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 bring a message to
you from the book of Mark this morning, Mark chapter 2. And
my prayer today is that this message might be clear and plain. There is a truth in God's Word. There is a singular truth in
God's Word, and I pray that our Lord will open all of our eyes
to it this morning. In Mark chapter two, verse 23
says, and it came to pass that he went through the cornfields
on the Sabbath day. Our Lord led his disciples through
the cornfields on the Sabbath day. Now he could have gone anywhere. Why did he go through the cornfields? The answer is he did it to teach
us something, something that is extremely important. something that will set a captive
sinner free, if God reveals it to him. Verse 23 says, and it
came to pass that he went through the cornfields on the Sabbath
day, and his disciples began as they went to pluck the ears
of corn. Now, his disciples were Jews. And they knew the law. The Jews
knew what was recorded in God's law. So why would they pluck
the ears of corn on the Sabbath day? In Luke's account, it says they
were rubbing the ears together. They were threshing the ears. And they knew the law. They knew
what God had to say about that. So why would they do that? Verse 24 says, the Pharisees
said unto the Lord, behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that
which is not lawful? Why are they doing on the Sabbath
day what is not lawful? Not lawful according to who?
Not lawful according to God. Over in Exodus chapter 20, Verse
eight says, this is where God gave Moses the 10 commandments.
And in Exodus chapter 20, verse eight, it says, remember the
Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and
do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath
of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work.
thou nor thy son nor thy daughter, thy manservant nor thy maidservant,
nor thy cattle nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For
in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and the sea and all
that in them is and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. God commanded rest on the
Sabbath. So the Pharisees asked the Lord,
why are your disciples plucking corn today? Now back in our text
over in Mark chapter two, verse 25 says, and the Lord said unto
them, have you never read what David did? When he had need and
was in hunger He and they that were with him. How he went into
the house of God in the days of Abiathar, the high priest,
and did eat the showbread, which is not lawful to eat, but for
the priest, and gave also to them which were with him. They said to the Lord, why are
your disciples doing this? And he said, have you never read
what David did? He went into the temple and he
ate the showbread and it was not lawful for him to do that. Now, is our Lord condoning breaking
the law? Does he encourage his disciples
to break the law? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. John wrote, sin is a transgression
of the law. And then he wrote, whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in
him. And he cannot sin because he's
born of God. God can have nothing to do with
sin, nothing. But this is the answer that the
Lord gave to the Pharisees. regarding their question. They
said, why are your disciples doing this? They're not obeying
the law. And he said to them, have you never read what David
did? Now that causes me to believe we ought to go back and read
what David did. He's referring to 1 Samuel 21. So if you have
your Bible, turn with me over there to 1 Samuel chapter 21.
This is where Jonathan, David had a dear friend, Saul's son,
Jonathan. And Jonathan told David that
his father wanted to kill him. And he said, David, it's time
for you to run. My father Saul is bound and determined now,
he's going to kill you. And David was afraid and he started
running. And here in 1 Samuel chapter
21, verse one says, then came David to Nob, to Ahimelech the
priest. And Ahimelech was afraid at the
meeting of David and said unto him, why art thou alone and no
man with thee? Why have you come here alone?
What brings you here? Verse two, and David said unto
Ahimelech the priest, the king hath commanded me a business,
Saul. Saul the king, he said, hath
commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, let no man
know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what
I have commanded thee, and I have appointed my servants to such
and such a place. Now therefore what is under thine
hand, give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there
is present. And the priest answered David
and said, there is no common bread under my hand, but there
is hallowed bread, if the young men have kept themselves at least
from women. And David answered the priest
and said unto him, of a truth, women have been kept from us
about these three days since I came out, and the vessels of
the young men are holy, And the bread is in a manner common,
yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. So the
priest gave him hallowed bread, for there was no bread there
but the show bread that was taken from before the Lord to put hot
bread in the day when it was taken away. Now this is the story
that our Lord gave in answer to the Pharisee's question. And
do you know the first thing that struck me about this story when
I read it? David lied. Did you notice that? David lied.
David was running from Saul, running for his life. But he
said in verse two, David said unto Ahimelech the priest, the
king hath commanded me a business. and hath said unto me, let no
man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what
I have commanded thee, and I have appointed my servants to such
and such a place. David lied. That's not the way
it was. There's an old writer, a commentary
writer on the scriptures, his name is John Gill. And John Gill
said it was a downright lie. That's what he said. It was a
downright lie. And David repented of it. Later
he did repent of it. He was sorry for it. He said
in Psalm 119, remove from me the way of lying and grant me
thy law graciously. That was his prayer. Remove from
me the way of lying. So David lied. Now why would
our Lord use this to answer those Pharisees? Why would he use this to answer
them with? Here's the reason. He said to
those Pharisees, you're inquiring about the way of salvation. You
wanna know about the way of salvation? You're talking about the issue
of salvation. Those Pharisees said, behold,
you're disciples. They're claiming salvation, but
they're not keeping the law. They're supposed to be saved,
but they're not keeping the law. And our Lord said, here is the
way of salvation. This is the way of salvation. And we all need to take note
of this. David lied. David lied. Do you know what that makes David?
A sinner. David was a sinner. David didn't
just represent a sinner. David was a sinner. And I'll
tell you this, so am I. So am I. I acknowledge it to
you right now. I cannot get around it. I'm nothing
but a downright sinner, just like David. But here's what David did. He
went to God's high priest. And he went the only way we can
come to God's high priest, as a sinner. We come as sinners. God's high priest does not receive
the righteous. He only receives sinners. So David came the only way he
could, as a sinner. That was the only way Jacob could
come to Isaac. He came in his lies as a sinner. And David came the only way he
could, as a sinner. But he came pleading the king. He came pleading the king. He said, the king has commanded
this. The only thing I have to say
is the king has done all of this. And I plead him. That's the reason
I'm here. Why are you here? I'm here because
of him. I'm here pleading the commandment
of the king. and I'm here because I need bread.
I have a need, I have a hunger, and the only thing that can fill
it is the holy bread. David came as a sinner, he came
straight to God's high priest, pleading the king, begging bread,
and he got it. He got it. Dear sinner, lying,
cheating, no good, filthy, rotten sinner, you come to God's high priest.
His name is Jesus Christ. And you come pleading the king. His name is Jesus Christ. and you come begging for bread,
the true bread of heaven, his name is Jesus Christ, and you'll
get it. And if I come that way, I will
get it. We will get him. If we ask, we shall receive. If we seek, we shall find. If
we knock, it shall be opened. And we're gonna eat, and then
we're gonna rest. We're gonna rest. Look with me
at Romans chapter three. Romans three verse 20 says, therefore,
by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in
his sight. For by the law is the knowledge
of sin. by the law is the knowledge of
sin. All the law can do for us is
show us that we can't keep it. That's it. That's it. Paul told the Galatians, whoever
is under the law is under the curse. That's what he said. Whoever
is under the law is under the curse. Our only plea is that
Christ our King kept God's holy law for us. That's it. That's
our only plea. I cannot keep it. I will not
satisfy my God. My only hope is that my God kept
it for me. Christ came and kept it for me.
And I tell you this, that's exactly what he did. That is exactly
what he did. Over in Romans chapter 10, verse
four says, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. Christ is the end of the law. Then why were all these things
in God's law given in the first place? Why were they given? Every one of them was given to
show us Christ. The law is our schoolmaster that
brings us to Christ. Every single thing in God's law
points us to Christ. It shows us Christ. It shows us that we could not
do it, but he did. God ordained these different
men throughout time to be the high priest. Throughout the Old
Testament, he always had a high priest. Why is that? Is it because
they were special? No, he did that to show us what
Christ has done for us. He did that to show us Christ,
our high priest. They sacrificed animals and they
sacrificed animals and they sacrificed animals. Why'd they do that?
Was it because the animals needed to die? No. Was it because their blood put
away sin? No. Hebrews tells us that. God ordained that sacrifice to
show us what Christ has done for us. He sacrificed himself
once and he put away the sin of his people. Why did God tell
Moses to build an altar? It was to show us that Christ
is our altar. Christ made the sacrifice. He
was the high priest. Christ is the sacrifice. He's
the lamb. Christ upholds the sacrifice. He's our altar. Well, why did
God tell Moses to make a candlestick? Was it just to give light in
the tabernacle? They just needed something to see by? No. It was
to show us that Christ is our light. Well, why did God tell
those priests to make hot bread every day? Was it just so it'd
smell good in there and they'd have something to eat for lunch?
No. It was to show us that Christ
is our bread. He is our life. He is our sustenance. He is our fullness. Why did God say don't do any
work on the Sabbath? Why did God say that? Was it
because that day was more holy than other days? No. He said that to show us that
Christ has finished the work. Christ has finished the work. There is no more work to be done.
If we try to worship God by obeying his ordinance, then we have missed
Christ. If we try to obey God, If we
try to worship God, if we try to please God and find acceptance
with God through His law, we have missed Christ. We have missed
the reason God gave the ordinance. And in doing that, we're breaking
His law. We're trying to do when He said rest. In trying to obey,
in trying to work, We're breaking his law. We're
not resting when he said to rest. God's Sabbath is not a day. God's Sabbath is a person. A person. We don't rest on a
day. We rest on a person. We rest
on a person. Now look with me back at Mark
chapter two. Verse 23 says, and it came to pass that he went
through the cornfields on the Sabbath day. And his disciples
began as they went to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees
said unto him, behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that
which is not lawful? And he said unto them, have you
never read what David did when he had need and was hungered? When he was hungry? Our Lord
said over in Matthew chapter five, blessed are they that hunger
and thirst for righteousness, they shall be filled. If that
hunger is there, they're gonna be filled. Verse 25, he said,
have you never read what David did when he had need and was
hungered, he and they that were with him? How he went into the
house of God in the days of Abiathar, the high priest, and did eat
the showbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priest, and
gave also to them which were with him. Now wait a minute.
God said only a priest could eat this bread, but David was
able to eat it, and they that were with him. Do you know what song all of
the redeemed in glory sing? Our Lord said that they're all
gonna sing a new song, and they all know the words to this song,
and do you know what song that is? They sing, thou art worthy,
for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood,
and hast made us unto our God kings and priests. Our Lord recorded that song for
us in Revelation chapter 5. Kings and priests. If a sinner comes to know Christ,
not only will all his need be met, but God will make him a priest.
The blood of Christ turns sinners into priests. Verse 27, and he
said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for
the Sabbath. Our Sabbath is a person. Our
Sabbath is a person. And he said, a body hast thou
prepared me. Our Lord came to this earth.
God was manifest in the flesh. and a body was made for him.
He was born of a virgin. And the reason that body was
prepared was so that he could be our Sabbath. So that he could
fulfill the law and create rest for us. The Sabbath was made
for man. Christ came and he did all the
work for man, not man for the Sabbath. There is nothing we
can do to create rest for ourselves. There is nothing we can do to
help God out. There's nothing we can do to
aid Christ in redemption. He does not take the first step
and then we take the second. There's nothing for us to do.
The Sabbath was made for man. not man for the Sabbath. We must
rely on and we must trust in our Sabbath. Verse 28 says, therefore the
Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. Rest on Christ and you
will be resting on God's Sabbath. Rest on Christ and you will be
fulfilling God's law. God gave that law. He said you
rest on the Sabbath. Rest on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you will be fulfilling God's law. You rest on Christ and God
will be satisfied. That's the truth. If a sinner
will rest on Christ, And the only way that's possible is if
God in mercy causes that sinner to rest on Christ. But to rest on Christ is to obey
God, to fulfill his law. And those disciples, they were
just as happy as they could be. Walking through those cornfields,
they were picking their corn, eating their corn, They were
at total peace. They had total comfort, total
ease of mind concerning God's law. There was no fear in them. No fear of God's judgment coming
down on them. And do you know why? It's because
they were at that moment resting on their Sabbath. That's what
they were doing. The whole time they were walking
through those cornfields, plucking that corn, shucking their corn,
eating their corn, they were resting on the Sabbath. And they
knew the truth. They knew the truth. And the
truth had made them free. The truth had set them free. The truth was walking right there
beside them. Right there beside them. Their
Sabbath was walking right there beside them. And they were looking
to Him. And they were trusting in Him.
Trusting in His work alone. Eating their bread. Spiritually speaking. Eating
the bread of heaven. They were pleading their King.
That's what they were doing. And those Pharisees said, oh,
they're not resting on the Sabbath. Oh, yes, they are. Yes, they
are. And by God's grace, I pray we will do the same thing.
I pray we all will rest on the Sabbath. I pray God would give
us the same thing he gave those disciples, no matter what we're
doing. No matter what's taking place throughout our day, as
we walk through our day, as we walk through this journey, I
pray the whole time we'll be resting on our Sabbath. The Sabbath
is not a day, even though that's what most everyone believes. The truth that's found in God's
word is this, It's all about Christ. It's all about Christ,
and the Sabbath is not a day. The Sabbath is a person. May
God cause us all to truly rest on the Lord Jesus 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.