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. In the book of Judges, chapter
13, there is a wonderful story of a man named Manoah and his
wife. And it's a very clear picture
of man, and it's a very clear picture of God. It's a picture of life, death,
and salvation. This is the gospel, that's what
it is. And this is the story of every single child of God.
They all have the exact same story, start to finish. They
all start in the same place and they all finish in the same place. So I pray that this is both mine
and your story. I pray this is all of our story. Let's take a look at this. In
Judges chapter 13, verse 1 says, and the children of Israel did
evil again in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord delivered
them into the hand of the Philistines forty years." Our story starts
in sin. That's where it starts. Evil in the sight of the Lord. There is no denying that that's
where I started. There is no denying that's where
you started. The scripture says, all have
sinned. And it's the truth, isn't it?
There comes a point whenever it's time to just be truthful.
It's time to just be honest. All have sinned. started in sin. The scripture says we come forth
from our mother's womb speaking lies. Is that not the truth?
Do you have to teach a child how to lie? No. They lie because they're liars.
And unfortunately, very sadly, that's where we all start. It's
in sin, in sin. Well, Judges 13 verse 2 says,
and there was a certain man of Zorah of the family of the Danites. whose name was Manoah. And his
wife was barren and bare not. She was barren. What that means
is she was dead. Dead inside. No life in her. She was dead and she was in sin. Is that you? Because I'm just
going to be honest, that's me. In this flesh, as I am by nature,
that's me. Dead and in sin. There are so many women in the
scripture that our Lord made to be this way to prove a spiritual
truth to us. We are all dead in sin. Abraham's wife, Sarah, she was
barren. And she was barren so that we
could all hope in the promised son, Isaac, who represents the
Lord Jesus Christ. And Isaac, his wife, Rebecca,
she was barren. Isaac, representing Christ, the
bride of Christ, in and of herself is barren. Jacob's wife, Rachel,
she was barren. Samuel's mother, Hannah, she
was barren. John the Baptist's mother, Elizabeth,
she was barren. But do you know what Isaiah 54
verse one says? Sing, O barren. Thou that didst not bear." Why? Why sing? It's because the chapter
before it, Isaiah 53, says, He bore. He bore it for us. He bore it
for us. He endured the pain. He endured
the suffering for us. But this is where every child
of God begins, dead in sin. No life in them, barren and dead. Verse three says, And the angel
of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold,
now thou art barren, and barrest not, but thou shalt conceive
and bear a son." Now, is that not the gospel? You're dead now. There is no life in you at all. But life is coming. Life is coming. The Son is coming. Verse 4, He said, Now therefore
beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and
eat not any unclean thing. For lo, thou shalt conceive and
bear a son, and no razor shall come on his head. For the child
shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb, and he shall begin
to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." What
he's telling her is, you've been set apart. for holy use. That's what sanctification is.
You've been set apart. Why? The Son. That's why. It's all about the
Son. It's all for the Son. This is all unto the Son. This announcement unto life is
a declaration of the Son. That's what it is. Everything
He will accomplish in you, for you. He said, this Son is going
to come and deliver you. He's going to deliver you out
of the hand of the Philistines. He's going to deliver you out
of the bondage you are in. Verse 6, Then the woman came
and told her husband, saying a man of God came unto me, and
his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God."
Very terrible. But I ask him not whence he was,
neither told me his name. He didn't tell me his name. And
that's what you're going to find in God's true messenger. He will
not promote himself. John the Baptist wouldn't say
his own name. Our Lord said, the Holy Spirit
shall not speak of Himself. He's going to point men and women
to Christ. The Holy Spirit. She said, I asked Him not whence
He was, neither told He me His name. But He said unto me, Behold,
thou shalt conceive and bear a son. And now drink no wine
nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing, for the child
shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death."
A Nazarite was a man who was under a vow to God to accomplish
something. A consecrated man. And while he was under that vow,
he couldn't touch any wine, He couldn't cut his hair, and he
couldn't come in contact with anything that was dead. He had
to represent perfection, and purity, and obedience. And the messenger told her, the
one who is coming is going to be undefiled, perfect, and consecrated
to God. Spiritually speaking, This is
telling every child of God, male or female, spiritually speaking,
this is saying, there's going to be a new man put in you. A new man is going to be put
in you. The Holy One. The Holy One is
coming. Verse 8, Then Manoah entreated
the LORD, and said, O my LORD, let the man of God which thou
didst send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do
unto the child that shall be born. When a sinner hears the
message of God from the servant of God, it's a fearful thing. It's a reverent thing. And it's
a savor of life unto life, that's what it is. And the sinner says,
I need to hear this again. Would you let the man of God
which you did send come again to us? Could he tell us these
things one more time? Verse nine says, and God hearkened
to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again unto
the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah, her husband, was
not with her. When God calls, it's individual. It's individual. When God comes
to His child, He speaks to every single one individually. He calls every one of them by
name. And here's the good news of the gospel. God's ways are
not our ways. He does not come to the strong
in this world. Did you know that? He does not
come to the self-sufficient. He does not come to the self-righteous,
the ones who can live on their own. He comes to the barren. That's who He comes to. He comes to the barren. God helps
those who can't help themselves. That's who God helps. Men have
been listening to the lies of religion. Men and women everywhere,
they've been told lies. That lie, God helps those who
help themselves, that's a lie. That's a lie. Nowhere in the
scripture does it say God helps those who help themselves. Nowhere. God helps those who can't help
themselves. He comes to the barren. He said,
I didn't come to call the righteous, I came to call sinners. He said
the well don't need a physician, the sick do. And in verse 9, God hearkened
to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again unto
the woman as she sat in the field, but Manoah her husband was not
with her. And the woman made haste, and
ran, and showed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the
man hath appeared unto me that came to me the other day. And
Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man,
and said unto him, Art thou the man that speakest unto the woman?
And he said, I am. I am. When God reveals the truth to
a sinner, the first thing that sinner wants to do is run and
tell others what God has revealed to me. to me, run and tell everybody,
this is what God has revealed to me, just like that woman at
the well. Our Lord came to that woman and He told her everything
about her. And then she said, I know when
Messiah comes, He's going to reveal all these things to her.
And He said, I that speak unto thee am He. And she went running
into the town and she told everybody, come see a man. He knows everything
about me. He knows my thoughts. He knows
my deeds. He knows my sin. But He said
He has living water. And He said He would give it
to me. And I believe He'll give it to you too. Verse 10, the
woman made haste and ran, and showed her husband, and said
unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto
me the other day. And Manoah arose, and went after
his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the
man that speakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. If God in
mercy ever causes a sinner to run to Christ, If God ever causes
a sinner to run to Christ and ask Him from the heart, art thou
he that should come? If a sinner will ask Christ Himself,
that sinner will get an answer. If you seek Christ Himself, you
will find Him. You will. I that speak unto thee
am He." When they came to take our Lord and crucify Him, Judas
had gotten a mob of men together, soldiers and the priests, the
Pharisees. When they came to take Him, our
Lord asked them, whom seek ye? And they said, we seek Jesus
of Nazareth. And he said, I am. And they all
fell back like trees. They all fell to the ground.
But they found him, didn't they? Moses said, when I go to the
people who are in Egypt, who should I say sent me? Who are
you, Lord? Who should I say sent me? Our
Lord said, you tell them, I am, hath sent you. And that's what
every sinner hears who comes to Christ, seeking the truth. I'm seeking the truth. Every
one of them will hear, I am. I am. I am the truth. Verse 11, Manoah arose and went
after his wife and came to the man and said unto him, art thou
the man that speakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. And
Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass, how shall we order
the child, and how shall we do unto him? And the angel of the
Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman, let
her beware, she may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine,
neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean
thing, all that I commanded her, let her observe." What he's saying
is, don't do anything. That's what he's saying. Don't
do anything. Don't add one work to what is
taking place in you. Don't add anything. Verse 15,
And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let
us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. Let us make dinner for you. And
the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me,
I will not eat of thy bread. There is nothing you can bring
in this matter that will be accepted. Even though you detain me and
even though you go make this, I'm not gonna eat it. There is
nothing you can bring that will be accepted and that's how it
is in salvation. Dear sinner, that's how it is
in salvation. There is nothing we can bring that will be accepted,
not by God. Verse 16, the angel of the Lord
said unto Manoah, though thou detain me, I will not eat of
thy bread. And if thou wilt offer a burnt
offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Manoah knew
not that he was an angel of the Lord. That angel told Manoah,
there is only one thing that God will accept, a burnt offering. That's it. Something must be
sacrificed unto God to appease God because of our sin, because
of your sin, Manoah. So verse 17 says, Manoah said
unto the angel of the Lord, what is thy name? That when thy sayings
come to pass, we may do thee honor. And the angel of the Lord
said unto him, why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it
is secret? That word secret translates wonderful. It's wonderful. Who is this man
Jesus? He said, why are you asking for
my name? Who is this man Jesus? Isaiah 9.6 says, unto us a child
is born. Unto us a Son is given." Oh,
but who is this? It says, "...all the government
shall be upon His shoulders. And His name shall be called
Wonderful, Secret. His name shall be called Counselor. His name shall be called the
Mighty God. His name shall be called the
Everlasting Father. His name shall be called the
Prince of Peace. Someone says, well, I know who
Jesus is. He's the little son that was
born to Mary. No. Mary is the daughter who was
born to Him. Didn't our Lord say, you must
be born again? You must be. Well, I know who he is. He's
the one running for office. He's the one trying to get votes,
trying to win the election. No, he's the one who already
carries all the government on his shoulders. Well, I know who he is. He's
God's Son. He's God's Son. No, His name is the everlasting Father. He said, if you've seen me, you've
seen the Father. He said, I and my Father are
one. And he tells his seeking sinners,
this is what he tells them, my name is wonderful. It's a secret
that must be revealed. It must be revealed. Until it's
revealed, it remains a secret. Until God reveals himself to
a sinner, until God reveals who Christ really is to a sinner,
that sinner has no idea. He thinks he knows. He thinks
he has his history right, but he has no idea who Jesus Christ
really is. This is life eternal that they
might know Thee, the only true God. Verse 19 says, So Manoah
took a kid with a meat offering and offered it upon a rock unto
the Lord. And the angel did wondrously.
And Manoah and his wife looked on, for it came to pass, when
the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the
angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah
and his wife looked on it and fell on their faces to the ground.
But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and
to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was
an angel of the Lord." Now I'm sure they had made sacrifices
before. I'm sure they were religious.
I'm sure they had gone through the rituals, gone through the
motions before. But when God sends His messenger
with the truth of God Himself, something's different. Something
is fearful. When God says to the heart of
a sinner, I am, that sinner knows. Just like Jacob when the Lord
wrestled with him. I've seen God face to face. That's
what Jacob said. And when God says to the heart
of a sinner, I am, that sinner knows through his word, by his
spirit, I've seen God. I've seen God. Verse 19, Manoah
took a kid with a meat offering and offered it upon a rock unto
the Lord, and the angel did wondrously. And Manoah and his wife looked
on, for it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven
from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in
the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked
on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel
of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then
Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord. And Manoah said
unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God." The fear of the Lord. is the
beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. The Word of God Himself grips
the heart, He grips the mind, He grips the soul, and that sinner
starts to realize, you know, He said, no man can see me and
live. That's what God said, no man can see me and live. I'm
starting to understand why. It's because He's holy. It's because no sin can dwell
in His presence. And sin is all I am. And He must
punish sin. He cannot clear the guilty. God
be merciful to me, a sinner. God be merciful to me a sinner.
Verse 22, Manoah said unto his wife, we shall surely die because
we have seen God. But his wife said unto him, now
here's the gospel, this poor sinner has seen God and he acknowledges
his transgression. His sin is ever before him and
he knows against God and God only has he sinned and done this
evil in his sight. And he knows that God will be
justified when he speaks and be clear when he judges. And
he's fallen on his face to beg the true and living God for mercy. Manoah said unto his wife, We
shall surely die because we have seen God. But his wife said unto
him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have
received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands.
Neither would He have showed us all these things, nor would
as at this time have told us such things as these. If He were
going to kill us, He would never have accepted Christ on our behalf. He would have never killed His
own Son in our stead. Never. He never would have revealed
the mystery of His gospel to us. He wouldn't have told us. He would have just killed us.
He would have never spoken such sweet words of comfort to our
hearts. Never. Verse 24 says, And the
woman bare a son, and called his name Samson. And the child
grew, and the Lord blessed him. God's Word will not return void. She bore fruit. He put life in
her. He sent His Spirit and He blessed
her. And she called His name Samson.
His name means sunlight, the eastern star. That's the day
star that rises with healing in His wings. She received Christ. That's every believer's story,
isn't it? Every one. Come the end of this whole matter,
all we can say is, we just received Christ. What did you do for it?
Nothing! We just received the grace and
the mercy of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where it's
found. Every ounce of it is found in
the Lord Jesus Christ. So our prayer is, dear God of
heaven, please bless us and send Christ to us. Accept Him on our
behalf. Until next Sunday morning, 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 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.