We're going to go straight into
our preaching service. Happy tonight to have Brother
David Edmondson with us from Madisonville, Kentucky. Preaches
where old Maurice Montgomery used to be. Maurice and I go
way back. Well, David, as far as that matters,
we go way back. And I'm so honored to have you
here. I'm honored just to know these
people. Just to know. I'll tell you, I talk a lot about
Henry Mayhem because he was my pastor. But I was honored just
to know him. I want folks to know that I knew
him. And I want folks to know that
I know these men. These men preaching the same
gospel he did. Same gospel. And is this gospel necessary?
Oh, my soul. I won't even go into the details
of what some of them had to suffer just to be here, just to be here. My soul, what a privilege, what
a privilege. Brother David from Bible Baptist
Church in Madisonville, Kentucky, come on up and preach. Good evening, everyone. It is an honor and privilege
to be here. I thank you for having me. I love you, Darvin, your dear,
dear friend, and it's a privilege, I ditto what you say, to be here
with these other two pastors who I love so much, both of them. My text tonight will be found
in 1 John, chapter 5, if you would turn there with me, please.
1 John, chapter 5. And I'd like to start by asking
a question. Why are we meeting together this
weekend? Why has this small group of believers
gone to the expense to have three preachers, one from Virginia,
one from Tennessee, and one from Kentucky, here this weekend? Why are you in church services
on a Friday night? Some of your friends say you're
crazy. Friday night and you're at church? You're going to church
on a Friday night? Are you here because a loved
one wanted you to come? Are you here because you've been
told that you need to be in church? Are you here to fill an obligation
you feel you have to God? Are you here for some relief
of conscience and guilt of sin? Are you here because you want
to be a better person? Are you here because you want
to live right and you think that going to church will accomplish
that? Well, if you're here for any
of those reasons, you've missed the real need of coming. And you wouldn't be the only
one. There are multitudes of people this world over who attend
churches that supposedly provide all these things that men and
women seek, but in going, they're not one centimeter closer to
life eternal. And that's what I want to talk
to you about just a little bit tonight, if I can. If you're
here to seek first the kingdom of God, I tell you that from
this book, God himself promises you, you'll find the kingdom
of God. If you're here to seek first
his righteousness, that righteousness that only God himself can provide
and that God himself requires, you'll find it. I can assure
you will. I guarantee you, you will. Anybody
that's ever wanted to be saved, I mean really wanted to be saved,
really wanted to know the Lord Jesus Christ, they found Him. Well, He found them. He found
them. And if you're here, you'll find
the one thing needful. You know, there's just one thing
needful when we narrow it all down, just one thing needful.
And that's salvation, that's eternal life. And both of those
are found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is eternal life. Isn't that
what he said? I'm the way, the truth, and the
life. And no man, no woman, no body,
no sinner cometh to the Father but by Him. Now you might ask,
I'm asked this quite often, or I'm accused of it, do you think
your church is special? You've been asked that, Gabe.
Do y'all think y'all are special? Well, I do. I think this church is special,
and it's not because I love your pastor, and it's not because
many of you have become dear friends to me. This church is
special for one reason only. And that's because of the gospel
that's preached here. One thing needful is preached
here. Why is it so important to hear
the gospel? Obviously many folks don't think
that it's important because they don't preach it. Have you ever heard this one,
Gabe? Y'all think y'all the only ones. Well, I've looked pretty
extensively in my area, and I don't mean to be arrogant, but we kind
of are. We are. I don't know of anyone else preaching
this message. Why is it so important to hear
this gospel? It's the only way that you'll
ever be saved. Only one way. Narrow is the way. Narrow is the way. Sinners are saved through the
preaching of the gospel. It pleased God by the foolishness
of what the world calls foolishness, the foolishness of preaching
to save those that believe. You're gonna hear this message
through a man that tells you the truth about God, tells you
the truth about you, and tells you that one way that you can
be saved. That's how you're gonna be saved. Do you have a need of salvation? I'm not talking about getting
saved. Everybody in false religion is getting saved. Do you ever
notice that? I recently read an advertisement on a church
website that said, getting saved is the most important thing you'll
ever do. Not long ago, I saw a church
sign that said, getting saved is the best decision you'll ever
make. That's false advertising. It's true that salvation and
redemption is the most important thing in all this world, most
important thing. But it's not something that you
do, and it's not a decision that you make. I'm not interested
in getting saved. I can't get myself saved. I tried for years. I'm interested
in being saved and I'm interested in God saving me because he's
the only one that can. I'm interested in having my sin
put away. I'm interested in having eternal
life. And you know, pretty much everybody
knows what eternal life is. It's kind of self-defining, isn't
it? Eternal life is life eternal. But only a few, only those whom
God is pleased to reveal it to, know where eternal life is found. 1 John chapter 5, look at verse
11. And this is the record. Now that word record means evidence. This is the evidence that God
hath given to us eternal life. Don't skip over that word given. You didn't get it. It was given
to you. It's not something that you to
get. It's something that God gives
to you freely. For by grace are you saved through
faith. That's not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. Not by
works, lest any man should boast. It's a gift from God. This is
the record. This is the evidence that God
had given to us eternal life. Now look at this last part. And this life is in His Son. That's where it's at. That's
where it's at. This is the evidence that God
gives. God had given his people eternal
life. And it's important to know that
eternal life doesn't start when you get to heaven. That's the
way people talk about it a lot of times. You know, it's something,
eternal life doesn't come after you die. It's not a future event. John
here speaking to the believer says, God hath, past tense. given to us eternal life. We have eternal life right now.
Right now. Where is this eternal life found?
And this life is in His Son. Isn't that so plain and so simple? That's the way I need it given
to me. Eternal life is in God's Son. Eternal life is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's why Christ is our message. I have a dear friend who has
attended our church all of his life, really. His mom and dad
went there and he ran into a cousin of mine. I may have told you
this story, I probably have, I think I have. I tell pretty
much the same stories over and over. But she asked him one time,
he told her that, he said, my cousin is your preacher. And
he said, yeah, or he told her, he said, your cousin is my preacher.
And she said, well, what did he preach this past Sunday? She
said, same thing he preaches every Sunday. And she goes, oh,
no, surely not. Same thing every Sunday? He said,
well, he preaches it from a different text in the Bible, but it's the
same message. And she didn't understand. But
you do, don't you? It's the same message. God has
given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. That's
the message. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. To those who really desire eternal
life, God'll give it to you. Well, what if I'm not one of
God's elect? Well, if you desire redemption,
you are one of God's elect. If you really desire to be saved,
then God's already given you life. Death does not bring us
eternal life. Christ Jesus brings to us eternal
life. John didn't say, he that dies
in Christ shall have eternal life, even though the sinner
who does die in the Lord Jesus most certainly will. And I suppose
before us tonight in these two verses, we have one of the clearest
declarations of truth found in all the Bible. And this is a
gospel declaration given to those who desire to be saved, who desire
their sin to be put away. Verse 12, he that hath the Son
hath life. There's nothing about that for
us to misunderstand, is there? Now there's plenty there for
us not to believe, but nothing that we should have trouble understanding. If you trust the Lord Jesus Christ
to be the only suitable substitute and sacrifice for your sin, then
you have life. You already have it. It doesn't
come after you die. It doesn't start when you get
to heaven. He that hath the Son hath life. But there's another
side to that verse. That verse doesn't stop there,
does it? It says he that hath not the Son hath not life. There's nothing in verse 12,
as I said, for us to misunderstand. And this is why John wrote these
words. Why? That we might believe, he
said. That's why your pastor studies
and prepares to preach to you so that you might believe. Might
believe what? That life is in God's Son. Look at verse 13. These things,
John said, I've written unto you that you believe on the name
of the Son of God. that you may know, that you may
know what? That you have eternal life. And
that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. Now to have
eternal life is to believe on the name of the Son of God. Well,
what does it mean to believe on the name of the Son of God?
Have you ever really thought about that? It's not hard. Nothing about this message hard.
It's impossible to believe unless God divinely intervenes and shows
it to you, but there's nothing hard about it to understand.
The name of Jesus means God is salvation. Do you believe that? The name Jesus means Jehovah
saves. Do you believe that God is salvation?
Do you believe that only Jehovah saves, or do you believe that
you save yourself? Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. This Jesus who
saves is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Lord. He's the Lord
of lords. He's the Christ. Christ is his
title. His title tells us who he is.
Christ means the Messiah. It means the anointed one. It
means the chosen one. Christ is God's elect, we're
electing Him. Do you believe that Jesus is
the Christ? If you believe Jesus is the Lord
who saves His people from their sin, if you believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, if you believe that
Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Chosen One, the Anointed
One, then you believe on His name. and you believe that you
have eternal life and you have it right now. You know, the flower
didn't receive life when it bloomed. The flower bloomed because it
already had life. What about old Lazarus? Three
days dead, stinking dead. That's what we were, stinking
dead. Lazarus didn't come, or Lazarus
didn't receive life after he came forth, did he? Well, you
know he didn't. He came forth because Christ
had already given him life. The Lord Jesus said, Lazarus,
come forth, and he gave him life right then, and that's when he
came forth. If a dead man can take the first
step, then he can go all the way to God. But taking that first
step's the issue when you're dead. You got to be given life
first. The problem lies within the first
step. And listen, I know, I know this. I know that we see through a
glass darkly and dimly. Boy, I have learned that from
personal experience. But we do see, because He's given
us life. Not as we'll one day see when
our sin's put away, but then we'll see face to face. Now I
know in part, but I do know Christ. I know who He is, He's God. I
know what He's done for me, the sinner that I am. He's given
me life, eternal life. Life eternal, everlasting life. And one day very soon I'll know
Him even as I'm known by Him. One day I will know Christ in
the same fullness and in the same perfection that He knows
me. I can't wait for that day. If
God has revealed Christ to me, then I am saved because He that
hath the Son hath life. How do I know if I have life
eternal? Well, John tells us by our love for the brethren.
That's one way we know that we've passed from death to life. I
know that by enduring to the end, we shall be saved. What about those who do not endure
to the end? Did they lose their salvation?
No, they never had it. They never knew Christ. They
never had eternal life. Turn back a few pages to 1 John
chapter two, if you would. Again, so plain. Look at verse
19. Speaking of those who made a
profession of faith in Christ, those who did not endure to the
end, John tells us something about them right here. Verse
19 says this about them, they went out from us. They left the
assembling of themselves together with the believers and the followers
of Christ. They stopped hearing the preaching
of the gospel. They lost interest in the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's what John means when he
said they went out. Did they lose their salvation?
No, they never had it. They went out from us, but they,
he says, but they were not of us. See that? They weren't of
us. They never were a child of God.
John proceeds, for if they had been of us, they would have continued
with us. They would have endured with
us. And John insinuates that there's no doubt about it, because
he says there, they would have no doubt continued, but they
didn't. Why then did they leave? He tells
us that they might be made manifest, that it might be revealed. What
might be revealed? That they were not all of us. They never did truly believe. Isn't that so alarming? You know, I've known people that
have sat under the gospel for 35 and 40 years, and they're
gone. And I think to myself, how can
that be? They went out from us, but they
were not of us. If they'd been of us, no doubt
they'd have continued with us. That's what God says. That's
not what this preacher says, that's what God says. Those that
are well, those that have no problems, those who are not sick,
they have no need of a physician. Who does then? Those that are
sick. Those that are diseased. Those
that are dying. That's who has a need. You know,
I like my doctor, but I don't make an appointment and give
him $100 just because I like him. I go to the doctor when
I'm sick, when I need help. Do you see that you're sick? Do you see that you have a great
need? Oh, that God might be pleased to
show us our need. That woman with the issue of
blood, she saw her need, didn't she? She spent all she had on
physicians and the scripture says she grew worse. She needed the great physician
and she found it at the hem of his garment. That was at his
feet. Blind Bartimaeus, he had a great
need and the Lord Jesus found him, excuse me, on the highway
side begging. Christ said, what would you have
me to do unto you? And Bartimaeus said, Lord, that
I might receive my sight. And immediately he received his
sight. You see, by nature, we're all blind. We can't see. We can't see our great physician. We need eyes of faith to see. The demoniac of Gadara, he needed
Christ. Christ came to him among the
tombs of the dead. That's where the Lord found me.
Among the tombs of the dead. And I was having a big old time. The Lord asked him his name.
He said, my name is Legion. He said, for we're many. And
Christ said, well now your name is Righteous and you're mine.
That's what he said to me. The man with the withered hand,
he needed him. He could not will his withered
hand to work. Don't you think he would have
if he could have? That's what preachers are telling men and
women today. Will yourself well. Well, hard for a dead man to
will anything, isn't it? But the Lord enabled him to stretch
his hand forth and it was restored as the other one. There was a woman who was bowled
over, the scripture says bowled over the earth. She couldn't
straighten herself nor lift herself up. Religion commands men and
women to do so. Pick yourself up by your bootstraps. It don't work. The Lord Jesus said, woman thou
art blessed from thine iniquity and immediately she was made
straight and she glorified God. Are you glorifying the God who
loosed you from your iniquities? That impotent man at the Pool
of Bethesda, I've seen him so many times in my mind's eye. Remember what he said? He said,
I have no man to do for me. I have no man to put me in the
water when the angel stirs the waters. But you know what he
found out that day? He had the God-man who told him
to rise up and walk. And immediately, he took up his
bed and he walked. That's what the Lord did for
this sinner. Do you see your need like they
did? Oh, that God might show you your need. You know, I've
come convinced of the fact that men and women's absence from
worship is not a lack of commitment, it's a lack of need. Lack of
need. But you ask a believer, if they'll
leave also, and they'll ask you this question, to whom shall
we go? Christ and only Christ has the
words to eternal life. Isn't that what Peter said? If
you can go away and if you can stay away, it's God manifesting
that you're not one of His people. Oh, I don't want to be one of
them. Friends, God is faithful at promise. Boy, you think about that. God
is faithful at promise. Everything in this book that
He's promised me, He's faithful to fulfill. Now sometimes we
don't get exactly what we want or the way we want it, but He
knows what's best. We don't. My, my. He's promised us eternal
life. That's what we see in our text,
isn't it? He that hath the Son hath life. Do you have Christ? That's the most important question
ever asked in the Scriptures. What think ye of Christ? What
else has he promised us? He's promised his people that
they'll overcome the world. Oh, we get so bogged down by
this world. This world is such a negative
place. I know there's nothing new under
the sun, but it sure seems like lately it's just gotten worse,
doesn't it? But he said, you'll overcome
the world. Back in John chapter five here,
in verse four, look what it says. John five, verse four. For whatsoever,
and that includes whosoever, is born of God overcometh the
world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world. What
is? Even our faith. Even our believing. Believing what? Some things about
God? No. Believing God. Abraham believed
God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. He didn't
believe some things about God. He didn't believe there was a
God, even though he did, but he believed God. He believed
what God said. Do you believe what God says
in this book? We're saved by grace through
faith, as I quoted a moment ago, and that faith is the gift of
God. Our Lord said, no man can come
unto me except it were Given. Given unto Him of my Father. Oh, if you're here tonight and
you're resting in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
it was given to you. That's why we glorify God. We
take no credit or honor for ourselves. Our God who promised has enabled
us to overcome. You know, eight times in the
book of Revelation, the Lord talks about overcoming. You know,
people are so intrigued with the book of Revelation, but the
book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ. You know, everybody
wants to make it about, you know, the Armageddon and all these
things. It's a revelation of Jesus Christ. Let me show you what the book
of Revelation's all about. I won't turn you to these, but
let me, I can tell you pretty briefly. It's about the elect
of God overcoming. In Revelation 2, verse 7, it
says, to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree
of life. Revelation 2 verse 11, he that
overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Revelation
2 verse 17, to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden
manna and will give him a white stone with a new name within,
written. Revelation 2 verse 26, he that
overcometh and keepeth my works until the end, to him will I
give power over the nations. Revelation 3 verse 5, He that
overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment. And
I will not blot out His name out of the book of life, but
I will confess His name before my Father and before His angels. Revelation 3 verse 12, him that
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God and he
shall go out no more and I'll write upon him the name of my
God and the name of the city of my God which is New Jerusalem
which cometh down out of heaven from my God and I'll write upon
him my new name. He's called the Lord our righteousness.
You know what, that makes my name righteous. He's my righteousness. Revelation 3 verse 21, to him
that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.
Even as I also overcame and have sat down with my father in his
throne. Revelation 21 verse 7, he that
overcometh shall inherit all things and I will be his God
and he shall be my son. He's my daughter. His children. Who is it that overcomes? How
do they overcome? Look at verse 5 here in our text,
1 John chapter 5. Who is he that overcometh the
world? It's he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. What must I do to be saved? Believe
on the Son of God. Do you believe on the Son of
God? Then you have eternal life, for he that hath a son hath life. John 16, 33, the Lord said, these
things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In me. That's where you're gonna
find peace. That's where you're gonna find
rest, in him, nowhere else. In the world you shall have tribulation,
but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. We
overcome because He overcame. We don't do anything. Look at
verse 10 here in our text. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath this witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath
made him, being God, a liar, because he believeth not the
record, the evidence, that God gave of His Son. Faith, you know,
we have all these faith teachers today talking about faith. You
know, faith is this, faith is that. Faith is believing God.
Believing what God says in this book. In our country's court system,
the judge tells the jury to consider the evidence given in the trial.
and to make their verdict dependent on the evidence that they've
heard. Well, do you believe the evidence that our great advocate
has given us? If you do, then you have life. And if you don't, then you don't.
And it's just that simple, isn't it? He that hath the Son hath
life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life. What is faith? is to believe God. Paul gave
Timothy and us a very good definition of faith. Without faith, we know
that it's impossible to please God, and I wanna please God.
I know that in and of myself, I can't. But in 2 Timothy, you
don't have to turn there, chapter one, verse 12, Paul told Timothy,
he said, I am not ashamed. And here's some reasons why he
wasn't and why we won't be ashamed. First thing is, he said, for
I know whom I have believed. Not what. I know whom I have
believed. Faith is having a knowledge of
Christ. I know whom I believe. By God's
grace, I know who Jesus Christ is. It's by divine revelation
that I know it. He's Emmanuel, God with us. He's
very God of very God. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. His name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. The Word of God became flesh
and dwelt among us. The Word of God is the Lord Jesus
Christ. In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the word became
flesh and dwelt among us. Secondly, I know what he did.
In the fullness of time, God sent him forth. He was made of
a woman. He was made under the law. And he perfectly obeyed
that law. He dotted every I. He crossed
every T of the law. He kept the law perfectly. He obeyed the law. He paid the
wages of sin. He died the just for the unjust. He brought us to God. He redeemed
them that were under the law. He adopted them as his children. That's what he did. He saved
his people from their sin. Thirdly, faith is the sinner
being persuaded and having confidence in who Christ is and what Christ
did. I'm persuaded that he, Christ,
is able. I'm confident that he's able
to do anything and everything. Are you confident of that? He's able to do exceeding abundantly
above all we can think or ask. I'm persuaded that he's able
to save to the uttermost those who come to God by him. Fourthly, faith is a commitment
to Christ. He's able to keep everything
that I've committed unto Him against that day. In that day
of judgment, I can be assured that He did all things well for
me, and He did all things for my good. Isn't that what Romans
8, 28 tells us? I can rest confidently in the
fact that He provided the very perfect righteousness that I
needed to be accepted of God. And there are some things that
the child of God knows. Look down at verse 20 and I'll
finish up. And we know that the Son of God
has come and hath given us an understanding. There's that word
given again. What do we understand? We understand
that we may know him that is true and that we are in him that
is true. even in His Son, Jesus Christ.
This is true God in eternal life. Now there you have it, eternal
life. What is it? Well I know this, it's in His
Son. I know that God the Son has come to save sinners, to
put the sin of chosen sinners away by the sacrifice of Himself. I know that He came to give me
an understanding, He came to reveal Himself to me and in me,
He came that I may know Him that is true. He came to teach me
and reveal to me the power of His resurrection. I'll rise again
because He arose from the dead. God has accepted His perfect
and finished work and He's accepted me in Him. There's no other place
that I can be accepted but in Him. And that's what you're gonna
hear this whole weekend from these men. He that hath the Son hath life. I know that I am in Him that
is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. And this is life eternal,
that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom Thou hast sent. Now remember, this is the record.
This is the evidence. God hath given to us eternal
life, and that eternal life is where? In His Son. There's no blessings, there's
no benefits apart from a living union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's the way. Not a way. The way. There was once a man who traveled
to a far and foreign land on urgent business. And while gone
on business, his wife had a serious accident and he immediately scheduled
the one and the only flight there was to return home that day.
And on the way back to the airport in the car that he had rented,
he got lost. I mean, real lost. Do you ever
get lost? I know you men have, because
you, like me, you won't stop me as directions. You just keep
on until you, I know it's right up here somewhere, but this man
got lost. And so he was finally able to
wave down a policeman that spoke broken English, and he gave him
directions, but the directions that he gave the man were unclear
at best. And this husband who loved his
wife and wanted to get home by her side, he became even more
distraught because the departure of his flight was fast approaching. And the man, without thinking,
he just cried out, won't somebody please help me? You ever been
there? It was then that he heard a man
with a kind voice, in perfect English, by the way, say, sir,
I can take you to the airport if you'll just follow me. And
what comforting words those were to his ears. The policeman that
he had found and waved down told him the way to the airport, but
the man that found him became the way. See the difference? Someone can tell you the way,
and it may or may not be. It may be unclear at best. No man, no woman, no sinner,
nobody finds the way home to God but by the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the way, the truth, and
the life, and no man cometh to the Father but by Him. And He's
not an unclear way. I think if nothing else, these
verses we looked at show us that. That's exactly what our Lord
has done for His people. Our Lord in the gospel has told
us the way, and then He said, follow me. And He became the
way. He became the way. Nobody finds
their way home to God but by Him. You've got to have Him. You've got to have Him. Thank
God for Christ who loved us and gave himself forth. And this
is the record. This is the evidence that God
has given to us eternal life. Are you interested in life eternal?
I think everyone is. The problem is everybody wants
to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. And that's die to self. To die to their will. To die
to their way. To die to their decision. But
you're gonna have to die. 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. And the
people of God said amen. Amen. Thank you so much.