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 read you a verse of
scripture from 2 Corinthians chapter 11. This is 2 Corinthians
11 verse 3. The Apostle Paul writes, But
I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ." Isn't that a wonderful verse of Scripture?
the simplicity that is in Christ. This morning I want us to see
the simplicity that is in Christ. The simplicity of the gospel. And our text is going to come
from Psalm 126. If you have a Bible you can turn
with me to Psalm 126. The gospel is not an invitation. Did you
know that? The gospel, the true gospel,
the one and only true gospel, Paul told the Galatians, there's
not another. The one and only true gospel
is not an invitation. The gospel is a declaration. That's what it is. It is a declaration. God's gospel is a declaration
of the truth concerning the salvation of sinners. It's not up for debate. It's not something that we debate.
It's a truth that cannot be altered. And as preachers of the gospel,
our calling is not to set forth our opinion on it. That's not
what God has called us to do. Our calling is not to open up
a discussion on it. Our calling is to repeat the
declaration. And here it is. Psalm 126 verse
3 says, The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are
glad. That's the gospel. That's the
declaration. The Lord hath done great things
for us, whereof we are glad. The gospel begins with the Lord. This truth that we declare, it
begins with the Lord, the Lord Jehovah. There is a God in heaven
who is seated on his throne, doing as he will with whom he
will. Let me show you that in Daniel
chapter four, if you'll turn with me over to Daniel chapter
four. Verse 30 says, the king spake, this is King Nebuchadnezzar. The king spake and said, is not
this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom
by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the king's
mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar,
to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee. Everything
that came out of his mouth was I, my, everything I've done. And the Lord said, you're about
to lose it all. Verse 32, and they shall drive
thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beast of the
field. They shall make thee to eat grass as the oxen, and seven
times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he
will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled
upon Nebuchadnezzar. And he was driven from men and
did eat grass, his oxen, and his body was wet with the dew
of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers,
and his nails like birds' claws. And at the end of the days, I,
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding
returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised
and honored him that liveth forever. whose dominion is an everlasting
dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation,
and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing,
and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and
among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his
hand or say unto him, What doest thou? Do you know who he's talking
about right there? The Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 36 says, At the same time
my reason returned unto me, And for the glory of my kingdom,
mine honor and brightness returned unto me, and my counselors and
my lords sought unto me, and I was established in my kingdom,
and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar,
praise and extol and honor the King of heaven. Do you know who
the King of heaven is? The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord
is King and bow to Him we must. Great is He, great is He. Those wise men, they came from
a far country and they fell down before Him saying, we came to
see the one who was born King. Christ the Lord. And right here
in verse 37, Nebuchadnezzar said, I now appraise and extol and
honor the king of heaven, all whose works are truth and his
ways judgment and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. Nebuchadnezzar said, oh, I promise
you, He knows how to abase. He is able to abase. Now let me show you the first
time the two words, the Lord, are used in the scripture. The
very first time. If you'll look with me at Genesis
chapter two. Genesis chapter two verse four
says, these are the generations of the heavens and of the earth
when they were created in the day that the Lord God made the
earth and the heavens." The Lord God. John chapter 1 says, Jesus
Christ made the earth and the heavens. And without Him was
not anything made that was made. In the beginning was Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ was with God
because Jesus Christ was God, is God, the Lord God. He said in Malachi 3.6, I am
the Lord, I change not. And the Lord Jesus Christ was
made flesh and He dwelt among us, the Lord God. came in time,
made flesh, and He dwelt among us. That's important to know. If we're going to know who God
is, we must know that. The Lord of the Old Testament
is the same Lord of the New Testament. They're not two Lords. The Lord
of the year 33 AD is the same Lord of the year 2016. And this same Lord, the Lord
Jesus Christ, He says He's coming back. And this time He will come in
flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and
that obey not the gospel, the declaration of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Isn't that something? Moses said,
the Lord is a man of war. Oh, we need to know who we're
dealing with. We need to know who we're going to meet. We need
to know who is returning. A man of war is returning. And he's worthy to be feared.
He is worthy to be feared. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. But do you know what our text
says? Psalm 126 verse 3. It says, the Lord hath done great
things for us. Who has? The Lord Himself has. The Lord Himself. In Isaiah chapter
43 verse 1, the Lord Himself said this, But now, thus saith the Lord
that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel,
fear not. For I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. Thou art mine. What does that mean exactly? It means the Lord hath done great
things for us. That's what it means. Every work
of the Lord that He has done for His people is a finished
work. He hath done. The Lord hath done. Not will do. He is not trying
to do. He does not hope to do. He is not working towards anything. The Lord hath done. Acts 15, 18 says, known unto God are all
his works from the beginning of the world. And as soon as
those works were purposed in his heart, They were done. They were done. The Lord has
not left one work unfinished. Not one work. People say, He
takes the first step, you take the second. No, all the steps
have been taken. All the steps have been taken.
The Lord has no hands but your hands. That's not true. It was
the Lord's hands that formed mine and your hands. And He hasn't
left one work undone. Not one work. There are no loose
ends with Him. Even though He has yet to return
and gather His elect to Himself, Ephesians 2 says they're already
seated in heavenly places in Him. Already. Look with me over
at Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 verse 29, it
says, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. That's all past tense. It's all
past tense. Verse 30 says, moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called,
them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. Every bit of that is past tense.
Somebody might say, well, one day he's gonna glorify his people.
No. He already has glorified His
people. When Christ was glorified, all
His people were glorified. They were glorified in Him. The Lord hath done great things. Great things. He has done such great things
for such unworthy people, such backbiting, game-saying, unthankful,
rebellious people. David kept saying in the Psalms,
the Lord is good. Oh, He's so good. And the reason
is because His mercy endureth forever. We need mercy. That's what he's saying. We're
such a people who needs mercy. And the Lord is so good because
His mercy endureth forever. It never ends. He said it's brand
new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. Great! Look with me over at Matthew
11. In Matthew 11, verse 1 says, It came to pass when Jesus had
made an end of commanding His twelve disciples, He departed
thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John
had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his
disciples and said unto him, Art thou he that should come,
or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto
them, Go and show John again those things which you do hear
and see. He said the blind received their
sight. Those who could not see God. And that's all of us. Man by
nature cannot see God. The way that we are born into
this world, into this flesh, in our sin, we cannot see God. We've been severed, separated
from God. Those who could not see God and
those who could not see themselves for what they are, and that's
all of us by nature, we cannot see truly what we are. We have no concept truly of the
sin that we are. Sins are not just what we do.
Sin is what we are. It's what we are. But by the
hand of the Lord, those who could not see have received the eyes
of faith. And like the song Amazing Grace
said, I once was blind but now I see. I see God. I see God. Not the God that I've
imagined in my mind. The God as He has declared Himself
to be in His Word. And I see man. Not the way man
perceives himself to be. I see man the way he is. The way God has declared him
to be in His Word. And I see Christ. Oh, do I see
Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man, the Savior,
the Redeemer. The blind receive their sight.
Verse 5, He said, the lame walk, those who could not come to Christ. If a man's going to be saved,
he has to come to Christ. But do you know that no man can? The way we are naturally, we're
lame. The way we are spiritually, we're
lame. We cannot walk. But those who could not come
to Christ have been made able by His grace to walk straight
up to the throne of His grace. Yeah, that's a great thing. You
know that? That's a great thing. Verse 5 says, The lepers are
cleansed. Those with rotting, defiled flesh have been made white as snow,
spotless. How? The Lord did it, that's
how. He washed them in His own blood.
Sin has ruined us. It has physically ruined us,
not just spiritually. We're dying. We're aging. We're
wrinkling. We're spotting. We're rotting. But in the blood of Christ, we've
been made white as snow, spotless, clean, perfect. Verse 5 says,
the death here, They hear the most beautiful sound that could
ever enter the heart. They hear with their heart. Those
who could not hear before hear the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
All of a sudden, He moves and they hear. What does He say? What does He
say to their heart through His word? This is what He says, Fear
not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine." That's a great thing. Oh, that's a great thing. Verse 5 says, the dead are raised
up. Those who are born spiritually
dead in trespasses and sins, He raises them up to eternal
life. Eternal life in Jesus Christ,
eternal life with Jesus Christ the Lord. Verse 5 says, And the
poor, the poor have the gospel. The declaration, this beautiful,
wonderful declaration preached to them great things, great things. The Lord hath done great things
for us. Well, wait a minute now. Are
you saying that He didn't do this for everybody? When you
say He hath done great things for us, does that mean that He
didn't do this for everybody? That's exactly what it means.
Christ has not done great things for everybody. His word declares
that He did it for us. He did it for His chosen. He
did it for the ones He set His affection on. The ones His Father
gave to Him. He said, I pray not for the world,
but for them which Thou hast given Me. David said, Us. Well, if that's the case, I have
a question that I need answered. And if you are truly concerned
about this, I would imagine you have the same question. How can I know if I'm an us? Who are the us? Wouldn't you like to know if
you're an us? If he only did this for the us,
here's what I wanna know. Am I included in this? Did He
do it for me? How can I know if I'm one of
the us? If you would like the answer
to that, turn with me to Romans 5. I would strongly encourage
you to get a Bible and open it with me, and let's look at these
two verses of Scripture together. Romans chapter 5, verse 7. It says, for scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward
us, in that While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Who are the us? God commended his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. In order to be an us, you have
to be a sinner. It's the only requirement to
be an us. Christ came to save sinners. Sinners, a true sinner is so
hard to find. But do you know what the Apostle
Paul said? He said, I'm the chief. I'm the chief. And every sinner
who has been given eyes to see that that's who Christ came to
save, every sinner who sees that cries, no, I'm the chief. I am. If that's who He came to save,
then I acknowledge I'm the chief. Now if you're not a sinner, then
you're not an us. But every sinner who has been
given ears to hear that Christ came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. Every one of them cries, call
me. Call me, Lord, save me. I'm the greatest sinner I know.
I truly am the greatest sinner I know. Well sinners, every sinner
who is listening right now, if you're a sinner, I know they're
very hard to find, they're very rare, but if you're a sinner listening
to this right now, this is the only gospel that there is to
declare. The Lord hath done great things
for us. He has done great, great things
for us. Just listen to this in 1 Samuel
chapter 12. This is so wonderful. 1 Samuel 12 verse 20, And Samuel
said unto the people, Fear not, You have done all this wickedness,
yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord
with all your heart. And turn ye not aside, for then
should you go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver,
for they are vain. For the Lord will not forsake
His people for His great name's sake, because it hath pleased
the Lord to make you His people. It pleased the Lord to make you
His people. If you are a sinner, you're in
us. Every true sinner who cries to
God Almighty, I'm a sinner. I acknowledge my transgressions. My sin is ever before me. He
said, you fear not. Even though you've done all this
wickedness, it pleased the Lord to make you his people. Now,
how do we respond to that? How do we respond to such good
news, such great things? Back in our text, David responded
for us. He said in Psalm 126 verse 3,
the Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad. We're glad. The declaration of
the gospel makes sinners glad. It does not make them want to
sin more. It does not make them lawless,
not at all. It makes them glad. Hearing about
everything that Christ has done, all that He has accomplished
by Himself, not with me. I can't help Him at all. All
I've done is ruin it, but He accomplished it by Himself. And
that sure doesn't produce pride in a sinner. How can it? Christ did it all. Religion wants
people to walk around with such pride, but saved sinners are
not that way. Seeing what we truly are by nature,
that won't produce a self-righteousness, it produces a humility, it produces
a thankfulness, and it produces a happiness in the righteousness
of Christ. Oh, we're so thankful for His
righteousness. And it makes us want to run and
tell everybody, everybody we can, the good news. It makes
us want to repeat the declaration one more time. The Lord hath
done great things for us, whereof we are glad. 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.