I did choose thee. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nybert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. In John 8, verse 47, the Lord
Jesus Christ said this to the people he had been preaching
to. He that is of God, heareth God's
words. You therefore hear them not,
because you are not of God. I've entitled this message, Of
God or Not of God. This comes from this statement
the Lord made, of God or not of God. Now, if I am preaching
God's Word, I'm not talking about my opinions or my thoughts or
my view of, but I am actually preaching God's Word, what God
has said in His Word. If I am preaching God's Word,
I know that every believer will be in complete agreement with
what I'm saying. Now somebody says, how can you
say that? Because of this verse of scripture I just read. He
that's of God, heareth God's words. You therefore hear them
not, because you are not of God. Of God or not of God. Now, in this passage of Scripture,
the Lord said to these same people, he said this to, if you continue
in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. Now, these people said
they believed, and the Lord says, if you do, you'll continue in
my word, then are you my disciples indeed, in truth, in reality,
in fact. Well, the fact of the matter
is they did not continue in his word. As a matter of fact, at
the end of this message, they pick up stones to stone him.
They were so angry with what he said. Now, he says in verse
37, I know that you're Abraham seed, physical Jews, but you
seek to kill me. because my word hath no place
in you." Now they prove themselves to not be disciples indeed by
this response. And the Lord says to them, You
seek to kill me. I know you're Abraham's seed
physically, but obviously you're not Abraham's seed spiritually
because you seek to kill me and my word has no place in you. Now I want to read a passage
of scripture from Genesis chapter 18 with regard to Abraham and
his seed. We read in Genesis 18 verse 17,
this was when the Lord was getting ready to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. And verse 17, and the Lord said,
shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? seeing that
Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. You see, through
his seed, the Messiah would come. That's how all the nations of
the earth would be blessed. And then the Lord says, for I
know him that he will command his children and his household
after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord. to do justice
and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham the things
which he hath spoken of him." Now, is this talking about Abraham's
superior parenting skills? No, it's not. His children, physical
descendants, would be just as sinful as you and I are. There
would be just as much contradictions with them, but this is talking
about his spiritual seed, the seed of Abraham. They will believe
the gospel. Now, the Lord says to these people,
I know that you're Abraham's physical seed, but you seek to
kill me because my word hath no place in you. You hate me with such a complete
hatred that you want my death. Now, somebody says, boy, those
were really bad people. Yes, I agree. They were really
bad people, but they're no different than you and I by nature because
the scripture says the carnal mind is enmity against God. Every natural man would throw
God from his throne if he could and take his place. That's the
natural man's view of God. And they wanted to kill Jesus
Christ, and they did nail him to a cross. It was all according
to God's purpose, but they did with wicked hands crucify and
slay him. He said, you want to kill me? Because my word hath no place
in you, it's not received by you. You see, the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they're foolishness
unto him. Neither indeed can he know them
because they are spiritually discerned. And no man by nature
can receive the word of God. Now he says in verse 38, I speak that which I see with
my Father. My words are the words of the
Father, because I and my Father are one. He spake nothing but
the word of God. And you do that which you've
seen with your Father. Now God is not everybody's father.
And he says to these people, you speak that which you've seen
of your father. Like father, like son. They answered
him and said unto him, Abraham's our father. What are you talking
about? Abraham's our father. Jesus saith unto them, if you
were Abraham's children, you'd do the works of Abraham. Now
he goes on in this passage of scripture to say, you're of your
father, the devil. Now those are strong words. These
are not my words. These are the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ. When he's speaking to these people, he says, you
are of your father, the devil. And that's his words. And he's
the one who knows. But he says, if you were Abraham's
children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now, verse 40, you seek to
kill me. A man that hath told you the
truth which I've heard of God. This did not Abraham. Abraham
never conducted himself like this. If you were his spiritual
steed, you would do his works. Now I've told you the truth of
God and you want to kill me. Abraham wasn't like this. You
prove who your father is. You do the deeds of your father. Not everybody can say, our father,
which art in heaven. Only the seed of Abraham, the
spiritual seed of Abraham, the true believer can say that. And he said in verse 41, you
do the deeds of your father. And they said unto him, we are
not born of fornication. We have one father, even God. God's our father. Jesus saith
unto them, if God were your father, you'd love me. They had no love
for Christ, and that proved that God was not their father. If God were your father, you'd
love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came
I of myself, but he sent me. Now this is one of the most mysterious
truths that we believe. The Trinity. Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, proceeded from the Father. He is a separate person
from the Father. He proceeded from the Father. He's the Son of God, the second
person of the Trinity. The Bible teaches God the Father,
God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Not three gods, one God in three
distinct persons. Somebody says, can you explain
that? No, it's impossible. This is other. It's not from
this world. This is God's revelation of himself,
but this is who he is. And the Lord said, I proceeded
forth and came from God. Now, if I take a pitcher of water
and pour in a cup some water, All of a sudden that water in
that cup is separate from the water that was in the pitcher,
but it's the same water. It has the same properties, the
same makeup. Christ proceeded forth from God
as God the Son. He's separate, God the Son and
God the Father, yet he's one with the Father because he is
God. I love to say that. Jesus Christ,
Jesus of Nazareth, is nobody less than God Almighty, the creator
of the universe. Now he says, if God were your
father, you'd love me for I proceeded forth God and came from God,
neither came I myself, but he sent me. And then he asked this
question to these people who were claiming to be children
of God, and God was their father in the seed of Abraham. He said,
why do you not understand my speech? And he doesn't wait for
them to give an answer. He gives the answer himself,
even because you cannot hear my words. You, my word has no place in
you. You can't hear it. Now you can
hear audibly. You hear the words I'm saying,
but you can't receive my word. You can't understand my word.
You can't hear my word. You lack the ability to hear
my word. Now, these people were just like
those people in John chapter six during a sermon in Capernaum.
After they heard his message, they said, these are hard sayings.
These are difficult sayings. We don't like what's being said.
Who can hear it? Who can be expected to listen
to such teaching? The Lord's saying the same thing
here. Why is it you don't understand
my speech? Because you cannot hear my word. You see, not everybody
has ears to hear. And then he makes this statement
in verse 44 to these people. And I can't make a statement
like this to somebody because I can't see into their heart
and I don't know whether the Lord's going to save them or not. Now,
I know if somebody dies in unbelief, I could say this, but you don't
know that until the end. But listen to what he says to
these people. He says, you are of your father, the devil and
the lusts of your father, you will do. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there's
no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because
I tell you the truth, you believe me not." Now he says to these
people, in no uncertain terms, you're of your father, the devil. You see, they hated the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lord knew it. He says, you're of your father
the devil and the lust of your father you will do. You want to kill me? Well, you're
just like your father. He was a murderer from the beginning
and abode not in the truth. And you're right there with him.
You're of your father the devil and the lust of your father you
will do. And he makes this statement,
because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. Now this was their crime. Now understand this, unbelief
is a choice. If you do not believe, it's because
you choose not to believe. You don't like what's being said,
so you choose, I will not believe that. And that is what makes
unbelief so intrinsically, essentially, and fundamentally evil. It's choosing to not believe. Now, if you believe, you don't
choose to believe. You believe something because
it's true. You know, I don't hear one plus one equals two,
and hmm, let me think. I think I'm gonna choose to believe
that. No, you just believe it because it is. That is the response
to the truth. Really, when you hear the truth,
you know it's the truth, and you believe it. But if you don't
like what's being said, you choose to not believe it, and that is
why unbelief is so evil. Every sin comes from this Sin
of unbelief. He said, because I tell you the
truth. I tell you the truth concerning the character of God. I tell
you the truth concerning man and his sinfulness. I tell you
the truth concerning salvation, how God saves sinners. You hear
this and you say, I don't believe that. No, I won't have that. That is why unbelief is so evil.
You're choosing not to believe. And then he makes this statement
in verse 46, and this is a statement that only he can make. which
of you convinces me of sin?" He's saying this to those who
are opposed to him. He said, which of you can convince
me of sin? The Lord Jesus Christ Yes, He's
God. Yes, He is the perfect man who
never committed a sin. He never had a sinful thought.
He never had a sinful motive. He never had a sinful deed. And
no one could ever prove that he ever committed a sin because
he didn't commit a sin. And if you know him, you'll know
this is so. Even the thief on the cross understood
this. He said, this man hath done nothing amiss. Now, how
did he know he'd only known him while he was on the cross? How
could he look back at his past life and say, I know he's never
sinned? Because he knew who he was. Jesus Christ is incapable
of sin. He's the God-man. Fully God,
fully man. Incapable of sin. And he could
look at his detractors and say, which of you can convince me
of sin? And if I say the truth, why don't
you believe me? I say the truth concerning the
character of my Father. No one knows God apart from me
and I tell the truth concerning him. I say the truth concerning
man, his own sinfulness and his own need of grace. I say the
truth concerning God's salvation. I say the truth. Now, if I say
the truth, why don't you believe me? He answers the question with
this statement. he that's of God heareth God's
words. You therefore hear them not because
you are not of God. Now there are two kinds of people
described in this verse. Those who are of God and those
who are not of God. And there's only two kinds of
people, those who are of God and those who are not of God.
There's no in between. There's no third party. The Bible
always describes men in one of two groups, the righteous or
the wicked, the saved or the lost. Those that believe and
those who do not believe. Children of God and children
of the devil. Sheep, goats, tares, wheat. He says to these people, he that's
of God, heareth God's words. You therefore hear them not because
you are not of God. Now what is meant by that? Being
of God. Now this preposition of speaks of origin, possession,
and relationship. That's what the word of means. Of speaks of origin. I'm of God. He is where I'm from. Somebody says, well, I could
say I'm from Ashland, Kentucky, and physically I am, but I'm
of God. I have my origin in Him. This speaks of possession. I'm His. I belong to Him. David said, I'm Thine. Save me.
I belong to him. I'm from him. I belong to him. The word of speaks of relationship. I'm his son. I'm a son of God. I'm a child of God. My father is God. This speaks of the difference
between a believer and an unbeliever. I am of God. To be of God means every aspect
of your salvation is of Him. You can't trace it to you. You
can't trace it to your works. Every aspect of your salvation,
and you know this, You know it for sure, salvation's of the
Lord. He did it, not you, you're of
Him. It's of God in eternal election.
He chose who would be saved. It's of God in redemption. He
died for the elect and accomplished their salvation. It's of God
in regeneration, salvations of the Lord. He gave you life. He
applies it. He said to one group of people,
you believe not because you're not of my sheep. As I said unto
you. He didn't say, you're not my
sheep because you don't believe. He said, you do not believe because
you're not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep,
hear my voice. I know them and they follow me
of God. Listen to this scripture from
1 Corinthians 1, verse 30. Of him are you in Christ Jesus. Now to be in Christ means that
when God looks at you, all he sees is Christ because you're
in Christ. Of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us. Wisdom. and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption. Now this is speaking of the believer's
union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Of him are you in Christ Jesus
as the vine and the branches, the stem is in the branch and
the vine. You're one with Christ. Hebrews
2.11 says, both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are
all of one, for the which cause he's not ashamed to call us brethren. In Christ eternally, of Him are
you in Christ Jesus. This speaks of the believer's
eternal union with the Lord Jesus Christ. You've always been in
Him. To be of God is to be born of
God. Not only to be eternally united
to Christ, to be of God is to be born of God. Listen to this
scripture. As many as received Him. This is John 1, 12, and
13. But as many as received Him. To them gave he the power to
become the sons of God, even to them which believe on his
name, which were born." Not of blood. You're not born
again because your mom and dad are. There's no fleshly connection. Which were born, not of the will
of man. Not because a bunch of men got
together and decided we're gonna pray until this person's saved
and we're not gonna quit until he is saved. You're not saved
because of men's collective abilities. Not born of the will of the flesh.
You're not born because you decided to be born. Not because of an
act of your will. Does a baby decide to be born? No. His will is not involved
in that. You're born of God. birth of
God, fathered by God. To be of God is to possess His
righteousness as your personal righteousness before God. Now
listen to what I just said. If I'm of God, that means I have
the righteousness of God as my personal righteousness. Now somebody
says, how can you say something like that? Because the Bible
says it. Philippians chapter three, verse nine says, oh, that
I may win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faithfulness
of Christ, the righteousness, which is of God by faith. God said their righteousness
is of me. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For
he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. To be of God is to
have God as your teacher. He may use instruments like me
or somebody else, but if you're truly taught, he's the one who
teaches. They shall all be taught of God,
the Lord said in John 6, verse 45. And every man that hath heard
and learned of the Father cometh to me. Here's the evidence of
being taught of God. You come to Christ as all you
have for salvation. You come to him as an empty-handed
sinner needing his mercy. You come to him, you believe
on him. That's what happens when you're taught of God. To be of God is to have God in
you. The infinite God in you. 1 John 4.12 says, God dwelleth
in us. Colossians 1.27 speaks of Christ
in you, the hope of glory. To be of God is to see God. Now, I've never seen him physically,
but I've seen him in his word, and I've seen him in his son,
because the Lord said, he that has seen me hath seen the Father. To be of God is to see who he
is in his redemptive character. It's to see who he is in the
cross. We have a true sight of God. I want to read a passage of scripture
from 1 John 3, verse 9. Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin. For his seed, the seed of God,
remains in him. He cannot sin because he's born
of God. Now that's talking about the new nature. That's talking
about the new birth, that which is born of God. Because it comes
from God, it does not and cannot sin. of God. He said, he that's of God, heareth
God's words. You therefore hear them not because
you're not of God. What is the evidence of being
of God? You hear God's words. Now, if you reject this message,
if I reject this message, here's the reason. I'm not of God. If I am of God, I will hear God's
words, believe God's word, receive God's word, and look to what
God's word says, that Jesus Christ is everything in salvation, and
I will trust Him alone. He that's of God, heareth God's
words. May that describe you and I. To receive a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send a request to todd.nyberg at gmail.com or
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