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 the book of 1 John. My prayer is that if you love
the Lord Jesus Christ and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that
this will be a great blessing to you this morning. First John
chapter one verse five is gonna be our text. It says, this then
is the message. My prayer is that God has given
us a message. We've tuned in right now on this
radio station. And we're not here to hear a
sermon. I'm not here to deliver a sermon.
You're not here to hear a sermon. What we need is a message. We
need a message from our God. Well, it says, this then is the
message which we have heard of Him and declare unto you that
God is light. And in Him is no darkness at
all. This is the message. The message
of Scripture. There's a message in the Word
of God. The message from God to His people. His chosen people. The message
that speaks to the heart of His people and blesses His people. I have an outline here this morning. I have some verses we're gonna
read and I have a few comments to make on them, but my prayer
is that God would make this a message to our hearts. This then is the message which
we have heard of Him and declare unto you, that God is light and
in Him is no darkness at all. That is such a reassuring and
comforting verse, isn't it? So comforting. Here is the message
from God to His very own people. This is what God has to say to
His people. God is light. That's what He
wants to remind His people of. God is light and in Him is no
darkness at all. As people that live in a dark
world. We are people who live in a dark
world. Because of that, isn't this verse
of Scripture so wonderful to hear? Isn't this so wonderful? To this world, this world who
has no heart for the Lord Jesus Christ, does not bow to Him as
God and King. No regard for his word. This
is not good news. It's a saver of death unto death. And the reason that's the case
is because they love darkness rather than light. That's what
the word of God says. They love darkness rather than
light. But the believer, the child of God, he runs to the
light. He longs for light. He wants to live forever in a
place where there is no darkness at all. Well, if that's a saver of life
to you, then listen to this. God is light. And in Him is no darkness at
all. I have two questions. The first
one is, who is God? The second one is, what is light? Who is God and what is light? If we can answer those two questions,
then we're going to see who God is. We're gonna see who God is. And then we'll also see who God
is. Who He is. What He's like. This is insight to our God. God
is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Well, who is God? God is the light. That's who
God is. God is the light. Turn with me over to John chapter
8. John chapter 8 verse 12 says,
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the
world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Jesus Christ
is that light. John said, I'm not the light.
He is. Jesus Christ is that light. In
glory there's no need of the sun. The Lamb is the light thereof. Isn't that what it says? Look
with me at John chapter 9. Verse 5 says, As long as I am
in the world, I am the light of the world. That's our Lord
speaking. As long as I'm in the world, I'm the light of the world.
John chapter 12 verse 35 says, Then Jesus said unto them, Yet
a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the
light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh in darkness
knoweth not whither he goeth. while you have light, believe
in the light, that you may be the children of light." These
things spake Jesus and departed and did hide himself from them.
He said, walk in the light, believe in the light, that you might
be children of light. This then is the message which
we have heard of Him and declare unto you that God is light. Who is God? David said, the Lord
is my light. That's who God is. That's who
God is. If a sinner ever wonders, who
is God? We talk about God and we read
about God and we expect to go meet God. Well, who is God? It's
Jesus Christ. He is the highest God. King on
the throne. Jesus Christ, that's who God
is. I thought about Saul of Tarsus
when God revealed himself to Saul. And who revealed himself
to Saul? Jesus Christ did. He said, I'm
Jesus whom thou persecutest. But whenever he revealed himself,
do you know what knocked Saul off of his horse? That light. That light. That's who God is. And here's the message that I
have for his children. God, who is God? Christ. God is light. We've seen who God is. Now let's
see who God is. God is light. And in Him is no
darkness at all. If we can find out what light
is, then we can find out more of who our God is. I found five
scriptures that will describe the Lord our light to us. It'll tell us who our God is.
Five scriptures, the first one is in Genesis chapter one. Go
with me over to Genesis chapter one. Verse one says, in the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form
and void. And darkness was upon the face
of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light. And there was light. And God
saw the light, that it was good. It was good. This is the message that I have for believers who
are looking to and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
good. He's good. Surely the Lord is good. And in Him is no evil. No bad at all. At all. He will never bring any
bad on His people. Never. Never. A child of God may say, well
things seem pretty bad. They seem pretty bad to me. This
is looking really bad. It may seem that way, but it's
not. It's not. all of His purposes. Everything He is doing to you
and around you is all working together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Everything is on purpose. And
everything has been purposed for the good of God's sheep.
Everything. Here is the message I have from
God's Word. If you belong to Christ, if you
bow to the Lord Jesus Christ, He will never bring evil on you.
Never. In Him, in Christ, is no darkness
at all. None. Now turn with me over to
Psalm 43. Psalm 43 verse 3 says, O send out thy light and
thy truth. Thy truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring
me unto thy holy hill and to thy tabernacles." Our Lord said,
I am the truth, didn't he? The Apostle Paul wrote, let God
be true and every man a liar. Here is the message I have for
the Lord's people. Our God is truth. And in Him are no lies at all. At all. He is the God who cannot
lie. Every good promise, we just said
that everything works together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose. Every purpose,
every promise in His Word will come to pass. Every single thing that you are
hoping in, if you belong to Him, every single thing you're hoping
in will come to pass. It will. Not one word of His
shall fail. Not one word in His holy book
shall fail. This book is full of promises
to us. promises that He will provide
for us, and protect us, and everything's going to be okay, spiritually
and physically, in Christ, all the way to the end. Well, this
is the message I have for us this morning. Our God cannot
lie. God is truth. And in Him are
no lies at all. Is that not reassuring? Is that not so comforting? We
can rest in that. We can rest in it. Every single
thing He said, everything we read and think, oh, how wonderful
would it be if that came to pass. It will. It will. He shall not fail. It will. All right, now turn with me over
to Proverbs chapter six. Proverbs six verse 23 says, for
the commandment is a lamp and thy law is light. Thy law is light. This is wonderful news. Our God
is the law. God is light. The law is light. So what that means is our God
is the law. And in Him is no transgression
at all. Not at all. We're looking to
our Lord to fulfill all of the law for us. I have read what
God demands in His law and I cannot fulfill it. I cannot keep it,
not one of them, not one of them. Even if I try to keep it outwardly,
physically I've broken it in my heart, I can't keep one of
them. So we're looking, God's sheep,
His people are looking to Him to fulfill all of the law and
satisfy all of that law for us. We're looking to Him to do for
us what we cannot do. We're looking to Him to pay for
us what we cannot pay. Now let me ask you this, will
he fulfill it all? I mean every bit of it. The law
is deep. Do you know how many commandments
and laws there are that we don't even know about? The law is deep. Will everything that's required
of me be taken care of, all of it? I have sinned against the
law. Will every single transgression
be paid for? Even the ones I don't know about?
Every jot, every tittle? Well, here's the message I have
for those who are clinging to Christ. Our Lord, the one who
lived for us, and the one who died for us, is the law. All he can do is fulfill it. It's his character, it's his
being. The law only states who he is
and what he demands. And all he can do is fulfill
it. And if he's satisfied, then the
law is satisfied because he is the law. And if we're in him,
then there is no transgression. Is that not wonderful? In Him
is no transgression at all. Oh, I want to be in Him, don't
you? Lord, please put us in Christ. Please put us in Christ. Turn
with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 11. Ecclesiastes 11 verse 7 says,
Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the
eyes to behold the sun. This then is the message. The Lord Jesus Christ is sweet. Oh, He's so sweet. And in Him
is no bitterness at all. None. David said, how sweet are
thy words unto my taste. Yea, sweeter than honey to my
mouth. He said, oh, taste and see. See for yourself. Taste for yourself. Back in 1 Samuel 1, it says that
a woman named Hannah was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord
and she wept sore. But as soon as God answered her,
As soon as she heard His voice, she cried, My heart rejoiceth
in the Lord. The Lord, my heart is rejoicing
in the Lord, Jesus Christ. In the book of Ruth, Naomi said,
Don't call me Naomi anymore, call me Mara. That means bitter. But as soon as they saw Boaz,
the kinsman redeemer, the only one who was able to redeem them,
pay the price that was owed. He represents the Lord Jesus
Christ. As soon as Naomi and Ruth saw
Boaz, everything changed. Everything changed. Here is the
message. Our Lord is sweet. And in Him is no bitterness at
all, no sorrow, no crying at all. Can the children of the
bride chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? Why is that? It's because He
took all their bitterness. That's why. The wormwood and
the gall, oh, that bitter cup. He drank the entire cup of bitterness
for them. In the book of Lamentations chapter
3, our Lord, this is our Lord speaking and He's speaking about
the cross. He said in Lamentations 3 verse
1, I am the man that hath seen affliction. Not my people, I
am. By the rod of His wrath, the
wrath of God, He hath led me and brought me into darkness,
but not into light. He entered into darkness for
us. Verse 3 says, Surely against
me is He turned. He turneth His hand against me
all the day. Verse 6, it says, He hath set
me in dark places as they that be dead of old. Oh, He endured
that absolute darkness for three days. The darkness of sin, the
darkness of separation from God. He did that for His people. Verse
15, He hath filled me with bitterness. He hath made me drunken with
wormwood. He drank every drop of that cup. Every drop of that bitterness.
He endured that darkness so that we might have light. Life. Everything He did. Everything he accomplished on
that cross, when he died on that cross, when his body was sacrificed,
God smelled a sweet smelling savor. Oh, our Lord is good. Our Lord is good. Our Lord is
truth. Our Lord is the law. And our
Lord is sweet. There's one more. Turn with me
to John chapter 1. John chapter 1 verse 4 says,
In him was life, and the life was the light of
men. Here is our message. Our God
is life. Life. And in Him is no death
at all. Is that not wonderful? Is it true? Well, He said, He
that liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Then He asked
Martha, Believest thou this? Do you believe that, Martha?
Do we? Do we believe that? Do we believe Him? That's what
He said. Do we believe Him? We should. He cannot lie. He cannot lie. Yeah, but we watch men and women's
bodies lay down, never to rise up again. You know what our Lord
said concerning His people? Not every soul on planet earth,
but concerning His people, He said, they're sleeping. To prove
it, He said, Lazarus, come back, come forth. They're sleeping, they'll never
die. To be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. How glorious is that? He that
liveth and believeth in me shall never die. That is something
to rejoice in. Dear believer, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. Trust Him. Trust Him. That's what He said. He cannot
lie. You trust Him. There's nothing
to be sad about. In Him is no bitterness at all.
No reason to be sad. There's no reason to cry. As
soon as we get past this body of death and this world of sin,
as soon as we are in His presence, there's not going to be one tear
flowing. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Eternal
bliss and joy and happiness that cannot be described. That'll make the heart glad,
won't it? That'll make this old heart glad. Our Lord is good. Our Lord is truth. Our Lord is the law. Our Lord
is sweet. And our Lord is life. Our Lord is God. That's who God
is. Inside the Lord Jesus Christ,
oh, it's Wonderful. It's wonderful. Isaiah 2 verse
5 says, O house of Jacob, Jacob was the one whom he loved, wasn't
he? He was the sinner, the trickster,
the supplanter, but God changed his name to Israel. You're going
to be a prince with God. O house of Jacob, come ye and
let us walk in the light of the Lord. 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.