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'm going to be speaking to you
this morning from Psalm 99. Psalm chapter 99. And for a text,
we're going to use one verse. Verse five and that verse says,
Exalt ye the Lord our God. Exalt ye the Lord our God and
worship at his footstool for he is holy. He is holy. God is holy. That's the title of this message.
I cannot think of a more wonderful, glorious subject to deal with
and look at and consider than the fact that God is holy. God is holy and everything that
that means. Holy means pure. He is absolutely
pure. It means right. He's right. That's all he is, is right. Everything
he does and says is right. He's pure. He's right. He's good. That's what holy means. Good. The judge of the earth will do
right. He's holy. He is holy. He cannot not be pure and right
and good. He cannot not be those things. And the reason is because God
is in everything that he is, God
is holy. 1 John 1 verse 5 says, God is
light, beautiful light. And it says in him is no darkness
at all. There is no darkness in him.
There cannot be any darkness in him because God is light. If he is light, there cannot
be any darkness in him. He is only perfect, pure, beautiful
light. Isn't that wonderful? That's
wonderful. One of the old writers and an
old gospel preacher said this, and this is so true. And this
again is so wonderful. He said, power is God's hand. The things that we see of absolute
power, that's God's hand. He said, omniscience is his eye. He sees everything. There's nothing
he does not see. There's nothing he does not know
about. He said, mercy is his heart. That's his heart. He'll have
mercy. He said, eternity is his duration. But he said, holiness, that's
his beauty. That is his beauty. You think
about that. Holiness is his beauty. When David said, one thing have
I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell
in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold
the beauty." David said, this is the one thing I want. All
I want come the end of this life is I want to dwell in the house
of the Lord so that I can just sit there and look at His beauty. I just want to behold the beauty
of the Lord. and to inquire into his temple.
I just want to hear what he has to say and look at his beauty. That beauty is his holiness. It's his perfection. It's his
purity. I just want to stare at his perfection,
his goodness, his rightness, his purity. David said, I can't
wait. I cannot wait to behold his holiness. Now, back in Psalm 98, one chapter
back from our text, it says in verse one, O sing unto the Lord
a new song, for he hath done marvelous things. His right hand
and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory. His arm is holy. I love that. His arm is beautiful. His arm is perfect. It's holy. I love how Isaiah
52 says, the Lord hath made bare his holy arm. Now you think about
what that's saying. The Lord hath pulled up his sleeve. The Lord has made bare His holy
arm. I know that you're going to be
able to enter into this. Every, especially little boy
has said this at some point. Boys especially are taken with
this, but when I was a young child, I used to go up to my
dad. I would be about four years old,
five years old, and I'd go up to my dad and I would say these
words right here. Dad, show me your muscle. Did
you ever do that? Show me your muscle. He'd do
it every time. He'd pull his sleeve up. And
he would show me his muscle and I thought that's the biggest
muscle on earth. That's the biggest muscle I've
ever seen in my life. I loved to see it. Such strength. That's comforting to a child.
And the scripture says the Lord for his children. The Lord hath
made bare His holy arm and God's people love seeing it. They love
seeing the strength of their Lord. They take great comfort
in it. Great comfort in Him. Back in
Psalm 99 verse 9, it says, Exalt the Lord our God and worship
at His holy hill. For the Lord our God is holy.
His hill is holy. His hill where God dwells, the
place where God dwells with his people. It's perfect. It's pure. It's beautiful. It's holy. If you'll look with
me at Psalm 103, verse one says, bless the Lord. Oh, my soul and
all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless his holy name. His name
is holy. It's holy. You know, our Lord
has a full name. He has a full name and he's in
a place of respect. I give my father respect. I don't just call him by his
first name. And there are other people that
we highly respect and we do the same thing for them. Well, our
Lord has a full name. And I want to encourage all of
us to let's not just refer to him as Jesus. It's very popular
today. It's very common. for everybody
to just refer to him only by his name of humiliation, Jesus. The name of him coming, humbling
himself down into humanity. What he did for us, Jesus is
his name of humility. And we thank God for that humility. That humility is our salvation. The fact that he would come down,
that's our salvation. So we love that name. We honor
that name. And in fear and in respect and
in reverence, we surround his holy name with Lord and Christ. Lord and Christ, we refer to
him as the Lord Jesus, Jesus Christ, because of what that
means. The Lord Jesus Christ. It's just respectful and it's
reverent and it's what God's people owe him. Verse one here
in Psalm 103, it says, bless the Lord. You see that David,
David never said bless Jesus. He said, bless the Lord. Bless
the Lord. David called him Lord. If the
Lord himself said if he was David's son, why did David call him Lord? Bless the Lord. In Jeremiah 23,
God said his name is the Lord, our righteousness. That's his
name. So we reverent, we give him reverence
in that name. His arm is holy. His heel is
holy. His name is holy. And if you'll look with me at
Psalm 105, verse 42 says, for he remembered his holy promise. His holy promise. And Abraham,
his servant, his promise is holy. It's so good. It is so perfect. It is so pure. It's so right. It's so beautiful. What is his
promise? His promise to his people, his
covenant. That's what a promise is. What
is his covenant to his people? Well, in Jeremiah 31, it says
in verse 31, Jeremiah 31, 31, it says, behold, the days come,
saith the Lord. The Lord is speaking. Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." A promise. Not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by
the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant
they break. Although I was in husband unto
them, saith the Lord, they broke it. They didn't keep it. Even
though I was a husband to them, I took them to myself, made them
my people. But this shall be the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I will put my law in their inward
parts and write it in their hearts. and will be their God and they
shall be my people. And they shall teach no more
every man, his neighbor and every man, his brother saying, know
the Lord. That's what's happening right
now. Here I stand saying, know the Lord. Then I speak to myself
as well. Gabe Stoniker needs to know the
Lord. We all need to know the Lord. But he said in that day,
that's not going to be anymore for they shall all know me. From
the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. Four,
now here it is. Here's the promise. He said,
I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin
no more. That's what I'm gonna do. I make
a promise. He said, I, not me and them, I alone. I'm going
to forgive their iniquity. I'm going to put it away. And
because it is absolutely put away, I'll remember it no more.
What a promise. What a holy, beautiful, perfect
promise. Wonderful. Over in Psalm 45,
if you want to look with me there at Psalm 145, It says in verse 17, the Lord
is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works. Holy in all his works, all of
his works are holy. Everything that he does is holy. Everything that he does is holy. Even the things. that we see
as evil. Even the things that we men of
this earth mean to be evil, God means it for good. They meant
it for evil. God meant it for good. God meant
it for holiness. He must, he absolutely must mean
all things for good. Isn't that what Romans 8 says?
All things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose. He must mean
everything for good. And the reason is because he's
holy. He's holy. He must do right.
Romans 7 says, thy law is holy. Thy law, what you have written
in your word, it's holy. And it is. It's holy. This law that God has given us,
this book that God has written, this precious book is holy. This is the holy book on the
cover of my Bible. It says, holy Bible. And it is, it is holy. That means this book is pure
and good and right and beautiful. I'd like to read something to
you that is author unknown. I don't know who has written
this, but this is wonderful. The title of this little article
is called a good description of the Bible, a good description
of this Holy Bible. It says, this book is the mind
of God, the state of man, the way of salvation. The doom of
sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are
holy. Its precepts are binding. They
can't be undone. Its histories are true and its
decisions are immutable. That means unchangeable. Read
it to be wise. Believe it to be safe. Practice
it to be godly. It contains light to direct you,
food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. What is that light? It's Christ. What is that food? That's Christ. What is the comfort? It's Christ. It is the traveler's
map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's
sword and the Christian's character. Here, paradise is restored. Everything that man lost, Adam
and Eve were in paradise and they lost it and they were cast
out. And it says in this word, paradise
is restored. Heaven opened and the gates of
hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject. Our good, its design, and the
glory of God, its end. The glory of God Almighty is
the end of this book. It's the conclusion of the book.
Who gets the glory in all things? Who gets the glory in creation?
God does. Who gets the glory in salvation? God does. Who gets the glory
for all eternity? God does. Thine is the glory,
the kingdom, the power, the glory. It should fill the memory, rule
the heart and guide the feet. Read it slowly. I believe that's
wise. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise
of glory and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will
lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in
Christ. Yes, to glory itself. That's
God's holy word. David said, I love thy law. It is so holy. So holy, this
is God's holy word. We see God's holiness in everything. We see it in everything. We see
who he is, what he has done in everything. Just try to look
at the sun. You can't do it. We see God's holiness. We see
God's power, we see God's might, the heavens declare the glory
of God. All of creation cries with the
seraphims, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. But I'll tell
you this, nowhere, nowhere do we see God's holiness more clearly
than at the cross of Calvary. Nowhere. If we want to see God's
holiness, all we have to do is get a good look at the cross
of Calvary. Now, if you are turning with
me, I'd love for you to turn to Psalm 22. Psalm 22. God is
holy and he hates sin. This is the truth of the matter.
God hates all sin. He said in Proverbs 3 verse 32,
the forward, the froward. He said the froward, which means
crooked. It means turned aside. The froward
are an abomination to the Lord. Abomination means hate. He hates
them. That's what it means. That's
strong, isn't it? That's strong. Proverbs 15 verse 26 says the
thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord. He hates
them. The thoughts of the wicked. Nahum 1 verse 2 says, The Lord
will take vengeance on his adversaries and he reserveth wrath for his
enemies. Psalm 5 verse 5 says, Thou hatest
all workers of iniquity. Psalm 7 verse 11 says, God is
angry with the wicked every day. This is the truth of the matter.
And God does not change. However he has been, that's how
he is and will forever be. He's the same. He does not change. And here's the problem for men
and women. This is the problem for me. This is the problem for
you. God is holy. God is holy. That means he must deal with
it. Only goodness can be in his presence.
Only what's right can be in his presence. Darkness cannot dwell
with light. The spotless one cannot take
pleasure in filthy rags, cannot. For him to accept the slightest
blemish, people believe that God's going to sweep some things
under the rug. You know, like he's going to
say, well, you've mostly done a good job, so we're going to
go ahead and let you on in and we'll just kind of sweep everything
else under the rug. He cannot do that. In order for him to
accept the slightest blemish would be an absolute denial of
his holiness. It would deny his perfection. So what did he do? Because all
we are is darkness. All we are is blemished. All
we are is spotted. What did he do concerning us?
Here's the answer. For God so loved this sinful,
wicked, spotted, blemished, ruined world. He gave his only begotten
son. And he made him to be sin for
us. He made him to be the very sin
that spotted us, that blemished us. He took it off of his people
and laid it on himself. He made him to be sin for us
who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, this is what the scripture says. The people were being bitten
by these snakes and Moses cried to the Lord, what shall we do?
He said, you take the very thing that's killing the people and
lift it up. And that's Christ. Christ was made to be what was
killing us, sin. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, the law of God lifted up Christ in my place,
in your place. If we belong to him bearing all
of our wrong, God did to Christ what had to be done to us. And in that moment, the Lord
Jesus Christ cried in Psalm 22 verse 1, My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping
me and from the words of my roaring? Oh, my God, I cry in the daytime,
but thou hearest not. And in the night season and I'm
not silent, he said, but thou art holy. You're holy, O thou
that inhabit us, the praise of Israel the whole time. This is
so holy. This right here is so holy. The
whole time God dealt with his own son. concerning our sins,
pouring out our punishment, what we deserved on him. The whole
time, God was pouring that punishment on him. Blow after blow, the
whole time, our substitute was crying, you're holy. Blow after
blow, he cried, you're holy. God would strike him with punishment
and he'd cry, you're just. God would strike him, he'd cry,
you're right. God would strike him, he'd cry,
you're perfect, you're good, you're holy, you're holy. Even so, father, amen. Oh, God
struck him with wrath and he cried, even so, amen. God is holy. His holiness. is the beauty of our salvation,
it's the gospel of our salvation. God's holiness is the foundation
of our gospel because God in his holiness dealt with Christ.
God will never have to deal with us. Never. God's punishment was
a perfect punishment. A perfect punishment. Christ's
sacrifice was a perfect sacrifice. And with his stripes, we are
healed. We are healed. Psalm 30 verse
4 says, Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks
at the remembrance of his holiness. Give thanks because God is holy
and he must only do what's right. God punished Christ. The payment
was made and it won't be punished again. The payment's made. If
innocence is now found, God will never punish innocence. He's holy. In Christ, we're safe. In Christ, Ephesians 1 says,
we have been made holy, made to be just like he is. He was
made sin, so we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
holy in him." That is good news. That is wonderful, wonderful
news. And we come humbly before him
in thanks. Our text says, to his footstool,
saying, thou art holy. May God cause us to come that
way. 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, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or 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 10.45 a.m., and 6 o'clock
p.m. Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.