While you're turning to the book
of 1 John, I want to read something to you. When I got in my office
this morning, the very first thing that I read was a letter
from a dear lady in deep trouble of soul. This is what that heavy
laden soul wrote to me. Dear brother Don, I know that God will save his
elect. and only his elect. But Mr. Fortner, I'm terrified that I'm
not one of them, and I don't know what to do. I have not slept
through the night for nearly six months now, constantly waking
up in the night and so afraid. Much of the time, it's very hard
for me to pray, and when I do pray, It feels like I don't pray. My eyes have turned into a fountain
of tears, and I literally feel as if I could be crushed under
the weight of depression and fear and pain that I'm feeling
in myself. On top of that, I'm bombarded
with blasphemous thoughts, and I'm continually fighting against
them and praying and confessing them. I hate them, but they plague
me and I feel hopeless and helpless. It feels like I'm two people,
that I'm fighting myself, fighting my own thoughts and impulses
and feelings. I'm really scared. I don't know
what to do, but I'm really terrified. I'm terrified of not being in
Christ and of dying in my sins. I'm terrified that he has cast
me away, that he will not have mercy on me. I'm terrified of
not being his elect. What can I do? Now, I can't tell
you how many times in the last 40 years I have read those words
in correspondence or heard those words almost identically expressed
by people all across this country and around the world. Everywhere
I go, and I'm preaching somewhere almost every week, I run across
someone who has similar care and heaviness in their souls.
So tonight I want to try, if God the Holy Spirit will enable
me, to answer this question with simplicity and clarity from the
word of God. My text is 1 John chapter 5,
and the question is this. How can I know that I'm one of
God's elect? Now, let's begin with this. We
know that there is an elect people in this world. Thank God for
electing love. Our Lord Jesus said, ye have
not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you. Were it
not for God's election, nobody would ever be saved. There are
some people in this world who must and shall be saved. They
are called God's elect, a people loved of God from everlasting,
loved freely, loved eternally, loved immutably, loved in Jesus
Christ the Lord who must be saved. Our Lord Jesus Christ lived on
this earth in perfect righteousness and died upon Calvary's cursed
tree, as our brother just sang, in the room instead of those
elect people. He redeemed us with his precious
blood. For those elect people, for them
and them alone, there is redemption. For them and them alone, there
is forgiveness. For them and them alone, salvation
is certain. Christ redeemed God's elect. He laid down his life for his
sheep. The Spirit of God will call them,
everyone, at the appointed time. the time ordained of God from
eternity, under exactly the right circumstances as arranged by
divine providence, each one of those chosen, redeemed, immoral
souls shall be regenerated and given life and faith in Jesus
Christ, called to him effectually, irresistibly, made willing in
the day of his power to come to him, believe him, and receive
him. My question is this. How can
I know that I'm one of God's elect? How can I know that Jesus
Christ died for me? How can I be certain that I had
been born again, called, regenerated by God the Holy Spirit? Now I
want us tonight to look into the word of God here. And I want
you to see and see clearly that there are certain infallible
witnesses by which believing sinners may be assured of a saving
interest in Christ. The scripture does speak of drawing
near to God in the full assurance of faith. I know that all of you at one time or another
Probably all of you, many times through a day, struggle with
this matter. The full assurance of faith. How on this earth can I have
such? Not just talk about having it. Not just have it right doctrinally. How can I know that I'm one of
God's elect? Here in 1 John chapter 5, The
Apostle John shows us who the children of God are in this world.
He gives us, by divine inspiration, certain indisputable, infallible
witnesses by which believing sinners may know they have eternal
life. In fact, if you look at verse
13, he tells us this is the reason I wrote this epistle. This is
the reason this whole book of 1 John was written. These things
have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. This whole
book was written, not just the book of 1 John, this whole book
that you hold in your lap was written to and for you who believe
on the name of the Son of God. And it is written specifically
here, John says, that you may know that you have eternal life.
Let's back up to verse 1. Now listen to this marvelous,
profound statement, so simple in its statement, so profound
in its breadth and depth that very few people can get hold
of it. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of
God. Now, Brother Don, it can't be
that plain. Well, let's see if it is. Whosoever believeth Not
whosoever has made a profession, not whosoever once believed,
but whosoever believeth. Not whosoever believed this morning,
whosoever believeth, present tense, continually believeth. Do you believe on the Son of
God? I didn't ask you how strong your
faith in Him is. I didn't ask you what you know
about Him. I didn't ask you do you believe
in the doctrines of election and predestination and divine
sovereignty. You can go to hell believing
those things. But you can't go to hell believing on the Son
of God. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. And every one that loveth him
that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. The sinner who believes in Christ's
atoning blood is justified from all things and saved by the grace
of God. Yet sin within remains. When
vile corruption rise, then Satan tempts us to despair and God's
free grace to despise. Our flesh with him agrees and
says we cannot be partakers of God's saving grace, and yet such
sinners be. But faith looks out of self. And trust in Christ alone. Our
hope is not in what we do, but what our Lord has done. His blood
and righteousness, the anchor of our souls, assures us in the
teeth of sin, free grace has made us whole. John's statement
is so emphatic, anyone in the world Any man, woman, or child,
old or young, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, anyone who believes
that Jesus, that Jesus revealed in this book, is the Christ,
the Christ promised in this book, is born of God, not shall be,
is. If right now you find yourself
believing on the Son of God, It is because you are born of
God. Did you hear me? Oh, God help
you now to believe Him. Believe on the Son of God. And if you can, it's because
you are born of God. Do you trust Christ? If you do,
you're born of God. Your faith in Christ is not the
cause of you being born of God, but the evidence of it. That's
what Hebrews 11 1 says. And the fruit of faith is love.
All who are born of God love God and love one another. Now,
having said that, listen carefully. Our love for God and our love
for one another is so shallow, so fickle, so sinful, that we
dare not presume to think that our love for God or love for
one another is any basis of assurance. It is not. How do you know that
you're born of God? Well, I love Claire Sheridan.
Well, that doesn't mean anything. That doesn't mean a thing. I've
got some folks who love me who don't know God from a gourd.
That doesn't mean a thing. And my love for Claire Sheridan
ain't much. And my love for my Redeemer is even less to brag
about. No, no. Love, brotherly love, love for
Christ, love for God, love for His Word, love for His gospel,
His people, His worship. Those things certainly accompany
faith, but they are not the basis of our assurance. Read on, verse
2. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we
love God and keep His commandments. Now, how on earth do you know
that you love God and love His people. Well, I just have a sweet,
oozy, gooey feeling in my soul when I hear the name Jesus. No.
Look back in chapter 3, verse 23. We know that we love the children
of God when we love God and keep His commandments. And did you
know all His commandments are one commandment? All of them are one. You keep
all of them when you keep one. And if you don't keep this one,
you keep none. This is His commandment that
you should believe on His Son. How do you know you love God
and love His people? I believe His Son. I believe
His Son. Love is made manifested by words. No question about that. My love
for my wife, however, is not revealed to me by the things
I do for her. If your love for your wife has
to be made known to you by the things you do for your wife,
if I were your wife, I'd find somebody else. My love for my
wife is not made known to me by the things I do for her, but
my deeds of love reveal my love for her to her. You understand
the difference? Sure you do. And our love for
God and his children is revealed by our works. Not to us. It's not made known to us. No. It's revealed to them. Made known
to our brethren. A lot of times people start talking
about assurance. Start pointing to their love
for the Lord and their love for God's people and their deeds
and their outward works and say, now, as long as you have these
things, now you can have some assurance. But if you don't have
these things, then you can't have any assurance. All right,
let's try that pseudo. Let's try to stretch out on that
bed for a little bit. Now, just exactly how is it you
love God? Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how
I wish I did. how I want to. My love for that lady right there
is not sufficient. We're in a basis for faith and
assurance to give me confidence for God. And be honest with yourself.
Don Williams, what did you ever even think about wanting to do? It's sufficient for that. Works-based assurance is nothing
but self-righteous assurance. It is nothing but presumption
and arrogance and the promotion of self-righteousness. No, no. John's not making our works a
basis of personal assurance. He's telling us that God's people
identify one another by their faith and love. Look at verse
3. For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments, and His commandments do not grieve
us. Love for God obeys Him. No question about that. Love
for God obeys Him with a willing heart. No question about that. But John is not, unless I'm mistaken,
and I don't think I am, talking about our love for God. He says here, this is the love
of God. This is the love of God. This same love of God. by which we are born of God,
by which we were chosen of God, by which we're redeemed by God,
the love of God is made known and revealed in giving us this
faith, which is the keeping of his commandments. All right,
read on, verse four. For whosoever is born of God,
or whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world. Now, I'm
certain of this. That which is born of God can't
die. Those who are born of God shall
be triumphant. If you and I are born of God,
we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. And we shall overcome
Satan, the God of this world. We shall overcome the lust which
are in this world, the religion of this world, the cares of this
world, and the trials of this world. Not possible that we won't. If something gets you before
God takes you home, it's because you've never been born of God. If something gets me before I
leave this world and enter into glory, it's because I never was
born of God. That's just simple fact of plainly
revealed truth. I talked to a dear friend yesterday
This lady had been professing faith, sitting under the gospel,
25 years. Got sick, noses dying, and ran
off to Campbellites, got them to baptize her. And he was, a
pastor called me and just devastated. If you're in the grip of God's
grace, he won't let you go. And if you can leave him, it's
because you never knew him. That's just the simple reality.
Verse 4 again, and this is the victory that overcometh the world,
even our faith. Oh, I've got strong faith in
the Lord. She got such strong faith. We
know they'll be all right. That's not what he's talking
about. Faith, drawing strength from Christ. works wonders on
this earth. Read the 11th chapter of Hebrews,
subdues kingdoms, stops the mouths of lions, receives the dead from
the dead raised again to life. Faith in this world works wonders.
And that faith drawn straight from Christ persistently and
ultimately overcoming the world is our faith. God's gift to us, yes. God's
gift to us by all means. The operation of his grace in
us, yes. But our faith. Oh, you dare not say that. Well,
let's see if I can make good sense of that. Watch this. Whose break you reckon that is? Watch again. I know this is difficult. Whose breath? My brother John,
that's your breath. It sure is. It sure is. Now,
I couldn't breathe without God giving me breath. God created
the breath in me. God pumps the lungs every time
I take a breath. But it's still my breath. And
the faith by which we believe is God-given, God-sustained faith. But it is your faith. Your faith. Verse 1, John said, whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And he assures
us that faith produces both love and good works. But he draws
us away from our love and our good works as the ground of our
assurance. Our confidence is not the victory
of our love or the success of our works, but the triumph of
our faith. Because Christ, the object of
faith, is triumphant. Faith resting on him alone also
is triumphant and victorious. John's laying the foundation
for confidence. He's laying the basis for assurance.
But in order to do so, he must show us that it is not in ourselves. It is not in our experience or
our emotions or our knowledge. It's not in our works. It's not
in our feelings. It's not in our doings. Our assurance
is in Jesus Christ, the Lord, and Him alone. My hope is built
on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not
trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Verse 5. Who is he that overcometh
the world? Well, look at this. Look at this. He that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. Who shall ever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And who's going to overcome
the world? Going to overcome the lust of
the flesh, and the lust of the world, and the power of Satan,
the prince of darkness in this world, and all the cares of this
world, and the trials and assaults that go on from within and without.
Who shall overcome? He that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. There's not faith in myself or
faith in my love or faith in my works or faith in my faith
that overcomes the world, but rather faith in Christ. The singular
basis of assurance then is faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord. Now, sometimes people talk about
faith. both blasphemers who know they're
blasphemers and religious folks who are real blasphemers. And
they say faith is a leap in the dark. You just have to launch
out by faith. You just have to take a leap
of faith. And not knowing where you're
going to land, just take a leap of faith. And that's what it
is to believe on God. No, not at all. Faith is the
reasonable response of an awakened heart. to the revelation of God. Now listen to me. That's worth
remembering. Faith is the reasonable response
of an awakened heart to the revelation of God. If we rest our immortal
souls on the merits of the man Jesus Christ, trusting that he
is indeed the son of the living God, We must either have undeniable,
irrefutable reason for doing so, or we're absolute fools. If we rest our souls on the fact
that Jesus, the man, is the Christ, the son of the living God, we
must have irrefutable reason for doing so, or we're fools
to do so. The Lord Jesus here is given
before us in plain statements such reasons to believe in. In
verses 6, 7, and 8, God the Holy Spirit gives us a reason to believe. Now you remember that under Mosaic
law, everything that was raised as an issue of law in Israel
had to be established by two or three witnesses. One man's
testimony was never sufficient. If a man's on trial, his guilt
must be established by two or three witnesses. And in any reasonable
court of law today, anything must be established by two or
three witnesses, witnesses giving the same account. Now it's tough to find two or
three witnesses who give you exactly the same account of anything.
But here we have three witnesses given with regard to the three
vital issues of faith. First, in verse six, we have
three witnesses to the deity, to the eternal Godhead of Jesus
of Nazareth, that man who was born at Bethlehem 2,000 years
ago and died upon the cursed tree as the sinner's substitute.
We believe that man, the carpenter's son, is the Christ, the Son of
God. Why? What's the basis of our
faith? This is he which came by water. Now, if you want to, I'll tell
you other reasons to say this after the services if you're
curious about it, but the word water, as it's used by John,
almost universally, when John uses the word, refers to the
word of God. This is he which came by the
word, by the scriptures, and blood, even Jesus Christ, not
by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the spirit that
beareth witness, because the spirit is truth. Now here is
the witness of the word, the blood, and the spirit. We believe
that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God, because
he came in exact accordance with everything written in this book. I challenge you, go through the
Old Testament scriptures, read just the prophecies Not even
including the more detailed, perhaps the ones that aren't
crystal clear. Just read the prophecies that
clearly have reference to the coming of Christ. That clearly
have reference to the last day. That clearly have reference to
the Messiah. Go back and read them. Every
one. Mark them down on a piece of paper. And I defy you to put
them all together and find any other person in history of whom
those passages all must speak. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
one who came in fulfillment of all the types, all the prophecies,
and all the promises of the Old Testament, and fulfilled them
all at one time. At one time. The scepter will
not depart from Israel until Shiloh come. That is, the Jewish
nation. Way back in Genesis 49, the prophecy
was made that the Jewish nation would stand as a political, civil
nation until Christ came. In fact, there would be civil
law in Israel until Christ came. Our Lord Jesus Christ came. He
said, before this generation dies, this place will be turned
upside down and there'll be no nation here. And it came to pass.
Bethlehem, Ephrathah, is the place of his birth, exactly according
to the prophets. The Old Testament types? My soul,
what pictures they were of our Redeemer. The ark that Noah built
by which he saved his family under the direction of God. What
a picture of our Redeemer. God brought him into the ark.
God poured out His wrath on the ark. Noah endured all the fury
of God's wrath at one time by which the whole world was swept
into hell. and it never touched him because
he's in the ark. That's Christ Jesus our Redeemer.
And so it is with every Old Testament title. All the promises, all
the prophecies in Scripture. The Old Testament plainly spoke
of our Lord's incarnation and virgin birth. spoke of his willing
submission and obedience to his father, spoke of his betrayal
by his own familiar friend, spoke of him being wounded in the house
of his friends, spoke plainly of him being made sin for us,
suffering God's wrath for us until he was at last forsaken
of God and slain by the sword of divine justice, and spoke
plainly of him rising again the third day. All the Old Testament
scriptures then speak of him. We know that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, because he came by the witness of the word, the
water. And we know it because he came
by blood. This is he which came by water
and blood. Even Jesus Christ, not by water
only, but by water and blood. Had the Lord Jesus met every
other requirement. Had he fulfilled all the law,
every jot and tittle, had he met all the prophecies head on
and said, this is what the prophets told me about, I'm fulfilling
it. Had he done all those things and lived in perfect righteousness,
even as God incarnate in human flesh, if that's all he did,
he's not the Christ and we still look for another. We still look
for another. Oh, no. He of whom the prophets
spake, God in human flesh, must die as a man, shedding his life's
blood as a willing sacrifice for sinners to redeem us from
the wrath of God and the curse of his holy law. The Lord Jesus
claimed to be the Son of God. He demonstrated his power as
God. Then he proved it. by sacrifice. In the Old Testament, in the
tabernacle and later in the temple, in the Holy of Holies was the
Ark of the Covenant. Over the Ark, the mercy seat.
On each end, the cherubs facing one another, wings touching one
another as they looked down continually facing one another, but looking
continually on that mercy seat, which was the place of atonement
where God said, there I will meet you on the mercy seat. Because
there the blood continually was that which represented sacrifice
and the atonement of our Savior covering completely obliterating
the broken law of God and rising up from that mercy seat, there
was a light, a light that shone and hovered over the tabernacle
all the days in the wilderness, giving the children of Israel
light by night and a cloud of covering and protection by day.
And that light was called the Shekinah, the glory, the glory. What's that? God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ, our crucified Redeemer. That's the only place
where God in all the fullness of His being, in all His glorious
majesty, in all His attributes, in all the wonder of His goodness,
grace, justice, and truth is revealed. That's in the crucified
Son of God. And we know that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, because the Spirit bears witness to His
deity. It is the spirit that beareth
witness. I love that word, beareth. I've
told you this many times. One of the great beauties of
our old King James is this, those ETH endings on verbs. You can't
get that in any form of modern English. It implies that which
is continual. It is the spirit who perpetually,
without ceasing, bears witness. Bears witness of what? Bears witness of Christ. John
the Baptist spoke of the Lord Jesus, and he said, I didn't
know it. Now, he knew who he was. He was his first cousin. He knew who he was. He said,
I didn't know it. But he who sent me said, When
you see the Spirit descend and abide on Him, that's it. And John said, I saw the Spirit
and he bore witness of Him on the day of Pentecost. The prophet
spoke of a day, a day when the king, David's son, would sit
upon David's true throne and rule over all flesh. Spoke of
the Messiah, the king of Israel. When he was in throne, he said,
when that happens, God will pour out his spirit. And when it happened
on the day of Pentecost, those Jews who were still looking for
the Messiah, they said, these fellows are drunk. He said, boys,
it's just 9 o'clock in the morning. They ain't had time to get to
the liquor store yet. No! This is what Joel said was going
to happen. Watch. And so it continues to
this day. The Spirit beareth witness to
the deity and dominion of Christ. And it does it by the preaching
of the gospel. convincing sinners, chosen, redeemed
by him, that he has the power as God, the God-man mediator,
to give repentance and the forgiveness of sins by himself. Every believer there knows with
absolute assurance that Jesus Christ is God the Son, that Jesus
Christ has accomplished redemption. I can walk around this room,
and for every one of you who had the least glimmering light
of hope and faith, of this I'm certain, not one of you has a
question about what I've just told you. Jesus is the Christ. He is the Son of God. But knowing
that and knowing I'm His is two different things. So second,
look at verse 7. Here are three witnesses to the
accomplishment of redemption by Christ. There are three that
bear record in heaven. Bear record of what? Bear record
that Jesus is the Son of God? No. Heaven needs no evidence
of that. These three bear record in heaven
that God has given us eternal life, that he has done it in
strict accordance with his just, righteous law, by the merits
of Christ's obedience, and his death is our substitute. Now
here's the record. There are three that bear record
in heaven. The Father, the Word, here speaking about the Lord
Jesus himself, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are what? God
the Father bears record that redemption is accomplished. How'd
he do that? Let me give it to you just briefly.
You remember in John 17, our Lord Jesus said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify
thy son with thine own self, with the glory which I had with
thee before the world was. Before the world began. God. put all things in the hands of
His Son as the God-man mediator, our covenant surety. And now
when He has finished the work of redemption, He says, Father,
glorify me with that glory that I had with You before the world
was. That is, give me this glory manifestly. And so the Father has seated
Him in His own right hand, giving power over all flesh to give
eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him. How could
that be done? When He, the Spirit of Truth,
has come, He will convince you of righteousness. How does He
do that? How can you be dead, dead sure,
Matt Vincent, that He fulfilled righteousness perfectly? How
can you be absolutely sure? Because I'm going to my Father.
I'm going to my father. I couldn't go if I hadn't finished
all I came here to do. I couldn't go if I hadn't fulfilled
all righteousness. I couldn't go to my father if
I had not put away sin by the sacrifice of myself and brought
in everlasting righteousness for my people. I could not, as
the God-made mediator, go back to my father. The father received
his son. And he says, hear me, heaven
and earth, Redemption is done. Iniquity has been put away. Righteousness has been established. My people are redeemed. God the
Son, the living eternal Word of God, He who was forever from
the beginning with God and was God, without whom was not anything
made that was made, the second person of the Holy Trinity, bears
record. of our right to eternal life
by his perpetual advocacy and intercession. He is the propitiation
for our sins. The blood of Jesus Christ, his
son, cleanseth us from all sin. I love it when God throws a monkey
wrench in theological systems. I hear others say, well, we've
got to get this right. Sid was all put away at one time
at Calvary. You're right, it was. It was.
But he's still putting it away. Is that what the book says? He justifieth us? His blood cleanseth
us from all sins? Not in the court of heaven, no.
But in our own consciences, continually cleansed because his blood Continually
bears witness in heaven as our advocate, if any man sin. These are some of the sweetest
words in all the book. We have. Isn't that amazing? We have. Have you sinned? Are you sinning? My brother,
my sister, oh, if you're sinning now, you've got to despair. You've
got to start checking up on yourself. People actually have folks convinced
they don't really sin. Once in a while, they make a
few mistakes. Let me tell you something. Sin is what you are and what
you do all the time in your best state. While you're sitting here
right now trying to worship God, the reason you have so much trouble
is because you're so full of sin, just like the one preaching to
you. Well, what do you do if any man sin? Despair of hope. Oh, no, bless God. If any man
sin, we have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ, the
righteous, and He is the propitiation, the justice appeasing satisfaction
for our sins. Not just yours and mine, but
for His people all over the world. And God, the Holy Spirit, the
third person of the Sacred Trinity, bears record of the same thing.
He bears record of it by graciously sprinkling our hearts with the
blood of Christ, giving us faith in Him. He shall take of mine
and show it to you. Let me see if I can put that
in shoe leather. How often have you, my brother,
my sister, endured such desertions of soul, such blackness and darkness within, such a keen sense of corruption, depravity, vileness, that the very thought of standing
before God calls you to hang your head with utter dismay and
shame and fear. You cry, how can one such as
I be born of God? And then God the Holy Spirit,
by His Word, sweetly, graciously, sprinkles your heart afresh with
the blood of Jesus Christ. And in your soul, you hear God
declare by His Word, your sins are gone. Did you hear what Jesus said
to me? They're all taken away. Your sins are pardoned and you
are free. They're all taken away. And you stretch yourself out
on this bed and you rest. And you wrap your nakedness in
this clothing and you warm yourself. Because the witness of God is
greater than the witness of men. And then In verse 8, John speaks
of three witnesses of our saving interest in Christ. I'll just
give you the highlights, have to fill it in another day. And
notice the order that's given. The witnesses to Christ's deity
are first the word, then the blood, and then the spirit. The
witnesses to redemption and its accomplishment are first the
father, then the son, and then the spirit. The witnesses to
our saving interest in Christ are first the spirit, and then
the word, and then the blood. And there are three that bear
witness in earth, the spirit, the water, the word, and the
blood. And these three agree in one.
Why that order? Because that's exactly how it
is experienced. The spirit comes in saving power,
gives life to the dead sinner. And he takes the word, the word
of the gospel, and causes you to hear the gospel of your salvation. I had heard one way or another
all my life that Jesus Christ died for sinners. I had heard
it all my life one way or another. And at last I began to have some
sense of my sin. And I knew Jesus was the Christ,
that he died for sinners. I understood that. I understood
that. Didn't have any question about that. I was absolutely
sure of that. But I didn't have any idea of what grace and salvation
was. And one day, just as surely as the father
in Israel took hyssop and a bowl of blood in his hand, and painted
the doorpost and lintel of his house with the blood of a paschal
lamb, and said to everybody in that house, stay inside. Judgment's
over for you. God the Holy Spirit, from inside,
painted the blood of Christ on my soul and said, judgment is
over for you. And it's done. And it's done. the Spirit, the Word, and the
blood. And these things are written
that you may know, that you may know that you have eternal life. Oh, may God write them upon your
heart for Christ's sake. Amen. Thank you, Don.