John, chapter fourteen. I want you to read with me one
verse again. Verse six. The Lord and Christ Jesus saith
unto him, unto Thomas. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. And I have questioned you and
questioned myself many times before in this way. When I ask you, when I say, I
don't know why you're here this morning. I don't know. I don't know what's in your mind
right now. I don't know what's in your heart.
I don't know why you're here this morning. Some people are
compelled to come. They're compelled by other people.
Or that is to please other people, whether it may be a parent or
a spouse. or even a child, perhaps, but
some people feel compelled by people to do so, to come here.
Some people come out of duty or habit because it's the thing
they've always done, and they're afraid of what others might think
if they do not show up for church, and they're just in the habit
of coming here. It's a sad fact, but it's true. But then there
are some, by God's grace, who come out of a real interest. People who are really interested
in the things of God, and it is to these people, God only
knows who you are, but it's to these people who have come here
this morning out of a real and genuine interest in the things
of God. longing to know the truth of
God, of your own soul, and of Christ, the gospel. Now, if you
do have an interest in knowing God or about spiritual things
this morning, and you see a need, some people see a need in their
life, but yet really don't know what it is. I believe there are
many people like that. They have a need, but they cannot
quite put their finger on what it is that they need. Well, let
me say from the very outset this morning that what you need, what
you and I need desperately more than anything else, is to know
and believe the Lord Jesus Christ. That or he is the one we need
more than anything or anyone else, because Jesus Christ is
God, and he walked this planet as a man, and our eternal destiny
is at stake Our eternal destiny depends upon our relationship
with this person named Jesus Christ. Believe it or not, it
is so. Jesus Christ is God Almighty,
the one who made us, the one who made this planet, the one
in whom we live and move and have our very being. Jesus Christ
is God Almighty, and he was a man. God Almighty walked this earth
as a man, but men didn't know it then, and men do not know
it now, nor do they care. Now, here in our story here,
Christ had chosen twelve men, and that is salvation. when God
chooses to reveal Christ to you. But Christ had chosen twelve
men to accompany him throughout all of his journeys while he
walked this earth. God chose twelve men to get in
on what he was going to do and everything he said. And they
heard him, and they saw him, And you here this morning have
heard him and at least seen in this book the things that he
has done. And yet these men, these twelve men, all of them,
at some point in time, all twelve of them, in spite of all that
he did and said, they were still unbelieving at times. And they
were still confused because they were just men. And I say that
for our comfort. I don't expect you to be real
spiritual folks right at first, anyway. But these men in the
early stages were unbelieving and very much confused at times.
They were men at best. And what Christ demanded of them,
though, listen, what Christ demanded of these men is exactly what
he demands of you and me. What he demanded. was not that
they understood everything. Not that they understood everything
he said or did, but that they believed him. that they believe
him. And they didn't understand, and
they were confused, and they asked questions. But that's not
the point. That's not what Christ commands
us to do, understand everything personally. The Holy Spirit does
that in time, opens our understanding. What he does command us from
the very outset, though, is believe him. Believe him. Believe who
he is, his person. Christ said in John 8 verse 24,
if you believe not that I am, that is, that Christ is God,
I am, you're going to die in your sins, he said, his person. And what he did, he demands that
we believe what he did, his work. He said, this son of man has
come to seek and to save the lost. And Christ said continually over
and over again, I don't care what modern preachers say, that
Christ never said he was God. They're lying. Christ said it
four times directly in John 8. But he inferred it throughout
his ministry. He certainly said it here in
John 14, didn't he? But Christ says unto us that
everybody reads this word. Said it to his disciples, he
says, I'm God. There's none else. Isn't it?
Philip, I'm God. I'm the Creator, the Ruler, the
Sustainer of all life. But, I'm the Sustainer of all
life. But, you're dead in trespasses
and sin. And that's why I've come here.
That's why Christ came. He came, the scripture says,
I am come. God came. That you might have
life, real life, not the life of the flesh, spiritual life. And we're going to get into this
fully, more fully here in a moment. Not the life of the flesh, not
to drum up some kind of Whoop-dee-doo religious life, but real life,
life in Christ, knowing Christ. Now here in John 16, I'm sorry,
John 14, John chapter 14, he's talking to his disciples about
these very things. Now stay with me, please. God
help us. May God, the Holy Spirit, rest
your mind and your thoughts for one hour, forty minutes. Now, let's read the first five
verses again. John 14, let not your heart be
troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. Now, he said that to Peter, right
on the back of Peter, of telling Peter, you're going to deny me,
three times. He said that immediately after
saying that to Peter, but don't be troubled, Peter. Don't be troubled. Boy, I like
that. I need that. How many times have you denied
it? Those of you who claim to be
his disciples like these fellows, how many times daily I need to
hear John 14.1, don't you? Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God? I know you
do. I gave you that faith. Believe also in me. Verse 2,
In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you unto myself, that where I am," I like that, where I am, you
too. You may be also. And whither
I go, you know, and the way you know. And Thomas said unto him,
Lord, we don't know where Would you show us the way? Now
understandably, these men were confused and they were troubled
by what Christ was saying here. His talk of leaving them, because
he had been with them for three and a third, nearly three and
a half years. He had provided for them, he had protected them,
he had instructed them. He had been their father, their
mother, their brother, their best friend. They were in love
with this man. They loved him. They needed him. They depended upon him. And yet
now he spoke of leaving them, of going somewhere, and he said,
You can't come. Understandably, they're upset,
and they're confused, and they let this trouble them to the
point of not believing or not hearing what he said. And Peter
was the first to speak up. Peter said, Lord, I'll follow
you anywhere. Where are you going? I'll go,
too. Let me go, too. Christ said,
Peter, you can't come. Then Thomas spoke up. Well, Lord,
where is it that you're going? Show us how to get there, and
after you leave, we'll come along behind you. We'll follow you,
Thomas. Then Philip said, well, show
us something. Show us something. The Father, show us the Father,
show us God, then we'll be happy and we'll be alright if you leave." And as I said, Christ was talking
about going to God, and he told Peter, now Peter, you can't come where I'm going. You
can't drink the cup I'm going to drink. I've got to do something
for you, Peter. You can't do it, I've got to
do it. It's only the work that the Son of God can do. And then
he told Thomas, he said, Thomas, you know where I'm going and
you know the way. You know who it is. And then
he told Philip, Philip, you're looking in the wrong direction.
You're looking for the wrong things. He told him in so many
words, he said, now, I am come. Oh, I wish we'd get into this.
I am come to give you the gift of spiritual life. Not by you
doing anything, Peter, but by me doing it all, I'm come. And
then he says to Thomas, I am the only way to God. And then he says to Philip, I
am God. He that sees me and knows and
believes me is in the way to God. In God. I am God. They were looking at
God and didn't know it. They were looking for answers
everywhere when he was standing right in front of them. And they,
like everybody today, or most people today, were looking like
Peter to themselves. Well, I'll do it. I'll do something.
Lord, I'll do it. Show me what to do. I'll go anywhere,
I'll do anything." Peter, that's not salvation, baby. Peter, salvation
is me going somewhere and doing something for you. Me becoming
something for you, not you becoming something for me. They were looking
everywhere. Well, show us the way, Thomas
said. Show us how to get—you don't
look at how, you look at who. And then Philip said, well, show
us the miraculous vision of the Father. Look at me! How if we get a hold of this?
At heaven, we're not going somewhere. If you believe Christ right now,
Henry, you're there! You're just going to have it
more fully revealed to you. You're going to know even as
you've been known. All right, I want you to examine
with me, if you're taking notes, I've got three points. Christ's
the way, three points. Christ, first of all, they're
in the form of questions. First of all, Christ is the way
to where? He says, I'm the way. The way
to where? Secondly, how is he the way? And thirdly, are you? Am I in the way? Christ is the way to work. He
says, I am the way. Thomas said, Lord, show us the
way. Christ said, I am the way. Truth and the lie. I am the way. Now, every road, this word way
means a road, right? It means a road. Every road leads
to somewhere, right? Every road. Although you might
not think it in Franklin County. You go up over the mountains
and hills here, you think, this doesn't go anywhere. Yes, it
does. It wouldn't have made it. Somebody's at the end of that
road. Every road leads to somewhere, but think about this stuff. Every
road comes from somewhere, right? Every bridge The Scripture talks
about Christ being the bridge, bridging that gap, that great
gulf fixed between us and God. Every bridge reaches from one
side of the river to another. And Christ, the Scripture said,
is the way to pass from death unto life. Ephesians 2 says this, "...you
who were dead hath he quickened." in Christ, who were dead in trespasses
and sins. Now, turn with me to Genesis
chapter three. This is as basic a gospel message
as you'll ever hear. Genesis chapter three. I don't
want to take for granted that anybody listening to this, either
here personally or by tape later, I don't want to take for granted
that you know and understand everything that I am saying this
morning, and that you know these scriptures. Genesis chapter 3
is where the gospel starts. Well, for those of you who know,
it started in the mind and will and purpose of God a long time
before that. But Genesis chapter 3, Genesis
chapter 3, is where man in this thing of salvation all needs
to start. Genesis chapter 2 and 3 here.
Look at it. Now, all men and women, let me
say this, all men and women, boys and girls are born dead. We're born dead. I know you've
heard this, but listen again, okay? Have I got your attention? We're born dead. Not physically. but spiritually. That is, dead to God. God is
spirit, we are flesh. We are alive in the flesh, but
we are dead by nature spiritually. We are dead to God, to the Spirit,
things spiritual, dead to the things of God. Let me ask you
this question. Those who don't believe this,
why are we slaves to this body? Why are we slaves to our lusts
and our passions and our wicked appetites, huh? We're dead to
God. We're very much alive to the
pleasures of sin and wicked lusts and desires and so forth, but
we're dead to good and holy things. We're dead to God. Why is that?
We're dead to God. Why is it easier? Now examine
yourself. Ask yourself this question. Why
is it easier to lie than tell the truth? Sure it is. If you don't admit that, you're
lying. Why is it easier to steal than
to work hard for a living? Why are you tempted to go in
a store and steal something? You say, I'm not tempted. You
haven't never been without. Why is it easier to cheat than
to do right? Why is it easier to hate somebody?
Why is it easier to, when somebody does something to bother you,
to get mad at them instead of bless them? Well, he didn't mean
it, to forgive them. He didn't really mean that, surely. Why? We're dead in sin. I've got this thing called sin
in us. Now, a man originally, when God created man, he was
perfect, he was holy. Man was like God. Man had the life of God. Understand that? The life of
God is spiritual life. The life of God is holiness,
goodness, goodness, holy things, righteousness. That's the life
of God. And man originally had that life
of God. He knew God. He thought about
God. He enjoyed God. He talked to
God. God talked to him. He enjoyed
thinking about and doing holy things. Not wicked things. Holy
things. Godly things. He enjoyed right
and good things. But he lost that way of life. The life of God. He lost it.
Why? Free will. Man was created in the beginning
with a free will. Man, by his own free will, was
offered two choices, right? In chapter 2, God said, look
at it, verse 15, God took the man and the woman, put him into
the garden of Eden to dress it, to keep it, and the Lord God
commanded man, saying, Now, of every tree of the garden thou
mayest freely eat, but . . . How many species of trees were
there in that garden? But there was one, he says, you
can't touch it. This is a symbol of my authority
over you. I'm God, there's none else, not
you. I'm God. Right? Don't touch that
tree. In the day you eat thereof, look
at it, verse 17, of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it. In the day that thou eatest thereof,
thou shalt surely die. And the Hebrew text says, dying,
you shall die. Did God mean that? Not according to present-day
religion, did he? But God forewarned this man,
this woman, mankind. You see, we were in Adam, our
father, in his loins at the time. And God forewarned him that he
would die if he chose evil over good, if he chose to rebel against
God rather than obey God. What did Adam do? Everybody from
the youngest child knows Adam chose evil. He believed Satan
instead of God. Look at chapter 3. The serpent
settled, more settled than any beast of the field which the
Lord God had made, and he said unto the woman, he questioned
God's word. See this question mark? This
is the way Satan does things. He doesn't proclaim it, he questions
it. Yea, hath God said you shall not eat of every tree of the
garden? The woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit
of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which
is in the midst of the garden, God has said you shall not eat
of it. Neither shall you touch it, lest you die. And the serpent
said unto the woman, You won't die. You shall not surely die. God
doth know. God doth know that in the day
you eat thereof your eyes will be opened. You're little gods.
You'll be as God. You're a little God. He knows
that he can't do anything unless you let him. You're a little
God, and you've got a free will. You don't have to have this one
reign and rule over you. Right? That's what Satan said
then, and that's what he's saying now through his ministers. That's
not so. You won't die. Man's not dead
in sin, is he? That's what they say today. You
can exercise your free will. You can accept Jesus. You can
make your decision for Him. You're a little God. God loves
you. God has a wonderful plan for
your life. God needs you. God can't do anything without
you. God knows, and you need to know it. And send me a hundred
dollars. But the scripture says, God says,
the day you eat thereof, you're going to be a dead man. I mean
a dead man. So what does that mean? Dead
man. Now listen, Adam didn't die that
day, did he? Or did he? Or did he? Adam lived 930 years. Here's the thing about this,
he lived 930 years. Peter said a day with the Lord
is a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. Adam lived
930 years. How many years has God promised
us? Seventy? Add that up. 930 plus 70 is what? The day he ate it, he died physically. He was dying. Dying, his body
immediately started to corrupt and die. We get seventy, the
day is fulfilled. Man died the day he ate. But
especially, man died spiritually. Adam, like I was saying, Adam
loved God, Adam knew God, Adam rejoiced in the things of God,
Adam enjoyed the things of God, walked and talked and breathed
and lived and moved and had his very joy and pleasure in being
in God himself. But Adam chose rather the world, didn't he? Adam, in effect, said no to God
and yes to self and sin, right? He died. What happened? God said,
OK, buddy, you're not coming back into my presence. You're going to be cut off. What
happens to a man when you lay him in a coffin and put him in
a grave? He's cut off from the land of the living, right? He
can't come to us. But if he's in Christ, we can
go to him, right? Now, Adam, you're cut off forever. You're dead to me. You're a dead
man. You're cut off. Forever? No. Thank God. But God can go
to him. You say, you can't come to God,
can you, Joe? But God can come to him, and
that's exactly what God must do. Right? He's dead. This is where all religious error
starts. Man is D-E-A-D, and my pastor
says, graveyard dead. Can't call upon God, can't think
upon God, doesn't want to think on God. would rather be doing
anything else but think on God, enjoys anything and everything,
no matter how vile and wicked, but God, good things, holy things,
righteousness. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were
what? Dead in trespasses and sins.
has come to some people and quickened us together with Christ. By grace
you're saved. You better believe it, buddy.
He says it later, if you didn't hear me the first time. By grace
you're saved. It's a gift. Not you giving something
to God or coming to God. God coming to you. Boy, if we realize this, that
God came to us, not us to God, you'll say, wow, my soul. Praise
God for grace. And Jesus Christ was his name. And he came and he said, I'm
the way. How is he the way? Second point.
How is he the way? Christ is the way to where? He's
the way back to God. Secondly, how is he the way?
Think about this. Now you've got to stay with me.
Are you with me? Are you with me? All right, come on. How is Christ the way? How is Christ the way? Well,
first of all, Christ is the way we're headed. Christ is the way we're headed.
Christ didn't say, I'll show you the way. That's what Thomas
wanted to say. Christ didn't say, I'm going
to show you great things. You're going to just marvel and
just going to let... Philip said, show us Christ said, I am the way. I am the way. What does he mean
by that? Now listen, everybody wants to
get to heaven. Only a fool does it. You take
some man down the Roman road to salvation, that's an abomination. You ask a dog if he could answer,
you want to go to a nice place when you die? Well, he'd say,
sure, I want to go to hell. You want to go to heaven when
you die? Well, yeah, doesn't everybody? Huh? And isn't that what religion's
enticing people with today? That's not the motive. That's
not the end and the goal of this. I'm not trying to get your souls
into heaven. I'm trying to proclaim and show
you the beauties of Christ. He's heaven. Get a hold of this with me. If
you enjoy Christ now, you've got heaven. Everything that goes
with it. I can't hardly explain this.
It's just something you've got to experience. Christ said, Peter, Thomas, Philip,
you don't need to go anywhere. You need to be in somewhere.
You don't need to do anything. You don't need to see anything.
You need to know me. This is true religion. Not understanding
some facts, not doing some morality, not seeing some miracles and
visions, it's being in and knowing and believing in love, abiding
in a person. I think they have the foggiest
idea what real life is all about. Real life. Stephen, right now,
you're understanding more than anybody what life on this planet
is like. You looked in the face of it.
Life. It's not enjoying this, or that,
or going to the ballgame, or going over here, or whatever.
In a human sense, it's enjoying people, right? One another. Your husband. You haven't yet
begun to live until you've enjoyed people. Life. That's life. Everything else is fading away.
You've not yet understood the gospel, salvation. You've not
yet received salvation until you've enjoyed Christ. It's not
we're looking for heaven, not looking for play toys. Am I making
myself clear? And this isn't some mystical
thing that can't be attained. Christ said, listen, I'm heaven,
I'm life, I'm the way to God because I am God. I'm not just how you get there,
I'm there. Is that making sense? I am that
I am, he said, isn't it? You are what? All and in all. He that hath the Son hath what? That doesn't mean just escaping
from hell. He's got real life! We know, John said, that the
Son of God has come and has given us an understanding. Yeah, we've
got some understanding, yeah. That we may know Him, that is
true. Yes, we know that. And we're in Him, that is true.
Yes, we know that. This is the true God and eternal
life. eternal life. Christ is the way,
that is, he is where we're going. He is the road to where we're
going, and he's the one who puts us in the way of where we're
going. Secondly, Christ is the way to
get to the Father himself. This is a mystery. I can't explain
it. I'm just proclaiming it. Christ
is God, but yet he's the way to God. Christ is the way to
God, to get to God. He said, no man, nobody's going
to get to God but by me. Nobody. How's that? These are
things you've heard all along right here. He did this by establishing
a life as a man. God had to come down as a man
and live a life. Because God said, sinful men
and women aren't going to be with me. I'm holy. And so God
came down and lived a perfect, holy life for men and women and
some young people, and said, Now here, this is yours. And
he gave it to some people. And now, therefore, God looks
at those people and can receive them. They look holy. They're
righteous, not because of anything they do, but because of what
Christ did. made holy by the holy life of
Christ. And Christ brings us to God by
doing that. First of all, he's got to present
us holy, unblameable, spotless, right? Unblameable. Got to have
a wedding garment on. We're going to a marriage supper
to the Lamb. And then he does this by burying
our sins and our punishment. He said to Adam, you're going
to die, Adam. And he said later on, the soul
that sins is going to die. He said he will by no means clear
the guilty, didn't he? That is, he will by no means
let any sin go unpunished. This is where religion misses
it today. God won't let any sin go unpunished. It's not that God forgives sin.
God blots them out. God blots them out. The Scripture
says, Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed." That's the innocent
suffering for the guilty. Thirdly, he brings us to God
by making peace for us with God. The natural man And there may
be some in here right this morning who hates God. They say, I don't
hate God. You'd rather be anywhere this
morning than right here, wouldn't you? Some people, truly. That's hating God and loving
the world, isn't it? Huh? Didn't he say that any man loved
the world, the love of the Father is not in him? You don't love
God. You like the world better. You're here for whatever reason,
I don't know. Some people are. And the scripture says God is
angry with the wicked every day, but God in love poured out his
wrath upon these God-haters, some of these traitors, and made
them, made peace, made peace. Now God's friendly toward us
and we're friendly toward him. Now, very quickly, let me run
over these things and I'll quit. How Christ is the way, and this
will be a blessing to you. Christ is the way. I'm telling
you, Christ is the way to God. Christ is the way. He is God. He's the way to God. He has to
do it all for us, bring us to God. We don't do a thing. He
does it all. He's all and in all. Listen to
these things. How is Christ the way? Well,
first, He's the way made plain. How many of you tried to get
to Terry Kinsley's house? It's tough, isn't it? It's a
difficult place to find unless you know where it is. And you
may get lost in the way. It's not a real plain way. It's
hard to get there. Some ways are hard to find, and
they take a lot of searching. Christ brings the way to us.
We don't have to search. Isn't that good? It'd be great,
Terry, if the first time you'd have come and gotten me and taken
me home with you. I'd know the way, wouldn't I?
Being the way, you're where I was headed, and you were the one
that showed me how to get there, and you took me there. That's Christ.
He says, I'm where you're going, I'm going to come and get you
and take you there, and I'm the road that we're going to travel. He's the way made plain. And
Christ comes to us and says, now, do you understand this?
No, I don't. Well, believe me then. I know
you don't have to find out how and what and what. Believe me,
I did it. Can you do that? Can you trust
him? You can if God gives you the ability. But can you do that? I can. By his grace, I do. Way made plain. Believe me. Don't
believe the preacher, believe me, Christ said. Secondly, how
is he the way? He's the freeway. I ain't talking
about Interstate 81. I'm talking about Christ the
freeway. Now, if any of you have traveled
the West Virginia Turnpike, that freeway, that ain't no freeway,
is it? I've been paying for that road
for the last 20 years. Right? It's a toll road. You've
got to pay something to be on it, right? Christ said, come
unto me. Didn't he? Come without money,
without price. Well, I don't have enough guilt.
I'm not feeling sinful enough. Who said anything about that?
Come! Yeah, but I'm not old enough.
Who said anything about that? Where does it say there's an
age of accountability? Huh? Yeah, but I just don't understand
the Bible. Who said anything about that?
Come to me," Christ said. Why, it sounds simple. It is,
if God makes it simple. Believe, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. He says, come one,
come all. If you were going to go see the Vanderbilt, we went
to Williamsburg, Virginia, and went to see some of these big
houses, you know, where these people live. You had to pay money
to get there, to go through the house, and say, boy, that's a
pretty couch. And then that's a pretty chair.
Like that. And then after you leave, you
say, I just spent five bucks to see that man's chair. Great house. People who live
in great houses charge you money. And they won't let you in if
you're a stranger. You've got to have an invite. Christ says, come
on! Come on! Sinners! Low, high, young, old,
rich, poor, Jew, Gentile. Come on! It's free for the taking. Is that too Arminian? No, that's
just gospel. That's just the word of God.
Thirdly, Christ is the safe way. Safe way. You take any other
road, it's a road that leads to where? Destruction and death. The safe way. Not one single
pilgrim traveling this way has ever been lost. Not one. You say, well, there's
been lots of church members. I didn't say anything about church
members. I'm talking about one in Christ, by faith. Not one
single person who trusted in Christ was ever lost. Not one! The safe way. I'll tell you what. There's some
roads, like I said, country roads and all, that you travel. It's
tough, isn't it? And up and down, you know, five-mile
mountain to get to Terry Mine. Buddy, would you please move
to Rocky Mountain? Five-mile mountain. And I commend
you for driving that every day, but I wish you'd just move over
here, okay? But they're, you know, hard,
difficult roads to get there. But I tell you what, Terry, the
Lord keeps you. I don't care. You're going to
be kept, right, buddy? You're going to travel that road
from now till eternity passes, and you're not going over the
cliff. You're going to get here. And the road seems rough and
rocky, this pilgrimage, right? Troubles, trials, afflictions,
pains, sorrows, but not one has failed to reach the goal. Christ. Not one. Fourthly, he's the pleasant way.
Now get a hold of this. It's got a hold of me right now,
thankfully. I hate to preach when it doesn't
bless me. I'd rather be anywhere, anywhere,
than preaching when it doesn't touch me. But Christ is the pleasant
way, the pleasant way. There's occasionally there's
pain and sorrow in this thing of this pilgrimage of the Christian
The Scriptures call it the good way, the enjoyable way. Now listen,
some seem to think that the life of a believer, this Christian
life—I know young people, all young people think, yes, oh,
it's so dull, you know. The Christian life is one of
sadness and unhappiness, and you can't do this, and you can't—the
Christian life is all you can't. You can't. Is that better? Can't. Do this. You can't do
that. You know, touch not, taste not,
handle not. Did Paul say that? Oh, he didn't
say that. He said, all things are lawful
for me, didn't he? Some aren't expedient. But he
said, I'll tell you one more thing, God created all things
for me. The world is just borrowing it.
God has created all things for us to what? Richly enjoy. Didn't he? Didn't he tell Peter
one day, Joe? Didn't the Lord Himself say to
Peter, Peter, get up and have a pig roast? Lord, I never touched pork. It's
what I've created, don't you dare call unclean. Didn't He?
Enjoy temperately, moderately. The world is yours, He says.
And I tell you what more than that, I never knew real joy until
I found out what it was like to enjoy God, this, the gospel,
what we're doing this morning. From the bottom of my heart,
I'd not rather be doing anything else. Now, I can't explain that to
somebody who doesn't understand it, who doesn't feel it. I used
to, before God revealed the gospel, revealed Christ to me, I was
miserable trying to be happy. Every day I spent my life in
trying to be happy, trying to feel good, do something for this
body. What am I going to do today to
make me happy? Right? And you don't begin to
enjoy life until you enjoy God. Now, I don't enjoy myself. I
enjoy God. There's a difference. I do enjoy,
but not me. It's not me. Like I said, that
can't be explained. It just has to be experienced.
Some people in here right now are wishing this message was
over. Some people are saying, let's go another 30 minutes.
Aren't you? It can't be explained. It can
only be experienced, right? Would to God more people would
experience it. Lastly, and I'll quit, I promise,
Christ is the only way. He says, I'm the way, the truth. I believe in context here, he's
saying, I'm the true way. I'm the living way. I'm the way,
the true way, the living way. There is a way that seems right
to people. than the man, but the end thereof
is death and destruction. That's the way of morality. Well,
I'll just live a good life. That won't do it. The way of
religion, well, I'll join a church. I'll quit this, I'll quit that.
That won't do it either. You can quit everything. That
won't do it either. Well, the way of decision for
Jesus, I'll make my decision for Jesus that you've probably
got the right one. That won't do it. Scripture says,
by the deeds of the law, nobody's going to be justified. It says,
by grace, you say. How does anybody get grace? They
just ask for it. Right? God just grants it. It's a gift. How does anybody
get a gift? It's given. It's not earned,
it's given. A man is justified by the faith
of Christ. His faithfulness. Not my works,
not my life, not my death. Christ. Everything about him.
Everything he did. He is life. Did you hear the
good news? Have you heard it in the course
of this message? You don't have to get religion. Just come to Christ. You don't
have to live the victorious life. Everybody wants to have success
in life. You don't have to have success
in this life to be in Christ, to believe Christ. Neither is
there salvation in any other, for there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Christ is the way. Christ is
the way to God. Christ is God. And if you have
him now, if he has you, it's a simultaneous thing. He has
you, or you have him by faith. You've got heaven. You've got
God. And if you've enjoyed this this morning, it's a little taste
of that, just a little It'll soon be gone when it's over.
When we're out of here, it'll be over. Come back tonight. Come back tonight. Someday this'll
never cease. Someday it'll never cease. And
not only will we hear, as I always say, just an eternal gospel preaching
and singing and all that, and, boy, we'll rejoice in it, but
we're going to enjoy all things that he's richly created for
us to enjoy. Like I said, there's nothing
wrong with this world. There's nothing sinful about this world. These
holier-than-thou, self-righteous, pious people, oh, don't touch
that, don't taste that, don't handle that, don't do that, you
know. Who created it? God did. Right? And someday God's going to create
a new one. And he's going to say, heat up! Heat up! Enjoy yourself! And he's going
to be at the head of the table and join himself. What's wrong
with that? Rejoice in the Lord, I say. Rejoice. Let's sing a song. Brother Joe,
I had it written down on that piece of paper. What is it? 388. I tell you, this is good news
to me. And this is my prayer, this is
my plea, that he would have his own way with me.