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Sermon #2093[i]                                                                                  Miscellaneous Notes

      Title:                     “I will do all my pleasure.”

      Text:                                  Isaiah 46:9-10

      Subject:               Divine Sovereignty

      Introduction:

Do you know God? Really? Do you know God? Salvation is more than a religious decision. Salvation is more than saying a prayer. Salvation is more than a reformed life. Salvation is knowing God.

“This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)

Do you know him? Do you know God? What is it about God that makes Him God? What distinguishes God from all His creatures and from all that men call gods?

I stand before you either as a servant of Christ or as a servant of the devil. I must be one or the other. Our Master said, “He that is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). It is written, “Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16). In another place Paul says, “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).

Watchmen

If I do not preach the Gospel that Paul preached, a curse hangs over my head. That puts me in a position of awful responsibility. No wonder the prophets of old spoke of the message they carried and the responsibility of delivering it as “the burden of the Word of the Lord.” God’s servants are set by Him as watchmen over the souls of men, responsible to God for faithfully instructing eternity bound sinners in the way of life and salvation by Christ. As we hear the Word at His mouth, so we must speak (Ezekiel 3:17; 33:7). — “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). We must add nothing to it and take nothing from it (Deuteronomy 4:2). — “He that hath my Word, let him speak it faithfully” (Jeremiah 23:28). He who dares to stand in this place and speak to eternity bound men and women, as the ambassador of God, as a steward of the mysteries of God, must be faithful...

·      To The Word of God

·      To The Gospel

·      To Glory of God

·      To the Souls of Men

I call upon you who hear me to compare every word I speak with the Word of God. I urge you, for your soul’s sake to do so. If what I have to say is of God, hear me, bow to His Word, believe it, and rejoice in it. If it is not of God, do not hear me, never hear me again, lest you perish in delusion and darkness. That is how serious this matter is.

I make you this promise — That which I have to preach to you is that which has been inscribed upon my heart by the finger of God, experienced in my soul by the operation of His grace, and proved by the faith God has given me. It is not a theory, an opinion, or a conjecture. It is the very truth of God.

A Request

Before we look into the Scriptures together, I have a request. Will you here who know Christ, lift up your hearts to God and ask His blessing upon His Word. O that God might speak through this worthless, dirty, empty pipe to your hearts and to the hearts of lost sinners in this house for the glory of Christ, the comfort, edification, and everlasting salvation of your souls, for Christ’s sake! It is my prayer and my heart’s desire to God that you who believe Christ may be instructed, comforted, and strengthened by the Gospel and that you who are yet dead in trespasses and sins may this very hour be born of God and granted the blessed gifts of eternal life and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. — O Spirit of God, come upon us! — Fill us! — Teach us! — Revive our souls! — Refresh our spirits! — Cause these bones to live, for Christ’s sake!

Divine Attributes

There are certain things about the character of God that are believed and held in common by all conservative “Christian” religions and people. All who profess to be Christians believe, or at least profess to believe, that God has certain attributes which are essential to His Being as God…

·      “God is a Spirit,” eternal, immutable, and independent.

·      God is holy, wise, and good.

·      God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.

·      God is just, true, and faithful.

·      “God is love,” merciful, gracious, long-suffering, and forgiving.

These are characteristics of God’s nature, attributes of His Being, that all religious people, to one degree or another recognize and applaud. Both Baptists and Methodists believe these things. Presbyterians and Pentecostals, Episcopalians and Catholics, Campbellites and Russellites, Adventists and Mormons all acknowledge these things to be true. Neither Quakers nor Deists would deny any of those attributes of God. Every man, woman, boy or girl, who professes to believe in God will tell you that these things are so. You believe them; and I believe them.

Another Attribute

But there is something else, another attribute essential to the character of God, which most religious people refuse to accept. In fact, they despise it. Though they sing, “O How I love Jesus,” with beaming faces, when a preacher dares tell them that this attribute is at the very core of God’s holy Being, essential to His nature, they become enraged.

Here is the one attribute of God’s Being by which the Lord God distinguishes Himself from all the imaginary gods of men. If you will read the Book of God one more time, you will find out that it is this attribute of His Being to which God Himself most often points when showing the difference between Himself and the idols of men that are called gods.

Because God Himself has chosen to use this one attribute above all others to distinguish Himself as God, when I am asked to answer the question, “Who is God?” it seems most reasonable to me to answer it by setting forth this one distinguishing attribute of His nature. You will find it stated emphatically in Isaiah 46.

Isaiah 46:1-13  Bel boweth down, Nebo[1] stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. 2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. 3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: 4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. 5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? 6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. 7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. 8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. 12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: 13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

Proposition: He who truly is God is totally sovereign.

The God of the Bible, the one true and living God, the God we worship, trust, love, and preach, is an absolute sovereign, in total control of all things, at all times, always performing His will and pleasure.

In last line of verse 10 the Lord God declares, “I will do all my pleasure.” That is my subject and the title of my message: — “I will do all my pleasure.” — That s the one thing I want to drive home to your hearts and minds in this message. O Holy Spirit, will you be pleased to speak by your Word to our hearts this day and make God known to those who hear my voice. The God of glory, the one true and living God, does all His pleasure, everywhere, all the time, absolutely.

Psalms 115:1-3

1.    “Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

2.    Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

3.    But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”

Psalms 135:1-6

1.    “Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.

2.    Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God,

3.    Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

4.    For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

5.    For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

6.    Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.”

Sovereign or an Idol

The Lord our God is absolutely and universally sovereign. And I am here to assert in the plainest, boldest terms possible that anything less than an absolute sovereign is not God, but only the idolatrous figment of man’s depraved imagination, an image carved from one of the trees in the dark forest of man’s depraved heart and idolatrous imagination.

When I assert that God is sovereign, I am simply declaring that He is God. God almighty has the right and power to do what He will, when He will, with whom He will, as He will; and He always does. The god of this apostate religious age is anything but sovereign. This religious generation is well described by the prophet Isaiah. — “They pray unto a god that cannot save” (Isaiah 45:20).

1.    Modern religion has set aside the sovereignty of God to make room for the autonomy of man.

2.    Today, men everywhere deny the sovereignty of God’s will, in order to exalt the imaginary freedom of man’s will[2].

The fact is, the god of the “enlightened” 21st century church is a weak, helpless, frustrated, effeminate idol which commands the respect of no one. The god of the modern pulpit is an object of pity, rather than reverence.

·      If God loves everyone alike and some still perish in hell, His love is meaningless and irrelevant.

·      If Christ died for all men alike, shed His blood to redeem all men and some are not redeemed, His blood is meaningless and irrelevant.

·      If God the Holy Spirit is trying to save all men by the operations of His grace and some are not saved, His grace is meaningless and irrelevant.

Yet, those are the very things by which the god of this age is most commonly described. They describe your fathers’ god and your neighbors’ god. They may even describe your god. But that is not the God of the Bible. A weak, helpless, frustrated god, is no more God than the totem poles of barbaric tribesmen.

Illustrations: Al Geisler and Noel Smith

The God of the Bible is an absolute sovereign. It is written of Him, — “All things are of God!” You can take those words just as far as your imagination will allow; and when you have gone the full length of your mind’s imagination, you have not even begun to commence to get started measuring the magnitude of those words. — “All things are of God!”

·      God is sovereign in creation — “The LORD hath made all [things] for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” (Proverbs 16:4).

·      God is sovereign in providence (Matthew 11:20-25; Romans 8:28-30; 11:36; Ephesians 1:11; Psalm 76:10; Exodus 34:24).

Matthew 11:20-25 “Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. 25 ¶ At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”

Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.”

“¶ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Romans 11:33-36 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, [are] all things: to whom [be] glory for ever. Amen.”

Ephesians 1:11 “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”

Psalms 76:10 “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.”

Exodus 34:24 “For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.”

·      And God is sovereign in salvation – “Salvation is of the Lord!” (Romans 9:16-18; Ephesians 1:3-14).

Romans 9:13-18 “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 14 ¶ What shall we say then? [Is there] unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then [it is] not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will [have mercy], and whom he will he hardeneth.”

Ephesians 1:3-14 “Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

When we talk about God’s sovereignty, we are simply declaring that God is God. Divine sovereignty means that God always does exactly what He wants to do, that He always does all His pleasure. Is that not what He declares in our text? — “I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). Nothing ever comes to pass except that which God brings to pass according to His own, sovereign, eternal, immutable pleasure. He who is our God is that great and glorious God who works all things after the good pleasure of His own sovereign will (Ephesians 1:11).

Everything that comes to pass in time God purposed to bring to pass in eternal predestination and effectually brings to pass in His sovereign providence, — “According to the good pleasure of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His grace!”

Realizing that these things are so, I want to know this: — What is God’s pleasure? What is it that God is pleased to do? I know that the “secret things belong to the Lord.” I am perfectly content to leave the secret things secret until He is pleased to make them known. I have no desire to pry into that which God has chosen not to reveal. But I do want to know as much as I can about what He has revealed; for “the things which are revealed belong to us and to our children.” Does God tell us in His Word what His pleasure is? Does God reveal in His Word what He is pleased to do? Let’s look into the Book of God and see.

Here are five things

revealed in the Word of God,

which God declares

he is pleased to do.

His People

1.    1 Samuel 12:22 — “It hath pleased the Lord to make you his people.”

1 Samuel 12:22-24 “For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. (23) Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: (24) Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things he hath done for you.”

“Consider how great things He hath done for you!”

·      He chose you!

·      He kept you!

·      He redeemed you!

·      He saved you!

·      He gave you life in Christ!

·      He keeps you!

If you and I belong to God, if we are numbered among His people, if we are heirs of God and join-heirs with Jesus Christ, it is because “it pleased the Lord to make you His people.” How has the Lord God made us His people? He has done so by three, mighty acts of grace.

By Special Adoption

In sovereign, electing love, by special, Divine adoption, the Lord God has made us His own people.

Psalms 65:4 “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest 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.”

John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: (14) Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”

Illustration: Johnny’s #60

By Sovereign Creation

Second, it pleased the Lord to make you His people by the sovereign gift and creation of life in you (Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:17), by His own effectual, irresistible, omnipotent mercy and grace in the new birth (John 3:1-8).

John 3:1-8 “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Ephesians 2:1-5 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (4) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved.)”

Galatians 4:4-7 “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

By Saving Faith

Third, the Lord God made us His people by giving us faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, by creating in us a willing, voluntary faith in and surrender of our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ (Psalm 110:3).

Psalms 65:4 “Blessed [is the man whom] thou choosest, and causest 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.”

Psalms 110:3 “Thy people [shall be] willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.”

All Fulness

2.    Colossians 1:19 – It pleased God to put all fulness in the Lord Jesus Christ, His darling Son, our Divine Mediator.

Colossians 1:18-19 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (19) For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.”

The triune God has given the Lord Jesus Christ, our God-man Mediator, preeminence in all things and over all things, and has put all fulness in Him, so that He might be preeminent in the faith, praise, and adulation of His saints forever. – “All fulness” is in Christ.

the Fulness of the Triune God

Colossians 2:9-10 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”

All the Fulness of Covenant Grace

John 1:14-16 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (15) John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. (16) And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”

Ephesians 1:3-7 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”

2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

All the Fulness of God’s Salvation

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

All the Fulness of Heaven’s Glory

John 17:5 “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”

John 17:22 “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.”

Bruise Christ

3.    Isaiah 53:10 – “It pleased the Lord to bruise him,” to crush His darling Son to death as my Substitute!

Isaiah 53:10-12 “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (12) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Galatians 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”

Four Facts

Whenever you think about the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, remember these four facts, these four words, which define and explain what took place at Calvary 2000 years ago.

1st Sovereignty – “I lay down my life.” “The good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

2nd Satisfaction – “Then I restored that which I took not away.” (Righteousness and Redemption).

3rd Substitution – “For the transgression of my people was he stricken.”

4th Success – “He shall not fail!”

Reveal His Son

4.    Galatians 1:15-16 – It pleased the Lord to reveal His Son in me.

“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, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:” (Galatians 1:15-16)

Salvation does not come by a decision, — saying a prayer, — walking an aisle, — kneeling at an altar — doing good works, — baptism, — or anything else preachers tell you to do to “get saved.” Salvation comes to poor, blind, hell-bent sinners, hell-deserving sinners like you and me by the sovereign interposition of God almighty, by Divine revelation, by God the Holy Spirit revealing Christ in you!

2 Corinthians 4:3-6 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (5) For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. (6) For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

When God the Holy Spirit comes to a sinner in effectual, irresistible, saving power and grace, He does some teaching, convicting, reproving, and convincing.

John 16:7-11 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (8) And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (9) Of sin, because they believe not on me; (10) Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; (11) Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”

If God ever saves a you, you will know…

·      Who Christ is.

·      Why He came (Matthew 1:21; Hebrews 10:5-14).

·      What He did (Hebrews 9:12, 26).

·      Where He is now.

·      What He is doing. – “The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand!”

By the Gospel

5.    1 Corinthians 1:21 – “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

God saves sinners through the instrumentality of Gospel preaching, by the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. – Not by preaching, but by GOSPEL PREACHING!

Illustration: The Man Who Worked at Matthews

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

James 1:18 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

1 Peter 1:23-25 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”

Ephesians 1:12-13 “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”

Application

1. Sinner, Come to Christ and confess Him before men. – “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned.”

2. Children of God, rejoice in the great and glorious sovereignty of our God. Our faith and confidence in Him is a well-founded faith and confidence.

3. Preachers, Preach Christ!

This is our God. There is no God but him.

Isaiah 46:9-13 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. 12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: 13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

Amen.

Don Fortner

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