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 Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 40, and we're
going to read verse 9, which says, O Zion that bringest good
tidings, get thee up into the high mountain. O Jerusalem that
bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift
it up, be not afraid. Say unto the cities of Judah,
behold your God. Behold your God. Every man and woman on this earth
has a God. Every single man and woman on
this earth has a God. A man or woman who does not believe
there is a God, he is his own God. But every man and woman
on this earth has a God. They don't all have the same
God. If people talk to each other,
they'll find out they don't all have the same God. And that's
sad. And that's dangerous because
there's only one true and living God, just one. I want to know who that God is.
Don't you? Thousands and thousands of men
are standing up right now preaching Jesus. Preachers. And they're preaching Jesus.
But here's the question. Which Jesus are they preaching?
Are they preaching the Lord Jesus Christ of Scripture? Or are they
preaching another Jesus? Everybody's always talking about
the Spirit. The Spirit. They say, boy, the
Spirit got a hold of somebody today. He's got the Spirit. She's got the Spirit. The Spirit
was in that place. Well, the scripture says in 1
John 4, verse 1, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the
spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets
are gone out into the world. Many spirits out there, many
different spirits out there. People say, oh, I love the gospel. I love the gospel. Love gospel
music, love gospel preaching. Well, which gospel do you love?
Which message do you love? Do you love the message that
gives glory to God, all of the glory to God, the good news of
God and what He hath done, or the message that gives glory
to man and what man has done and what man can do? Everything
outside of the truth of Scripture is no gospel at all. Really,
it's no gospel at all. There's only one God, and His
name is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit, the Holy Spirit,
is His Spirit. and the gospel is concerning
him." When we hear the gospel or we talk about the gospel,
the gospel is concerning Jesus Christ. It's concerning Jesus
Christ and him crucified. That's the gospel. That's how
a sinner who ought to be banned by God can be accepted by God. That's how a sinner who deserves
hell and death can receive eternal life and salvation. It's only
through Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And that's the gospel. The gospel is concerning Jesus
Christ. Not me at all. Not man at all. Jesus Christ. Now Isaiah 40 verse
9, we're going to read it again, it says, O Zion, that bringest
good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain. O Jerusalem,
that bringest good tidings, good news. That's the gospel. The
gospel means good news. He says, lift up thy voice with
strength. Lift it up. Be not afraid. Say unto the cities of Judah,
Behold your God. Behold your God. Not their God. Not this other
God. Your God. See your God. Our Lord said in John chapter
12 verse 32, and I, if I be lifted up, as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, our Lord said, if I be lifted up, I will draw
all men unto me. If I be lifted up and they look
unto me, They will live. So the commandment is, behold. Behold. Look. See. What? Who? Your God. Your God. God is the absolute
sovereign of everything. The controller of everything. Everything's in His hand. Everything's
in His will. Everything's in His purpose.
We bow to Him. Behold your God. Acknowledge
your God. He said in Isaiah 45 verse 22,
Look unto Me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth For
I am God, and there is none else. There's only one sovereign. The God who wants to do something
only if I will let him is not God at all. That makes me God,
actually. If he can't do it unless I let
him, then I'm God. There's only one true and living
God. Let's behold him this morning,
okay? We're going to behold our God
as He is, who He is. Now, if you have your Bibles
open, turn with me to Isaiah 42. A couple of pages over to
Isaiah 42. Verse 1 says, and this is God
the Father speaking, He says, Behold My servants. BEHOLD MY SERVANT. Everything that I've prophesied
in the Old Testament, you behold my servant. He will fulfill it. This is talking about the Lord
Jesus Christ. It says, BEHOLD MY SERVANT, WHOM
I UPHOLD, MINE ELECT, IN WHOM MY SOUL DELIGHTETH. He's the
one I've chosen. God the Father said, behold my
servant, my son, the one I sent to do my will, behold him, mine
elect. He's the one I've chosen to be
the savior of every sinner that I've put in him. Every sinner
that I've given to him. Verse 1 right here in Isaiah
42 says, I have put my spirit upon Him. The Spirit. The Holy Spirit. God the Father
says, I've put my spirit upon Him. He shall bring forth judgment. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He's going to bear this task
willingly. And he's gonna do it all by himself. Do you know what the good news
is? The gospel is? Our Lord Jesus Christ paid it
all. All the debt I owe. Sin had left
a crimson stain, but he washed it white as snow. And he did
it all by himself. When he had by himself purged
our sins. He sat down on the right hand
of the throne of God. He's the one I've chosen. He's
the one that's going to bear this task. He's going to do it
willingly and he's going to do it all by himself. Verse 2 right
here in Isaiah 42 says, He shall not cry nor lift up nor cause
his voice to be heard in the street. He has no need to. No need to. He's the only one
able to perform it. He's the only one. Verse four
says, he shall not fail nor be discouraged. That is good news. That's good news. He shall not
fail. Do you know the whole time he
walked this earth, not one time did he ever get discouraged?
Not one time. when he allowed them to take
him and bring him before Pilate, and when he allowed them to punch
him in the face and spit in his face and curse him and beat him
and whip him, and when he allowed them to press thorns into his
forehead, and when he allowed them to take him out to that
hill and nail him to that tree, not one time did he ever get
discouraged. Why? He was accomplishing the
work that God the Father sent him to do. Behold, my servant. What's his mission? What's he
here to do? Verse 7 right here in Isaiah
42 says, he's going to open the blind eyes to bring out the prisoners
from the prison. And them that sit in darkness
out of the prison house. That's what he's going to do.
That is your God. He is your God. And he's my God. Thanks be to
God. He's my God. Deuteronomy 32 says
their rock is not as I rock. And what he's saying is their
God is not like our God. THE TRUE GOD OF SCRIPTURE SHALL
NOT FAIL! SHALL NOT FAIL! Now turn with
me over to John chapter 19. John chapter 19 and verse 5 says
this, Then came Jesus forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple
robe And Pilate said unto them, Behold the man. Behold the man. Behold the fact that our God
was and is truly a man. Truly. Matthew 1.23 says, Behold. A virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son, a real man. And thou shalt call
his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us."
God with us. Behold this man, born by the
Holy Spirit of God. He was born under the law. just like you and me, a real
man, subject to all of God's laws, just like you and me, a
real man. He was tempted just like you
and me, a real man, yet without sin. We sin. Sin plagues everything we do. Sin never touched him, never
entered into him. He was tempted, yet without sin. He grew weary with his journey,
the scripture says. It says he hungered. He said,
I thirst. He groaned in his spirit. It says he became exceedingly
sorrowful. And the word of God actually
says he wept. He cried, behold the man. That's your God. And that's my
God. Behold your God. Behold my servant. Behold the man. Now look at right
here in John 19, look at verse 14, it says, And it was the preparation of
the Passover in about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews,
Behold your king. Behold your king. Behold my servant. Behold the
man. Behold your king. Turn with me
over to Zechariah chapter 9. back in the Old Testament, Zechariah
9. Verse 9 says this, Rejoice greatly,
O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto
thee. He is just, and having salvation. lowly and riding upon an ass
and upon a colt the foal of an ass. That's how you're going
to know you're king. That's exactly how. Now turn
with me over to Matthew chapter 2. Matthew 2 verse 1 says this,
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod
the king, Behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
saying, Where is he that is born King, King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship him. He was born King. Now let's go to Matthew chapter
8. Matthew 8 verse 23 says this. And when he was entered into
his ship, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose
a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with
the waves. But he was asleep. And his disciples
came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And
he saith unto them, Why are you fearful? O ye of little faith! Then he arose and rebuked the
winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. But the men
marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the
winds and the sea obey him? What manner of man is this? He's your king. That's who he is. This is the
king. Even the winds and the sea obey
Him. Now go with me to Matthew chapter
12. Matthew 12 verse 42 says this, The Queen of the South
shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall
condemn it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, A greater than Solomon
is here. A greater than Solomon. Solomon was a great king. The
Lord God gave Solomon more than he gave anyone else. More vastness,
more riches, more glory, more wisdom than anyone else. But
behold, a greater than Solomon is here. A greater than Solomon. Now let's go to Matthew 21. Matthew
chapter 21 verse 1 says this, And when they drew nigh unto
Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, Then
sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village
over against you, and straightway you shall find an ass tied and
a colt with her. Loose them, and bring them unto
me. And if any man say aught unto you, you shall say, The
Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them. All this was
done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,
saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion. Behold, thy king cometh
unto thee, meek and sitting upon an ass, and the colt the foal
of an ass. And the disciples went and did
as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass and the colt,
and put on them their clothes, and they set him their own. And
a very great multitude spread their garments in the way, others
cutting down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the
way. And the multitudes that went
before and that followed cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of
David! Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And when
he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who
Who is this? Who is this? They were crying,
Hosanna. That means, oh, save. It means
we adore you. And all the city was moved saying,
who is this? He's the king. He's the king. The Old Testament is not something
we throw out. The Old Testament is something
that the New Testament is fulfilling. The Old Testament is saying,
your God is coming, your King is coming. The New Testament
is saying, your God is here, your King is here. Behold your
King. He's God's King, He's your King,
and thanks be to God, He is my King. Turn with me now to Luke
chapter 23. Luke chapter 23, verse 38, the
end of it says this, This is the King of the Jews. And one of the male factors,
which were hanged, railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ,
save thyself and us. But the other, answering, rebuked
him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing that thou art in
the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we
have received the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath
done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. And it was about the sixth hour,
and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth
hour, and the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was
rent in the midst. This king is so high, and he's
so holy, as he hung on the cross, the sun up in the sky bowed in
majestic reverence to him. And the sun refused to shine
for three hours. total darkness for three hours. Behold your king. The sun, the
great star, that sun didn't shine for three hours when the king
hung on the cross. Behold your king. Man, behold your king. In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted
up. Even the sun said, that's my
king. And I bow to him. Job chapter
40. Verse three says this, then Job
answered the Lord and said, behold, I am vile. What shall I answer
thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. If God will open my eyes this
morning that I may see my eyes, if a sinner ever truly sees God's
servant, If we poor pitiful excuses for men ever see the man, the
man, if we ever truly behold our King, do you know what we'll
say? Behold, I am vile. Look at me. Oh, I'm vile. I'm so much more vile than I
thought I was. I'm so wretched. Who shall deliver
me? If I stand before God just as
I am, we sing that song, just as I am. If I stand before God
just as I am, God is going to kill me. Behold, I'm vile. I'm vile. Well, what's the remedy
for that? What's the remedy for that? John
1, verse 29 says, The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto
him, and saith, Behold the Lamb, behold the Lamb, the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Behold the Lamb
Himself, a male without spot or blemish. There was no sin
in Him. He was slain, and His blood was
poured all over the mercy seat in glory, that He might take
away my vileness. Behold! If you're turning with me, turn
back one page to Luke 24, verse 38 says, And he said unto them,
Why are you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not
flesh and bones as you see me have. Behold my hands and my
feet. He died. Our God, God's servant,
the man, our king, he died. Behold, it is finished. And that is the one and only
gospel. That's the good news. Behold,
it is finished. Judgment has taken place for
all those who the servant came to die for. The law has been
satisfied for all those who the man came to live for. Mercy has
been born for all those who dwell in the King's domain. Why? Behold, the Lamb was slain. Behold, what manner of love? Well, in Revelation 22, verse
12, it says, Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to
give every man according as his work shall be. Behold, I come
quickly. Be watching, be waiting, to those
who don't care be warned, Our God and our King says, I come. Behold, that's your God and that's
my God. Until next Sunday morning, may
our Lord God 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.