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 in your Bibles to the Gospel of John. John chapter
1, and we're going to look at verse 12. And it says, But as
many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons
of God. As many as received Him, to them,
to them, gave He power, and that means the right or the privilege,
to become the sons of God. That seems pretty vital, doesn't
it? What does that mean? What does it mean as many as
received him? What does it mean to receive
Christ? Well, let's start with what it
does not mean. Verse 12 does not say, but as many as accepted
him, it doesn't say that. Receiving and accepting are not
the same thing. To accept something means you
willingly take it. A person can gladly accept his
award, and if you want it, you'll accept it, and if you don't want
it, you won't accept it. But either way, the choice is
yours. You make the decision. Accepting is in your hands. All
right? You can receive something whether
you want it or not. There was a man in a government
building a few years ago who received a letter that was laced
with anthrax, and he didn't want it, but he
had no choice. He had no say in the matter.
He received it anyway. A man could be in the wrong place
at the wrong time and receive quite a beating whether he wants
it or not. If you accept it, then you willingly
took it. But if you receive it, then somebody
else gave it to you whether you wanted it or not. That's the
difference. Now verse 12 says, But as many
as received Him, as many as somebody else gave Him to, as many as
received Him, to them gave He power or the right or the privilege
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. That's who have received Him,
them that believe on His name. Now Ephesians 2 says faith, this
believing on His name, that's what faith is. Faith believes
God. Faith is not of yourself. It's not of yourself. It's not
something that we dig down and find. It's not a work that we
perform. Faith is not of yourself. It
is a gift of God. We just receive it, that's all. And Romans 3 says that this faith
we receive is the faith of Jesus Christ. It's his faith. So all those who receive him
receive His faith, the faith that belongs to Him, the faith
that comes from Him, the faith that originates with Him. All
those who receive Him receive His faith. Verse 12 says, but
as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on His name. That's what it means
to receive Him. To receive Christ is to believe
on His name. And that ability has to be given
to us. It has to be. Now it says, as many as received
Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God. He didn't
do this for the whole world. You know that? He did not do
this for the whole world. I want to be one of God's sons. I deeply want to be one of God's
sons. So how can I know if I have received
Him? If it is not in my power to accept
or reject, if it's not my doing, if it's all done by somebody
else and freely given to me, how can I know if I have received
Him? I want to receive Him. How can I know if I believe on
His name? Let me give you five evidences. Five marks of a person who has
received Christ. Here's the first one. Look in
our text here, John 1 verse 1. It says, In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God And the Word was God. The Word was God. Now turn with
me over to Revelation chapter 19. Revelation 19 and look at verse
9. It says, And he said unto me,
Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are
the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship
him, and he said unto me, See thou do it not, I am thy fellow
servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus,
worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is
the spirit of prophecy. And I saw heaven opened, and
behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True. And in righteousness he doth
judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire.
And on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that
no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood. And his name is called the Word
of God. That's his name. This is the
revelation of Jesus Christ. That's what it is. The first
evidence, the first mark that a person has received Jesus Christ
is this. That person believes Jesus Christ
is God. I believe he's God. I know he's
God. Look at our text back at John
1, verse 1. It says, in the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. The Word is God. Jesus Christ, the Word. If a sinner wants to know who
God is, who's the highest God, the Word is God. The same was
in the beginning with God. God the Father, God the Son,
God the Spirit. These three are one. Turn with
me over to John 8. John 8 verse 56 says, Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. Then
said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old,
and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Before Abraham was, I am. Do you believe that? Do you believe before Abraham
was ever born, Jesus Christ is? Do you believe that? Look at
John 17 with me. John 17 verse one says, these
words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,
father, the hour has come, glorify thy son that thy son also may
glorify thee. as thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do, and
now, O Father, glorify me with thine own self, with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was." Before the world
ever was. In the beginning was the Word. That means He's God. He's God. A person who has received Christ
believes He's God. He's God. Here's the second mark,
the second evidence of a person who has received Christ. Go with
me back over to John chapter 1. Verse 1 says, In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. Now verse three says, all things were made by Him. And without Him was not anything
made that was made. To receive Jesus Christ is to
believe that He is the creator of all things. All things. I thought he was just born 2,000
years ago. Well, then I thought wrong. If
I thought that, I thought wrong. Now, he was born of a virgin.
He was. But he did that to himself, according
to his own purpose in his own time. Jesus Christ is the creator
of all things. He is God. He was in the beginning
with His Father and with the Spirit, and He is the Creator
of all things. Let me show you that over in
1 Corinthians 8. 1 Corinthians 8, verse 6 says,
but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things,
and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things
and we by Him. He created everything. He created
you and me. He created you and me. Do you
know what that means? That means He owns us. He owns
us. If I make something with my own
two hands, then it belongs to me. It's my property. And I can
do with it whatever I want to do with it. I can keep it. I
can destroy it. I can throw it away. It's mine. Well, He created us. He is our master. He is our owner. He's our Lord. He's our God. Turn with me over to Ephesians
chapter 3, verse 9 says, And to make all men see what is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world
hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
This whole world was spoken into existence by Jesus Christ. Now go with me over to Hebrews
chapter 1. Verse 1 says, God, who at sundry
times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he
made the worlds. How did Mars get there? The planet
Mars, how did that get there? How did Saturn get its rings?
Here's the answer. The Lord Jesus Christ put them
there. He put them there. A person who has received Jesus
Christ believes that he is the creator of all things. All right,
here's the third mark. Here's the third evidence. of
a person who has received Christ. Go back with me over to John
1. Verse 1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. Verse 4 says,
In Him was life. In Him was life. To receive Christ is to believe
that all life is totally in Him. Totally in Him. It's in His hands. Look at John 11 with me. John
chapter 11 verse 23 says, Jesus saith unto her, thy brother
shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
He were dead, yet shall He live." Yet shall He live. We think of eternal life as Him
being in eternal life and us being in eternal life. You know,
Christ is there, we're there. We're just both there together. But being in eternal life is
being in Him. Eternal life is a person. Eternal life is a person. Just in case we didn't catch
that, let me say it again. Eternal life is a person. Did you know that's the key to
the Scripture? Eternal life is a person. It's
not a place. It's not a space of time. There
is no time there. Eternal life is a person. It's a person. 1 John chapter 5 verse 11 says,
and this is the record. that God hath given to us eternal
life. And this life is in His Son. That's where it is. Life, it's
in His Son. People say, I want eternal life. I want eternal life. Well, do
you want Christ Jesus? Do you want Him as He has declared
Himself to be in the Scripture? God Himself? The Creator of all
things? The Owner of all things? The
Owner of you and me? The One who has the ability to
do with us whatever it pleases Him to do? The One who holds
salvation in His hand and all we can do is receive it from
Him? Do you want Christ Jesus as He has declared Himself to
be in the Scripture? Because to want eternal life
is to want Him. To want eternal life is to want
Him as He has declared Himself to be in the Scripture. As many
as received Him. Him. To receive Him is to believe
that all life is totally in Him. It's not in a work. Everybody's trying to work their
way to heaven. It's not in a work. There's an old song that says,
I'm working on a building. That's not salvation. It's not
in a work. It's not in a decision. Will
I have decided to accept Jesus? I hope we've clearly showed that
that is not a possibility. He is not up for accepting or
rejecting. Salvation's of the Lord. And
a sinner who receives salvation does just that. He receives salvation. Salvation is in him. Salvation
is in Christ. As many as received Him. Well,
here's the fourth evidence. Here's the fourth mark. Number one, the first one is,
a sinner believes that Jesus Christ
is God. He's God. The second one is,
he believes that Jesus Christ is the creator of all things.
The owner of all things. Third thing a sinner believes
is, all life is in Him. All life is in Him. Now here's
the fourth one. 1 John 1 verse 5, it says, verse 4, In Him was life, and
the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness,
and the darkness comprehended it not. To receive Christ is
to believe that no man can comprehend Him. No man can comprehend God. No man can see God. Not on his
own. No man can understand God. To receive Him is to not receive
myself. That's what it is. It's to deny
self. To believe Him is to not believe
in myself. All error is built on men and
women believing in themselves. Having their own minds convinced
of something and trusting in their own self and ability. That's
error. All error is built on men and
women believing in themselves. Because I'm by nature everything
that is contrary to God. That's what the scripture says.
I am by nature everything that is contrary to God. So to receive
God, to receive Christ is to deny myself. It's to not receive myself. John
3, verse 16. So many people know John 3, verse
16. It 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. For God
sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that
the world through Him might be saved. 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. And this is the condemnation,
that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that
doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. Do we understand what that's
saying? It's saying because God is love, He sent a sinful world,
His Son. And He said God sent His Son
not to condemn the world, And the reason is because the world
was condemned already. Condemned in sin. That's why
God sent His Son in the first place. The world was already
condemned in sin. And he that believes is not condemned. But he that believes not is condemned
already. And this is the condemnation.
Light came. That's Christ. Christ is the
light of the world. Light came, but men loved darkness
rather than light. And everyone that does this evil
hates the light and will not come to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved. To believe that all life, all
light is totally in Christ is to believe that outside of Him,
I'm totally dead in my trespasses and sins. It's total darkness. Spiritual darkness. That's what
it means. It's a denial of self. Denial
of anything good in self and acknowledging that all goodness,
all light is in Christ. Well, here's the fifth evidence. The fifth mark. John 1 verse
14 says, and the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." To
receive Christ is to believe. God came and we beheld in that
order. In that order, verse 12 right
here in John 1 says, But as many as received Him, to them gave
He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on His name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. But of God. God came. Then we beheld. Galatians 4 verse
4 says, But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth
His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them
that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption
of sons. And because you are sons, God
hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. That's what it is to receive
Christ. It's to believe that He is who
He says He is. Lord, give us that gift to believe. Give us the gift to believe,
because as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. I want
to be a son of God. I know you want to be a son of
God. Lord, send us your faith and cause us to believe on your
name that we might be made the sons of God. Until next Sunday
morning, may the Lord bless 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.