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 would like to invite you to
turn with me this morning to the first book in the Bible,
the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 1, and let's
read the first three verses together. In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form
and void. And darkness was upon the face
of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light. And there was light. Now, the
first three verses of the book of God, the first three verses
that God recorded in His Word, they are all we need to declare
the truth of salvation, the truth of conversion, the truth of regeneration. This is how it works. Verse 1
says, In the beginning, God. In the beginning, God. It always starts with God. Always. Always. When we're talking about salvation,
when we're talking about a sinner being saved, it always starts
with God. God created everything, the heaven
and the earth. God created you. God created me. God owns us. If you look right here in Genesis
1 at verse 26, it says, And God said, Let us make man in our
image, and we see God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of
the air, and over the cattle and over the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, So God created
man in his own image, in the image of God created he him,
male and female created he them. All right. Now, how did he do
that? How did he create them? If you
look at chapter two, verse seven, it says, the Lord God formed
man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life. And man became a living soul. He formed man out of the dust
of the ground, breathed into his nostrils and man became a
living soul. Chapter two, verse 15, it says,
and the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of
Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded
the man saying of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely
eat. But of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day
that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. So God made
man and he put man in the garden. And he said, of every tree in
this garden, you may freely eat, but do not eat of that one tree,
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Don't touch it. That's my law. Don't touch it.
Verse 18, it says, the Lord God said, it is not good that the
man should be alone. I will make him and help meet
for him. Verse 21 says, And the Lord God
caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept. And he took
one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And
the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman,
and brought her unto the man. So the Lord took one of the ribs
out of Adam and he made Eve with Adam's rib and brought her to
him. Now, chapter three, verse six,
it says, and when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
the tree that God told Adam, don't touch it. and that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her, and he did eat. They both ate of that
tree. Therefore, because of that rebellion,
Adam willingly, Adam knew God's Word. He knew God's commandment.
God said, don't do it. And because Adam willingly laid
hold of that fruit, that willing rebellion and sin, Genesis 3
verse 16 says, Unto the woman God said, I will greatly multiply
thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth
children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall
rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because
thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten
of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not
eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake. In sorrow shalt
thou eat of it all the days of thy life." Cursed is the ground. Verse 24 says, So he drove out
the man, God created Adam, created Eve, He put them in that garden.
And then He drove them out of that garden. And He placed at
the east of the garden cherubims and a flaming sword, which turned
every way to keep the way of the tree of life. He cast them
out because of their rebellion, because of their sin. And they
were cast out cursed. Cursed by God Almighty because
of their sin. Because of the darkness of their
sin. And then chapter 4 verse 1 says, Adam knew Eve his wife,
and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I've gotten a man from
the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was
a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And we
know their story. Abel brought a lamb. Cain brought
his own fruit. God had respect to Abel's sacrifice
because it's what God said to bring. You bring the blood of
a lamb. But God did not have respect
to Cain's because he brought his own works, the fruit of his
own labor. And that tells us in this day
of religion, God will only accept the blood of Christ. He will
not accept the fruit of our own labor, the fruit of our own doing.
Well, in the process, Cain became angry. And it says in verse 8,
Cain talked with Abel his brother, And it came to pass when they
were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and
slew him. Cain killed him. And that's what
sin against God produced in man. That's what sin produced in every
man and woman that was infected with sin, which is every man
and woman in Adam. Every man and woman that has
come after Adam. Because man sinned, the earth,
the whole earth, the entire earth, man and everything in it, has
become without form and void. Without the form of the righteousness
of God, the law of God, and void. Vanity, vain, ruined, empty,
Void, without form and void. Empty of the goodness of God. Void and empty of the love of
God. Void of the presence and favor
of God. Void of the life of God. Man died in that garden. Man was absolutely cast out into
outer darkness. The darkness of death. That's
what Ephesians 2 tells us. It tells us that we are all dead
in trespasses and sins. That's how we enter this world.
Dead in trespasses and sins. Spiritually dead. Outcast. Without
form. Void. Cast into outer darkness.
The fall of man, that was not just a punishment. That was a
spiritual death. There's an old saying, wrong
on the fall, wrong on it all. Man believes that in the fall,
man just disobeyed and he received a slap on the wrist and he got
his punishment. That's not what took place. In
the fall, man died. Spiritual death took place. And now Romans 8 says, "...the
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together." And the reason
is because of man's sin. Man's sin ruined it all. But do you know what Ephesians
2 goes on to say? It tells us the truth that we're
all born in trespasses and sins. Dead. But do you know what it
goes on to say? It's the good news of the gospel.
It's the wonderful news of the gospel. It's these two words.
It goes on to say, but God. Those could be two of my favorite
words ever said, but God, but God. And that's what Genesis
one tells us. If you're turning with me, look back at Genesis
chapter one, Verse 1 says, In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void. That's us. We're of the earth,
earthy. And that is us, dead in our sin. The earth was without form and
void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Spiritual darkness,
outer darkness covers this natural flesh. It says, and the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the waters. The only thing that
can be said about salvation is, but God. That's the only thing
that can be said when it comes to salvation. No credit can go
to either one of us. We didn't do anything. We were
dead. Men try to believe that they
straightened up and decided to fly right. A dead man can't do
that. Men want to believe that they
came to their senses and they started feeling sorry and they,
a dead man can't do that. The only thing that can be said
in regard to our salvation is, but God. That's the only thing
that can be said. God moved. You want to know how
you were saved? And do you want to know how I
was saved? God moved. If God chose to save us, it's
only because God moved. That's it. God moved. Had God not moved, there would
have been no salvation. Man would have fallen. Men and
women would have become ruined. This earth would have been cursed
and there would have been no salvation. None whatsoever, but
God. God moved. This is the glory
of the gospel. This is the good news. This is
something to smile over. God moved. God moved. Look with me at Matthew chapter
nine. I encourage you to turn with
me to these wonderful scriptures. Matthew 9, verse 36, it says,
But when he saw the multitudes, now this is the Lord Jesus Christ,
when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on
them. Isn't that glorious? Isn't that
a wonderful insight to the heart and mind and will of God Almighty? When he saw the multitudes, he
was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted and
were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. Just a few
pages over to Mark chapter 1, it says in verse 40, And there
came a leper to him. Now here's a ruined man. His
flesh is literally rotting off of his bones. This man's a leper. He's eaten up with disease. And
it's the result of sin. It's because he's eaten up with
sin. There came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling
down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. He's crying out to the Lord.
He's begging the Lord. And he knows, I can't do anything.
It's not my decision. If it was my decision, I would
make myself clean. That's what this leper's saying,
but I can't do it. This is all in your hands. And
Lord, if you're willing, I know and acknowledge you're able.
You can make me clean. Verse 41 says, And Jesus moved
with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and said
unto him, I will. Be Thou clean." That compassion
in Him, that love in Him moved Him. It moved Him from His throne
all the way to His cross. And I gloriously, in glory to
Him, say all the way from His throne to His cross. His cross. God got up from His
throne. Amazing. It's amazing He would
do this. God the Son got up from His throne. The very one that God the Father
said to, Thy throne, O God, is forever. God the Son got up from
His throne and He came down to this void, dark earth. God moved. God the Father moved. God the Father laid hold on some
of these void, dark sinners. These sinful, wicked, ruined,
without form sinners. God laid hold on some of them.
Lifeless, dead sinners. And He moved them into the hands
of God His Son. cast out wayside, He laid hold
of them. And He moved them over to the
hands of God the Son. And God the Son said in John
17, He said, if you want to turn over to John 17, verse 6, I have
manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out
of the world. You gave them to me out of the
world. You selected them out of this dark void world. And
you gave them to me. He said, I've manifested thy
name unto the man which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest
them me, and they have kept thy word. And he said in verse 9,
I pray for them. Now this is God the Son speaking
to God the Father on behalf of these void, wicked sinners. And
you talk about moved, moved with compassion. You talk about but
God doing something for them. He said, I pray to you on their
behalf. I make intercession for them. I pray for them. He said,
I pray not for the world. but for them which thou hast
given me, for they are thine." That's who I'm praying for. I'm
not making intercession for the entire void, dark world. I'm making intercession for the
sinful souls that you moved to me. The souls that you put in
my care. God the Father moved some sinners
to Christ. And God the Son, God the Lord
Jesus Christ, was moved with compassion for those souls. Moved
with compassion for those sinners. And this is how. This is how
He was moved. Look with me at 1 John chapter
1. 1 John 1 verse 5, it says, This
then is the message which we have heard of him and declare
unto you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Alright, this is the message.
This is how God was moved with compassion for His people. This
is what He did for them. This is the message. God is light. God is light. And in Him is no
darkness at all. God the Father is light. God
the Son is light. God the Spirit is light. These
three are one. Jesus Christ is the brightness
of the glory of God. That's who He is. He's light. He's the brightness of the glory
of God. He is the express image of His
person. In Jesus Christ dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily. And verse 5 says, In Him is no
darkness at all. All the fullness of the Godhead
dwells in Him, in the body of Christ. And in the body of Christ
is no darkness at all. Now look with me at Luke chapter
23. Luke 23, verse 33, it says, And
when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there
they crucified Him and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the
other on the left. Our Lord allowed Himself to be
led to the cross of Calvary. And He hangs there now in between
two thieves. And let's read between the lines
on this. The Scriptures are bifocal. Meaning, we see the physical
application, but in every word, our Lord said, these are they
which testify of me. There is a spiritual message,
a spiritual meaning in every verse. And let's see if the Lord
will reveal this to us, okay? This is what happened. This is
what Christ did. This is how God moved, okay? Verse 44 says, and it was about
the sixth hour. And there was darkness over all
the earth until the ninth hour. Now here he is. And there's darkness
over all the earth. Spiritually speaking, that's
what happened when man sinned against God. Darkness. The earth was without form and
void. Man became full of sinful darkness. Now here our Lord hangs
in darkness. He's hanging there in this darkness. Verse 45 says, And the sun was
darkened. You understand what that's saying?
The Son of God made Himself to be what darkened His people. The darkness and the blackness
of that sin and rebellion against God, He took that upon Himself. On the cross of Calvary, in absolute
glory and majesty and honor, the sun was darkened. And the veil of the temple, Hebrews
says, the veil which is His flesh, it was ripped in twain, rent
in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with
a loud voice, He said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And having said thus, he died. He gave up the ghost. What happened
when man sinned against God? He died. But God was moved. He left His throne. He came to
His cross. He moved the sin of His own people
to Himself. And in that darkness, by way
of darkening Himself, bearing their sin, He died. He died for them. Gave up the ghost in absolute
darkness. What does that mean for us? What
does that mean for you and me? Turn the page to John chapter
1. Verse 4 says, In Him was life, and the life was the light of
men. In Him was life, and the life
was the light of men. He moved Himself into darkness
to deliver His people out of that darkness. He moved Himself
into the void to give them form again. In doing that, He made
His people to be what He was. His life He gave to them, and
His life was the light. and He moved it to them. He traded
places with them. He became what they were. They
became what He is. And because God the Father moved
those sinners to Christ, and because Christ was moved with
compassion for those sinners, through the preaching of the
gospel, God's Holy Spirit moves. HE COMES TO SINNERS, THE SINNERS
GOD CHOSE TO DO THIS FOR, AND HE NOTIFIES THEM OF THIS WONDERFUL
NEWS. LOOK BACK IN GENESIS. GENESIS
1 VERSE 1 IT SAYS, IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVEN AND THE
EARTH. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was
upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon
the waters, and God said, Let there be light." God's Spirit
comes and notifies them of everything that's been done. Let this light
come into your heart. This declared Word opens blind
eyes to the light. And the Scripture says, every
soul God has chosen to give it to will receive the light. Verse
3 says, And God said, Let there be light, and there was. There
was light. Thank God. That's all we can
say. Thank God for His loving compassion
that would move on the heart of a sinner and save his soul. Until next week, may the Lord
bless His Word to our hearts. 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 AM, worship at 10.45 AM and 6 o'clock PM,
Wednesday evening at 7.30 PM, Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.