Today I would like you to turn
in your Bible to the book of 1 Samuel. 1 Samuel chapter 21. You get your Bible and you follow
along if you'd like to. 1 Samuel chapter 21. And let's
read verse 8 and 9. 1 Samuel chapter 21 verse 8. David said unto Ahimelech, there
is not here, and is there not here under thy hand spear or
sword? For I have neither brought my
sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required
haste. And the priests said, There the
sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley
of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod.
If thou wilt take that, take it. For there is no other save
that here." And David said, now here's the phrase I want to camp
on today, and here's the phrase I hope God will impress on your
heart this morning. David said unto the priest, there
is none like that, in reference to that sword that he used to
cut off Goliath's head, there is none like that, give it me. Now when David was on the run
from King Saul, He fled to the priest of God to find shelter,
to find food, and to find a weapon to defend himself. David fled
the kingdom without any weapons to defend himself. The priest
gave David shelter and bread to eat, but he had only one sword
in the temple. This priest couldn't supply all
of David's men with swords. He only had one sword in the
temple. It was the very sword that David
had used to cut off Goliath's head some time back. David, knowing
the soundness of that weapon, David had used that weapon and
David knew that it was a good weapon. He knew the soundness
of the weapon. Knowing that, he said, there
is none like that sword. There is none like that. Give
it me. Now, I think we can make good
use of that saying in reference to the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is none like that gospel.
There is none like the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of
God's grace, the gospel of His glory, the gospel concerning
His dear Son, Jesus Christ. There is none like that gospel.
I say, give it to me. Now, here's three things I want
you to remember. In regards to His written word,
there is none like that. Give it to me. Consider who the
author is. Consider who the author is of
this Word of God, of the Bible. All Scripture, 1 Timothy 3, 16
declares, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. All other
books, now listen to me, all other books are written by sinful
men. The Bible was written by our
holy God. Peter declared, for the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man, it wasn't the invention
of men, but holy men of God spake as they were moved, as they were
driven by God the Holy Spirit. In regards to his written word,
consider who the author is. There's none like that. God himself
wrote this book. God Himself preserved this book
and has given it to us. Consider the subject of His Word. Consider the subject of the Bible.
In Acts chapter 10, verse 43, we read, To Him, to Jesus Christ,
to Him give all the prophets witness. What other book contains
such a glorious revelation of God's gospel, of God's Savior,
of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. What other book has such
a glorious subject as salvation through a substitute, Jesus Christ? The written Word powerfully bears
testimony to the living Word, Jesus Christ, who He is, His
glorious Person. Listen to this scripture, without
controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest
in the flesh. Who is Jesus Christ? He's God
Almighty manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit. This Word of God, the Bible,
gives testimony to the person of Jesus Christ. But not only
His person, but also His work. His name declares His work. Savior,
Jesus, the angel from heaven declared, call His name Jesus. He shall save His people from
their sins. He is what He's called. He is
the Savior of God's elect chosen people. So you consider this. The author of it, there's none
like that. The subject of it, there's none like that. And the
third thing, how about the effects of this Word? The effects of
God's Word. Listen to this scripture, Hebrews
4.12, the Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any
two-edged sword. The Word of God is living and
powerful, it's alive. It's sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing, piercing even to the dividing asunder soul
and spirit. The Word of God is soul-quickening. James 1.18 says, "...of His own
will beget He us with the word of truth." It's heartwarming.
You remember those two men that walked on the road to Emmaus
with the Lord Jesus Christ? And they made this statement.
They said one to another, did not our heart burn within us
while He talked with us and while He opened to us the Scriptures? The Word of God has a powerful
effect upon the believer. It's soul quickening. It's heartwarming. And my friend, it's life-giving.
Being born again, Peter said, not of a corruptible seed. That's
how I was born in Adam, tainted with sin and iniquity. But we're
born again of an incorruptible, incorruptible seed by the Word
of God which liveth and abideth forever. Therefore I say, there
is none like His Word, the sword of the Spirit of God. There's
none like His Word, give it to me. Give it to me that I may
believe God. Give it to me that I may grow
in grace. Give it to me that I may see
Jesus Christ as everything in salvation and to know and to
realize that the believer resting in the Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely
saved, redeemed, and complete, justified from all sin. In regards
to His Word, there's none like that, give it to me. The second
thing I want to bring to your attention this morning, in regards
to His salvation. Can't we say this? In regards
to God's salvation, that there is none like that, give it to
me. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is not what we do for God. Salvation is what God has done
for the sinner. God totally purposed God purposed
salvation. God planned salvation. Salvation
is of the Lord. God purposed who He would save
and how He would save them. You listen to this scripture
in Ephesians chapter 1. I invite you to read this along
with me if you have your Bible there, Ephesians chapter 1. Verse
3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
had blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly in
Christ, according as He had chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy without blame, before
Him in love. You see, my friend, God in eternity
chose whom He would save. That's what election is all about.
It simply means God chose whom He would have mercy upon. Ephesians 1 verse 5 says, "...having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the
praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted
in the Beloved. Now we see who did the choosing.
God did. God chose us. We didn't choose
Him. And we also see when He chose us. He chose us before
the foundation of the world. And we see why He chose His people. According to the good pleasure
of His will. And we see where He chose them.
He made us accepted in the Beloved. He chose His people in the Lord
Jesus Christ. In regard to this salvation,
can't we say there is none like that? Give it to me. God freely
chose whom He would save, sovereignly chose whom He would save, and
He also chose how He would save them. In Ephesians chapter 1,
again verse 7, it declares, "...in whom we have redemption through
His blood." the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of His grace. The Lord Jesus Christ came as
a sinner's substitute, as a representative man, and He put away the sin
of God's people. He appeared once in the end of
the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. My friend,
there is no other atonement for sin. By one offering, He hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified, those whom He has
chosen. There's no other way sinners
can be justified but by His grace freely, by His grace through
the redemption that's in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore
I say, there is none like that gospel, there is none like that
salvation that's freely given of God. God chose whom He would
save and God chose the means and how He would save them through
the substitutionary shedding of the sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ, shedding His blood on behalf of those people that
God gave Him in eternity. Therefore, I say, there is none
like that gospel, there is none like that salvation, give it
to me that I may be saved from all my sin. Give it to me. Now,
notice I said, Lord, give me salvation. Salvation is not earned. It's not merited. Salvation is
a free gift of God. We stand before God as mercy
beggars. We come before Him as mercy beggars,
like the publican in the temple. Lord, God, have mercy on me,
the sinner. I say, give it to me, Lord, that
I may be justified from all my sin. Give it to me, Lord, that
I may be glorified with the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the third
thing I want you to remember this morning is this, in regards
to faith, faith, there is none like that, I say, give it to
me. In Hebrews 12, 2, we read, It is impossible to please God. Without faith, it is impossible
to please God. Romans 1 17 declares, The just,
those who have been justified, shall live by faith. Saving,
real, genuine faith is not the product of a frail, fallen, depraved,
sinful creature. Faith is not a product of the
flesh. Faith is a sovereign gift of God. It's God-given faith
that saves. You listen to the Scripture in
Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9. For by grace are you saved. How is the sinner saved? By grace,
through faith. That's how this grace and this
salvation is received, by faith. And that, he says, not of yourself. It is a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. Faith is God's ordained means
whereby sinners receive the Lord Jesus Christ as everything in
salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is my wisdom,
my righteousness, my sanctification, and my redemption. In the Lord
Jesus Christ, we are complete in Him. Christ is all, and He's
everything in salvation. Now listen to me carefully. Faith
does not produce salvation. Now you heard me right. Faith
does not produce salvation. Faith simply receives the Lord
Jesus Christ who is salvation. My faith didn't die for my sins. My faith is not my Savior. The
Lord Jesus Christ died for my sins. The Lord Jesus Christ is
my Savior. My friend, therefore I say before
God, Lord, there's none like that, there's none like that
faith that's God-given that lays hold of the Lord Jesus Christ
who is salvation. Therefore, I say there's none
like that. Give it to me. Give it to me that I may believe
God. Give it to me that I may receive
the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Master and Savior and bow
to Him and love Him and own Him as everything in my salvation. Give it to me, my friend. This
faith, God-given faith, Lord, give me faith that I may rejoice
in the Lord Jesus Christ and have absolutely no confidence
in the flesh. Now, if you would like a copy
of today's message, you write to me, and I'll send it to you
free of charge. My address is Church 6088 Zebulon
Highway, Pikeville, Kentucky, zip code is 41501.