Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, located at 2709 Rock Springs Road in Kingsport, Tennessee, would like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. For information and service times, visit www.ksgc.church. And now, Gabe Stoniker.

I want to bring a message to you today from Luke chapter one. And if you have a Bible handy, I want to encourage you to grab your Bible and open it up with me to Luke chapter one, because we're going to look at this entire chapter. I want this to be clear. I pray this will be a blessing. I don't want this to be confusing by any means, but we're going to cover a lot of ground in Luke chapter one. And I hope to be able to finish this in the amount of time that I have for this program. So I want to be clear, but I want to move quickly through this. And I pray the Lord will make this to be a blessing and allow you to be able to enter into this.

Luke chapter one, I want to give you an overview of what takes place in Luke chapter one. And then I want to point out what specifically will be the message. So an overview, and then we will dial in on what the message for today is.

The first four verses in Luke chapter 1 are an intro, an introduction to what's being said in the entire book, in the entire letter. of Luke and it says, for as much as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word. It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things, from the very first, to write unto thee, in order, most excellent Theophilus, and that means lover of God, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou hast been instructed. That's an introduction to everything he's about to say.

And then beginning in verse five, it tells us of a man named Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth. Verse five says, there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the course of Abiah and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth. Zacharias and Elizabeth. And it goes on to say that she was barren and could not have children. But the scripture says here that an angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias and told him that they would conceive John the Baptist. Zacharias and Elizabeth were John the Baptist's parents. And the angel said, you're going to conceive this child. And according to the word of the Lord, They did. But the Lord told Zacharias that a sign would be given, and that sign would be that he would not be able to speak throughout Elizabeth's pregnancy. From the moment he left the temple then, and they conceived, and throughout the pregnancy, he wouldn't be able to speak.

Verse 21 here in Luke says, And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple, and when he came out he could not speak unto them. And they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. And it came to pass that as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me to take away my reproach among men." So Elizabeth conceived and became pregnant with John the Baptist. Now verse 26 tells us that six months after Elizabeth conceived. Verse 26, in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? She said, I have never been with a man. Verse 35, And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Mary were cousins. Thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. The angel came and said, Mary, the Messiah, the Christ, Emmanuel is going to come forth through you. And he said, the Holy Ghost of God, the Holy Spirit of God will do this. Man will not take part in this. And that's important. He said, man will not take part in this. This is God's work. And it's all unto God's glory, all of it.

And as the angel said it would be, it happened. Because beginning in verse 39, it says, Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth. Mary went to visit Elizabeth.

And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And I absolutely adore the thought of that moment. You think about that moment. Mary came into the house. Mary went to visit her cousin. She heard that her cousin was pregnant with child who was called barren, known as being barren, couldn't have children. And the Lord gave her a child. And Mary went to visit her.

And the moment Mary walked into Elizabeth's house and said, hello, Elizabeth. John the Baptist, this six month old infant in Elizabeth's womb knew who had just come into his presence. His Lord, his Savior, his God in the womb of Mary. And John the Baptist leaped with joy inside Mary's womb. And all of God's people do that. The moment they realize who has come into their presence, the moment they see God, the moment they see the Messiah, the Christ, they leap for joy.

We sing songs like

all hail the power of Jesus name,
let angels prostrate fall,
bring forth the royal diadem
and crown him Lord of all.
Come thou fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace,
streams of mercy never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.

John the Baptist just rejoiced in the womb of Elizabeth. Verse 39 says, Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judea and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out loud with a loud voice and said, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord, isn't she your cousin, Elizabeth? Whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come unto me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

Now, from this point in Luke 1, down to verse 55, Mary and Elizabeth, both being filled with the Holy Ghost, they have a conversation. And then in verse 56, Mary goes home and Elizabeth delivers John the Baptist, and they name him John. Zacharias' mouth was opened and he spoke, AND HE PRAISED GOD. HE WAS NOT ABLE TO SPEAK TO THIS POINT. AND HIS MOUTH WAS OPEN AND HE PRAISED GOD AND ZACHARIAS WAS FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST AND HE DECLARED SOME THINGS CONCERNING CHRIST, CONCERNING JOHN BEING THE FORERUNNER OF CHRIST. AND THEN IN VERSE 80 OF LUKE CHAPTER 1 IT SAYS, that John grew, the child grew and waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.

So that's an overview. That's the events of Luke chapter one. A lot of ground, a lot of things happened. Now I wanna show you what stood out to me for our message today. That was an overview of Luke chapter one. Now here is our message.

Elizabeth, Mary and Zacharias. All three of them declared the glory of our gospel concerning the Christ that came. All three of them, they made declarations as these things happened to them. All three of them declared the gospel concerning the Christ that came. And they did this by repeating these two words. All three of them said these two words over and over again. He hath. That's the message of Luke chapter one. He hath. This Christ hath. This coming Messiah Hath, the Lord Jesus Christ hath.

Now let me just show you this. Let me show you their gospel declarations and then we'll be done, okay? If you're following along, look with me here at Luke chapter one, verse 24. After those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived and hid herself five months saying, this is what Elizabeth was saying. Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me to take away my reproach among men. She said, he hath. Elizabeth was the first one to declare it. This is what he hath done for me. That's the gospel message. That is the gospel message. It's the whole message of the gospel in one verse. Thus hath the Lord dealt with me. This is what he has done for me. The Lord did this. That's the gospel message. The Lord did this in the days wherein he looked on me. She said, he looked on me. He dealt with me. What did he do, Elizabeth? Verse 25, she said, he took away my reproach among men. He did that for me. That's the gospel according to Elizabeth. Glorious news, glorious news. This is what he did for me. He hath.

All right, Mary is the next one to declare this glorious gospel of Christ. The angel came and told Mary, now this was the angel's message to Mary. He said, Mary, he shall, that's what the angel kept saying, he shall, he shall fulfill his promise. But when Mary left the angel and went to visit Elizabeth, Mary declared, he hath. He hath. Mary came into the house and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost and cried out for joy. And Mary, also being filled with the Holy Ghost, responded to Elizabeth by saying in verse 46, if you look at verse 46, Mary said, my soul doth magnify the Lord. and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior, for he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden."

Mary said, my soul magnifies and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, my Lord and my God. You say, well, wait a minute, Mary, isn't that your baby? No. This is my Lord and my God. This is God, my Savior. God, my Savior. She said, God Almighty is my Savior. And she said, I magnify him and I rejoice in him.

Verse 48, for he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. He's high and I'm low, but he regarded me. He hath regarded me. The word regarded means to turn the eyes upon, to look upon, to gaze upon with favor, pity, and partiality. That's what it means. Mary said, thank God, he hath looked on me.

Now listen to the rest of Mary's gospel message here. Verse 48, she said, he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden. And then in verse 49, she said, for he hath, for he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is his name. Oh, what great things the Lord has done for me. That's what the Lord told that Gadarean man after he healed him, clothed him, sat him down, put him in his right mind. The man wanted to go with the Lord. He said, no, you go tell your neighbors and your friends, your family, how great things the Lord has done for you. He said, you go preach the gospel. And that's what Mary's doing right here. She said, what great things the Lord has done for me. Holy is his name.

Verse 50, and his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. She said his mercy. Oh, the mercy of God that is given to sinners through the blood and sacrifice of this very savior. She said, here's the good news. That mercy, that sparing of life, that transfer of wrath from the sinner to this substitute for sinners is on them that fear him from generation to generation. She said, his mercy endures forever.

Verse 51, she said, he hath showed strength with His arm. What does that mean? That means the Lord hath made bare His holy arm, which is Christ. That's what Isaiah 51 says, His holy arm. The middle of verse 51, she said, He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He's dealt with man in man's own pride, in man's own idolatry.

Verse 52, she said, he hath put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree. Verse 53, he hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent away empty. Verse 54, he hath hopened his servant. That means he has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy. She said, the Lord has done all these things. The Lord has done all these things in his sovereignty, in his kindness, in his tender mercy, the Lord has done all these things.

These two women knew the gospel. I pray the Lord will teach us what he taught them. They knew the gospel.

Well, verse 57 says, now Elizabeth's full time came that she should be delivered and she brought forth a son. John the Baptist was born. And it says the neighbors and the family members all wanted to name him Zacharias after his father. And Elizabeth said, no, his name is John. She was just moved by the Holy Ghost to say, no, I want his name to be John. And they said, well, let's go ask Zacharias about this. Let's see what he wants to name him. And Zacharias, still not able to speak yet, he wrote, his name is John. He was separate. They both declared his name is John.

Verse 63, Zacharias asked for a writing table and wrote saying, his name is John. and they marveled all, and his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake and praised God. That's when Zacharias could speak again. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them, and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country in Judea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, what manner of child shall this be? And the hand of the Lord was on him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied saying.

" Now, this is Zacharias' message. We heard Elizabeth's message. We heard Mary's message. Now, here's Zacharias' declaration of the gospel. Verse 68, he said, "'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people. Now I'm telling you that's all that needs to be declared in the declaration of the gospel. That's all that needs to be declared in the declaration of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people. and redeemed his people.

This was John the Baptist that was just born. Our Lord is born in Luke chapter 2. We're looking at Luke chapter 1. What do you mean he hath? Our Lord has not even come into the world yet in this manner. What do you mean he hath? Oh, it's a done deal. Known to God are all his works from the beginning. Zacharias said, the purpose and the will and the mind of God is a done deal. He hath visited, he hath redeemed. He's the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. His people are as secure as eternity itself. He hath all glory and praise be to God almighty because he came down and saved his people. HE HATH PURCHASED THEM WITH HIS OWN BLOOD. HE HATH SATISFIED THE HOLY JUSTICE OF GOD. THIS IS WHAT REDEEMED MEANS. HE HATH SEPARATED THEIR SINS FROM THEM AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST. HE HATH. HE HATH.

VERSE 68, HE HATH, BLESSED BE THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL FOR HE HATH VISITED AND REDEEMED HIS PEOPLE and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. That word horn means strength. He's raised up a strength for us. That's Christ. Christ is our strength. He's our strength in our song. Verse 69, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant.

Zechariah said, the Lord hath come to perform the mercy that was promised to us. and to remember his holy covenant. Zacharias said he is here because he made a covenant to be here. And being the holy God that he is, he can only make good on his covenant. That's all he can do. He's holy, he must. He must fulfill, verse 73 says, the oath which he swear to our father Abraham. Zacharias said his oath, his covenant, his blood support us in the whelming flood. That's what he promised to the seat of Abraham. The oath which he swore to our father Abraham that he would grant unto us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to announce his coming. That's what John was sent for.

TO GIVE KNOWLEDGE OF SALVATION UNTO HIS PEOPLE BY THE REMISSION OF THEIR SINS, THROUGH THE TENDER MERCY OF OUR GOD, WHEREBY THE DAY SPRING FROM ON HIGH HATH VISITED US, TO GIVE LIGHT TO THEM THAT SIT IN DARKNESS AND IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH, TO GUIDE OUR FEET INTO THE WAY OF PEACE.

AND THE CHILD GREW AND WAXED STRONG IN SPIRIT, AND WAS IN THE DESERTS TILL THE DAY OF HIS SHOWING UNTO ISRAEL.

between Elizabeth, Mary, and Zacharias. They declared, He hath ten times. He hath dealt with me. He hath looked on me. He hath done great things for me. He hath shown the strength of his arm. He hath scattered the proud, he hath put down the mighty, he hath filled the hungry, he hath sent away the rich, he hath helped his servant Israel, he hath visited and redeemed his people."

That's the gospel. That's the gospel message of Luke chapter 1. That's the glorious news of Jesus Christ. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how do we thank Him for it? Oh, we thank Him for coming into this world, declaring the salvation of Christ that would come. To Him be all the glory for it. Amen.

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 call or write to the number and address on your screen, or visit www.ksgc.church. Tune in at this same time next week for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.