That hymn is taken from 1 Kings
18. Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee
up, eat and drink. For there is a sound of abundance
of rain. Elijah first saw, or his servant
saw, a cloud like a man's hand. That's significant. That's where
all blessings come, the hand of our God. Let's read the text, John 14. John 14, verse 6. Jesus saith unto Thomas, I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me." I am the truth, Christ said. Now, the gospel, and there is but one, the gospel,
or the story of Jesus Christ is very, for lack of a better word, is
very exclusive. Not in the sense that it excludes
people or shuts people out. No, that's not so. If it were
not for Christ, no human being would be included. But when I
say the gospel is very exclusive, I mean It excludes all other
faiths, all religions, all messiahs, all gods. It excludes everything. Now, nearly all the world's religions
will receive other religions as being true and as a way to get to God. Don't
they? Nearly all religions receive
other religions. Maybe Islam doesn't. They'd like
to kill everybody, but good fundamental Muslims. But nearly all religions
receive other religions as being true or having some truths and
a way to get to God. But Christ said, I am the truth. That means he excludes everything
and everyone but himself in this thing of salvation. I am the
way, the truth, the life, eternal life. I am it, Christ said. There is no other. Now, the Jews heard him. The
people heard him. They knew what he was saying. And they turned him down, said,
We don't believe that. We'll get to God the way we think. We'll get to God. We think some
things are true. So true salvation is to know
the truth. John 17, 3. I would ask one of
our young people to quote that. Could you? John 17, 3. I won't. I'm not going to ask you. I would
ask one of our older people to quote that, couldn't you? This
is eternal life. This is life eternal that they
might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent. A man who does not know the true
God true Christ is in spiritual darkness and death. This is life
eternal. That's what John said over there
in his epistle. He said, he that hath the Son,
or rather a knowledge of the Son, he that hath the Son, a
possession of the Son, in him by faith, Christ in him, he that hath not the Son hath
not life. Like he that If there's no sun,
there's no earthly life. He that hath not the S-O-N hath
not life. They're in spiritual darkness,
death, ignorance, and they'll believe a lie. I want you to
turn with me to 2 Thessalonians 2. Now, I shouldn't take too
long tonight. I know I say that all the time. I shouldn't, all right? 2 Thessalonians
2. Now, like I said, anyone who
has not a knowledge, a faith, a love for Christ will believe
a lie. They're in darkness, spiritual
darkness. They'll believe a lie. Scripture calls the lie of doctrines
of devils. Christ said the devil was a liar
and the father of it. And he says there are many false
prophets out there that are doing the work of this one who is the
father of a lie. So they're lying. They're all
a bunch of liars. He said they transformed themselves
though in the ministries of righteousness. That's 2nd Corinthians 11, 15. All right, look here at 2 Thessalonians
2. I'm just going to read here and over in 2 Timothy. All right,
2 Thessalonians 2, verses 9 through 12. It says, The working of Satan,
him or antichrist, who's, and you notice him is in italics. It's not one single person, people. Because John said later on, now
there are many antichrists, didn't he, John? Spirit of Antichrist. That is, whatever is a lie, the
false gospel is Antichrist, right? What I quoted to you by Billy
Graham is Antichrist. Yes, it is. Anybody that says
Christ is not the way is Antichrist. Anyone that says that there's
another way is Antichrist. There's only two religions, the
religion of Christ and false. All right, he says, working of
Satan with all power and and they have much power and influence
and prestige and and signs and lying wonders, the working of
Satan. He's behind this. He backs up
what is lies with signs. Read on. With all deceivableness
of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not
the love of the truth. that they might be saved, and
for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they
should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe
not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Unrighteousness
doesn't have to be immorality. It can be self-righteousness.
Right, Brother Henry? Unrighteousness is self-righteousness.
If it's not Christ's righteousness, unrighteousness. There is but
one righteousness God except it's Christ's righteousness.
Self-righteousness is unrighteousness. And the belief of the truth is
just that. Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. 2 Timothy, turn over there, 2
Timothy chapter 4, I'm talking about those who receive not the
truth, the love of the truth, believe the truth, who is Christ. And he says that they they believe
a lie over second best second Timothy chapter four. Second
Timothy four look at verses three and four. You got it the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. After their own lust shall they
heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. We get the old
saying scratch my back I'll scratch your that's exactly what this
is You tickle my tell me what I want to hear. I'll fill your
pocket. Right. Balaam. I'll pay you big. Read on verse
four, they shall turn away their ears from the truth and be turned
on the fable. Look over chapter three. Chapter
three, verses seven and eight, ever learning and never able
to come to the knowledge of the truth. And like Janice and Jambres,
those are those sorcerers of pharaohs, they resist the truth. Men of corrupt mind reprobate
concerning the faith. All right? So, what I'm saying
is there are many lies and falsehoods out there. David one time said He said,
I said in my haste, all men are liars. David was a man after
God's own heart. David knew the truth. David worshiped
God in spirit and in truth. And after roaming around the
country and coming across different people in religion, he said,
all men are liars. There's nobody out there true.
Glad you thought that, didn't you? I'm the only one. It just
about appears that way. But David said, I said, my haste,
there are some truth. But scripture says, let God be
true and every man a liar. All right, look over John 17,
verse 17. If you take a notice, here's
the first point. John 17. Here's the first point, God's
word is truth. God's Word is Christ. God's Word is truth. God's Word is Christ. John 17, verse 17, sanctify them
through thy truth. Thy Word is true. Christ said, I'm the truth. I
hear it says thy Word is true. Which is it? It's both. He's called the Word. In the
beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word
was God. Thy word is true. Sanctify them
through thy truth. Thy word is true. Well, this
book sanctifies. This book sanctifies as you see
Christ in it. See what I'm saying? In other
words, a person's not all cleaned up. They may clean up their act
by reading the Bible and living according to the Bible, but they
don't clean their souls. Only God can do that. And He
does that by revealing Christ to them from this book. Not how
to live, but Him whose life. See that? Thy word is true. Only by God's word do we receive
the truth. Everything else is just man's
opinion. Isn't it? Anything else is just man's opinion.
It's a fable. That's what Paul said to Timothy. Fables that turn away their ears
from the truth. It's that time and we're living
in that time. There's never been more Bibles in the history of mankind than
now. With less truth, less Christ
being brave, right? And more fables. Fables. They're called wives'
fables because they're the ones that leading it. All else is man's opinion. This
is God's Word. This is the truth. And only by
God revealing it to you. Only by God. Look over verses,
where are you, John 17? Look at verses 7 and 8. He says,
Now they've known that all things whatsoever me are of thee. Give
them the words which thou gavest me. Feed them, and have known
surely that I came out from thee. And they have believed that thou
didst send me." In other words, the words made these men believe
Christ, didn't they? And that sanctified them. That justified them. That saved
them. He saved them. The revelation
of Christ from the Word. And he said over in John 12,
let me just read this to you. He said this. He said, Some are blinded. Their hearts are hardened. They
can't understand with their hearts. But Isaiah saw his glory and
spake of him. And if anybody doesn't see the
glory of Christ in the pages of this book, they're blinded.
They're hardened. They don't know the truth. Isn't
that right? Or is this John, to the law and
to the testimony? If they speak not according to
thy word, it's because there's no light in them. It all speaks of Christ. Who's
the light? Christ is the light. Who's the
word? Christ is the word. No matter
how learned they may be. Am I right? Do you remember over
in, we've been studying through the book of John. And y'all forgive
me if I. I don't normally preach like
this topical preaching. Some men, that's that's the way
they do it. I don't. I like to go verse by verse.
So if I have to really if you really have to struggle to bring
it all together, I'm sorry. But each one of these things
deserve the message by itself. All right. You remember over
in John eight where Christ said, you know, the truth. and the
truth will set you free. And then just later he said,
if the Son shall set you free, you'll be free indeed. So it's not doctrine, it's not
reading the Bible, it's not living according to the Bible, it's
God revealing Christ to you. Who he is, what he's done, it'll
set you free. Free from what? Sin. penalty
of it, power of it, someday the presence
of it. Free from darkness, Christ is
the light. If your eye be single, I love
this verse, if thine eye be single, the whole body is full of light.
In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead body. In this
dwelleth all the fullness of Christ. this body of divinity.
If your eye be single, the whole body is full of light. If you
know Christ, if you've ever seen Christ, I like this illustration,
if you've ever seen Christ, who is the light, you'll see Christ
in everything. Have you ever looked at the sun
and then looked down? What do you see? A big spot. There's somebody take your picture
in a bright flash of light. That light blinded Saul of Tarsus,
didn't it? It blinded him. And from that
day forward he was blinded to anything but Christ. Wasn't it? To all glory but Christ. To all
religion but Christ. To all salvation but Christ.
He said, I'm determined not to know anything. Paul, what do
you see in that? I see Christ. And all you see,
He's all there is. In dark, Christ is the light
who sets you free from darkness. Free from ignorance, Christ is
wisdom. I love that Isaiah 29, it says
that they shall see out of obscurity. Preachers can preach and preach
and preach from the Old Testament and not understand any of it. And just a book of Jewish history,
and that's exactly what 2 Corinthians 3 says that they would do, doesn't
it? It says their minds are blinded in the reign of the Old Testament,
but if that heart will turn to the Lord, turn and look to the
Son, the veil will be removed from that heart. In the reading
of the Old Testament, you'll see Christ in everything. Free
from ignorance, Christ is wisdom. What's that mean over there?
What does that mean over there in that passage? It means Christ
is with me. Wherever you can go, people,
mark it down. If you don't understand it, somehow
or another it points to Christ. The old saying is, all roads
lead to Rome. Well, that may not be so, but
all the Bible leads to Christ. He'll set you free from superstition.
Superstition. Superstition is, or tradition,
pretty much the same thing, is going the way that men and women
are going at that particular time. And whatever men and women
think is the way, a way that seems right, well, this tradition
has it. Well, the tradition. They say,
well, if they say, then I ought to do it. It's going that way
and following that tradition. Christ will set you free from
tradition because he's the way. There's a way. Every day they
come up with some way. Well, here's something new. I tell you what you do, you search
and stand and seek and search and look for the old paths, wherein
is the good way, and walk in it. Christ the way. Christ will set you free from
man, from man's thoughts, man's opinion. Did you hear what they
said? Did you hear? Don't care, because
I've heard him. I love that verse over in Hosea.
The last chapter of Hosea says, What have we to do anymore with
idols? We've heard him. We've heard him. I don't care
what they come up with today. Do you? Does it make any impression
on you? You've heard it all, Roberta,
haven't you? Going on 60 years old. I'm giving
you the benefit of the doubt. Over 60 years old. You've heard it all. You've seen
it all. Really? Well, if you've heard him and
seen him, nothing impresses you. Nothing impresses you. God's
Word. So God's Word is truth. God's
Word is Christ. And God's Word reveals Christ
the truth. Christ the truth of who God is.
Everybody's trying to figure out who God is or what God's
like, aren't they? Everybody, men and women and
young people, are all groping for the truth. What's the truth?
The truth. Trying to find the truth. Christ
said, I'm the truth. Trying to get to God. Christ
said, I'm. Look down here in verses, in
the text, John 14. Look at verse 7. If you had known
me, You should have known my Father also." What's God like? What's God like? What's God like?
What's Christ like? He's God, right? Philip says, Show us the Father.
Show us the Father. Verse 9, Christ said, He that
hath seen me hath seen the Father. Who is God? What is He like?
He's Christ. He's like Christ. That's who
He is. That's who He's like. What is
salvation? What is the truth of salvation? Christ is salvation. Christ is salvation. Listen to this. All that he is
and all that he did is our salvation. All that he is and all that he
did is our salvation. Listen to this verse. John 1,
17. The law came by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. In other words, salvation, grace
and truth. Salvation is a gift from Jesus
Christ. Salvation is truth in Jesus Christ. Listen to this. The scripture
says, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified. Anybody
that says so is lying. I don't care how they cloak it.
I don't care how they cover it up. I don't care how men use
the law, and that's how they like to pronounce it. Those that don't use it lawfully
pronounce it law, and desire to bring you under it. And I don't care. By the deeds
of the law, no flesh shall be justified. The scriptures say,
listen to this, here's the truth of the matter. Righteous the
righteousness of God this is Romans 322 the righteousness
of God is by faith of Jesus Christ Listen to this Romans 10 for
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness Now who you
believe Those who say it's the law Or Christ said I'm the truth
No man cometh on his father, but by me by me, not by the law. Oh, no, I've come to Mount Sinai
with burns and trembles. We've come to Christ. It's coming
to me. I'll take you there. Grace and truth. I love the illustration
of Moses coming down from that mountain with the law, and it
was severe. Paul said it later on, he who
studied the law carefully and knew it well, he said, tell me
you desire to be under it. Don't you hear it? They that
are under the works of the law, under the curse, any of it, under
the curse. So Moses came down from that
law and it says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, mind, soul, and strength. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. None. Not one. An idolatry. A covetous idolatry. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Oh, the law came and just. It's impossible that people people
saw it, and this is too. This is tough. Yes, it is. It's strict. Desire to be under
it. There it is. Then Christ comes
and says, come on to me. Oh, you that labor and heavy
laden can't keep it, I can. That doesn't mean he just sets
you free to break the laws. No, what he's saying, he's just
saying, if you see the utter impossibility of keeping God's
law to perfection, he says, believe me, I kept it. I'll be your righteousness. I'll represent you before that
whole, I'll take my shoe off. Go and learn what that means.
You know who took his shoe off? Go and learn what that means.
You get a blessing. Thinking about this man with
one shoe on. All right. Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness. Christ is the truth of how man
say Christ blood and Christ righteousness. All right. OK. I don't know what
point it is here. I don't know where I'm at. I'm
preaching Christ the truth is what I'm doing. What's the truth
about the Holy Spirit? I asked what Christ is the truth
about who God is. Christ is the truth about what
salvation is. He's the truth. Christ is salvation.
Christ is the truth about the work of the Holy Spirit. Look
here in John 14. Look at verses 16 through 17
or through 18. You got it? Christ says, I'll
pray the Father. He'll give you another comforter
that he may abide with you forever. Even the spirit of truth, the
spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth
him not, neither knoweth him. You know him. He dwelleth with
you and shall be in you. Who is he? What did you say, Henry? That's right. Look at verse 18.
He said, Now I'll send you the spirit of truth. Verse 18, I
will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you." Who's the
Holy Spirit? He's Christ. These three are
one. These three agree in one. What?
Christ is the truth. Christ is the Father. Christ
is the Spirit. He's all the revelation of God,
the Father, God, the Son, God, the Holy Spirit. He's it. He's all and in all. What about
this work of the Holy Spirit? Look over John 16. You know these
verses. Read them so many times. But
we need, it's good to bring these things to your remembrance. And
to write this, to preach the same thing is not grievous to
me. Look at, I love this. Verses 13 and 14. When he, the
Spirit of truth, has come, he'll guide you into all truth. For
he'll not speak of himself. Whatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak. Who's he going to hear it from? From God, from Christ. Whatsoever
he hear, that he'll speak, he'll show you things to come. What
things to come? Verse 14, He'll glorify me. He'll
receive of mine and show it unto you. Spirit of truth. So what's the
truth about this work of the Holy Spirit, huh? He takes the
things of Christ. That's the work of the Holy Spirit.
There's no second work of grace. There's no second work of grace.
Didn't we just read where it said grace and truth came by
Christ? One time, didn't you read over
there once? In the end of the world, he hath appeared. There's no second work of grace.
What is the anointing of the Holy Spirit? You're getting it
tonight. You say, we're not speaking in
tongues. I tell you, we're speaking in an unknown language. We sure
are. I'm preaching a language that
this world doesn't know, the language of Christ. The Scripture
said in Hebrews 1, God hath in these last days spoken unto us
in son language. Isn't it? It doesn't say that,
John. In these last... He's spoken unto us in a language
that this world doesn't know. Son language, not sign language. That's what they're... Everybody's
in sign language. We're preaching sign language.
and only those who receive it now. And that right now so that no
one in the Holy Spirit it's him taking the things of Christ and
should fill in you with the knowledge of Christ love for Christ faith
in Christ. All right and now quit with these
few things. What's what. What must we do
concerning the truth. What must we do concerning the
truth? Well, we already read where Peter said, Oh, that we might
grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. Must know the truth
it will set you free. Otherwise you're in bondage to
religion to self to law to everything. You know the truth sets you free.
We must buy the truth. Sell it not. That's right. That's
over in Proverbs 23 verse 23 I believe. Buy the truth and
sell it not. How do you buy Christ? Well, Christ said, except you
sell all that you have, except you forsake all that you have,
you cannot be my disciple. That means to forsake everything
and everyone for Christ. Doesn't it? Sell it not. What
would a man give in exchange for his soul? What would you
give in exchange for Christ? If he's the pearl, if you esteem
him as the pearl of great price, you say nothing, nothing to no
one. We must receive the truth by
faith, and a man can receive nothing except it be given him.
We must rejoice in the truth. Do you rejoice in what you've
heard tonight about Christ? Rejoice, I say. Rejoice in the
Lord, I say. And again, I say, rejoice. Does this give you joy, or would
you rather hear something else? The world would rather hear something
else, wouldn't it? The world would say, that's not
enough. We say, like Esau, when Jacob kept sending these things,
they said, it's enough. I say, I've got enough. I'm satisfied. Rejoicing in Christ. Christ is
the message. We must love the truth. Love Christ. Paul said to the
Corinthians, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let
him be a curse. We must speak the truth. We must
confess Christ. We must...Philippians 3.3 says,
what must we do? Philippians 3.3, we must worship
God. How? In spirit and truth. We must worship God in truth.
Anybody that's out there tonight, no matter what they're doing
in a so-called church house, if the man's not preaching Christ
and the people aren't thinking on Christ, and coming before
God with Christ in their hearts and on their minds, God's not
in that place, and they're not worshiping. Isn't that right?
True worshipers worship him in spirit and in truth. Every time,
Joe, we've got to come with the blood. Every time. Christ, he must be
the thing. We must, and lastly, we must
walk in the truth. Walk by faith and cry in obedience
to Christ. And I close with this statement. As a witness, as a witness to
the truth, I say that Christ is the truth. The whole truth. And nothing
but the truth. So help me God. Right? Okay. Let's stand. Our Lord and our God, we thank
you for your word. We thank you for your Holy Spirit. We thank you for these that reveal
the truth, who sets us free. Thank you, O Lord, for the knowledge
And more than that, a love in the heart for Christ and his
gospel. Yet forgive us our unbelief. Forgive us our lack of love. Increase our faith. Increase
the love that you have shed abroad. Ever keep us look into Christ
by faith, worshiping Christ and preaching Christ from this place.
Let this be a light house, a place where Christ is set forth. In his name we pray. Amen.