What time is it? It's time? OK. All right. It's good to see you
all out this morning. Remember those who requested
prayer. Fred's been, his cancer's come back in all those places
where it wasn't before. They're going to start him on
some different type of medication this coming Tuesday. So remember
him in your prayers. Seek the Lord's help for him,
the others who requested prayer too. Seek their help. Happy birthday to Eric Barrett
this week. And then we'll begin our worship series with hymn
number 255, Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine. Blessed assurance, Jesus
is mine. ♪ Oh, what a foretaste of glory
divine ♪ ♪ Air of salvation, purchase of God ♪ ♪ Born of His
Spirit, washed in His blood ♪ ♪ This is my story, this is my song
♪ ♪ Praising my Savior ♪ This is my story, this is my
song ♪ Praising my Savior all the day long ♪ Perfect submission,
perfect delight ♪ Visions of rapture now burst on my sight
♪ Angels descending from above. Echoes of mercy, whispers of
love. This is my story, this is my
song, praising my Savior This is my song. This is my story. This is my
song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect's no mission. All is at rest. watching and waiting, looking
above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love. This is my
story, this is my song, praising my Savior, This is my story, this is my
song, praising my Savior all the day long. After scripture
reading and prayer, we'll sing hymn number 249. If you have
your Bibles, turn with me please to the revelation of the Lord
Jesus Christ, chapter 22. I really want to read verses
18 and 19. For I testify unto every man
that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book. If any
man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues
that are written in this book. If any man shall take away from
the words of this book of prophecy, God shall take his part of the
book of life and out of the holy city, and from the things which
are written in the book. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven,
we come in the name of Jesus Christ, our majestic, sweet,
and wondrous Savior, our substitute, He who stood in the room instead
of His people, paid their sin debt, redeemed them by His blood,
and was made to be their righteousness by imputation. We thank You that we can think
on such things as wretched sinners, and realize that our hope is
built on Christ alone and what He's done for us. And that's
the best hope. We have no hope in ourselves,
our righteousnesses, or our filthy rags. But we have a perfect hope in
Jesus Christ, who's the perfect offering unto you. that satisfied your law and justice,
propitiated you for our sins. We thank you, Father. We pray
for those who are sick, remember especially Brother Fred. As his
cancer's come back on him, we ask, Lord, you'd be with him.
Be with Arlene, she ministers to him, and be with those doctors
and give them the skills to find this new treatment that might
work for him. You know our hearts, Father.
You know we desire to be healed. We know that's not too hard for
you and nothing's too hard for you. We also know that you have
a will that is real and will be done and involves every one
of your creatures and is for the good of your children and
for your glory. So we bow to your wisdom in these
things and trust you. Help us to worship you this hour
in spirit and in truth. enable me to declare the gospel
of Jesus Christ clearly, cause me to say right things concerning
thee, help us all to bow down and worship Him who's worthy
of all praise and all honor. It's in that blessed name we
pray, amen. Just as I am without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidst me come
to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. just as I am and waiting
not to rid my soul of one dark plot to thee whose blood can
cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt, fighting's within and fears without,
O Lamb of God, I come. ♪ I come just as I am ♪ ♪ Oh, wretched
blind sight ♪ ♪ Wretched feeling of the mind ♪ ♪ Yea, all I needed,
need to find no less ♪ I come, just as I am now. We'll receive, we'll welcome,
pardon, cleanse, relieve. Because I promise, I believe. Let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, again
we approach in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our great
and glorious Savior, that wonderful, perfect gift that you have given
to all of your children, the unspeakable gift, and with him
you have given his people all things. that pertain to godliness
in life. We thank you, Father, that salvation
is in him. As we return unto thee that which
you've given us, let us do so with glad hearts, with thanksgiving
and praise. In his precious name we pray.
Amen. the the I invite your attention back
to Revelation Chapter 22. In this passage we find a solemn oath of the Word of God
concerning His Word and the Scriptures that were
written at this time and thereafter. God gave command here forbidding
anyone at any time to add a single word or to take a single word
from the Word of God. It is not your business. This
is God's Word. After the Old Testament was written,
He did not say anything for 400 years, no prophet came on the
scene for four hundred years, and then came John the Baptist
to proclaim the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. But after this book was completed,
according to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, after it was completed, not
one thing was to be added to it or taken from it. Now this
is repeated in the Word of God in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and
verse 2. Moses said, Ye shall not add unto the word which I
command you, neither shall you diminish aught from it, that
ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I
command you. Then in Proverbs chapter 30, next to the last
chapter of Proverbs, verse five and six says this, Every word
of God is pure. He is a shield unto them that
trust him. And add thou not to his words,
lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Here, as he
concludes the final revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, in
the most solemn manner possible, our Lord warns us that not one thing is
to be added to the Word of God. if I as a human being could actually
make somebody come to a conclusion and verdict about anything in
this world I would have them come to the verdict that we have
the Word of God and it is the Word of God and it's not to be
tampered with and your opinion and my opinion don't count whatsoever
In fact, the word in the original language for heretic, the first
definition of that is to have an opinion, to opine. We don't opine on the word of
God. We bow to it or we perish. Any who dare to add to this word
or take from it shall suffer the terrible wrath of God forever
in hell without mercy. This is no small matter, though
much of religion finds pleasure in playing fast and loose with
the scriptures. These are the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. He IS the Word, the Word who
was made flesh and dwelt among us. These are His words, and
here He displays the Holy Scriptures to us, exalting it to the place
of reverence and lifting it up high as it is written in the
Word of God, Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy Name,
in Psalm 138. The language is full of import
and warning. The message is that God regards
nothing more sacred, more valuable, and more worthy than His Word. He regards contempt for His Word
as a HIGH CRIME, CAPITAL CRIME, and WORTHY OF ETERNAL DEATH. This blessed thing that you have
in your lap, that you hold in your hand, this book that God
has so highly magnified, is INSPIRED. That means it is divinely breathed. Obviously there is a particular
and direct reference in this text to this final revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the last book of the
Inspired Canon, and it is of equal value and authority to
the other 65 that are written. However, because this book according
to divine providence brings holy writ to its conclusion, it is
reasonable for us to assume that the warnings of this text as
the last word on the subject embrace the entire Bible. The
Bible, every letter of it, is the Word of God, mandatory, complete,
infallible, and holy, a book to be revered, believed, obeyed,
and adored. Play where you will in this world,
but don't play here. Don't mess around here. You will
hear arguments, people will say, Well, there's so many different
versions. That's just the argument of an unbeliever. That's all
it is. God inspired this book. Think
of that statement. You will encounter nothing more
valuable, nothing more important in your entire life. This is
the Word of God. Though this is a matter of fact,
and glorious fact indeed, religion has turned this blessed book
into a book of moral mottos or self-help. That s not what this
book is. God breathed this book, and His
breath is His Son. He says that in Hebrews chapter
1, God who in old times spoken to the fathers by the prophets
in diverse and Sunday manners, hath in these last days spoken
by His Son, exactly the word as He has spoken in Son. It is
the foreign language that God speaks only to His people. that
nobody but those who have been made alive by Christ can understand. For the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit, they are foolishness to him,
neither can he know them nor discern them, because they are
spiritually deterred." The breadth of this book is a singular message
from cover to cover. Redemption by the blood of Jesus
Christ and salvation by His grace is the message of this Bible
from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. The scarlet thread that runs
through every page of this book and binds them all together is
the message of the blood propitiation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
He said to those who study the scriptures, you do study the
scriptures for in them you think you find eternal life, but they
are they which testify of me. And when he taught his disciples,
he taught them from the Old Testament and he took them to the prophets
and the law and showed that this book was about him. Look over
at Luke chapter 24. Here he is speaking to the disciples
on the road to Dumas. In Luke chapter 24, verse 27,
he says this, ìIn beginning at Moses,î whereís Moses? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy. ìIn beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, he expounded unto them in all scriptures the things
concerning himself.î Then look down at verse 44, And then he
said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you
while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled,
which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the Psalms concerning me. Then, after he had done that,
then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
Scriptures. Well, how do we understand the Scriptures? We understand
the scriptures if we understand that the scriptures are about
the Lord Jesus Christ. All the prophets gave witness
to him, it says in Acts chapter 40, 10 in verse 43. Gospel preachers are like the
woman who brought the box of ointment to open it, to anoint
Christ for his burial. When she opened the box, the
word says that sweet fragrance filled the room. It was an alabaster
box of spikenard ointment. They came into the house of God
with sweet fragrance of Christ, the preachers of the gospel,
and Christ crucified saturates the house. They had but one message
and they repeated it over and over again. We preach Christ
crucified, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Paul said,
I was determined to know nothing, or I am determined to know nothing
among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The Old Testament
declares that the Redeemer is coming from Genesis 1 all the
way through to Malachi. The four gospels and the epistles
tell us that the Redeemer has come and what He has done. And the book of Revelation promises
us that the Redeemer is coming again. This is all about Jesus
Christ. In fact, no one knows ANYTHING,
ANYTHING about salvation except by this book. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and it is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction,
and instruction that the man of God might be truly furnished
unto all good works. It has every question and every
answer in the matters of life and death and eternal life and
eternal death. If you want to know where And
how life began, we need only to read the Word of God. It began
with God. In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. Nothing was created that He did
not create. The truth of creation declared
throughout scriptures, unlike the ersatz theories of speculative
science and human philosophy, are in total agreement with one
another and cannot be refuted, though they can only be received
by faith. If you are interested in knowing
why the human race is so fouled up and so degraded, you need
only to read the Word of God. Read Genesis chapter 3, the fall
of humanity. We got into this shape through
the ruinous disobedience of our representative and our father,
Adam, the first man. For by man sin entered the world,
and death by sin. So death passed upon every man
in whom all sinned. In him the entire human race
died and canceled any possibility of spiritual understanding. From
him we all inherit a sinful nature. All human beings are born as
the children of Adam in spiritual death and ruin, unable to know
and understand spiritual things. Their hearts are depraved and
darkened at a thousand midnights, and they go forth in a womb,
as Scripture says, speaking lies, as soon as they are born. As soon as they are born. If
anyone wants to know the way out of this mess we are in, he
needs only to read the Word of God. Myanmar tries 10 million
ways to remedy situations. But let me tell you something,
no matter how hard people try, they're not going to be able
to change anything in this world. They're not going to be able
to make this world better. They're not going to make it
safer because this world is on a downhill run. God's remedy for man's ruin is
simple, it's singular, and it's absolute. It's His dear Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the sinner substitute, the last Adam, our
last representative, the man who represented us before God
and made us righteous in God's sight. By His obedience to the
law and the will of God as our representative, Christ brought
in everlasting righteousness to His people. which God the
Father charges to their account. He charged it. There is people
upon this face of the earth, upon the face of this earth,
whom God will never charge with sin. Who shall lay any sin, anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's Christ that died. It's God
who justifies. The Lord Jesus took upon Himself
the sins of His people. There's no way to fully understand
what that means. It says in in Isaiah chapter
53 that the sins were made to meet on Him. They were laid upon
Him. They were imputed to Him. And
He took the sins and He died in their place and in their room.
That means they were due death. They were supposed to die. They
should die. They deserved death. He did not
deserve any of that. But He took their sins upon Himself
and stood before God as their substitute and said, I will die
in their room and paid their sin debt, and the law and the
wrath of God was satiated and satisfied the justice of God
for their sins. Cursed is everyone who is under
the law, and he was made a curse for us. For it says, Cursed is
everyone that hangeth on a tree. The elect sinners will all be
born again by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. That's the
promise of Scripture. There's no other way of salvation
than Jesus Christ. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. All the things that attend salvation
are in Him. He's the faithful one and we
live by His faithfulness. The great salvation is freely
given to every sinner who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture
clearly says, for God so loved the world that gave His only
begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him hath everlasting life. If you believe this morning and
you're trusting wholly in the merits of Jesus Christ for your
salvation and none of your own, you're a believer and you're
one of the elect. And even the faith by which we
believe in Christ is the gift of God. We can't work up faith. It's not born in us. It's not
a divine spark that only needs to be fanned by religion. Faith
is a gift. What does that mean? Somebody
give it to you and you got it. That's what that means. By grace
we are saved through faith and that not of yourself. That faith
is not of yourself. It's a gift of God. Why? So you
wouldn't be able to boast as you come up with it. So no man
should boast. So the whole work of salvation
is by the grace of God and for His glory. The entire work of
salvation. From God choosing who He would
save in eternity past. For Christ becoming their surety
in eternity past. So Christ coming down into this
world and dying in their room instead and honoring God's law
and justice and satisfying God for their sins to the final revelation
of their full salvation and glory. All of it from pole to pole,
from stem to stern is the Lord Jesus Christ. How do I know that? Where did I get that kind of
information? Where did that come from? Did I get it in the public
library? Did I get it on the internet? get it right here. If you ever, anybody EVER knows
ANYTHING whatsoever about God, this is where they get it. People
say, Well, I don't believe in hell. Ask them, Where did you
hear about it? Where did you hear about hell? You don't hear about hell anywhere
but right here. This is where it comes from. It is GOD who
has revealed these things to men. All men know by nature inside
their heart that there is life after death. Everybody knows
that. They may say they don't, but I've sat at the bedside of
those who said they didn't. And hear them talk about wish
they'd done this better, and wish they'd done that better,
and wish it'd been better this and that. Why? Why would they
even care? If there's nothing going on after this, why would
they even care? Because everybody knows when
it comes down to the last breath, there's a reckoning to be had.
Everybody knows that! It ain't death they fear, it's
what comes after. How do we know anything about
that? All are conscious of that fact that there will be a reckoning. But should anyone want to know
what awaits him in eternity, again, he needs only to read
the Word of God. He's either going to perish in
eternal flames, I don't preach much about hell, because I'm
just depraved enough to make it sound like my own idea, but
it's not. It's God who revealed that these
flames are real. And if a person lives in eternal
glory, it's because of what Christ has done for him and his behalf. But listen, everybody here this
morning and everybody that walks upon the top side of this planet
is going to spend eternity somewhere. Somewhere. They are either going
to spend it in torments of the damned or in the bliss of the
redeemed, but they are going to spend it somewhere, either
in hell or in heaven. In the resurrection day, our
bodies and souls will be united. Explain that. I cannot explain
that. I am a human being, frail, finite. He is talking about infinite
things. I cannot get that. But I know
this. When we are united, our bodies
are united with our spirits. is either to eternal damnation
or everlasting righteousness, one or the other. And life is
only one place in this world. Christ is our life. Christ is
life. He's given authority over all
flesh to give eternal life to as many as God has given. But
if you live today, it's because He's given you breath. He is
life. How do I know? Where'd I come
up with that? This book. You don't have a life
without Christ. I know people in religion like
to say, well, won't you add Jesus to your life? What life? You're
dead in trespasses and sin. How do we know about life? How
do we know about it? This book tells us what life
is. Jesus Christ. The Bible is our
only rule of faith and practice. We have no right or warrant to
believe any doctrine that is not specifically taught in the
Bible, and we have no right to reject any doctrine that is taught
in the Bible. We have no right to practice
any form of worship that is not specifically taught in the Bible.
We have no right to reject any form of worship that is taught
in the Bible. It is the Bible that tells us these things. And
in this text, our Lord tells us that the Word of God is PERFECT!
You can add to it or take from it, then it is incomplete. It needs your help to get along.
When John wrote Amen at the end of verse 21, the Scriptures were
done. Complete, lacking nothing. It
is this perfection to which Paul makes reference in 1 Corinthians
13. He said, once the final word is coming, we won't need any
of the other stuff. As a revelation of God, the Scriptures
are perfect. There are many things about God
which are for the present time and perhaps for all eternity
hidden from us. I have been convinced for a long
time that I really don't want to know what God is doing at
any particular time. Because the things that occur
around me, sometimes I don't agree with at all. but I know
and I'm thankful that I'm not in charge of it or in control
of it. The secret things belong to God.
You can't by searching find him out. He's God and you're not. I think it was T.T. Shields who
said that a man would sooner empty the Atlantic Ocean with
a teaspoon as he would find out who God is. We worship Him in that awe and
reverence. The secret things belong to Him,
but what is needful for us, what is needful for our souls, is
revealed in this book. That's what it says in Deuteronomy
3, 29-29. The secret things belong to God,
but that which is revealed belongs to us and our children. We might
do the whole works of this flaw. There's nothing lacking in the
Word of God. nothing to be added to it, no additional visions,
prophecies, or extra-biblical revelations are needed, and none
are to be counted. If someone says to you, God told
me, don't listen to that person unless that person said, God
told me in his word. God's not speaking anymore. He's
spoken. The next time he speaks, it's
going to be a shout. It's going to be a shout and the sound of
a trumpet the next time he speaks. God has said what He intended
to say to this world and to His people. There are no extra-biblical
revelations. People like to talk like that
because they want to sound spiritual, but that ain't spirituality.
If it didn't come from this book, there ain't nothing to it. We need to be like old B.B. Caldwell
when somebody said, Well, I believe God did this and God did that.
He just said two words. Scripture, please. Scripture, please, show me in
the Word of God. The conclusion is plain, for
I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy
of this book, if any man shall add to those things, God shall
add to him the plagues that are written in this book. If any
man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part of the book of life. That is
not the book of the Lamb, The Lamb's Book of Life, that's life
itself. You'll die. And out of the Holy
City and from the things which are written in this book, any
alteration to this book is strictly forbidden upon penalty of death. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
If any man adds to the inspired writings, God shall add to that
man the plagues of eternal damnation. Man takes away from the inspired
writings, God shall take away from him all that he appears
to have, all life, all grace, all hope. The words of extreme
prejudice are employed here. God will not allow any man to
suppress or add a single word. This is the conclusion of the
matter. To leave out anything God has revealed or to add our
words to the Word of God would deny God's wisdom and claim equality
with Him. When people say, I don't believe
that, when the Bible is quoted, mark this down, they're not a
believer. Let's go ahead and say it. God's
people believe this book. They understand it from cover
to cover. We dare not modify God's law
Don't mess with God's gospel. Alter it and sign your death
warrant. Do not touch is emblazoned on this book. Sealed with seven
seals and can only be opened by Jesus Christ. No preacher,
no church, no denomination is allowed to mess with this book. The Bible. What you have in your
lap. Think about this. Think about
it, I mean really think about it. Bible is the words of God,
God's words to men. If you want to mess around with
other stuff, go ahead, bow to this or perish. Father bless
us to understand you, we pray in Christ's name, Amen. Thank you.