In a nobler, sweeter song, I'll
sing thy power to save. I'll sing thy power to save. I'll sing thy power to save. And in a nobler, sweeter song,
I'll sing thy power to save. That great old hymn was taken
from Zechariah 13, verse 1. And that day there shall be a
fountain open. Great hymn. We sing it all the
time, and the thought crossed my mind
that Apparently in glory and heaven,
they sing one song throughout eternity. Song of Moses. Song of the Lamb. I don't read
of any other song. I just keep singing it. That's one reason, one way you
know the gospel is gospel to you. Good news. In other words, you can hear
the same things. Same old message. And it is an
old one. But same, over and over and over again,
it still be good news. That's how you know gospel is
gospel to you. If you grow weary of it, someone
grows weary and tired of it, it's no longer gospel. 1 John 5, go there with me, 1 John
chapter 5, let's read verses 11 This is the record that God hath
given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things
have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God. That you may know that you have
eternal life. And that you may believe on the
name of the Son of God. He said these things are written
unto you that believe. God's Word. We say this so many
times don't we? God's word is written to God's
people. God's word is God's testimony. What God testifies of himself,
but primarily what he testifies of his son. It is God's record. That is,
God recorded it. God wrote it down. Aren't you
thankful? We gave thanks for God's Word.
We just don't know how thankful we should be. But this is God's recorded Word. God Almighty wrote a book. The book. It's called the Holy
Bible book. The book. And it is principally
concerning God's Son. My son-in-law and daughter talked
about how that now everything's changed. Their firstborn child now everything
revolves around that child as it should. Well God has one begotten
and everything revolves around him. And he wrote a book and
it's a picture book. It's a picture book of his son,
the altogether lovely son of the Most High God. Our Lord himself,
in the volume of the book it is written of me. It's his autobiography. Generally, I don't like autobiographies.
I mean, I read them. I do like them, but you can't
always believe everything you read, can you? People are loathe
to say anything bad about themselves or admit their mistake. But this
is the truth, God, Christ, the truth, his autobiography, or
God's biography of his Son. In the volume of the book it
is written of me, and this is life eternal, the Lord said,
that they might know him. Know the only true God. Can't
know God except through the Son. the only begotten son he hath
declared him. God used to speak unto the fathers
by the prophets, but in these last days has spoken unto us
by his son. And this is life eternal, to
know the son, to know the father by knowing son. He that hath
the son hath this life. All right, now this is written
to believers, to them that believe and those that shall. Some shall
through this word. We did, didn't we? And there'll
be more. Christ hasn't come yet, so that
tells me there's more coming. There are more sheep out there.
Tells me the door of the ark is still open and God is still
gathering his sheep. These things he said in verse
thirteen have I written unto you that believe on the name
of the son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
No full assurance. You see all hope all peace all
happiness all joy. Is in believing. God's record. of God's Son, believing him,
knowing him, loving him. And so this is written, these
things are written, another declaration, just another of many declarations
of who Christ is. This is what we're going to do
again, OK? But those that love him love to hear about it. This is how you know. A man stands
up and just declares God. Declares Christ. Well, who's
going to love that? Those that love God. Man stands
up and give God all the glory. Well, who loves that? Those that
really are in it for the glory of God. They love God. Man stands
up and going to declare God's Son, Jesus Christ, the altogether
lovely Son of God. Who's going to love that? Those
that think he's altogether lovely. What if I spent the next hour
or so talking about Isabella Marie? I know one man at least one and
another one well several people. Who would. Be in Iraq. In growth attentive. And after I finish they say say
it again. Same thing same thing. We're going to say the same thing
that is talk about the same one so what you want. in glory throughout
eternity and do one thing, one thing. Think about it. Worship
the Lamb. And that begins here. God creates
this love here in the hearts of His people. And they can't
get enough of it here. They can't take it all in here.
They can't do it like they want to here. But it's preparation,
and here someday they're going to break out of this cocoon and
be perfect, and do it forever, at the top of their lungs, from
the bottom of their heart. That song of Moses, somebody's
going to say, second verse, same as the first, throughout eternity. That's the truth. That's the
truth. This is the record. OK, this
is written to you that believe on the name of the Son of God
and that you might know you do. You want to know you have eternal
life, this is it, this is how. And since we're so we have so
much unbelief, since our faith is so weak. This is so it might
be increased. I hope you go out of here this
morning believing more strongly than when you came. I hope you
go out of here this morning, that if you didn't say when you
came here, I know whom I have believed, you'll say it when
you leave. So let's get to it. All right. Verse six said, this is he that
came. When the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus
of Nazareth, walked the planet, many thousands of people beheld
him, touched him, handled him, and so forth. They called him
Jesus. Most of them did. He came walking
into Jerusalem one day, and everybody said, Who is this? He asked his disciples, Whom
do you say? Whom do men say that I am? They said this, and they
said that, and he said to them, he asked them, Who do you say
that I am? John said, That. Life, light, we beheld him, we
handled him. We believe and are sure. Peter
said, Thou art that Christ. Thou art the Son of God. This
is he that came. You remember in chapter four,
we said, talked about he that believeth that Jesus has come
in the flesh. What that means is that he was
somewhere before he came here. I came to this church building
today. I came from somewhere. You can't
come somewhere unless you left somewhere. He came from the Father. That's what he said. I am come
from the Father. Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I am come, he said. Why? To do a job. I came this morning
to do a job. I'm going to fail. His word won't,
but I'm going to feel like a failure. He, Christ, came, and the scripture
says, He shall not fail, nor be discouraged. I'm going to
leave here discouraged because I couldn't preach like I wanted
to, because you couldn't listen like you ought to. But he was
never discouraged. He came. He was somewhere before
he got here. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God. I was ever with him from the
beginning, from everlasting. He came, why? To do a job. He didn't come to try to do a
job, he came to do a job. And if this sounds like the radio
message, I have no other message. He came to do a job. Lord, in
the volume of the book it is written of me, Christ said, I
am come, this is he that came, to do thy will. I am come, he
said, that they might have life. They're dead, all of them, in
trespasses and sin. I'm going to raise them all.
This is the will of the Father, everyone that I raise. See the Son, I'll raise him up.
This is he that came, came to do God's will. This is he that
came, came to save God's people. This is he that came, came to
put away sin. Did he do it? What's the Scripture
say? Here is your peace. Here is your
comfort. Here is your hope that the one
who came, the one who came to put away your sins, did just
that. If you had a job you needed to
be done, wouldn't you send the best man? Somebody you knew that
could do it, wouldn't you? Or the best woman? That's exactly
what God did. Lo, I send my son, he shall not
fail. Shall not fail. I love to read,
well, I have to admit this, I love to read some of these silly little
books about some of these superheroes. I guess it started when I was
a kid, you know, Superman, Batman, all that stuff. But now we've
got fellas that are military heroes, you know, they just,
every man in here loves Clint Eastwood. Don't you? Every man does. John Wayne. Darnell there is a John Wayne
fan. Why? He's a man. He did what he set
out to do. You admire him for that, don't
you? We elected a man president that
was kind of like him. Ronald Reagan, didn't we? Even
his enemies admired him. A man of his word. A man of integrity.
A man of honesty. A man that set out to do a job,
and he did it. A man of the other spirit, a
leader, somebody you could follow. Lo, I come, Christ said. God sent his altogether lovely
son, the son of the Most High God, Immanuel, God with us. Here
he comes, a man, yes, all-powerful man, successful,
sovereign, glorious, altogether lovely. Came to do a job, and
he did it. Came, came. This is he that came. Look at it, verse 6. He came
by water and blood. Came by water and blood. Even Jesus the Christ. Came by water and blood. Turn
with me to the gospel of Mark, chapter 1. Mark, chapter 1. He
went on to say, not by water only, but by water And the Spirit,
he says, bears witness. The Spirit bears witness. He
came by water and blood. The Spirit bears witness. That's
what he's writing of this in Mark chapter 1. See, God the Father wrote a book
about his Son. That's what it's about. And God
the Holy Spirit was sent to bear witness of the Son. He's the
faithful witness. Christ is the witness. And all
I mean the spirit is the witness and all that the spirit does. And this is how you know it's
the Holy Spirit. Are you with me? This is how you know Christ
said he'll take the things of mine and show them to you. He'll
not speak of himself. He'll not glorify himself, the
spirit. His purpose is to bear witness of the son. The son has
come to bear witness of the father. Right? And the spirit is come
to bear witness of son Jeanette. This is how you know the spirit
of Christ and the spirit of anti-Christ. Well, the spirit first bore witness. Well, the first recorded witness
of the Lord Jesus Christ was by water. Water baptism. Look at it. Mark
chapter one. I was going to read a great deal
of it, but John baptized, preached baptism for remission of sins.
In verse 7, God said, There cometh one mightier than I after
me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down
and unloose. Sounds like a great man, John.
Oh, it's not just a man. There's
no man that we're unworthy to untie his shoes. Put the God-man down. Verse 8,
John says, I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Well, it came to pass. It happened
in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and
was baptized of John and Jordan. And straightway, immediately,
coming up out of the water, John saw the heavens open and the
Holy Spirit like a dove descending upon Christ. You know what the
word Christ means? Anointed. The anointed one. You hear that a lot these days,
don't you? These self-proclaimed preachers like to stand up and
say, I am anointed. I have the anointed, this is
anointed, spirit-filled preaching. As soon as they say that, write
them off. No man ever said that. Isaiah
did not say that about himself in Isaiah 61. The Spirit of the
Lord hath anointed me. He did not say that about himself.
He said that in prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when Christ
came to this earth, he said, this day is this scripture fulfilled
in your ears. The Spirit of the Lord has anointed
me. I am the Christ. I didn't come out and say that,
but we heard it. All God's people heard him, didn't
they? He never said, I am God, but God's people heard him. Just like those who heard a voice
but didn't know what he said when Saul of Tarsus was And when
the Lord, when God spoke to Christ, they heard something that sounded
like thunder. We know what he said. When he said, I am, we
believe this is God. When he said, the Spirit of the
Lord has anointed me, we believe and are sure that he's the Christ,
the only one, the only one. And the Spirit, in John 1 Timothy
3, 16, says this, great is the mystery of God's God was manifest
in the flesh, and it goes on to say he was justified in the
Spirit, meaning that the Holy Spirit declared him to be the
Christ. And this is where he first did
it. This is him. This is the one you've been waiting
on. As Isaiah 25 9 says, Lo, it shall be said in that day,
This is our God. We've waited on him. He shall
save us. This is him. This is he who came. And verse eleven, look at it.
And there came a voice from heaven. Now we have two witnesses. Two
witnesses, a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved son
in whom I am well pleased. So he came by water. And our
text says he came Not by water only, but by water and blood.
Water and blood. Now, here's another thing in
regards to water. When you and I are born, we're
born of a woman, aren't we? And what do we live in? What are we immersed in for nine
months? Water. And then when it's time
to give birth, what is the first thing that happens when you know
birth is about to happen? The water breaks. Christ was
born of a woman, made under the law, became a living child. Yes, unto us a child is born,
a man, bone of our bones, flesh of our flesh, of the seed of
Abraham, but without sin. a living child, but the Son is
given. The everlasting Son, who had
no beginning or end, no father or mother really, is given, assumed
this body. And so he was born in that way,
a flesh, a seed of David. And then at his baptism, water.
A thirty-year-old man came to be baptized. Have you ever thought
about that, that the Lord Jesus Christ came to be baptized? Baptism
is a confession of sin. He had no sin. He's going to be made sin. Ever thought about that? John
couldn't understand it. John said, Lord, I need to baptize
you. The Lord said it behooves us
to fulfill all righteousness. He tells us to be baptized. And
he came to be baptized. And at his baptism, the Holy
Spirit descended upon him and bore witness, this is he. And
then the Father from heaven said, this is he. This is he. And in my blood, water and blood,
at his death, our Lord came to live. He came to live as a man
for men. He came to live. Lo, I come to
do thy will. He came to fulfill God's law,
and he did it. He didn't do it to show us how. He did it for us, for his people. But the Lord principally came
to die. He said, For this cause came
I into the world, to die, to shed my blood, to die, for it
is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul. And his blood was
poured out. He came by water and blood. John
the Baptist, who at his baptism said, I saw it. The spirit came
out of the water. This is him. John, the next thing
John said was what? The next message John preached
after that was what? Behold, the lamb. Blood. This is he coming out of water,
not water only, but blood. This is the Lamb of God. Take
away the sin of the world. Behold the Lamb of God, the blood
atonement, the Passover Lamb. God said, and here's the good
news, Kelly, you're listening well and I'm thankful. God said,
when I see thee blood, I will pass over you. What blood? Not
lambs and bulls and goats and so forth. The blood. the everlasting
blood, the blood of the Son of God. When I see it on you, I'll
pass over you. I won't strike you, have mercy
on you. It's that God can't lie when I see the blood. That's
the good news. He came, not by water only. He
didn't just come to live, but to die. And he did. He did. He died. It is precious blood,
and it is the blood of God's Son that cleanses us from all
sin. I could close this book and quit,
having preached the gospel. Water and blood. And when the
soldier significantly, and that the scriptures might be fulfilled,
that he was to be pierced, they shall look on him whom they pierced.
A soldier in malice and meanness, just in wickedness, came along
with that spear just to, you know, to mutilate his already
dead body. But there hung that lamb slain on that cross. And
a soldier came by because God said, do this. A soldier came
by with a sword. He did what God determined to
be done. A soldier came by with a sword and slit his side open.
What came out? Blood and water. Water and blood. I heard some ignoramus say that
Christ died of congestive heart failure, that water surrounded
his heart and he died. I said, hogwash. He didn't die
of natural causes. He said, no man taketh my life
from me and no disease does. He said, I lay it down. Why did
that water come out? Because scripture said he's coming
water and blood. When a child is born, blood comes
out too. Comes out bloody. Child comes
out bloody. Water comes out. Water and blood.
And when Jesus Christ's side was split open, something came
out. Water and blood. That ain't the only thing. Just
like Adam of old, God opened his side and took out and made
a woman out of it. God did the same thing with Jesus
Christ. Opened his side and a woman came
out. The bride of Christ. Water and
blood. We could go on and on. Water
for sanctification, blood for justification. Isn't God's Word
perfect? Perfect. Water and blood. This
is He. This is He. It's how you know
it is. This is how you know this is He. Came by water. There is a fountain filled with
blood. Well, there are three that bear
record in heaven. Verse 7 says, three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.
These three are one, the Father who is in heaven, our Father
which art in heaven, this is Elohim, that's who this is, God. I might as well not even attempt
this, try to say God, these three persons separate yet one. There's a God the Father, there's
a God the Son, there's a God the Holy Spirit, and these three
are one, they're one and the same. Here, O Israel, the Lord
our God is one God. That's right. Yet, three persons. Right? You know, people don't
believe this because they can't understand it. This is precisely
why we believe it. Well, number one, we believe
because God said it. And that settles it, whether we believe
it or not. And we believe because our God
is past finding out. I don't understand. It's a mystery
how God was manifested in the flesh. Do you? The new birth. I don't understand that. Do you?
I see it's old man, new man. I don't believe it because you're
a sinner and God says you're holy. I don't believe that. You
can't prove it to me. I don't have to. God says so. Only an idiot would try to refute
it or confound it. Christ said you must. be born
from above." That means made, created, something that has not
there ever have been before, a brand new creature. Is that
what that means? Is that what that means? Why would anybody want to argue
that? It's got an ulterior motive. That's God's Word. There are
three. Why would anybody want to argue? Three, bear record,
Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. And these three, he thought it
not robbery to be equal with God. God was manifest in the
flesh. Yes, child is born, son is given. Call his name what? God. I don't
believe that. I'm a Jehovah. No, you're not
a Jehovah. Jehovah came to this earth. I
read Isaiah 25 9 to you, and the word Lord, it says, it shall
be said in that day, lo, this is our God. The one who came
is God. I don't understand it. I don't
either. But that's who he is. Because only God can save us. Thomas couldn't understand it
either, but he confessed it. My Lord, Jehovah, and my God. And so do I. I'm a Jehovah's
Witness. Aren't you, John? Yes, sir. The Holy Ghost, the Word, Christ
is the Word. He sits in heaven right now.
This thing of Christ in you. Christ is in heaven, is in a
body, isn't it? Is it? How can he be in you? Huh? It's this new creature created
in the image of Christ. Just like there was a baby in
my daughter's belly, that just comes from her. She's born, but
it's a new creature. A new creature. Hannah is one person, and so
is this baby. But she came from her, he said.
The mother gets all the glory, boy. She's in the image of, and
so on and so forth. Christ is in heaven seated right
now. Is he not seated right now at the right hand of the majesty
on high? Yes, he is. Christ in you is a hope of glory.
Know ye not your own selves how that Christ is in you, lest ye
be reprimanded. John Newton said, I think it
was John Newton, he said, I'm not what I ought to be, I'm not
what I'm going to be, I'm not what I should be, I'm not what
I want to be, but thank God, all glory be to God who begat
me. I'm not what I used to be. The old things passed away, brand
new, a brand new creature that we can't even understand. We
talked about that baby coming out. She doesn't know what has
happened to her. She has no clue. She's going to. She's going to. Father, the word of Christ is
seated in heaven right now. The word is in heaven. And the
Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit is everywhere,
all places, omnipresent, everywhere. Three that bear record in heaven,
it says. And these three are one. One in essence? Yep. God lives
on this planet. But no man has seen God at any
time. We did. We did. Job said it. Job said
it long before he came. I'm going to see God. No man
has seen, can see. We will. I will see. These are
not another God. Mystery in essence, one in essence,
one in purpose, one in mind, one in will, one in power. He
says, as the Father hath power in himself to raise up whom he
will, Christ said, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
All power is given unto man. One in power, one in glory. You don't honor the Son, you
don't honor the Father. You are the father, you are the son,
you are the Holy Spirit, you are the son. Equal, equal in
glory in heaven, in heaven. But there's three in earth, verse
eight said, and there are three that bear witness in earth, the
spirit, the water, and the blood. Spirit and the water and the
blood. Three in earth, three witnesses.
Spirit who operates here, this is how you know. The Holy Spirit
has come through the preaching of the gospel, and he's the one
who's taken this seed and planted it in you. He's the one, the
Holy Spirit. Spirit, the water, the word,
he cleanses us with the washing of water by his word, Ephesians
5 says. The word, which speaks of Christ, and the blood, the
gospel, the gospel. You see, Christ was the Lamb
slain before there ever was a world. Lambs like blood in heaven before
there was a center. It was just like blood and there
will always be blood. And on this earth, long as God
has a witness and he has not left himself without a witness
and that witness is going to declare and preach the blood. That's how you know him. That's
how you know the Holy Spirit is using him. He's preaching
the blood. The blood of Jesus Christ bears
witness to his people and against the world. And these three agree
in one, it says. They agree in one. One Lord,
Christ. One faith, Christ. One hope,
Christ. One way, one truth, one life,
Christ. Now he says, if we receive the
witness of men, the witness of God is greater. We do receive
the witness of men, don't we? Don't you believe Isaiah. You believe Jeremiah. Zachariah. I believe my pastor. Pastors and teachers are put
in the same sentence with the apostles and prophets. That's right. And I believe. And there are others I believe.
You ought not to listen to them if you can't believe. You better find somebody you
can believe. Somebody you take issue with, you'd better get
out of there. It'd be better off for everybody. If we receive the witness of
men, the witness of God is greater. The witness of God is much greater. God who sent them. God who sent
them. God is greater. And this is,
he said, this is the witness of God. God has one thing to
say to human beings. What he testifies of his son. That's it. God spoke out loud
three times. Three times. That's it. Three times. And all three times
it was concerning one person. One person. The thing I used to love about
your husband, Nancy, was he was a man of few words. It's also
the thing that exasperated me. Right? Sammy told me he went
on a trip with him in his truck, and his dad said about five words.
But when he spoke, here's the thing. He spoke when he had something
to say. Oh, he spoke a lot. We talked
a lot. God spoke three times. Men better sit up and listen.
This is it. God's going to audibly bear record
of something. God's going to say something. The truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth. Here it is. Heart and soul, essence,
sum and substance, culmination of everything. This is it. This
is what it's all about. God said out loud, twice to men,
He said this. is my beloved son. Hear him. One time when Christ said, Father,
glorify thy name. Glorify me with the glory I had
to see in the beginning. And he spoke out loud. He said,
I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. This is the record. Yeah, he's
given it to us. This is a record. Verse 10 says,
you believe not anyone who does not believe that. Well, everything
we've declared this morning, everything John says here concerning
God and Christ is made a liar. See, this is what it's all about.
It's unbelief. It's not just a matter of doctrine.
It's not just a matter of, you know, semantics and all that.
It's not it at all. They're calling God a liar. Anybody
who doesn't believe that Christ is the way, I mean, 100%, the
way, the truth, the light, no man comes to the Father but by
him. Anybody that believes that God is less than God, that Christ
is less than Christ, and that we're more than sinners, is calling
God a liar. He said, do you like being called
a liar? Do you? It's about the worst
thing somebody can call you, isn't it? About all we've got
is our so-called integrity and our word. A man's only as good
as his word. What if somebody calls you a liar? What if every
word somebody misquotes you? Call God a liar. This is the
record. And you sum up everything God
said in one line? Sure can. He that hath a son
hath life. Oh, I need another hour. But
it says, God hath given. This is the gospel. It's God's gospel. He hath given. Salvation is by grace. He hath
given. Who? Us. God hath given to us. Who? His people. His elect. I don't like that.
Call God a liar? The elect do. They love it. God
hath given to us what? Eternal life. You say in once
saved, always saved. I didn't say it. God did. Eternal
life. I don't believe that. Call God
a liar? I think it's wonderful, don't
you, Barbara? Don't you think it's wonderful?
Do you want any other kind of life? Do you want any other kind
of grace than eternal grace? Mercy that endures forever? Anything
else suits you? Eternal? Life! Life! What's that mean? They were dead. I don't mean the man's dead,
I'm calling God a liar. You see, Sherry, it's not just
doctrine. No, I just don't understand doctrine. This is it. He hath given life. You're dead. He has to give it.
Give life. And this life is in his son. Either have the son, have the
life. Either have not the son, call it what you will. fellow
says, I'm living a good life now. It's going to turn bad real
soon. If you don't have Christ, call
it what you will. It's not life. And so these things are written
unto you that believe. Do you believe these things?
Dan, do you believe these things? This is he that came. Do you
believe that? Believe he's God. That you might believe on the
name of the Son of God. What's his name? Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus Christ. That's how
we refer to him, you see. And that you might believe. I
hope now, after this message, you believe just a little bit
more than when you came. Do you? Then maybe I haven't
failed after all. God's Word will never fail. It
will accomplish what He sent to do. And what He sends it to
do is bear witness of the Son. That's it. OK. Brother Gabe,
you come. Let's turn to hymn number 361
and stand. We'll sing the first and second
verse. Hymn number 361. Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour
of prayer That calls me from a world of care That bids me
at my father's throne Make all my wants and wishes known In
seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief. And off this gate the tempter
snares, by thy return, sweet hour of prayer. Second at the last. Sweet hour
of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, Thy wings shall my petition bear,
To Him whose truth and faithfulness Engaged a waiting soul to bless
And since he bid me see his face Believe his word and trust his
grace I'll cast on him my every care and wait for the sweet power
of prayer.