Turn with me, if you will, back
to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 6. In Matthew 6, our Lord over and
over again assured His disciples that God their Father knows everything
about them. He's never caught off guard.
He never needs a backup plan. He knows all about His people.
He knows their every need, not just material things. but spiritual
things. He knows what's best for them,
better than they know, we think we know what's best for us, but
we don't. God does. And He knows all about us, all
the time, all the time. We're never out of His thoughts,
never out of His heart, never out of His hand. In verses 8,
we didn't read that one, but our Lord there says, Your Father
knoweth that you have need before you ask him. He knows what your
need is. And then again in verse 32, he
said, your heavenly father knows that you have need of all these
things. That's my subject. That's the
title of the message. Your heavenly father knows. That's full of comfort, isn't
it? That's full of comfort. May God be pleased to bless it
to our hearts. Just that thought. Your heavenly
father knows the primary intent Now this passage is to show us
our Lord's constant rule of all things. The sparrow cannot fall
to the ground. Never. Think of the millions
and millions and millions of birds in the air. Not one ever
drops dead without God's permission. He said that there's not a hair
of your head that falls from your head that God's not aware
of. God the Father's eternal decree
and predestination and his direction in providence controls all things. In providence are all wise, ever
gracious, and good God constantly, constantly overrules all things
for our good in the lives of his people, both good and bad. No wonder he instructed the prophet
to tell his people this, say ye to the righteous, Say ye to
the righteous, it shall be well with him. How about that? Oh, but, no buts, no buts. No
maybes, no perhaps. Say ye to the righteous, it shall
be well with him. When calamities are in a nation,
as ours is, in times of famine, war, and pestilence, under any
affliction, whatever, at death, at the judgment, And to all eternity,
the Lord has the highest regard for his people. He says, they're
the apple of my eye. Christ's righteousness, which
is that which they are declared righteous, it secures them from
God's wrath. There's no condemnation to them
that are in Christ Jesus. And being one with Christ, being
found in him, that entitles us, that gives us a right. How about
that? A right to enter through the
gates into the city. God's people are blessed now,
and they'll be blessed hereafter. They'll be blessed now, and they'll
be blessed to all eternity. The Lord's knowledge of us is
constant, and it's complete, it's entire. His knowledge of
us is the knowledge of a tender, sympathetic, loving Heavenly
Father. Your Heavenly Father knows. The Son of God calls our attention
to that higher, nobler part of our beings, and bids us See to
it that our souls are in a right state before God. Look what he
says in verse 33 again. Here's the order. Here's the
priority. Not earthly things, but heavenly.
Not carnal things, but spiritual. Not things that perish, but things
that are eternal. Seek ye first. First, do this. Seek ye first. You won't do without
those other necessary things. But first, seek ye the kingdom
of God and his righteousness and all these things food, clothing,
shelter, shall be added unto you. Really, after all, our circumstances
have little to do with our lives in reality, because our circumstances
change so quickly, don't they? I mean, from one hour to the
next, from morning to evening, our circumstances fluctuate.
They change because they're temporary. That's why they change so quickly.
My Robin showed me some posts that an acquaintance of ours
puts on Facebook, you know. Why people want to put their
whole life out there is beyond me, but they do. But one day
she posts how miserable she is. She professes to know God. How
unhappy she is. How out of order her life is. She told her husband to put away
the gun, insinuating she might commit suicide. The day before
that she posted how blessed she was. It's really not a laughing
matter, but how blessed she was that God was taking care of everything.
But she dictates her so-called faith by her feelings. Feelings
come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving. Who was it that
said that, old Martin Luther? Happiness, happiness, real happiness
in this world. Contentment, peace of mind. Peace
of mind, what's that worth? are not found in circumstances,
but in our inner being, in our heart, the inner man, the scripture
calls it. In the soundness of our heart,
in our minds, the inner man has far more to do with one's joy
and sorrow than anything outside of him. It's what's within. Listen to what Paul wrote in
Philippians chapter four, verse six. Be careful for nothing,
anxious, weary, pacing the floor, biting our nails. That's what
our Lord told Martha, And she thought she was doing God's will,
pleasing the Lord, when she was out in the kitchen rattling the
pots and pans and getting more frustrated by the minute. And
he said, Martha, you're careful, you're anxious, you're troubled,
encumbered with many things, but only one thing is needful,
absolutely necessary. Paul says, be careful for nothing,
but in everything, by prayer and supplications with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God. How about that, Billy? The peace
of God. Oh, the world can't give that. The world can't take it. That's
what our Lord said. I'm leaving my peace with you. Here's my
legacy to you. I'm going back to heaven. I'm
going back to the Father's house. Peter, you can't come now, but
you will come. You'll come afterwards. But my peace, I'm leaving with
you. Not like the world gives, give
unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. Paul wrote, In the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts inward,
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I like the quote
of our brother Bruce Crabtree in your bulletin today. Live
in the exercise of faith and hope, and you can live in the
freedom that your God, in whom you believe and hope, controls
all things. Man, controls all things, good
and bad. As Delilah told me one time,
if I didn't believe that, I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning.
I'd be afraid to get out of bed in the morning. I think it was
David Edmondson made the statement that if there was one square
foot of ground, any place in this world or universe where
God Almighty didn't rule, where God wasn't sovereign, David said,
I'd be scared to death. That's the place I was standing
on. No, our God's in the heavens. He rules everywhere. All the
time, all the time. Although, the prophet said, Habakkuk
chapter 3, although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall
fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and
the field shall yield no meat. The flocks shall be cut off from
the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls, yet, yet. Blessed, blessed yet. Yet I will
rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. Although all those things are
so, although we experience those things, yet it doesn't touch
this. It can't change this. It can't
take away this. Yet I will rejoice, not in my
circumstances, but in the God of my salvation. Destroy the
vines and the fig trees of the carnal heart and his joy ceases. It stops him. But those who in
full enjoy God in all, when they are empty, can enjoy all in God. They still have God. We've all
heard the story about the dear lady that sat down, the poor
believing widow, sat down at the table with a glass of water
and a piece of bread, and she looked at it and said, oh my
soul, all of this, I have all of this, and Jesus Christ too. Christ is all in all. I will rejoice in the God of
my salvation." Joy in God is never out of season, isn't it?
Never out of season. And it's a special matter, seasonable,
when we meet with losses and crosses in the world, that it
may then appear that our hearts are not set up on these things,
nor our happiness bound up in them. And oh, how it glorifies
God, when even in the hour of trial and sorrow, we can say
the Lord did this. The Lord's done this. Brother
Henry Mahan preached a message many years ago. I wasn't there
to hear it. I've read it. But he made these
five statements. This might ring a bell to you
because Brother Don shared this with us more than once, I do
believe. But in the message, Henry said
this. First, we have entirely too many fears for a people to
whom the Lord said, fear thou not. Ouch, ouch. Fear thou not, for I am with
thee. I am. Be not dismayed, for I
am thy God. I will strengthen thee. Yea,
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Christ said, no man can pluck
them out of my father's hand or my hand. There's a double
security, if you will. The second thing Henry said,
we have far too many doubts and fears concerning God's mercy
and love and grace for a people to whom the Lord has said, him
that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Hasn't that
been true? Not just initially, when we came
to him for grace and end salvation, but over and over and over again. Has he ever cast us out? Ever? He says, I give them eternal
life. and they shall never perish. Shall I doubt God's love because
of something I've done, thought? His love is free and unchanging
regardless of what I've done, regardless of what I've thought.
Should I question His grace because of my sin? The Bible says where
sin abounded, His grace over abounds, super abounds, reigns
over my sin. While I acknowledge the abundance
of my sin, I take my place with Paul. I get in his shoes and
say, Paul, I agree with you 100%. What you say about yourself is
true of me, O wretched man that I am. Right now while I preach
this message, wretched man that I am. I will rejoice in the superabundance
of God's grace in Christ. I'm not going to be suspicious
of his mercy because I don't deserve his mercy. Oh, no, no,
no. Because his mercy is for the
undeserving. That publican in Luke 18 didn't
deserve God's mercy any more than that Pharisee. The difference
in them was that publican knew it. He knew what he was. And he cried for mercy. and the
God of heaven heard him and the Lord said, that man's going home
justified. I will rejoice in the God of
my salvation. I'm going home justified. Regardless of what else may be
said of me, regardless of what I may have or not have, what
I may suffer or not suffer, that man is justified in the sight
of God Almighty. The third thing Henry pointed
out was this, we spend entirely too much time grumbling, and
complaining about our trials and troubles for a people to
whom the Lord has said, in the world you'll have tribulations,
but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. The
fourth thing, we have entirely too much attachment to this world
and to this present life for a people who are looking for
a city whose builder and maker is God. Is that not true? We have far the last thing, the
fifth thing, Henry, Mention was this. We have far too much anxiety
and care and fear. That's what our Lord spoke about
here, didn't he, in Matthew 6. Far too much concern for earthly
material things for a people to whom the Lord has said, your
heavenly Father knoweth you have need of all these things. And that's the cure, isn't it?
That's the cure for every one of those points. is to remember
this, to hear the faithful shepherd of our souls tell us once again,
your heavenly father knows. You've not forgotten. You remember
when the Lord, or rather Moses first went to Pharaoh and said,
God, God says, let my people go. And Pharaoh said, who's your
God that I should listen to him? Get out of here. He made it harder
on the Egyptians. Told them, I want the same quotas
that you've been giving each day. A brick, but now you can
do it without straw. Moses went back to God. He said,
God, I went and did exactly what you said. And things are worse. Pharaoh's made it worse. Instead
of letting them go, he's made it harder on them. Remember what
God said to Moses? He said, Moses, listen. I've
heard the cry of my people. I've seen the state they're in.
I'm come down to deliver them. I see, I'm aware, I know, and
He knows what He's going to do. Your Heavenly Father knows. God Almighty, this is what Moses
said, Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Dwelling place, our home. Before the mountains were brought
forth, this is Psalm 90, wherever thou hast formed the earth and
the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Billy, me and you sometimes talk
about this. The very fact that God has no
origin. God had no beginning. Man. God always was. Always. Before the mounds were
brought forth from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
God always was and he was always God. God over all. God the Father. Think about that. God the Father chose you. This is what Peter wrote to those
suffering believers in his first epistle. He said, remember this,
you're elect according to the foreknowledge of God. You've
been scattered, you've been persecuted, you've been driven from your
homes, you've lost every earthly thing, but you've been elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Through sanctification
of the Spirit, until obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied. God loved his people from eternity. He didn't start to love me when
I believed. He loved me from eternity. Those
he foreknew, the word is forelove, loved beforehand, loved everlastingly. Those he foreknew or foreloved,
he chose to salvation. Those he chose, he called in
time to his son. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. This is what Paul said in Romans
8 verse 29. For whom he did foreknow, God
foreknew, foreloved. 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, called to his Son in time. And whom he
called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he
also glorified. There's five golden links in
the chain of God's purpose and providence and grace, and they
can never be put aside. Never gonna happen. Those he
foreloved, he called, called to his Son called by grace. This is what Paul said in Galatians
1. You've heard of how I lived in my past life, Paul said. In the Jews' religion, I was
head over heels. I was steeped in the Jews' religion.
The tradition of my... I was a Pharisee of Pharisees.
Man, I was somebody. Saul of Tarsus. And beyond measure,
I persecuted the church of God and I wasted it. And I profited
in the Jews' religion. above many my equals in my own
nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of
my fathers. But, but, when it pleased God,
who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me, God reveals His Son to those He calls. Listen to what our Lord said
in Luke 10. He had sent 70 out to preach, gave them power over
devils, to heal the sick. They were gone for a while and
then they came back to him. They said, oh Lord, this is something. They said, even the devils are
subject unto us through thy name. Remember what our Lord said?
Don't rejoice in this. Don't rejoice in this. But rather
rejoice because your names are written in heaven. This is in
Luke 10, verse 21. In that hour, Jesus rejoiced
in spirit and said, I thank the old father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that you've hid these things from the wise and the
prudent and has revealed them to babes. Even so, father, for
so it seemed good on thy side. All things are delivered to me
of my father. And no man knoweth who the son
is but the father, and who the father is but the son, and he
to whom the son will reveal him. And he turned unto his disciples
and said privately, blessed. Blessed are the eyes that see
the things that you see. For I tell you that many prophets
and kings have desired to see those things and have not seen
them, and to hear those things and have not heard them. You're
blessed. O my soul, child of God, Jesus
Christ revealed God to you. No man has seen God at any time,
John wrote. The only begotten Son which is
in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. Thank God. that he was pleased for reason
entirely his own to reveal his son to this sinner. As I said
in the article today, I would have never, I would have never
known Christ otherwise. I would have lived and died without
knowing Jesus Christ and went out into the eternity without
a mediator. I also shared in that article
that a couple of months ago my brother sent me a news that a
friend of mine that I had grown up with had died. It had been a lot of years since
I last talked to him. But when I read that brief obituary,
I remembered that I remember telling Robin, oh, that's bothered
me. I just can't seem to shake that
off. Because I went back in my memory He's one of the first
memories I have. Not my brothers and my sister,
but that him. We were about the same age. Went to school together, except
for a few years when I was living in another state. We went to
school together, high school together. He was my very best
friend. But the last time that I did
speak to him, which was years ago, it was obvious that he had
no concern for his immortal soul whatsoever. And he went out into
eternity, I suppose, in that state. Oh, I had such a heavy
heart for him. He went to stand before God without
a mediator. And even while I was heavy hearted,
I still looked up and thanked God that he didn't leave me to
myself. that he was pleased to reveal
his son to me. Only grace, I know this, God
help me to know it more and more, only his grace has made me that
different. Only his grace. Paul said in
Romans 8, verse 15, you have not received the spirit of a
bondage again to fear, but you receive the spirit of adoption
whereby we cry, Abba, Father. God, my Father. The spirit itself
bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
and if children then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
Remember what our Lord said to Mary? Mary, go tell my brethren,
my brothers, go tell them that I send them to my Father and
their Father and to my God and their God. Pray our Father which
art in heaven, he said in verse 9 of chapter 6, let us come to
him as children with love and reference and dependence yes
he is our father but remember our God is in the heavens or
high and lifted up doing whatsoever he had pleased so therefore come
reverently God is to be held in honor and esteem this is what
Moses said to Aaron this is it that the Lord spake saying I
will be sanctified in them that come nigh to me and before all
the people I will be glorified He is a father that knows our
case and knows our wants better than we do ourselves, isn't he?
He knows what things we have need of. Remember that movie?
Not a movie, but it was a series, I think, came on weekly, Father
Knows Best. Remember that? Well, I tell you
what, our Heavenly Father does for sure. That's true of Him
for sure. Our Heavenly Father knows best. Listen to what David wrote in
Psalm 139. Psalm 139, verse 1. Thou hast searched me and known
me. You know all about me. Thou knowest
my down setting and mine uprising. Thou understandest my thoughts
afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is
not a word in my tongue, but O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and
before and laid Thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me. It is high. I cannot attain to
it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit, and whither shall I flee
from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou
art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth, or the sea rather,
even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall
hold me. If I say, surely the darkness
shall cover me, Even the night shall be light unto thee. Oh,
my Lord. Is that not what the psalmist
said? Oh, I read the songwriter said, Oh, Lord, my God, when
I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thine hands have
made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power
throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior
God to thee. How great thou art. How great
thou art. Great is the Lord, and greatly
to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. And that great
and glorious God, the Lord reminds us, is our Father. That great God is my Father. How about that? Your Father knows
what ye have need of. Your Heavenly Father knows. I may have told you this story
before, but many years ago when I was still living in West Virginia,
my brother came by to visit, one of my younger brothers, and
we were sitting in the backyard, and it had already gotten dark
and the stars were shining bright, summer night, and he started
telling me about the galaxies and the planets and the stars
and all this, and he says, everything you see there, that's just our
galaxy. unknown galaxies. And he got
kind of excited about it and then when he stopped to catch
his breath, I said, Ernest, let me tell you something more amazing
than that. I know who did all that. My Heavenly Father did
all that. He created it all. No wonder
He exhorted the prophet, say ye to the righteous that it be
well with them. Romans chapter 11, Paul after
considering God's mercy, God's grace, God's goodness. He said,
all the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge
of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past
finding out. For who had known the mind of
the Lord, or who had been his counselor? Who had first given
to him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? For of him, of
God, and through God, and by to God, are all things to whom
be glory forever. and ever, amen. He knoweth the
way that I take. I found this poem when I was
preparing this message. He knoweth the way that I take,
each step of that way he has planned, and walking through
sunshine or storm, I'll walk in the shade of his hand. God
knoweth the need of my soul, the trial that calls for his
grace, the weakness that leans on his strength, the fear that
looks up to his face, He knoweth my frame is but dust. He knoweth
how much it can bear. I rest in that knowledge supreme.
I trust in His power and His care. Of Him and through Him
and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever and ever. And because your Heavenly Father
knows, may we rest in His good providence and trust Him that
all He has promised is also able to perform. Bobby, I hope I don't
embarrass you, Bobby sent me a message the other day in email
after she'd read the bulletin, and especially the article on
Providence by J.C. Philpott, and he said something
to affect how wonderful, how marvelous, and how sweet it is
when a believer can look and trace God's providence in everyday
affair, in every day of his life. Bobby told me about driving somewhere
and listening to a message by Don in just a split second. She pulled down in the car, dead
in front of her. And Bobby said, God in his sweet,
sweet providence protect her. I mean, I wonder how many times
in a day. Sometimes, Robin and I, I've
done it, driving home. Somebody slowed down in front
of me. Oh, there's one of them law-abiding citizens, and I'll
be fussing about it. Then get down the road, and there's
a bad wreck. And I think, maybe that would have been me. Maybe
that's why God slowed me down, to protect. your heavenly Father
knows. Oh, what will be the wonders
of eternity when the whole of God's purpose of grace shall
come to be unfolded to the wandering world of angels and all of his
redeemed. And all will be found directed
to his glory and honor and power, to him that sits upon the throne
and unto the Lamb that was slain forever and forever. Amen. Let
me close with this other poem. It says, I know not, but God
knows. Oh, blessed rest from fear. All
my unfolding days to him are plain and clear. Each anxious,
puzzled why, from doubt or dread that grows, finds answers in
this thought. I know not, but God knows. I see not, but God sees. Oh,
all sufficient light. My dark and hidden way to him
is always bright. My strained and peering eyes
may close in restful ease, and I in peace may sleep. I see not,
but God sees. God sees. Fear not, little flock. It's your father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. Yes, we may be a little flock,
but we're God's little flock. We are encircled by our God's
everlasting love. His arms are beneath us. We are going to that city whose
builder and maker is God. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. In the love of God and the communion
of the Holy Spirit, amen. Amen. God bless you. Thank you
for your time.