Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I would like for us to look at
a wonderful account, a truly precious account in Mark chapter
7. Mark chapter seven verse 31 begins
with, and again. And again. The word gospel means good news. Good news. And that is the gospel. And again. And again. How sad would the news be to
find out that Adam fell and God redeemed Adam and that was it. That was it. How sad would it
be to find out that Israel fell into bondage so God delivered
them out of Egypt and that was it. After King David, or after Elijah
or after Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, that was
it. That was it. How sad would it be to find out
that after our Lord died and arose and ascended back up to
his father, as soon as he ascended up, that was it. no more mercy, no more salvation,
and that was it. Do you know what the good news
for sinners is? And again. And again. Thank God, and again. Verse 31 says, And again, departing
from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the Sea of Galilee
through the midst of the coast of Decapolis. And they bring
unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech.
And they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him
aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears. And he spit and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he
sighed and saith unto him, Ephetha, that is, be opened. And straightway his ears were
opened. And the string of his tongue
was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they
should tell no man. But the more He charged them,
so much the more a great deal they published it, and were beyond
measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well. He maketh both the deaf to hear
and the dumb to speak." They said, it's amazing. It is amazing. He has done all
things well. He makes the deaf to hear and
the dumb to speak. Over in Matthew chapter 11, verse 2 says, Now when John had
heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his
disciples and said unto him, Art thou he that should come,
or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto
them go and show John again those things which you do hear and
see the blind receive their sight and the lame walk The lepers
are cleansed and the deaf hear The dead are raised up and the
poor have the gospel preached to them Did you know that He is still
doing that to this day? Did you know that? He is still doing that to this
day. And again. And again. Still to this day,
He is causing blind men and women to see. He's causing lame men and women
to walk. He is still cleansing men and
women, opening the ears of men and women. He is still giving
life to the dead, still. That's what our text is telling
us over in Mark chapter 7. Back there in Mark chapter 7,
verse 31 says, and again, departing from the coast of Tyre and Sidon,
He came unto the Sea of Galilee through the midst of the coast
of Decapolis, and they bring unto him one that was deaf. They brought a man who could
not hear, a deaf man, to him. Now, if a deaf man was not told
that he was deaf, would he know it? Now you think about this. If
at some point in his life, someone did not come up to him and explain
to him, there is something called sound and you can't hear it because
you're deaf. You have ears, but you can't
hear. If someone did not tell him that,
would he know it? Would he know it? If he had never
heard a sound, had no idea what sound was, if that quietness
was normal to him, if that's all he ever knew, would he know
he was deaf? Every man and woman on this earth
came into this world spiritually deaf, and they don't know it. They cannot hear God. They cannot hear his word. They
cannot hear his gospel. Every man and woman naturally
born into this world, they're deaf. Now, can you hear my voice
right now? coming through this radio, can
you hear my voice? Can you hear what I'm saying?
That's not what I'm talking about. A human being can hear the voice
of another human being. And a human being can even hear
the truth. A man can hear the gospel as
it's being preached. But the soul that is inside that
man is totally deaf to those words. It's totally deaf to that
message. Until God Almighty does something
to that man and for that man. Until God intervenes, he cannot
hear God. He cannot hear his word. and
he cannot hear his gospel. He just cannot. Verse 32 says,
and they bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment
in his speech. Not only could he not hear, his
speech wasn't right. And it wouldn't take much at
all for me to convince anyone that what comes out of this mouth
is not right. If we would just get honest,
what comes out of this mouth is not right. Matthew 12 verse
34 says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. And right here in Mark chapter
seven, our Lord told us what comes out of this heart. He said
in verse 21, for from within, Out of the heart of men proceed
evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness,
wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride,
and foolishness. Now whether we know it or not,
that's us. That's us in the flesh, but we ought to know it. We ought
to know it. We can try to fool ourselves.
We can try to pretend that that's somebody else, but it's us. That's
us. Now turn with me, if you would,
over to Romans chapter three. Romans chapter three, verse 10
says, as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues they have
used deceit. The poison of asps is under their
lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their
feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. There is
no fear of God before their eyes. People hear that and they think,
well, that has to be somebody else. That has to be describing
somebody else. That can't be me. That can't
be me. That has to be talking about
somebody else. Well, let me ask you this. If
a deaf man was never told he was deaf, would he know it? Somebody will hear that and say,
what? Are you saying I'm the deaf one? If a deaf man was never told
he was deaf, if he had no idea what sound was, would he know
it? What we just read is both you
and me. Romans 3 is describing you and
it's describing me. Hard to imagine. Hard to believe. But we are eaten up with sin.
And that's the truth that must be
told. If a remedy is going to be sought, the truth must be
told. Isn't that right? Romans 10 says, whosoever shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall
they call if they don't believe? And how shall they believe if
they don't hear? How? How? If a person has cancer, the only
way they're gonna know to seek a remedy is if a doctor tells
them, you have cancer. What, me? I'm the one with cancer? Yes, you. Here's the truth, it's
you. Thou art the man. Thou art the
man. Now back in Mark chapter seven,
verse 32 says, and they bring unto him one that was deaf. and
had an impediment in his speech. And they beseech him to put his
hand upon them. They asked the Lord, would you
please touch our friend? They loved him. They loved this
man. They knew that he had a need.
So they brought him to the only one that could help him. Verse
33 says, and he took him aside from the multitude. Oh, what
mercy it is. What mercy it is when God reaches
out and grabs his own and says, come out from among the people.
I'm calling you. Verse 33, he took him aside from
the multitude and put his fingers into his ears. This world has
fed us nothing but lies. That's it, lies upon lies upon
lies. And religion has fed us nothing
but lies. Nothing but lies. This world
has lied to us on what will bring a sinner true happiness. The
world tries to tell us if you'll just get the world, you'll be
happy, you'll have peace, you'll have rest. It's not true. Religion has lied to us on what
will bring a true salvation to a sinner. But it's nothing but lies. There's
nothing in this world that can bring salvation to a sinner.
Not naturally. Not by the flesh. There's one way of salvation.
Salvation had to come down from above. Salvation had to give
his life a ransom. And when the Lord Jesus Christ,
salvation Himself, when He in mercy and in love comes to His
own, He stops all of those lies. He puts His fingers into the
ears of His own and He says, you're not going to listen to
that anymore. Not anymore. Verse 33 says, and he took him
aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears,
and he spit and touched his tongue. Something that was in the Lord
Jesus Christ went into that man. Something that was directly from
the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ went into that man. Verse 34
says, And looking up to heaven, he sighed. He groaned with grief. He sighed, and saith unto him,
Ephetha, that is, be opened. And straightway his ears were
opened. And the string of his tongue
was loosed, and he spake plain." He spake plain. This man was
healed because he received something from the hand of God and from
the mouth of God. And because Jesus Christ sighed
on his behalf. He received His work and He received
His Word. This undeserving sinner, this
deaf, undeserving sinner received the work of Christ and the Word
of Christ. And he received it all because
the Lord Jesus Christ groaned with grief. He groaned with grief
on His behalf. Now turn with me over to Mark
chapter 14. Mark chapter 14, I pray that
these verses never become common to us. As we read this, may the
Lord cause us to enter into this. May He open our ears to hear
it. May He open our hearts to hear
it. Mark 14 verse 32 says, and they
came to a place which was named Gethsemane. And he saith to his
disciples, Sit ye here while I shall pray. And he taketh with
him Peter, and James, and John, and began to be sore amazed,
and to be very heavy. And saith unto them, My soul
is exceeding sorrowful unto death. Tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little
and fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, the
hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all
things are possible unto thee. Take away this cup from me. Nevertheless,
not what I will, but what thou will. Now in chapter 15, verse
33 says, and when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness
over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth
hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani, which is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? And some of them that stood by,
when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran,
and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave
him to drink, saying, Let alone let us see whether Elias will
come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice,
and gave up the ghost. Now in chapter 16 verse 2 says,
And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they
came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. And they said
among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door
of the sepulcher? And when they looked, they saw
that the stone was rolled away, for it was very great. And entering
into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right
side, clothed in a long white garment, and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not
affrighted. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, which
was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. Behold the place
where they laid him. I tell you, if God will ever
open a sinner's ears to hear that, to truly hear that, from
that moment forward, His speech will be plain. His speech will
be plain. That thief on the cross, we just
read of our Lord hanging there, and that thief on the cross,
two thieves, one on each side, they were both railing on the
Lord, both of them. They said, if thou be the Christ,
save thyself and us. If you are who you say you are,
then do something about it. They were cursing Him. They were
mocking Him. But all of a sudden, Jesus Christ
looked at one of them. He looked at him and in mercy,
he said to that man's heart, Ephatha, be opened. And as soon as he opened that
sinner's eyes, as soon as he opened that sinner's ears, that
sinner's heart, that sinner said to the other
thief, he said, wait a minute. Wait a minute, dost not thou
fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we
indeed justly, we deserve what we're getting, for we receive
the due reward of our deeds. He said, but this man, but this
man hath done nothing amiss. And then he turned to the Lord
Jesus Christ and he said, Lord, would you remember me when you
come into your kingdom? Would you remember me? I don't
deserve it. I cannot get there on my own.
My only hope is that you would remember me. He begged for mercy,
didn't he? and his tongue was loosed. He
spoke plain. That was plain speech. Over in
Isaiah 35, our Lord is still doing this for sinners today.
He is still opening the ears and loosening the tongues of
every sinner he sighed for, every single one he hung on that cross
for. He is still calling out His sheep,
still. And He is accomplishing His work
through the preaching of His Word. He's accomplishing His
work through the preaching of His Word. Isaiah 35 verse 3 says,
Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful
heart, Be strong. Fear not. Behold, your God will
come with vengeance. Even God with a recompense, he
will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then
shall the lame man leap as in heart, And the tongue of the
dumb sing. For in the wilderness shall waters
break out, And streams in the desert. When God in mercy, when
He in mercy does this for a sinner, it is a glorious work. The only
way this can be accomplished is if God Almighty comes to that
sinner and performs this work on a sinner. If God will come
and deal with the ears of a sinner, the heart of a sinner, the speech,
the tongue of a sinner. And with that opened ear comes
this opened heart. And out of that heart, rivers
of praise break out. That heart is no longer cursing
God. That heart is thanking God. Opened
ears bring plain speech. That's what happens. God opens
the ears and He loosens the tongue. Plain speech. That tongue cries,
He did this. Before it was saying, I need
to do this. I've got a decision to make.
I have a work to accomplish. If I want to be saved, I've got
to do something. But now with an open ear and
a plain speech, he cries, God did it. God did it. Christ did it all. Christ paid
it all. He accomplished it all. And he
gets all the glory for it. Every ounce of the glory for
it. Back in Mark chapter 7 verse 35 says, And straightway his
ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and
he spake plain. And he charged them that they
should tell no man. But the more he charged them
so much, the more a great deal they published it. They couldn't
help themselves. They just could not help themselves.
They had to go tell everybody. Verse 37 says, and they were
beyond measure astonished. Astonished. You could not measure
how astonished they were. Saying, He hath done all things
well. He maketh both the deaf to hear
and the dumb to speak. Do our hearts not repeat that
very same thing? Don't we say the same thing? We're amazed, aren't we? We're
truly amazed, aren't we? The mercy and the grace that
He has shown is amazing. It is truly amazing grace. And can we not say with them,
and do we say with them, He has done all things well? He's done all things well. The songwriter said, It is well
with my soul. It is well with my soul. And
if it's well with my soul, it's well with everything else. If
God has secured my salvation for all eternity, I have nothing
else to fear. Thank God for the work of His
hand and the word of His mouth. May He through this word open
our eyes, open our ears, open our hearts, and give us a plain
speech. Until next Sunday morning, may
the Lord bless His word to our hearts. You have been listening
to a message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign
Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m. and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.