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 Luke chapter 2. And in chapter 2 of the book
of Luke, this is the story of our Lord's earthly birth. And
verse 21 says, When eight days were accomplished for the circumcising
of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of
the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days
of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished,
they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. And
verse 25 says, And when the parents brought
in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law,
then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord,
now let us thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word,
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before
the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and
the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled
at those things which were spoken of him. Now here's our text,
the next two verses, verses 34 and 35. And Simeon blessed them,
and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for
the fall and rising again of many in Israel. And for a sign
which shall be spoken against, yea, a sword shall pierce through
thine own so also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
It says Simeon blessed them. He blessed them. How did Simeon
do that? How does the scripture say he
did that? Well, he told them some things.
He prophesied some things unto them. How did he know these things? How did he know this child would
be set for the fall and rising again of many? How did he know
this child would be spoken against? How did he know a sword would
pierce their own soul also? And how did he know the thoughts
of many hearts would be revealed? How did he know all that? But
the end of verse 25 says, the Holy Ghost was upon him. Verse 26 says, and it was revealed
unto him by the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of the Lord revealed
something to him concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord gave
him a message for them. The Lord made him a preacher.
A preacher is just a messenger, that's all he is. If he's sin
of God, it says, how shall they preach except they be sent just
a messenger? Well, what did Simeon tell them?
He told them the truth about Jesus Christ and Mary and Joseph
were so blessed when they heard it. So blessed. You know, we've
come here on this radio station right now to worship the Lord. We're here together to give thanks,
to call on him for mercy, and we've come here in hope of receiving
a blessing from him. I hope the Lord will bless us
this morning. What is the only thing that will
bless the heart of a true believer? It's the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's the only thing. Simeon
just preached the gospel to them. He told them who Jesus Christ
is and what he would do. And it says they were so blessed.
Let's look at Simeon's message. The first thing he said to them
was this, Behold. That's a bold word, isn't it?
It's not a word of question. It's a statement. It's a declaration,
behold. That word says, give this all
your attention, incline thine ear, listen to this. I thought
about some of the different times our Lord has said this to us
through His Word. Listen to Isaiah chapter 13,
verses 9 through 13 say this, Behold, the day of the Lord cometh,
cruel, both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate,
and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars
of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their
light. The sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon
shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the
world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. And
I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and I will
lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. And I will make a man
more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge
of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens
and the earth shall remove out of her place in the wrath of
the Lord of hosts and in the day of his fierce anger." Fierce
anger. Behold. Listen to Isaiah chapter
40. This is verses 9 and 10. O Zion that bringeth 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, the Lord God will come
with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his
reward is with him and his work before him." It's a word of warning. Behold. This word is also a word
of awakening, quickening. John the Baptist was sent preaching
the very same thing Isaiah preached. He said, make straight the way
of the Lord. He's coming, and all flesh is
grass. And while he was preaching, it
says, the next day, as John the Baptist was preaching, out of
the corner of his eye, he saw Jesus Christ walking toward him.
And John cried, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world. He was crying all this gloom.
He was crying all this doom. Then he cried, behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. It's a word
of refuge. It's a word of hope. How is safety
found in all this destruction? Behold the Lamb of God. This
is a word of warning. It's a word of awakening. It's
a word of refuge, a word of hope, and it's a word of comfort. It's
a word of thanksgiving for all the Lord's goodness and mercy.
John the Apostle wrote, Behold, what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us. that we should be called the
sons of God. Behold. Behold. What a word. Well, our text Luke chapter 2
verse 34 says, Behold, this is set for the fall
and rising again of many in Israel. This John said, that which was
from the beginning. Child? Oh, a child is born. Unto us a son is given. But what
appears to be a mere child is actually the governor. All of
the government is upon his shoulders. Child? No, a better word to describe
him is wonderful. This is our counselor. This is the mighty God. If you've seen this, you've seen
the everlasting father. This child is the Prince of Peace. Behold the Lamb of God. Well,
Simeon said to Mary and Joseph, this child is set for the fall
and rising again of many in Israel. He is here because of the fall
of man. That's why he's here. He's saying,
Mary, the first thing you need to know, the first thing you
need to believe is that man fell. I believe that most people do
not believe man fell away from God in the garden. I really believe
that. I believe that most people do
not believe that man fell away from God in the garden. The world
believes that man has a chance. Man has a chance. A person is
going to do some good things in this life and they're going
to do some bad things. And at the end, whichever one
outweighs the other, then that's where that person's gonna go.
Simeon says, he is here because man fell. Man died spiritually. And that causes man to eventually
die physically. Sin, he's here because of sin. Man is dead in his trespasses
and sins. And a dead man can do nothing.
Nothing. A dead man can do nothing. Nothing to restore his life with
God. There's a saying that says, wrong
on the fall, wrong on it all. Wrong on it all. Man fell, separated
from God. That caused him to become dead
spiritually. But because of him, because of
this, this mediator, this God-man, because he came, there's going
to be a rising again of many, not all, not everybody born into
the world, He said, I pray not for the world. I pray for them,
which thou has given me out of the world. But the good news
is it's for many, many, whosoever he chooses his choice. Salvation is of the Lord. Well,
how, how is he going to do this? How can a dead center rise again? Well, It's going to be God, which
worketh in that dead center for that center, both to will and
do his good pleasure. God is in control and he's going
to cause us to do one of two things. He's going to cause us
we're dead and we can do nothing. And one of two things is going
to happen. He's going to make us do his bidding. It says even
the king's heart is in his hand and he turns him whichever way
he wants. Some vessels have been made for honor. Some have been
made for dishonor and depending on what he causes our heart to
do, one of these two things will determine whether or not we have
been chosen to rise again with him. All right, what are the
two things? Well, there's a reference right
here in the text to Matthew 21. If you have your Bibles open,
turn with me over to Matthew 21. Two verses right here. We're gonna read verse 42 and
verse 44. Verse 42 says, Jesus saith unto
them, did ye never read in the scriptures the stone which the
builders rejected, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. The same
is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and
it is marvelous in our eyes. Verse 44 says, And whosoever
shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever
it shall fall it will grind him to powder. A person is either
going to fall on this stone or this stone is going to fall on
him. Whoever the Lord causes to fall, whoever the Lord breaks,
whoever He gives a broken and a contrite heart to and causes
them to fall on Him for mercy, cast their all upon Him for help,
for salvation, for redemption. The Lord says they'll find it.
Whoever evidences My work and cries for mercy will find it. But if a person doesn't fall,
if their proud, arrogant, hard heart doesn't break, If they
don't fall on their knees and beg for mercy, the Lord says,
then judgment's coming. Judgment's coming. Well, Simeon
tells Joseph and Mary, back in our text, the way you'll know
all of this is true, the way you'll know it's the truth is,
verse 34 says, it shall be spoken against. That's how you'll know
this is the truth. it shall be spoken against."
He said, I'm telling you things right now concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ. If you hear others talk about
Him, and if what is said concerning the Lord Jesus Christ is well
received by the masses, if mainstream agrees with it, accepts it, likes
it, then somebody's not telling the truth concerning Jesus Christ. Because the truth concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ, the natural man will not have it. Will not
have it. A dead soul cannot accept it. Cannot, he's dead. Well, Simeon
delivered this message to Joseph and Mary, and this was his message. Behold, thy God, this He came
because of sin. The Lord did not come for everybody. He said, I didn't come for the
righteous. The Lord will have mercy on whom He will have mercy,
and whom He will, He hardeneth. That was Simeon's message. That
is the message. And anyone who hears this message
has to ask himself truly in his heart, based on what I'm hearing,
I wonder if the Lord has had mercy on me. If God truly is
in control, and if He only has mercy on who He will have mercy,
how will I know if I'm one of the ones He's had mercy on? How
will I know? Well, Simeon gave the answer
to that in his message. He said, this is how you'll know
the Lord has shown mercy to you. Verse 35 says, a sword shall
pierce through thy own soul also. What sword is he talking about?
He's talking about the word of God that is sharper than any
two edged sword. His word, his laws, his precepts
are going to pierce your heart. He's going to speak through his
word to you directly to you. That's how you'll know he's had
mercy on you. The law of God is the needle
that pierces the heart of a sinner. But with that piercing, a way
is made for the thread of the gospel to come through and bind
up that wound. How will it pierce us? What will
it show us? Well I have a reference right
here in verse 35 and it tells us to go to John chapter 19 verse
25. So let's read that together.
John chapter 19 verse 25 says this, Now there stood by the
cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister Mary the
wife of Cleopas and Mary Magdalene. How will it pierce us? What will
it show us? The cross of Calvary. The Word of God is going to reveal
the truth about the cross of Calvary. When He died, when this
man, the Christ, died, the Lord Jesus Christ, when God the Father
pierced His soul, That's when thine own soul was pierced also. When he died, that's when you
died. And because of that, his outcome
will be your outcome. And Simeon is actually telling
Mary, when you see this, John 19, 25, we just read it. It says, Mary was standing right
there at the cross. And Simeon said, when you see
this, you won't understand it. You will not understand why are
they crucifying the Lord of glory? Why are they crucifying this
loved one? When you see this, you won't
understand it. The natural man sees the cross, knows about the
cross, but he doesn't understand it. Simeon says if the Word of God
ever comes to you and reveals to you who he is, what he did,
and why he did it, it'll pierce your soul. It's going to break
your heart. And then of the heart, the mouth
will speak. Our text in Luke 2 verse 35 says,
a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also that the
thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. The thoughts of many
hearts. That last line struck me. The
thoughts of many hearts. You'd think it would say the
thoughts of many minds. But it doesn't say that. It says,
the thoughts of many hearts. This whole thing is an issue
of the heart. Salvation is of the heart. The Lord moves on the heart. He breaks the heart. A man used to say all the time,
salvation is roughly 18 inches. The distance it takes to get
from my head to my heart. This is an issue of the heart.
With the heart man believeth. The Lord asked the Pharisees,
he asked the unbelieving world, what think ye of Christ? He didn't even say me. He knew
they had no idea who he was, that he was the Christ. So he
said, what think ye of Christ? But you know, that's where the
world is going wrong. That's where we're getting sidetracked.
That's where we're missing it. They've got too much mind involved. Do you know what the Lord asked
Peter? He said, Peter, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you know me? Do you hear my voice? Do you
love me? The apostle Paul said, if any
man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, that's what's going to curse
him. That's what's going to curse him. Salvation is not having
your doctrine all squared away. It's not having your doctrine
all right. Although the Lord will teach
His people correct doctrine along the way, He will. They will think
correctly concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. But you know, that
thief on the cross, he didn't know anything about doctrine.
He didn't know anything about doctrine. The only thing he knew
was a man. All his hope was in a man. All his trust was in a man. Christ! Christ! It's the doctrine of Christ.
Listen to Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy chapter 32 says,
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak. And hear, O earth, the
words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the
rain. My speech shall distill as the
dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers
upon the grass, because I will publish the name of the Lord. Ascribe ye greatness unto our
God. He is the rock. That's my doctrine. Christ is my rock. His work is
perfect. For all His ways are judgment,
a God of truth and without iniquity. Just and right is He. They have corrupted themselves.
Their spot is not the spot of His children. They are a perverse
and crooked generation. Do ye thus requite the Lord,
O foolish people and unwise? Is not he thy father, thy father
that hath bought thee? He bought me. What was the price? It was his own blood. It says,
hath he not made thee and established thee? He's my father. He's my redeemer. He's my creator
and he's my sustainer. I love him. I love him. The way a person will know that
God has had mercy on them, mercy on them, is they fall in love
with the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the scripture says God
is love. Man is not love. Any love that
man has is the love of God shed abroad in their hearts. God is
love. And the way a person will know
that God has had mercy on them is they fall in love with the
Lord Jesus Christ. They fall in love with His glory. They fall in love with His honor. They fall in love with His holiness.
He's just, he's right, he cannot clear the guilty. He must punish
sin. I'm so thankful that my sin was
punished. I'm so thankful the way it was
punished, the way he allowed my sin to be punished. In the
blood of the Lamb. They fall in love with his authority.
They fall in love with his work. They fall in love with his sacrifice.
They fall in love with him. He asked Peter, do you love me? What did the thoughts of Peter's
heart reveal? Yay, Lord, I do. Thanks be to God, by God's grace,
I do. I pray the Lord would give us
all a heart to say that with Peter. Until next Sunday, may
the Lord God bless His Word. 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 at 10.30
a.m. and 6.00 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.