Let's go back to Acts chapter 8. Chapter 7 ended with
all of these religious people, all of these religious leaders,
men of the church, stoning Stephen to death. And they did that because he
preached Christ in truth. And 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.
Saul, whose name is soon going to be changed to Paul, was consenting unto Stephen's
death. And what that means is he was
pleased with it. That's what it means. He was
happy about it. That's what he wanted. And I
want to show you something before we get into this over in Acts
22. Go with me over to Acts 22. This is Paul telling his own
story. In Acts 22, verse 4, he said
about himself, I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and
delivering into prisons both men and women. He said, I persecuted
the way that I now preach. Right there in Acts 22 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? Can you imagine the pain? that
he carried around for the rest of his life. That was a long
time afterwards, Acts 22. Still dwelling on that. The grief
and the regret over killing Stephen for Christ's sake. A precious
believer. His own precious brother. I was thinking about my brethren.
What if I had on me, I killed Tom Harding? I killed that man. Can you imagine? The guilt he carried. What a
thorn in the flesh that would be. Never get it out of my mind. As soon as I read all of that
in Acts 22, The thought went through my mind
of Paul getting to glory and seeing Stephen and saying, Stephen,
I'm so sorry. And as soon as that thought entered
my mind, I realized in glory that sin does not exist. It never happened. Never happened. Christ put that
sin away. They're all, everybody in glory
is going to be screaming, they're all taken away, away. My sins are all taken away. Nothing to be sorry for. There
will be no tears. There will be no sighing. There
will be no sorrow. They just both glorified God
for His purpose in all things. Isn't His purpose amazing? Back
over in Acts 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. There always has been, there
always will be. A great persecution. Go with
me over to John 15. John chapter 15, verse 19, 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, If they've made an issue of it, if they
can't let it go, if they've kept my saying, they will keep yours
also. The God who cannot lie said that.
Why is that? Why is that? Why can't everybody
just love each other in religion and hold hands and walk the broad
way together? I'll show you, I'll go over to
Matthew 13. Matthew 13. Why do God's people suffer persecution? This is the parable of the sower.
Matthew 13 verse 20. But he that receiveth the seed
in 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's offended. It is because of this word. That's what it boils down to.
It's because of this word, word. Our Lord said, you go tell the
people what my word says and most will be offended and you
will be persecuted, but you must do it because some will believe
it. Some are going to believe it.
Go with me to Galatians 5 now. Galatians 5 verse 11 says, And
I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, a covenant of election. That's what that is. Circumcision
was given to Abraham. It was a covenant. God's favor
to a particular people. If I yet preach circumcision,
why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the cross
ceased. What he's saying is this word,
which is Christ and Him crucified, start to finish, offends the
flesh. It offends the flesh. Now, I
do not want to be offensive. I really don't. I would prefer
that everybody just like me. But this Word offends the flesh. It offends my flesh. Thanks be
to God, He conquered my flesh. He conquered it. But what He's
saying is, 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. That's my evidence that I am
not clearly declaring the cross of Christ. That's my sign. Now go with me to 2 Timothy 3.
I have a few scriptures here at the beginning. We're almost
done with the turning. 2 Timothy 3. Look at verse 12. It says, Yea, and all that will
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Not just
the men who declare it. Every sinner who believes on
the Christ of scripture will, shall suffer persecution. Every
single one. But he said over in Matthew 5,
Rejoice. He said, be exceeding glad for
great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted day, every
single prophet and every believer that came before you be exceeding
glad when it happens, it's a good sign. It's a good sign. Go back
with me over to acts eight. Verse one says, and 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. They were persecuted and threatened
to the point of death. They were killing them. So they
would flee and go into different parts of the country, different
parts of the world. And God used this persecution to scatter the
gospel all over the world, spread it all over the world. He drove
the gospel all over the world. What they meant for evil, they
were trying to eliminate the gospel. That was the very means
that God used to carry it to all the world. It is always the
case. This gospel is going to suffer
persecution, but it is always the case. Always. 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 means God used to seal the victory. Always, every
single time. Verse 2 says, Devout men carried
Stephen to his burial and made a 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. Then Philip went down
to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. Now this is
what stood out to me when I read this, this week in the study.
Verse four says, they went everywhere preaching the word. And verse
five says, Philip preached Christ unto them. Preaching the word,
preached Christ. Preaching the word, preached
Christ. I titled this message, how does
a man preach Christ? How does a man preach Christ?
This is why Steven died. It's why they were persecuted.
How does a man preach Christ? How does a man preach the word? Those two statements answer each
other. You know that. Those statements
that provide questions answer each other. What is it to preach Christ? It's to preach this word. Word
for word. I mean, word for word. Not adding
anything to it, not taking anything away from it. Word for word. Some men think they are preaching
Christ when they're not. They're not preaching the word.
They'll have a verse and they'll, it'll be their text. And then
they'll make a outline off of that, but they're not preaching
the word. Word for word. What is it to preach the word
to say they're not preaching the word? What is it to preach?
The word is to preach Christ in it. Some men think they are preaching
the word when they're not. They're not preaching Christ
in it. What they're actually preaching
is man in it. That's the difference. All the
focus is on man. It's all on man. Every bit of
it. All the work is left up to man. The decision is in the hands
of man. And therefore all the glory goes to man. And that's
not preaching Christ. That's not preaching his word.
It'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 in this word. That's what we do. We preach,
what do they preach at Kingsport Sovereign Grace? A man in the
word. People ask me, you know, what
do y'all believe or what do you preach or whatever? The word,
we believe the word. What does a believer believe?
The word. the Word. We preach the Word. Now the only way that a sinner
can preach Christ in the Word is if he has seen Christ in the
Word. That's it. And the only way that
he can see Christ in the Word is if Christ has revealed Himself
through the Word. That's it. But once a sinner
sees Christ in the Word, he cannot see anything else. After he sees Christ in the Word,
he can't see anything else. Every page he sees his purpose.
Every page he sees his will. Every page he sees his work. Every page he sees is sovereignty. Every page. He sees that Christ
is the way and my living right can't do anything for me. He sees that Christ is the truth
and my opinion doesn't matter. He sees that Christ is life. It is not about heaven anymore.
It's about him. Before him, it's all about heaven. But when Christ is revealed,
a sinner sees he is heaven. Heaven is not a place. If Christ
is not walking on those golden streets with those pearly gates
and all those mansions or whatever it is that's there, that place
is not heaven. He is heaven. To preach Christ
is to be taken up with Him in His honor and His glory and His
word. Somebody is going to come up
and say, what is your doctrinal position on election? Before
Christ, it's all doctrine. It's all doctrine. All these
denominations and churches back and forth, it's all doctrine.
Let's, let's argue doctrine and let's sit down. I got mine. You
got yours. Let's compare them. What's your
doctrinal position on election? Well, what does our denominations
profession of faith say? No. Well, what has tradition passed
down to us? No. Well, what are all the other
preachers that I know saying? No. What does the Word say? Ephesians 1 says, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
John 15 says, you've not chosen me, I have chosen you. To preach
Christ in election is to preach God does all the choosing. Every
bit of it. God did it. It's his work, his
decision, and it's all for his glory. That's what this word
says. I was in a traffic jam one time
on the interstate coming back from Ashland, Kentucky. 10 years ago, nine years ago, I
think it was right after we got married. We were up there for
a visit. I had to come back early. Hannah
stayed and rode back with Paul and Mindy. And I got into a traffic
jam just south of Beckley. And every time I pass this spot,
I think of this. There's a little gray house with
red trim and a big curve on the interstate just south of Beckley.
And every time I see that house, I think of this. But a truck
turned over, a flatbed truck that was carrying a big load
of drywall, and it covered the interstate. So they had to first
get the truck up and out. Then they had to come in and
get all the drywall up. And it took a long time. We were stopped
for like an hour and a half. So everybody finally, after a
while, they turned their cars off and got out of their cars
and started walking around and talking to each other. And this
older man, he, A little bit older than, well, you know, about my
dad's age. We started talking and what do
you do for a living and stuff, you know? And I had a business, you know,
and oh, okay, like that, what do you do? And so he said, do
you go to church? And I said, yeah, I do. That's
great, that's great. He finally said, I have a son
that's about your age. And he said, he's a mess. He
is a mess. His life is a mess. He's just,
he can't keep a job. He won't go to church. I've tried
to get him to go to church. And he said, I wish I could just
get it to sink into him. He said, I've tried to tell him
everything I can tell him. He said, I wish you'd call him.
I thought, I don't even know you, much less him. But he said, he said, what do you think did
it for you? What made it sink in with you? What made you want to start going
to church and living like this? He said, I got to do something
for him. And I'm, I don't know what to do with this, but I don't
know what to say. What do you think did it for
you? And I said, well, God just had mercy on me. And
he said, well, yeah, I know, but what do you think made you
want to start living like this? What made you want to go to church? And I said, well, God, the father
chose me and Christ died for me and the spirit called me and
I just came. And he said, wait a minute. He
said, you're one of those predestiners, aren't you? And I said, yes,
I am. He said, I ain't buying that
mess. I ain't buying that for one minute. Do you mean to tell
me he got mad? And that's when we both realized
this conversation is over. It's just over. This man hates
predestination. What's your doctrinal opinion,
your doctrinal position on predestination? Well, what does the word say?
What does the word say? You know what Romans 8 says?
Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his son. Ephesians 1 says being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will. Well, what about limited atonement?
We're going through Tulip here. So what about limited atonement?
Well, what does the word say? Did Christ die for everybody
and then put salvation in each individual person's hands? You
go ask the average person, who did Christ die for? The answer
is everybody. Is that true or not? The Word says, he himself said,
I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given
me out of the world. That answers John 3.16 as though
John 3.18 doesn't. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep, not for the goats. 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. And he said,
I'm the good shepherd. I laid down my life for the sheep. Well, what about irresistible
grace? Now Christ took the first step, but you're going to have
to take the second. Are you going to come to him
or not? Are you going to accept his call
or are you going to reject it? The decision is yours. That's
preaching man. You know what? That's preaching
man. This word says all that the father
giveth me shall come to me. He said, I will work and who
shall let it, who will stop it? Perseverance of the saints. Can
you lose your salvation or not? 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. And he said, I will raise him
up at the last day. I will. This Word gives all the
focus to Christ. This Word gives all the work
to Christ. This Word gives all the purpose
and all the will to Christ. And this Word gives all the glory
to Jesus Christ. Every bit of it. 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 unto 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, if God gives a sinner
the ability, if God does it to give heed, if they give heed,
that's a gift of God. If they truly give heed and hear
these things and see these things, this will be the result. This
is what's going to happen to them. God never sends a cause
with no effect ever. If God calls us a sinner to give
heed, this will be the result. Verse 7, for unclean spirits
crying with a loud voice came out of many that were possessed
with them. We are all by nature unclean,
unclean. You know that? But when God sends
His Holy Spirit into the heart of a sinner, He drives that unclean
spirit out. He takes up residence in there. Verse 7 says, many taken with
palsies. Palsy means everything's dead.
It's all dead. I can't move my arms. They're
dead. This body can't do anything. It's just dead. That is every
one of us in this room. by nature, dead. We're born into
this world dead in trespasses and sins. In Adam all die. Verse 7 says, and that were lame. Can't walk. So many people read
in this word, come to Christ. They can't. They're lame. But if God moves and if God causes
them to give heed to the word and to Christ, And if he opens
their blind eyes and if he opens their deaf ears and if he warms
their cold heart, causes them to believe this. And what that
means is that unclean spirit is gone. They that were dead
are now alive. And those that could not come
are now running to Jesus Christ. Those that could not come before. are now running to Jesus Christ. Where else can we go? To whom
else shall we go? They're healed. Verse seven says
they were healed, all healed. That's what the preaching of
the word and the preaching of Christ does. Verse eight says,
and there was great joy in that city. You know, God's people
are the happiest people on earth. As we all gripe and complain
and moan and this and that, I do it all day long. Yet, I'm one
of the happiest people on earth. Really. God's people are the most settled
people on earth. The world is so worried about
so many things. And God's people deal with so
many inward wars and afflictions. Paul said, Oh, wretched man that
I am. But when they look to Christ
and when they see Christ and when they hear Christ, when God
allows them to give heed, we come here three times a week
to give heed. That's why we come just to give
heed. And when he sends his spirit and when he blesses his word,
we become the most settled and comforted and happy people on
earth. Happy is he that hath the God
of Jacob for his help. His name is Jesus Christ. There
was great joy in that city. By God's grace and through his
word, there'll be great joy in this city. If he'll bless his
word and call out his sheep, they're going to be the happiest
people in the world. Great joy.