Alright, let's turn over to Acts
chapter 6. Acts chapter 6. We'll read from verse 1 to verse
8. Acts chapter 6. And in those days, When the number
of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the
Grecians against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected
in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude
of the disciples unto them and said, It is not reason that we
should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore,
brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full
of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this
business. But we will give ourselves continually
to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. And the saying pleased
the whole multitude, And they chose Stephen, a man full of
faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and
Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas, a proselyte of
Antioch, whom they set before the apostles. And when they had
prayed, they laid their hands on them, and the word of God
increased. And the number of the disciples
multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests
were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and
power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Let's
pray together. Our most gracious Heavenly Father,
we come before you tonight, Lord, begging if it be thy will, would
you give us the ability to enter into your word? Would you quicken
our tired bodies? And would you quicken our souls?
And would you send your spirit and cause our
heart, our collective heart, to burn? Lord, would you bless us tonight?
Would you make this service a blessing? Lord, we're here to worship you. And we're here to thank you and
we're here to learn of you and from you. And Lord, would you
bless us tonight. Bless us in being here. Dear
Lord, bless every man and every place right now. Everywhere your
gospels preached. Thank you for raising up gospel
churches in this country. Thank you for giving us places
where we can stop in as we travel. and know the gospel is going
to be preached and we can find it and we have it. We thank you
for that. Be with those men and bless them
right now as they stand up. Bless your word as it goes forth.
Lord watch over our loved ones who are not here with us. Watch
over Caleb and Bobby and Roy and Juanita and all of our loved
ones who are not here. We pray that you would Hedge
them about and protect them and bring them back to us. And those
who are sick, would you touch them and heal their bodies? And
Lord, would you give a special comfort, a special blessing to
Mary Bell and Donnie and the congregation in Crossville? Dear
Lord, would you save our children? Would you please save our children?
Would you please, Lord, have mercy on their souls and cause
them to grow up with the knowledge of Christ and a heart that bows
to Christ? And Lord, would you give them
believing spouses? And would you just be with their
entire life? Lord, would you bring them home
to glory to be with you? We ask that you would forgive
us, we're so weak and frail. Lord, please forgive us of our
sin and our frailty and our faults. Have mercy on us, we pray, Lord,
for Christ's sake, amen. Turn with me to 485 and let's
stand together again. 485. We praise Thee, O God, for the
Son of Thy love, For Jesus, who died and is now gone above. Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Hallelujah, Amen! Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Revive us again! We praise Thee, O God, for Thy
Spirit of light Who has shown us our Savior and scattered our
night Hallelujah, Thine the glory, Hallelujah, Amen Hallelujah,
Thine the glory, revive us again All glory and praise to the Lamb
that was slain Who has borne all our sins and has cleansed
every stain Hallelujah, Thine the glory Hallelujah, Amen Hallelujah,
Thine the glory Revive us again Revive us again. Fill each heart with Thy love. May each soul be rekindled with
fire from above. Hallelujah, Thine the glory. Hallelujah, Amen. Hallelujah, Thine the glory. Revive us again. You may be seated. I couldn't
help but think of Revelation 5 or 7 or whatever it is that
they're all going to sing a new song. Thou art worthy for thou
was slain and has redeemed us. I love this song. I've been loving
this since I was a kid. All glory and praise to the Lamb
that was slain who has borne all our sins and cleansed every
stain. Hallelujah, thine the glory.
We're going to be singing some version of this in heaven based
on the revelation. And I can't wait. I can't wait
to be in that crowd. Just can't wait. All right, turn
back with me to Acts chapter 6. Acts chapter 6. Let's read verse 8 again. It says, And Stephen, full of
faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Something stood out to me about
this one verse that I want us to look at tonight. It says,
Stephen was full of faith and power. He was full of faith and
power and he did great wonders and miracles among the people. The reason he did great wonders
and miracles is because he was full of faith and power. He was full of faith and power. I want us to look at the subject
of faith and power. Faith and power. I want us to
know the truth about faith and power. That's a big subject in
religion, isn't it? Faith and power. Faith is a mysterious
thing to most people. Even a lot of believers. Even
a lot of believers. Try to describe faith to somebody.
And it can be a very mysterious thing. Every true believer knows
that faith is a vital thing according to the scripture. We see that,
right? All through the scripture. A man or woman that has searched
the scripture, truly searched the scripture, can see that there
is no salvation without faith. No salvation without faith. Faith
means to believe. To believe God's word. To believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's faith. Some people want
to deny its vital role in salvation. But in order to do that, you
have to deny most of the New Testament. You know it? You have to deny most of the
New Testament. Go with me over to John 3. We're going to look
at a verse that everybody knows. John 3, 16. John 3.16 says, For God so loved
the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Verse
18, He that believeth on Him is not condemned. But he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Verse 36. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. That's pretty
clear, isn't it? That is pretty clear. Go with
me over to Mark 16. Mark 16 and look at verse 16. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." That's
pretty clear, isn't it? That's pretty cut and dry. You
don't have to read between the lines on that. Now here's my question for us
tonight. Is salvation totally of the Lord? Is salvation all, all, all, all
of God's grace? Or is there one work involved? When we get down to the heart
of it, does my salvation ultimately depend on a work? Must I believe? Must I believe? Must I believe? Must Gabe Stoniker believe this
word or not? Well, you don't have to believe. You don't have to come to Christ. You don't have to seek. You don't
have to ask. You don't have to knock. You
don't have to beg for mercy. You don't have to believe the
declared Word of God, Gospel of God. You don't even have to
hear the Gospel of God. Is that true or not? Is that true or not? Is that
right or wrong? Which is that? All those things I just mentioned
are evidences of faith. You know why a person comes to
Christ? Faith. You know why a person believes
the gospel? Faith. You know why a person
begs for mercy? Faith. That's why. So is salvation
totally of the grace of God? Did the blood of Christ pay all
the debt Did it satisfy everything that was required? Did Christ satisfy God's justice
on that cross? Is it finished? Is it finished? Or does my salvation ultimately
depend on a work? Must I have faith? Must I have
faith? Let's start by looking at some
scriptures. Tonight is a turning night. I don't think this is
a long message, but we have a turning night. They're going to be quick,
but I want to prepare you. We're going to turn, okay? So
go with me to Matthew 9. Matthew chapter 9. Matthew 9 verse 1 says, And our
Lord entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his
own city. And, behold, they brought to
him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. And what they
did is they couldn't get in the house, so they went on the roof,
and they opened up the roof, and they put ropes on his bed,
and they let him down through the roof, okay? So, behold, they
brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed, and
Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son,
be of good cheer. Thy sins be forgiven thee. Now what does that verse say
was the reason for his forgiveness? What does that verse say was
the reason for his forgiveness? Jesus seeing their faith. That's what the verse says, right?
Jesus seeing their faith. All right, go with me to verse
20, Matthew chapter 9 verse 20. And behold, a woman, which was
diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him
and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself,
If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned
him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good
comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole
from that hour. Now what did the God of heaven
say made her whole? He said, her faith. Her faith. Look at verse 27. And when Jesus
departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying and saying,
Thou son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into
the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said unto them,
Believe ye that I am able to do this. And they said unto him,
Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying,
According to your faith be it unto you." According to your
faith. All right, now turn with me to
Matthew 15. Matthew 15 verse 21. Then Jesus went thence and departed
into the coast of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan
came out of the same coast and cried unto him, saying, Have
mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter is grievously
vexed with the devil. But he answered her not a word.
And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for
she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am
not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then
came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he
answered and said, It is not meat to take the children's bread
and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord. Yet
the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table.
Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy
faith. Be it unto thee even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. This is God speaking. This is
God speaking. All we're doing is reading what
he's saying. He said, great is your faith, be it unto thee.
Now go to Matthew 17. Matthew 17 verse 14 says, now
watch this one. Matthew 17, 14. And when they
were come to the multitude, There came to him a certain man kneeling
down to him and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he
is lunatic and sore vexed. For oft times he falleth into
the fire and oft into the water, and I brought him to thy disciples
and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said,
O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?
How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus
rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him, and the child was
cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus
apart and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said
unto them, Because of your unbelief. The reason you couldn't is because
of your unbelief. For verily, now this is God talking,
For verily I say unto you, if you have faith as a grain of
mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to
yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible
unto you. He said, O faithless generation,
if you had faith as the grain of a mustard seed, that's the
smallest seed there is, Nothing would be impossible to you. You
could move a mountain. Well surely our Lord doesn't
mean that literally. Go to Matthew 21. Now this is only four chapters away
from Matthew 17, the same book. This is not Mark's account of
the same instance. This is the same book. Matthew
21 and look at verse 20. And when the disciples saw it,
they marveled saying, how soon is the fig tree withered away?
Jesus answered and said unto them, verily I say unto you,
if you have faith and doubt not, you shall not only do this, which
is done to the fig tree, but also if you shall say unto this
mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, it
shall be done. and all things whatsoever you
shall ask in prayer, believing you shall receive." He said that
twice in the book of Matthew. He said, do you see what I've
just done to this fig tree? He said, if you have faith and
doubt not, not only will you do the same thing to the fig
tree, but you could say to this mountain, be removed and be thou
cast into the sea and it shall be done. Stephen was full of
faith and power. Full of faith and power. That's
what our Lord is describing right here. Do we not want that? Whatever
that is, do we not want that? Our Lord is speaking in such
a way that it's clear we need that. We need it. It's clear to me that I must
have faith. I must have faith. Now let me
show you two more places and then we'll clear this up. Go
to Luke 18. Luke 18. Verse 35 says, And it came to
pass that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind
man sat by the wayside begging. And hearing the multitude pass
by, he asked what it meant. And they told him that Jesus
of Nazareth passed by. And he cried, saying, Jesus,
thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before
rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. But he cried so much
the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood
and commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come
near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto
thee? And he said, Lord, that I may
receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive
thy sight, thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received
his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when
they saw it, gave praise unto God. Thy faith hath saved thee. Thy faith has saved thee. I must
have faith. I must. Last one, Luke 22. Luke 22, look at verse 31. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon,
behold, Satan hath desired to have you. that he may sift you
as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren." Christ just told Peter, you'd better
cling to your faith. I have prayed to God the Father
on behalf of your faith. on behalf of your faith, that
it would fail not." Now this is starting to sound serious
to me. Very serious. I've got to have this faith.
I cannot be caught without this faith. He said, Satan hath desired
to sift you as wheat. I cannot be caught without this
faith. Can you? What does all this mean? What
does all this mean in this puzzling? What must I do to be saved? Is there a role in this for me? Let's get the answer to the question.
Okay. Here's the answer to the question
based on what our Lord has taught us through this word so far.
Are we saved by works or grace? Grace, right? Is salvation up to me or Christ? Christ. So what does all this mean? What
are all these verses saying? Let me show you three things
about faith, okay? Three things about faith, and
I believe our God is gonna clear it all up. First, go with me
to Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2 verse 8 says, For
by grace, are we saved by works or grace? For by grace are you
saved through faith. The grace of God is applied to
a sinner through faith. It goes on to say, And that not
of yourselves. It does not originate with us. It's not a seed that's cultivated. That's what people think faith
is. Even believers that have been believing for decades, that's
still what they think faith is. That's what I think faith is.
Until the scripture straightens me out, and then I forget. And
then the scripture straightens me out again. I just wish I had
more faith. I'm just down on myself. It's
not something in the depth of our innermost being that's brought
out. It's not something you reach
down there and find and pull it up. That's not faith. It's not an ability that's dormant
and we got to wake it up. It is not there. It's not there. It does not exist. Period. The only thing that is
in me, in the depth of me, is death and sin. That's the only
thing inside here by nature. Death and sin. Faith does not
exist in a sinner unless God puts it there. Okay, that's the
first thing. It says, For by grace are you
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God. It is the gift of God. There's only one place that faith
naturally exists, and that's in God. That's it. God is the maker of it. He's
the creator of it. He is the author of it. It's
His faith, all faith is His faith, and it must be given to a sinner.
So the first thing we need to know is faith is of God and it's
from God. It's of God and it's from God.
And who is God? Jesus Christ. It's of Christ
and it's from Christ, okay? It's of Christ, it's from Christ.
Now here's the second thing. Go with me to Hebrews chapter
12. Hebrews chapter 12 and look at
verse 2. Looking unto Jesus, the author,
that's what we just saw in Ephesians 2 verse 8, the author and finisher
of our faith. Not only is Christ the author
of our faith, Christ is the finisher of our faith. And it's our faith
because He gave it to us. It's a gift. Somebody gave me
this jacket. I didn't buy it. I did not redeem
it at the store. But it's mine. This is mine. It's a gift. You've heard people say, you
need to exercise your faith. I can't. I can't. Christ gave it to me, but I can't
exercise it. And the reason is because I'm
dead. So Christ has to exercise it. Christ has to exercise it. Faith is of Christ, from Christ,
by Christ. If he doesn't exercise it, it's
not going to be exercised. Okay? It is God which worketh
in us, both to will and do. It's God which worketh. He's
the author, and he has to be the finisher. I have no part
in the beginning, I have no part in the middle. Alright, now here's
the third thing. Go to Hebrews 11 verse 1. It says, Now faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. What does
a believer hope for? One thing, Christ. One thing, Christ. Christ is
the whole object of faith. Faith looks to one thing, Christ. That's it. He is the whole object
and the whole substance of faith. Faith does not look to myself
to drum up any faith. That's not where faith looks.
Faith looks to Christ. If it's not looking to Christ,
then it's not actually faith. Okay? Faith is of Christ, it's
from Christ, it's by Christ, and it's to Christ. The one common
denominator in every aspect of faith is Christ. Christ. Whatever we have to say
about faith, it has to be attached to Christ. Every bit of it. And the mystery becomes clear
and the question becomes answered when you take out the word faith
and instead you put in the word Christ. It answers the whole
question. When you take out the word faith
and you put in the word Christ, must I have Christ? Must I have the gift of Christ
and the work of Christ and the object of Christ? Oh, yes, I
must. Can't have salvation without
it. Is there a work involved in salvation? Oh, yes, there is. It's just
not mine. It's not my work. It's the work
of Christ in me. Even believing is the work of
Christ in me. It's all the work of Christ.
Now let me show you that in the scriptures that we read. It'll be quick. Go back with
me to Matthew 9. Matthew 9 will prove what we
just saw. Matthew 9, look at verse 2. And behold, they brought to him
a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed, and Jesus, seeing their
Christ, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer,
thy sins be forgiven thee. Why did he forgive those sins?
He saw their Christ. That's why he forgave those sins.
Look at verse 22. But Jesus turned him about, and
when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort. Thy Christ
hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole
from that hour. Faith looks to Christ in everything. In everything. Look at verse
28. And when he was come into the
house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said unto them,
Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him,
Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying,
According to your Christ be it unto you. By the authority vested
in me, open your eyes. Go with me to Matthew 15. Verse 27, And she said, Truth,
Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their
master's table. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, great is thy Christ, be it unto thee even
as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. You've got a great Christ, a
great Christ that put faith in you and is working it in you right
now, causing you to look to me. So be it unto you. It's because
of Christ. Go with me to Matthew 17. Verse 17. Then Jesus answered and said,
O Christless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you
and how long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus
rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him, and the child was
cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus
apart and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said
unto them, Because of your unbelief. It's because you're not looking
to Christ. The Lord gave them some gifts
in Christ, and they were so happy and proud, they were ready to
just go work some miracles. And he said, you're not looking
to Christ. You're looking to yourselves
as though it's your power. And that's your problem. Stephen was full of faith and
power, but it wasn't his power. It wasn't his faith. It was his
faith because it was given, but it wasn't his faith. And it wasn't
his power. Matthew 17 verse 20, Jesus said
unto them, Because of your unbelief, for verily I say unto you, If
you have Christ, not something in you that you can dig up, if
you have Christ as a grain of mustard seed, Christ is so great,
His power so able, If you had Christ as the grain of a mustard
seed, you could say to this mountain, remove hence to yonder place,
and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you. With
man it's impossible, but if you have Christ, all things are possible. All things. That's what he was saying. We're
not going to go to Matthew 21, but that's what he was saying in
Matthew 21. If you have Christ as the grain of a mustard seed,
you could kill that fig tree. They said the fig tree died.
You could kill your own works. Adam and Eve clothed themselves
with fig leaves. That was their own covering,
their own righteousness. And God said it's filthy rags.
And he said, if you had Christ as a grain of a mustard seed,
you would kill your own works. And that mountain that stands
between you and God, Sinai, there's a holy law that stands between
me and God. That mountain would be removed
if you have Christ at all. If you have Christ that much,
that mountain will be removed and cast into the sea. Literally. We're going to see
how literal that is one day when we step foot into glory, into
the presence of Christ. If you say, I can't move the
mountain, that's faith. This flesh says, I think I can
move that mountain. If I get me a shovel, I think
I can do it. Faith says, I can't, but Christ
can. I can't save myself, Lord, but
you can save me. I can't cross that river of death,
but you can cross it. You did. So I look to you. That's faith. Faith says, I look
to you to give me the eyes to be able to look to you. I'm going
to look blindly, Lord, until you give me the eyes to see you.
Faith just keeps saying Christ. Faith just keeps saying Christ. True faith says I have no part
in the beginning, I have no part in the middle, I have no part
in the end. Now go with me to Luke 18. Luke 18 verse 41 says, Our Lord
said, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord,
that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive
thy sight, thy Christ hath saved thee. That's the gospel. That's
the gospel. Thy Christ hath saved thee. That's the gospel. That's the
whole gospel. Your Christ did it all. Your
Christ has saved you. That's the gospel and here's
our comfort. Here's our comfort. Go to Luke
22. What comfort this is. Luke 22
verse 31 says, And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath
desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I
have prayed for thee that thy Christ fail not. And when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren. True faith is in His power. True faith is in His ability.
So back over in our text in Acts chapter 6, verse 8 says, And Stephen, full of Christ and
His ability, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
Who gets all the glory for the miracles that Christ wrought
through Stephen? Christ does. Christ does. Thine is the kingdom and the
power and the glory forever. Amen. May Christ dwell in each
one of us because we must have Christ. All right, let's stand
together.