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 John chapter 1. John chapter 1 and verse 29
is our text. There was a man named Charles
Spurgeon, who was a preacher of the gospel back in the late
1800s. And he was scheduled to preach
in a hall in England over the weekend. And when he got to the
place the very first afternoon, he decided he wanted to test
the acoustics in the room. And he walked up to the pulpit
and he shouted at the top of his lungs, behold the lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. And at that exact
moment in time, there was a worker in the auditorium cleaning cobwebs
out of the rafters high up in the rafters. And the story goes
that the man heard the word of truth declared, and it pierced
his heart, and God saved that man. That is our text this morning. John 1 verse 29 says, The next
day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. How can you
possibly describe someone as glorious as our God? How does
a mortal man describe God? In verse 1 of this chapter, chapter
1, verse 1, he describes himself through John to be the Word. John 1, 1. In the beginning was
the Word. The Word was with God. The Word
was God. He said, I'm the Word. In John
14, he said, I am the way. I am the way. He said, I am the
truth. And I am the life. In John 10, he said, I am the
door. The door. In John six, he said,
I am the bread. In John 15, he said, I am the
vine. And in chapter 10, he said, I'm the
good shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. We are the sheep. If we belong
to him, if we are his chosen people, we are the sheep. The
scripture says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We've all gone astray, but the
Lord is our shepherd. Not only does he keep his sheep,
and lead his sheep, feed his sheep, and protect and provide
and teach his sheep. But Hebrews 7 verse 26 says,
if we are his sheep, it says, he became us. Oh, our shepherd is so good to
us. to the point that our Shepherd
became us. Behold the Lamb. He's the Shepherd. He's the Lamb. The glory and majesty of God
is that the Lion of the tribe of Judah became a Lamb. The Hunter willingly became the
hunted. The lamb. Behold the lamb. A lamb is a sheep. Sheep by nature
are innocent. They're not vicious. They're
not killers. They're not hunters. They don't
have a prey that they're after. Behold the lamb. Isaiah 53 verse
2 says, he shall grow up as a tender plant. Song of Solomon chapter
5 verse 12 says, his eyes are as the eyes of doves. He said
in Matthew 11, I am meek and lowly in heart. Behold the lamb. Behold the lamb. Sheep clothe us. They cover us. They warm us. They become naked. They become
shorn. They become humiliated. So we can have their covering. Behold the Lamb. It is his coat of righteousness
that covers our sin. It's his robe of righteousness
that every saint in glory wears. Robes of righteousness. And Acts chapter eight, verse
32 says, like a lamb done before his shearer. So he opened not
his mouth, In His humiliation, His judgment was taken away.
And who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the
earth. Behold the Lamb. Behold our covering. Sheep cover us. They also feed
us. They clothe us. And they feed
us. They give their lives in death
to sustain our life. In the Old Testament, when they
sacrificed those sheep, they ate the meat. It didn't go to
waste. Their lives were not given in
vain. They feed us. Behold the Lamb. He said, take, eat, this is my
body, which is broken for you. Verse 29 says, the next day,
John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Our Lord said,
search the scriptures. They are they which testify of
me. They all speak of me. And I want us to see how perfectly
all of the scriptures fit together and speak of Him, testify of
the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lamb. Turn with me over to Genesis
chapter 4. In Genesis chapter 3, God was
angry with Adam and Eve. They sinned against him. They
broke his law, just like every person since Adam has done, including
you and me. Sinned against God and broke
his law. And in Genesis 3, verse 21, the Lord showed Adam and
Eve the fact that without the shedding of blood, there's no
remission of sin. There's no payment made for sin. Genesis 3 verse 21 says unto
Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins
and clothed them. An animal was slain. In chapter
3 verse 24 says, So he drove out the man, and he placed at
the east of the garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword,
which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. What he's saying is God is holy. God is holy and you've been banished
from God's presence. You've been banished from my
presence. But there is a way. There is
a way you can approach me again. Look now at chapter 4, verse
1, it says, And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived,
and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord, And
she again bare his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of the
sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process
of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of
the ground an offering unto the Lord, and Abel he also brought
of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the
Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But unto Cain
and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth,
and his countenance fell. Abel brought of the firstlings
of his flock. Abel brought a lamb. Why? It's what God said. It's what God told Adam and Eve
must happen for the remission of their sins. And it's what
Adam told his sons. And Abel brought a lamb and it
was to show a type, a picture of the lamb. The Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world. It represented Jesus Christ. The Lamb typified the type, the
picture. There is a way, one way to approach
God, and it's through the offering of a Lamb. You know Abel didn't
truly understand why God required that, but he knew that's what
God required, so he obeyed. God gave a picture, He gave a
type of what would redeem man back to his original state with
God. The Lamb. The Lamb typified. Now turn with me over to Genesis
chapter 22. Genesis 22 verse 1 says, And
it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham. said
unto him, Abraham, and he said, Behold, here am I. And he said,
Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest,
and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for
a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell
thee of. And Abraham rose up early in
the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young
men with him, and Isaac his son, and claimed the wood for the
burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which
God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham
lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said
unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and
the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham
took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son.
And he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and they went both
of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham
his father, and said, My father, and he said, Here am I, my son.
And he said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the
lamb for a burnt offering? Where is the lamb? I know we
need a lamb, but we don't have one. Verse eight, and Abraham
said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went both of them together. That is the lamb prophesied. Man has sinned against God. And because of that, we need
a lamb. And now we know where that lamb
will come from. The lamb has been typified. It's
what is required to pay the penalty of sin. The lamb has been prophesied
and here it is. God will provide himself. a lamb for a burnt offering. God will provide what he requires. God will provide himself. And
what is it going to take to pay the penalty of sin? It's going
to take God. It's going to take the death
of the God man. God will provide himself. a lamb for a burnt offering. The Lamb prophesied. Now turn
with me over to Exodus chapter 12. Exodus 12 verse 1 says, And
the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall
be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the
congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month
they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the
house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. And if the household
be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto
his house take it according to the number of the souls. Every
man, according to his eating, shall make your count for the
lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first
year. You shall take it out from the
sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it up until the
fourteenth day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they
shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side post and on
the upper door post of the house, wherein they shall eat it. That
is the Lamb applied. The Lamb applied. There to my
heart was the Lamb slain and the blood applied. That's the reason for this Lamb. We need His blood applied to
cover our sin. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sin. The Lamb has been typified. The
Lamb has been prophesied. The Lamb has been applied. Now
go with me to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 verse 1 says this,
Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him
as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground. He hath
no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him there is no
beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we
hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
have gone astray. We've turned every one to his
own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not
his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth
not his mouth. He, he, he, that is the lamb
personified. This lamb is actually a man,
a person. You need a lamb, I need a lamb. God will provide him. Only in
his blood will he pass over us. And this lamb that we need so
desperately is actually a man. Now go with me back to John 29,
John 1, verse 29, our text. It says, the next day, John seeth
Jesus coming unto him. All this time, the prophets,
the laws, men were preaching someone's coming. There is one
coming. And finally, verse 29 says, The
next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. There he
is. The Lamb has been identified. He is the one. Behold the Lamb. This is that lamb. God sent him. He's God's lamb,
the lamb of God. He shed his blood, bearing the
sin of his people. Behold, look to him. Look to him. He's the one. He
was typified. He was prophesied. He was applied. He was personified. He was identified
in turn with me to revelation five. We will see the lamb glorified
and magnified revelation chapter five. Verse one says, I saw in the
right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written, within
and on the backside sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong
angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open
the book and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven
nor in earth, neither under the earth was able to open the book,
neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto
me, Weep not. Behold, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David hath prevailed to open the book, and
to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, And lo, in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had been slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God,
sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And
when he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and
twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of
them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers
of saints. And they sung a new song, saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof.
for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and hast
made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on
the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beast, and
the elders, and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000,
and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is
the Lamb. That was slain to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as
are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,
Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto him that sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders
fell down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever. Behold the Lamb of God. Glory to his name. Glory to the work that he accomplished. We glory in his blood that was
spilt for us. Now what did this lamb, our lamb,
accomplish when he spilt his blood? Go back with me to John
chapter 1, verse 29 says, The next day John seeth Jesus coming
unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world. taketh away the sin. They are all taken away away. My sins are all taken away. Taketh away the sin of the world. Now some people are going to
read that. Some people are going to hear this and they're going
to say, there it is. Which taketh away the sin of
the world. When Christ died, He died for the sin of the whole
world. Well, let me ask this question.
Is the word whole in John 1 29? Does it say, which taketh away
the sin of the whole world? What about the word entire? Does
it say, which taketh away the sin of the entire world? No. Our Lord said, I pray not
for the world, but for them which thou hast given me. We just read
it in Revelation 5. He said, Out of every nation,
tribe, kindred, and tongue. Out of. Romans 8 verse 1 says,
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. who walk not after the flesh
but after the spirit. What is it to walk after the
flesh? It's to walk in the law. That's what it is, is to walk
in the law. The law that the flesh tries to keep. The law
is written to this flesh. Thou shalt, thou shalt not. But
there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Verse 3
says, For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh, God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin, or by a sacrifice for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh. Behold the Lamb of God! Behold Him! Don't just see him,
look to him, behold him. John said, 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. We've seen him and we've looked
upon him. Behold, behold the Lamb of God. Look to Him. If you from sin
are longing to be free, look to the Lamb of God. He to redeem
you died on Calvary. Look to the Lamb of God. Look
to the Lamb of God. For He alone is able to save
you. Look to the Lamb of God. When
all you see is your sin and your wickedness, look to the Lamb
of God. When all you see is your inability
and your insecurity, look to the Lamb of God. When you feel
like you can't see anything, you don't know where to go, you
don't know what to do, look to the Lamb of God. He alone is
able to save you. Thank God for the Lamb. Behold the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world. 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.