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 invite you to turn
with me to Psalm chapter 23, the precious and well-known Psalm
chapter 23. And if you do have a Bible with
you, I want to encourage you to follow along and turn with
me. We're going to turn to quite
a few places. This psalm is commonly referred to as the psalm of comfort. The psalm of comfort. And I find
I need it quite often. When I need comfort the most,
I believe that this Psalm, along with a few other of my favorites,
Psalm 27 is another one of my favorites. I believe that possibly
these two Psalms are the ones I go to the most. Not too long ago, I was turning
through the scriptures and I came to Psalm 23 and I read verse
one. which says, the Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. When I read that, this is what
immediately went through my mind. Thank God for the word shall. Thank God for the word, shall. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Believers cling to the words
of this word. Believers cling to these scriptures,
every word in the scripture. The only reason that we have
any hope to continue another day, this is a difficult life
we live. Trials come and they come and
they come. As soon as you leave one, the
next one's around the corner. And the only reason that God's
children have any hope to continue another day is because the words
that our God has chosen, those words are so ordered and sure. That's what I love the most about
this scripture. Everything in it is so ordered
and sure. No ifs, ands, or buts. No maybes in this word. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Thank God for the word shall. Aren't we so thankful, so thankful
for the confidence of our salvation in the blood of Christ? Aren't
we so thankful for that? So thankful for everything we
have received in our Lord Jesus Christ and how assuredly God's
word confirms it to us, shall. Let me show you a few more times
our Lord used the word shall. Turn with me over to Psalm chapter
51. What a wonderful chapter this
is. What a wonderful word from our
Lord through his servant David this is. Psalm 51, he said in
verse seven, purge me with hyssop. Hyssop is what was used when
the high priest went in to make a sacrifice for the sin of the
people. He went in with blood. He went
before God with shed blood. Without blood, there's no remission
of sins. And he went in with blood and
hyssop and he dipped that hyssop in the blood and he sprinkled
that blood all over the mercy seat. And David said, if you
purge me with hyssop, I shall be clean. He said, wash me and
I shall be whiter than snow. He sounds pretty confident about
that, doesn't he? He's not saying, if you'll do
your part, then that'll only leave me my part to do left.
He said, if you wash me, I'll be clean. He said, if you purge me, I'll
be clean, I'll be whiter than snow. Over in Psalm 62, verse six says,
he only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense, I shall not
be moved. I shall not be moved. Oh, I hope
I'm not washed away in a flood of my own sin and my own rebellion. That's what this flesh says.
That's what my mind says. I'm going to be washed away in
a flood of my own sin and rebellion. You know what God says? He only
is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be moved. Oh, that's wonderful. That's
wonderful. Turn with me over to Isaiah 42.
Isaiah chapter 42 verse 4 says, He shall not fail. nor be discouraged till he have
set judgment in the earth and the isles shall wait for his
law. He shall not fail. Verse 1 right here says, Behold
my servant. God the Father says concerning
God the Son, Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect. God the Father says, I choose
my Son. God chose Christ. He is God's elect. If we are
elect, if God chose us, We are only chosen in Him. We're only elect in Him. God
said, He's the one I choose. But some sinners are going to
be mercifully and graciously chosen in Him. That's what Ephesians
1 tells us, right? So he said, Behold my servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have
put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed
shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. He shall not fail, nor be discouraged,
till he has set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait
for his law. I may fail, not him. Not him. Look with me at Matthew
chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9 verse 20 says,
And behold, a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood
twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment,
For she said within herself, if I may but touch his garment,
I shall be whole. I shall be. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Do you need
to be made whole? Do you? I do. There's an old song that says,
reach out and touch the Lord. That's what she did. She said
within herself, if I could just touch His garment, I shall be
whole. You know what that woman believed
in her heart? He's able. He is able. He is able to do
above anything I ask, anything I desire. He is able. over in 1 Corinthians 15. This is wonderful. 1 Corinthians
15, verse 52 says, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
death is swallowed up in victory. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God for the word shall.
Let me show you one more. 1 John 3. Verse two says, Beloved, now
are we the sons of God. And 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. Thank God for the word shall. Thank God. Now back in Psalm
23, if you're turning with me back in Psalm 23, verse 2 says,
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside
the still waters. Doesn't that sound so nice? Can't
you feel that grass? Can't you just hear that water? That's what Christ does for a
sinner's soul. We work and we work and we work,
and I'm not talking about nine to five. I'm not talking about
Monday through Friday, punching a clock. I'm talking about men
and women trying to appease God through their own works of self-righteousness. Man tries to appease God, and
man tries to appease God, and man tries to appease God, and
he tries to work the works of righteousness, he tries to work
the deeds of the law, and he never gets ahead. Never. He's trying with all of his might
to build himself a tower to God, never getting off the ground,
literally working himself to death until Christ comes to him
and says, lay down. Lay down. The sinner says, but
I can't. Christ says, rest. Rest. I have finished everything. I've finished everything. Stop all of your struggle. Stop all of your labor and rest. Rest. The sinner says, where? Right by that living water. Right down in that pasture of
green grass. Rest. That smooth flowing water. Are you thirsty? Drink. Rest. Relax. Oh, that sounds so nice. So nice. The soul of a man or a woman
says, Oh, that's so wonderful. That's so relaxing. You mean
I can truly just leave everything in the hands of Jesus Christ? The truth is, it's always been
in the hands of Jesus Christ. And He has finished the work. That's what it means when He
says in verse 3, He restoreth my soul. Now, I don't know anything
about cars. I've never been a car buff. I'm
sure many of you listening right now know quite a bit about cars,
but I don't. But I have seen guys take an
old piece of junk from the 20s or 30s, just a rusted, beaten,
broken, torn, dead, ugly, useless thing of no value, and restore it. And it's brand new. David said, He restoreth my soul. How did he do that? He took this
rusted, beaten, broken, torn, dead, ugly, useless thing of
no value and he led it down the path of Christ's righteousness. And along that path, this soul
got a brand-new body, a brand-new heart, a brand-new mind, brand-new
eyes, brand-new ears, a brand-new mouth with a brand-new song,
a brand-new will. He made a brand-new creature,
a brand-new man. Christ said, behold, I make all
things new. And every single one of His people,
every single one of His people cry, He restored me. He restored me. Verse 3, David said, He restoreth
my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for His name's sake. Everything He did for me,
He did it for His name's sake. He restored me for His name's
sake. What is His name? Savior. Savior. Restorer, Redeemer, Savior. Verse four says, yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. I want a shepherd, don't you? I want a shepherd. I don't want
to go through anything alone. I don't want to go through life
alone. I sure don't want to go through
death alone. Well, David says, your rod and
your staff Your Word, the Word that wards off the enemy, and
the Word that brings me near, that shepherd's rod and staff,
with one end of it, He could ward off the enemy, and then
with the other end, the crooked end, He could lay hold of that
sheep and pull it near. David said, Your Word proves
to me that I'll never be alone. You'll never leave me. You will
never forsake me. Never. Over in Psalm 139, let me read
a few verses to you out of this psalm. This is such a precious
psalm. David said in verse one, O Lord,
thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down sitting
and my uprising. Thou understandest my thought
afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is
not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and
before, and laid thine hand upon me. He said, Such knowledge is
too wonderful for me. It is high, I cannot attain unto
it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit,
or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up
into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall
thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say,
surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light
about thee. Yea, the darkness hideth not
from thee, but the night shineth as the day. The darkness and
the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast covered me in my mother's
womb. I will praise thee, for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works, and
that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from
thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the
lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance,
yet being unperfect, and in thy book all my members were written,
which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of
them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How
great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they
are more in number than the sand. When I awake, I'm still with
thee. Who can separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Who? What? Life can't. Death can't. We were even buried with him. Who can separate us? David said,
you're with me, I have nothing to fear, you're with me. Back
in Psalm 23 verse 5 says, thou preparest a table before me in
the presence of mine enemies, thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup runneth over. What's on that table? What do
we feed on? What do God's sheep feed on? The answer is Christ. We feed
on Christ. What is that oil that gets poured
all over us? That's the blood of Christ. What's
in that cup? grace, mercy, peace, love, compassion,
forgiveness, hope, everything we have in Christ. Our Lord gives us so much of
those things they just run over. They just run over. A dear man, a dear preacher and
writer from the past named Charles Spurgeon, he was a British man and he said,
if ever your cup does thus run over, be sure to call your poor
neighbors in to catch the overflowing mercy. What he's saying is, if there
is enough for everybody, then you call everybody you can. And
that's our desire with this gospel, isn't it? God has given mercy
to sinners like us, sinners like you and me. God has shown mercy
to us. And He gives it brand new every
morning. It starts over every single morning. And it's so much mercy, we could
never exhaust it. Come one, come all. Whosoever will, let him come. Let him come. Verse six right
here in Psalm 23 says, surely goodness and mercy. I love that. Surely sounds like shall, doesn't
it? Surely, surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life. One man described goodness and
mercy as God's two servants who are sent to each one of his people,
every single one of his people, all the days of their life. They
stay right there with them. And the whole time, goodness
is laying out everything that child needs right in front of
him. Every step he takes, he's right
there beside him laying out everything he needs right in front of him.
And mercy comes in right behind him, blotting out all of his
transgressions with the blood of Christ. David said, surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will. That sounds like shall, doesn't
it? I will, no ifs, ands, or buts
about it. It's as good as done because
it is done. It was done from before the foundation
of the world. I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. Forever. You think about that
forever. How glorious is forever? One child of God in eternity
asking another child, how long have we been here? The song Amazing Grace says,
when we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the
sun, we have no less days. We don't have one less day to
sing his praise than the day that we first begun. That's wonderful,
isn't it? May God surely bless this 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 kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. 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 Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.