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 will be speaking to you today
from 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians 2, and we
are going to look at verses 16 and 17. They say, now our Lord Jesus
Christ Himself and God, even our Father, which hath loved
us and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through
grace, comfort your hearts, establish you in every good word and work. Every phrase in those two verses
would be a wonderful message for us to consider. Every single
phrase, you could break it down. We could look at our Lord Jesus
Christ himself. I love that line. I read that
and I thought that's a glorious line. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself. Or we could look at the God who
loved us. Or we could enter into our everlasting
consolation. Or we could see how every bit
of this is through grace. Through grace, it's all through
grace. Or we could focus on comfort for our hearts. or being established
in every good word in work. We could take each one of those
phrases, but the one that I would like for us to look at today
is the one I didn't just read to you. I skipped it in verse
16. It says, our good hope. That's the message for today.
Our good hope. If we are in Christ, we have
a good hope. And that's the key to it all.
is if we are in Christ. That's what all of salvation
hinges on. That's what all of the gospel
hinges on. All of the good news is whether
or not we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. But if we are in Christ,
we have a wonderful, wonderful hope. God has given all of his
chosen people. He has a chosen people and he
has given all of them a good hope. The Apostle Peter said,
it is a lively hope. It's a living hope. It's alive,
it's alive and well. That's a good hope, a hope that
is alive and well. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians
that God has given us faith, hope, and love. Faith is In the ability of the
one who promised God is the one who made the promise. Faith believes
him. Faith is in the ability of the one who promised. Hope
is in what he promised. He promised to do something for
his people and hope is in what he promised and love. Started it all. Love is what
responds to it all. And love will stay with that
faith and that hope forever. So they all go hand in hand.
And so does everything that we just mentioned in those two verses,
even though we could look at each phrase by itself, they all
go hand in hand. They really can't be separated.
When God starts the work, All of those things result in His
child every single time. The God who loved us has given
us an everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. That's how it has come to us
through grace. And through that, He does comfort
our hearts. And He does establish us in every
good word in and work and I pray that he might truly establish
us in our good hope. I pray he might confirm us and
settle us and establish us in this wonderful hope that he's
given to all of his people. I pray that you and I both are
his people and I pray he will establish us in our hope. Now,
who specifically is this hope to? Who is he speaking to? We said he has a people. So who
is he speaking to? Well, he said in verse 16, now
our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our father, which
hath loved us. Loved us. Specifically, who are
the us? He said in verse 13, we are bound
to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, because God
hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. God from the
beginning chose a people to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit. That means being set apart by
the Holy Spirit of God, and belief in the truth. Verse 14 says,
it's to those who have been called of God by the message of the
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of Christ. And verse 15
says, it's to those who stand fast and hold the traditions
that God has taught them. God through his word has taught
him. That's who he's speaking to.
That's who God has given this good hope to. Now, what is the
hope? What is it? If we have a good
hope, what does that mean? The definition of the word hope
is expected anticipation. Expected. Anticipation, the hope
that we have in God's word is not the kind of hope that we
have in this world. Many people hope for things in
this world, in the flesh and in the things of this world.
This is what we say. I hope this happens. Oh, I hope
that happens. Or I hope that doesn't happen. What that means is I'm just not
sure. I'm not sure I have a, uh, uh, tend to, I'm leaning
one way, but I don't know if it'll come to pass. I'll just
have to wait and see. This is what I would personally
like to see happen, but it's just uncertain right now. I just,
I hope, you know, but we'll see. It's uncertain. That is not the
kind of hope that God has given to his people in his word. Not at all. Not at all. That is not our good hope. God has given us something to
expect and anticipate. I mean, expect, count on and
anticipate. In Christ, we have an expected
anticipation. All right, so who is it to? It's
to God's chosen people. What is the hope? It is an expected
anticipation. Now let's ask this question.
Why do we need it? Why do we need this good hope? Here's the reason why. It's because
we know what we are in the flesh. I know what I am and I know what
you are and I hope you know what you are. We know that we are
in the flesh, dead in trespasses and sins. What that means is,
I know that I'm a sinner who continually sins. And you are
a sinner who continually sins. We can try to convince ourselves
that that's not so, well, I'm not that bad. Well, I am that
bad. All I have to do is just go into
my mind for a moment. You go into your mind. What do
you find in there? What thoughts come up? It's bad,
isn't it? It's bad. It's sin against God.
We know that we came forth from our mother's womb speaking lies.
Let me ask you this question. Did your parents sit you down
and teach you how to lie? All you started out doing was
speaking truth, and they said, well, let me show you how to
lie. And they worked on it with you, and you got a little better
at it, and a little better at it, until one day you were a good liar.
No. We naturally come forth speaking lies. It's because we are sinners,
dead in trespasses and sins. Sin is all that we are, and it's
all that we've done, even the good things. are swallowed up
in pride and swallowed up in arrogance and self-righteousness. And our Lord hates those things.
He said, they're all sin. He said, even our righteousnesses,
even our good deeds are filthy rags in his presence. Because
of that, we know and we ought to know what we deserve. As sinners,
we know what the wages of sin is. Eternal damnation, eternal
death. Therefore, if God did not give
us this good hope, this ordered and sure expected anticipation,
we would absolutely drown in utter despair. It would consume
us. Knowing what we are, it would
consume us. Every child of God desperately
needs this wonderful hope. Every child of God, the apostle
Paul said in Romans eight, we are saved by hope. We're saved from total despair
by this wonderful hope that God has given to us. Now, specifically,
what is it? It's expected anticipation. But
specifically, what has God done for us in the Lord Jesus Christ? What is our hope? I have some scriptures that will
tell us. All right, the first one is in 1 Thessalonians 5.
It's just back one page in my Bible. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse
8 says, but let us who are of the day be sober, putting on
the breastplate of faith and love and for in helmet the hope
of salvation. The hope of salvation. Our God
has given us the hope expected anticipation. Of salvation. Complete total salvation saved
from sin. Saved from the curse of sin,
death, damnation. Saved from the power of sin,
that hold that it has on us. Saved from all the wages and
penalty. And one day real soon, because
of the good hope that he's given to us in his word, we're gonna
be saved from the presence of sin. If there's any hope for
sinners like you and me, If there's any hope, we're going to need
two things. This is what I need and this is what you need. If
there is truly any hope, we need mercy and we need redemption. That's what we need. We need
forgiveness and we need righteousness. We need to not receive what we
deserve. and we need to receive what we
don't deserve. That's what we need. If you look
with me at Psalm 130, it says in Psalm 130 verse one, out of
the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine ears be attentive to
the voice of my supplication. Please hear me as I cry unto
you. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who
shall stand? What he's saying is, I acknowledge
what I am. If you should mark iniquities,
who could stand? Verse four, he said, but there
is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. I wait
for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord
more than they that watch for the morning. I say more than
they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. and he shall redeem Israel from
all his iniquities. He'll do it. That's what the
word says. That's what the word tells the
child of God who is hoping in Christ. He'll do it. He will
do it. Let Israel hope in the Lord. He'll do it. This right here
is what gives us confidence. and expectation. He'll do it. God convinces the heart of his
people that he'll do it. It's not left left up to me to
do it. He'll do it. That's the comfort. That's the glory of the hope.
My forgiveness and my redemption has been laid on his shoulders. Does that give you any relief?
It's not laid on your shoulders. Whether or not you receive mercy
and forgiveness and redemption, it's not up to you. God laid
it on Him. He'll do it. All the mercy that I need and
all the righteousness that I need has been required of Him. Him. Not us. Him. That's what makes it such a good
hope. Such a good, good hope. That's
what gives us such a strong consolation. It's in no one else's hands,
but his. That is comforting. He'll do
it. Isaiah 55 says, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call
ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way. Man is trying to Do it his own
way. Let the wicked forsake his way
and the unrighteous man, his thoughts, his thoughts of trying
to save himself and let him return unto the Lord and he will have
mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. He'll do it. He will do it. Over in Lamentations chapter
three, Verse 21 says, This I recall to my mind, therefore have I
hope. This is what I recall to my mind,
and this is the reason I have hope. Verse 22 says, It is of
the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions
fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. This is what gives me such expected
anticipation. We are not consumed because his
compassions fail not. They're brand new every morning. Great is his faithfulness. What is his faithfulness? What
is his faithfulness? Spiritually speaking, these are
the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said in verse 1, right here,
Lamentations 3 verse 1, I am the man that hath seen affliction
by the rod of his wrath. This is Christ speaking. He said,
I bore the affliction of my people so they wouldn't have to. I bore
their sin, I bore the curse, I bore the power, I bore the
wages, I bore the presence of their sin on the cross of Calvary. These are the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ right here. He is speaking of his experience
on the cross of Calvary. Now let's read this and enter
into this. See if you can hear his words
from the cross of Calvary. Verse two, he hath led me and
brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against
me is he turned. He turneth his hand against me
all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he
made old. He hath broken my bones. He hath
builded against me, encompassed me with gall and travail. He
hath set me in dark places as they that be dead of old. He
hath hedged me about that I cannot get out. He hath made my chain
heavy. Also, when I cry and shout, He
shutteth out my prayer. He hath enclosed my ways with
hewn stone. He hath made my paths crooked. He laid sin on me. He was unto
me as a bear lying in wait and as a lion in secret places. He
hath turned aside my ways and pulled me in pieces. He hath
made me desolate. He hath bent his bow and set
me as a mark for the arrow. He hath caused the arrows of
his quiver to enter into my reins. I was a derision to all my people
and their song all the day. They mocked me. He hath filled
me with bitterness. He hath made me drunken with
wormwood. He hath also broken my teeth
with gravel stones. He hath covered me with ashes.
And thou hast removed my soul afar off from peace. I forgot
prosperity. And I said, my strength and my
hope is perished from the Lord. remembering mine affliction and
my misery, the wormwood and the gall, my soul hath them still
in remembrance and is humbled in me." He said, every time a
sinner who has received salvation from me lives out another sin
as he is going through his life, a sin that I paid for. I paid
for all of the sins of all of my people from the cradle to
the grave. And as they finish out the course
of their life, every time they live out another one of those
sins, I remember my affliction and I remember my misery that
I bore on the cross. I remember the wormwood and I
remember the gall. And he said, my soul is satisfied. satisfied in the fact that that
sin has been paid for. I make intercession to my father
on behalf of my people, and his wrath is a beast. Knowing it's
paid for. Verse 24 right here says, the
Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in
him. The Lord is good unto them that
wait for him to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that
a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the
Lord. That's the mercy we need. Mercy
is not getting what we deserve. We didn't get it because Christ
got it. He took it for us and that's
what we need. That's where our mercy came from.
He is what secured it. All right, now here's the righteousness.
Over in Romans 10, it says in Romans 10, verse 1, brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved. For I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being
ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God for Christ. What is the righteousness
of God? Who is the righteousness of God?
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. When God gives a sinner faith
to believe on Christ and believe he did everything that needs
to be done, That brings all the righteousness that that center
needs. If they have Him, they have everything they need. They see and they believe, He
is my righteousness. Oh, but I'm just not happy with
what I see right here. That's okay. Look to Christ.
Look to Christ and you'll see everything you need. Abraham
believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. In
Galatians 5 verse 1 says, Stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again
with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you
that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. If
you're hoping in circumcision, you're not hoping in Christ.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that
he's a debtor to do the whole law. You want to look to one
law, we have to look to all of them. Christ is become of no
effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law,
you're fallen from grace. That free gift that's in the
blood of Christ. For we through the Spirit wait
for the hope of righteousness by faith. that hope of righteousness
that is by faith. Hebrews 7, 19 says, for the law
made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope
did. Hope in Christ made everything perfect. Over in 1 Timothy 1,
Verse one says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment
of God, our savior and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. We have a good hope. What is
it? What is it really? Christ is
our hope. He is our hope. The Lord Jesus
Christ himself. He is the God who loved us. HE
IS OUR EVERLASTING CONSOLATION. HE IS GRACE. HE IS GRACE. HE IS THE COMFORT OF OUR HEART. HE IS OUR GOOD WORD AND OUR GOOD
WORK. OUR HOPE IS COMPLETELY WRAPPED
UP IN HIM. COMPLETELY. THEREFORE, THIS IS
THE ANTICIPATION WE EXPECT. ALRIGHT? BECAUSE OF HIM, In him,
Titus says, I'm going to read two verses in chapter one and
two verses in chapter two. Titus 1 verse 1 says, Paul, a
servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to
the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth,
which is after godliness in hope of eternal life. which God that
cannot lie promised before the world began. Hope of eternal
life. Now chapter two, verse 13 says,
looking for that blessed hope. and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself
for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." What
is our good hope? What is our expected anticipation? Here's what it is. His glorious
appearing. eternal life with Him. He is coming back. We anticipate
His appearing, His return. And God said when He comes, it's
going to be glorious. It's a glorious appearing. Paul told the Philippians that
He is going to change our vile body, that it may be fashioned
like unto His glorious body. John said, Beloved, it doth not
yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall
appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And then he said, Every man that
hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. What a hope! We're going to live
with him eternally, be just like him at his glorious appearing,
changed into his image. May God give us that glorious
hope. Till next week, the Lord bless His Word. 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 730 p.m. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.