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 invite you to turn with me
this morning to the book of Acts chapter 8. And I've titled this message,
How Does a Man Preach Christ? This is a vital question that
all of us should ask. How does a man preach Christ?
And the reason I say that is because we all must know whether
or not we are hearing the message of Christ. That's a life and death message. And we all must hear Christ and
Him crucified preached. At the end of Acts chapter 7, it ended with all of these religious
leaders, religious leaders, men of the church, stoning Stephen
to death because he preached Christ in truth. Does that even
make sense? That the religious leaders of
the church would stone a man for preaching the truth about
Christ? Well, that's exactly what happened. Chapter 8 verse 1 says, And Saul
was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a
great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem.
Why? It's because they were preaching
Christ. There was a great persecution
against the church which was at Jerusalem and they were all
scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria
except the apostles. Saul, whose name is also called
Paul, was consenting unto Stephen's death. What that means is he
was pleased with it. And he was one of the leaders
of religion, and he was pleased with Stephen's death. That's
exactly what he wanted to happen. And I want to show you something
in Acts chapter 22. This is Paul telling his own
story. In Acts chapter 22, Verse 4,
he said, I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering
into prisons both men and women. He said, I persecuted the way
that I'm now preaching. I didn't preach this way before,
that's what he's saying. But the way that I now preach,
the message that I now preach, that's the message I persecuted.
Verse 20 says, And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed,
I also was standing by and consenting unto his death, and kept the
raiment of them that slew him. Can you imagine the guilt and
the pain that Paul carried for the rest of his life? The grief
and the regret over killing Stephen for Christ's sake, for Christ's
sake. This precious believer, his own
brother in Christ and many other brethren. The guilt he carried,
what a thorn in the flesh that would be. Well, back in Acts chapter 8,
verse 1 says, Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time,
there was a great persecution against the church, which was
at Jerusalem. There always has been a persecution,
and there always will be. There always will be. John chapter
15, verse 19 says, Our Lord said, if you were of
the world, the world would love his own. But because you are
not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said
unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they
have persecuted me, They will also persecute you. If they have
kept my saying, they will keep yours also." Now, who is he talking
to? He's talking to his disciples.
He's talking to his true followers, his believers, his sheep. And he's telling them that they
are gonna be persecuted for preaching Christ, telling men the truth
about Christ. And he said, the servant is not
greater than his Lord. If they persecuted me, they're
gonna persecute you. If they kept my saying, they
wouldn't let it go. And the God who cannot lie said
this. If they kept my saying, they're
gonna keep yours. They won't let it go. Why? Why will God's people suffer
persecution? Turn over to Matthew 13 if you
have your Bible. Matthew 13 verse 20 says, But
He that received the seed into stony places, this is our Lord
giving the parable of the sower, He that received the seed into
stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon
with joy receiveth it. Yet hath he not root in himself,
but dureth for a while. For when tribulation or persecution
ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. It's because of this Word. That's
why. It's because of this Word. Our Lord said, you go tell people
what My Word says. And most will be offended. And
you will be persecuted. But our Lord said you must do
it. Because some will believe. Some are going to believe. You
go tell men and women the truth about Jesus Christ. You go preach
Christ to them. And some are going to believe.
Over in Galatians chapter 5, verse 11, it says, And I, brethren,
if I yet preach circumcision, that means a covenant of election. God's favor on a particular people. If I yet preach circumcision,
why do I yet suffer persecution for preaching circumcision? If I preach what God said, God
told Abraham, I'm going to make a covenant with you and with
your seed. I'm making a covenant with Israel. And the token of that covenant
is circumcision. And he says, if I yet preach
circumcision, why do I suffer persecution? Then is the offense
of the cross ceased. Then is the offense of the cross
ceased. What he's saying is, this word
right here, Christ and Him crucified, it offends the flesh. You know, I don't ever want to
be offensive. I think about that as I have the opportunity here
to preach over the radio. I don't want to be offensive.
Not at all. But this Word offends man's flesh. It offends my flesh. I'm a man. I'm just a man. And this Word
offends my flesh. But thank God He conquered my
flesh. And I pray that He has conquered
your flesh. And what He's telling us in this
is, if I don't suffer persecution for this, no man wants to be
persecuted, but He's saying, if I don't suffer persecution
for this, then that's a pretty good sign that I'm not preaching
the Word of God in truth. If God has called any of you
to preach, You are going to suffer persecution
for preaching this truth. And if you don't have that persecution,
then you need to re-examine what you're preaching. He said this is the evidence. This is the evidence that a man
is clearly declaring the cross of Christ. He's going to suffer
persecution because of the Word. Because of God's true Word. Over in 2 Timothy 3, verse 12
says, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall
suffer persecution. All. not just the men who declare
it, all, every sinner who believes on the Christ of Scripture, not
the Jesus that men have made up, not the Jesus that most are
preaching today, this weak Jesus who wants to do things but He
can't do anything unless you let Him do anything. No, we're talking about the God
of Scripture, Jesus the Christ. Preach this Christ, preach this
particular Jesus, the God of Scripture, and every sinner who
believes it and declares it will suffer persecution for it. But
here's what our Lord said in Matthew 5. He said, Rejoice and
be exceeding glad. Really? Exceeding glad over persecution? He said, rejoice and be exceeding
glad, for great is your reward in heaven. What reward is that? Christ Himself. Christ Himself. He said, for so persecuted they,
the prophets before you. Every prophet and believer that
came before you suffered the same persecution for the true
Christ of Scripture. But he said, be exceeding glad
when it happens. It's a good sign. It's a very
good sign. Well, back over in Acts chapter
8. Acts chapter 8 verse 1 says, Saul
was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a
great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem. And they were all scattered abroad
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles.
And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great
lamentation over him." The Jews were persecuted and
threatened to the point of death. They had seen Stephen and they
had seen what they did to Stephen. stoned him to death, and the
saints made great lamentation over him. They weeped for him,
they sorrowed for him, and they carried him to his burial. But
they knew that same persecution was coming to them. So they fled
into different parts of the country, different parts of the world.
And God used this persecution to scatter the gospel. and spread
the gospel all over the world. What they meant for evil, what
the religious leaders meant for evil, what they were doing to
try to eliminate this gospel was the very means that God used
to carry it into all the world. And it's always the case. Whatever
men try to do against this gospel will only be used for the furtherance
of it. When Satan laid it in the hearts
of those men to crucify our Lord, that was the very means that
God used to seal the victory, the victory of salvation. Well,
devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation
over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of
the church, entering into every house and hailing men and women,
committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered
abroad went everywhere preaching the Word." Preaching the Word. Then Philip went down to the
city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. Now here's what stands out in
this text. Verse 4 says, they went everywhere
preaching the Word. And verse 5 says, Philip preached
Christ unto them. Now how does a man preach Christ? How does a man preach the Word?
And how does a man preach Christ? This is why Stephen died. This
is why God's people were persecuted. It's because they were preaching
Christ. How does a man preach Christ?
And how does a man preach the Word? Those two statements answer
each other. They answer each other. What
is it to preach Christ? It's to preach His Word. Word
for word. Some men think they're preaching
Christ when they're not. They're not preaching His Word.
Word for word. What is it to preach the Word?
It's to preach Christ in it. Some men think they're preaching
the Word when they're not. They're not preaching Christ
in it. They're actually preaching man
in it. All the focus is on man. All
the work is left up to man. The decision is in the hands
of man. and therefore all the glory goes
to man." That's not preaching Christ. That's not preaching
the Word. That's not what the Word says.
To preach Christ is to preach His Word with all the focus being
on Christ. With all the work being finished
by Christ. With all the decision being in
the hands of Christ with all the glory going to the Lord Jesus
Christ. We preach a man. We preach a
man in the Word. Now the only way a sinner can
preach Christ in the Word is if he has seen Christ in the
Word. And the only way he can see Christ
in the Word is if Christ reveals Himself to that man through the
Word. But once a sinner sees Christ
in this Word, if God does reveal Himself, once a sinner sees Christ
in this Word, he cannot see anything else. He sees his purpose. on every page. He sees His will on every page. He sees His work, not man's work,
He sees the work of Christ on every page. And He sees His sovereignty
on every page. He sees that Christ is the way My living right can't do anything
for me. I ought to live right. I should. I should live right. My God has
commanded me to. But my living right can't do
anything for me because it's not perfect. It's not absolutely
holy and perfect. Christ is the only one who is
holy and perfect. So Christ is the only one who
can do anything for me. Once a person sees Christ, he's
going to see Christ is the only way. Once a person sees Christ,
he's going to see Christ is the truth. Am I preaching the truth? Well, that all depends on whether
or not I'm preaching Christ and giving the glory to Christ. My
opinion doesn't matter. It doesn't matter one bit. It
will do you no good for me to come over your radio on Sunday
morning and preach to you my opinion on the Word of God. It
will do neither one of us any good. The only message God uses is
His Word, the message that He has already given. We preach Christ. We preach the
Word. We preach every word Christ has
written. We preach Christ in His word. If a sinner ever sees Christ,
he's gonna see that Christ is life. Christ is the way, Christ
is the truth, Christ is the life. And it's not about heaven anymore,
it's about Him. It's all about Christ. To preach
Christ is to be taken up with Him. That's what it is. It's
to be taken up with His honor. It's to be taken up with His
glory. It's to be taken up with His
Word. Somebody will come up and say, where do you stand on election?
Well, what does our denomination's profession of faith say? Well,
that doesn't matter. All right, well, what has tradition
passed down to us? Well, that does not matter. Whatever
traditions have been passed down, that doesn't matter one bit.
What does the Word say about election? That's all that matters. Ephesians 1-4 says, according
as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. There's our answer. Our Lord
said in John 15, you have not chosen me but I have chosen you.
There's our answer. There's our position. To preach Christ in election
is to preach God did all the choosing. God did it. It was His work. It was His decision
and it was all for His glory. That's what the Word says. And
once Christ reveals that, we see that on every single page. Every single page. What about
predestination? What's our doctrinal position
on predestination? What does the Word say? Romans 8 says, whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate. to be conformed to the image
of His Son." Well, there's our answer. Did God predestinate
a people? Ephesians 1 says, being predestinated
according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after
the counsel of His own will. There's our answer. What does
the Word say? What about limited atonement?
Did Christ die for everybody and then put salvation in each
individual person's hands? Is that what He did? Well, what
did Christ say in His Word? He said, I pray not for the world,
but for them which thou hast given me out of the world. He
said, I lay down my life for the sheep. He didn't say he did
it for the goats, he said he did it for the sheep. He said
in the last day, I'm going to divide the sheep from the goats. He told those Pharisees, you
believe me not because you're not of my sheep. He told those
religious leaders, you're not my sheep. You were not chosen. You were not redeemed by the
blood of the lamb. He said, I'm the good shepherd.
And I lay down my life for the sheep. For the sheep. Well, what do we think about
irresistible grace? Where do we stand on irresistible
grace? Some say, well, Christ took the
first step, now it's up to you to take the second. Are you gonna
come to Him or not? Are you gonna accept His call
or are you gonna reject it? The decision is yours. Let me
ask you this, is that true or not? How can we know? What does the
Word say? He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. He said, I will work and who
shall let it? Who is gonna stop me? Well, what
about perseverance of the saints? Can you lose your salvation or
not? Can you, yes or no? What does
the word say? He said, Father, those that thou
gavest me, I have kept and none of them is lost. He said, this
is the Father's will, that of all which he hath given me, I
should lose nothing. He said, I will raise him up
at the last day. This word gives all the focus
to Christ. This word gives all the work
to Christ. This word gives all the purpose
and will to Christ. And this word gives all the glory
to Christ. Acts chapter 8 verse 4 says,
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching
the Word. Then Philip went down to the
city of Samaria, and preached Christ to them. And the people
with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake,
hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. If God causes the
true preaching of the Word to go forth, If Christ is truly
preached and if God gives a sinner the ability to give heed and
hear these things and see these things, this will be the result. This is what will happen to that
sinner. God never sends a cause with no effect. Verse seven says,
for unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice came out of many
that were possessed with them. We are all by nature unclean,
unclean. But when God sends His Holy Spirit
into the heart of a sinner, He drives that unclean spirit out. And verse seven says, many taken
with palsies. Palsy means everything's dead.
Can't move my arms, they're just dead. This body can't do anything,
it's dead. And that's every one of us by
nature. We were born into this world dead in our trespasses
and sins. But verse seven says, they that
were lame can't walk. So many people reading this word
come to Christ, but they can't, they're lame. But if God moves,
if God moves and if God causes them to give heed to the word
and to Christ and if he opens their eyes and their ears and
their heart, and if he causes them to believe, then that unclean
spirit is gone. and they that were dead are now
alive. And they that could not come
are now running to Christ. They're healed. That's what verse
8 says. They that were lame were healed
and there was great joy in that city. You know God's people are
the happiest people on this earth. It's because they are settled
in the Word of Christ. They're settled in the message
of Christ. Happy is he that hath the God
of Jacob for his help. There was great joy in that sitting. And by God's grace, through His
Word, I pray there will be great joy in this sitting. May God
bless the preaching of Christ and His Word. 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.