Would you turn for a moment to
John chapter five? And while you're turning there,
tonight I'm going to be preaching on Saul, the people's choice. Saul, the people's choice. John chapter five. Verse 39. These are the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and it says, search the scriptures, or you search
the scriptures, for in them, the scriptures, you think you
have eternal life. And they are they, the scriptures,
they are they, which testify of me. Every scripture testifies of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And every day of creation testifies
of the Lord Jesus Christ. If all we see in the creation
is the creation, We've not really understood what the Bible is
speaking of when it speaks of creation. Now, in the beginning,
God, Jesus Christ, is the beginning. The first day, there was light.
He is the light. The second day, heaven was made. He is the Lord of Heaven, the
place from which He rules. The third day we have the dry
land gathered in one place and the plant life coming from that
one place actually before the sun. The sun didn't come along
to the fourth day and what a gospel message we have in the sun and
the moon. But it's so significant that
before there was sunlight and the process of photosynthesis,
we had plant life. And that lets us know that all
life is dependent upon God, the independent God. Whatever kind
of life it is, the life that you have, the breath that you
just took, God willed it. You and I are in complete dependence
on an utterly independent God who has no needs. I love thinking of him like that.
He said, if I was hungry, I wouldn't tell you. The cattle upon a thousand
hills are mine. Now, the third day begins like
all the other days of creation. And God said, and it was so. Don't you love the divine majesty
of that? God said, and it was so. I love Hebrews 1.1, God, who
at sundry times and diverse manners, spake unto the people by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son.
Christ is the Word. Christ is the manifestation of
the mind of God. Christ is God. In the beginning
was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. When God speaks, he speaks the
Word. Now listen to this statement
real carefully. Christ crucified is the expression of the mind
of God. I couldn't say anything more
true. Christ crucified is the expression of the mind of God. Now look in verse nine. And God
said, let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto
one place and let the dry land appear. And it was so. And God called the dry land earth,
and the gathering together of the waters called he seas, and
God saw that it was good. Now, the earth was covered with
water. God gathered the land out of
the seas in this one place. Not two, not seven different
continents. There was one place of dry land. And I mean, even in grade school,
you learned about tectonic plate shifting. And there was one time
there was only one continent. And it's spread through however
long, I don't know. But the point is, there was one
place. One place. There was one sea. one place. And from this one
place, as we go on reading in verses 11 through 13, life appeared. Plant life, but life nonetheless
from this one place. Now, if I don't preach the gospel
from this, I've not really understood creation period. It's one thing,
you know, there are people who fight for creation and The seven
days and all the things and they've got a down pat But do you see
the gospel? Do you believe the gospel that
is the issue remember that scripture? John chapter 5 verse 39 you search
the scriptures and in them you think you have eternal life if
I can just learn how to live from this book I've got eternal
life and they are they including Genesis 1 They are they, every
one of them, which testify of me. Now, this gathering together,
first of all, was in one place. From this one place, life came
forth. There is one place, listen to
me, there's one place of God's blessing. One place. There's one place
from which life comes forth. Paul said, blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings. How many? All. In heavenly places
where? In Christ. Turn with me for a
moment to Ephesians chapter one. I just quoted a verse from there,
but I'd like you to see this. I think Paul was thinking of
this scripture when he made this statement in Ephesians chapter
one, verse 10. Ephesians 1.10, that in the dispensation
of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one,
just like the land was gathered together from the sea, he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven and which are on earth, even in him." I believe Paul
had this Genesis 1 in mind when he made this statement. Now,
think about this one place. When God flooded the earth in the days of Noah, there was
one place of safety, only one. Everybody in the ark was saved
completely. Everybody outside of the ark
was drowned. No exceptions to this rule. One place. You know that ark
is Christ. That's why this is given to us. To teach us of God's salvation
being in this one place. When God passed through the land
of Egypt to destroy the firstborn, there was one place of safety
in the house with the blood over the door. That's the only place. If you were outside of the house
with the blood over the door, the firstborn without exception
was destroyed. You could hide Deepest cave of
the earth and if you were the firstborn outside of the house
with the blood over the door You killed What was God looking for this
is so important he said when I see the blood Not when I see
your faith, not when I see your good intentions, not when I see
your efforts. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. One place, one land, one continent
that life came from. When the manslayer was seeking
protection, when he slain a man and the avenger of blood was
coming after him in the Old Testament, there was one place where he
was safe. the city of refuge. As long as he was in the city
of refuge, he was safe. Now, if he walked outside of
the city of refuge, he was fair game for the manslayer. He had
to stay in the city of refuge. I love what Paul said in Philippians
chapter three, verses eight and nine. He said, oh, that I may
win Christ and be found. Notice the language. That I'm in Christ and be found
When God comes looking for you Where would you like to be found?
Well, I know what my flesh is when Christ comes back wouldn't
you like to be found reading the Bible? or maybe witnessing Christ comes
back and you're in the midst of witnessing to somebody and
tell them the gospel or Christ comes back and you're resisting
temptation? Oh, wouldn't you like to be found
like that? Paul said, no, no. Only one place I want to be found,
in Him. When He shall come with trumpet
sound, oh may I then in Him be found, dressed in His righteousness
alone, faultless to stand before his throne. Now this is what
Paul called the simplicity that's in Christ. The onlyness, the
wholeness, the completeness that's in Christ. And this is where
he said, I fear less by any means as Satan beguiled Eve through
his subtlety. So your minds should be corrupted
from the simplicity, the onlyness of Christ. Now what's involved
in the onlyness of Christ? Well, think of this. There's
only one reason for election, Christ. according as he hath
chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world. There's
only one place of righteousness, in him. When Paul said, oh that
I may win Christ and be found in him, the Lord said next, not
having my own righteousness. I don't want to have anything
to do with that, because I know it's nothing more than filthy rags. Not having
my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith. There is only one source of life. Him. He said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. His life is the life of the believer
before God. Tell me about your life. We'll
read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The life of Christ is my
life, is my righteousness before God, united to him. There's only one way to the Father.
He said, no man cometh to the Father but by me. There's only
one sin payment. Turn with me for a moment to
Exodus chapter 30, beginning in verse 11. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel,
after their number, when you take a census, then shall they
give a man, every man, a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when
thou numberest them, that there be no plague among them when
thou numberest them. Do you remember when David numbered
the people and this plague came? Why? Because he didn't number
them according to the scriptures. and take the atonement money.
People were considered as God's people apart from the atonement,
and that brought the plague and judgment of God upon them. The
only way I can consider somebody, myself or anybody else, God's
people is through the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
let's go on reading. Verse 13. This they shall give everyone
that passes among them that are numbered, half a shekel after
the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel is 20 giras, and half
a shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. Everyone that passeth
among them that are numbered, everyone included in this census,
from 20 years old and above, shall give an offering unto the
Lord. Now look at this, verse 15. The rich shall not give more,
and the poor shall not give less. Then a half a shekel, when they
give an offering unto the Lord to make an atonement for their
souls, And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children
of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle
of the congregation, that it may be a memorial unto the children
of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.
Now, when they made the tabernacle, you remember those silver sockets
that everything was put on that held up the tabernacle? It was
the atonement money. The atonement of the Lord Jesus
Christ is the very foundation of salvation. and everyone had
the exact same price. Rich, poor, didn't matter. There's
one, it's the blood that maketh atonement for the soul. Everybody
is saved the same by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ only.
That's the only way of forgiveness. One place of forgiveness. There's one place of acceptance.
Ephesians 1.6 says, he hath made us accepted in the beloved. There's one ground of faith,
the word of God. There's one object of faith,
Christ only. There's one ground of assurance. Now how many times in the course
of a day do you question, even if you really are a believer,
how many times in the course of a day do you question whether
or not you're saved? How could I be saved if I committed
that sin? How could I be saved if I committed
that sin habitually? How could I be saved and think
such horrible, wicked, evil things? How could I be saved? Now, every one of us has some
time where that doesn't go through our mind, probably daily. Somebody
says, not me. Well, me, me. And when I think that way, I'm
saying if I If I didn't do that, then I could have assurance of
salvation. You know what that's called?
Self-righteousness. The great enemy of our soul. Self-righteousness. There's one ground of assurance. If you can look at your life
and think, I must be saved. Look how holy I am. Look how
good I'm doing. Well, you've missed Christ altogether.
That's not faith in Christ, that's faith in yourself. There's one
ground of assurance. It is finished. There's one message to preach.
Paul said, I've determined not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And if I can't preach the gospel
from any aspect of creation, I don't really understand creation
in the first place. Turn with me for a moment to
Ephesians chapter 4, looking at this issue of one, one place. Somebody says, well, I don't
see the gospel in that text. It's there. Whether I see it
or not, I know the meaning before I know the meaning. The scriptures
testify of Christ. Now look here in Ephesians chapter
4, verse 4. There's one body, speaking
of the church. Well, aren't there a lot of different
churches? Well, there's a lot of different local churches.
I'll grant that, but they all believe the same thing. They
don't have different beliefs. There's one body, the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ that he gave himself for. There's one spirit, God the Holy
Spirit, who teaches every believer, who gives every believer life,
and he teaches them all the same thing. He gives them all the same life. Even as you're called in one
hope of your calling, there's one hope. You're begotten again
unto a lively hope, a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. Now listen to me, here's my hope.
When he was raised from the dead, God accepted everything he did,
and he accepted me for his sake by what he did. That is my hope.
My hope is that Christ lived for me. My hope is that Christ
died for me. My hope is that Christ was raised for me. My
hope is that Christ is interceding for me. My hope is that he's
coming back for me. Christ Jesus is the one hope. There is no other hope. There's one Lord. the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of creation. He's the cause of the creation. Creation is his will being done.
He's the Lord of providence. Everything, everything is his
will being done. Now you can have problems with
that if you want. I don't, I like it that way.
I wouldn't want it to be any other way. He's the Lord of salvation. Salvation is His will being done. Of His own will begat He us through
the word of truth. There's one faith. It's called
the faith of God's elect. The acknowledging of the truth,
which is after godliness. You know, every believer believes
the same thing. They look to Christ only. There's
no conflict there. Every believer believes salvations
of the Lord. There's one faith Called the
common faith. I like the way called it the
common faith that which is common to all that which every believer
possesses there's One Lord one faith. There's one baptism baptism
by immersion Any other Kind of baptism denies
what baptism means in the first place. Baptism teaches us of
union with the Lord Jesus Christ. When he lived, I lived. When
he died, I died. When he was raised, I was raised. The gospel
is in that. There is one baptism. There is one God. The one God who's revealed in
the three persons of the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. God as it is revealed in the
scriptures. There's one God, Father of all, who's above all,
through all, and in you all. Now in this one place, the place
of forgiveness, the place of acceptance, this is a glorious
thing to think about, in this one place. One place. There's a glorious meeting. In this one place, there is a
glorious meeting. Listen to this scripture from
Psalm 85, 10. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed one another. in this one place. In this one place, God is completely satisfied. He's not looking for anything
else. He, I am satisfied. In this one place, the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God says, I'm satisfied. And through this one place, he
looks at this man and he says, I'm satisfied with him. I'm not
looking for anything else. He's perfect. And you know who else finds satisfaction
in this one place? Every believer. I am satisfied. I've said this I think last week
or a couple, I'm not satisfied with myself. I won't be satisfied
until I awaken his likeness. Scripture says that, Psalm 17,
15. But I am so completely satisfied to be saved by him where he gets
all the glory. I like Him getting all the glory
because He deserves getting all the glory, and I like Him getting
all the glory because if He doesn't, that means something's expected
out of me, and I can't handle that. I love Him getting all
the glory. That means He did it all. That
means I'm complete in Him. This one meeting place, the Lord
Jesus Christ. The earth was gathered into one
place. There was one place and one seed. Now, go back to Genesis
1. Verse 11. Now God saw that this one place
where there's dry land, one place where there's sea, he says, good.
And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding
seed and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind. Now that's
key, after his kind. whose seed is in itself upon
the earth, and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass,
an herb-yielding seed, after its kind, and the tree-yielding
fruit, whose seed was in itself after its kind. And God saw that
it was good, and the evening and the morning were the third
day. Evolution says that all life
has a common ancestor. Out of that first life form,
we have insects, reptiles, animals, men. Men came out of the primate
species. All life forms came out of that
one original life form. And that's taught as fact. For one thing, it's a theory.
It's not a fact. And for another thing, the Bible denies it. You
can't believe the Bible and believe in evolution. Now, somebody says,
I believe in God and believe in evolution. Well, I didn't
say that, did I? I didn't say you can't believe in God and
believe in evolution. I'd say many people who believe in evolution
believe God started it. A lot of them are atheists. I
realize that. But you can't believe the Bible and believe evolution. Everything came out of its kind. The apple tree brings forth apples. Not tomatoes, not bananas, apples. Somebody says, what came first,
the acorn or the oak tree? The oak tree. That's an easy
one to answer. What came first, the chicken
or the egg? The chicken. The chicken. What kind of, when an animal
gives birth, he gives birth to the same kind of animal, doesn't
he? The cat doesn't give birth to a dog. It doesn't happen.
After his kind, the seed in itself. Now, in the first gospel promise,
we read of the seed of woman, bruising, crushing. the serpent's
head, not the seed of Adam. Christ didn't have Adam's corrupt
seed. You see, a seed only brings forth
that which is like itself. Adam was not, I mean, Christ
didn't have Adam's corrupt seed. Let me read you scripture, Luke
chapter one, verse 35. You can turn there if you want.
And the angel answered, Luke 1.35, and the angel answered
and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God. Not Adam's seed, the power of
the highest. God only begets that which is
of His kind. Somebody says, well, was there
a time Christ was begotten? a begotten Son of God, the only
begotten Son of God. This beginning is eternal. Thou
art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Well, that happened a thousand
years before the birth of Christ. It's an eternal beginning. Somebody
says, explain that. I can't. I just believe it. He
is always the expression of God, the only begotten Son of God. The Son of God is eternal, equal
with the Father because He is God, the only begotten Son. Turn
with me to John 3 for a moment. I'd like you to turn with me
here. John chapter 3, remembering this principle that you only
beget after your kind. John chapter 3. There was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus. a ruler of the Jews, the same
came to Jesus by night. Now some have said it's because
he didn't want to be identified with him during the day when
his buddies would see it. That may be, but what this tells
us more than anything else is Nicodemus was in utter darkness. He had no spiritual light. He came to the Lord Jesus Christ
by night. and said unto him, Rabbi, we
know that thou art a teacher come from God. Well, he speaks
with some confidence, doesn't he? I'm sure the Lord appreciated
that affirmation. We know you're a teacher come
from God. We know. I mean, the evidence
shows this. The things we see, for no man
can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him.
Jesus answered and said unto him, implied in this Nicodemus,
you don't know anything. You say we know, you know nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
except a man be born again, born from above, he cannot, he is
unable to see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how
can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter the second time
into a mother's womb and be born? You see, he understood what he
was saying naturally. How can that be? Verse five, Jesus answered, verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of
the spirit. Now, water represents the word.
Ephesians chapter five speaks of the washing of water by the
word. This is the word of God. A man
is born again by God the Holy Spirit taking the word and revealing
Christ of his own will. Begat he us through the word
of truth. There's no spiritual begetting
apart from the word of truth. Being born again not of corruptible
seed, Peter said, but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth
and abideth forever. This new birth comes through
the word of God, the seed. Now look in verse six. This is
what I want to really emphasize that comes out of Genesis one.
That which is born of the flesh is what? Flesh. It can't rise above what it is. What will flesh beget? Flesh. sinful, corrupt, evil flesh. It can't rise above its source. That's one of the reasons why
thinking men have anything to do with salvation is so corrupt.
Believing in free will or works or whatever comes from the flesh
can't be anything but flesh. If God leaves me and you to ourself,
you know what we're gonna produce? Sin, that's it. That which is
born of the flesh cannot rise above its nature. and that which
is born of the spirit is spirit. Remember this principle of after
his kind, the spirit begets after his kind. You see, if you're
a believer, you've been begotten of God. Somebody says, what's
that mean? That means you've been fathered
by God. As many as received him, to them
gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them which
believe on his name, which were born. Not of blood, not because of
your association with some other human being, not of the will
of man, not because a bunch of men got together and said, we're
gonna pray through until you get saved, not of the will of
the flesh, not as an act of man's free will, of God. You know, we read of the seed
in Genesis 1 and after it's gone. The scripture says a seed shall
serve him. The seed, his seed. Turn with me to 1 John chapter
3. Now, Verse nine. Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin. Do you sin? Now come on now. Do you sin? different versions of this, it
says, whosoever is born of God does not practice sin. Oh? Would that describe you? Do you sin? Now it says, whosoever is born
of God does not commit sin. No sin. No sin. You see, God the Spirit can only
beget that which is like Himself. Could Christ sin? No. I've heard preachers say, well,
what was the big deal about Him resisting temptation if He couldn't
sin in the first place? That's foolishness. He can't
sin. He's impeccable. He's immutable.
If He could sin, that means He could mutate. He could change
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. Christ can't
sin. God the Holy Spirit cannot sin. God the Father cannot sin. That
which is begotten of God sinneth not. The new nature does not
sin. Somebody says, I don't understand
that. Well, I understand what the word
of God says. I can't look at myself and say, well, in that
area, I didn't sin. No, because I still have an old
nature. And both natures are coming out. There's one consciousness.
And so you never, in your experience, say, well, I didn't sin there.
But we know by faith that the new nature does not commit sin. That's what it says. And I realize
that people argue against that. That's what it says, he does
not commit sin. How come? For his seed remaineth
in him and he cannot sin. He lacks the ability to sin.
That's the new nature. Likes the ability to sin because
he is born of God. That which is born of God cannot
sin. Look in 1 John 5, verse 18. We know that whosoever is born
of God sinneth not. That which is born of God, whosoever
is born of God, the new man, sinneth not. But he that is begotten,
birthed of God, fathered by God, keepeth himself, and the wicked
one toucheth him not. Now, do you remember when the
Lord said, you know, the prince of this world has come and has
found nothing in me? There's nothing he could grab onto. You know, when he was trying
to tempt the Lord to sin, it ain't gonna happen. There's nothing
he could, how much of your flesh can he grab onto? He'd turn you inside out, never
which way but it's loose. Me too. Easily. It's called fallen
flesh. But just this new nature, Satan
can't touch. There's nothing for him to grab
on to. Now, do... Two natures. I've got a nature
that's completely sinful. Just as bad as it ever was. And
I know that's so. Somebody says, not me. Well,
you're just blind then. You don't have a holy nature,
because if you had a holy nature, you'd understand what a sinful
nature you have, the old man. But that which is born of God
is after his kind, the seed that begets the life of the gospel. Now, no one, listen to this statement,
that it's born after its kind, no one, is born again who does
not hear the gospel. Error cannot produce life. False religion cannot produce
life. Works religion cannot produce
life. The only life-producing seed
is the gospel. Now here's my closing statement.
With that being said, if there's no spiritual life without the
gospel, the issue at all times is, what is the gospel? That has to be addressed every
time the gospel is preached. What is the gospel? I love the
simplicity of this. Paul says, moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you the gospel. So we know this is the gospel.
It's how, 1 Corinthians 15, 3, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures. Not just that Christ died for
our sins, but how that he died for our sins according to the
scriptures. The Old Testament scriptures,
I've already quoted one. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. That's how Christ died for our sins, according
to the scriptures. How did Christ die for our sins? Who's the our?
The elect. If you say he can die for somebody
and they wind up in hell anyway, I know where I'm going. I'm going
to hell. My only hope is that his death is complete. How did
Christ die for our sins? Why did he die for our sins?
My sin became his sin. He bore them in his own body
on the tree and put them away according to the Old Testament
scriptures. The only thing that begets spiritual
life before God is the gospel of God, the gospel of Christ. May the Lord enable each person
here to believe the gospel. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name that we might be born of you
through your gospel that we might be enabled to glory in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. That we might be enabled to be
just as satisfied with being saved by Him as you are satisfied
with Him. Lord, how we thank you for this
great meeting place where mercy and truth are met together, and
righteousness and peace kiss one another. Oh Lord, what great
assurance we have that all that you require of us is found in
that great place where righteousness and peace kiss one another. How we thank you for the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, be our teacher, deliver
us from teaching ourselves or being taught of men, but, oh,
that we might be taught of God. Bless this word for Christ's
sake. In His name we pray. Amen.