Greetings from Pike County. Good
to be with you this evening. If you will take your Bible and
find 1 Samuel and then chapter 21, 1 Samuel chapter 21 at verse 8. And it is a homecoming
for me whenever I come back to Ashland. We lived here. for 19 years. And I always have
such fond, fond memories of the time that we spent together with
Pastor Mahan and the blessed 12 years that the Lord gave us
to sit under his faithful, faithful ministry. And I can't imagine leaving a certain
city and going into another city without having been under the
teaching of a faithful pastor those many years. And I gleaned
so many, many good things from his ministry and try to carry
on preaching the same gospel that our dear brother Henry preached
for all those many years. Now, in first Samuel 21, We'll
begin at verse 8, 1 Samuel 21, verse 8. And David said unto
Ahimelech, Ahimelech was the priest of God. David here is
on the run. David is God's anointed king,
but there was another king in town too. His name was Saul,
actually David's father-in-law. And Saul knew that the hand of
the Lord was upon David. Therefore, Saul sought to kill
David. David is on the run. Verse eight. And David said unto the priest,
this is a Himalaya. He came there for refuge. He
came there for food. He came there for weapon. And
is there not here under thy hand spear or sword? Well, I've neither
brought my sword nor my weapons with me. David had to flee in
haste, and he did because the king's business required haste. Now, David made out like he was
on an important mission for King Saul, but he really deceived
Himalaya here. And the priest said the sword
of Goliath The Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of
Elah, behold, it is wrapped here in a cloth behind the ephod. If thou wilt take that, take
it, for there is no other save that here. And David said, and
here's what I want us to think about this evening. There is
none like that. There's none like that. Give
it to me." Now remember David, when he faced that giant Goliath,
took out that sling and the stone and flung it. It was directed
by the purpose and providence of God. Hit Goliath in the forehead,
killed him, and he fell down. David did not have a weapon,
did not have a sword, so he ran up to this giant of a man, took
out this rather large sword and used it to remove the head of
Goliath. Now, for some reason, I don't
know why, I don't know how, this sword ended up in this place
in the city of Nob in the possession of Ahimelech, the priest of God. But anyhow, by the good providence
of God, that's where it was at. And we could say that all that
happened So we could use this statement that David makes, there's
none like that. Give that sword to me. Give that sword to me. Now, even
David in fleeing to the priest of God, David being a picture
of a sinner saved by God's grace, even in David fleeing to the
priest of God in this city, we have a picture of the sinner
fleeing to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our great high priest,
who is our refuge in a time of storm. Psalm 46, David writes
this, God is our refuge and strength of every present help in trouble. David did receive that showbread
there from the table from the priest of God. We know that even
in this, we have a shadow and type of the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. David went to the priest of God
for refuge. Christ is our refuge. David went
to the priest of God seeking food and bread. And we know that
the Lord Jesus Christ is called the bread of life. He is our
bread of life. And he said, he that cometh to
me shall never hunger. He that believes on me shall
never thirst. Christ is our bread, our defense,
He is our refuge, and we are to trust Him at all times. Don't turn. Let me just read
this to you. You're familiar with this, but it's one of my
favorite psalms. I call it the only psalm. If
I told you to turn to the only psalm, would you do it or could
you do it? Would you be able to do it? The
only psalm is Psalm 62. Look, listen to what he said.
He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be moved. In God is my salvation, my glory,
the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God. Trust in him
at all times. You people pour out your heart
before him. God is a refuge for us. You see, David found bread. He found refuge and he found
defense. He found this sword that God
gave to him. When David inquired about a weapon,
he was told there was no weapon there but the sword of Goliath
that David used to remove the head of Goliath. And when he
finds out that that sword is there, he said, I've used that
sword before. I know the soundness of the weapon,
the sharpness of the weapon. And I use that weapon to remove
this enemy's head. And he said, there is none like
that. Give that to me. Give that to
me now. Every believer of the gospel
of Christ can respond with similar words in saying there is no gospel
like that gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
no gospel like that gospel. Give me that gospel. Not another
gospel. I don't want another gospel.
Paul said if there comes any among you preaching another gospel,
even if it is an angel from heaven, let him be accursed. I don't
want another gospel. I don't want another sword. I
want that gospel. I want that one gospel. It's
called the gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, of which
Paul said, I'm not ashamed. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is a power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believe it. There is no message like that
gospel message of Christ and Him crucified. Give that to me. May we be determined as the Apostle
Paul to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We preach not ourselves, do we?
We don't preach ourselves, we preach Christ. We preach the
Lord Jesus Christ and ourselves, your servants for Christ's sake. The Apostle Paul said again in
Romans 1, for as much as in me is, I'm ready. I'm ready to preach
that gospel unto you who are at Rome. I'm not ashamed of the
gospel. And his people aren't. I've never
heard a believer complain. Now notice how I said that. I've
never heard a believer complain that we preach Christ too often,
exalted him too high, or that we give Him too much glory in
saving sinners. Now, I've heard some people complain.
Oh, you preach this Christ. Oh, you preach this Christ and
Him crucified. I've heard some people complain,
but I've never heard a believer complain that we preach Christ
too often, too much, or give Him too much glory, too much
honor, too much praise. I want to be guilty of doing
that. I want to be found guilty giving Him all the honor and
glory. The song of heaven is worthy
as the lamb that was slain to receive all honor, glory, blessing,
and power both now and forever. Believers can say with Cornelius,
now therefore we're all here present before God to hear all
things that are commanded thee of God. Isn't that why you're
here? I hope you didn't come here to
see me tonight. If you just wanted to hear a big message, you could
have went over across the river and heard the President of the
United States. I heard on the news today, don't
let this out, but I heard on the news today that he has a
big announcement to make tonight. Well, there were two special
speakers that came to the tri-state area tonight. One was the President,
one was a preacher. Mr. Trump said he has a big announcement
tonight, a big important announcement. I have a bigger one. Mr. Trump said tonight that he had
some good news to announce tonight. I have some better news. You
see, the words of Mr. Trump will pass away. Our Lord
said heaven and earth will pass away before my word will pass
away. The words of Mr. Trump will fade.
The word of the Lord will never pass Away. Now, Mr. Trump came to town on Air Force
One, and he drew a big crowd. I'm sure the place is packed
out. The preacher came to town tonight in an F-154. And you
know what? I have a bigger crowd than he
does. I have a bigger crowd than the president. When the gospel
is preached, angels desire to look into these things. This
place is surrounded by a mighty army of heavenly hosts looking
into the gospel of God's grace and God's glory. I hope you don't
mind me saying that, but I couldn't resist. I couldn't resist. Frank scheduled this special
meeting for me to come down on a Thursday night, and when he
did so, I know that he had no idea that Mr. Trump was coming
to town as well. But, glad to be here, and I have
a better, bigger message. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation, that the Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. That's a bigger message. That's
a better message. That's good news. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. He called His name Jesus. He
shall save His people from their sin. And I could go on and on
and on. He came to seek and to save the
lost. That's good news. That's big news. That's better
news. That's eternal news. This is
a faithful saying. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't
come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Oh, that's good news. That's
big news. That's better news. That's the
best news I've ever heard. The Lord Jesus Christ died for
the ungodly. Now I have five things I want
to mention using this phrase. There was none like that. There
was none like that. Give it to me. Give it to me. OK, here's the first one. Find
Ephesians. Chapter 6. There is none like
that. Give it to me in regards to the
word of God. You know, the word of God is
called a sword. Did you know that? Ephesians
chapter six, in regard to the holy inspired word of God, there
is none like that. Give it to me. Notice, we're
to take the whole armor of God. Ephesians chapter six, verse
13. Wherefore, take unto you the
whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil
day, having done all to stand. Stand therefore having your loin
girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness,
and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above
all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you should be able
to quench all the fiery dark to the wicked, and take the helmet
of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God. There's none like the word of
God. Give me The word of truth, the
word of God is called the sword of the spirit over in Ephesians
or rather Hebrews. For the word of God is called
quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword. The word of God, and you can't
divide the written word from the living word. The Lord Jesus
Christ, they're both one in the same. Give me Christ. Give me
the word. When we consider who the author
of who the author of. Of the word is. Can't you say,
give me the word who is the author of all scripture? Well, we know.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. All Scripture is given
of God. Holy men of Oldspace, they were
moved by God the Holy Spirit. Consider who the author is, Almighty
God. Consider who the subject of the
Word or the Book, the Bible, is all about. Who? the Lord Jesus
Christ, the beginning of Moses and all the prophets he expounded
unto them and all the things in the scriptures concerning
himself. All scripture is about the Lord
Jesus Christ. Our Lord said to those Pharisees
in John 5, you are they which search the scriptures, but they
are they which testify of me. To him give all the prophets
witness. Give me the word. Give me the
word. Consider something else about the word of God. Consider
the effects of the word preached when blessed by God, the Holy
Spirit. Jeremiah records. He said the
word is like a hammer, like a hammer that breaks the rocks in pieces. And the Apostle Paul said, Brethren,
knowing your election is of God, for our gospel came unto you
not in word only, but also in power in the quickening of God,
the Holy Spirit. Consider the author of the word
of God is God Almighty. Consider the effects of the word
like a hammer that breaks a hard heart into pieces. Consider this. It is soul quickening. The word
of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. of his own will beget
he us with the word of truth. It is heartwarming, isn't it?
I mean, the word of God is heartwarming. How many times have you read
Ephesians chapter 1? Thousands of times. But it's always heartwarming,
isn't it? He has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Christ according as he has chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world. It is so quickening. His own
will beget he us with the word of truth. It is heartwarming,
those men said, did not our heart burn within us when he opened
to us the word of the Lord? The word of God is a guide and
our light. It's a lamp unto our feet, a
light unto our pathway. It's the believers and the children's
bread and the believers milk, which we desire, don't we? We
desire the sincere milk of the word that we might, that we might
Grow thereby. I want to grow in grace and in
the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing like
God's word. Every believer can say, give
me the word. Give me the word. Don't give
me your opinions. Don't give me your sad stories. Give me
the word that I may learn of Christ. That's how we learn of
him. That's how he's revealed to the
preaching of the word. Our Lord said, come unto me,
all you that labor and heavy laden. I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me." I want to sit at his feet and learn of him. Give me
the word that I may have faith in Christ. Preach the word. Be instant in season, out of
season. That's what Paul charged young
Timothy with, isn't it? I charge you before God. And
the Lord Jesus who's going to quicken the living. Quicken the
Word. Preach the Word. Be instant in
season, out of season. Give me the Word that I may have
faith in Christ. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of the Lord. Give me the Word that I might
grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul's
last words to those elders at Ephesus, remember? I've got it
written down here, so I wouldn't forget. He said, I commend you
to God and the Word of His grace. The Word of His grace that is
able to build you up and to give you inheritance among all them
that are sanctified. Preach me the Word. Preach Christ. The Word would make flesh and
dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. There's nothing like that, is there? Where's the words
of men that you've read a thousand times? They don't exist. I tell
you, the word of God is new. Every morning is always fresh
because it's the living word of God, of the living God. Second
point is this. In regard to salvation, turn
to this scripture, find the book of Acts chapter four, the book
of Acts chapter four, there's none like Salvation in the Lord
Jesus Christ. There's none like that in regard
to God's salvation. Give me that salvation. Now, Acts chapter 4, verse 12. Acts chapter 4, verse 12. Stone which is set at not a few
builders, verse 11, has become the head of the corner. Neither
is there salvation in any other. The Pharisees wanted to know
by whose name and whose power did you make this cripple to
live? And the apostle Peter said, neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none of the name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved. There's none like that
salvation in Christ. It's the only one that'll do.
It's the only one God has designed and decreed and given unto his
covenant people. In regard to God's salvation,
can't you say in your heart, there's none like that. Give
it to me. There's just one gospel. There's just one Lord. There's
just one faith. There's just one way of salvation. Just one way of salvation. There's
none like that way because the Lord Jesus Christ, he is that
way. He said, I am the way I am the
truth. I am. the life. No man comes to the Father but
by Me. The whole of this salvation we
have in Christ, the whole of this salvation is totally of
the Lord and totally in the Lord Jesus Christ. And by Him, He
is called God, our Savior. The Apostle Paul, as he writes
back to young Timothy from death row, he reminds young Timothy,
don't be ashamed of the gospel. nor me his prisoner, for it's
God who saved us, it's God who called us with a holy calling,
not according to our work, but according to God's own purpose
and grace, given us in Christ before the foundation of the
world. The whole of this salvation is
totally of the Lord. We've heard this so many times,
but it never gets old, does it? Salvation, salvation is of the
Lord. He purposed it from all eternity. Before there was a sinner, there
was a Savior. He's a lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
He purposed it from eternity. He purchased it with His own
blood. You were bought with a price. God purchased the church with
His own blood. He performed the applying of
it to whom He will by His power, by His grace. God who begins
a good work in you, He will perform it. He will perfect it. He said,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. You preached that
recently, didn't you? That's in the word, isn't it? Roman
chapter nine. Give me the word. Not of him
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that shows
mercy. Give me the word. Give me the truth. You see, that's
the power of God and the salvation. There's no salvation like the
salvation we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the one
I want. I want the one that God has tailored, that God has purchased,
that God has sent, and the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished.
I want that one. By His grace, I can say that.
I want that one. There's none like that, give
it to me. There's no other sacrifice for sin, is there? but the Lord
Jesus Christ. He appeared once in the end of
age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He obtained for us
eternal redemption with his own blood. There's no other justifying
righteousness but through the Lord Jesus Christ. Is there?
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputed righteousness without
work were justified freely by his grace. to the redemption
that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no other sacrifice for
sin, but the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. There's no
other justifying righteousness before God, but the Lord Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. None. There's no other way of
reconciliation between God and the sinner, but through The Lord Jesus Christ. Don't
ever say this. I'm trying to make peace with
God. I've heard people say that. And
in the past, when I was ignorant, dumb, blind and dead, I said
the same thing. But I don't say that anymore.
God made peace. The Lord Jesus Christ made peace
with his own blood. He reconciled us unto God. In
the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no other reconciliation
like that one. Give me that one. That's the
one I want. That's the one I need. That's the one I must have. Christ
is the Lord, our righteousness. There's none like that salvation.
Now, can't you say in your heart, give that to me. Give that to
me. Give that to me. Oh, my God.
Burn that in your heart. There's none like that salvation
in Christ. Give me Christ or else I die. Give me Christ that I may be
justified before God. Give me Christ that I may be
found in him and accepted in the beloved. In regard to God's
salvation, there's none like that, is it? Is there? By his
free grace? Justified freely by his grace?
That's my favorite verse in the book of Romans. Romans 3, 24. Being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's no salvation like that salvation. I want that one. Give me that one. Here's the
third thing. In regard to God's love revealed
and made known in Christ. There's no love like that love. Let's see if we can turn to one
scripture. John 13. The love of Christ never
fails. We could read many scriptures.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now abideth faith, hope, and
love, but the greatest of these is love. Now, John 13, 1. Now
before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour
was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father,
having loved His own, which were in the world, He loved them Love
them unto the end. You see, his love is electing
love. His love is electing love. We read that a moment ago over
in Ephesians chapter one. Remember, he had chosen us in
him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy.
without blame before him in love, having predestinated us under
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself." His love
is electing love. His love is sovereign love, isn't
it? He'll love whom he will. We read
in scripture, here's the word, his love is sovereign love. Jacob
have I loved, Esau have I hated. His love is not only electing
love, His love is not only sovereign love, but thank God His love
is sacrificial love as well. Here in His love, not that we
love God, but He loved us. Think of it. He loved us even
when we were dead in sin. He quickened us together with
Christ Jesus. His love is drawing love. Drawing love. He loved His own
with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness,
He does draw us to Himself. His love is glorifying love unto
Him who loved us and washed us from our sin in His own blood. To Him be all the honor and glory,
both now and forever. His love is drawing love, glorifying
love, sacrificial love, sovereign love. How about His love is adopting
love? Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called sons
of God. There is none like that love
of God in Christ. Give me that love of God of which
the scripture said, there is no separation from the love of
God which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. You name it, bring it
up, mention it, whatever you want. There's no separation from
that love of God which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now think
about this good news here. This is big news. This is better
news. None will perish for whom the
Lord Jesus Christ loves. They can't. His love will not
allow it. None can perish for whom the
Lord Jesus Christ loves. They will all be brought to glory
and they will all be brought to love him. We love him because
he first loved us. All that the father giveth me
shall come to me and those that come to me, I will in no wise
cast them out. Give me that love. I want that
love, saving love, sovereign love, effectual love, drawing
love, everlasting love. Give me that love. I want nothing
to do with a love that is a failure. Some say God loves everybody
and some perish anyway. That's no love at all, is it?
I don't want anything to do with that kind of love. I want that
love that's effectual, that's everlasting, that draws me to
Him everlastingly, of which the scripture said Love faileth not,
because the Lord Jesus Christ as God, he cannot fail. Can he? My favorite scripture in Isaiah
is Isaiah 42 verse 4, where it says there the Lord Jesus Christ,
he cannot fail. Failure is not a possibility.
He can't fail. And everything he undertakes
on behalf of his father, for us as a surety, mediator, intercessor,
advocate, he cannot fail. And certainly it's true of His
love. His love cannot fail. Give me that love. That's the
one I want. There's none like that. There's
none like that. Give it to me. Oh, give it to
me. Aren't you glad that it's the
free grace of God? God so loved that He gave. His love wasn't in response to
our love. You see, the carnal mind is enmity
against God. He loved us in spite of our rebellion,
and he's loved us with an everlasting love, and therefore he draws
us unto himself. Give me that love. That's the
one I want, the one that's found in Christ, the love of God in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that leads me to number
four. In regard to saving faith, God
honoring, saving faith. There's none like that. It's
called the gift of God. Did you know that? I know you
do. Let's find one scripture on that.
I'm trying to turn to one scripture on each of these points so you
can kind of have an outline to go by. If you will find second
Peter, second Peter, chapter one in regard to saving faith. We know that faith is called
the. Gift of God, is it not? 2 Peter 1.1, 2 Peter 1.1, Simon
Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that
have obtained like precious faith. And notice they obtained it.
They didn't earn it. They didn't deserve it. They
obtained it. It's a like precious, like precious
faith. We know that it's the perfect
gift of God. with us through the righteousness
of God our Savior Jesus Christ. We only have faith because the
Lord Jesus Christ died to put away our sin. He died to put
away our unbelief, didn't he? That's why we have faith. For
by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourself,
it is a gift of God. We read in Hebrews 11, without
faith, it's most difficult to please
God. I heard somebody Correct me over here. Somebody caught that. Without
faith, it is impossible to please God. Is that right? Why is it
impossible to please God without faith in Christ? Why is it impossible
to please God without faith? A man without faith is a man
without Christ. And without Christ, you cannot
possibly please God. You see how necessary faith is? And faith is not something that
bloomed in here. Faith is the sovereign gift of
God. Faith comes, Arthur Pink called it something exotic. It
doesn't grow here by nature. It's from outside of you. It's
a gift of God that God plants in the heart. And that's the
new nature given in the new birth. And every believer born of God
has a new nature. How much plainer can scripture
be? The man that denies that is an unbeliever. Pure and simple. We are partakers of a divine
nature, it says over here in that same chapter. We are partakers
of a divine nature. We have that old Adam nature
and we have that new nature, the Spirit of God that dwells
in you, Christ, the hope of glory. Don't ever forget that. In regard
to saving God, honoring faith, there's none like that. Give
it to me. A man without saving faith is a man without Christ.
A man without Christ is a man without salvation. Faith, we know, is a gift of
God. It's not of works. Faith is obtained through the
precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Saving faith. Do you
want to know the acid test? Whether your faith is saving
faith or not? It's real plain. Saving faith looks to the Lord
Jesus Christ always, only, alone. And it's not, I look. It's looking
unto The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher of
our faith. Saving faith always looks to
Christ, never looks in here. Always looks to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Saving faith is a precious gift
of God. There's none like that. Saving
faith, give it to me. Saving faith believes, loves,
and acknowledges the truth of God. That's called the face of
God, the elect. believes the gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. There is none like that saving
faith. Give it to me." Can't you say
that in your heart right now? Give me that God honoring, saving
faith. Give it to me. Lord, give me
faith in Christ. John 5, 24. Truly, truly, verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me, hath got it right now, everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto
life. Give it to me. Give me faith
in Christ that I may please God. Give it to me. Give me faith
that I may lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. Give me
faith that I may be justified in the Lord Jesus Christ. In
the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul said, By Him all that believe
are justified from all things which could not be justified
by the law of Moses. You see, saving faith looks Saving
faith doesn't accomplish salvation, does it? No, sir. Saving faith
receives the Lord Jesus Christ who did accomplish salvation.
And he accomplished all of it. And we rest in him. We rest in
him. Oh, give me saving faith. Give
it to me that I may win Christ and be found in Him and say with
the Apostle Paul, I count all things but lost, dung and ruined,
that I may win Christ and be found in Him. He is the Lord,
our righteousness. Lord, give me saving faith that
I might truly worship Him in spirit and in true. That's what saving faith does.
Saving faith worships God as he's revealed in the word of
God. And we do so in spirit and in
truth. There is no true worship apart
from the truth. You have to worship God in truth. You have to worship God in Christ,
who is the truth. Now, lastly, In regard to our
hope of salvation, there's none like that hope we have in Christ.
Here's one scripture on that, if you'll find 2 Thessalonians,
2 Thessalonians, I believe it's chapter two, 2 Thessalonians,
yes it is, chapter two, verse 16. In regard to our hope of salvation
in the Lord Jesus Christ, There's none like that. Give it to me.
Look at verse 16. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ himself. And God, even our father who
had loved us and had given us an everlasting consolation and
a good hope, a good hope through. I love that word. Grace, grace,
grace alone. Every believer has a good hope
only through grace. Christ in you is the hope of
glory. Our hope of salvation is based
upon the eternal, unchanging purpose of God. You read that
this evening. He works all things after the
counsel of his own will, his own purpose and grace. given
us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. Our
hope of salvation is based upon the eternal, unchanging purpose
of God. His word is like himself. It
never changes. I'm the Lord. I change not. Therefore,
you sons of Jacob are not consumed. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
same today, yesterday and forever. Our hope of salvation is based
upon his promise. to save sinners for Christ's
sake, and that alone. We're to love one another and
to forgive one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. And the apostle John writes over
here, my little children, your sins are forgiven for his name's
sake. That's the hope we have in Christ.
that the hope every believer has in Christ based upon the
eternal, unchanging promise of God, the purpose of God, and
how about the power of God? The power of God unto salvation,
the gospel is. Now, David had this hope of salvation
in Christ, didn't he? Psalm 23. Everybody knows Psalm 23. The
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. That was David's hope.
That's a good hope, isn't it? If the Lord's all your hope,
if he's your shepherd, the good shepherd who laid down his life
for the sheep. He's the great shepherd of the sheep to the
blood of everlasting covenant, and he's the chief shepherd that
will soon appear again. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. My God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our brother read a moment ago,
the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? You see, we
have no hope but that hope we have in Christ. There's none
like that hope. Give it to me. Our hope of salvation
is not a mere shot in the dark. It's not a mere wish. It's in
a blessed person. Salvation is in a person. Our
hope of salvation is in Christ. The Apostle Paul writes this.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our
Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. It says, who is our
hope? Those two words, who is, who
is, has been supplied so we can read it. He's God our Savior. Christ, God our Savior, our hope. Our hope. He's our hope. He's
most of it. I've still got some hope back
here, you know, back when I was in idolatry and false religion.
Do you have any hope back there? Huh? No. No, we don't. That's dung, isn't it? That's
all behind us. We're forgetting those things
which are behind, and we reach forth to the hope that's before
us. You see, there's just one foundation.
This hope we have in Christ is based upon one foundation, and
that is the Lord Jesus Christ, his person and his work. David
said on his deathbed, Although it be not so with my
house, God had made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things, and is sure this is all my salvation. And I'm
going to add, this is all my hope. That's all our hope is
Christ and Christ alone. The hope we have in Christ is
the anchor of our soul, sure and steadfast. The hope we have
in Christ is the joy of our heart being justified by faith. We
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And he is
our joy and he is our hope. In Romans 15, 13, he's called
the God of hope. He's a God of hope. And then
in 2 Corinthians 1, 3, he's called the God of all comfort. The God
of all comfort. And then in 1 Peter 5, 10, he's
called the God of all grace. The God of all grace. He's the
God of our salvation. He is God, our Savior. And the
Lord Jesus Christ is all our hope. There's none other like
that hope. You got the idea of the message?
There's none like that. Give it to me. Give me that hope. Give me that salvation. Give
me that righteousness in Christ. Give me that pardon that's found
in Christ. Give me, you see, here's the
thing. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and you stand complete in Him. Christ is all and in all. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily And you're completing him of his fullness.
Have we all received grace for grace? And there we have the
reason for grace. The reason for grace is grace
of his fullness. Have we all received grace for
grace? This is a record that God has
given to us eternal life. And this life is in his son.
He that hath the son hath life. He that hath not the son hath
not life. Hath not life. There's none like
the Lord Jesus Christ. Give him to me. He's altogether lovely to you
who believe he is precious. He is precious. I'm gonna hit that stop button.
OK, I wish I looked at that earlier. As I like to look at a running
clock when I'm preaching, I tried to look at that up there, Huh? 45 minutes. That's all right. I meant to preach much shorter.
That's okay. That's all right. I only come
here once a year. So I have to make up for lost
time. I appreciate your pastor and
his wife for the invitation to come be with you. and appreciate
his willingness to come and preach for us and his willingness to
preach other places. I'm finding as I get older that
I'm becoming a stay-at-home. I stay at home except when I
go on vacation once a year. I go on vacation once a year
and that's about it. But don't get out like you used
to and that's by design and by purpose because I'm just not
able to get along. So listen, here's the thing.
Here's the thing. I want you to come visit us.
Okay? Open the invitation. I know Eric's
going to be up there later this month. He's going to preach for
me on the 27th. Is that right? And we look forward
to having Brother Eric up. But the invitation's open. Don't wait till I have a flood,
and then come see me. Now I appreciate it when you
do. Some of you have been up there when we were flooded. Don't wait till the flood, and
then come up there and see me. Come before it floods, okay? I'm pointing out to some of you
fellas, you come see us.