Turn with me, if you would, to
Psalm 121. Psalm 121. And while you're turning,
a couple of announcements. Our pastor and Janet are at the
conference in Millsite this weekend. He sent a text yesterday and
said that just having wonderful services and great fellowship
as you'd expect. Prayers answered that the Lord
is blessing his message there. Our brother, And Elder Eric Floyd
is preaching in College Grove today. And I also want to mention our
church dinner next Sunday to celebrate the zero birthdays,
as we like to call them, those that are turning 10, 20, older. We're having a church
dinner after service next Sunday. So I'm sure there's probably
a sign-up sheet next Sunday. And finally, we want to extend our
sympathy to Julie Thornberry and her family for the passing
of her grandmother. Read with me Psalm 121. I'll lift up mine eyes unto the
hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord,
which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to
be moved. He that keepeth thee will not
slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper. The Lord
is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee
by day nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee
from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve
thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, even
forevermore. Let's pray. Our Holy Heavenly Father, we
pray that you send your spirit to be with us today, to glorify
your holy and matchless, incomparable name, that your name, your goodness,
your sovereignty, your character be lifted up in this place today,
that Christ be glorified for his work and mercy for helpless
sinners found in Christ. because of his work and his death,
his accepted sacrifice because of Christ's blood. May Christ
be glorified in this place today. I pray that you be with Gabe
and give him a message from you. Speak to his heart. Give him the strength to declare
your word. Give us listening hearts to hear
and to believe. Father, increase our faith that
we may Believe in thee and believe on thee. We do believe. Father, help thou
our unbelief. Remember that we're dust. Bless
this time that we have together. I pray your blessing on Frank
and Janet and for Eric and Abby as they travel. I pray that you
be with them and bring them home safely to us. Pray for our time
that we have here. together as a family that you
bless this time of fellowship richly. And for those that are
undergoing trial, whether it's of sickness or heartache, Father,
you know the issue. Bring them through as only you
can and comfort them that the trial accomplishes your will. Again, I pray that you be with
us. Bless this time together. We pray this in Christ's name
for his sake. I'm happy to introduced this
morning who will be preaching for us, Gabe Stoniker from Kingsport
Sovereign Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. Gabe, we're thankful
that you're here with us. Thank you for being with us.
I pray that the Lord will be with you. And Hannah, we're glad
to have you and your lovely kids here with you as well. So, Gabe,
come preach the word. Good morning. I'm very, very happy and thankful
to be here. I want to begin, first of all,
by saying thank you to each one of you for all of your love and
support and help to us in Kingsport. We're trying to get a new building
and very grateful for your support of us and help to us. I'm very
thankful to Brother Frank for having me. It is a real privilege
to be asked to stand in the men's pulpit. And I'm very thankful
to our hosts, Isaac and Clara. They're very good hosts, wherever
they are. But I'm just thankful. I was
honestly thinking about how happy I am to be here with you right
now. We'll just be together. Isn't it wonderful when God's
people can just be together? See each other and rejoice in
each other and rejoice in the fellowship that we have. The
Lord has given us a very dear, sweet fellowship. And that's
what I want us to look at this morning. That's the subject of
this Bible study. One man defined fellowship as
fellows in the same ship. And that's what we are. What
makes us to be fellows in the same ship? What is the reason
for our fellowship? Well, turn with me if you would
to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. This is it right here. 1 Corinthians 1, our text will
be verse 9. It says, God is faithful by whom
you were called unto the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our
Lord. That is the reason for our fellowship. That's the reason when you get
to the heart of it, That's the whole reason for our fellowship.
That's what makes our fellowship wonderful. That's what makes
it sweet. Jesus Christ, our Lord, He is our fellowship. If we have been made to be a
part of the fellowship of Christ, this is why, this is the reason
why, and this is how we were made to be a part of it. Why
were we made to be a part of it? Verse 9 says, God is faithful. That's why. That's the reason
why. It's not because of anything
we were, which is what most people believe brings them into the
fellowship. It's not because of anything
that we've done. Not one thing we've done. It's
definitely not because of anything we could offer God. It's because God is faithful.
That's the only reason. Alright, now how were we made
to be a part of the fellowship? Verse 9 says we were called unto
it. God is faithful by whom you were
called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. I would like for us in this Bible
study to see specifically what it is that brings us together
into fellowship. I pray the Lord will make it
clear to us what causes us to be in true fellowship. What unites us in heart and mind
and spirit We already said that it's Christ. He is our fellowship. But what is it specifically in
regard to Christ? Because everybody says it's Christ. You can go in any church this
morning and everybody can say, Amen, it's Jesus Christ. Well,
what is it specifically in regard to Christ that brings us together
into fellowship? After we see that, I want us
to read a beautiful story of some sinners, some real sinners,
I mean some real sinners, who were brought into this fellowship,
how they were brought together into this same particular fellowship
of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. All right, here we all
are. Here we are. Here we sit. We come from different families.
We come from different locations. We come from different backgrounds.
What is it that brings us together into a loving, united, single
mind, single desire, single heart fellowship? What is it specifically?
If someone wants to know What is this fellowship built on? Turn with me to Philippians chapter
1. And verse 1 says, Paul and Timotheus,
the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus,
which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons, grace be
unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus
Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you always in every prayer of mine for you all, making request
with joy for your fellowship in the gospel from the first
day until now, being confident of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ, even as it is for me to think this of you all,
because I have you in my heart inasmuch as both in my bonds
and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. You all are partakers. And if you have a center margin
in your Bible, you'll see that those last three words translate
with me of grace. You all are partakers with me. Grace. What is it that unites
us into this sweet fellowship with Christ? It is the gospel
of His grace. The gospel of His grace. The
good news of His gift. That's what we unite around.
Paul said, I thank God in verse 5 for your fellowship in the
gospel from the first day until now. You know, the gospel is
a very particular thing. The natural man thinks it's a
very general thing. But the gospel is a very particular
thing. The gospel is a very, very straight
and narrow, very, very particular thing. It is so particular. It's not a broad in general way. Not at all. Any deviation from what God's
Word declares the gospel to be is not the gospel. Any deviation. Now, the reason we have multiple
denominations is because of deviations. If we held to God's Word alone,
there would be one denomination on this earth. We would all hold
to the doctrine of Christ. that every denomination is a
deviation. That's what it is. Any deviation
from what God's word declares the gospel to be is not the gospel. Doesn't matter how close it is.
If it has a little leaven in it, it'll leaven the whole loam. God has recorded for us, this
is my gospel. This is my gospel. Any change
from it is no longer the gospel and God's people cannot. And
they will not have fellowship with it. They can't. And they just won't. If it is
not this mind. If it's not this heart and this
desire and this word. God's people cannot and they
will not. They won't do it. They will not
have fellowship with Him. Hold your place right here in
Philippians and go with me to Galatians chapter 1. Galatians 1 verse six. The Apostle
Paul said, I marvel that you are so soon removed from him
that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel,
the grace of Christ, the gospel of the grace of Christ unto another
gospel. Verse seven, he said, which is
not another. There's not another. A lot of
people think, and they'll even make this statement, well, you
believe this and I believe that, but it's OK. We're all going
to the same place in the end. We'll all come together in the
end. It's not so. There's not another way. There's
not another gospel. There's only one. Verse seven,
he said, which is not another, but there be some that trouble
you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an
angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said
before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel
unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed. For do I
now persuade men or God, or do I seek to please men? For if
I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant. of Christ. What the Apostle Paul is saying
right here is if it's not the gospel that God has declared,
I can't have anything to do with it. All of God's people feel
that way. They all feel that way. They
all share a united fellowship in that. Now, what specifically
is the gospel that God has declared? Go with me back to Philippians.
This time chapter two. Verse one. If there be therefore any consolation
in Christ. If any comfort of love. If any
fellowship of the Spirit, if there's going to be any fellowship
of the Spirit. He said if there's going to be
any heart, that's what bowels means. There are going to be
any mercies. Verse 2 fulfill ye my joy that
you be like minded having the same love being of one accord. of one mind, this is that fellowship,
let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness
of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look
not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things
of others. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, Thought
it not robbery to be equal with God? Why did he not think it
was robbery to be equal with God? He is God. Jesus Christ is the very God. The very God. And this right
here is the good news of His birth. Verse 6. Who being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath
highly exalted him, and given Him a name which is above every
name." Now, why did Christ do that? Why did He humble Himself
and become obedient to that? He did that to save His people
from their sin. He took upon Himself all of the
sin of His people. All of it. And He suffered for
it. And he bled for it and he died
for it. And after all of the punishment
was poured out on him, all of God's judgment, after it was
poured out on him and everything was satisfied in him, after he
died and he was buried and he rose again, after all of that
sin was gone, he walked out of that grave, he ascended back
up to his father and he sat down on his throne. Verse 9 says, Wherefore God also
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow
of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Alright, now here is
our fellowship. This is my fellowship with you.
in our fellowship with you, in our fellowship with you, in our
fellowship with you. All right, here is our fellowship.
This is our fellowship. We all cry, those of us who are
made to be a part of this fellowship, we all cry, He must be exalted. We all cry, I must decrease. He must increase. We all cry,
His name is above every name, especially mine. John the Baptist
was in this fellowship with us. He said, it doesn't matter what
my name is. You can forget about my name. I'm not worthy to stoop
down. I'm not worthy to bow down to
Him. Not even worthy to bow down to Him. We all bow to the cross. All of us. Every tongue in the
fellowship confesses He is our Sovereign. He is the Sovereign. He is the Ruler. He is the Owner. He is the Controller. He is the Decider. Are we going
to be saved? Are we going to be saved? Are
we going to go to heaven? Here's what every soul in the
fellowship says. He's the decider. If it was left up to me, here's
the answer. No. I'll tell you where I'm going
if it's left up to me. If God leaves me to myself and
my will and my decision, I'll tell you exactly where I'm going.
He's the decider. Salvation is in His hands. This is what every soul in the
fellowship cries. Salvation is totally in His hands. You mean to tell me you don't
even have a say in the matter? Every soul in the fellowship
cries. Absolutely not. We are in His hands to do with
us whatever He pleases to do with us. Everything is in His hands. Whether
we perceive it as a good thing, a bad thing, everything is in
His hands. We cry all glory to God before
Him. All glory to God before all of
us. All glory and praise to the Lamb
that was slain, who has borne all our sins and cleansed every
stain, hallelujah, thine the glory. Hallelujah, amen. Job
said, though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. That's what
He said in the fellowship. You mean to tell me even if God
killed you, you'd still bow to Him? Yes, sir. By His grace. By His producing something in
me. By Him drawing me into this fellowship
of His people. Amen. That's what unites us in the
fellowship of Christ our Lord. The glory, the praise, the honor. We love Him. We bow before Him. We love who He is. We love who
He is. You know, men and women say they
love God until you tell them who God is. As soon as they find
out who God is, they realize, well, I don't love that God as
much as I thought I did. I know a believing woman that
somebody told her, I hate your God. We love Him as He is, for who
He is. We love Him for what He's done.
While man wants to take part in salvation, man wants a decision, man wants to say, man
wants to work, We love that we have no self, we have no decision,
we have no God. We have no part. We love that. We love Him for who He is and
what He has done. Paul said in Philippians 3, if
you look with me at Philippians 3 verse 7, he said, But what
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. He's talking about his religion.
all those good things that he did in religion. He was a fine
Christian boy. That's what he's talking about.
Everything that made me to be a fine Christian boy. Verse 8,
he said, Doubtless I count all things loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I've suffered
the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may
win Christ. A man made the statement one
time, he said, I'm not trying to get people saved. I'm trying to get people lost.
And that's what happened to Paul. All his life, he was a saved
young man. He was saved, he was saved, he
was saved. And when God revealed himself
to Paul, when Christ revealed himself, all of a sudden he cried
out, I'm lost. And if God ever saves a person,
the first thing he'll do is say, you're lost. If a man ever becomes
lost, he said, I count everything done
that I may win Christ, verse nine, and be found in Him, not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, meaning
it's not by me obeying the Ten Commandments and everything else
I read in there. But that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. My hope of glory is not based
on how I've kept the law of commandments. My hope of glory is not at all
based, and I believe everybody in this fellowship will say the
same thing. My hope of eternal life is not based at all on how
I have kept the law of commandments. My hope of glory is based on
how Christ has kept the law of commandments. My hope of glory is how He robed
me in His perfect work. He came here and for thirty-three
and a half years, He fulfilled every jot and tittle of this
book. This book says that you want
to go to heaven, you have to do this and don't you dare do
that. Christ came and he did it all and didn't do one thing.
And then he took all of that and he robed me in it. And in the very moment he robed
me in all of his perfection, he robed himself in all of my
sin. That's my hope and hope. Is that
not our fellowship? Is that not what absolutely unites
us in this fellowship? Verse 10 right here says that
I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship
of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, if
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. What truly unites God's people?
It's the fellowship of His sufferings. When He suffered, we suffered. You know, God's people don't
get a get-out-of-jail-free card. You know that? God's people are
not exempt from the judgment of God. It's a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God. It is a fearful thing. And all of God's people fell
into the hands of the living God. They all stood before the
judgment throne, and they didn't make it. We didn't make it. We
didn't survive. God judged us based on how we
lived our life on this earth, and none of us made it. God said,
guilty, die. He stood there as us. He stood there as Gabe Stoniker
and he said, this is what I'm doing. And because of that, we stand
there in the person of Christ. In all of his work saying, this
is what I'm doing. We are united in the fellowship
of his suffering. When he died, we died. When He was buried, we were buried. When He arose, we were raised.
The Apostle John said, truly our fellowship is with the Father
and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Our fellowship is with Him. Our
fellowship is in Him. Now what amazes me about this
fellowship is who God the Father chose to call unto. Is that not
amazing? who He chose to call into it. The only way that a person can
be made to be a part of it is if he or she is called into it. Every member of the fellowship
is hand selected by God. Every member. And what amazes
me is who He selected. This story, This story is a wonderful story. This is a true account. This is going to show us who
He selected. And if you've never seen this
or entered into this, this will be a great blessing. The people
in this story represent every soul that He calls on to the
fellowship. from all generations, they represent
us. If we have been called in, then
all of these people in the story represent you and me. Seeing
this will give us a much greater appreciation for being called
in. Now the story is in Acts chapter 2, but go with me first
to Luke 23. Luke 23 verse 1. And the whole multitude of them
arose and led him unto Pilate. All of these people, this whole
multitude represents you and me. Alright, this is you and
me. Verse 2. And they began to accuse
him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding
to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a king. Pilate asked him, saying, Art
thou the king of the Jews? And he answered him and said,
Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief
priest and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they
were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching
throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. They became more fierce about
it. He said, I don't find any fault
in this man. And they all became more fierce. Well, after Pilate
examining him again, he said, I find no fault in him again. It says in verse 16. He said,
I will therefore chastise him and release him. Or of necessity, he must release
one unto them at the feast. And they cried out all at once,
saying away with this man and release unto us Barabbas, who
for a certain sedition made in the city and for murder was cast
into prison. Pilate therefore willing to release
Jesus, spake again to them, but they cried, saying, Crucify him,
crucify him." Now who is this again? Who is saying this again? Verse 22, And he said unto them
the third time, Why? What evil hath he done? I found
no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him,
and let him go. And they were instant with loud
voices requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices
of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence
that it should be as they required. And he released unto him that
for sedition and murder was cast into prison whom they had desired,
but he delivered Jesus." Look at these last three words. "...to
their will." to their will. Now turn with
me to Acts chapter 2. Peter here in Acts chapter 2
stood up in Jerusalem and he said in verse 22, You men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
behold another. For David speaketh concerning
him." And he's quoting Psalm 16 right here. He said, David
foretold of this. I foresaw the Lord always before
my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be removed. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover also, my flesh shall
rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast
made known to me the ways of life, thou shalt make me full
of joy with thy countenance. Peter said in verse 29, Men and
brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David,
that he is both dead and buried and his sepulcher is with us
unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit
of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ
to sit on his throne, he seeing this before spake of the resurrection
of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his
flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up
whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore, being by the right
hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise
of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this which you now see
and hear. For David is not ascended into
the heavens, but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit
thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore,
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
Now that's a message. He didn't say, now men and brethren
of Israel, if you'll accept Him and if you'll just... He said,
be it known unto you all, this is what you did, this is what
God did, and this is who He is. He preached it sovereignly. Verse 37. Now when they, these
same people, that same multitude, when they heard this, they were
pricked in their heart. They didn't know they were sinners.
They said, no, that's them. You're talking about them, not
me. All of a sudden, they realized, thou art the maker. A lot of
people say, well, if I'd been alive back then, I would have
stopped all that. No, you would never have been. God's Spirit
pierced them and said, You're the Lord. You hung Christ on
that cross. Verse 37, Now when they heard
this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and
to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall
we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you."
That's amazing, isn't it? It was always, from the foundation
of the world, it was always to you. But we're the ones who took
Him and crucified Him. The promise was always to you. Verse 39, For the promise is
unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off,
even to as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many
other words did He testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves
from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received
His word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto
them about three thousand souls." That mob of people who laid hold
of Him and brought Him to Pilate, crying, Crucify this man. Three
thousand of them were called into the fellowship that day.
Verse 42, And they continued steadfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship. And in breaking of bread, and
in prayers, and fear came upon every soul, and many wonders
and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together
and had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods
and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they
continuing daily with one accord in the temple, And breaking bread
from house to house did eat their meat with gladness and singleness
of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And
the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. That sounds like a wonderful
fellowship, doesn't it? It is. That is the fellowship
that we have in Christ. That's the fellowship that all
of God's people have wherever they are. wherever they are. I'm just thankful to be a part
of it. I'm so thankful to be a part
of it. I am so thankful you are a part
of it. I'm thankful for every soul that
God calls into the fellowship of Jesus Christ His Son. And
the reason we continually preach this gospel is because we know
that He has more sheep that must be brought into the fold. And
we pray He will. Lord, call your people to bring
him into the fellowship. Amen.