Well, you might as well just
turn to the first page of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1. We'll
start there. I have a couple of questions. I thought about this, I thought
about this topic, and it's a blessing, a comfort to all of God's people.
But here's the questions. Here's the questions that I have.
How do we, or how can we, have tremendous assurance that one,
this book is true? We gather together every Sunday,
every Wednesday, Bible class, This book is always used. It's always open. It's always
referred to. How can we know? How can we have
tremendous assurance that this book is true? Secondly, how can
we know that we have life everlasting? How can we know that? And thirdly,
how do we know that we shall endure unto the end? because
it seems like a long time ago since I think the Lord first
did something for me. But there was a time that I made
a profession and thought I was okay, but I wasn't, until the
good news of the free grace of God crossed my path. But sometimes
I still ask myself this, how do I know that I shall endure
to the end? Because the Scripture is very
clear. Only those who endure to the end, the same shall be
saved. Put another way, how do I know
and how do you know that you will make it to Canaan land?
Or as Mr. Bunyan so adequately puts it,
how do we know we're going to make it to the celestial city? Well, there's three simple words.
for us today. He hath said. He hath said. Or God hath said. I would like
you to look with me at several scriptures. First of all, to
develop the foundation that God is not man and therefore He cannot
lie. Genesis chapter 1. Genesis chapter
1 and verse 3. And God said, Let there be light. And you know
what? There was light. Verse 6, And God said, Let there
be a firmament in the midst of the waters. And verse 7 at the
last part, And it was so. Verse 9 of Genesis 1, And God
said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto
one place. And the last part of that verse, and it was so. Verse 11, and God said, let the
earth bring forth grass. And the latter part of verse
11, and it was so. Verse 14, and God said, let there
be lights in the firmament. And verse 15, the last words,
and it was so. So, we could go on to look at
verse 20 and 24 and 26, and God said, and God said, in the latter
part of those verses, and it was so, and it was so. This tells
me that God is altogether independent of all things. He is not enhanced
by any or anyone. None give him more excellent
knowledge or power. He is not added to or sustained
by anything. He is singular and independently
free from all entities. Or as A.W. Pink states, he is
solitary in his majesty, unique in his excellency, and peerless
in his perfections. What God says will stand and
will not fail. He has said. Genesis chapter
9. Genesis chapter 9. I still remember
using this illustration with our daughter. She was growing
up. We loved to see the rainbow. Oh, how we loved to see the rainbow
after rain. We'd run outside. Look to the
east and we would see a rainbow Genesis chapter 9 and verse 17
and God said unto Noah This is the token of the covenant which
I have established between me and all flesh that is upon earth He said and starting back in
verse 8 of the same chapter God spoke unto Noah and to his sons
and with him saying, I behold, I will establish my covenant
with you and with your seed after you and with every living creature
that is with you of the fowl, the cattle, the beast of the
earth, from all that go out of the ark and every beast of the
earth, I will establish my covenant with you. Neither shall all flesh
be cut off anymore by the waters of a flood. Neither shall there
be any more a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, there
we go. He has said, this is the token
of the covenant which I made between me and you and every
living creature that is with you for perpetual generations. I do set my bow, the rainbow,
in the cloud and it shall be for a token of a covenant between
me and the earth. And it shall come to pass when
I bring a cloud over the earth and the bow shall be seen in
the cloud, I will remember My covenant, which is between Me
and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the water shall
no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." Now, I don't want
to get political here, and I'm not going to get political here,
but I am going to say something. There are those today who say,
the temperatures are going to raise, and then the flood levels
are going to come up, and it's just going to... Not going to happen. Why? God
hath said. God spoke it, He said it, and
He says we, He says all flesh. All flesh. I don't think the flood levels
rise are going to end all flesh. Nope. God said it right here. Deuteronomy chapter 18. Deuteronomy
chapter 18. And verses 15 through 18. Deuteronomy 18. The Lord thy God will raise up unto
thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren like
unto me, and him He shall hearken according to all that thou desirest
of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of assembly, saying,
Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let
me see this great fire any more that I die not. And the Lord
said, unto me, they have well spoken
that which they have spoken. I will raise up them a prophet
from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words
in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command
him." The promise of the Messiah. God hath said. And he confirms
this in Psalms chapter 2 and verse 7. You don't have to look
there. And if you just read the Gospels, we know that Christ
came. We know that Christ came. Again,
God has said that He would bring forth a Redeemer of men's soul. He would bring forth the substitute
would be provided, sustained and maintained by God Himself.
And as I said, all we need to do to confirm this is read the
four Gospels that God is telling the truth and would lie not.
Salvation will be had. Sinners, like you and I, can
find forgiveness with God. And that's only through His dear
Son. Or put another way, it's only
through the balm in Gilead. There is balm. There's healing
salve in Gilead. Or put another way, there's salvation
in a kinsman redeemer. One like us, like He says, will
be raised like us. Next of kin. Near kin. To redeem
or buy back. his people from their sins. Put
another way, we do have a Jacob's Ladder. I remember as a little
kid hearing this in Bible class, and I was just like, what is
it? In Methodist church, of course, nothing was being said there.
I remember the story, but it just doesn't make any sense.
Until God opens the book, and we see people climbing up to
heaven. not by Babel, not by their own
will, their own works, their own way, but upon, upon that
ladder, upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and what He is, and what He has
done, and only because He has done what He has done. Jacob's
Ladder. In another place, he's called
David's Lord. Why? The Lord hath said. He hath said. Well, I have this
other question. What else has our sweet Sovereign
stated for our comfort and for helps in times of need? Look
at these scriptures. Now, there's a bunch more, but
these are wonderful. Isaiah chapter 31. Isaiah chapter
31. How do we know that we're going
to endure to the end? Because He doesn't lose any one
of His sheep. How do we know that this book is correct? Because
we've seen what God has said that it was. All throughout the
history of what we would call the history of man. God has purposed,
He has decreed, and it's another phrase in Scriptures, as God
has said. You know, all this has taken
place. In the Kings, in Chronicles,
He said all this has taken place as God has said. as God has said. Isaiah 31 and verse 4, let's
read one through four. Woe to them that go down to Egypt
for help, and stay on horses and trust in chariots because
they are many, and horsemen because they are very strong, but they
look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord.
Yet he also is wise and will bring evil and will not call
back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers
and against the help of them that work iniquity. Now the Egyptians
are men and not God, and their horses flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth
shall fall, and he that is hoping shall fall down, and they all
shall fail together. For thus hath the Lord spoken. Like unto the lion and young
lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called
forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor
base himself for the noise of them. So shall the Lord of hosts
come down to fight for Mount Zion and for the hill thereof. For Mount Zion, the Lord has
said, he has said that he will be our protector. He will be
our defender, our shield, our exceeding high tower. I, says our King, our Lord, will
fight for you. He will not be afraid of their
voice, nor abase Himself for the noise of them. God has said. God has said. Isaiah 58. Matter of fact, I remember, oh
my, it had been probably 30 or something years ago. I remember
Palestinians in Israel, you know, they're always fighting. You
know, it's Esau, Ishmael, and Isaac, always fighting, always
going to fight. And I remember somebody, I don't, the president
or secretary of state, I just remember like it was yesterday.
I can't remember the names. I can't remember the Israel prime minister.
He's gone. But they said, what gives you
the right to say this is your land? And he actually opened
up a Bible and said, God has said. Of course, nobody, well
that's just your, no, God has said, I'm gonna give this land
to the people. I just thought that, we was like, all of a sudden,
what? Yeah. Yes. Isaiah 58 verse 14. verses 13 and 14, If thou turn
away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my
holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight of the Lord honourable,
and shalt honour him not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine
own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, then shalt thou delight
thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high
places of the earth and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob
thy father for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. The Lord has said. He has spoken
to us in this passage of feeding us, bearing us up, sweet communion
with our lovely Lord Christ So let us feed upon Him, upon His
Word. Let us feed together as we gather
together, as we meet in fellowship. It's all around and all because
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord hath said it. He's not
saying if you do this, I'm gonna do this. His people do this.
His people honor and glorify Him. And He's in our forefront
of our mind. And therefore He hath said, I
will feed you, bear you up, I will have sweet communion with you.
I will abide in you." Because He has said. Not because
we do, but because He has said. Joel chapter 2. It should be around Amos. Joel chapter 2. verse 26 through
32, Joel chapter 2 verse 36, I'm sorry, verses 26 through
32. And ye shall eat in plenty, and
be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God that
hath dealt wondrously with you, and my people shall never be
ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in
the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and none
else, and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come
to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also the servants
upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit, and
I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, fire,
and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into
darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible
day of the Lord come. and it shall come to pass that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the
Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." This
is all going to take place because He said it. He said it. He hath said He will save He
will keep, He will deliver those for whom He foreknew, or in New
Testament terms, foreloved. And when I'm going through this,
I'm asking myself, how can this be so? How can God be just and
justify the ungodly? How can God clean someone who
was born of woman? Because He never changes. He
never alters. And the thing which comes out
of His mouth is, above all else, true. So, if somebody says something
to you, and it caused you to doubt your salvation, or the
flesh, or the Satan, or whoever attacks you, that's why On Wednesday
nights, we're going through the promises of God. You take those
promises that He has given you, you specifically, personally. He's writing checks. You take
that, it's specifically in your name, and you cash it. Spurgeon, which we'll see later
on, he even goes so far as to say, underline them and date
them in your Bible. Now, my study Bible at home has
got a bunch of dates on them. And if I'm looking at something
or whatever, I'll go through my study Bible and look, oh,
the Lord gave me a promise. I remember what that was about.
And it's just all, stuff just, it flies away. Doubt, anguish. But he says this in James, in
Joel, I'm sorry, chapter 2. Let's look at 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians chapter 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 6, starting
in verse 14, 15 and 16. Be not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? And what communion with light
with darkness? And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? And what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For you are the temple of the
living God. As God hath said, I will dwell
in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people." Now that's a quote from Leviticus 26. As God hath said, He has promised
to dwell in us and enable us to please Him and agree with
Him and follow after Him. We agree with Him on what He
says about Himself. Totally sovereign. Totally in
control. We totally agree that none can
stay His hand or say unto Him, what are you doing? We totally
are in agreement with Him on what He says about us, and our
sin, and our corruptions, and our vileness. But we also know
that He came into the world to save sinners from their sins.
We totally agree that it is Christ and His substitutionary work
for us. We agree with what this book
says about that He died a third day. On the third day, He rose
from the grave, led captivity captive, and is now seated at
God's right hand because the work is finished. It is finished. We totally agree with this. God
dwelling in man, wonder of wonders, O beloved. Truly, this is good
news. Why? Because David said it. His son, who was the wisest man
that ever lived. A preacher said it. If he said it from the Word.
God hath said. And lastly, Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. Verse 5, let your conversation
be without covetousness, and be content with such things as
you have, for He hath said, Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ,
God the Holy Spirit, all three in one in the Trinity, I will
never leave thee nor forsake thee. It was God the Father who
chose, God the Son who died, and God the Holy Spirit who quickens.
There are all three involved in salvation. I will never leave
thee nor forsake thee. Let me read what the Amplified
says. This is good. For God Himself
has said, I will not in any way fail you, nor give you up, nor
leave you without support. I will not, I will not in any
degree leave you helpless, nor forsake you or let you down,
or relax my hold on you? Assuredly not." Now that's an
expanded version of what the Greek is supposed to say, but
he has said, I will never. That is not at all, in any case,
it's a double negative, and that's added for further strength. Amazing
grace! What amazing love! What amazing
keeping mercy! Now, how does this do the believer
any good? How does this do anybody any good? Maybe God's got His
hand on you and He's beginning to do something. Flee to Him. He has it. But to the believer, Can we not
simply take Him at His Word? We do other people's words. Husbands,
wives, or our co-workers, if they say something to us, we
sometimes foolishly will believe everything they say. But God,
what He says, it's guaranteed. Absolutely guaranteed. So I say,
away with thee, O unbelief! Take wings of flight, doubt! hide yourself murmuring, and
come near peace, come near hope, and come hear eternal consolation,
all because He hath said. Flee to Him with these words
of refuge. Satan may accuse Your neighbors may accuse, and
yourself, the worst, may accuse you. Stand and say, by God's grace,
He hath said. And as I said, God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Spirit. And what is Ecclesiastes? A three-fold
cord? It's not easily broken, and in this
case, Never. No, never. No, never. May the Lord bless and honor
the preaching of His Word. Bruce, would you close this please?