I am the Lord, I change not
Key Passage: Malachi 3:6
Date: June 7, 2024
Number three in God’s word tonight. And just felt like the Lord would have us focus on one verse here in just a bit. We’ll get to it and try to cover what the Lord wants to cover. And he may want to speak to your heart a different way about something.
But I’m not exactly sure all the ways he wants it applied. So you pray that he’ll speak to your heart. Isn’t it amazing? Every once in a while I have someone say, man, I can’t believe you said this is just what I needed today. And they’ll tell me, and I think, I didn’t say that. But the Lord, sometimes he’ll take it and he’ll let them hear what they need to hear, if you will. And I’m thankful for that. Now, every once in a while, it’s the other way around. I think the devil had them hear what they heard. But let’s pray the Lord will let them hear what they need to hear tonight.
I know he wants to preach on the truth. I’m not sure everything he wants us to apply it to tonight. So you pray that he speaks to your heart about it. Would you please? Let’s stand if you’re able to just add a respect to God’s word, Malachi chapter 3. And we’ll start in verse number 1 and try to just get the context a little bit there, Malachi 3 and verse number 1.
And he says, “Behold, I will send my messenger,” speaking here, John the Baptist, “and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight. And behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? Who shall stand when he appearth? For he is like a refiner’s fire.”
Now, you just think about that for a moment, refining the gold or the silver. You know, you got the gold on your ring, sometimes 10 karat, 12 care, 14, 16, 18, 21. And the more it’s refined, the purer it is. It’s told me to refine is fire, purifying something. And like a fuller’s soap, maybe the closest thing that we know of is where they would take clothes, and back of the day they put some soap on it and they’d have it in that number two wash tub and that little ribbed thing and they would just wash the clothes. And in fuller’s soap along that line was talking about, so it’s talking about cleaning with soap.
Verse number three: “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”
Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old and as in the former years. “And I will come near to you to judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers.” By the way, that has to do with drugs typically, “and against adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages.” Just talking about taking advantage of these people here, is what I’m talking about, taking advantage of your employee, “the widow and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right.” The foreigners are not given them what they ought to be given. “And fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.”
Notice this, verse number six. This is our text verse: “For I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”
God’s saying, I’m going to refine you. I’m going to purify you. I’m going to chasten you. And I decided years ago to select you as my chosen, and I don’t change. And so I am going to clean you up, but I’m not going to do away with you because I don’t change. I’m the Lord. I’m the Lord. I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed. It doesn’t change. Let’s just for a little while, I’ll focus on that: “For I am the Lord, I change not.”
I’m so glad it doesn’t change. Would you ask the Lord to speak to your heart about that truth? Just tonight briefly, if you would, please.
We are living in a day and time of change. It is just amazing how so many, it just seems like everything is changing. I’m not that old. I’m only 52, but when I was younger, back in my day, a sodomite, a homosexual, was something that was looked down on. It was a shame. And you’d criticize, or maybe even use that as a criticism against someone. And it was looked down on. But boy, that’s changed in our day and time.
They’re trying to lift up sodomites. Our government is trying to say, hey, it’s condoned by God and encouraged by God, and they’re trying to say, hey, a man and a man can marry, and a woman can marry. By the way, friend, they can say all they want, but God’s the one that said it’s Adam and Eve, a man and lady, and that man shall leave father and mother and cleave to his wife. That’s what God said about it.
And God said, by the way, hey, he don’t change. God doesn’t change with the whims of times. And God said, hey, that’s vile affections of the Romans. God doesn’t change. But the world is changing all around us. It’s just changing. It’s changing the mindset of people.
Back in the day, ladies of people weren’t rewarded. You can say amen there on that. I mean, back of the day, if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat, you didn’t get a paycheck, but now things are changing. Some people are making more money not working than working, you know. We’re talking about how it’s changing in our day and time. Our society is changing, trying to change so many different things. Folks that used to stand up for decency were applauded. Nowadays they’re put down if you stand up for decency.
And things are changing. The winds of time are changing so many things. It used to be, there’s a law officer. He could walk in many restaurants and get at least a free coffee, and he’d be uplifted and some discounts and free things. But nowadays, they want to defund the police officers. I’m just talking about how things change. Polls are changing, and attitudes are changing, and societies are changing, and the way people treat sin changes, and they’re trying to uplift sin. And it’s amazing all the changing going on in our day and time. But God, he doesn’t change. God that that…
“Heaven is His throne, and earth is His footstool.” He sits in His throne in heaven. He says, you can change all you want, and you can try to push your change when everybody, but God says, I change not. He’s not going to change for me and you. He’s not going to change for the United States of America. He’s not going to change for D.C. He’s not going to change for anybody. The Lord says, hey, I’m the Lord. I change not.
He’s not going to change when they say, well, it’s all right if you kill that baby as long as it’s inside the mother’s womb. God doesn’t change. He said over there in Exodus, “Hey, thou shalt not kill.” And they can say what they want to, but God says, I’m not going to change on that right there. He doesn’t change. He never has changed, never will change.
In many societies, Rome and many others that have down through the ages have tried to change God, but God does not change. He will not change. They try to change religion or Christianity. And I was talking about sodomites earlier. We even have, quote, unquote, preachers that are sodomites. And they try to say, well, God’s in favor of all the things. And they can say what they want to, but God does not change. God said that’s abomination in Leviticus. It’s still abomination today. God doesn’t change. He’s not going to change to CNN or Fox or anybody else. They can say what they want, but God said, I’m not going to change. It doesn’t change.
And God said over in the book of Timothy, I’m not sure, maybe 1 Timothy 65, somewhere along there. God said it’s a shame for a man to have long hair. Now, society might try to change that, but God said, I’m not changing. That’s still a shame for a man to have long hair. By the way, the same passage talks about it’s a glory for a lady to have long hair. That’s Bible. And society and fashions and fads change, but God said, I don’t change on those things.
The same music standard that God put in there. When he set a standard what kind of music he wanted, he didn’t want the world; he wanted a different song. When he set those standards in the 1950s or way before that, he said that. He hasn’t changed in 2021 or 2022. It doesn’t change on that.
The morals of God don’t change. He said, “I change not.” Change one now. By the way, I want to talk about music for just a second. I was talking about the TED this morning, Church of Christ. They said, well, we don’t want any music in the church. I said, they’re entitled to what they want to do, but let me just say a word about that from the Bible. Friend, the Old Testament, very clear, Psalms and other places, they had musical instruments. They have musical instruments in the book of Revelation, friend. You check that out. They do there. And God doesn’t change. In the Old Testament, He’s for it; in the future, He’s for it today. He doesn’t change, friend. You don’t have to check and see what He believes about something today. Well, did He change because the polls change? God doesn’t change. If you believe God wanted you to do something way back then, God still wants that today. It doesn’t change. God doesn’t change.
And God said, “I want modest dress.” It’s so important for a lady to dress modestly. And boy, times change on that, but God doesn’t change on that. God doesn’t want tight and revealing and showing dress for a lady. God doesn’t want your thigh showing. The Bible, that’s nakedness to God when the thigh is showing. You say, “Well, that’s old school stuff.” Yeah, it’s old school stuff, but God doesn’t change. He’s still old school. There’ll always be old school.
The world may change in society, but God doesn’t change. He changeth not. Ezekiel chapter 3 says, if I don’t warn someone of the judgment coming, God says, “I require their blood on your hand.” You said, “Well, that was in Ezekiel’s time.” It was, but God doesn’t change. It’s in our day and time.
I have a neighbor. They speak Arabic, and I can’t witness to him, but I’m going to get him an Arabic tract. And if I don’t, my hands will be held accountable. He says, “Well, that’s Ezekiel 3 stuff.” Yeah, it is Ezekiel 3, but it’s 2021 because God doesn’t change. He changeth not.
By the church ought not change. Praise all over those old churches, just stay the same down through the years. Amen. I think Brother Richard, he’s not here tonight, but Brother Richard, he was reached. He got saved at First Baptist Church in Indiana, and then he grew up basically in Jordan Baptist Church in Cicero, Illinois, and he grew up there, and then he got away from the Lord. He’s in the military, and he was just back in one of the campaigns over there. I don’t think it was Iraq, one of those over there. But he was over there, maybe Iraq, but he was over there. And God was working his heart, and so they had a phone call they could make, and so he called before they’d go in combat, I believe. And he called his old church, Jordan Baptist Church in Cicero, Illinois. He’s halfway around the world. And he called, in our time, a little before the service, and he called, and somebody answered the phone. And he said one thing that was encouraging to him: he’s halfway around the world, he heard them playing and singing the old hymn. And he said, “Praise Lord, my old home church hadn’t changed.” That’s what it ought to be because God doesn’t change. Your church ought not change. A preacher ought not change.
I was thanking my wife this morning and saying, “Hey, thank you, 22 years. You stuck by my side. I messed up a million times and she’s still by my side.” I’m thankful for that. And she said, “Well, I’m thankful you haven’t changed. You’re still preaching like you used to 22 years ago. I still get her mad. I write it all down and then I preach it back to you. I haven’t changed all these years.”
“I am the Lord, I change not.” Not be given to the winds of change. The whole world is always trying to conform you into its image. Romans chapter 12: “Be not conformed to the world.” Somewhere along the line you guys said, “God doesn’t change. I’m not going to change.” The world will push you into its mold. And they’ll say, “Well, you’re an oddball.” As long as you’re on God’s side, you’re all right, friend. I’d rather be an oddball for God than be in the world than be fit in with them. They’re going to hell, friend. Now, “I am the Lord, I change not.”
Let me say this briefly tonight: the Lord will chasten you. I’m talking about if you’re a born-again Christian, if there was a time when you were born again, you were saved, when your eternal destiny changed from going to hell to going to heaven, when you are saved, if you’re a child of God. Someone I heard someone just the other day, I don’t know if it was on the radio or somewhere I was at talking, I can’t remember, but somebody said, “Well, we’re all the children of God.” And I didn’t say it, but I said, “No, no, we’re not all the children of God. We’re all God’s creation, but you’re not His child until you’re born again, and you’re born to the family of God.”
But once you’re born, God will chasten you. He said, if He’s never chastening you, something’s not right; better check up on your salvation. Hebrews 12: “If you never, because God chases every son whom He receiveth,” He says. And He’ll chasten us. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be taken out by the woodshed by God. Miserable. He’ll chasten you; He’ll never disown you. He’ll never push you aside. That’s what He’s telling Israel: “Hey, I’m the Lord God, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob, you won’t be consumed.”
I’m going to refine you. I’m going to purify you. I’m going to take you through the fire. I’m going to chasten you. And I’m going to make you a pure, finer gold. You’ve got so many wickedness in you, and I’m going to work on you. But God said, I don’t change. I made you my chosen nation years ago, and I’m not changed about that, so you won’t be consumed.
And as a child of God, God says, and you’re mine, and I’m going to work on you. I’m going to cut on you. I’m going to mold you. Sometimes it’s going to hurt when God cuts on you, and you don’t like it, and you’re uncomfortable when God changes you. But, friend, He’ll do all that, but He will not consume you. He won’t disown you. Once He set His seal, He circumcised you in your heart. Nothing can change that. You’ll always be His. He’ll never disown you.
There’s a wonderful story here I want to read to you about a family that adopted a little girl. Wonderful story. Wonderful comparing our when God adopted me and his family. I read it for the best I can.
“I never dreamed that taking a child to Disney World could be so difficult, or that such a trip could teach me so much about God’s amazing grace. Our middle daughter had been previously adopted by another family. I’m sure this couple had the best of intentions, but they never quite integrated their adopted child into the family of biological children. After a couple of rough years, they dissolved the adoption, and we ended up welcoming an eight-year-old girl into their home. For one reason or another, whenever our daughter’s previous family vacationed at Disney World, they took their biological children with them, but they left their adopted daughter with a family friend. Usually, at least in my child’s mind, this happened because she did something wrong that precluded her presence on the trip. And so by the time we adopted our daughter, she had seen many pictures of Disney World, and she had heard about the rides and the characters and the parades, but when it came to passing through the gates of the Magic Kingdom, she had always been the one left on the outside. Once I found out about this history, I made plans to take her to Disney World the next time. A speaking engagement took our family to the southeastern United States. I thought I had mastered the Disney World drill. I knew from previous experiences that the prospect of seeing cast members in freakishly oversized mouse and duck costumes somehow turns children into squamous bundles of emotional instability. What I didn’t expect was that the prospect of visiting this dream world would produce a stream of downright devilish behavior in her newest daughter. In the month leading up to our trip to the Magic Kingdom, she stole food when a simple request would have gained her a snack. She lied when it would have been easier to tell the truth. She whispered insults that were carefully crafted to hurt her older sister as deeply as possible. And as a daze on the calendar to move closer to the trip, her mutinies multiplied. A couple of days before our family headed to Florida, I pulled our daughter into my lap to talk to her about her latest escapade. ‘I know what you’re going to do,’ she stated flatly. ‘You’re going to take me to Disney World. Excuse me, you’re not going to take me to Disney World, are you?’ Both of the fault had actually crossed my mind, but her downward spirals suddenly started to make some sense. She knew she couldn’t earn her way into the Magic Kingdom. She had tried and failed that test several times before. So she was living in a place that placed her as far as possible from this magical place on earth. In retrospect, I’m embarrassed to admit it. In that moment, I was tempted to turn her fear into my own advantage. The easier response would have been, ‘And if you don’t start behaving better, you’re right. We don’t take you.’ But by God’s grace, I didn’t. Instead, I asked her, ‘Is this trip something we’re going to do as a family?’ She nodded, brown eyes wide and tear-rimmed. ‘Are you part of this family?’ She nodded again. ‘Then you’re going with us. Sure, there may be some consequences to help you remember what’s right and what’s wrong, but you’re part of our family, and we’re not leaving you behind.’ I’d like to say that her behaviors grew better after that moment, but they didn’t. Her choices pretty much spiraled out of control at every hotel and rest stop all the way down to Lake Buena Vista. Still, we headed to Disney World on the day we had promised, and it was a typical Disney day: overpriced tickets, overpriced meals, lots of lines, mixed with just enough manufactured magic to consider maybe going again someday. In her hotel room that evening, a very different child emerged. She was exhausted, a little reflective, and a little weepy at times. But her month-long escapades of rebellion had faded. When bedtime rolled around, I prayed with her, held her, and asked her, ‘So how was her first day at Disney World?’ She closed her eyes and snuggled down into her stuffed unicorn. After a few moments, she opened her eyes ever so slightly. ‘Daddy,’ she said, ‘I finally got to go to Disney World. But it wasn’t because I was good. It’s because I’m yours.’”
And friends, that’s the way it is with Jesus Christ. It doesn’t change. Once you’re His, you’re always His. And He said, “Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out,” the book of John. You’re secure in Christ. It doesn’t change. “All that the Father giveth Me cometh to Me, and him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.” It doesn’t change. He’ll always be His.
Sometimes I’ll go through this a little bit with myself. I’ll kind of go through this and just sit with me for a moment. But sometimes I’ll say, “Paul, if you never go to church again, God will still love you.” I would have been ever preaching you, and God will still love me. I would have messed up and be an embarrassment for God, and sometimes I am, unfortunately. And maybe the whole world looked down on me. Maybe it was in prison somewhere. God reached down in that jail cell and said, “Paul, I still love you. You’re still mine.” Now, doing that doesn’t make me want to go out and sin. It shows me He loves me. And we love Him because He first loved us. And He said, “You love Me, you’ll keep My commandments.” Friend, He’s the Lord God, I change not.
Once you’re His, you’re always His. Sometimes it’s amazing how us Christians—I’m talking about us, me too—I’m almost embarrassed for God how bad we make God look. How many of you have had someone say, “Well, you know, I don’t want to go to church,” or, “You know, I don’t want to get saved because my brother or my brother or whatever, some hypocrite.” Just yesterday we had somebody say, “I’m not going to church, there are hypocrites there.” And some of that’s just excuses, but there’s some truth to that. And sometimes they had had such a poor testimony of the Lord presented in front of them. And I’m amazed how we sometimes can make a wonderful, perfect God look so bad. And I think sometimes we must be an embarrassment for God.
Yet I’m amazed how God never pushes us aside. You never said, “You’re such an embarrassment. I don’t want you anymore. You make me look bad to everybody.” God doesn’t do that. God says, “Hey, I made you my son, my daughter, I don’t change.” Amen. “And the Lord God, I change not.”
Now, a couple of thoughts real quickly here. God’s saying, I don’t change. Once I forgive you, that forgiveness is for good. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You get forgiveness of that sin. He didn’t bring that sin back up tomorrow.
Look over, and I love this. Look over if you’re in Isaiah chapter 38. It’s a wonderful verse here. Isaiah 38 and verse 17. Isaiah 38:17. You can, many verses in the Bible, you can use along this line, but this has just been a blessing to me. Isaiah 38, verse number 17: “Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but Thou hast in love delivered my soul from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.”
Man, all my sins. I got this little bit of old thing right here. If God were to have all my sins, it’d kind of unfold and fold and fold. I mean, it just kept going down. And God takes all my sins. When I asked Jesus Christ to wash away my sins, all my sins, God said, “Let me take all those sins.” Jesus paid for all those sins, and He took all those sins and He wadded them up and then just cast them behind His back. He said, “What sins are you talking about? They’re all gone. They’re washed under the blood of Jesus Christ.”
He cast your sins behind His back. “Far as the east is from the west,” Psalm 103 says. He didn’t say from the north to the south, because you can go to the north and find a north pole. It’s supposed to be a north pole. You can go to the south to the south pole, but you can go as far east as you want to, and you’ll still keep traveling east. You can go as far west as you want to; you just keep riding out on the west, and the sun says, you’ll just keep riding and riding and riding and riding. And He’s saying, you’ll never cross those sins again. They’ll never see each other again. That’s how far He’s removed your transgression from you. Why? Because it doesn’t change.
Satan will bring up some things from your past, but when he does, you bring up his future to him. It’s gone. “Lord, I’ve asked You 10,000 times to forgive me for that. Would You forgive me? I just want to ask one more time, would You forgive me, Lord?” And God said, “What are you asking forgiveness for? I don’t see anything.” That thing the other day, I know I’ve asked You. God says, “I don’t see it.” The old preacher, he said, someone came to him and said, “How can God that knows that, how can He always forget my sins?” And he says, “He always remembers to forget.” “Remember your iniquities no more,” the Bible says. It’s gone. It doesn’t change.
Old devil, he’s the accuser of the brethren, accusing God, accusing us before God. And Jesus, He’s our advocate. He says, “Hey, Father, that sin was paid for.” And God the Father says, “Hey, that sin is gone. No more.”
I’m so glad it doesn’t change. You say, “Well, God’s forgiven me that sin 10,000 times.” And I understand what we’re saying from our viewpoint. From God’s viewpoint, He’s forgiven you one time because He doesn’t remember that at all. It’s gone. Cast all your sins behind His back.
There’s another family that adopted a boy. The preacher, a guest preacher, was there. A sad story. And the guest preacher was there, and he knew about the adopted boy, whatnot. And he saw some old, tattered, holy, dirty shoes, and he saw their kind of prominent place in the house. And he thought, “What in the world? It’s old shoes, you know.” And finally he asked me, he said, “Now, what’s the deal? Why do you have those shoes over there?” And they said, “Well, that’s the shoes our son was wearing when we adopted him. And we put those shoes over there if he does anything wrong; we remind him where he came from.” And the preacher said, “I’m glad God didn’t do that to us.”
And I got saved. Hey, those shoes were cast out. They’re gone. I’ll never see those shoes again. They’re gone. God doesn’t hang those shoes over your head. Hey, He forgave you, and He does not change. It’s gone.
Once you’re His, you’re always His. Once He forgives you, you’re always forgiven. And then once He loves you, once you’ve accepted His love, His love extended through the blood of Jesus Christ that covers your sin. You see, God—God can’t look on that sin. He can’t dwell over that sin. That’s why He turned His back on His only begotten Son across the Calvary. Once you’ve accepted the shed blood of Jesus Christ as your salvation, and God looks down on you in love, you’ll always be loved. For every day of your life, you’ll always, always, even when He chastens you, He chastens you in love. “For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth,” even as a father the son in whom He loveth, Proverbs. He chastens you in love. He’ll always love you. Nothing you can ever do will keep God from loving you. Nothing.
Would you look over in Romans chapter number 8, would you please? Very briefly tonight. It’s a wonderful passage about this. Romans chapter 8, you’ll know it. God here is using him to pen this passage, and He speaks to these Romans and the Christians, and I’m sure persecution was beginning to ramp up a little bit here. My Scofield Reference Bible says it’s dated around A.D. 60.
And persecution in Rome, and of course, with Paul, he had been put in jail so many times for preaching the gospel. And so things and people were saying and doing things against them. Many, many Christians in those early days of Christianity after the time of Christ, many of them, once they became and professed their faith in Jesus Christ and were saved and baptized, boy, many of them lost their jobs. They were treated as second-rate Christians—excuse me, second-rate citizens—because of their open profession of Jesus Christ, especially in years to come. And some of that was going on, and it was kind of getting ramped up. And I want you to see this passage, Romans chapter 8, and would you look down, please, in verse number 35? Well, let’s jump up. I’m sorry. Would you jump up? We’ll just start in verse number 33.
Verse number 33: “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.” He says, look, man, if you get put in jail, hey, they’re not the final authority. It is God that justifieth. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us?”
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
He’s saying, nothing, nothing, nothing can separate you from the love of God. Once God has set His love on you, you’ve accepted it, once it’s there, nothing can stop God from loving you. You’ll always be loved. The world can look down on you. Co-workers can mimic and scoff at you. Bosses can fire you because you’re standing or witnessing or whatever it may be for the Lord Jesus Christ. But once God puts His love on you, it doesn’t change. He’ll always love you. Even if you’re disappointing, it doesn’t change. He loves you. You’ll always be loved.
I think it was Spurgeon, if I remember right, he came into a house, a farmhouse, and it had a weather vane up top, you know, those weather vanes, and the wind would turn it, you know, and it would show you which way the wind’s blowing, and it had on the weather vane, it had “God’s Love.” And so the preacher, what is the person? He said, “What do you mean? If it’s blowing from the north, God loves you, you know? What are you trying to say about that? Does it change? Does God’s love change?” And he said, “No, that means it doesn’t matter which way the wind’s blowing, God loves you.” He’ll always love you. God doesn’t love you because you’re lovely; God loves you because He is loving. It doesn’t change. Never will change.
He said, “Hey, I’ve chosen you, Israel, as my own. And yes, I’m going to purify you. I’m going to work on you. I’m going to cut on you. I’m going to refine you. And it’s going to hurt sometimes. I am the Lord God, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob, I won’t consume you. I still love you. You’re still my chosen. You’ll always be mine.”
We used to say, we used to say God’s got a picture of you in His wallet. Most wallets nowadays don’t have pictures. God’s got a picture of you on the cell phone, if you will. It doesn’t change. Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter what’s going on in your life and the world around you. You’re secure. It doesn’t change.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes, please?
If you’re there, and you say, “You know, I’ve been keeping up with what everybody thinks and says, and I need to get my eyes on the Lord. I don’t want to change because everybody else is changing. Help me to focus, Lord. Help me to focus on You. You don’t change. I am the Lord God, I change not.” God bless you. God bless you. Just slip your hand up if that’s you. God… Anybody else like that? God bless it. God bless you. God doesn’t change. All wonderful, wonderful.
Maybe here tonight you say, “Preacher, I need to rest in the fact that He loves me. I’m His. He’s forgiven me. He’s not going to change. Though I mess up or the world or someone in it might accuse me, He doesn’t change. I’m loved by Him, and I need to rest in that.” God spoke to my heart somewhere along the line. “I need to rest in that.” God spoke to my heart about that. You need to slip your head up, preacher. You need to rest in that right there. He changeth not. Oh, God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Me too. Me too.
Would you please stand? Would you please stand? I’m going to have a word of prayer. Would you come spend some time with the Lord? Just rejoice in Him. He doesn’t change. You don’t have to check tomorrow where He’s going to be at. He’ll be the same place. You’re not going to change. By the way, that’s why we got an old King James Bible. It doesn’t change. And let’s just rejoice and rest in the unchanging God.
We’re studying Revelation chapter number 12, the nation of Israel this morning. You know, when it all comes full circle, God says, “Hey, I chose you, Israel. I haven’t changed. The gifts and callings of God are without repentance.” God said, “No, no, I chose you. Yes, you’ve backslid, and I’ve allowed a lot of chastenings and dispersion around the world, and even the tribulation, perhaps the first part of the Antichrist and all that. But God says, in the end, I bring you back, and I’m going to use you like I said I was going to use you. I am the Lord God, I change not.”
I’m so glad to serve a God who didn’t change. Would you just rejoice? Let me know you love and you’re thankful that He didn’t change. Would you do that as we sing another verse?
We’re so glad you’re in God’s house on a Sunday night. Thrilled to have you here tonight. We’re honored to have our guests with us tonight. Good to have the Copelands with us and Gabriel and Ines. I’m working on that, and we’re glad there she’ll be with us for a couple weeks. We’re thrilled about that. But good to have our guests, everybody here, and praise the Lord. Would you maybe just spend some time this week thanking God for His goodness? Church, church, He’s been so very good to us in 22 years of God’s grace. That’s just the way it is. It’s His goodness. We won’t be grateful for it. Been great to have Bill down with us all day long, and what an encouragement he is. Praise the Lord for Brother Bill, just as spirit, and watches us all the time online. He’s part of the family just a couple miles away, but gets down here anytime he can. We’re thrilled to have him with us tonight. That’s great all this morning, too. We’re glad to have, and that’s great. And I appreciate the Copelands being with us tonight. Brother Copeland, would you dismiss us with a word of prayer, please, sir?
That You change not. Thank You, our Savior. Lord, one day we’ll see You face to face. And Lord, thank You for that truth, and we hold true to it, Lord. Lord, I pray that You help us to share that with those who come in contact with it. Lord, thank You for our Catholic Church, Pastor Chisgar. I pray You bless these dear folks. We’ll continue to use it in the lighthouse and be for loving us.
Original File: I am the Lord, I change not - Pastor Paul Chisgar Sunday Evening 11142021