Stay tuned for Treasured Heritage, a preaching program spotlighting those servants who have gone on to glory. Isaiah 5417 says, this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. And now, Treasured Heritage. John, 1 John, I'm sorry, 1 John chapter 1, and we'll begin reading at verse number 1. Now this is written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by John the Beloved, who also wrote the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John was written that we may know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that believing on Him that we may have life eternal. 1 John is written that we may know that we're saved. Thank God it's real. Thank God it's real. All right, now as we begin to read, "...that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life. For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us." That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ our Father. Let this be an unusual meeting. May the Holy Spirit of God completely capture every heart, every mind. I pray for people in the radio audience that they will be saved this morning. I pray that people will be saved here. I pray that the saved people will have a new and fresh assurance of God-given salvation. Don't let anybody leave here deceived this morning. Don't let anybody listen to this message. and go away deceived, but let them know that they can say, thank God it's real. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. You know, I like the old songs, I guess. They say so much to us, and the more you hear them, the better you like them. I'm thinking of an old song that's got a verse in it that says, change and decay all round I see, but thou who changest not, abide with me. Don't you like that? I like something that's unchangeable. I like something that's fixed. I like something that you can depend upon. We're living in an age today where everything is trans-history. Everything is just for a little while. They say that the Americans enjoy anything for a while, but nothing for long. And that's the truth. You know, I saw a magazine yesterday, just out. I didn't read the story. I just saw the caption on the top of a magazine. and it said, the Beatles are a corpse. It was written by Paul McCartney, who was one of the original Beatles. I remember one time when they made the bold statement, more people know the Beatles than know Jesus Christ. Just a few years have gone by and now one of the members of it admit that the Beatles as a group are nothing but a corpse. Thank God when changes and decay all around I see, Thou who changest not, abide with me." Thank God it's real. And that's what John's telling us about. Salvation's real. God's real. Going to heaven's real. Everything that God says is real, and you can depend upon it. It's not transhistory. It's something that's real. Thank God for the absolutes. I don't believe in this thing of, you know, this situation's ethics now. In other words, nothing's absolutely right and nothing's absolutely wrong. It's according to the situation you're in. Now that's the teaching your boys and girls are getting in the public schools. Situation's ethics. In other words, whatever the situation calls for, that's the ethics you use. You do what the situation calls for. Sometimes you have to do a little wrong, they say. Sometimes it's hard to do right, but you do whatever the situation calls for. But beloved, I'm glad that the Bible's got some absolutes. There are things that are absolutely wrong, and there are things that are absolutely right. And God teaches us to know the difference. Thank God that's real. Thank God there's absolutes, and we can depend upon them. Now, when John is talking to us about life, he told us that life is real. I want you to notice something, if you will, in these first four verses. They ought to become part of your blessings for the week, they ought to be in your Bible reading, in your Bible devotions, they ought to be a part of it, these first four verses. Listen, first of all, he's telling us that the real life is revealed. Now, he uses the word manifest. He uses it through here many times. The word manifest, or manifested, simply means revealed. It means to make clear. It means to put it where we can see it. It means to put it on a level where we can understand it. And over and over he uses this word, manifested. It just simply means revealed. And in these verses, real life, that is the life that we can depend upon, is revealed. The Bible says in verse number two, there you notice, he said, for the life was manifested. For this life, this eternal life, this life that's real is made livable. It's made real so that you and I can see it and understand it. Did you know God reveals things to us? God's revelation is real to us in three ways. Number one, it's revealed to us by creation. I want you to notice, if you will, or just let me turn, and I'll read it to you. Most of you know it already, but I'm going to read to you from the book of Romans chapter 1 and verse number 20. Listen to what it says. for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." You see, the very creation brings condemnation to us. Every time the sun rises, every time that we see a tree, every time that we see a flower, George Kilmer waxed eloquent, I think, and when he gave us the beautiful poem, Entitled Trees, and he summed it up, he said, Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree. And every time we see a sunset, and every time we see a robin, and every time we hear a bird sing, every time we look about it, the invisible things, even the things that we don't see, the wind and the changing in the temperature, the fact that it gets cold and the fact that it gets warm, all these things are witnesses to God. They witness of His creation. And by His creation, therefore, He witnesses to us that there is a Supreme Being that regulates and adjusts all these things that we have today. Did you realize how many times God preaches to you? Did you know when you get up in the morning, God preaches to you? When you get up off of the bed, I think the Lord is saying, just as you got up off of that bed from a semi-comatose condition, that is, you were asleep, You got up off of that bed. You came to wait. The Lord says in you hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses and sin. You need a spiritual resurrection. He teaches you that the moment you get up off of that bed. Then you put on your clothes, and God is saying to you, just as you put on those clothes so that you'll be acceptable in society, God says you need a robe of righteousness. Or if you try to appear before God tonight a robe of righteousness on, and God told us about the wedding supper, and the man was cast out because he didn't have on the wedding garment, we must have on a robe of righteousness in order to appear in the presence of God. You look out of the window and see that it's light. And the Lord says, I am the light of the world. He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness. And then you walk in to wash your hands. And as you start to wash your hands, you see there's five fingers on it. And that speaks of the number of grace. You look at the joint of your finger as it folds up, and God again speaks to you. There is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Three joints in my finger, speaking of the Trinity of the Godhead. I take the water and begin to wash my hands with it. Even then, Jesus said, I am the water of life. God speaks to us that way. You go to the table and sit down, and as you sit down at the table and take the bread, Jesus says, I am the bread of life. Then your children come in and they say, Father, or Daddy, or some endearing term to you. And He says, when you pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven. And then when you go to work, you go out of the door and you say, I am going to work. Many times it's a tiresome, sometimes it's an awesome responsibility to go out to work because it's labor. It speaks of something hard and something strenuous. Jesus said, come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. And as you go out of the door, the Lord says to you, I want you to remember this, I am the door. As you go out, then you say goodbye. You say to your family, goodbye, I'll see you after work. God says, I've created a land for you, I've created a life for you where there's no more goodbyes. You go out and you start down the walk and God says to you, I've got a walkway in heaven that's paid with gold. I could go on and on and on. I'm saying before you ever get to work every morning, God has preached a Bible conference message to you every single time. His creation preaches to you. the very light, the very water, the very food that you partake of, everything about you. You can't move without God speaks to you. You can't listen unless God speaks to you. The creation speaks to you of your need of eternal life. Then secondly, the Word of God speaks to us. The Word of God tells us about the things of God. The Bible is called, it's Christocentric. Christo, it means Christ. Centric is center. Christ is the very center of this Bible. On all of its 66 books, they have to do with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament, as if a man standing, pointing his finger towards the cross, and he says, he's coming, he's coming, he's coming, and the full Gospel tells us that it's here and what all has happened. And then from the Gospels on, it's as if a man standing there pointing his finger, and our hands have handled of the Word of Life. of the Word of Life. Did you know over and over the Bible speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as being the Word? In John 1, again the apostle John, John the Beloved, was writing, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word. W-O-R-D. What does it mean? In the Greek it means the Logos. In our language and in our thinking it literally means the way that we communicate. I'm telling you what I have on my heart this morning through words. And God, in essence, speaks to us. The Word is the Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks to us through Him. If I want to know what God's like, I look at Jesus Christ. If I want to know what He thinks of sin and the false prophets, I look at the Lord Jesus Christ. I see Him as He goes with anger and fire flashing from His eyes, as He takes a whip and as He beats the men that are in the temple as they're changing the money and things of that sort, and Jesus beats them and drives them out. If I want to know what He thinks about people that are destitute and in poverty, I watch the Lord Jesus Christ as He goes to the little widow and gives her her son back. I see Him as He takes the brokenhearted and mends their hearts and fixes them up. I see him, he goes to men that are down and out, nowhere to go, not a friend in the world. He becomes a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. I see him in that sense. God speaks to me through his Son. He's the Word. He is the Word of God incarnate. That is, God took upon himself human flesh. And, beloved, you need to understand above anything else that Jesus Christ is not only the Son of God, but He is God the Son. And we need to understand He is God, the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, is what He is wanting us to see, the complete, absolute revelation that He has given us. Now there is God's revelation, John's revelation, and He gives us here in John 1. Look at the third verse here in 1 John 1. that which we have seen and heard declaring to you that you may also have fellowship with us." He's letting us know, and truly our fellowship was with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Here's what he's saying. Folk, I want to reveal to you, I want to make clear to you, there's only one way to have life eternally, and that's with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. That's the only way John is saying. That's John's revelation. That's his testimony. That's his witness. He's going on record as saying that is the only way that we can go to heaven. It's the only way that we can have anything that's real is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Then look, if you will, Chapter 2 and verse number 22 in 1 John. Again, he's saying here, in fact, he put it in stronger terms than most people like it, but John wanted to be sure you understood it. 1 John 2, verse 22, and he says, Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? Now, you need to understand the words again. The Christ means the anointed one. It means the ones that were sent from God. It means absolutely that God was coming into the flesh. And he says, if anybody denies that Jesus is God, if anybody denies that you need Jesus and anything else, he says, who is a liar? But he that denies that Jesus is the Christ, then he goes on and adds to you exactly what he is. He is anti-Christ. In other words, the word anti has two meanings. It means against, or it can mean instead of. We use antifreeze, as we call it. In other words, it's against freezing. Or instead of freezing, you put in ethylene glycol, which is, you know, the formula of the antifreeze. So he's saying they're offering you something instead of. They're anti-Christ. They're going to offer you something instead of Christ, who is God manifested in flesh, eternal life, complete and absolute. Paul says to us in the Word of God, he says we're complete in Him. You don't need anything else. Jesus is all we need. God manifested in flesh, and thank God that's real, brother. That's all we need is Jesus Christ. And when He reveals Himself to us, we need to understand it. Now look in chapter 4, same book now, 1 John, chapter 4, verse number 13. This is what He said, Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. There is no other Savior. The only Savior in this world is Jesus Christ. And I believe if the Northside Baptist Church would ever come to an absolute decision, absolutely in your mind, there is no other Savior apart from Jesus Christ. And you say, why did you say Northside Baptist Church? I wonder how many of you down in the innermost recesses of your heart still think that a Mohammed or somebody else in whatever religion, I'll not pick on one, Anything other than puts Jesus Christ as absolute God and the only means of salvation. I read the other day where I noticed Evangelist made a statement. I'm just saying what was quoted. I don't know that he made it. I've been misquoted by the press so much that I usually give them about 90% of the benefit of the doubt. But according to the article that I saw in the newspaper, this well-known Evangelist says, I don't play God anymore. He says, I believe that the heathen will somehow get to heaven. Now, beloved, he's contradicting everything the Word of God has to say. And John is saying, I want you to know that there's only one way. Look at him and what he said now again. He says, and he that has seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. It's a personal relationship with the Son of God, and that's the only way to have it. Look in chapter 5, verse number 20. Notice now what he says, And we know that the Son of God has come, and hath given us an understanding that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Now, do you hear what John's telling you, folks? That's not Methodist or Presbyterian or whatever doctrine, not even Baptist doctrine. That's the Word of God. He says the only way is through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, not only is this real life revealed, but this life can be experienced, as he tells us here in the Word of God. As you read those four verses, you will find that John indicates in there, listen to what he says, that which we have from the beginning, which we have seen, which we have heard, which we have looked upon, and which we have handled the Word of life. Now, he had a very personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, beloved, at least I feel that I can almost read your question. I know John did, but John was with him while he was alive. John saw Him physically. But beloved, let me make a very simple statement to you, but let me make a very positive statement to you. If Jesus Christ, if you and I could see Him physically, you wouldn't love Him any more or any less than you can love Him right now. Judas saw Him physically. Judas slept with Him. Judas ate with Him. And yet Judas sold Him out for thirty pieces of silver. There were many people who saw Him. There were ten lepers that were healed by Jesus. Only one came back to thank Him, and the other nine went on about their way. Seeing Him in the flesh would no more make you spiritual than you are right now. I believe that God can be nearer to us spiritually than He ever could have been physically. I was in the Holy Lands one time, and I was up before daylight. I stood out on the balcony, and I heard them calling the prayer. The Mohammed's called the prayer at four o'clock in the morning. And as I stood there, I looked down on those streets, a few people moving about, and I thought, my, what would it be like to walk down those streets and to meet Jesus? And the Holy Spirit of God rebuked me. He said, Son, you don't have to come to Jerusalem to meet Jesus. You don't have to come to Jerusalem to love Him anymore. The only thing you have to do spiritually, you draw near to the Lord Jesus Christ. And He's saying that, wants us to understand it. Now, he's wanting us to understand too that salvation, because it's of a gift and not of works, therefore the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't have to be present physically. It's a gift we receive by faith through Him. Let me turn, I'll read it to you briefly, from 1 John chapter 5. Verse number 1, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and every one that loveth him that begetteth loveth him also that is begotten of him. Now let me read it to you and I'll help you understand it. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. You don't have to have some science. You don't have to go through some experience. All you've got to do is in your heart believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. therefore died for your sins, was resurrected for our glory and power, and that you believe that, you're accepting Him and all of the work that He's done as a complete and as a finished work, you'll become a child of God." Then he says, you'll love everybody else that believes that. That's what he's saying. That's the way that we know that we're saved. It's experienced that way. Then, thank God, it's a permanent kind of relationship. It's a permanent. It doesn't go and come. It doesn't fluctuate with the times. It doesn't change with the season. Thank God He's real. He's real every day. He's real when you feel bad. He's real when you feel good. He's real when you're poor. He's real when you're rich. He's real when you're across the seas. He's real when you're at home. He's real in an airplane. He's real down under the ground. Jesus Christ is real to us. That's what we need to understand in a permanent relationship. You know, the Bible says there are two kinds of children, and He tells us here in 1 John. Look in 1 John chapter 3 and verse number 10. In this the children of God are manifest. They're made clear, made plain so you can see them. And the children of the devil, whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. I want you to understand something. There are two kinds of children in this world. There are the children of God and the children of the devil. He's wanting us to see it. He's wanting us to understand it. You know what the devil tries to do today? Many people think the devil, you know, the devil has allowed you to accept an image of himself. That has done more damage, the criticism, than anyone thinks. Most of us think, you know, a picture, if I'd ask most of you now to take a pencil and a piece of paper and draw me what you think is a picture of the devil, most of us would draw, you know, a picture of a fellow with horns and a BVD suit on and split hooves maybe and a long tail and a pitchfork in his hand. Now that's exactly what the devil wants you to think he looks like. The devil never has, he never will look like that. Never will, never has. The Bible says that he transforms himself into ministers of righteousness. If you want to know how the devil works best, the best word I know to use is the word counterfeit. You know, we have a problem. The fact is we have the U.S. Treasury Department. We have a complete department of our justice that's devoted to counterfeit money, keeping people from counterfeiting. Now, listen to me. Supposing somebody counterfeited, say, a $10 bill. Couldn't tell the difference hardly, at least to the untrained eye. So somebody goes and they get it, and they give it to the grocer. The grocer makes change for it, and the man gets it, and he goes home. He owes the fellow over here $10, so he gives him the $10. That fellow may say, you know, there's a family down the street. God bless them. They just don't have much to eat at all. I feel so sorry for them. I'm going to go and give him some money, and he reaches in his pocket. He doesn't know it's counterfeit, so he takes it out. And he takes that $10 bill and hands it to this poor family. They go to the grocery store, and they buy him some groceries. It's helped a great deal. The grocer makes change for it again. Another person, when they get it, they cashed their check maybe, and they got a $10 bill. It's counterfeit now, remember? But they didn't know it. And they needed some medicine for somebody that was dying. And they go and take that $10 bill and put it on the counter. It gets the medicine. And then finally it winds up and it's bundled up and it's sent to the bank. And when it gets to the bank, the banker says, this is counterfeit. It isn't real money. There's no silver on deposit to cover it. It's counterfeit. It's no good. There's a lot of counterfeit religion today that if you try to classify it by doing good, You'd be doing exactly what you do for that $10 bill. Now that $10 bill had done some good. And when it reached the bank, its ultimate destination, they said this is counterfeit, it's no good. Listen, in Matthew chapter 7, the Lord said, and many shall say to me in that day, when they reach the bank, the ultimate destination, they may have done good, They may have helped people in need. They may have even helped lonely people. They may have bought medicine for sick people or provided that which sick people needed. But listen. He says, you've done in my... They say, in thy name we've cast out devils, in thy name we've prophesied, and in thy name we've done many wonderful works. And then he shall say to them, depart from me. I never knew you, ye that work iniquity." You know what he's saying? You're counterfeit. Oh, that verse won't leave my soul. It won't. And the counterfeits may not be revealed till we get to heaven, but they're going to be revealed then. And God's going to say to the many that cry out to Him, Lord, Lord. You know what's wrong? They were counterfeit. They thought it was Jesus and something else. But, beloveds, when you know Him in the free and the full pardon of sin, you will stand on the top of the mountain, you will die under the sword before you say it takes anything else other than Jesus. It's not Jesus and baptism. It's not Jesus and works. It's not Jesus and anointing of the Holy Spirit. It's not Jesus and talking in tongues. It's not Jesus and anything else you add to it. Bless God, it's Jesus alone. That's what I'm saying. That's what He's saying. Thank God it's real. That's all we need. Now, lastly and very quickly, this life is shared. Look in verse 3. This which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you. Did you know one of the marks of a Christian, you can't keep quiet about it. You can't keep quiet, you'll just want to talk about it. It's the greatest thing you've ever found. Have you ever seen a baby born and didn't cry? I never have. In fact, that's the first thing they do, they slap and be sure they can cry. They're going to let you know they're alive. Most of them cry, it seems like, from then on, don't they? Some of you folks looked like you was up late last night with some of your babies. Here's what I'm saying. Did you sleep pretty good last night with yours? Did she let you know she was alive? That little baby, yeah. And a Christian can't help it. Now, a baby can't make sense. I can't understand what a baby's saying. And sometimes a young convert doesn't know much about prophecy, but they're going to cry. They're going to let you know they're alive. You're going to know that there's life there. It doesn't matter if they're an old man or a young boy. It doesn't matter if they're an aged lady or a young lady. They're going to cry out. They're going to let you know that there's life there. That's what he's saying. These things declare we unto you. I can't keep quiet about it. You know, when you think about it in your mind, very quickly, declare unto you, why then should we share? Why should we go out and tell other people about it? Why should we declare it unto other people? Watch quickly and I can only give you the words now. First of all, look in John, well, there in John chapter 1, that we may have fellowship. Look in verse number 3, the latter part. And that we also, let's see, that which we have seen and heard declare when you do that, ye may also have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. It literally means, you know, one of the great marks of this age is loneliness. All the things that we have to entertain and all the other things indicate to us again loneliness. But he says, I want you to understand when you have this real life in you, thank God it means no loneliness. You will absolutely have fellowship one with another and fellowship with God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. You may be alone, but thank God as a Christian you'll never be lonely. God bless you old folk listening to me. Some of you too old now, too decrepit to be out moving about. Thank God. I want you to know, thank God that you... You know, Mrs. Payne, you bless my heart when you come in. Did you know it? You do something to me. For those of you in the radio land, Mrs. Payne is here this morning. She's in a wheelchair. She's got a cane with three legs on the bottom of it, and she's got her eyes no doubt fixed. But you bless my soul, Mrs. It'd be so easy for you to stay home. But there's something inside of you. You've got life inside of you that wants to go and be in fellowship, and you're in fellowship with God's people. And God's Father, or the Father and the Son, fellowship with you. Isn't that wonderful? I'm so glad that I can proclaim a message like that to the old folk. You may be alone sometimes, but you're never lonely. Oh, thank God for that. Then look in verse number four. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. You need the fellowship with the Christians that you may have joy in your heart. The Lord said, My peace give I unto you, not as the world giveth peace, but the peace I give you the world does know anything about. And that you may have joy. It means that there'll be no emptiness in our lives. Then he says in 1 John 2, verse number 1, listen to what it says, My children, these things write I unto you. Now that's why 1 John is written. Here's one of the reasons. These things write I unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. It means that, bless God, we don't have to sin. It doesn't mean we're sinless now, but it means that when we sin, we have an advocate with the Father. We have someone to plead our case. If I could put it in a simple term, it would fall to pieces on every side. He's like our attorney, like our lawyer. He's the mediator. He's the one who stands between myself and God, and he mediates. He transacts the business. He keeps us in fellowship and relationship with the Lord. And when I sin, that cuts me off from God. But the Lord Jesus Christ intercedes when I confess my sin. He's just and righteous to forgive us, and things are made right again. And then number four, in 1 John 2, verse number 26, look what it has to say. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. That is, that deceive you. I'm writing these things to you that have eternal life so that you'll not be seduced. That is, that you'll not be deceived, that you'll not be counterfeited, that you'll not be fooled in that day when you lose your reward if you're a Christian, or if you're not, when you lose your never-dying soul. He says, I'm writing these things to you that you'll not be deceived. Brother, I'm so glad then that means that forever there can be no deception in my life if I stay with the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the last one. Look in 1 John here, chapter 5, verse number 13. These things, again now, 1 John, these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, listen, that ye may know that ye have eternal life. Now that's what we've been talking about all morning. Thank God it's real. We've been talking about having something that's real, something that's absolute, something that you can depend upon, something that you can rest your head on when you're dying, something you can rest your head on when things in this world are crumbling around us beneath our feet. Thank God we've got something that's real. You know, when you think about that, it means that forever then we'll have no doubts. It means that God can settle it. Let me show you quickly. Supposing this morning when you start to leave here, I'd see you going out of the door, and I'd say, Sir, we're glad to have had you visit with us this morning. Most of the people have gone. Do you have a way home? Do you have a car? Now you think of it a minute. Do you have a car? Well, Brother Hudson, I'm hoping that I do. Brother Hudson, I've watched a lot of cars go by my house, and I know the favorite kind, and I know the kind I'd like to be, and I've seen a lot of them break down. But Brother Hudson, I'm going to try. I'm trying my best to get me a car. Did you know that man either absolutely has a car or he absolutely does not? Supposing I said to a man, Sir, are you married? Well, Brother Hudson, I hope I am. Are you married? Well, Brother Hudson, I'm just not sure that I'll know that till I die. Are you married? Well, I'm just doing the best I know how, Brother Hudson. And I believe if I do the best I know how, then one day I'll be considered to be married. I'm glad you laughed. Now let me ask you a question. Supposing I said to that man, Are you saved? Have you been born again? Well, I think I am, Brother Hudson. Or I don't know for sure. I'm hoping, and I believe, Brother Hudson, I won't know that, but I'm trying the best I can. It's just as laughable in God's eyes. I'm going to close my Bible, because that will give you a little hope. And I close with this illustration. Sometime ago, and you wouldn't know, I never give illustrations about people in the congregation. These people came to me through the radio. They were up in years. She was dabbing her eyes when she came in. They called me to an appointment. He said, Brother Hudson, I'm in a jam. I don't know what to do. God just told me somehow to come see you. I said, what's the trouble? He said, we've been married, I think he said 20 years, 20 odd years. And he said, Brother Hudson, when I was ready to go overseas, years and years ago, I married a woman. We were married for just three or four days. In fact, we just lived together three or four days. But I was married. And he said I hadn't gone off to the army. He said I hadn't more gotten there. I got letters where my wife was unfaithful, running out with other men and on and on. He said, and I got a letter from my sister, and she said your wife has run off with another man and gotten married. He said, it was overseas, if I remember correctly, like three years. And he said, when I came back, everybody said that she'd gotten married. He said, I just assumed she'd gotten a divorce. I thought she'd gotten a divorce. He said, didn't it? God saved me. And I met this lady I married, or I fell in love with, and he said, we got married. He said, not long ago, we had to go get a passport. And he said, why? We were looking at the records. It came out. I saw it. And he says, I don't know how to get over it. Brother Hudson, that woman never got a divorce. I've never really been divorced. I'm a bigotist. I'm married to two wives. I've been married to this one. We've got a family. We've got children. It'd break their hearts. He said, I don't know what to do. What should I do, Brother Hudson? I said, sir, you go get you a lawyer, and you get on it right this minute. And go down and get it. And I went on and gave him the best advice I knew how. The woman sat there weeping, and she said, to think we've lived together all these years and got a family, and we've never really been married. I thought I had a divorce. Beloved, I wonder if it could be that way with you when you stand before the Lord. You've just taken it for granted. You've just assumed. You've just hoped so. But, beloved, when you stand there, just like that counterfeit dollar, it may have helped, But when it gets to the bank, they say it's false, it's artificial, it's no good, it's man-made, it has no authority behind it. Jesus said, I know my sheep, and they hear me, and they follow me. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you're saved. Now let me ask you a question. Don't raise your hand, don't do anything. Do you know that you're saved this morning? Do you know that you have a car? Do you know if you're married? Do you know if you have a house? Do you know where you live? Do you know that you're saved? I believe that you can know that you're saved just as much as I know that I'm alive, just as much as I know I'm an American, just as much as I know I have a car, just as much as I know I'm married. I'm saved by the grace of God, and I know it. Thank God it's real. Let's stand together heads bowed. While heads are bowed and eyes are closed, I want you to be careful. Folks, God help you to be careful. I want to ask you a question. How many of you would say this morning, Brother Hudson, think with me a minute. I know I have a car. I know I'm married. I know whatever. I know I'm not married, as the case may be. But now let me ask you this question. Brother Hudson, I know that I'm saved this morning. I know I don't deserve it, but I know that I'm saved this morning. I've gotten my hand up. Push yours up. Be sure. I know that I'm saved. I know it. All right, God bless you. That's so refreshing to see so many hands going. Now, how many of you, how many would be honest before God and say to Him, Lord, I just don't know whether I'm saved or not. I sure would like to get it cleared up. I just don't know if I'm saved or not. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that you're saved. I don't know it, Lord, for sure. I'm just not sure. Raise your hand. Let me pray for you. Hope don't wake. God bless you. God bless you. Yes, others. All right, now you can know it. God bless you. You can know it. You can know it through the Word. You can know it through accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior. And then the Word of God is God's authority. It's God's receipt book to you that you can know that you can be saved. Twofold invitation now. Number one, for those of you who say, I want to know that I'm saved, Brother Hudson, you come on. Secondly, for those of you who want to come and join this church. Now, you know whether you're a member of the church or not, don't you? Of course you do. And if you're not a member of God's leading, then I want you to come this morning and join this church. Alright, there's the invitation. With our heads bowed, Father, I look to Thee now to bless. Oh God, don't let anybody go to hell. Don't let anybody die without Jesus. You've heard the message. Don't let them be deceived. Don't let them be counterfeited. Oh God, help them to know the real person of Jesus Christ. Then they can say, thank God it's real. In Jesus' name. We appreciate you listening to Treasured Heritage. Tune in at the same time every weekday to hear God's Word.