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. Open your Bibles with me this
morning to Isaiah chapter 43. We're going to be looking at
a text in Psalm 135, but I want to begin with Isaiah 43. Our God, the God that we worship
and praise and glory in and look to and the God of this Bible
has the right to do whatever it pleases him to do. He is right to choose one sinner
and not another sinner. He is right to save or damn. He has this right because he's
sovereign. He's sovereign. That means he's
God. He's God. That means he can do
And he will do whatever he wants to do. That means he's not standing
anywhere, waiting on anybody to do anything or let him do
anything. He's not standing at anybody's
heart's door. That's what so many people say,
standing at your heart's doorway. He's not standing there. He doesn't
do that. When he purposes to come to a heart's door, he walks
up to it and he knocks it down and he says, this is mine. And
he does that because he's sovereign. He's sovereign. Now look at Isaiah
43 with me. Verse 11 says, and the whole
world needs to see this. But Isaiah 43 verse 11 says,
I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior. I have
declared and have saved, and I have showed when there was
no strange God among you. Therefore ye are my witnesses,
saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the day was, I am
He and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. I will
work and who shall let it? What he's saying is, who's going
to stop me? Who's going to stop my purpose
and my will? Look at Isaiah 45. Isaiah 45
verse five says, I am the Lord. And there is none else. There
is no God beside me. I girded thee though thou has
not known me." That means you and I are not sovereign. We cannot
do whatever we will to do. We may say that we will, or I'm
going to exercise my will, but we can't. People say me and Jesus
have a good thing going. This says that's not true. People
say God helps those who help themselves, and this says that's
not true. He said, I am the Lord, there
is none else. There's no God beside me. I girded
thee, though thou has not known me. Haven't even known me. Ephesians
says that we're dead in our trespasses and sins. You hath He quickened. He did all the quickening. You
hath He quickened who were dead in sin. Who gets all the glory
in this? God does. The Lord Jesus Christ
does. Now turn with me over to Daniel
chapter four. Daniel chapter four, verse 35
says, And all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing. That's you and me. All the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest
thou? None. None. This is God's sovereign decree. This is not any man's opinion.
This is his sovereign word. Now go with me over to Jonah. Jonah chapter one, five books
over. Jonah one verse 14 says, wherefore
they cried unto the Lord, and said, we beseech thee, O Lord,
we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life and lay not
upon us innocent blood for thou, O Lord, has done as it pleased
thee, as it pleased thee. That's the point I'm trying to
make this morning. God is going to do whatever it has pleased
him to do. Whatever it's pleased him to
do. Look at Ephesians 1, if you're turning with me, Ephesians 1
verse 11, it says, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. He works all things after the
counsel of his own will. Can we not see in his word that
God is sovereign? Can we not see that? That there
is only one will and purpose that's going to be done and that's
God's will and God's purpose. Well, based on that, with that
as a foundation, I have some wonderful news for us. I have
some very wonderful news. This is a good news message. The verse of scripture we're
going to use for a text this morning is Psalm 135, verse six,
and this is what it says. Psalm 135, verse six, it says,
whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven and in
earth in the seas and all deep places. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he. Knowing that our God is truly
sovereign. That's what gives us comfort.
You know that? It's what gives us peace because he has said
in his word, what it has pleased him to do. He's told us what
it has pleased him to do. And it's amazing. what it has
pleased God to do, what he wanted to do. It's amazing. If there
was any doubt in my mind that he was not able to do this, then
I wouldn't have any comfort in his word. But because he is sovereign,
my heart can rest in the fact that if he said it, he will do
it. If he said it, he will do it.
Whatsoever the Lord pleased, That did he in heaven and in
earth, in the seas and all deep places. Now here's our question. What did it please the Lord to
do? What did it please the Lord to
do? He has told us in his word five
things. He's given us five different
things that it pleased him to do. We're going to turn to different
scriptures and see all five of them. Here's the first one. It's
over in 1st Samuel chapter 12. If you're turning with me, go
to 1st Samuel chapter 12. Verse 22 says, for the Lord will
not forsake his people for his great namesake, because it hath
pleased the Lord to make you his people. This is his own mind. This is his own will, his own
purpose. Is that not amazing? It hath
pleased the Lord to make you and to make me his people. That's what he said. Look up
at verse 20. It says, and Samuel said unto
the people, fear not ye have done all this wickedness, all
this wickedness. You know, we're all sinners.
We can acknowledge that, can't we? We can admit that we're all
sinners, every single one of us. And the Lord said, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated. And the amazement of that verse
is not Esau have I hated. You know, men and women hear
that and think, well, wait a minute. God doesn't hate. Well, the Lord
said he hates all workers of iniquity. And you and I are workers
of iniquity. We are sinners. That's what we
are. We might as well acknowledge the truth. We're sinners. The glorious news of the gospel
is that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And
our Lord said, Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated. And the
amazing part of that is not that he hated Esau. Why would he not? Esau was a sinner just like us.
The amazement of that verse is Jacob have I loved. How could
God love Jacob? He's a sinner, but our God is
sovereign. Our God is sovereign and he can
do whatever it pleases him to do. And he chose to love some
people, some people. Here's what I want to know. Am
I one of them? Did he choose me? Does he love
me? Well, whoever he chooses, he
puts faith in those people, faith to believe his word. He confirms
to them that he's sovereign. You know, you tell the average
person that God is sovereign and he chooses whoever he will.
He can save, he can damn. He can draw a sinner unto him,
he can pass a sinner by. The natural man hears that and
he doesn't like that. He says, I don't believe that.
You mean to tell me I have no work, I have no part in salvation. I don't believe that. But if God does choose a sinner,
he confirms to them that he's sovereign. He puts faith to believe
his word. He chooses whom he will. He confirms
to that person, I really am a sinner. I really am a sinner. I say right
along with David, I acknowledge my transgressions. My sins are
ever before me. When God comes to a person, he
confirms to them, I'm unworthy to be one of his people. I truly
am, I am unworthy to be one of his people. The average sinner
believes in his heart that he's worthy for glory. I've done so
many good things in this life. Whenever I stand before God,
he's just going to be delighted to see me and he's going to be
happy to welcome me. That's not what God has said.
He said, all of our righteousnesses, that means all the good things
that we've done, all the good that we think we are, all of
our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And he's going to say,
if we stand before him without Christ, without the righteousness
of Christ, if we're not in Jesus Christ covered in his blood,
he's going to say, depart from me ye that work iniquity. I never
knew you. I never knew you. I'm so unworthy
to be one of his people. Our God will confirm to the person
that he chooses to say that there is only one way to become one
of his people. And it's not through works. It's
not through good deeds. It's not through morality. Well, you better start living
right. And you better start living better and doing better things
so that you can go to heaven. No, that's not the way. It is
only through the blood of Jesus Christ. That's it. That's the only way a sinner
can be saved. If God has put that belief in
you, then it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people.
I'm happy to tell you that, I'm happy to tell me that. If we
bow the knee to a sovereign God, then it's God who has made us,
caused us to bow. It is God who has bent our knee,
and it's pleased the Lord to make us his people. All right,
now if we're sinners, and we are, If we're sinners and if
sinners cannot be in his presence, no sin can be in his presence.
He cannot allow sinners to enter into his kingdom. And if we're
sinners, how did he make us his people? How did we become his people? Well, turn with me over to Isaiah
53. Isaiah 53, this is the second
thing that our Lord said it pleased him to do. Isaiah 53 verse 10
says, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. That's talking
about Jesus Christ. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. How were outcast sinners made
to be sons of God? It pleased the Lord to bruise
his own son. Is that not amazing? Is that
not amazing that that is what God chose to do? Verse six, right here in Isaiah
53, it says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned
everyone to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all. The Lord laid on his own son,
the sin of us all. Is he talking about all of mankind,
every person born into the world? No, he's not. Look at John chapter
six with me. John six, verse 37, it says,
all that the father giveth me shall come to me. And him that
cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. God, the father chose
some centers to make them his people. So he brought them to
Christ and he transferred their sin to his own son. And then he killed his own son. That's amazing love. That's amazing
love for sinners. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. Well, here's the third thing
that our Lord said it pleased him to do. Turn with me over
to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 17. It says, For Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the
cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching
of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. It's just too simple. It's just
too simple. It's too irrelevant. It's unnecessary. We don't need preaching. It's
foolishness. Verse 18 says, for the preaching
of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto
us which are saved, it is the power of God. Verse 21 says,
for after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew
not God, it pleased God. This is what it pleased God to
do. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching. what men and women call foolishness. What they say is just too simple. What they say is irrelevant.
What they say is unnecessary. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Are you saying that
God can't save a person any other way than through hearing the
gospel preached? No, I'm not saying that at all.
What I'm saying is God said he won't save anybody any other
way than through hearing the gospel preached. I'm just declaring
what he said. I can do no other. For after
that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God,
it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. Paul wrote in Romans 1, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, the declaration of the good news
of what Christ has done for a sinner. That's the gospel of Christ.
He said, I'm not ashamed of it. It is the power of God unto salvation. Ephesians says, by grace are
you saved through faith. By grace are you saved through
faith. And Romans 10 says, faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. It pleased God to save his people
through the hearing of the gospel. It pleased God to bring a person
to his gospel, to cause their path to cross with his gospel,
his truth. It pleased God to sit that person
down pleased God to give that person ears to hear, and it pleased
God to give that person saving faith to believe His Word. The
Word preached. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of God. James wrote, of His own will
begat He us. He's sovereign. And of His own
will begat He us with the Word of truth. that we should be a
kind of first fruits of his creatures. The word of truth. That's what
it pleased God to do. It pleased God to make you his
people. The way he did that is it pleased God to bruise his
own son. And it pleased God to call out
his sheep through the preaching of the gospel. Now here's the
fourth thing that our Lord said it has pleased him to do. Go
with me to Galatians chapter one. Relations 1 verse 15 says, but when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace
to, when it pleased God to, reveal His Son in me. It pleased God to reveal His
Son in me. First, it pleased God to reveal
me in His Son. He put my sin, my works on His
Son. Pleased God to reveal me in His
Son, and then He bruised His Son for it. But in doing that,
a true substitution took place. He became us. That's what Hebrews
7 says. He became us. And when he became
us, a true substitution took place. And because he revealed
me in his son, and because I died in his son, It pleased God to
reveal His Son in me. That is so amazing. Christ liveth
in me. As He is, so am I. I have been conformed to His
image. He was conformed to mine. And
because of that, I have been conformed to His. Is that not
wonderful? When God now looks at me and
when God looks at any center that the spirit of Christ lives
inside, when God looks at that center, he sees Christ. He sees his son revealed in that
center. That's good news. Well, here's
the fifth thing that our Lord said it pleased him to do. Go
with me to Colossians chapter one. Colossians 1 verse 19 says
this, for it pleased the Father that in Him, that's in Christ,
should all fullness dwell. All fullness. The fullness of
what? Well, name something. Just name
something. Salvation. Every bit of that
is in Christ. All of the fullness of salvation
is in Christ. Righteousness. You know, we need
righteousness to enter his kingdom. Every bit of that is in Christ. Sanctification. I need to be
cleansed. Justification. I need to be right.
Redemption. My debt needs to be paid for.
Every bit of that is in Christ. Joy. Happiness. peace, rest, hope, love, forgiveness. Every bit of that is in Christ. Look at Colossians chapter two,
verse nine. It says, for in him, that's in
Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. What does that mean? It means
God, the God. God in three persons. Where is
God? Where is the fullness of God? Here's the answer. In Christ. In the Lord Jesus Christ. And it pleased God to make us
complete in Him. Complete, full, finished, perfect. mature, holy in Christ. In myself, I'm a sinner. I'm
still a sinner and I'm going to be a sinner until the day
I leave this earth. As long as I'm in this flesh, as long as
I'm in this body, I'm going to be a sinner until the day I leave
this earth. But in Christ, I'm finished. I'm complete. All the fullness is in Him. every single bit of it. If I
have Christ, I have all I need. There's a song and it says, Jesus,
Christ is made to be all I need. All I need. Christ is all I need. I am complete in him. It pleased
the Lord to make you his people. It pleased the Lord to bruise
his son. It pleased the Lord to call out
his people through the preaching of the gospel. It pleased the
Lord to reveal his son in every single one of his people. And
it pleased the Lord to put all the fullness of Time, eternity,
His people, His kingdom, all the fullness in Christ. And if
it pleased God to make us that, complete in Christ, we're gonna
be that. And the reason is because He's
sovereign. And if He said He would do it,
He'll do it. That's good news, isn't it? 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.