guys have a lot of names behind or degrees behind their names because they preach in big giant megaplexes doesn't necessarily mean that they are correct in what they preach.

But I want to read these to you before we start because I want you to compare what they say with what we're gonna see this morning in some of these passages that we're gonna read as it pertains to these two passages in Job, especially 13 and 14 that we're gonna be looking at here.

The first quote I'm gonna give, probably the most famous of these guys, at least famous to me, to other people, these other men may be more famous, but to me, this guy is more famous, and mainly because whenever I first come into the Doctrines of Grace, One of the first preachers and I was actually listening to this guy before I kind of really Admitted the doctrines of grace was the truth I was I was listening to this guy preach and I mainly because I just loved The way that he delivered his messages how he was so passionate about preaching and and everything but John Piper I think is one that most people Listen to especially if you're you know, the doctrines of grace and everything. He's one of the preachers of a lot of Calvinist revere and and love and everything like that and John Piper has said a lot of things that I agree with and I like but the more I begin to listen to him and the more that I Studied scripture and everything like that. There's a lot of fallacy in John Piper a lot of fallacy in John Piper. But anyway, I want you to listen to these quotes.

This is from his article, and I think he may have even had a book on this, but I got it from the article, Are There Two Wills in God? John Piper writes, we must distinguish between God's will of decree and God's will of command. So he believes that God has two wills, one of decree and a will of command. He says, God may will something in one sense that he does not will in another sense, okay? Then he goes on to say, God's will of decree always comes to pass, but his will of command is often broken. Okay, so that's what John Piper says. He says that God has two wills.

One is a will of command, One is the will of decree, and what he means by that is God has a will that I'm decreeing all things that are gonna take place, and then I have a will that I'm gonna give commands that I want people to do, but that may not transpire. Some people may break that, as they often do. I mean, his will was thou shalt not kill, but people killed. Thou shalt not commit adultery, people committed adultery. So therefore that will is always broken.

However, we view these things as one will of God and that he has determined that the command is not separate from the decree. The commands that God gives has a purpose, and the purpose of the command is not that you obey them to get any kind of righteousness out of them. It's the command is there to show your sinfulness, to show your inability, to show your need for Christ Jesus.

So we would disagree with John Piper on that, but I think we'll see the fallacy in what he says here in just a little bit. The second person Can you get me some water? I've got a tickle in my throat that I can't get out I'm just about out of coffee and I don't really want one more coffee Sorry folks the second person that I want to read a Quote from is Greg Boyd. I don't know if anybody knows who Greg Boyd is but he's a Fellow I think he's passed away now, but He was a huge proponent of open theism whenever this kind of came on the scene and started growing back in the late 90s, early 2000s, I think it was, maybe even in the 80s, maybe.

But he said, God can change his mind in response to what people do. He also goes on to say, the future is partly open and God adjusts his plans as free agents make decisions. Now, keep in mind what he's saying here, brethren. Thank you. Appreciate it. He says that God can change his mind in response to what people do. Pay close attention to that, in response to what people do. So two things I find in that, God can change his mind and he does it in response to what other people do. And he says the future is partly open and God adjusts his plans as free agents make decisions. The next guy is Clark Pinnock. Clark Pinnock says this. He says God is open to change. He is not locked into a frozen future. He says God takes risks. God takes risks and revises his intentions in response to human actions. Now. I should print this out so y'all could have it in front of you so you can these things in your mind as we go through the scripture here in a minute. Jack Cottrell was another one that I pulled a quote from.

He says this, God truly changes his mind when scripture says he repents. God truly changes his mind when scripture says that he repents. Now, I read all those quotes because, like I said, I think that is a good overview of what, no matter what denomination you are, no matter, you know, what religion you are, to be honest.

This is the mindset that most people have about God. It's that God changes his mind or reacts, or that he can say one thing and then turn around and not do it because of what men do. And brethren, I find that very offensive in the fact that that now makes our God a God that is not faithful, that is not trustworthy, who does not keep his promise, When the Bible says that God is not a liar like men is, like men are, he says God is not a liar. God cannot change. And we'll see that as we kind of work through some of these things. But let's start here in Job 23.

I won't get into all the background about Job and what's going on here. I just basically want to look at two verses. that come forth here in Job as Job was being brought through this trial that God had brought him through. It wasn't a punishment. Job's trial wasn't a punishment for what he had done, but it was a trial that God had purposed for Job to come through so that it would prove the faithfulness of God. It would prove the faith of Christ in the believer and how the faith of Christ in the believer cannot be destroyed whenever God gives it to us. But again, I'm not here to talk about all what Job was going through and all that stuff. I want to deal with these truths that we find in these two verses.

Scripture says, but he, speaking of God, but he is of one mind. Now that right there, that one phrase in that one verse has already destroyed what John Piper said and what Clark Pinnock said. Matter of fact, what all four of those men said, but specifically directly them quotes that they quoted.

He is of one mind. And then it says, and who can turn him? He is of one bind, meaning he has got one will, one determination, one purpose. He is of one mind and who can turn him. So whenever we look at that phrase that he is of one mind, what is that saying? Let's just kind of break it down in its simplest terms. What does that mean about God? Whenever the Bible says that God is of one mind.

It means that he's unchangeable. God is unchangeable. God never adjusts. He's unchangeable. God never reacts. God is unchangeable. You know, a reaction is something that happens whenever something happens that we weren't expecting. And now we react to the source that caused the reaction. OK. God never reacts. God is unchangeable.

God knows all things. And as I've spoken about many times, I've written about it many times. God knows everything, not because he foresees the future, but God knows everything because he has declared everything and he is in that decree, he has predestinated all of it that's taken place. The very decree predestinates everything that will happen. If God says it, it will come to pass. If God has declared it, it will happen. And so whatever God sees in the future to happen, he sees that and knows that because he has declared it and purposed it to be. And by the way, I will say that by Christ Jesus has brought it to pass. We'll see those verses as well. I think as we move forward, if we get there, God is of one mind. That means he's unchangeable. He doesn't revise his plans. His plan stands. Who can turn him? If God has laid down a plan, Nobody can turn him from that plan. If somebody can turn God from that plan, then God is not unchangeable, right?

So God's will is not influenced by anything outside of himself. God's will is not influenced or changed by our sin, by our obedience. God is not changing because of something the devil does. He isn't changing something because of what some governments do. He doesn't change because the way of society is. God never changes at all.

Societies, men, angels, demons, devils, everything in the creative order here, everything that is in time is where it's at. doing what it does and accomplishing what it's accomplishing by the determinant decree of God. Therefore, everything that's happening in all of its changes, in all of its commotion, in all of its chaos, everything that's happening in all of its unknowable future for us has been purposed by God, determined by God. and God is not going to change any of it.

He may speak to us in terms of sounding like something is going to change. He may speak, and I'm going to use the big doctoral words. He may speak anthropomorphic to us. He may speak in a human way to us for our understanding. But whenever we take scripture And we look at scripture and see what scripture says about God's unchangeableness, about God's one-mindedness, about God's faithfulness, about God's determination. Whenever we see those things, we have to look at all those verses that seem to say that God is responding, God is reacting, God is changing his mind, God is repenting. we have to look at those verses in light of those solid doctrinal principles that are set down in scripture on who God is and how God functions. Those have to be, those have to be bore up by the doctrine that the Bible teaches about the character and the person of God. If those things are not looked at and viewed at through the lenses of the doctrine that is given to us as God has revealed himself, then brethren, we're gonna look at every little thing in the scripture, and we're gonna take it out of its context, and we're gonna see God in a light that God is not. Look with me if you would at Psalms while we're there, in Job, just turn over a few pages to Psalms 115. Look at verse three. It says, but our God is in the heavens.

He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. That's a foundational principle. God does whatever he pleases. That means God's will is subservient, or excuse me, not subservient. God's will overrides all our wills, every will. God's will is the determining will of all wills because God does whatever he pleases. That means nothing can stop what he wants to do. Nothing can hinder what he wants to do. Nothing will cause him to change his mind about what he wants to do. So God does whatever he pleases.

Now, let's just think a few minutes about things that we hear on TV, things that we hear on radio, things that we've probably been taught growing up and everything. God wants everybody to be saved. Well, it says right here that God does whatsoever he has pleased. If God wants everybody to be saved, then God will have everybody to be saved. Nothing can stop that. Matter of fact, before we get too far into it, look with me over at Daniel. Not this Daniel. Look with me at the book of Daniel, chapter four.

Verse 35, it says, and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth, now, let me just stop there because there can be some misunderstanding about what the book is saying here. And I've heard some preachers say it in this tone. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. meaning that God just looks at us as like, you're under my feet, you know, in condescension, you know. That's not what the point he's trying to make here. Nebuchadnezzar has, if you remember, Nebuchadnezzar has been brought through some stuff or about to be brought through some stuff, right?

He says, all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, meaning that there is nothing that is challenging God. There is nothing that is superseding God. There is nothing that is gonna be stopping God from accomplishing what he wants to do. Whatever God says he's gonna do, he's gonna do because nobody is being taken into account when God is making his decisions. Which by the way, God made those decisions before the foundation of the world.

He's not progressively making decisions as he goes. He's not progressively decreeing what's going to happen next after you've done something. That goes back to what these other men were saying. God, there's this open theism. There's this openness to God's plan. There's this openness to God's work that the future isn't solidified, that God does react and respond to human will. And therefore, he purposes and plans and decrees what will happen out of that, so that it all, in the end, obtains to the purpose, not obtains, attains, to the purpose that God wants. So, you know, the illustration like I've used several times before, God is kind of like a hockey goalie up there, and all this stuff is just chaotically going on, and he just, every time the puck comes at him, he's just knocking it back into play, knocking it back into play.

So, every time somebody's getting out of line, out of what he wants the end to be, he just kind of knocks them back into line this way and that way and this way and that way, and he's just waiting to see what will happen. everything that happens has happened because he is designed it decreed it to happen but let's go on it says all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing and he doeth according to his will he doeth according to his will he doesn't check with us he doesn't check with anybody he says he doeth according to his will in the army of the heaven among the inhabitants of the earth now is there anybody left out of that the army of the heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth that's all there is there's nothing else he do according to his will in heaven and in earth you remember Jesus has been given power over All flesh. He's been given power in heaven and in earth. It says, he do it according to his will in the army of the heaven among the heavens of the earth.

And here it is, listen, brethren, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? So what that's telling us, brethren, that God is unchangeable. He does what he wants to do. He does it irregardless of anyone else's thoughts and ideas. He is the sovereign God. He consults nobody. His plan is the plan and the only plan and none can stop it. None can stop it. So God does whatever he desires to do.

Back in our passage, get back to it here. Job 23, but he is of one mind and who can turn him? But look what it says next. It says, and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. Now that last verse we just read goes right along with this. Whatever his soul desireth, that's what he does.

So nothing is dependent upon my willingness. It's not contingent upon my obedience, especially salvation. But I would say anything in life is not contingent upon me doing something, upon my performance, but in particularly when it comes to salvation, look at Romans chapter nine with me. Keep your place, let me mark my place here. And Romans chapter nine, In verse 16, scripture says, so then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. See, it's God's desire to show mercy. And what did he say? Look at verse 15. He saith to Moses, God said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So what do we learn?

What are the principles that need to ground our understanding when we look at all these other verses in the Bible that seem to play out that God changes his mind, God repents, God is affected by what somebody else does or makes decisions based upon somebody else's will, as these men have quoted, said.

Well, here it says that I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy. God's will to show mercy to somebody is God's prerogative as God. He can give mercy or he cannot give mercy. And that's the very argument here in Romans 9, that God can set his love upon whoever he wants to set his love upon. that he can make one a vessel of honor and one a vessel of dishonor, and that does not erode, destroy, or darken his holiness, or his righteousness, or his justice, because God is who he is. That was the very name that he gave Moses, right? I am that I am. I will be who I will be. And who I will be, God has declared. He said that I am righteous. I am holy. I am just. I cannot change. I am compassionate. I am gracious. I am merciful. All those things God declares about himself. So we believe that God is all those things.

But if God does choose one and not another, does that change who God is? No. What needs to change is our mindset and how we view God. We think God becomes unrighteous by not giving salvation to everybody. But the Bible doesn't declare God to be unjust for doing that. Matter of fact, it says that God is just, look at verse 14, or excuse me, verse 13.

As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Is it unrighteous for God to choose Jacob and love Jacob, but to reject Esau and hate Esau? Well, it says here, God forbid. Why? What are the grounds? Because God has the right to show mercy and compassion on whomever he wants. And he's not obligated to show it to everybody else. So God does whatever he desires to do.

Look at Titus. Chapter three, look with me at verse five. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, But according to his mercy, he saved us. Now we just learned that his mercy is given to whomever he chooses to give it to. And he's not obligated to give it to anybody. But he's given it to some. He's shown compassion on some. He's loved some and given it to them. See, our problem is, the problem with natural man in general is we feel that we are owed something. We feel that we deserve something.

Whenever in the garden Eve was deceived, she was deceived by the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. She believed that she was worthy to be as God. Whenever we think our will should be done, we are saying that we are worthy to be as God, that our will should override any other will.

Whenever men preach that God is sovereign, yet he in his sovereignty has given us a free will to do whatever we want to do. What you're saying is, is God in his sovereignty has given up his sovereignty to let you be sovereign. That's what you're saying. Whenever you say God and His sovereignty has allowed us to make our own choices, you have said that God has chosen to not control, not to have determined everything, but to leave it into your hands and that He will respond accordingly as you have chosen.

And that is completely opposite of what we have been reading here. There are no two wills of God. There is not this overarching will of God and then this under arching will of God that he lets you just run rampant and do whatever you want to do. He says, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration. and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Notice there that I had nothing to do with you in that verse. He didn't save you because of anything that you did.

So we see that God is of one mind, he's unchangeable. We see that God does whatever he desires and none can stay his hand, none can stop him. He does whatever he wants to do. Listen, God overcomes any rebellion. God isn't responding whenever men lash out at him, okay? God overcomes any kind of rebellion. Look with me, if you would, at Psalms 110.

Well, I guess let's reference our, go back, let's reference our passage we're in, back to Job. But he is of one mind, and who can turn him, and what his soul desires, even that he doeth. For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me, and much things are with him. So he, he performs the thing that is appointed for me, that means that he is bringing about whatever it is that he has purposed for me.

In Psalms 110, we see this. Go say, well, you know, like I said a while ago, some people say, well, God in his sovereignty has given us a free choice to choose or to choose otherwise. to accept him or to reject him. I know that for a fact because that's what I used to preach. I heard that all growing up. That I heard Adrian Rogers all the time saying, God is a gentleman. He will never override your will. You know, he'll never force you to do anything. You know, that he will respect your will, whatever your will is, everything. That's not a sovereign God. That's not a sovereign God. That is a weak God. That's not the God of scripture, by the way, more importantly. But look at Psalms 110 and look down at verse three.

It says, thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. Thy people, I wrote a little article about this and it's published in Larry's book, The Lies of Free Will as the, I think it's the fourth, is it the fourth? Or the introduction or whatever to his book. I wrote a little article about this that you can find online or in Larry's book. If we break down this verse, we're gonna see some things. Number one, he says, thy people. there's a specific people that God has, shall be, it's not a possibility, not a maybe, shall be willing in the day of His power. Whenever God's power is exerted upon us, He makes us willing.

So we may be, we may rebel against God our whole entire life and say, I don't want that God. I don't want that God. I'm not going to listen. I don't know how many times I said, I hate the doctrines of grace. I hate predestination. I hate election. I will never do. I don't know how many times I talked with friends and family, us riding on master's voice bus and everything, reading stuff for my uncle. and saying, I hate that, man.

Who in the world would want a God that controls you like that? Who would want a God that, you know, doesn't let you have a free will? Who would want, you know? Well, if he forces us to, if he forces us to be saved, then that's not true love. We cannot truly love him. If we're forced to love him, then that's not true love. God wants a genuine, true love. See, that's the problem though, brother. It's because we don't understand, we're not being given sight to see that the Bible says that we don't have love for God, love for this God. We have love for the ooey-gooey God that everyone's celebrating today. We have a ooey-gooey love for the God that we've molded into our image. I was watching last night, just towards the end of it, but the old movie Ten Commandments was on last night. I was telling Lori, I said, man, I remember as a little kid watching that.

And I just was so amazed, especially when every part of the water, you know, man, I was so amazed at that and everything. And I was watching and I picked up about how they twisted scripture a whole lot during that thing. But it was amazing to me to see how God controlled everything that was going on in every bit of that. and how that nothing happened apart from what he wanted to happen. And that he was controlling that. And you know, like I said, in my old self, I hated a God that would do something like that. You mean you're gonna make somebody do this and that? But look what he did.

He made Pharaoh do exactly what Pharaoh, what he wanted Pharaoh to do. And Pharaoh did exactly what God wanted him to do. And the people did exactly what God wanted them to do. And out of all that, he brought forth not only a deliverance for people at that point in physical, you know, ethnical people over there at that time, but in all that 400 years in bondage, them going down into Egypt by the hand of Joseph, them coming out of Egypt by the hand of Moses, and then moving into the promised land later by the hand of Joshua, all pictures of Jesus, all giving a display of our salvation in the lives of real people actually going out, making willful decisions about all kinds of stuff.

God's overarching will was causing all that to happen to show forth a perfect picture of our salvation. His people shall be willing in the day of His power. Whenever His power comes upon us, He makes us willing, which we will never be willing. He makes us love Him, which we would never have loved Him. He gave us that love that we would never have had.

That's grace, brethren. For you to be able to love God is the grace of God in your heart because your heart is desperately wicked above all things. Your heart is at enmity towards God. God took that heart out and put in a heart of flesh if you're his children. A heart that loved him. God's grace overcomes all that rebellion against him. Look at John chapter six.

Verse 37. Popular phrase here. We've read this millions of times. I've quoted it millions of times. All that the Father giveth me. Hopefully someday. Will accept me into their heart. And I will come in if they let me. Well, ain't that what we hear taught in our modern churches today? If you let Jesus into your heart, he'll come in and save you. Or if you're already saved, God will work mightily in you if you let him. God will help you through anything in your life if you let him. And all that preaching, who's in charge? all that the father giveth me and i've got this in my bible i've got this circled like big circles shall come to me there's no way no how that not one of the all is going to be lost all that the father gives me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will let no wise cast out.

See, God's will overcomes our will. God overcomes our rebellion. Hey, well, let's look at one more back in Psalms there, having to do with this particular topic. Psalm 65. Verse four. Blessed is the man whom the Lord, or excuse me, blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causeth to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. Notice, brethren, blessed is the man whom thou choosest and cause it to approach. Old Mike would have said, poor fella, God made him do that. Poor fella didn't have a choice in the matter. God made him do that. But what does the Bible say?

Just the opposite. Have you noticed a lot in the things that we read and study and preach, that a lot of the things that the Bible actually teach is actually the opposite of what we have believed and preached and hear preached all over the world? God's doctrine is not man's doctrine. We hear man's doctrine all the time. We're just bombarded by it all the time. But God's doctrine is completely opposite of man's doctrine. He says, blessed is the man who has been chosen and caused to come to him.

Election ain't the doctrine of the devil, as I hear people say, especially the fundamental Baptist, free will Baptist. That's the doctrine of the devil. That's the doctrine of Christ. You're calling Christ a devil? That's what they're saying. You remember whenever Jesus healed those people and the Pharisees said, yeah, he's healing that person by the power of Beelzebub. No different. The doctrine that you're preaching right there, you're preaching the doctrine of the devil. Well, that's the doctrine of Christ.

Christ is the one said, blessed is the man whom he has chosen and caused to approach unto him. Why did he cause, is he forcing somebody against their will just bringing them, dragging, that's what I used to hear people say all the time, dragging them, kicking and screaming. No. Why? Because for one, he made them willing in the day of his power. Second of all, they never would have come. They would have always continued in rebellion and run away.

Now, what they would have done and what most of us have done and sometimes continue to do, by the way. But what most of them have done, they steeped themselves in religion. They steeped themselves in modern Christianity. And they believe that that's what it's all about.

But God makes us willing to go away from worldly Jesus, go away from worldly Jehovah, go away from worldly salvation and come to biblical Jesus, biblical Jehovah, biblical salvation. And whenever we do, whenever we're given the spirit of God, who makes us alive to spiritual things, to see spiritual things, he gives us a love for that, a true love, a genuine love, not a fake love or a mock love. So sovereign grace overcomes all of our rebellion. God's sovereignty over all things performs all that is appointed.

Back in our passage there in Job, he has performed the thing that is appointed for me. He doesn't help me perform. He performs. You notice that? He, it says, he performeth. The thing. He is it about. Does my my faithfulness or unfaithfulness doesn't that Isaiah Chapter 46? Isaiah 46. Look with me starting in verse. 9 Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is none else.

Is Muhammad real? Is Allah God? And we're hearing a lot about that here with Iran war and everything and Muslims and stuff like that. Is the God that Israel says they worship the real God? No. Is there a Buddha? Is there? What is it that the? All the thousands of gods within their system. You know the Hindus. No, he says there is one God. Says for I am God and there is none else. I am God and there is none like me.

Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done. And you've heard me preach on that before. What does that mean? That means God has declared the outcome from the very beginning, but not only that, everything that has not yet happened. So everything from the beginning to the end, He hasn't just declared how it's all gonna turn out, He's declared how it's gonna turn out from the beginning. Everything from the beginning to the end and everything in the middle, God has declared that saying, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure.

Now this is exactly what we've seen a while ago in Psalms 115, right? He had done all that he pleased. He said, I will do all my pleasure. calling the ravenous bird from the east, the man that executed my council from a far country, I do both of those things. Whenever we go out driving, sometimes my wife likes to take pictures of nature and we'll go out on drives and look, you'll see all these buzzards flying around looking for roadkill. Sometimes you'll even see them in the road eating roadkill. The Bible says that even that ravenous bird that's been caught, what does it say here, that's been called from the east, that's part of God's plan. God declared that. God declared that the animal die, lay where it laid, and that the bird find it and eat it, and you see it, whatever it is. God declared it.

For the man that executed my counsel from afar, Yay, I have spoken it. Here's the part. It took me a long time to not only see this, but it took me a while to swallow this, okay? I will also bring it to pass. God didn't just declare it, but God is the one who is actively bringing it to pass. I have purposed it, I will also do it.

And that kind of puts us in the spot where we can't say that anything happens outside the will of God, right? If he's declared the end from the beginning and everything in between, God has predestinated everything that happens in between those two points. That means that was his declaration. That means that was his purpose. That was his pleasure. And that means that everything that's happening in that time period is being actively brought about by his own hand. He performeth all things appointed for me.

I don't see how anybody can get out of that. I don't see how anybody can twist that to say, well, that's just talking about salvation. It's not talking about everything. He said a ravenous bird and a man coming from wherever to execute his counsel. That's not talking about salvation.

He's talking about wicked hands who have taken Christ and has tortured Christ, beat Christ, blasphemed Christ, nailed him to a cross. And he said that was by the determinate counsel that his determinant counsel, the Bible says that he has bruised him, that he has put him to death, but yet it says wicked hands did that. Who brought it about? Well, the wicked hands is actually the ones who carried it out, but God was actively involved in bringing that to pass.

Now you can put a moniker on that all you want, God performs all that is appointed and he has appointed everything. Now I might be wrong. I'll be glad to be corrected if anyone can scripturally point me a different direction. But he says, I will do all my pleasure. And he said that I've declared everything that's going to happen and everything in between and he's going to do it. So that tells me that God doesn't have two wills. He has one will that is being done. Look at Ephesians chapter 1, 11. Ephesians chapter 1. How many times are you going to read Ephesians 1, Pastor? Look at verse 11. And then we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the... Here it is.

According to the purpose of him, speaking of God, who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Who worketh? He didn't say who causes work to happen. He says who worketh. How does he do that? He works in the hearts and the minds of men. He is the one who turns the heart, who blocks the mind, who gives the thoughts. The Bible says that the heart of the king is in the hand of God. He turns it like rivers of water. Turn it wherever he wants. He worked with all things after the council of his own will.

Look at 2 Timothy. We need to hurry. 2 Timothy chapter two, verse 13. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself. He is faithful. Well, if God can change his mind or go back on what he has said that he's not faithful, right? So we got to get our understanding from the doctrinal principles of scripture as we've been reading to determine how we approach all those verses that talks about God doing this or that, that seems like God changes his mind or is responsive to what man does. God is responsive to what man does because God has purpose and decree that that would happen and that the interaction between God and the person was declared for a purpose. See, God declared that Moses was gonna die in the Red Sea. He declared that, excuse me, that Pharaoh would die in the Red Sea.

He determined before the foundation of the world that Pharaoh would be born and raised up for the sheer purpose of God showing his power, not Pharaoh's power, his power in Pharaoh. And that Pharaoh's purpose of living was to rise, be born, die, and all the things in between those two points, birth and death, for God to show forth his power.

And he did so. He directed Pharaoh's will. He caused Pharaoh to disobey. He caused Pharaoh to obey. And then he turned around and judged Pharaoh in that. And God is not unjust for doing that. Because God is who he is. If God would have left that to Pharaoh and say, I'm going to raise up Pharaoh and show my power in him, And then Pharaoh decided, you know what? I'm not going to let those people go. I'm going to keep them. And not let them go. And overcome all them slaves, even make things worse than they already been made. And then whatever happened after that. Then God wasn't faithful.

Because God had already told Moses ahead of time. I want to get glory over Pharaoh. I'm going to make him do this and he will do this and you're going to go free. Matter of fact, he told Abraham way before Moses came on the scene, he told Abraham, your people are going to be slaves for 400 years, but I will bring them out. I will deliver them.

He would not have been faithful. Brethren, he abideth faithful. Now I mentioned to you earlier that I hated these doctrines, right? I think most of us probably have hated these doctrines. But let me just reread something for you. In Psalms 115, three again. But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. And in Daniel, he said, none can stay his hand.

That what I once hated, brethren, I love it now. You want to know why I love that? Well, first and foremost, I love it because it gives God glory. It gives God the honor and the glory that's due his name. But also, I love it because it kills pride, which I am full of. It kills pride.

It also, though, in the child of grace, at least, it gives us rest. to know that God has planned it all out and God is bringing it all about and God has a specific end and for the child of grace, whatever happens at the very end, whether it's the end of your life or whether it's the end of days, God has promised his children that we will be with him and that there will be this body that will dissolve and a new body will be given us that knows no sin. And we are going to be in the presence of Christ. There is no wrath ahead of us. Brethren, it gives me rest to know that despite what happens in this world, the very worst thing that can happen to Michael Smith is for Michael Smith to die in this lifetime. That's the worst thing that can happen to me. Someone can torture me and kill me. And that's the worst thing that could ever happen to me. And whenever I leave this world, I'm with Christ Jesus.

God receives everything that he desires, brethren. He isn't thwarted, he isn't waiting, he isn't, matter of fact, let's look at, let me see here, how many verses I got? Three, three more verses here and we'll be done. Isaiah 53. one of my favorite passages in the Bible Isaiah 53 and verse 11 He shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many where he shall bear their iniquities He's not gonna fail and receiving everything that he is desired because he sent his son. And by his son, he sees the travail of his soul and is satisfied with everything. Christ has completed everything. Christ has fulfilled all things for his people.

And now Christ sits as the judge of all the wicked. And the Bible says that the wicked will not be acquitted. And you say, well, you're wicked. Are you going to be acquitted? Jesus Christ took all the price of my sins on himself. My sins were paid for. They weren't paid for by me. They were paid for by Christ. But in the justice of God, those sins were paid for.

For those who are not in Christ Jesus, you will have to answer for those sins and the bible says the wages of sin is death he will receive everything that he desires he shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied in romans 8 30 it says whom he is predestinated he is called whom he is called is justified whom he is justified he is glorified he's going to receive everything that he desires his people are not going to fall away they're not going to miss salvation then lastly in psalms 57 we see echoed exactly what joke said Psalm 57. I'll lick this thumb and use this one. Psalm 57. Look at verse 2. I will cry unto God Most High, unto God that performeth all things for me. Now let's just go back and think, brethren.

John Piper and those other guys that I quoted, they said God has two wills. They said that God has a will that can be turned. They said that God has a changing will. They said that God's purpose can be hindered. and that it's hindered by human will, by human disobedience.

And that God's decree is divided between what he wants and what he, I guess, doesn't care happens. But we've just seen every bit of that to be proven wrong by scripture, right? All that's proven wrong by scripture. God is of one mind, who can turn him, cannot be turned. God is of one mind, that means that God's will is singular, it is unchanging, it is effectual.

What God has desired, he will do. He said he would bring it about, right? He said that he is given power and armies of the heaven and inhabitants of the earth. None can stay his hands. So that means that nothing is gonna stop what God has determined to do. I remember even whenever I come into the doctrines of grace, I heard Calvinist saying, you know, that we got to scour the earth and reach all these people that if they don't get reached, there'll be people that'll die and go to hell that could have been saved. That is contrary to what God's Word says.

Why have I changed my mind on all these things? Why have I left the church and the denomination and the mindset of all my upbringing? Why have I left the very doctrines that I used to preach and teach and defend? I used to feed the other people. Why have I left that? Is it because I found a shinier toy to play with? No, because I've been revealed the truth of what the scripture says. What the scripture says was going against what I was preaching. So I had to change what I was preaching if I was going to preach the truth.

Now, if I want big crowds and if I want, you know, lots of money and all that kind of stuff like that, I can continue to preach what everybody wants to hear. The Bible even says, you know, there's going to come a time when people are going to gather around them. With it, that has itching ears, they're going to gather around them. Men to preach what they want to hear. I don't want to hear what you preach and preach. I want to hear these things. Tell me about these things. Tell me the things that make me feel good. Tell me the things that comfort me. Tell me the things that, you know, tell me what I can do. See, that's just the problem.

When you find yourself in a true New Testament church, the things that are being preached there are only going to appeal to and be comfort for those who have been born from above. Because the things that we hear in the Spirit of God, by the Spirit of God, and learn from the Spirit of God, are things that point only to Him. Where the preaching of modern Christianity is all pointed inward towards us. To make us feel better, to make us look better, to make us do this, to make us, it's all about me, me, me, me, me, even the singing. of modern Christianity today is about me, about me, about me. Where whenever we focus on what God's Word says, it's all about Christ.

And that's not appealing to the natural man. It's a stumbling block to the natural man. And so. I pray that we look at the Scriptures and we compare the things that we see and hear in this world with the Word of God and shun that which is false, and cleave to that which is true, what glorifies our Lord.

All right, anybody got any questions or any comments? Corrections or rebukes? Anything y'all would like to add? Great. Lord, once again, we come to you and we thank you for Christ Jesus, and we thank you for the Word of God, We thank you for the truth that we find that's bound up in these scriptures. Lord, we thank you for the Spirit of God that comes and reveals them to us.

Father, in no way do we boast or brag or pridefully walk before men that we are more important, more understanding, more thoughtful, more smart, more intelligent, or more worthy than anybody else. Father, we know that truly the truth comes by the Spirit of God alone. We know that understanding comes by Him. And Father, we know that all things that you have purposed, you have purposed and give in its own time. You say in your scriptures that to everything that there is a season, there is a time, there is a purpose.

Father, our natural mind does not want to receive those things. We become impatient. We become intolerable. We become prideful in thinking that we don't deserve whatever you have purposed for a lot of time and space that you have given us to live, to move, and to have our being. Father, we realize that everything is because of you, and that is governed by you, and that nothing can stay your hand. and that you will see all things to its ultimate end as you have purposed it and as it pleases you. And it will be for the glory of Christ Jesus.

So Father Lord, I pray that you would work within our hearts and within our minds to see these things and understand these things in times of distress, times of struggle, times of all kinds of evil. Lord, I pray that we see your sovereign work, your sovereign hand in all of these things, as well as we do in the times that are good and great in the times of blessing. Lord, may we ever be mindful that you are God and you are God alone and that nothing outside of you determines what you will do and how it will be accomplished, but you and you alone. So thank you, Lord, for the rest that we find in that. And we pray that you might keep us in this faith, that you might keep us from error. Lord, I pray that you might help all of our friends and our loved ones to also see and to understand these things and to also be given a heart to love these things as well. Lord, we thank you for all that you have done for us, for the salvation we have in Christ Jesus. and the time that we've been together, gathered by you for your worship. And it's in your name that we pray, amen.