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 have a message for you today
from Luke chapter 15. If you would like to read along
with me, Luke chapter 15, one line, we're going to be looking
at one statement today in one verse. And this statement is
the gospel. This is the gospel. If anyone wants to know what
the gospel is, here it is. The gospel means, when you look
up the definition of the word gospel, it means glad tidings. It means good news. That's what
the gospel is, good news. This is the best news that any
soul could ever hear. This is the best news I have
ever heard. This is the best news I've ever
told. This right here is the gospel. If you look with me at
Luke 15, in the very middle of verse two, it says, this man
receiveth sinners. This man receiveth sinners. May God open our hearts to this
today. Honestly, may God open our hearts
to this today. Aren't you so thankful for the
fact that our Lord's word is so clear and it's so definite,
it's so matter of fact. If God gives us eyes to see the
word, It's clear if he gives us eyes to see the word, and
if he gives us an ear to hear his word, and if he gives us
a heart to believe his word, then his word is so easy to understand. It's just so clear. It's so soothing. It's so restful. It's so comforting. Our Lord can do so much for us
with just a few words. Just a few words. This man receiveth
sinners. Four words. Just four words. This man receiveth sinners. You
know, the gospel can be preached in one word. Christ. He is the gospel in one word.
Here is the gospel in two words. IN CHRIST. IN CHRIST. WHERE IS ALL THE LOVE OF GOD
FOUND? IN CHRIST. WHERE ARE ALL THE
BLESSINGS OF GOD FOUND? IN CHRIST. HERE'S ANOTHER TWO-WORD GOSPEL
MESSAGE. BUT GOD. HE JUST MENTIONED, WE JUST READ
THE WORD SINNERS. SINNERS. BUT GOD. HERE'S THE
GOSPEL IN THREE WORDS. IT IS FINISHED. IT IS FINISHED. MEN AND WOMEN
ARE WONDERING, WHAT DO I NEED TO DO? WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
IT IS FINISHED. RIGHT HERE WE HAVE THE GOSPEL.
WE HAVE THE GLAD TIDINGS. WE HAVE THE HAPPY NEWS IN FOUR
GLORIOUS WORDS. THIS MAN RECEIVETH SINNERS. NOW OUR MESSAGE TODAY IS THESE
FOUR WORDS. AND FROM THESE FOUR WORDS, I
HAVE THREE POINTS. THE FIRST POINT IS THIS MAN. THAT'S POINT NUMBER ONE. SPEAKING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST,
THIS MAN, LET'S TAKE A MINUTE AND LOOK AT THIS MAN. LET'S LOOK AT WHO HE IS, WHO
HE REALLY IS. WHO IS THIS MAN JESUS CHRIST? JESUS OF NAZARETH THAT THE SCRIPTURE
TELLS US ABOUT. MANY PEOPLE KNOW WHO HE IS, BUT
THEY DON'T KNOW WHO HE IS. YOU SAY HIS NAME AND MANY PEOPLE
KNOW WHO HE IS, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHO HE IS. WHO IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST? WHO IS THIS ONE WHO WAS BORN
OF A VIRGIN? WELL, LET'S READ A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT HIM HERE IN THE WORD. TURN WITH ME OVER TO LUKE 24.
LUKE CHAPTER 24, VERSE 25, THEN HE SAID UNTO THEM, SPEAKING OF
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THEN HE SAID UNTO THEM, O FOOLS AND SLOW
OF HEART TO BELIEVE ALL THAT THE PROPHETS HAVE SPOKEN. Ought
not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His
glory? Speaking of His suffering on
the cross, everything that He endured, everything that He suffered
for the sake of His people. Verse 27 says, And beginning
at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all
the scriptures the things concerning Himself. BEGINNING AT MOSES,
ALL THE PROPHETS, HE EXPOUNDED EVERYTHING CONCERNING HIMSELF. VERSE 44 SAYS, AND HE SAID UNTO
THEM, THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH I SPAKE UNTO YOU, WHILE I WAS
YET WITH YOU, THAT ALL THINGS MUST BE FULFILLED WHICH WERE
WRITTEN IN THE LAW OF MOSES AND IN THE PROPHETS AND IN THE PSALMS
CONCERNING ME. He said it was all concerning
me. Everything that was written in
the Old Testament concerning the God of the Old Testament.
Moses wrote about the God of the Old Testament. He said Moses
was writing about me. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ
said. Moses wrote of me. Moses, David, the prophets, all
of them wrote of me. All of the dealings that God
had with Israel, he said, that was me. That was me. Across my page is John chapter
one, John one, one verse one says, in the beginning was the
word that's speaking of Christ and the word was with God and
the word was God. God, that's who this man is.
HE'S GOD. WHEN WE SAY THIS MAN, WHO ARE
WE TALKING ABOUT? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GOD. JOHN
1 VERSE 3 SAYS, ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM, THE WORD CHRIST,
AND WITHOUT HIM WAS NOT ANYTHING MADE THAT WAS MADE. Most people
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is just the son of the Old Testament
God. That's who they think he is.
They think he's just the son of the Old Testament God. Most
people believe he is just the son. Of the God who made everything. But that's not who he is, that's
not so. He's not just the son of the almighty one. And he's
not just the son of the judge who is seated on the throne.
He is the very I am of the Old Testament. That's who this man
is. Many people believe that the
Lord Jesus Christ is just a frustrated middleman. That's what they see
him to be. He's just a frustrated middleman. He's just begging
and pleading with God, and he's begging and pleading with men,
and he's trying to mediate between the two. And many people see him to be a good
luck charm, a name that they can drop to just help them out
in that day before the judgment. Well, I'll mention his name and
maybe God will YOU KNOW, HELP ME BECAUSE OF HIM. THAT'S NOT
WHO HE IS. THAT'S NOT WHO HE IS AT ALL.
OVER IN SECOND CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER 5, VERSE 8 SAYS, WE ARE CONFIDENT,
I SAY, AND WILLING RATHER TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY AND TO
BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD. WHEREFORE WE LABOR THAT WHETHER
PRESENT OR ABSENT, WE MAY BE ACCEPTED OF HIM. WE WANT TO BE
ACCEPTED. FOR WE MUST ALL APPEAR BEFORE
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST. THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST. WHY MUST WE ALL STAND BEFORE
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST? IT'S BECAUSE ALL JUDGMENT HAS
BEEN PLACED INTO HIS HANDS. ALL JUDGMENT. THAT'S WHO THIS
MAN IS. HE IS THE JUDGE. OVER IN COLOSSIANS,
CHAPTER 1, VERSE 16 SAYS, FOR BY HIM, SPEAKING OF CHRIST, BY
HIM WERE ALL THINGS CREATED THAT ARE IN HEAVEN AND THAT ARE IN
EARTH, VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, WHETHER THEY BE THRONES OR DOMINIONS
OR PRINCIPALITIES OR POWERS, ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM
AND FOR HIM. AND HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS,
AND BY HIM ALL THINGS CONSIST. AND HE IS THE HEAD OF THE BODY,
THE CHURCH, WHO IS THE BEGINNING, THE FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD,
THAT IN ALL THINGS HE MIGHT HAVE THE PREEMINENCE. THAT MEANS THAT
HE MIGHT BE FIRST. He might be the head of all things. Now, does that sound like a person
who is trying to do something as long as other people will
allow him to do it? Absolutely not. Does that sound
like somebody who is standing at other people's hearts door,
just knocking and begging and pleading, please let me. Absolutely
not. THIS MAN IS THE GOD OF ALL HEAVEN
AND EARTH. EARTH. THE GOD. THAT'S WHO THIS
MAN IS. THE GOD. THE GOD. THE SCRIPTURE
SAYS, WITHOUT CONTROVERSY, GREAT IS THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS.
GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. GOD WAS. The one who sits on
the throne himself reigning over everything and ruling over everything,
doing as he pleases, when he pleases, with whom he pleases. That's who this man is. That's
who this man is, he is the king of kings. He is the Lord of Lords,
God with us. That's who this man is. HE'S
THE ONE WHO HAS THE ABILITY AND THE RIGHT, THE SCRIPTURE SAYS,
HE IS THE ONE WHO HAS THE ABILITY AND THE RIGHT TO KILL AND TO
MAKE ALIVE, TO WOUND AND TO HEAL. THIS MAN IS THE ONE WHO DOES
ALL THESE THINGS. HE SAID, I DO ALL THESE THINGS.
HE CAN DO ANYTHING HE IS PLEASED TO DO. THAT'S WHAT I WANT US
TO SEE RIGHT HERE. THIS MAN CAN DO ANYTHING THAT HE IS PLEASED
TO DO. SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT THE TRUTH.
WE SAY WE'RE GONNA PREACH THE TRUTH. WELL, HERE'S THE TRUTH.
THIS MAN IS GOD ALMIGHTY AND HE CAN DO ANYTHING HE'S PLEASED
TO DO. WHATEVER HE WANTS TO DO, THAT'S WHAT HE DOES. THAT'S THE
TRUTH. HE CAN DO ANYTHING HE'S PLEASED
TO DO. NOW, HERE'S THE GOSPEL. HERE'S
THE GOSPEL. THIS IS WHAT HE'S PLEASED TO
DO. HE CAN DO ANYTHING HE WANTS TO DO. THAT'S THE TRUTH. HERE'S
THE GOSPEL. THIS IS WHAT HE SAID HE WAS PLEASED
TO DO. THIS IS WHAT HE OF HIS OWN HEART
SAID HE WAS PLEASED TO DO. IF YOU LOOK BACK AT OUR TEXT
AT LUKE 15, THE MIDDLE OF VERSE 2 SAYS THIS MAN RECEIVETH. THAT'S WHAT HE SAID HE WAS PLEASED
TO DO. HE CAN DO ANYTHING HE'S PLEASED TO DO. AND THIS IS WHAT
HE SAID HE WOULD DO. THIS IS WHAT HE SAID HE WANTED
TO DO. THIS MAN RECEIVES. JOHN 1 SAYS HE CAME UNTO HIS
OWN AND HIS OWN RECEIVED HIM NOT. ISAIAH 53 SAYS HE WAS DESPISED
AND REJECTED OF MEN. HE WAS ACCUSED OF MEN. HE WAS TORTURED, NOT JUST OF
MEN, BUT OF HIS OWN. THE VERY ONES WHO BROUGHT HIM
TO PILATE, CRYING, CRUCIFY HIM, HE PRAYED, FATHER, FORGIVE THEM.
THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO. AND THEN AT THE DAY OF PENTACOST,
THE VERY ONES WHO LED HIM TO PILATE, GOD HAD MERCY ON THEM.
CHRIST HAD MERCY ON THEM. THEY WERE HIS PEOPLE. AND THE
VERY ONES WHO MOCKED HIM, THE VERY ONES WHO HUMILIATED HIM
AND REJECTED HIM, TO THOSE VERY ONES, HE HAD EVERY RIGHT ACCORDING
TO THE LAW. NOW THINK ABOUT THIS. HE HAD
EVERY RIGHT ACCORDING TO THE HOLY LAW TO REJECT THEM AND DO
THE SAME TO THEM THAT THEY DID TO HIM. AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND
A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH. HAD WE READ RIGHT HERE IN VERSE
2 THAT THIS MAN REJECTS? IF WE WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING
ABOUT THIS MAN, HERE IT IS. THIS MAN TORTURES. THIS MAN HUMILIATES. HAD THAT
BEEN THE CASE HERE, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST AND RIGHT AND
HOLY AND TRUE ACCORDING TO THE LAW. BUT WE SING A SONG CALLED AMAZING
GRACE And amazingly, just amazingly,
that's not what it says. It says this man receiveth. He could do anything he wants
to do. And this is what he chose to do. This man allows. This man accepts. It has nothing
to do with whether or not I accept him. My cold, dead heart wouldn't
accept him at all. But thank God this man accepts. This man receives, this man welcomes
in. And he does it right now. Every
soul that the father draws to him, he does that for that soul. He is doing that right now. I'm
so thankful that this does not say. This man received. He used to. There was a time there was a
time when this man used to receive. Thank God it doesn't say that
it says this man receives. Right now. Receive if it means
two things it means still this man still receives still right
now. AND IT MEANS CONTINUALLY. THIS MAN IS CONTINUALLY RECEIVING. HE RECEIVETH AND HE RECEIVETH
AND HE RECEIVETH OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THIS MAN RECEIVETH. HIS RECEIVING IS NOT A ONE-TIME
RECEIVING. THANK GOD FOR THIS. HIS RECEIVING
IS NOT A THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT. THIS MAN RECEIVETH, AND RECEIVETH,
AND RECEIVETH, AND RECEIVETH, AND RECEIVETH. WE SENT AGAINST
HIM HIS PEOPLE THAT THE FATHER GAVE TO HIM. THEY SENT AGAINST
HIM, AND HE'LL RECEIVE THEM AGAIN. AND THEN THEY SENT AGAINST HIM
IN THEIR FLESH, AND HE'LL RECEIVE THEM AGAIN. Lord, we feel it. If we truly
belong to him, we know something of ourselves. We feel it prone
continually to leave the God that we love. But every time
we do. With cords of love. He draws
his people back. And he says, I'll receive you
again to myself. I'll receive you again in spite
of you. in spite of what you continually
do, in spite of what you continually are. Thank God this man receiveth
sinners. This man. Receiveth. Sinners. Sinners. Why does this man receive sinners?
Why does he do that? It's because that's who His Father
gave to Him. That's who His Father sent Him
for. That's who He came to save. That's
who He came to live for. That's who He came to die for.
That's who He came to shed His blood for. And every chosen person
that He has done this for will know, He did this for me. Every
one of them will know. If he did this for me, I will
know. And if he did it for you, you
will know. And here's the reason why. For
every person he did this for, God's Holy Spirit will come to
that person and will convince that person of this. You are
a sinner. EVERY PERSON CHRIST DID THIS
FOR. EVERY PERSON CHRIST RECEIVES. HE SENDS HIS SPIRIT TO THAT PERSON
AND THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD CONVINCES THAT PERSON YOU ARE A SINNER. YOU'RE A SINNER. I'M A SINNER.
I'M A SINNER. AND THEN ONCE THE SPIRIT CONVINCES
A PERSON OF THAT, OH, I'M A SINNER. THIS IS WHAT THE SPIRIT TELLS
THAT PERSON. HE SAYS THIS MAN CAN DO ANYTHING HE WANTS TO DO. THIS MAN CAN RECEIVE ANYTHING
HE WANTS TO RECEIVE. AND THIS MAN SAID THAT HE WOULD
RECEIVE SINNERS. AND THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE. AND
THAT'S WHAT HE'S DONE FOR YOU. THIS MAN RECEIVES SINNERS. Now, honestly, that gives me
such great hope. Me, that gives me such great
hope and such great comfort and such great assurance, because
I'm just going to be honest with you, that's what I am. I'm sure
that's shocking to hear. I'm sure it's shocking to hear
somebody admit that publicly, but that's what I am. I wish
I wasn't, but that's what I am. IN EVERYTHING THAT'S INWARD,
OUTWARD, THAT'S WHAT I AM, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE. AND I PRAY
GOD'S SPIRIT WILL CONVINCE BOTH OF US OF THAT. IT'S THE ONLY
HOPE THAT WE HAVE. BECAUSE IT'S THE EVIDENCE THAT
HE HAS DONE SOMETHING FOR US. THAT'S THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT.
A WRITER WROTE, A SINNER IS A SACRED THING. THE HOLY GHOST HAS MADE
HIM SO. THAT MEANS THE HOLY GHOST HAS REVEALED THAT TO HIM. And
I can honestly say that God has revealed to me that I'm a genuine,
certified sinner. I'm a through and through sinner.
That's what I am. When God truly reveals sin to
a person, Oh, they become so down on themselves. The flesh
of man, the self-righteousness of man is so proud. Man naturally
is just so proud. That's how we all start out.
That's how I started out. I was so proud. And God humbled
me by revealing to me what I am. AND WHEN GOD DOES THAT FOR A
SINNER, SOMETIMES IT IS SO HUMBLING THAT PERSON THINKS, I CAN'T COME
TO HIM. I SHOULD NOT COME TO HIM. SEEING
THIS MAN, SEEING WHO HE IS AND ALL OF HIS HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS,
THERE'S NO WAY I COULD COME TO HIM. I'VE GONE TOO FAR. I'VE
JUST SINNED TOO MUCH. I'VE GONE PAST THE POINT OF HIM
RECEIVING ME. IF GOD HAS CONVINCED YOU THAT
YOU'RE A SINNER, THAT OUGHT TO GIVE YOU ALL THE MORE ASSURANCE
TO COME TO HIM. ALL THE MORE ASSURANCE. I'LL
GIVE YOU A LITTLE ILLUSTRATION OF THAT. I'M SURE YOU'VE SEEN
SIGNS IN THE WINDOWS OF STORES, JEWELRY STORES AND PLACES LIKE
THAT. THEY'LL PUT UP A SIGN THAT SAYS, WE BUY GOLD. I KNOW YOU'VE
SEEN THOSE SIGNS, WE BUY GOLD. jewelry that we don't want, whatever
we have that we think is gold, and they'll test it. We take
it to them and they'll test it and they'll weigh it. And if
it really is genuine gold, they will pay us for it. They'll buy
that gold from us. Now, after they test it, if it's
not pure gold, if it's mixed with something or if it's not
gold at all, they won't receive it. They'll hand it back to us
and they'll say there's no value in that and we'll walk away empty
handed. They won't pay us. They won't receive it and they
won't pay us. The more confidence that we have
that is pure gold. The more assurance that ought
to give us that they'll receive it. BECAUSE THEY SAY IN THEIR
SIGN, WE BUY GOLD. AND IF I KNOW THIS IS GENUINE,
CERTIFIED THROUGH AND THROUGH GOLD, THAT OUGHT TO GIVE ME ALL
THE ASSURANCE IN THE WORLD TO BRING IT TO THEM BECAUSE THAT'S
WHAT THEY RECEIVE. WELL, THIS MAN SAYS HE RECEIVES
SINNERS. AND THE MORE CONVINCED THAT YOU
AND I ARE OF THE FACT THAT WE ARE GENUINE, CERTIFIED, THROUGH
AND THROUGH SINNERS, THAT OUGHT TO GIVE US ALL THE ASSURANCE
IN THE WORLD TO GO TO THIS MAN BECAUSE THAT'S WHO HE SAYS HE
RECEIVES. THIS MAN RECEIVES SINNERS. NOW, IF YOU'RE CONVINCED THAT
YOU'RE ONLY PARTLY A SINNER, A LITTLE BIT OF SIN MIXED WITH
A LITTLE BIT OF YOUR OWN SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS, Or if you're convinced you're
not a sinner at all, some people are. Some people are convinced,
I'm not a sinner. Don't you call me a sinner. If that's the case,
I would be very fearful about coming to this man because there's
no hope for a person who's not a sinner. His word is to sinners. His salvation is to sinners. He said he will receive sinners. And that's all that he said he
will receive. He said, I didn't come for the righteous. I didn't
come for the self-righteous, a man who says, well, I'm righteous
before God. He said, I didn't come for the righteous. He said,
I came for sinners. But if you are sitting there
right now, convinced that you are a sinner, if your mind is
condemning you and your heart is condemning you and your actions
are condemning you because you know you can't hide it before
God, you're an absolute sinner. then go to this man. In your
heart, in your mind, come to him lowly, humbly, bowing, crying,
Lord, I'm a sinner in need of mercy. Say that to him. When you go to him, you say,
I'm a sinner in need of your mercy. I need your blood to cover
my sin. Oh, I need you to receive me.
This is what he said. He said, All that the father
giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out. I will in no wise cast out. Now,
let me leave you with this question. Are you a sinner? Get honest
with yourself right now, you don't have to confess to anybody
but God in your heart. AM I A SINNER? IS GABE STONIKER
A SINNER? AND ARE YOU A SINNER? IF WE ARE,
IF WE TRULY ARE, THEN THIS IS WHAT THE SONG SAYS. SINNERS,
THE LORD JESUS WILL RECEIVE. SOUND THIS WORD OF GRACE TO ALL
WHO THE HEAVENLY PATHWAY LEAVE, ALL WHO LINGER, ALL WHO FALL. Sing it over and over again. You tell him over and over again,
Christ receiveth sinful man. Make the message clear and plain.
Christ receiveth sinful man. May the Lord make that to be
a blessing till next week. 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, log on to
our website at ksgctn.org. 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 1045 a.m., and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.