I have no idea why God has given
me this particular message. That he's given it, I'm sure.
Why? We will see. Turn with me, if
you will, to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew the 10th chapter. In this chapter, our Lord Jesus
selects his 12 apostles and names them, and he sends them out to
preach the gospel, telling men everywhere that the kingdom of
heaven is at hand, telling men everywhere that the Messiah has
come, that God has come now in human flesh to establish his
kingdom. Preaching the gospel, he commands
them to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, cause the lame
to walk, give ears to the deaf, and to raise up the dead. How would you like to have those
commands? And I don't read anywhere that
they raised up the dead, do you? Not physically. The other miracles
they performed And they perform those miracles by the power of
God's spirit upon them, God working through them and through his
word to show us spiritual things as I endeavored to show you this
past Sunday evening. But the disciples are here commanded
to do exactly what the Lord God commands us to do. He sends his
preachers out still commanding them. to give sight to the blind,
to cause the lame to walk, to give ears to the deaf, to raise
up the dead, to heal all sicknesses. And by his gospel, he does it.
Then he commands those same disciples. He says, don't go to the Gentiles. Don't go among the Gentiles,
but I send you to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. I'm fully
aware that there's a sense in which that is certainly true.
Literally, those disciples were forbidden to go to the Gentiles
until the gospel was preached in Israel and the Jews had despised
and rejected the Messiah. And then the gospel was sent
at last into the Gentile world. But the Lord God, our Savior,
by his spirit, has appointed that his gospel be preached to
his sheep among all nations. We're not concerned about others.
We're concerned about God's elect. We're concerned about the salvation
of God's elect, the salvation of God's sheep. We're not seeking
the salvation of the world. That's not going to happen. We're
not seeking the salvation of all men. That's not going to
happen. I'm fixing to leave here tonight, drive a good ways. We'll
rest a day or two going down, then be real busy. Friday, Saturday
and Sunday and Monday, start back home on Tuesday. Why? Why? We're seeking the Lord's
sheep. You folks give and give generously. You give to the cause
of Christ, support missionary works around the world, gospel
preachers, wherever we have opportunity. Why? We're seeking the Lord's
sheep. Assured that he shall call all
his sheep by his grace and it tells these disciples while you're
going Don't take any money in your pocket Don't take any money
don't take anything for yourselves You will you will be provided
for by those whom you serve Don't take anything for yourselves
and don't keep anything. You don't need you don't need
to coach get rid of the other one Read the language for yourself. He says, you depend entirely
on me as you go about this business of preaching my gospel and serving
my interest. And then he tells these men,
wherever you go, you're going to be hated. And this, he says to his church
in every generation, you should be hated of all men for my sake. He said, Father, will turn against
his own children. And children will rise up in
the courts of the land and testify against their own fathers to
have them executed because of the gospel. Don't be surprised. The servant's not greater than
his Lord. If your Lord and master has endured these things, you
shall as well. And in the midst of all that,
he says, fear ye not. Imagine. Upon what basis could
he give such an admonition? Upon what basis? Could the son
of God speak those words to you and I who have just heard him
say all these things and place this heavy burden on us? And a heavy burden it is. If
you understand the burden. How could he speak to us reasonably
and say, fear ye not? Look at verses 29, 30 and 31.
And I'll show you. Are not two sparrows sold for
a farthing? For a long time now, almost every
time I see a worthless sparrow sitting on the telephone line
or sitting on the patio in a tree, pecking along the ground looking
for a little something to eat, I remember these words. Two sparrows, you
can buy them two for a penny. About two for a penny. I've been
around a while. I remember when you used to buy
a piece of candy for a nickel, you could even buy a little piece
of candy for a penny. I never bought anything two for
a penny in my life. That's cheap. Two worthless sparrows
sold for a farthing. And one of them. Shall not fall
on the ground. To get something to eat or drop
dead. Not one of them shall fall on
the ground without your father. If he gets a little seed, your
father gave him the seed. Your father fed him. When he
dies, your father killed him. He's not going to fall on the
ground without your father, not without your father's permission,
without your father's decree and your father's work. The sparrow
shall not fall to the ground, the worthless, worthless sparrow. Verse 30, but the very hairs
of your head are all numbered. The very hairs of your head are
all numbered. It doesn't take much to find
my hair and cut it anymore, but she gave me a haircut last night.
All the time I was sitting there, her cutting my hair, this text
kept going through my mind. The very hairs of your head are
all numbered. Now watch this next line. Fear
ye not therefore. Because God numbered your hair. The very hairs of your head are
numbered. So don't be afraid. The sparrow
will not fall to the ground without your father and your father who
feeds the sparrow and who orders the life and death of the sparrow. The worthless sparrow has counted
up the hairs on your head. So don't you be afraid. Don't
you be afraid. The very hairs of your head are
all numbered. Fear you not, therefore, ye are
of more value than many sparrows. God be our teacher. I see six things in this statement
from our Redeemer. that ought to be a constant source
of peace and consolation and encouragement to you and me.
Number one is the blessed fact of divine predestination. The
words of our Lord in verse 30 might be better translated, the
very hairs of your head have all been numbered, numbered before
the world began. Before ever this world was created,
your Heavenly Father counted up the hairs on your head and
determined the number of hairs on your head at every moment
in the days of your existence. Before the world began, Larry,
He numbered exactly how many you have right now. Exactly. Our Heavenly Father has perfect
knowledge of all things concerning us. He knows. We spend entirely too much time
fretting and pacing the floor and worrying for a people to
whom God has said, the very hairs of your head are on them. Your
father knows. It should be sufficient for us
to understand, to realize that our father knows everything about
us. He knows. Which of you would
allow any injury, any harm to come to anyone that you love
and care for, let alone son or daughter, when you know that
the injury is coming and you could prevent it. Nobody, nobody,
your father knows. And those things which come upon
you and seem to be so hurtful and so painful, so difficult
to bear, so heavy. are things your Heavenly Father
sent by divine purpose from eternity to do you good. And they won't hurt you. They won't hurt you. You shall
not be hurt, sons and daughters of God, by anything. Third, then,
our Lord's statement here certainly ought to convince us of our father's
constant care. He who takes the trouble to number
the hairs of our head must surely care for us. When Faith was a baby, I saw
Shelby numerous times, numerous times I don't suppose she knew
I was watching. Numerous times counting her fingers
and toes. Numerous times. Just thankful
God gave us this healthy child. Numerous times. I never once
saw her think about counting the hair on her head. Never saw
her pulling apart one at a time trying to count them up. That's care she couldn't give. But your father does. He numbered the hairs on your
head, so cast all your care on him. He careth for you. Number four, what high honor, what great esteem
God has for his elect. He's numbered our hairs because
he values them. Imagine that. I don't. When my wife and my older sister
knew what was going to happen after us taking chemotherapy,
I was young, you know, strapping good-looking fella. They were
fearful of me getting bald and it bothering me because of the
chemotherapy and made plans to go buy me one of those things
fellas wear. What do you call them? Toupee.
Mop. Whatever you call it. And I got wind of it. I said,
oh no. Oh no. The hair doesn't matter
to me. It doesn't. Especially now. Why would I care about that?
It's insignificant. Some fellas get into creative
combing. Now, if you want to, that's fine. You know, your hair
starts to fall out and you want to try to cover it up. That'd
be all right, but not me. Not me. It doesn't matter. Hair just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. But it
does to God. The hairs of your head are all
numbered. Turn to Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43, let me show you. Verse 3. Now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, he that formed thee, O Israel. I love how God does that, don't
you? He reminds Jacob who he is by nature and who he is by
grace. What he is by nature and what
he is by grace. By nature, just flesh. Jacob, just sin. Jacob, just treachery. Jacob, by grace, a prince with
God. Isaiah 43, verse three. Now thus
saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, he that formed thee,
O Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. If he had redeemed everybody
in the world, there's no reason for anybody to be afraid. He
said, fear not, Jacob, for I have redeemed you. I have called thee
by thy name. If he called everybody his, if
he called everybody to be his, if he called everybody by his
grace, there'd be no reason for anyone to fear. But he doesn't.
He calls his elect. He redeemed his elect. I called
thee by thy name. Thou art mine. When thou passest
through the waters. Not if, when. When thou passest through the
waters. Cody just recently professed
faith in our Redeemer. I don't know what deep waters
you've got to go through, but you will. I promise you. He says,
I will be with thee. And through the rivers, rivers
of woe, terrifying, terrifying times,
they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither
shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Saba for thee, Since thou was precious in my sight,
thou has been honorable. Can you begin to grasp what he's
saying to you? I sacrificed nations of men for
you. Nations for you. Not one, two
of them. Not a few, multitudes of men. Sacrificed them for you. Did
God really do that? Go ask Pharaoh. Did he really
do it? Go ask the Egyptians. You mean
God Almighty slaughtered a whole nation for this few bunch of
Jews? He did indeed. And he still does. He still does. Read on. And I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee and people for thy life. Fear not, for I am with thee. All right,
back to your Matthew 10. We have a promise, a promise
of God's protection. The hairs of our heads are all
numbered because God intends that there shall not an hair
of your head perish. That's what the Lord said in
Luke 21. Trials are certain. Temptations are sure. Falls will be many. Falls will be many. It may be that no one will know
about them except you and God. And that's good. That's good. But falls will be many for you
and me. Falls will be many. Tribulations are constant in
this world. inward and outward. Sorrows are
sure. Sorrows because of what goes
on inside us and sorrows because what goes on outside us. They're
sure. But the very hairs of your head
are all numbered. And God who numbered your hairs
will take care of you. He will take care of you. Number
six, we're given this word from our
Redeemer as a comforting assurance of God's providence. That's the
primary intent of our Savior's words to us here. The sparrow
cannot fall to the ground and neither can a hair fall from
your head without your father's eternal decree and your father's
arrangement of providence. The knowledge and understanding
of God's providence is the comfort and strength of believing hearts. I keep falling back on two things. When God will enable me, Two things that sustain me like nothing else
can. Two things that I find give me strength when I have none
and can find none anywhere else. And those two things are substitution
and providence. As you say just a little bit
ago, I'm one with Christ my Savior. And everything He did, He did
for me. And everything He is, He is for me. And I did in Him,
and I am in Him. And providence. Everything that comes to pass
in this world comes to pass by the eternal arrangement of divine
predestination and the daily order of divine providence. Let me make three statements
about God's providence and I'll wrap this up and send you home
and pray that God, the Holy Spirit will teach us the things he revealed. Number one, God's providence is wondrously
mysterious. Turn to Romans, the 11th chapter. I refer to this frequently, but
I want you to read it with me. Romans chapter 11. Beginning in the eighth chapter,
Paul is inspired of God, the Holy Spirit, to start describing
God's providence. his wondrous work of providence.
And this goes on all the way to the end of chapter 11. He's
particularly talking about God's providence in the calling of
his elect, how that he at last in the time when Israel was cast
off by divine judgment, cast off as a nation, not God's elect
cast off, but Israel, the physical nation cast off. brought to desolation
by judgment. Paul explains to us this was
ordered of God. This was in the original purpose
of God. This was why God raised up Israel
to begin with. He raised up that nation to be
the preservator of his worship and the place in which he would
reveal his worship until the time that Christ came. That the
gospel might be preserved and now go forth into all the world
for the calling out of God's elect among the Gentiles the
Israel of God then must be saved and Paul says this is a wondrous
thing Men don't understand how these things work Because God's
ways are higher than our ways and that God's ways are infinitely
above man's understanding. You can't know them. You can't
search them out. You can't find them. God simply
declares it and reveals it. And we bow to it. And when Paul's
finished with this, this is his conclusion of the matter. Romans
11, verse 33. Oh, the depth. Of the riches. Isn't that a great way to express
things? All the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments
and his ways past finding out. For who hath known the mind of
the Lord, or who hath been his counselor, who would ever have
dreamed This was God's intent when he sent Joseph down to Pharaoh's
house. Who would ever have dreamed this
was God's intent back yonder when he called Abraham out of
Ur of the Chaldees? Who would ever have dreamed this
was God's intent when he gave the law at Mount Sinai? Ways
past finding out. Who hath been his counselor?
Or who hath first given to him and it shall be recompensed unto
him again. For of him and through him and
to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the
sea and rides upon the storm. His judgments are great deep.
His ways past finding out. But these things I know. God always has his way. With you, with me, with heaven,
with hell. with angels, with demons, with
men, with the devil, with creation, in all its details, in history,
in all its details, in that which is yet to come to pass, in all
its details, God always has his way. His ways are not our ways. Now, Bobby, That means never. Never. Tell me, tell me, you
who know our God, at what point in your life can you point to
something that God has done in your life by which he has shown
himself good and gracious? And you'd say, that's exactly
the way I would have done that. Anybody? Even one experience? Not one. Not one. His ways are always His way. His ways are never our ways.
And His ways are always right. God's providence is His sovereign
rule of the universe for the salvation of chosen sinners.
It is for His glory for the praise of the glory of his grace. If
God's chosen you, if Christ redeemed you, God will save you. And whatever it takes, he'll
do it. That's not the way to put that.
That's not the way to put that. He'll do it by the means he purposed
from eternity for his glory, no matter how it appears to you. God's providence is minute. The very hairs of your head are
all numbered. That's detail. That's minute. It's all-inclusive, this thing
we call providence. God rules everything. Everything great, everything
small. Everything that appears good and everything that appears
evil light and darkness And he rules it always There's absolutely
nothing in the universe That is not always controlled and
ordered by our God Our God is in the heavens. He hath done
whatsoever He hath pleased He says, behold, I create light
and I make darkness. I make peace and I create evil. Our God is in control of all
inanimate matter. He controls the creation. Watch
the Red Sea. Watch the Jordan River. Watch
the earth open up to swallow the sons of Korah. Look at the
fire. in the fiery furnace. That fire
that that pagan king had made by which the very men who threw
God's servants into the furnace were consumed in death. But that
same fire doesn't even cause them to smell like smoke. You say, well, I don't believe
that. I know because you don't believe God. I do. You surely
don't believe that. Well, sure I do. I believe God.
I believe God. He has his way in the world.
Read the prophecies about the death of our Redeemer and then
go read the four gospels, the latter chapters of each gospel
and see how men performed exactly, exactly, I'm talking to the letter
what God said they would do. How come? Because these men who
crucified the Son of God according to their own will, by their own
wicked hands and their own wicked wills, did that which God before
ordained must be done. And everything came to pass exactly
as God had ordained it. Surely the wrath of man shall
praise thee, and the remainder of wrath wilt thou restrain. Now I know, folks, I have a lot
of trouble with that. I know they do. They have a lot
of trouble with that because they don't understand how that
a good God can be fully in control of heaven, just as fully in control
of hell as he is of heaven, as totally in control of wickedness
as he is of righteousness. But in absolute control he is. What about sin? What about the
fall? C.D. Cole wrote this, God is
not the author of sin, but he is the controller and director
of sin. God is not the causative force,
but the directing agent in the sins of men. Men are rebellious,
but they have not pushed God off his throne. They're not out
from under God's control. Adam fell in the garden. Had
to explain that, I don't. But it didn't take God by surprise.
If there hadn't been a fall, there wouldn't have been any
redemption. If there hadn't been a first Adam, there wouldn't
have been a second Adam. And God would never have made himself
known in the glory of his grace in saving our souls. Tabar, that
woman dressed like a harlot, acted like a harlot. Surely God's
not in control of that. Surely he's not. How can you
say God's in control of that? The Messiah came through her. How would you suggest he's not
in control? David steals Bathsheba and murders Uriah. And the thing
that David did displeased the Lord as God said it did. Let
no man lay sin to God's charge. So you can't have it both ways.
Yes, you can. God is not chargeable with evil. Men do what they do because they
want to do it. But God Almighty rules absolutely,
and his will is always performed. And the Lord Jesus, our Redeemer,
for whose coming and crucifixion God made all things, came into
this world through Bathsheba's womb. Read the book. Elimelech, a proud,
rich man, when trouble came to Bethlehem, Judah refused to share
his wealth with his hungry brethren. And he goes off down into Moab,
a pagan bunch of idolaters, where there's no God to be worshipped,
where there's no man to preach the gospel to him, where there's
no people with whom he can commune. And down there, his wife Naomi
is left a widow. with two daughters-in-laws who
are widows, but one of them's name is Ruth. And the Lord God brought Ruth
back to Bethlehem, Judah, just at the right time to meet a fellow
named Boaz, through whom came our Redeemer into this world. I make peace, and I create evil. I make light, and I create darkness. Surely the wrath of man shall
praise thee, and the remainder of wrath wilt thou restrain. The Lord hath made all things
for himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. The lot
is cast into the lap. A lot. Can you think of anything as
meaningless? Maybe not at the time you're
playing if you're about to win or lose. Playing a game of Monopoly
and you roll the dice. Well, nothing important about
that. You're right, nothing important but just a game. A silly game. And all you got, all the money
you got on there is play money. There's nothing to it. But God
determines which number comes up. And He did it before the
dice were ever invented. He did it before the world was
made. Why is that so important? You
can't control huge things if you don't control small things.
You can't control the whole machinery of providence if you don't control
all the machinery of providence. Oh yes, God's providence is minute.
The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. And you know what
the king does? Do you know what he does? As rivers of water, like canals
in an irrigation field, the Lord God turns the king's heart whithersoever
he will, so that every ordinance he establishes Every law he enacts,
every decree he makes, every work he does, be it good or evil
in our eyes, God did it. God did it. Here's the third thing. God's providence is mysterious
and it's minute. And God's providence is good. Oh, how good. How good. How good. He's proved himself,
James, thousands of times in our own lives, hasn't he? How good. How can I question
it ever? God, forgive me. We know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are thee called according to his purpose. Work together
for our spiritual and eternal good. And work together for our collective
good, that is, for the collective good of all his elect throughout
the ages of time. Actually, that which is truly
good for me is the very opposite of that
which is presently good. Let me give you some illustrations.
I haven't been able to get in contact with him for a while
for 25, 30 years, nearly 30 years, I wrote regularly to a prisoner
at Michilicothe, Ohio, Brother Tom DeJarnett, a black man who
was a heavyweight boxer. He caught his wife in bed with
another man one time and killed him. They sent him to prison.
He got out of prison and went back to her and caught her in
bed with another fellow and he killed him. And they sent him
to prison for life. He's either still there or he
died there, one of the two. No getting out. No getting out.
One day when he's in prison in Chillicothe, Ohio, a fella named
Henry Mahan went up there and preached the gospel of God's
grace. And when he went up there, there's a big black man came
walking up to Henry. Big black fella. Henry, what
is he, 5'10"? And this fella, big. He came walking up to Henry and
reached out. Henry said, I didn't know what
to do. He reached out for him and grabbed him around the shoulders
and hugged him. Tears running down his cheeks
and kissed him on the cheek. And he said, you're the man from
whom I heard the gospel of my Redeemer. He had heard him on
television in prison in Chillicothe, Ohio. And this is what he wrote
to me. If I had not been in prison for
murder, I would never have learned the gospel. Well, you excuse murder. Anybody
here think I sound like that? No, but I do worship God. God
who declares all things work together for good to them that
love God. to them who are the called according
to his purpose. Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments
and his ways past finding out. Let us then give thanks and praise
to our God, trusting him implicitly trusting him implicitly I started to say no matter what
he does that's not right for everything he does when I was 17 years old going
through a little difficulty I read a passage of scripture one day. The difficulty wasn't much. I was just 17. And 17, you don't
have much trouble going through a little difficulty. And it was
tough to me. It was tough to me. In everything, give thanks, I
read. And God spoke it to my soul. As really, as you hear my voice
now, I heard God speak by His Word. In everything, give thanks
for this. What? Larry, whatever it is you
experience right now, this. For those who may hear this laying
on their deathbed, this. For those who may hear this while
their wife is packing up, getting ready to leave, this, this, this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Amen.