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 want to speak to you this morning
on the subject of the faithful God. the faithful God and we're
going to use Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 9 for a text. And I do want to encourage you,
if you do have a Bible handy, you might want to open it with
me. We're going to turn to a lot of scriptures, we're going to
quote quite a few scriptures and that's one of the most enjoyable
things to me about studying God's Word is seeing it for myself,
seeing it with my own two eyes. So open your Bible there if you
have it handy and let's read these things together. Deuteronomy
7 verse 9 says, Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is
God. He is God. The faithful God. Which keepeth covenant and mercy
with them that love Him, and keep his commandments to a thousand
generations." That's wonderful, isn't it? The Lord thy God is
God, the faithful God, the God that keeps his covenant. Our
God is the faithful God. Faithful. Thank God that's who
he is. Thank God that's his character.
Thank God, that's what He's promised to us in His covenant, faithfulness. Faithfulness is something that
we don't know anything about, not really. I wish we did, but
we don't. I could list many, many ways
that we have been unfaithful in deed, unfaithful in thought,
unfaithful in the heart to everything that we've ever come in contact
with, not just God, everything we've ever come in contact with.
But most importantly, how many ways and how many times have
we truly been unfaithful to the Lord Jesus Christ? How many ways,
how many times? That's just how we are. That's
our nature as sinners. That's all we can do is be unfaithful. That's our attribute. If you
want to describe sinful man, that's a good way to describe
him, unfaithful. But this right here is his attribute. If we want to describe our God,
this is how we describe him. Deuteronomy 7 verse 9 again says,
Know therefore that the Lord thy God He is God, the faithful
God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him
and keep His commandments to a thousand generations. A thousand. Now, as I said, we're going to
turn to quite a few scriptures, so here we go. Psalm 40 is the
first one, if you want to turn with me over there. Psalm chapter
40. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking to His Father. Many of the scriptures and especially
the Psalms are Messianic Psalms. They are the words of Christ
Himself and this is one of them. Psalm 40, verse 10, He said,
I have not hid thy righteousness with my heart. I have declared
thy faithfulness. I've declared thy faithfulness
and thy salvation I have not concealed thy loving kindness
and thy truth from the great congregation. Our Lord said to
his father, I've declared truthfully who you are. I've declared your
faithfulness. I've declared your salvation.
I've declared your loving kindness. I've declared your truth. What
a wonderful word to hear, that declaration of the good news. over in Psalm 89. If you'll turn
a few pages over to Psalm 89, verse 1 here says, I will sing
of the mercies of the Lord forever. With my mouth will I make known
thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said mercy shall be
built up forever. Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish
in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my
chosen. I have sworn unto David my servant. Thy seed will I establish forever. That's his promise. I'll establish
my seed forever and build up thy throne to all generations. And the heavens shall praise
thy wonders, O Lord, thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the
saints. For who in the heaven can be
compared unto the Lord? Who can be compared to the Lord
our God? Who among the sons of the mighty
can be likened unto the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in
the assembly of the saints. and to be had in reverence of
all them that are about him. O LORD God of hosts, who is a
strong Lord like unto thee, or to thy faithfulness round about
thee? Who is faithful like you are? Whose faithfulness can be compared
to your faithfulness? Now, let's see his faithfulness. This right here is glorious.
In the same chapter, Psalm 89, look at verse 28. My mercy will
I keep for him forevermore, and my covenant shall stand fast
with him. His seed also will I make to
endure forever in his throne as the days of the heaven. If
his children forsake my law, and we have, he said, if his
children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments, If they
break my statutes and we have, if we're honest with ourselves,
we know we have, but he said, if they break my statutes and
keep not my commandments and we haven't, we cannot glory and
say we've kept his commandments. We haven't. Verse 32, he said,
Then will I visit their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity
with stripes. They will be disciplined for
it. Verse 33, he said, Nevertheless, my lovingkindness will I not
utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. I will not. My covenant will
I not break. I've made a promise, and I will
not break it no matter what my chosen seed does concerning sin
against me. In the covenant of the blood
of my Son, I will not break it. I will not break my promise.
He said, My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that
is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness
that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever
in his throne as the sun before me. That's wonderful. That's a promise. That's a faithful
God. He said, I know they're going
to sin against me. I know they won't keep my commandments. He
said, nevertheless, I will not break my promise. I will not
break it. My son died for them. My son
died to pay for that sin and I'll never break the promise
that's in his blood. Never, never. Faithful. Look with me if you would over
at Revelation chapter 19. Revelation 19 verse 11 says,
And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse And he that sat
upon him was called faithful and true." Faithful and true,
that's what heaven calls Christ. Faithful and true, that's his
name. One man said, far above all finite
comprehension is the unchanging faithfulness of God. Far above
anything that the human mind could comprehend. is the unchanging
faithfulness of God. We cannot fathom how faithful
He is. Can't fathom it. That man went
on to say, He never forgets and He never fails His own Word. Never. If He said it, He will
not forget that He said it and He will not fail His own Word. He will not. Every declaration,
every promise, Every prophecy, every warning, every word, he'll
make it good. Every word. Not one word of his
shall fail. Not one word. Now here's proof
of that. Back in Genesis chapter 8 verse 22, God told Noah. He said, while the earth remaineth,
seedtime and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter
and day and night shall not cease." They'll keep going. And they
have. That's a promise God made to
Noah. And they have. They've continued just like He
said they would. In Genesis 15, God told Abraham,
your seed, the children of Israel, they shall be a stranger in a
land that is not theirs, And they're going to serve them for
400 years. They're going to be in bondage
to them. And they were. Bondage to Egypt. Just like God
said they'd be. God said through Isaiah, He said,
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call
his name Immanuel. And she did. That's exactly what
happened. And we could go on with Example
after example after example of God's Word and Him bringing it
to pass. We could just keep on going.
His promise and Him bringing it to pass. Every promise that
He has ever made, He has either faithfully carried it out or
He will faithfully carry it out. He's either already completed
his promise or he will bring that promise to pass. Now I want
us to see three things about his faithfulness. Number one,
he is faithful in the saving of his people. He is so faithful. He is faithful in making reconciliation
for them. We have sinned against Him. We
need to be reconciled to God. Because of our sin, we were separated
from God. We were cast out. Our union was
severed and we need reconciliation. And he is faithful in making
reconciliation for every soul God the Father gave to him. He's
faithful in interceding for them. Number two, he is faithful in
providing for his people. And that's good news. We all
have worries, we all have fears. Every day that God's sheep, he
calls them, his chosen, every single day that they remain on
this earth until he gathers them to himself, he's going to provide
for them every single day. And number three, he is faithful
in preserving his people. If he started the work, he will
finish it. He is going to finish it. Now
turn with me, if you would, to 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy
chapter 2 verse 13 says, If we believe not and none of us began in our salvation
by believing on Christ, none of us. Faith to believe on him
is a gift from God. God chooses a center and God
provides faith to that center in his kindness, in his mercy.
And none of us started out believing on God. That's the result of
His work in us. That's the result of His grace
to us. By grace we're saved through
faith and that's not of ourselves. That's the gift of God. That's
Ephesians 2 verse 8. And it says, If we believe not,
yet He abideth faithful. He cannot deny Himself. Now,
if God is making intercession to God on our behalf, God cannot
deny Himself. He cannot. Christ said, I and
my Father are one, and they are. There is one God. They are three
persons, but they are one God. He said, I and my Father are
one, and if God the Son makes intercession to God the Father
on our behalf, if He pleads His own blood on our behalf, if He
pleads His death and His suffering and His payment for sin on our
behalf, God the Father cannot deny God the Son. He cannot. If that is the will of God the
Son that we should be saved, then that is the will of God
the Father. They are one. They're one. Here's the amazing news for God's
chosen people. If we believe not, He is still
faithful. He's still faithful. Somebody
will say, now wait a minute. I thought you had to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved. I thought that's
what God's Word said. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you'll be saved. I thought without faith it was
impossible to please Him. I thought that's what God wrote
in His Word, Hebrews 11. Without faith it's impossible
to please Him. That's correct. That's right. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you'll be saved. Without faith it is impossible
to please Him. But here's the truth of the matter.
Here's the truth for every single one of us. If you'll turn over
to Ephesians 2, it says in verse 8, By grace are you saved through
faith. That is not of yourselves. It
is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Not
of works, lest any man should boast. A sinner cannot claim
the work of believing on God. A sinner cannot claim the ability
to please God by producing faith. It is not possible for a sinner
who is born dead in trespasses and sins and that's what he said
in verse 1. You hath he quickened. How did life come? How did faith
come? How did salvation begin? By God
quickening us, by God quickening a sinner, quickening his people.
And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. And he goes on to say we walked
according to the course of this world just like every other sinner
against him. Verse 4 he said but God who is
rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us. Even when
we were dead in sins, He quickened us together with Christ. By grace,
you're saved. Do you know what that means?
It means He's faithful. He's faithful. And He said in verse
6, He's raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. That means He's faithful. He
did what He promised He would do. Verse 7, that in the ages
to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. He's going to prove that faithfulness.
God is faithful and He proves it to His people. He did not
start the work in order to not finish the work. He's faithful
even though we do not believe on our own. Yet he's still faithful. He provided that faith and provided
us the means to please God. He's faithful. When it comes
to saving the sinful soul, the soul that was given to him, He
has always been and He will always be faithful. Wonderful news. Now turn with me if you would
to Lamentations chapter 3. This is one of my favorite scriptures. Lamentations chapter 3 verse
21 says, This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. I dwell on this. I think on this. And this is what gives me 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 that faithfulness when
it comes to everything that we need every morning when we might
wake up. Every single morning for God's
people for the rest of our days on this earth. Because he did
choose to have mercy on us and he did choose to redeem us for
God's people every single morning that they wake up is a morning
full of brand new mercy. It's a morning full of brand
new faithfulness from God the Father. Great is His faithfulness. This is what we recall to our
mind and this is what gives us hope. Verse 24 right here says,
The Lord is my portion. Everything we need, we need a
portion. If we're going to survive, we
need to be given a portion. Well, everything we need, He
will provide for us. And the reason is because He
is our portion. We have Him. We have everything
that's in Him. We have everything that He is.
Brand new every morning is this portion. This great and wonderful
portion. We have His mercy. We have His
compassion. We have every provision we could
possibly need. Every single one. This is what
David said. He said, I have been young and now am old, yet have
I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."
Never. If God has chosen to have mercy on a sinner, God will take
care of that sinner. That sinner will not be forsaken. That sinner will not beg bread. Every single thing that God's
people need will be provided. He's faithful. It's His promise
and He's faithful. Turn with me if you would over
to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 23 says,
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your
whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, faithful is he that calleth you,
who also will do it. Faithful is he that calleth you,
who also will do it. If he has called you to himself,
called you to his gospel, he'll preserve you all the way to the
end. He will. If God has saved you, people
ask that question. You believe in once saved, always
saved? Well, that depends on who saved us. If we saved ourselves,
no, I don't. If I made a decision, I can change
my decision. But if God saved me, He'll save
me all the way to the end. All the way to the end. Faithful
is He. who calleth you, who will also do it." If He started it,
He will finish it. He will. 1 Corinthians 1, verses
6-9 say, Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,
so that you come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, WHO SHALL ALSO CONFIRM YOU UNTO THE
END, ALL THE WAY TO THE END, THAT YOU MAY BE BLAMELESS IN
THE DAY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. GOD IS FAITHFUL, BY WHOM YOU
WERE CALLED UNTO THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD."
God is faithful. He's faithful all the way to
the end. That's the greatest news I know to tell this morning.
That's the greatest news I know to tell. God is faithful to His
people. Even though we don't deserve
it, none of us deserve it, He's still faithful. I'm going to
close with 1 Peter chapter 4. If you're turning with me, go
over to 1 Peter chapter 4. And while you're turning over
there, I want to quote Hebrews 10 verse 23 to you. It says,
Let's hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering
for He is faithful that promised. Let's hold fast the profession
of our faith. Hold fast. What that means is
let's believe Him. Here is His promise to us. Let's
believe Him. Let's hold on to every word that
He's promised us in His covenant. And the reason is because He's
faithful. Believe Him, bow to Him, look to Him because He's
faithful. Right here in 1 Peter 4 verse
19 says, Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the
will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him. What's
going to keep my soul? He is. That's my only hope. He is. Let them commit the keeping of their souls
to Him in well-doing as unto a faithful Creator. That's who He is, a faithful
Creator. We can commit our all unto our
faithful creator. Chapter 5 verse 7 right here
says casting all your care upon him for he cares for you. He
cares for you he's faithful. This is what he said. I'll never
leave you. I will never forsake you. And
if God the Father gave us to him he won't. If God chose to
show mercy to us, He won't, and the reason is because He's faithful. He's faithful. That's our only
hope. We look to Him, we bow to Him,
and we trust Him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
You believe that God chose whom He would choose, and He said
He chose sinners. Are you a sinner? Well, that's
who He chose. One man said, and I love this,
The Apostle Paul said, Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners and I'm the chief. He said, I'm so glad He didn't
say my name. If it said my name, I would think
there could be somebody else with my name. But He said, sinners. And I know beyond any shadow
of a doubt, I'm a sinner. And if you're a sinner, that's
who Christ came to save. Believe on Him. Commit your all
to Him. Commit your trust to Him because
He's faithful. He's faithful. Thank God. Our
God is the faithful God. May He keep us, may He watch
over us, and may He bring us to be with Him for all eternity.
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.