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 have a message this morning
that is very vital. It's a message that is very personal. This is a message for you And
this is a message for me. And you'll understand in just
a moment what I mean by saying, it's not a message for us. This
message is for you and it's for me. Now I'm going to be reading
from Mark chapter eight, beginning in verse 27. It says, And Jesus
went out and his disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And by the way, he asked his
disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist,
but some say Elias, and others one of the prophets. And he saith
unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Who do you say I am? It does not matter what other
people think. It does not matter what other
people say. This is between you and God and
this is between me and God. Most will agree with parents
and grandparents and, you know, family trees believe the same
thing for generations. But whatever our parents say,
whatever our grandparents say, ultimately that does not matter.
That does not matter. Some will just take the word
of the man preaching to them. Their answer will be, well, my
preacher says, well, that does not ultimately matter. All that matters is, what has
God said? What has our God said directly
in His Word? And with that being said, what
is my response to it? Here is the question. Whom do
you say that He is? What do you think? Now, I don't want to just throw
this message out like a blanket this morning. This message is
for one person at a time. What think ye of Christ? Whom do you say that he is? You, me. Verse 27 says, And Jesus went
out and His disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And
by the way, He asked His disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men
say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist,
but some say Elias, and others one of the prophets. Some thought
that our Lord was John the Baptist, reincarnated, because His message
was very bold, just like John's. Some thought he was Elijah or
one of the other prophets reincarnated because of the miracles he did.
And in their mind, that was a huge compliment. To them, that was
a huge compliment. If somebody said about any man
today, if somebody said, I'm going to tell you what, that
right there is John the Baptist. That is a modern-day Elijah. If somebody said that, can you
imagine what a compliment that would be to that man? Not to
our Lord. It is an indescribable disgrace
to compare His glory to a man. It may have been a compliment
in their eyes, but it is a crime worthy of eternal hell to bring
the glory of God Almighty down to man's level. Oh, may God keep
us from the abomination of lessening Him, lowering Him in our own
eyes. Over in Romans 1, verse 18 says,
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness,
because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for
God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen. being understood
by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse. Because that, when they knew
God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but
became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. professing themselves to be wise,
they became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible
God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds
and four-footed beasts and creeping things. This man, Jesus, is not
just a man. He is not just a man. In Matthew
chapter 12, verse 41 says, the men of Nineveh
shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn
it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold,
a greater than Jonah is here. A greater than Jonah. The next
verse says, the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment
with this generation and shall condemn it for she came from
the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
And behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Those who said he was John the
Baptist or Elijah or one of the other prophets, they gave him
the highest honor you could give to a man. And they missed it. They missed it. Somebody will
say, oh, but you know, they, they love Jesus now. Wait a minute.
Let's not be too hard on them. They loved him. They missed it. They missed Christ. They missed Christ. In Mark chapter 8 verse 27 says,
Jesus went out and His disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And by the way, He asked His
disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And
they answered, John the Baptist, some say Elias, others one of
the prophets. And He said unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith
unto him, Thou art the Christ. Now we know that Peter gave the
right answer because of what our Lord said in Matthew's account. In Matthew 16, verse 13, here's
the same account. He said, When Jesus came into
the coast of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am? And they said, Some
say thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremias,
or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which
is in heaven. He said, Peter, you've had the
truth revealed to you and flesh and blood didn't reveal it. You
didn't learn it from a man. God has shown you something. God has taught you something
about who this man Jesus really is. He's the Christ. He is the Christ. Now let's see
what that means. If you're turning with me, go
over to Matthew chapter 1. In Matthew 1, the definition
of the word Christ is the Messiah, the anointed one, Emmanuel. That's the definition of the
word Christ. And in Matthew 1 verse 21 says, She shall bring forth
a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save
His people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, A virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us." God with us. Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6 says,
a child is going to be born. A son is going to be given. A man is going to come forth. And his name is going to be called
Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God. The Mighty God. That's his name. Listen to this one. The Everlasting
Father. That's the name of the child.
The everlasting father, the prince of peace. Well, is he a man then? 100%.
Man sinned against God, so man had to die. God couldn't die. to be just and right and fair,
a man had to die. So God became a man. Is He really a man? 100%. The
Eternal One was born. The Complete One grew. The All-Knowing learned. The prince of peace
labored, he suffered, he grieved. The one who will not slumber
slept. The one who needs nothing hungered
and thirsted. The sinless one was made to be
sin. Life himself, the one who is
the source of all life, died. And he accomplished that the
only way it was possible. God became a man. Well, then is he God? 100% yes times three. He is the only God. There is no other. The whole
time he was a child, he never stopped being the man. The whole
time he was the servant, He never stopped being the king. The whole time that he was on
trial, he never stopped being the judge. The whole time he
laid in that grave, he never left the seat of his throne.
Never. Somebody will say, well, I don't
believe that. It can't be both. Well, then you've missed the
Christ. Because that's what it means
to say, Thou art the Christ. Men think they see God and they
think they see this man Jesus. But what they don't realize is
they've missed Christ. There is no salvation for a soul
that misses Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Lord means supreme in authority. The controller, the sovereign,
the ruler, God. Lord is his name of deity. Jesus
means savior. He's the one who has right to
redeem. It's the name of His humanity.
Christ means He's the union of both. He is where God and man
meet. That's what it means to say He
is the Christ. How can a sinner be just with
God? Only in Christ. How can a sinner find favor with
God? Only in Christ. only in the Christ,
not in his own works, not in his own decision, not in anything
he is or does, only in the Christ, the God-man, the perfect man,
the sinless man. I could never die for your sins. I have my own sins to deal with.
I can't pay my own sin, much less anybody else's. But our
Lord was sinless. No sin, perfect. No debt to pay. So He was the only man eligible
to take the sin of another and lay it on Himself. He was the only man who could
wipe a slate clean. And back in our text, He's going
to tell us how He did it. Back in Mark chapter 8, verse
27 says, And Jesus went out and His disciples into the towns
of Caesarea Philippi, And by the way, he asked his disciples,
saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered
John the Baptist, but some say Elias, and others one of the
prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith
unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they
should tell no man of him, And he began to teach them that the
son of man, the man, the actual man, Jesus the man, he began
to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and
be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes
and be killed And after three days, rise again. Killed. He told them, I'm gonna
be killed. Paying the price for the sin
of another. I'm gonna die by laying the sin
of another on myself. But the third day, he said, I'm
going to rise again. He told them exactly what he
was going to accomplish for fallen man. He said, God has chosen
some out of this sinful race to have mercy on. He's going
to have mercy on them. And he's going to do that through
the perfect man, giving his life a ransom for many. Verse 32 says, and he spake that
saying openly and Peter took him and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about
and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get
thee behind me, Satan, for thou savorest not the things that
be of God. A man is doing this, yes, but
God is doing this. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to himself. The adversary did everything
he could do to try to stop that, but he couldn't stop it. That
is the glorious news of the gospel. You know that? That is the glorious
news of the gospel. Our Lord could not be stopped. Christ accomplished the salvation
of His people. As a man, He laid down His own
life. And as God, He raised Himself
from the dead. Our Lord was the judge that required
the sacrifice. We sinned. We're all sinners
by nature. And God's holy law and His justice
said a sacrifice must be shed. If you're going to live, blood
must be shed. Christ was the judge that required
the sacrifice. God the Father said all judgment
has been committed unto Him. Christ was the priest that offered
the sacrifice. Christ is our great high priest
that makes intercession to God the Father on behalf of His people.
We can't go in and make intercession for ourselves. God will kill
us. That's how it was back in the Old Testament. Only the high
priest could go into the holy of holies with blood. If anybody
else went in, God said, I'm going to kill them. Christ was the judge that required
the sacrifice. Christ was the priest that offered
the sacrifice. And Christ was the sacrifice
himself. That's what it means to say,
Thou art the Christ. It means He is all. He is all. Christ is all. I love how in the story of Abraham
and Isaac, when Abraham took Isaac up on the mount, God said
to sacrifice him. And they grabbed the wood, and
they grabbed a knife, and they grabbed a fire, and they started
heading up that mountain. And Isaac said, Dad, I see all
these things, but where's the lamb? And Abraham said, My son,
God will provide Himself a lamb. What he said was, God will provide
Himself an appeasement. God will provide the thing that
will appease Him and make sacrifice to Him. And also what he was
saying was, God will provide himself to be that sacrifice. God will provide himself to be
that appeasement, that atonement. My son, God will provide himself
a lamb. That's the Christ. That's what
it means to say, Thou art the Christ. He's all. He's everything. Now let me ask you this question.
Do you believe that? Seeing what God has said about
this man Jesus, do you believe in your heart that He is the
Christ? Do you believe that? If you do,
if you do, and if you're turning with me, go over to 1 John 5. Let's look at this together.
1 John 5, verse 1 says, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ, whoever believes he's all, whoever fears the Lord,
the judge of the earth, whoever begs him to be their great high
priest and make intercession for them, Whoever sees Him to
be the sacrifice for their own sin, whoever sees Him to be all
is born of God. Flesh and blood did not reveal
that to you, God did. God did. And right here in 1
John 5 verse 20 says, We know that the Son of God is come and
hath given us an understanding that we may know Him, that is
true, and we are in Him, that is true, even in His Son, Jesus
Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the true God, and He is eternal life. He is eternal
life. This man, Jesus the Christ, he's
not just the one who can get us to God. He's not just the
one who points the way to God. He's not the one who just shows
us the example of how a sinner gets to God. He is God. He is God. If a sinner is ever
brought to Christ, that sinner has been brought to God. the
highest God, and Jesus the Christ is eternal life. Eternal life is not a thing. Eternal life is not a place. Eternal life is a person. He is eternal life. Now, we know what they say. We know what many people in the
world say. They say everything under the
sun, but you know what? It does not matter. Who do we say that He is? Who do you say that He is? Who
do I say that He is? Who do we confess Him to be? May God confirm to our hearts
that He is the Christ. May God cause our hearts, our
minds, and our mouths to cry out, Thou art the Christ. God manifest in the flesh. You're my only hope. You are
my only hope. You're my God, my King, my Lord. You are the Christ. Until next
Sunday morning, may our 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 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.