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 in your
Bible to Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter 1, I want us to
look at one particular phrase this morning, and it's in verse
11. The phrase is, this same Jesus. This same Jesus. Two angels appeared
to the disciples after our Lord ascended up into heaven, and
they said in verse 11, you men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing
up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you
have seen him go into heaven. This same Jesus. We are clinging to a person. You know that? Believers, God's
sheep. God's elect, they're clinging
to a person. They're not clinging to a doctrine. I am not holding on to the fact
that I know the five points of Calvinism and I believe them.
I'm not clinging to that. I'm clinging to a person. A person. Now there are five
glorious things about this person. that all of His sheep are clinging
to. The first one is His birth. His
birth into this world. The Old Testament law has proven
to us that we've all sinned against God. Isn't that right? It's proven
that to us. That law has proven to us that
God must punish sin. And that law has proven to us
that unless somebody stands between us and God, as a mediator between
us and God, we are gonna die in our sins. And we're all sinners,
and therefore I can't stand for you, and you can't stand for
me. God would have to kill us all.
The relationship between God and man is a hopeless relationship. No sinner can stand for himself
or for any other sinner. It's absolutely hopeless. So
God did something. God did something. Out of love,
He did it because He is love. He is mercy, he's kind, he's
compassionate, he's forgiving. God became a sinless man. God had to punish all men, so
God became a man. A sinless man who could stand
between man and God and not suffer God's wrath because of his own
sin. He could stand there worthily. He was worthy to stand there. And because there was no sin
on Him, there was room for Him to put my sin on Him. And as soon as God saw my sin
on Christ, He killed Him. And when God killed him, God
killed my sin. We're clinging to a person. My
hope is in a person. My salvation is dependent on
a person. We're clinging to his birth.
we're clinging to His death. That's the second thing. We're
clinging to His birth and we're clinging to His death. Now the
third thing about this glorious person that we're clinging to
is His resurrection. He is life. He's our life. The scripture says, He that hath
the Son hath life. And if He right now is dead,
then I can have no life. I have no one who can bring me
back to God. If He is still dead, I cannot
live and move and have any being. I died in Him. And I arose when He arose. I
arose in Him. My life is in Him. We're clinging to a person. What
is life without Him? There is no life without Him.
He is life. I need a living Lord. I need a living Savior. Who has satisfied God's wrath
against me. One who intercedes for me and
makes peace with God for me. That's what I need. We're clinging
to His birth. We are clinging to His death.
We're clinging to His resurrection. Now picture Acts chapter 1 with
me. The disciples were walking with
the Lord up into a mountain. Verse 12 calls that mountain
Olivet, the Mount of Olives. Can you picture how happy they
were? Those disciples walking with the Lord again. Can you
picture how relieved they were? After all the soldiers, all that
turmoil, They were constantly trying to take Him, and they
finally did. He finally allowed them to. And after the lawyers,
and after the judges, and after the conviction, can you picture His disciples
awaiting His trial, talking about it amongst themselves, worrying
about it, telling each other, they've got to let Him go. They
have to let Him go. They don't have anything on Him.
Pilate himself said, I find no fault in this man. They have
to let him go. What could they possibly convict
him of? And then, oh no, the sentence
has come in. He was found guilty. And he's been convicted. Oh,
can you imagine the shock? the heartache, and after all the torture, after
having to look at a man who they almost couldn't recognize as
their Lord, after seeing His visage so marred, so marred they
had to put a sign above Him telling who He was, after that crucifixion, After
watching Him bow His head and give up His ghost. After watching them pull the
nails back out of His dead body. After watching them take Him
down off of that cross and lay Him in that tomb. After seeing
them seal the door and station guards in front of it. After
all that, Here He is. There He is, right there. This
same Jesus, and now they're walking with Him, and they're asking
Him all kinds of questions, and He's telling them all kinds of
things. Lord, what are you going to do now? What's next? They asked Him in verse 6, are
you going to restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said in verse
7, that's not for you to know. Don't worry about what's coming
next. Don't dwell on prophecy. Don't dwell on predictions. You
just go tell men and women what I have already done. You tell
them my birth into humanity has been accomplished. You tell them
God became a man. God himself became a man. You tell them that my death has
been accomplished. You tell them I was made sin
and I suffered God's wrath for my own people, all the chosen
ones of God my Father. you tell them that my resurrection
has been accomplished. You tell them I condemned sin
in the flesh and it was not possible for the grave to hold me or any
of the souls that God the Spirit put in me any longer." In verse
8 he said, you're going to be a witness unto me. And verse
9 says, when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, He
was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. How glorious
is that? How absolutely glorious is that? If you're turning with me, go
to Luke 24. Luke chapter 24, verse 50 says, And he led them out as far as
to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he
blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. He lifted up his pierced hands He showed them His hands. He showed God His hands. And it says He blessed them. He prayed for them. And He professed
His love for them. And while He was telling them,
I love you. And I'm going to see you soon.
The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make His face
shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His
countenance upon thee and give thee peace. While He was blessing
them and professing His love to them and His covenant to them,
I promise you, I promise you While he was blessing them, his
body started to rise from the ground. And he rose up just above
them, telling them, I love you. I love you all. I do. Fear not. Fear not. And he rose up past all the olives,
past all the olive branches, And they watched Him go up into
the air, higher and higher and higher, until a cloud, like a
chariot, came in and whisked Him away to glory. Birth accomplished. Death accomplished. Resurrection accomplished. And right then and there, Ascension
accomplished. That's the fourth glorious thing
about this person that we're clinging to. It's his ascension.
And the reason is because he said in John 14, I'm going to
prepare a place for you. He said in John 16, it's expedient
for you that I go away. We're clinging to the fact that
our Savior, the God-man, has ascended up into glory to prepare
a place for us. There was a man a long time ago,
his name was Roland Hill, and he had a dream, and we don't
put any stock in dreams, but this is a precious illustration.
He had a dream one time that he went to heaven. He died and
went to heaven. And he said that he heard the most beautiful choir
singing. And he went to where the music
was and he walked in and the choir was huge, a number no man
could number, all singing the beautiful songs of praises unto
God. And he thought, oh, I wish I
could just sing with that choir. And he looked way up in the crowd
And way up in the stand, there was one empty seat. And so he started walking the
steps up, walked all the way up to where that one empty seat
was. And when he got to it, there
was a little plaque on that chair that said reserved for Roland
Hill. This same Jesus is right now
preparing a place for all of God's elect that God the Father
chose to put in Christ. Ephesians calls those people
the us. This same Jesus is right now
preparing a place for us. all of the redeemed in Christ,
us. Now there's one more glorious
event that God's believers are looking to and hoping in and
trusting in and waiting on. It hasn't happened yet. This
one has not happened yet. Everything that we read in this
Word Most of the things that we read in this word, they've
already happened. And we're looking back on these things, but there's
still one that hasn't happened yet. Now back over in Acts chapter
one, verse 10 says, while they looked steadfastly toward heaven,
as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel.
which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken
up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you
have seen him go in to heaven. We are clinging to the return
of a person. this same Jesus. God sent two
angels, two messengers, to tell us that this same person is coming
back. A man named Charles Spurgeon
said, I appreciate the description the more, because it came from
those who knew him. He was seen of angels. Isn't
that what 1 Timothy 3.16 says? Two angels went with the Lord
when he met with Abraham. Abraham was in the door of his
tent back in Genesis. And those angels heard the Lord
say to Abraham, I'm going to bless you. I'm going to give
you a son. And every nation in the world
is going to be blessed in him. The angels said this same Jesus. The angels that did His bidding
all throughout the Old Testament, Daniel, he was crying and he
was weeping and he was suffering and he was begging and the command
came from the throne. God sent some angels and He said,
you get to Him quickly and you comfort Him. ease his pain, you
tell him my answer." They said this same Jesus. The ones that
all gathered together to announce his birth, all the angels that
came, it says a multitude of the heavenly host praising God
and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill
toward men. the ones that ministered to Him
after His temptation, the angels, the ones that rolled away the
stone and watched Him walk out of His own tomb and have now
just watched Him ascend right back up to the same throne they
watched Him leave to come accomplish His purpose and His work. They
said through experience, this same Jesus. This same Jesus,
the one you know through His Word, the one who had compassion
on the multitudes, the one who was kind and tender and forgiving
and loving, He whom thou lovest is sick. The one who was merciful,
they said, this same Jesus. The one who was willing to touch
lepers, and heal the blind, and raise the dead, this same Jesus,
the one that we are coming to know, the one that we're learning
more and more about through His Word, the one who is the same
yesterday, today, and forever, this same Jesus, the one the
scripture said would come the first time, is the same one who
will come again. The same one. Turn with me back
over to Zechariah chapter 14. At the end of the Old Testament,
it's Zechariah chapter 14, right before Malachi. The Old Testament
kept saying, somebody's coming. Somebody is coming. The New Testament
says he's coming again. Now look at Zechariah 14 verse
4, it says, and his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount
of Olives." That's where our Lord ascended from, the Mount
of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east. That's Bethany. And the Mount of Olives shall
cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west,
And there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain
shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."
Our Lord ascended up, and His disciples went back down. This
Old Testament, all of God's Old Testament points to a person. The Old Testament says, this
is the one who is coming. And the New Testament says this
same one is coming back, this same Jesus. Back over in Acts
chapter 1 verse 9 says, And when he had spoken these things, while
they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out
of their sight. He didn't disappear. He didn't
slowly dissolve like smoke into thin air. They saw His physical
body rise up and He rode a cloud away. The middle of verse 11
says, this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven
shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into
heaven. He didn't go up in spirit, he
went up in person. He is coming back down in person. He was taken up in the clouds,
he will descend in the clouds. And he's not going to be a hazy
spiritual figure. This same Jesus is literally,
actually coming back. And he's going to literally,
actually call every one of his own to himself. Every single
one. Turn with me over to Matthew
24. Matthew chapter 24 verse 23 says,
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there,
believe it not. For there shall arise false Christ
and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders,
insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before,
Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the
desert, go not forth. Behold, he is in the secret chambers,
believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out
of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also
the coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass
is, there will the eagles be gathered together." What he's
saying is, you won't have to come find me, I will come get
you. Verse 29 says, Immediately after
the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and
the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And
then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. And they shall
see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power
and great glory. And He shall send His angels
with a great sound of a trumpet. And they shall gather together
His elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the
other." This same Jesus is going to come back. Just like He went
up, He's going to come back. Revelation chapter one says in
verse seven, behold, he cometh with clouds. The final great
event that we're clinging to Christ for. Behold, he cometh
with clouds and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced
him. The very ones who hung him on
that cross and beat him. and mocked him and spit on him,
they are gonna see him come back. The very ones in verse seven
says, all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even
so, amen. He is coming back. And he's coming
back for his redeemed. and He's coming back to judge
all those who were not redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Now, for His redeemed, this is what 1 Thessalonians chapter
4 says, I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning
them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which
have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus
will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the
word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the
dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore,
comfort one another with these words. The same one who said,
I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. The same one who
said, I'm going to prepare a place for you. If I go, I will come
back and receive you to myself. The same one who said, I will
never leave you. Never. I will never forsake you. This same Jesus is the one who's
coming back. This same Jesus. And when He comes, He's gonna
call each one of His sheep by name. And He's gonna say, come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world. This same Jesus is coming back. Even so, come Lord Jesus. 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.