I direct your attention this morning to the book of Genesis and chapter 1 and the latter part of verse 7 where we read, and it was so, and it was so. And then we can look at the latter part of verse 11, and it was so, and the latter part of verse 15, and it was so. The latter part of verse 24, and it was so. And the latter part of verse 30, and it was so. And that is our subject before us this morning, and it was so. The fulfillment of God's word and God's works and God's will, it always absolutely comes to pass. Now in this first chapter of the book of Genesis, we have the testimony of God. This is God speaking to us through His Word, as He always does. But this is the testimony of God speaking in creation, into being. This is the testimony of God, our Creator, the Supreme Intelligent designer. God can be the only answer to the wonder and complexity of creation. Even scientists now, as they further study the wonders of creation, acknowledge that the complexity of life is not random, but intelligent. Now, this statement here, it was so, is not the only one that is constantly repeated. It was good is also repeated several times. And then finally we read, it was very good. And that is like the completion, if you might say, of the creative work of God leading us into the seventh day, the Sabbath day, the day of rest. The completion of God's handiwork. Everything was very good. It was very good, perfect. But it is this statement this morning It was so, which is on my mind to consider together. You see, this statement, and it was so, is time and again proven to be true of all God's works and all God's ways. And when we stop and consider this fact, it should act. as somewhat of a wake-up call this morning, a wake-up call in your life. Never, ever, my friend, be casual with God. Whatever God decrees, always, without fail, comes to pass. God created the heavens and the earth, and it was so. We read in Psalm 33 and verse six, by the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap. He layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord. that all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe, for he spake, and it was done. He spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. Now, it was so. Now, God also warned Adam of the consequences of disobeying his perfectly reasonable test of obedience. There in the Garden of Eden, we have the record here in the book of Genesis that in that perfect environment, the devil accused God of being a deceiver. and being one that was denying them privileges. The devil said, disobey and you will enhance your life. And this is what God is saying to you, children and young people, in your life. God is saying, you disobey. Disobey your parents, disobey God. And your life will be enhanced. You will have more freedom. You will be your own person. You will be what you want to be. And indeed, you will find freedom. But it's a lie. It's a lie. The devil accused God of being a deceiver and denying them privileges, Adam and Eve. So disobey and you will become gods. Even Adam succumbed, and therein came the fall and death. As God said, it was Satan who was the liar, and it was so. And then later on in the history of the world, God warned the world through Noah, a preacher of righteousness, that he would judge the world. And there was a constant testimony that something incredible was going to happen because Noah was building this huge ark, this huge boat. And no doubt many people mocked Noah. They thought he was mad. They thought he was out of his mind. God had told him to build an ark and given him the plan and told him exactly how to build it. But we don't worship this God. And as the Lord Jesus said in Noah's day, people were just getting on with life. We can live without God. We can live without the need of God in our lives. Who is this God to reign over us? We do our own thing. We make our own decisions. We make our own plans. There was a refusal of unbelievers in Noah's day to repent, and man had just carried on in their outright rebellion. But God sent the flood as he warned, and it was so, and it was so. And then later, we read how God rescued the children of Israel from slavery as he had promised. And it was so, just as God said. And then in God's particular dealings with the children of Israel, whatever God spoke through His servants came to pass. God warned, God promised, God blessed, all according to His perfect will and character. It was always so, as He had said. And today, God remains the same, my friend. He cannot alter His purposes. He will not alter His Word. This has all been ordained from eternity. It will always be so as God warns and as God promises. Everything God ordains and works comes to pass according to His divine will. And it was so. We read that God promised the Messiah the Savior at the time of the fall, actually, in the Garden of Eden. There was outright rebellion. God was accused of being a deceiver and a liar. It was Satan, though, that was the liar. But nevertheless, in the great love and mercy and kindness of God, in that very solemn moment of utter rebellion against God, when they were in a perfect environment, God sent the promise of a Messiah. What mercy is this? What love? Thousands and thousands of years passed before the fulfillment of God's perfect time, but during that period of time, right up to the end of the Old Testament period of Scripture, We read time and time and time again, God kept saying, there's a Messiah coming. And he prophesied through his word of what would be his work and his purpose. We read in Psalm 22 of the amazing prophecy of the crucifixion of Christ. So much detail there, hundreds of years before. And it all came to pass as God said. As God said, and it was so. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God in the fullness of time. God's time, not man's time, God's time. It was so. He came. The Son of God incarnate. taken upon himself a body like ours, came exactly as prophesied by God. And the life, ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ was exactly as foretold by God, and it was so. When the shepherds returned from their incredible visit to see the newborn baby, the Lord Jesus, the angels had told them of these good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people, which includes us here this morning, because unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And you'll see this babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and he'll be lying in a manger. And that there was a great multitude suddenly, a heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. And this is the point the shepherds returned, later we read the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. as it was told unto them. That was their testimony. This has happened exactly as it was told unto us. God revealed his truth to us. God revealed to us that we must go and visit this little baby. And there we found him, exactly as God said. And we worshipped and we praised. We realized that this is the Messiah as it was told unto them. Now, this is my question to you this morning. How are you going to respond to this truth? This immovable truth that you need to consider this morning for your well-being. You cannot change God's purposes any more than King Canute could change the tide or stop the tide. Now, this truth should humble us it should cause us to realize something of our littleness before the Almighty God. You see, the problem with our pride is that we fail to stop and consider such profound truths or make such a comparison between us and God. We do not stop to think in our busy lives And if we do think about ourselves in any particular way, we tend to make horizontal comparisons. We tend to compare ourselves with another person and say, well, I'm not as bad as that or I think I dress better than that person, I think I'm more able than that person or less able, whatever it might be. But there is always a reason, generally speaking, for us to have a little bit of pride entering in. I don't show off like that person. I don't swear like that person. I don't behave like that person. But without God in our lives, it's simply gender's pride. But the pathway to humility is for you to consider God this morning. the God who speaks, God who works, and God who wills, and it is always so. So what is the reasonable response this morning to this awesome reality? It is indeed to humble yourself and myself before the Almighty God. What is man that thou art mindful of him? The change The change is required in you. You cannot change God. He is unchangeable, but He can change you in a wonderful way. In His majestic grace, love, and mercy, He condescends to change you, to transform you, and to make you right with Him. And God does this by His Word and by His Holy Spirit, which enters into your life and your inner being and stirs you, stirs your heart, and brings you to the answer of your greatest need this morning. His only beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We call this sovereign grace. We call this the sovereign grace of God, His eternal counsels being worked out in time. And it humbles us that God should touch your life, that God should touch you, that God should visit you with His salvation. This is wonderful. that the almighty God, the eternal God, should visit you, touch you, save you, redeem you through the precious blood of his only beloved Son, and then ensure that you have a place in heaven. This is wonderful grace. And if you are saved this morning, this should truly humble you. And if you're not saved this morning, this should really make you stop and think. You see, as we consider the inevitable will and purposes of God, in that sovereignty there is security, there's hope, there's encouragement. Because God doesn't save a person and then unsave them. God's purposes are eternal. Not one of my sheep will be lost. Here is security for time and eternity. With God it will always be so, as he says, none can change his mind or his will. His purposes are perfect. Well, let's see this in a little bit more detail. And the second part of my message, His provision. See, we're moving to steps that we can take to be assured this morning, His provision. The provision of God and His Son absolutely meets your need of forgiveness and peace with God. God said in his word, he would send a savior of sinners like me and like you. And it was so. God said his son was to become incarnate. Jesus Christ, the perfect man, and it was so. And God said that Jesus would live a perfect life. He would obey. He would be righteous altogether. Mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other, fulfilled in the perfect man, Christ Jesus the Lord. He obeyed his Father's will perfectly. He kept God's law perfectly. This is amazing, isn't it? And after a blessed ministry of preaching and healing and leading and teaching, His works were so marvelous, John tells us, the world couldn't contain the books if they were all written. It's infinite power. How can you contain in a book infinite power? In books, you cannot. All we can do is read about infinite power in the Bible. The infinite power of God in his word. But we can't contain infinity. We can't write everything about the wonderful works of God. In the Bible are the works that God intends for us to read and to know and to be taught by that will be for the good of our soul and our eternal well-being. Also, as a warning to the world, well, His provision Christ went to the cross at Calvary. God said he would, and so Christ did, to suffer, bleed, and die, to shed his blood for needy sinners. And all through the Old Testament, leading up to the New Testament, through the sacrifices, God was saying, this is speaking of a Messiah to come, a suffering Savior. God said it was so, and it was so. Standing in our place and in our stead, the Lord Jesus fully satisfied God's divine justice, making a way of acceptance for all those that truly trust in him. And this event was confirmed as well pleasing unto God, How do we know this? His resurrection, his ascension into heaven? It was so, exactly as God said. The life, the death, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus was a testimony to the faithfulness of God's Word. It was so. So God is speaking to you this morning by the testimony of Jesus Christ. My purposes come to pass. My purposes of love and grace and mercy and truth are met together in this one person. Here is truth to trust in this morning. What about his promises? The promises of God, you know, are of the same authority as his works. And it was so. The first step to assurance for a new Christian is to trust in the Word of God. And if we don't take that step, my friend, we will never find a constant assurance. Because if our assurance is based on our feelings, our feelings change. But God's word endures forever. So the first step in assurance is to come to God's word with humility and say, Lord, I believe in thy word. So here, for example, is one of God's promises in his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I read it out to you in John chapter 5 and in verse Let's just look at this, John chapter 5 and verse 22. I'll just read one of these promises. For the Father judges no man but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Now these are the words of the Lord Jesus, remember. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Here is a wonderful truth, a wonderful promise from the Son of God made man, speaking to needy sinners, believing God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You will not come into condemnation, but pass from death unto life eternal. But then again, the Word of God is faithful. It is so, as he said, he speaks about the pathways, two different pathways. The Lord Jesus describes them as a narrow way and a broad way, and it is so in life. The population of this world is divided into two pathways. Some are walking in the narrow way, looking unto Jesus. The remainder of the population of this earth are walking in the broad way. There are only two ways. There's not a middle way, as an agnostic might say, I sit on the fence and I just think one way or the other, I'm not committed. No, that person's in the broad way. There are only two ways. Jesus said, a broad way and a narrow way. Now we are born by nature, we are taught in scripture, and it is so by God that we are born by nature in the broad way. The broad way that leads to destruction, and many that go that way, and it is so. We know by experience, friends, that we are born with a heart. that rebels and rebels against God inwardly and perhaps outwardly. Anyone and anything goes in this path, there are no restrictions. It is the road of ungodliness. And it is actually ungodliness which is the root, really, of the evil. To be ungodly means that you are walking in the opposite direction. You are walking away from God. You are rebelling against God. You are saying, I will not have God to reign over me. But when we seek the Lord and we come to trust and follow Him, we enter into a totally different way. Jesus calls it the narrow way. But you see, to enter into the narrow way means looking to the Lord Jesus Christ and him alone. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and he said, no one comes to the Father but through me, and it is so. And so, entering into the narrow gate and the narrow way, it means letting go. Now we've all got baggage to let go of in our life. We all bring baggage with us to God, don't we? Just imagine going to an interview for a job and this is your reference. Well, this person actually is a bit of a rebel. This person actually is not always reliable, can't always be trusted. Sometimes it's not truthful. Well, who would ever take on a person like that? But this is your reference as you go to God. You don't go to God all smart and clean. You come to the Lord Jesus Christ as a sinner. And you bring to him a lot of baggage. But the wonder of it is that Jesus deals with all that baggage in your life. All that past baggage. And you can let it go by faith. And you look to the Lord Jesus Christ and you trust in Him. And just like bunion, the burden falls off the back and rolls down the hill because you're looking to Jesus and Him alone. And you follow Him. You repent. of those sins in your life, and you come to the Lord Jesus. You see, there's no room at the gate for Jesus and your righteousness. There's no room for Jesus and your pride. There's no room for Jesus and all your works. It's Jesus only at the gate. And you go in Him, through Him. You trust only in Him. You trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. And this pilgrim way, this narrow way, has a destination, and this destination is heaven. And when Jesus says to you, follow me, he's not just thinking of time. He's thinking of eternity. He's thinking of your place in heaven. preparing a mansion for you. It is so, and it will be so. And we must come to the conclusion, my time is gone. Think of His protection. The Word of God says that not one of His sheep will be lost. The Apostle Paul, when he was in a terrible storm in life, He was on a boat and there was an awful storm and it looked like all would be lost. And they tried everything. And then Paul stood up and he said, look, God has spoken to me by his angel. And he said, I will speak before, you must speak before Caesar in Rome. All on the ship will be saved. Therefore, his life could not be lost because God said he would go to Rome. Otherwise, the promise of God would not be so. So, in the midst of that terrible storm, it was so. God's word will be fulfilled. They would all get to land. And you may be in a very big storm in your life this morning. But God has promised that one of his sheep will be lost. And you will get to land because God has said so. Not because of your strength, but because of God. And it was so. And Paul took charge of those terrified sailors, a man with God-given Christian courage. And they all got saved to land. Not one was lost. But then finally this morning, I want you to consider the end of time. We read in Scripture that Jesus Christ is coming again in glory, in majesty, and every eye shall see him, and it will be like lightning. Suddenly, just imagine even now, are you ready for Jesus to come again? Everything will stop. We don't know how all this is going to be managed, but God will manage it. If I'm 35,000 foot up in the air on a journey somewhere, and the end of time comes, God will sort that situation out in a moment. No problem to God. If I'm in a submarine at the bottom of the sea, I will know that Christ has come again, and God will sort all that out, because He's Almighty God. But we started at creation, and it was so. But there's going to be another creation, the new heavens and the new earth, God's second creation, we might say. And in this new creation, these new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, there will be no possibility of a fall. No sin, only eternal perfection. It will be so, for God wills. Now, my friend, if you are a person that believes perhaps in theistic evolution, whereupon people say, yes, God created the world, but it took millions of years, are you also going to be here and say, well, if that was the case, In creation, the first creation, that must be the case in the second creation. It's going to take millions of years for God to create the new heavens and the new earth. Or are you going to simply believe in God's Word? It will be so, as God said. Remember these four words then as you go from this place of worship, and it was so.