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. If you would like to follow along
with me, I'm going to be speaking to you from Psalm 107. Psalm
chapter 107, I would like for us to look just for a moment
at God's goodness. His goodness. Psalm 107 verse
one says, Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for he is good. For his mercy endureth forever. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord
for he is good. He is so good. He is not just
one of the things that is good. He is the source of all good. He's the source of it. He is
where all goodness comes from. He is good. Oh, give thanks to the Lord for
he is good. There's a song that we. saying
in our congregation and one of the lines says, God is great.
God is good. So, so good. Oh, give thanks
unto the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. His goodness is what brought
mercy to sinners like us forever. Mercy forever, that's goodness.
that he would show mercy forever. Verse two says, let the redeemed
of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the
enemy. This is the order of events that
takes place in the salvation of all of God's children. It
started with God's goodness and his love. This is where salvation
begins. God's goodness and his love. Romans 5 verse 8 says God commended
his love toward us. While we were yet sinners. Didn't
start with us getting rid of our sin first and then he loved
us. No, he commended his love toward
us while we were yet sinners. Ephesians 2 verses 4 and 5 say,
but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith
he loved us even when we were dead in sin. Salvation began
with God's goodness and God's love. That's what led to him
not giving us what we deserve, mercy. That's what led to him
showing sinners like us mercy. You know, all we deserve is punishment
and wrath. That's all we deserve. We have
sinned against him. I know I'm a sinner and I believe
you know you are too. Just go for a minute into your
mind and see what's in there. And that ought to tell us what's
in this heart. That ought to remind us of what
comes out of this mouth, the desires of the flesh, the sinners. And what do sinners against God
deserve? Punishment and wrath. But God's
goodness Brought mercy. Mercy. It led to him not giving
us what we deserve. By giving it to Christ. Giving
Christ what we deserve on our behalf. When Christ received
the gift of our sin, God gave the sin of his people. He has
a particular people. He chose a people to save and
when he took their sin and gave it to Christ. On the cross of
Calvary. He made the payment that was
required for our sin. In the shedding of his blood.
And at that moment. We received the gift of redemption
when Christ made that payment. Immediately, our slate was wiped
clean. Everything was restored back
to God. And then in his good time, through
the message of the gospel, he calls out and he gathers his
redeemed into his sheepfold. He gathers his people together
around his word, around his truth. Verse two, it says, let the redeemed
of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the
enemy and gathered them out of the lands from the East and from
the West, from the North and from the South. That's goodness,
isn't it? Such goodness. Look with me at
Psalm 2. He said in Psalm 2 verse 7, now
this is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking. He said, I will declare
the decree. The Lord hath said unto me, my
father hath said unto me, thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee, ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. The father said to the son, if
you ask me, if you ask this of me, if you want it and you ask
for it, I'll give you all of my elect sinners. I'll give you
all of their sin for an inheritance." That's what you get and then
judgment will be shown accordingly. And Christ said, Lord, I'd love
to have it. Where I am, I want them to be
also and God the Father gave it to him. In John 17, the Lord
said, Father, I will that they also whom thou has given me be
with me where I am. And he took it so that we could
be God's goodness, brought mercy. Mercy through the death of Christ.
And that mercy brought redemption. Total redemption brought us back
to him. That's what redemption is. It
brings us back to God. Well, back in Psalm 107, verse
one says, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for
his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and
gathered them out of the lands, from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness
in a solitary way. They found no city to dwell in. They tried this religion and
they tried that religion and they tried this church and that
church and this preacher and that preacher. Just wandering. Searching. Looking. Verse 5 says
hungry and thirsty. Their soul fainted in them. They craved the righteousness
of Christ, but they didn't know it. They didn't know it. They were hungry, but they didn't
know what for. They didn't know what they were
hungry for. They were missing something,
but they didn't know what they were missing. There's a dear
man who I know he has gone on to be with the Lord now. He passed
away many years ago, but when he was a younger man, he was
in religion. One of God's sheep, but he didn't
yet know it. God had not called him out yet.
But as he sat in religion, he told his wife, he said, I don't
know what I'm not hearing, but I know I'm not hearing it. I don't know what it is that
I'm missing, but I know that there's something missing, something
missing. And God caused him to go searching
until he found it. And he said, that's it. And that's
how it is for God's people. They're wanderers, they're searching
and they don't know what for exactly. Verse six, then they
cried unto the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them
out of their distresses. God delivers his people out of
their distresses. Over in Matthew chapter five,
it says in verse six, Blessed are they which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. They shall be. That's goodness. They don't even know what they're
hungry for, but God said, I'm going to fill them. And that's
his goodness. Verse 7, Psalm 107, verse 7,
it says, He led them forth by the right way that they might
go to a city of habitation. He led them forth by the right
way. Psalm 23 says, He leadeth me
in paths of righteousness. Thomas said correctly when he
said, we don't know the way. Naturally speaking, man does
not know the way. He led them forth by the right
way. the way of his righteousness.
What is righteousness? What is righteousness? Well,
we just saw in Matthew five, it said, blessed are they which
do hunger and thirst after righteousness. He leads me in paths of righteousness,
what is righteousness? It's Christ. It's Christ, he
leads me in paths of Christ. Through his word, He puts my
eyes on Christ. He puts my mind on Christ. He brings my heart to Christ. He tunes my ear to Christ. Verse seven, he led them forth
by the right way that they might go to a city of habitation. The
fellowship of God's people in a congregation. Whenever God
starts to reveal Christ to his people, He brings them to where
Christ is preached. He'll put the message of Christ
in a preacher. And God's people will hear that
message and gather to it, and they'll want to be together.
And when God's people are gathered around the gospel and God blesses
it by his spirit, he said, we're two or three are gathered in
my name. I'm in the midst of them. And
when God does that and he blesses his word by his spirit, In those
moments, God's people know. They know he's right here in
the midst of us, and it's a foretaste of glory divine. Do you know
what heaven is? Here's what heaven is. It's being
in the presence of Christ. Wherever he is, that's heaven. Heaven is not just a heavenly,
eternal kingdom, golden streets and things like that. It's wherever
Christ is. Being in his presence is heaven. Heaven. Well, verse 8 says, Oh,
that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his
wonderful works to the children of man, for he satisfieth the
longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. He fills it with goodness. The
word goodness means pleasantness. Agreeableness. Excellence. Richness. This is what it means
better. That's what the word means better.
They cry. This is better. We were out here
eating the husk of religion, false religion and false doctrine
and this and that. Now we've heard Christ. We fed
on Christ and oh, it's better. The word also means happy. This
is happy. He fills the soul with happy. The flesh may be miserable, but
the soul is happy. It means understanding. It means kindness. It means rightness,
and we can summarize every bit of that by saying Christ. He
fills the soul with Christ. Now, who does he do that for?
God has a people. And he does not do this for every
soul standing on the earth. So who does he do it for? Who
has he chosen specifically, particularly to do that for? Verse 10, such
as sit in darkness in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction
and iron. Why do they sit in darkness?
Why are they bound in affliction and iron? Verse 11, because they
rebelled against the words of God and condemned the counsel
of the Most High, that's why. So what did he do for him in
his goodness? How did his goodness come to him? Verse 12, therefore
he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down and there
was none to help. The same thing that he did for
Saul of Tarsus, he does that same thing for every soul that
he has redeemed. The apostle Paul, who was Saul
of Tarsus, said in 1 Timothy 1.16, he said, I'm a pattern
for every soul that God chooses to save. What he did for me,
he'll do that for every child of his. Well, what did he do
for you, Paul? He brought me down. I was riding to Damascus in all
of my self-righteousness and all of my own works religion,
and he put me in the dust. He said, I am. He knocked me off of my high
horse, and he put me down in the dust. I fell down, and there
was none to help but Christ. None but him. That's goodness.
That is goodness. When sinners become broken and
stripped down. That's the moment to get excited. That's the moment to get happy.
That's the moment to be hopeful that God's goodness is coming
to a center. When they're just crying in their
heart, woe is me, I'm wretched, I'm undone. That's goodness. Now why is that God's goodness
to a center? Why would that be God's goodness
to a center? It's because verse 13 says, then
they cried unto the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out
of their distresses. That's why they weren't crying
before. But they're crying now. Help
me, Lord. Oh, help me. I see who you are. I see what I am. Verse 14. He brought them out of darkness
in the shadow of death. He break their bands in sunder.
Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for
His wonderful works to the children of men, for He hath broken the
gates of brass and cut the bars of iron in sunder. Once the truth
of sin is revealed to a sinner, not just the sin of mankind,
the sin of me, once my sin is revealed, once the truth of Christ
is revealed, the truth of salvation in Him, When that comes to a
center, it sets the center free. Everything he's been trying to
do to appease God when he sees Christ did it for him. Paid my debt and he set me free. It's freeing. If you know the
truth, the truth will set you free. It's freeing. It's his
goodness. In Isaiah 61, he said, this is
Christ speaking, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because
the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are
bound, bound by sin, bound by religion, bound by our own works
and self-righteousness, set them free. Verse two, to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord. He did it. and the day of vengeance
of our God to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that
mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes. the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planning
of the Lord, that he might be glorified. It's wonderful, isn't
it? Over in Matthew 11, it says in
verse one, it came to pass when Jesus had made an end of commanding
his 12 disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in
their cities, 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? And
Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again
those things which you do hear and see. The blind receive their
sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached
unto them. You know what you call that?
Goodness. Goodness. All of that physical
goodness. He really did those things. All
of that physical goodness represents spiritual goodness. Goodness
to the sinful soul. The spiritually blind see Christ. The spiritually lame, those who
can't come, they come run into Christ. The spiritually filthy,
they're washed in the blood of Christ. The spiritually deaf
hear the voice of Christ, the spiritually blind, spiritually
dead are given the life of Christ. And the spiritually poor. The
empty the broke. They have the unsearchable riches
of Christ preached to him. That's goodness. Oh, that's such
goodness. The Lord is so good. Well, back
in Psalm 107. It says in Psalm 107 verse 17. Fools. That's who we just read
about that describes us. That's who he did all this for.
Verse 17 says fools because of their transgression and because
of their iniquities are afflicted, their soul abhoreth all manner
of me. They draw near unto the gates
of death. Then they cry unto the Lord in
their trouble, and He saveth them out of all their distresses.
What made them cry? What made them know to even cry
out to Him in the first place? Verse 20 says, He sent His Word
and healed them and delivered them from their destruction. He sent His Word to them. He
let them know. David said in Psalm 27, When
you said, seek ye my face, my heart said, thy face, Lord, will
I seek. You started it, I just responded. Verse 21, oh, that
men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful
works to the children of men. Oh, that men would do that, he's
so good, start to finish. Verse 22, and let them sacrifice
the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing. That's our reasonable service,
isn't it? Christ made the great sacrifice of redemption. He died
for his people. So our thank you, our rejoicing
is our reasonable service in return. But not only that, that's
what we desire. That's the heart desire of all
of God's people. We gladly say thank you, Lord,
for saving our souls. Thank you for making us whole.
Thank you for all of this salvation, rich and free. We sacrifice the
sacrifices of thanksgiving and we tell everybody we can of his
wonderful works with rejoicing. This really is the happiest message
ever told. What Christ did for his people,
that's the happiest message ever told. Verse 23, they that go
down to the sea in ships that do business in great waters,
these see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep.
For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth
up the waves thereof. They see his sovereignty in all
things. He raises the storm. He raises the waves. Verse 26.
They mount up to the heaven. They go down again to the depths.
Their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and
fro and stagger like a drunken man are at their wits end. Then
they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them
out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so
that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they
be quiet, so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh,
that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his
wonderful works to the children of men. It's a never-ending cycle. It's a never-ending cycle throughout
the course of this world. It's trial after trial after
trial. But every now and then, God's
people get to enjoy a lull between the trials. They get a little
moment between the trials to thank Him for His goodness. Oh,
thank you. And they know that it's the storm
that brings that realization of His goodness. They know that,
and they're even thankful for that too. They're thankful for
that. Verse 32, let them exalt him
also in the congregation of the people and praise him and the
assembly of the elders. He turneth rivers into a wilderness
and the water springs into dry ground. Sometimes that is the
greatest goodness he could ever bring to a center. He turns this
this river into dry ground. Dries everything up. Everything
goes crumbling out from under him. Verse 34 says he makes the
fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that
dwell therein. Why would that be his goodness?
It's because he knows when the soul of his child is a dry parched
ground. Everything out here may be flourishing,
but he knows when the soul is not. And his great goodness is
to make all this out here. A barren land. So that the soul
may thrive, may cry out to him. The fruit of the spirit may thrive. That he might verse 35 says,
turn the spiritual wilderness of the soul into standing water. In dry ground into water springs,
well springs of living water. That's goodness. Verse 36. And there he maketh the hungry
to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation, and sow
the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
that seed of the gospel and the fruit of the spirit. God's people
want to dig roots wherever it is, wherever that gospel is and
his spirit is. Verse 38. He blessed them also
so that they are multiplied greatly and suffereth not their cattle
to decrease. He'll bless him. He'll provide
for him. Verse 39. Again, they are minished and
brought low through oppression, affliction and sorrow. They're
going to suffer tribulation. throughout their entire course
in this world. But verse 40, he poureth contempt upon princes
and causeth them to wander in the wilderness where there is
no way, yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction and maketh
him families like a flock. In the end, he's going to carry
them up and out, away from this place, all this mess. Verse 42,
the righteous shall see it and rejoice, and all iniquity shall
stop her mouth. Those who have been made righteous
in Christ, they're gonna see it, they're gonna rejoice, and
all sin shall be put away. Verse 43, who so is wise and
will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving
kindness of the Lord. Whoever is in Christ, our wisdom. If a man is wise, that just means
he has Christ and he's looking to Christ and he's listening
to Christ and he's trusting Christ. Whoever is in Christ, our wisdom
has been given eyes to see and ears to hear and is going to
understand. They'll all be taught of God.
All of God's people are going to come firsthand to a knowledge
of the goodness of the Lord. All of God's people are going
to see his goodness in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, in
the blood of his sacrifice, and they're going to give thanks.
They're going to give thanks and praise God forever. for the
great goodness He showed to them through His Son. Till next week,
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, 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 730 p.m. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.