Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see You. I want to see You. Welcome to the Princess Chapel Church in Ashland, Kentucky, Pastor Douglas Dallier. We thank you for joining us today, and we pray that the message blesses and edifies you. We invite you to share God's word with your family and friends, and to join us for praise and worship in our sanctuary at Ashland, Kentucky. Thank you once again for joining us, and may God richly bless you. Good morning. It's good to see everyone out this morning. It's a brand new year. God has blessed us. He has tarried just a little longer. Paul said in our Sunday school lesson this morning, he said, I'm in a straight betwixt two. He said, I don't know whether to go or whether to stay. He said, for me to live is Christ, but for me to die is to gain. Paul had an assurance. He had knowledge of the blessed hope. And I thought what better thing to preach on going into the new year is something about a little bit of joy, a little bit of peace and happiness that surpasses all understanding. And I'm going to be in the book of 1 John this morning. You can turn anywhere you want to. It's all good as long as you've got a King James. Alright. But I'm going to be in 1 John and I'm going to... There's five chapters, 105 verses, and it's a very short book. And I want to cover three sections in the first epistle of John this morning. And I don't know what I'm going to title this. I was wrestling last night. Boy, was I wrestling at him. I told Adam yesterday, but when we got off the phone, I told him I already had three messages done. I had three sermon outlines worked out, and boy, I was ready to go. I was ready for a revival to break out. I had three sermons. And I got up last night and got the munchies and went in and got me some cookies and told Mehe, I said, I've got to go downstairs. I've got to do some studying. And I went downstairs, and lo and behold, when I came to bed about one o'clock, I had my fourth sermon prepared too. But this right here is what the Lord's laid on my heart for this morning. And I'm going to try to speed through this as quickly as possible, because five chapters, 105 verses, woo, boy, that's a lot of meat and taters now. But we're going to go through this, and I just want to show you some quick things that I saw yesterday studying the first epistle of John. And I would probably call this the, that's that. Well, that's what I'm going to call it, that's that. That's that, would be the title of this message this morning. That's that. Why? Because there's three that's that just popped out in this epistle, and boy, it just magnified itself, and here I am. That's that. And I got to thinking about what little John was writing about. And every Bible, every Bible book, every chapter, anything at all, you know like how we get in our quarterlies and we have what's called a key verse or a golden text? That's the key verse that's going to be focused on. But every book of the Bible has a key verse. It has a purpose for that book. And that's that. But 1 John is something a little bit different about 1 John that I saw yesterday. Studying the Word of God and studying these five chapters, 105 short verses, and this is what John has told us about that's that. 1 John chapter 1. I want to read the first four verses this morning. And this is Little John. And I have to call him Little John because every time I think of Little John, I think of the disciple whom Jesus loved. Why, the one who crawled up in his lap and made Jesus' bosom his pillow, felt the hot breath of heaven, and heard the heartbeat of God. Probably about 16 or 17 years old, Little John. The only disciple, the only apostle that never died a martyr's death, but he died of natural causes. Little John. And that's that. And let's see what Little John wrote about in 1 John. This writing was taken about 90 A.D. under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And in 1 John 1, verse 1, he said, "...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 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, which was manifested unto us. 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. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. Let's bow our heads. Lord, our most kind, gracious Heavenly Father, Lord, I thank You this morning for this crowd. I thank You, Lord, for the hearts and minds that You put here. Lord, I thank You for Brother Gene, for his return. I thank You for all of them, Lord. Lord God, may Your name be magnified. May Your Son be exalted. Lord, may we show the Savior this morning to the hearts and minds who need it, to those that need to be renewed and refreshed. Lord God, help us in this new year. Help us to know, Lord God, that there are some serious that's in Your Bible, in Your Scriptures, in Your Word. Open our hearts and open our minds, Lord, to Your blessed Holy Writ. Bless the reading of Your Word and anoint my lips with clay, for it's in Jesus' name we ask. And amen. I want to go over this just very briefly because that which was from the beginning which we have heard. The Bible said that in the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God, in John 1.1. Same writer, by the way. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, wrote the Gospel of John. There was something different about him. He wrote the Gospel of John. He wrote 1 John, 2 John, 3 John. And he also wrote the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. wrote five books of the New Testament, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, he penned these words right here. But friends, he said here that from the beginning we have heard and we have seen with our eyes. In other words, John said, I heard Him with my ears. And John said, I've seen Him with my eyes. I've looked upon Him. But what I like about this, in verse 1, And our hands have handled the Word of Life. You say, Brother Doug, well, we handle the Word of Life every day. That ain't what little John's talking about, friends. He said, I've got to touch him, Adam. I've got to sit up in his lap. He said, so boys, what I'm telling you this morning and what I'm telling you in this writing or whatever time of day it was, little John wrote this. He said, I'm serious about what I'm saying here. He said, because glory to God, I have handled the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. Whose glory? The glory of God the Father. He said, Father, glorify me with the glory that I once had when I was with Thee before the foundation of the world. And John said, I've seen Him, I've heard Him, and I've touched Him. He said, so I'm serious about what I'm saying, and that's that. And the first thing that I believe little John is trying to show us here, he said that the Word is life. The Word is true. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no man cometh unto Me, except My Father draw him. And no man can go unto the Father but by Me. The Word is life. And He said right here that the life was manifested. Manifested. What? The Word is life. Life is the Word. And the Word became flesh. and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. Who is the Life? Who is the Word? It is none other than the Great I Am. It is Jehovah Sid Canoe, the Lord God, our Righteousness. It is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. It is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. It is none other than Jesus. This whole book is about Him. This whole book is about Christ. You won't find Princess Chapel anywhere in this book. You won't find Brother Doug Salyer anywhere in this book. Why? Because all of the prophets, Moses, the psalmist, Job, all of these men. Job didn't do no writing, but he did a lot of talking. And what was their focus on? The Old Testament pointed to the cross. And now we're looking back at the cross. This entire book is about Jesus. It's the greatest hymn book ever recorded. It's all about Him. And we see here that the life was manifested. And we've seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father. Oh, it was with the Father? Yeah, he was with the Father from the foundation of the world. But what does John 3.16 say? For God so loved the world that He done what? He gave. He gave. You see, He had to let him go. He had to let him leave the ivory palaces of glory. and say, all right, I'll allow it. I'll let you go. He gave His only begotten Son. And friends, that's that. There's no other way. I don't care what preachers say. Jesus said, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. But once you've been made a partaker of that blessed hope, once you have that blessed hope of salvation, God gives you something. And I think it's what little John tried to show us, that that's that. And he brought out three very important that's in his first epistle. And the first one is in verse 4. 1 John 1.4, And these things write we unto you, That's your joy. Your joy. You see, God don't want you to get sired in your salvation and ferment like a jar of pickles. God wants you to be full of joy. Because we've got something to shout about. We've got something to magnify His name about. Because friends, I'm non-perishable, glory to God. I can't perish. I'm not going to spoil. I'm not going to sour in the glory of God. Because through and by His grace, He has saved me. He has redeemed me. He has bought unto Himself a peculiar people. And I've got something to rejoice about. I've got something to be glad about. No matter what the devil throws in front of me. No matter what Satan gives me. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. And I believe that's what little John's trying to tell us. He said, children, glory to God, because I don't care who you are, I'm going to tell you right now, 1 John wasn't written to the world. That's right. People say, well, the Bible said in 1 John 1.9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's not a salvation passage, by the way. Because if you tell a lost man to confess his sins and God is just to forgive him of his sins and to cleanse him from all unrighteousness, you've just fixed it to where that bird can never be saved. Because there ain't nobody ever going to be able to remember all of their sin. 1 John is a message to the church. It's a message to believers. And he said that your joy may be full. I believe my Heavenly Father. I believe the Holy Spirit. I believe the God of Heaven that sits on the right hand of the Father. Because three are one. That's right. We serve a Trinity this morning. We don't serve three gods. We serve one God in a Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. But I believe all three of them are concerned about our joy. I believe they're concerned about our joy, the power of salvation. Not only did God come, He gave His holy, begotten Son. Jesus Christ came and made Himself of no reputation. He came so that you might have joy. He came so that you might have life. He came so that you might maybe be partaker of this blessed hope. You see, not everybody is going to be saved. You know who is going to be saved? Those who believe that He is the only begotten of the Father. Those who believe that He died for our sins and was buried and rose from the grave. Those who believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Those are the ones that God fills with joy. Those are the ones that the Lord moves in. And He says, guess what boys? Me and the Holy Ghost God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, we're going to remodel this house. And now you've been made a new creature in Christ. All the former things are passed away. You are filled with the Spirit. And what is one of the fruit of the Spirit? Joy. God gives you joy. You're not going to get joy. You're not going to get joy. Oh, you might feel good for a while, but the Bible said there's pleasure in sin for a season. You're not going to get joy from the things of this world. You're not going to get joy from alcohol. You're not going to get joy from drugs. You're not going to get joy from chasing women, or chasing men, or doing whatever. Friends, you're going to get joy. The only way you're going to get joy that surpasses all understanding is through and by the grace of God. That's real joy. That's the joy that's going to fill that deep, dark void down deep inside of you, and make you a new creature in Christ. And 1 Peter 1 says, Whom ye have not seen, ye love. We ain't seen Him, but glory to God, we love Him. We've got something greater than what the apostles had. We've got faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. But Peter said, Whom, having not seen, ye love. In whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice." With what? With joy. Unspeakable. And full of glory. Jesus cares about your joy. He cares about your salvation. Why? God gave, gave, gave His only begotten Son. Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. In what? Live. God wants you to live. But He wants you to live with joy. Not only does He care about your joy and the power of salvation, but He cares about your joy and your peace and safety. We've got joy in knowing the power of salvation, Adam. But glory to God, we can have joy in knowing the peace and safety of the Comforter. Jesus said, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you, I'll go with you always, even until the end of the world. When he ascended upon the right hand of the Father in Mark chapter 16, I believe that the Bible said, and they went forth. And the Lord working with them. You say, Brother Doug, how could He be working with them if He's already ascended up into glory? Because He said, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. You say, Brother Doug, well, the Holy Ghost hadn't come yet. The Comforter hadn't come yet. No, glory to God, He hadn't come. And you can't argue with me until you're blue in the face and you won't be able to convince me. But the Holy Ghost has always been. Just like Jesus has always been. When there was darkness upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, who was that? When God breathed into the nostrils the breath of life, what did He breathe into Adam? Glory to God, He breathed into Holy Ghost. That's what made Adam a living soul. The Holy Ghost has always been. What did Jesus say in John 8, 48? Before Abraham was, I am. And what does 1 John 5, 7 say? For there are three that bear record in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. Now, if Jesus has been the Great I Am from the beginning of time, and these three are one, then that means the Holy Ghost has been the Great I Am there too. Glory. I love the Holy Ghost. He's what gives you the joy. He's what comes in and makes everything alright. Makes you know that you passed from death unto life. Not only does He care about your joy and your power of your salvation, but your peace and safety, because He said, I'll never leave you. He's a comforter. But He cares about your joy. in your present state. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, not only cares about your joy in the power of your salvation, not only does He care about your joy, your peace and safety, but He cares about your joy in your present state. And that's that. Now turn to 1 John chapter 2. One verse. That's that. We're on present state now, right? 1 John 2, verse 1. My little children, 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. The righteous. Boy, I like that, Adam. Because it ain't through and by my righteousness. It ain't through and by what Brother Doug Sawyer's done. It ain't through and by how many sermons I've preached. How many people I've dunked in the water. It ain't through and by none of that. Friends, let me tell you what, it's through and by. It's through and by my faith. And He imputes upon me His righteousness. And He said, that's that, boys. I care about your joy. Not only do I care about your joy and your power of salvation, because I want to save you, but I care about it in your present state. And how do we get joy? How do we keep joy? How do we have joy unspeakable and full of glory? Let me tell you what, I am not perfect. I am but a man. I falter, I stumble, and I fail. Do not put your confidence, do not put your trust, do not put your faith in Brother Doug Salyer. You put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He said, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you. The Apostle Paul said, I come to you not with excellency of speech or enticing words of men's wisdom, but I come to you in power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit. Why? So that you might know that your faith ain't in me, boys. But it's in Him, the great I Am, the One who can give you the joy that surpasses all understanding, the One who can give you joy unspeakable and full of glory, because He cares about your present state. And He said, little children, no. He said, my children, these things write I unto you. Why did He write chapter 1, Brother Doug? I write these things that your joy. may be full. Why did he write chapter 2, chapter 3, and chapter 4, Brother Doug? He wrote chapter 2, chapter 3, and chapter 4, so that you might sin not. But if you do sin, and you will, you know why? There's three kinds of people in the world. Yeah, buddy. There's a lost sinner headed to hell. He's on his way to hell. Sinner by nature, by birth, by choice. Number one. There's another group that's called a seeking sinner. Somebody who's been pricked in the heart by the Holy Ghost and has been drawn in. And now, he's turned from sin and turned to God. Why? Because he's under conviction. Not by what the preacher said. Not by what enticing words of men's wisdom say it, but through and by the unctionization, through and by the wooing, through and by the drawing, through and by the calling of the Holy Ghost, because Jesus said, I call my own sheep by name. He'll call you. And then there's a third kind of person. We got the sinner, the sinning sinner, and then we got the seeking sinner. But there's one more kind of sinner, and if you're saved by grace this morning, that's you. There is a sinner saved by grace, because I still sin. I stumble, I falter, I fail. Why? Because, yea, I am yet carnal. But Jesus, He's made a way out of them. He sat and seated at the right hand of the Father, and know this little children, everything's going to be alright. Let me tell you what, when your kids backtalk you, when your kids disobey you, you still love your children. Oh my goodness, there ain't a parent in their right mind can tell me that they've ever for one second hated their kid. No sir, you love your child. You'd do anything in the world for your child. That's us. Our Father, our Heavenly Father loved us so much, He gave His only begotten. Could you do that today for anybody? Ain't no one of you could, because I couldn't. I ain't going to stand up here and lie and tell you I could. I could not. I couldn't. But God did for you. Why did He do that? He'd done that so that your joy might be full. So that you might have the power of salvation. So that you might not sin. But if you do sin, so that you might have an advocate with the Father. He's the high priest. He's the one that finished the work, Susie, and went up into the big temple. The big temple. And sat down at the right hand of the Father and said, it's done, boys. I ain't got to go back next year. I ain't got to offer up sacrifice no more. Christ offering Himself, how many times? Once in the book of Hebrews. He done away with all of that stuff. He fulfilled the law. He completed it. Why? Because He lived it? And he never broke it. He lived it, and he kept it. All of it. Every bit of it. The law tells you you're a sinner. It can't save you. Do you know that? The law can't save you. What Jesus did will save you. And he done that, that your joy might be full, and that you sin not. Romans 8, 1 and 2. You don't have to turn there. I'm just going to read these right quickly. Romans 8, 1 and 2. There is now, therefore, no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and the law of death." I've been freed. I've been freed from the law of sin. So guess what? Do you know why they make a law? Why does government make a law? Somebody has to violate something first, right? Somebody has to bring it to somebody's knowledge. Somebody has to bring it to somebody's attention. Oh, you know what? If we drive too fast down I-64, somebody's going to have an accident and have a wreck and take somebody out and kill somebody or hurt somebody. So let's make a law and let's make the speed limit 65 or 70. That's why the law was made. That's why the Old Testament law was made. Why? Because people were breaking God's morals and God's precepts and God's aspects. But you know what, Adam? Glory to God, I have been freed from that law. Because that law could not save me. That law could not justify me. It's through and by God's grace that He sent His only begotten Son to lay the foundations of salvation so that I might have joy and so that I will not sin. But when I do sin, and I will, guaranteed, why? Because yea, I'm yet carnal, meaning I'm still in the flesh. He's made a way. He's made a way. I'm not under the penalty of the law. I'm not under the penalty of sin. And I'm not under the penalty of death. Why? For the law of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ, the Word, the Life, the Truth, the One who was made manifest, the One who gives us joy, the perfect sacrifice, the great I Am, the Alpha and the Omega, that's why it ain't about me. That's why it ain't about you this morning. That's why it's not about this tabernacle this morning. Because we couldn't save a fly. That's why it ain't about the Pope, or about different preachers, or about different denominations. But it's about King Jesus, the only one who can save. All power is given unto Him, both in heaven and in earth. A name given unto men, whereby all men must repent and be saved. No other name given unto heaven. It ain't fooing by nobody but Him. Joy and walking after the Spirit, not sitting. Chapter 5, and I'm done. 1 John chapter 5. He writes five chapters. He writes 105 verses, penned under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. So that we have the assurance of joy. Why? Through Christ Jesus. So that we have the assurance to walk not after sin. But if we do sin, if we do stumble, if we do falter, if we do fail, we have an advocate with the Father. Because I can't do this thing on my own. And if you try to live it, And do it on your own, you'll fall flat on your face too. Don't try to clean yourself up and come to God. You come to God and give it to Him. And He said, Behold, I will make all things anew. I will make you a new creature, not in yourself, but in Christ Jesus. Chapter 5 and verse 13. That's that. I may preach an hour. Oh, I love this verse, you all. I love this verse because this lets me know when the old devil starts, oh, I could just kick him. I could just dropkick him at him. These things have I written unto you. Boy, there's a whole lot of that's in there, isn't there? That belief. Who's he writing to? Those that believe. That's the you. That's you-ins. That's y'all. Amen? He's writing to you, kept pure and preserved down through the corners of time, through the inspiration of God. These things have I written unto you that believe on whom? On the pastor? No. On the denomination? No. On the preacher down the road? No. On the name of the Son of God? That ye may know. That ye have eternal life. You see, I don't have to get up here and say, I hope I make it there one day. I don't have to say that. I would never say that, Adam. You know why? Another part of me right now is seated in glory. Foreknown from the foundation of the world. Those He did foreknown, He did predestined. Those He did predestined, He justified. Those He justified, He glorified. I've got that assurance, Adam! I know, through and by the inspiration of God, that He has kept pure and preserved His Word down through the corners of time, that ye may know that ye have eternal life! I've got it! Bought with a price, sealed until the day of redemption, kept by the power of God. I've got it! Glory to God! You've got it! And He wants your joy to be full. He wants that joy, unspeakable and full of glory, to rain down upon your life. And He wants you to be filled by the Holy Ghost. He wants you to walk in the Spirit and not walk after the flesh. Why? Because He said, little children, that, that's that now, that you sin not. But know this, Oh, you're going to stumble. You're going to falter. You're going to fail. But if you do, you have an advocate with the Father. That's that. Finally, so that you might know that you have eternal life. Why? His Spirit bears witness with your spirit. He said, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I'll go with you always, even until the end of the world. He said, all that my Father hath... I'm not going to go there. I'll get myself in trouble. Glory to God. But I love Him today. And I loved Him yesterday. And you know what? I loved Him more yesterday, Susie, than I loved... I loved Him more today than I loved Him yesterday. You know, John, I love Him more this week than I did last week. But you know what? He loved me the same today. as He did the day He saved me, on July 20th, 1982, when He called me by my name and pulled me out of sin, took me out of the mire and set me in the choir, put me under the spot where the glory run out, imputed upon me His righteousness through and by faith. He loved me the same today as He did back then. Now, I've done a lot for Him, John, since then. I've done a lot for Him. But you know what? That ain't what counts. That ain't what counts. Why? My ticket is bought and paid for. It's punched through Him by His glory, because of His grace, because of His finished work. Now what I do for Him, what I do for Him, I may end up preaching one of them other messages after all. What I do for Him, that's what He's going to reward me. That's my rewards. But you know what? Glory to God. I'm glad for 1 John. In a little book, five chapters, 105 verses. But boy, it packs a lot of walk to it, don't it? Little John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. Do you love Him this morning? Has He put joy in your life? Joy unspeakable, full of glory? Can you walk after the Spirit, not after the flesh? That little children know that you might not sin, but if you do sin, you have an advocate with the Father? Do you have assurance this morning? Do you know 100%? You see, did you all ever heard Dwight Moody? Dwight L. Moody? Moody Publishing Company? You all know he preached for, was it five? Five years before he had assurance of his salvation. He thought he was saved, but he wasn't really sure. He preached from behind the pulpit for five years before he had assurance of his salvation. There's another one too, Jonathan Wesley. They said Jonathan Wesley preached seven years before he got saved. That's in his autobiography, by the way. He wrote that down himself. Preached for seven years before he even accepted Christ. Oh boy! But I'm glad for 1 John 5.13. I don't have to hope so, guess so, think so, maybe roll the dice, wonder about it. I can know. beyond a shadow of a doubt. And church, that is that. That's the that's of 1 John. Let's all stand. Sister Tysee, would you come up to the piano? Sister Marianne, would you come and get a song? Let's all stand and bow our heads this morning. I want every head bowed and every eye closed.