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 to the book of Luke. Luke chapter 1, verses 1 through
4 will be our text. And we'll begin by reading this
text. It says, for as much as many have taken in hand, to set
forth in order a declaration of those things which are most
surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us,
which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of
the word. It seemed good to me also, having
had perfect understanding of all things from the very first,
to write unto thee in order, Most Excellent Theophilus, that
thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou
hast been instructed." Certainty. Luke is writing to Theophilus. And Theophilus means friend of
God. The friend of God. That's who
this is to. The friend of God. And verse
1 says, For as much as many have taken in hand. Taken in hand. This declaration. I am so thankful that God called
men to take this declaration in hand. Our Lord said that it
is through the preaching of this gospel, this declaration, that
He has chosen to save men's souls. And God in mercy called a man
and gave him the message and he sat me down and he opened
my ears sent His Spirit to my heart and He had mercy on my
soul. I am so thankful, so thankful
for the many that have taken this in hand. There were men
like Charles Spurgeon, he took it in hand. John Calvin, Martin
Luther, he said, here I stand, I can do no other. I thank the
Lord God for that, I truly do. The martyrs who died, men like
Thomas Cranmer and William Tyndale and Hugh Latimer, these men were
burned at the stake, burned at the stake for taking the original
Hebrew and Greek scriptures and translating them into English.
Oh, I thank God that He called those men to take it in hand. They were burned at stake. That's
hard to imagine. Hard to imagine for taking this
in hand. The apostles, Paul, Peter, James,
John, these men took it in hand. Took it in hand by the gift of
God, placing it in their hand, calling them to it. The prophets,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, they took it in hand. King David,
King Solomon, they took it in hand. Aren't we so grateful? Moses, he took it in hand. Verse 1 says, For as much as
many have taken in hand, to set forth in order A declaration. A declaration. This gospel that
we preach is a declaration. It's a declaration. It is not
an opinion. It is not an option. It is not
a suggestion. It's a declaration. This is not
an argument. It's a declaration. If men believe
it, then God has given them a heart to believe it. God's done a work
in them. And if God doesn't give them
a heart to believe it, then men and women just can't believe.
The scripture says they're dead in their trespasses and sins
and they cannot hear. They don't have ears to hear.
They don't have a heart to believe. Believing is salvation and salvation
is of the Lord. This is a declaration. Verse
one goes on to say, of those things which are most surely
believed among us." Most surely believed. Now, what is this declaration? What did these many, many men
declare? What did Moses declare? We're talking about a declaration
that is most surely believed. What is it? What did Moses declare? Well, turn with me over to Deuteronomy
chapter 1. Let's look at Deuteronomy chapter
1. Verse 1 says, These be the words which Moses spake unto
all Israel. Verse 5 says, On this side Jordan,
in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law. He declared
a law, saying, The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying,
You have dwelt long enough in this mount. Turn you, and take
your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, And unto all
the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and
in the vale, and in the south, and by the seaside, to the land
of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river
Euphrates, behold, I have set the land before you. Go in and
possess the land which the Lord swear unto your fathers, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them, and to their seed after
them." This is God's commandment. Moses
declared, obey the Lord your God. Look at verse 20, he said,
And I say unto you, you are come unto the mountain of the Amorites,
which the Lord our God doth give unto us. Behold, the Lord thy
God hath set the land before thee. Go up and possess it, as
the Lord God of our fathers hath said unto thee. Fear not, neither
be discouraged. What Moses is declaring is obey
the Lord your God. Verse 26 says, Notwithstanding
ye would not go up. Isn't that something? That's
man by nature, clearly sees God's word, God's commandment. Moses
said in verse 26, Notwithstanding you would not go up, but rebelled
against the commandment of the Lord your God. And you murmured
in your tents and said, Because the Lord hated us, He hath brought
us forth out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of
the Amorites to destroy us. Now look at verse 32. Yet in
this thing you did not believe the Lord your God. who went in
the way before you to search you out a place to pitch your
tents in, in fire by night to show you by what way you should
go, and in a cloud by day. And the Lord heard the voice
of your words and was wroth, and swear, saying, Surely there
shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that
good land which I swear to give unto your fathers." He said, You did not believe me." He said,
this is an evil generation. How horrible. Oh, how horrible. Verse 40 says, But as for you,
turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way
of the Red Sea. Then you answered and said unto
me, We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight
according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when
you had girded on every man his weapons of war, you were ready
to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say
unto them, Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you,
lest you be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you,
and you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the
Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill. And the Amorites
which dwelt in the mountain came out against you, and chased you
as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. And you returned and wept before
the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor
give ear unto you." Isn't that terrible? Isn't that terrible? What did Moses declare? He declared
God's law. He declared God's commandment,
God's Word. Moses declared the fact that
we've sinned. We've sinned against the Lord
our God. And now because of this, we are separated from Him. That's an awful thought, but
that is the truth declared by nature. In our natural flesh,
He is not among us. Isn't that shocking? Most men,
most preachers actually say the opposite. But who are we going
to believe? Man or God? Who are we to believe? Moses declared by nature, there
is no hope. There is no help. God said, don't
go up to fight. I'm not with you. Moses declared
God's wrath. And that's what many have taken
in hand to set forth in order, in order. The first order of
business is a declaration of God's broken law and the repercussions
of it. It's a horrible thought, but
it's the truth. Why do we keep bringing it up? Because it must
be declared. It must be declared. But listen
to this. Listen to this. Thanks be to
God, the declaration continues. Thanks be to God, it doesn't
stop there. Let's see what David declared.
Turn with me over to 1 Chronicles chapter 16. 1st Chronicles 16 verse 1 says,
So they brought the ark of God and set it in the midst of the
tent that David had pitched for it. And they offered burnt sacrifices
and peace offerings before God. And when David had made an end
of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed
the people in the name of the Lord. Now look at verse 7, it
says, Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to
thank the Lord, into the hand of Asaph and his brethren." Verse
24 says, "...declare his glory among the heathen, his marvelous
works among all nations." What did David declare? God's glory. He declared it among the heathen. That's good news. The same rebellious,
unbelieving, evil, heathen that Moses declared unto. Moses asked the Lord, show me
your glory. And God said, okay, here it is. I will have mercy. I will have mercy. How many times
did David declare, God will have mercy. Isn't that wonderful?
Isn't that fantastic? After the horrible news of the
state we're really in, what better news could we possibly hear?
God will have mercy. Turn with me over to Psalm 66.
Psalm 66, listen to David. In verse 16, he says, Come and
hear, all ye that fear God, And I will declare what he hath done
for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth,
and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me. But verily God hath heard me. He hath attended to the voice
of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not
turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me." How wonderful
is that? David said, He had mercy on me.
Mercy. Psalm 68 verse 2 says, As smoke
is driven away, so drive them away. As wax melteth before the
fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. He hasn't
had mercy on everybody. He has not had mercy on everybody.
Some he's going to drive away. But David said, he had mercy
on me. He might have mercy on you. He might have mercy on me. The Lord God is angry with the
wicked every day, but God will have mercy. God will have mercy. That's what many have taken in
hand to set forth in order. Man has sinned against God, but
God will have mercy. There is a way. One way mercy
can be found. So Solomon declared, be wise,
be wise, listen up, consider thy latter end. You know, this world considers
retirement heavily, heavily. This world considers what college
degree they need for a better latter end. That's not the latter
end Solomon is talking about. Not at all. Turn with me over
to Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Ecclesiastes 9 verse 1 says,
For all this I considered in my heart, even to declare all
this, that the righteous and the wise and their works are
in the hand of God. No man knoweth either love or
hatred by all that is before them, All things come alike to
all. There is one event to the righteous
and to the wicked, to the good and to the clean and to the unclean,
to him that sacrifices and to him that sacrifices not. As is
the good, so is the sinner. And he that sweareth, as he that
feareth an oath. This is an evil among all things
that are done under the sun. that there is one event unto
all. Yea, also the heart of the sons
of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they
live. And after that, here's this one event he keeps talking
about, he said, after that, they go to the dead. They go to the
dead. He said, I don't care what kind
of life they lived, I don't care what kind of person they are,
there's one event that's coming to everybody. All men and women
are going to die. That's a truth that must be acknowledged. Every man and woman is going
to face this holy God. It's not up for debate. It's
a declaration. Man has broken God's law, but
God will have mercy. Be wise. Consider something. What is it? Let's consider what
the prophets declared. Let's consider with all our hope,
with all our might, what the prophets declared. Turn with
me over to Isaiah 42. Isaiah chapter 42, look at verse nine. He said, Behold, the former things
are come to pass, and new things do I declare. Before they spring
forth, I tell you of them. Verse 12 says, Let them give
glory unto the Lord, and declare His praise in the islands. The
Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, He shall stir up jealousy
like a man of war. He shall cry, yea, roar. He shall prevail against his
enemies. That is something worth declaring. Somebody is coming. He's a man
of war and he will not lose the battle. Man has sinned. But God will have mercy because
somebody's coming. Somebody is coming. Turn with
me over to Isaiah 53. This blessed chapter, Isaiah
53, verse 5 tells us what this one who is coming is going to
do. Man is in a bad state. Man has
sinned before God outside of this One who is coming, Jesus
Christ. Man has no hope, but listen to
what Christ did for the salvation of His people. Isaiah 53 verse
5 says, He was wounded for our transgressions. That means in
our place, in our stead. It says, He was bruised for our
iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him. What we deserved was laid on
Him. The punishment I deserved was
given to Him. And verse 5 ends by saying, And
with His stripes we are healed. That is the gospel. The gospel
is about one man, Jesus Christ. It's about who He is and what
He's done. That's what the gospel is. Look
at Isaiah 53 verse 8. It says, He was taken from prison
and from judgment, And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. Oh, that is something worth declaring.
That is what we declare. So many by God's goodness and
mercy and grace have taken in hand to declare that. For the
transgression of that heathen that Moses was talking about
was he stricken. That's the mercy that David declared.
That's that mercy. Somebody's coming. Thanks be
to God. Somebody came. Somebody came. Jeremiah declared it. And in his declaration, Jeremiah
declared a warning. Somebody's coming. Behold, somebody's
coming. Turn with me over to Jeremiah
chapter 4. Jeremiah chapter 4 verse 5 says,
Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say, Blow ye
the trumpet in the land, cry, gather together and say, assemble
yourselves and let us go into the defensed cities. Set up the
standard toward Zion. Retire, stay not, for I will
bring evil from the north and a great destruction." A great
destruction. The prophets were declaring,
somebody's coming. And I must declare this morning,
somebody's coming. He came, He went, He's coming
again. He's coming to redeem His elect
and He's coming to destroy this sinful world. That is the declaration
that must be made known. Here's the question, is there
any shelter? Is there any place of safety?
Is there any place of refuge? Is there a hiding place? Yes,
there is. Yes, there is. Go with me to
Acts 17. Acts 17 verse 22 says, Then Paul
stood in the midst of Mars Hill and said, Ye men of Athens, I
perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as
I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription,
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, WHOM THEREFORE YOU IGNORANTLY WORSHIP, HIM DECLARE
I UNTO YOU." Who is it? Who is the unknown God? Verse
24 says, God that made the world and all things therein, Seeing
that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples
made with hands. Neither is worshipped with men's
hands, as though He needed anything. Seeing He giveth to all life
and breath and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations
of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined
the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation,
that they should seek the Lord. if happily they might feel after
him and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.
For in him we live and move and have our being, as certain also
of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring.
For as much, then, as we are the offspring of God, we ought
not to think that the Godhead is likened to gold or silver
or stone, graven by art in man's device. In the times of this
ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere
to repent." Repent and be ye saved. Repentance is the gift
of God. You know that. Except God calls
a man to repent, he can't. I need to bow the knee to the
only true God of heaven and earth. That's what I need. Verse 31
says, because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge
the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained,
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath
raised him from the dead. Paul said, that one who was raised
from the dead, that's who I'm going to declare unto you. Solomon
declared, all men are going to be judged by this man. And Paul
declares, some are going to get to be judged in this man. In
this man. All who can say, He is my Maker,
He is my Defender, He is my Redeemer. He's my friend. That is the declaration. That is the declaration. This
One who came, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, very God Himself,
this One who came has redeemed His people from their sin. Now
why did all these declare this? Why did so many declare this? And why do we still declare it?
Why do we spend our time making this declaration? Turn with me
to John 1 verse 1. First John 1 verse 1. It says, that which was from
the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with
our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled
of the word of life. For the life was manifested and
we have seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal
life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That
which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that you
also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is
with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Thanks be
to God that He's called men to take it in hand and deliver the
Declaration. 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.