Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 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 Nyberg. In Acts chapter 26, Paul says
to King Agrippa, after he had preached the gospel to him, King
Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then
Agrippa said unto Paul, almost. thou persuadest me to be a Christian."
I have entitled this message, It Does Not Work Like That. Agrippa said, I'm almost persuaded
to become a Christian. Now I've heard it said that Agrippa
was almost persuaded, but altogether lost. I would agree with the
statement, altogether lost, but Agrippa demonstrated an ignorance
of God and in ignorance of himself, when he made the statement to
Paul, you've almost persuaded me to become a Christian. You do not hear arguments and
decide whether or not you are going to become a Christian any
more than you hear about truths concerning the new birth and
decide whether or not you're going to become born again. It
doesn't work that way. You don't tell a dead man to
decide whether or not he's going to live. It just does not work
that way. Billy Graham wrote a book entitled
How to be Born Again. Well, that makes about as much
sense as telling a dead man how to become living. That cannot
be done. The Bible never tells a man how
to be born again. It says you must be born again.
But it never tells a man how to be born again. Actually, Agrippa
reminds me a whole lot of Billy Graham religion. Salvation by
decision. You decide whether or not you're
going to be saved. It does not work that way. Can you imagine that leper coming
up to the Lord Jesus Christ and saying, I'm almost persuaded
to become clean." No. He said, Lord, if you will, you
can make me clean. Now, what led up to Agrippa making
this statement? Now, King Agrippa is introduced
with regard to the case of Paul by a man named Festus. King Agrippa
came to visit him and Festus told him about having Paul for
the last two years in prison and how the Jews hated him. And
King Agrippa said, well, I want to hear about this man. I'd like
to hear him for myself. And Festus said, well, tomorrow
you're going to hear him. So Paul is brought before King
Agrippa on the next day, and we read in verse 1 of chapter
26, then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for
thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand and answered for
himself, I think myself happy, King Agrippa. Now he'd been in
prison, everybody wanted him dead, and yet he says, I think
myself happy. You know why he was happy? Because
he knew God reigns. He knew God was in complete control
and he was in his hands. He knew that salvation was altogether
by what Christ did, not by his works. And he could say to King
Agrippa, even in this state of imprisonment, I think myself
happy. King Agrippa, because I shall
answer for myself this day before thee, touching all the things
whereof I'm accused of the Jews." Now, four or five times in the
previous several chapters, there were murder attempts made upon
Paul, and they wanted him dead. And Paul is bringing up the things
that they were accusing of. He says, especially because I
know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are
among the Jews, wherefore I beseech you, Hear me patiently." He was
so courteous with King Agrippa. Now he tells him, "'My manner
of life from my youth, which was at the first among my own
nation in Jerusalem, know all the Jews, which knew me from
the beginning, if they would testify, for after the most straight
sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. I was like one of
them, only I was more than them. I was a part of the straightest
sect of the Jews' religion. I was a Pharisee. I out-Jewed
these Jews who were wanting to accuse me. He said, the reason
I'm being called into question is I stand in hope and judge
for the hope of the promise God made unto our fathers, unto which
promise are 12 tribes instantly serving God day and night, hope
to come, for which hope say King Agrippa, I'm accused of the Jews. Now he tells us what that hope
is when he makes this statement in the next verse. Why should
it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise
the dead? Now here's what my hope is. My hope is that my salvation
was finished when God raised Christ from the dead. All of
my hope is seen in his life, his death, and his resurrection,
and my salvation was completely accomplished by who he is and
what he did. Now, why would you think it a
thing incredible that God should raise the dead? God created the
universe from nothing. And if God can create the universe
from nothing, it's certainly not impossible for Him to raise
the dead. You see, nothing with God is
impossible. He's all-powerful. He's God. And it should not be
thought a thing incredible that God should raise the dead. Now,
it goes on to say in verse 9, I've early thought within myself
that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus.
And if you go on reading about his history, he had men and women
imprisoned, murdered, if they confessed the name of Jesus Christ,
and he thought he was serving God in doing that. And then he
tells us of his conversion experience. He said, I was thought it my
moral responsibility to kill Christians. Whereupon, verse
12, as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from
the chief priest, at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light
from heaven above the brightness of the sun." Now he's giving
his conversion experience. It happened in Acts chapter 9.
He was on his way to kill some Christians. and a light above
the brightness of the sun appeared to him, and the Lord Jesus Christ
appeared to him. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? It's hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. Every kick you make against me
in opposition to me, all you're doing is making the goads go
in your own skin. You cannot win this battle against
me. The Lord says to Paul, and then
he says in verse 16, but rise, this is after he was in on the
ground and the Lord revealed to him who he was. And that's
what salvation is. It's knowing who he is. But rise
and stand upon my feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose,
to make thee a minister and a witness. Now the word minister is a galley
slave, the lowest form of servitude in the bottom of a ship with
oars. I've come to make thee a minister, my servant, and a
witness. Not somebody just giving secondhand
information, but you've seen something. and you're bearing
witness to that. Both of the things which you've
seen and of those things in which I will appear to thee, delivering
thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I
send you, and here's your message, here's what I'm going to use
you for, to open their blind eyes. To turn them from darkness
to light and from the power of God or from the power of Satan
unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith, which is in me." Now
let's spend several minutes considering what Paul said. God told him,
I've sent you to open the blind eyes. Every man, by nature, is
spiritually blind. He cannot see. The reason men give such false
conceptions of God is because they've never seen the true and
living God. And they make a humanized God,
a God they feel comfortable with, a God they can manipulate, a
God they can control. They bring God down because they've
never seen the living God. And if you have a little God,
you know what? You're gonna have a big me. They make man bigger
than he is. Man more able than he is. Giving man ability that he doesn't
have. Giving men righteousness that
they don't possess. That's because they're blind.
Now, God says, I've sent you to open the blind eyes. Now,
when God opens your eyes, you see who he is. He's the absolute
sovereign of the universe. He really is God. And you fear
Him, because He's God. And when you see who He is, you
see who you are. You're a sinner. You're weak,
you're sinful, you deserve to be in hell. If you see God, you'll
see that with regard to yourself, but you know what else you'll
see? You'll see how God can save you for Christ's sake. You'll
understand that God can save you wholly because of what Christ
did, and your works are not needed. You see, he sent Paul to open
the blind eyes so that they see. The Lord said, for judgment if
I come into the world, that they which see not might see. Those
which don't see how God could have anything to do with them,
except send them to hell, they now see how He can accept them
for Christ's sake. And those folks which see, they
might be made blind. They can see why God would save
me, look at all the things I do. God says they're blinded. Christ
said that's why he came into the world, to give sight to them
which are blind and to blind them which say, we see. And next
he says to turn them from darkness to light. Now God is light, in
him is no darkness at all. And if we say we have fellowship
with him and walk in darkness, If we believe in salvation by
works in any way, we're still in darkness. You see, if you
have light, you understand that God can save because of what
Christ did. You understand that Christ could
look at that woman who was caught in adultery and say to her, I
don't condemn you. Why? How could he say that if
she was caught in the very act? Because there was nothing to
condemn her for. Christ put that sin away, and there was nothing
to condemn her for. That's the light of how God saves
sinners. To change, to turn from darkness
to light, and to turn from the power of Satan unto God. Every natural man is under the
power and dominion of Satan. They don't know it. They have
no idea that they're servants of Satan, but they are. And God
said that Paul was sent in the preaching of the gospel to turn
them from the power of Satan to the power of God, seeing his
power alone as the reason for salvation, that they might receive
the forgiveness of sins. Now, listen to this. Ephesians
4.32. This is said to every believer. Be kind. tender-hearted, forgiving
one another, not holding a grudge, not holding people under the
law, but forgiving one another. Now listen to this, even as God
for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Now if you're forgiven,
It's not because you did anything. You are forgiven for Christ's
sake, wholly because of what He did. And you know what you
do? You receive. You receive, as
the best news you've ever heard, the forgiveness of sins for Christ's
sake. Every believer can only look
upon their sins as forgiven sins. And inheritance. Oh, the inheritance
that every believer receives. Now, what is my inheritance?
Whatever is coming to Christ is coming to me. Because the
scripture says we are joint heirs with Christ. All of God's favor,
all of God's wealth, all that God is belongs to Christ. And I am a joint heir with Him. that they might receive the forgiveness
of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified. Now this word sanctified is the
word that most completely describes God's salvation. Sanctified,
set apart. Set apart, that's what the word
means, set apart. And the word here is in the perfect
tense. I've heard people talk about
progressive sanctification, Like you progressively become more
and more sanctified, more and more holy. You can't back that
up with the scripture. That's not what the scripture
teaches. Yes, there is growth and grace, but to say growth and
holiness, you're either holy or you're not. Now, every believer
was set apart by God the Father in election before time began.
Set apart to be holy. Every believer was declared to
be holy when Christ accomplished their salvation on Calvary's
tree. By one offering, he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified, them that are set apart. Every
believer is made holy in the new birth when God gives them
a new heart, a holy nature, one that was not there before. And
this word sanctification describes all of God's salvation. And look
what he says, them which are sanctified by faith that's in
me. Now what is the evidence? that
someone is sanctified by the Father in election? What is the
evidence that someone was redeemed by Christ? What is the evidence
that one has been born of the Spirit? What is the evidence
that one has been turned from darkness to light and from the
power of Satan to the power of God? What is the evidence that
one's eyes have been opened who were formerly blind? Faith it's
in me. I am relying on Jesus Christ
only. as all my salvation. Everything that God requires
of me, He looks to His Son, Jesus Christ, for, and I am relying
on that. That's the faith that is in me. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I
was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. but showed first unto them of
Damascus, and of Jerusalem, and throughout all the coast of Judea,
and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent." Change your
mind. That's what the word means. Change
your foolish thoughts about God. Change your mind about what you
thought about him. Change your mind about what you thought about
yourself. See you are what God says you are. Change your mind
about salvation. See it doesn't have anything
to do with your works, but wholly to do with the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Turn to God and do works meet for repentance. Now, there's so much that could
be said about that. Yes, there's a change of mind, but it produces
a change in motives. It produces a change in manners.
It produces a change of masters when your mind is changed. And you will do works meet for
repentance. Let me give you just a couple
of examples. Somebody that says they've heard the gospel of God's
grace, where Christ does everything, and yet they attend a religious
assembly where that's not preached, that's not works meet for repentance.
I don't believe they really believe what they say they do. Somebody
says Christ is all to them and yet they can habitually not come
to church and act like it's not even important. That's not works
meet for repentance. No, when God saves somebody,
there will be works that line up with a true state of repentance
before God. For these causes, the Jews, verse
21, caught me in the temple and went about to kill me. Having
therefore obtained help of God, I continue into this day witnessing
both the small and great, saying none of the things which the
prophets of Moses did say should come. I'm just preaching what
the Old Testaments always declared, how that Christ should suffer.
Why should Christ suffer? Because God purposed it before
the foundation of the world. Because when He was on the cross,
He was guilty. The sins of God's elect became
His sins, so that He became guilty of the commission of those sins,
and the justice of God demanded that He should suffer, and that
He should be the first that should rise from the dead. Because God
purposed it, because he put away sins, because he accomplished
justification, he should be the first to raise from the dead
and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles. Now, as he thus spake for himself,
Festus said with a loud voice, he'd been listening to all this
message, and he said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad. Much learning, thou art beside
thyself. You've gone, you're a maniac.
Much learning hath made thee mad. Now that is how he responded
to Paul's preaching. You're crazy. You're crazy. You've read too much. You've
studied too much. Much learning has made you mad. You're a raving
maniac because of all the learning that you've had. How did Paul
respond to this? But he said, I'm not mad, most
noble Festus. I believe the way he said this
certainly implied, I'm not the one that's mad, Festus, you are. You see, a man that doesn't look
to Christ only is crazy. A man who doesn't rely simply
on the grace of God is a lunatic. It doesn't make any sense at
all to trust your works. To trust your works rather than
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ? To look to yourself instead of
Him? Why, that's crazy. A lost man
is mad. A man that doesn't look to Christ
only and see His beauty is mad. Paul says, I'm not the one that's
mad, most noble, festus, but I speak the words of truth. and
soberness, soundness of mind, really what I'm saying is the
only thing that makes sense. Now, God being God, absolutely
sovereign, is the only thing that makes sense. A God less
than that doesn't make any sense. Salvation being all by grace,
that's the only thing that makes sense. If you try to mix grace
and works, it doesn't make any sense. What I'm saying is what
makes sense. I'm speaking the words of truth,
and I'm speaking the words of soberness. True story. One time
I was talking to a preacher, and I was talking about Christ
dying for the elect. And I said, if you say that he
died for people who wind up in hell while you're making his
death meaningless. And he actually said to me, you're
just trying to make sense. Well, okay, I'll admit that does
make sense to say that Christ could die for somebody and they
wind up in hell. Why? That takes away the whole
gospel. That doesn't make any sense.
It puts the burden of salvation on the sinner and not on what
Christ did for him. But at any rate, he goes on to say, In verse
26, "...for the king knoweth of the things before whom also
I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none
of these things are hidden from him. For this thing was not done in
a corner." Christ was crucified in front of all Jerusalem. He
was witnessed by 500 witnesses at once in His resurrection.
There's nothing private about this. God had him crucified publicly
for all to see what he accomplished. And then he said, King Agrippa,
believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then
Agrippa said unto Paul, almost persuadest thou me to be a Christian. Now he intellectually gave assent
to what Paul was saying. But here's the difference. He
didn't hear as a sinner. If you hear as a sinner, you
will know that being a Christian is not in your hands. You're
totally dependent upon God to do something for you. You do not decide to become a
Christian any more than when Christ said to Lazarus, Lazarus,
come forth. Well, I got to make up my mind
whether or not I'm going to come forth. I may come forth, I may
not. You say, well, that's foolishness.
You're right. And it's no more foolish than
someone thinking they could decide to become a Christian. It does
not work like that. You don't decide to believe.
The only time you believe is when you have no other options.
You have no other choice. Now you may choose not to believe,
but you don't choose to believe. You believe because you have
no other options, no other choice. The Lord looked at His disciples
after the multitudes left Him, after He brought a message and
He said, will you also go away? Peter said, to whom shall we
go? It's not like we have another
option. To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. These words that these people
have rejected, we don't see them that way. We see them as words
of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God. Now, I don't say, well,
am I going to become a Christian or not? I'm like the leper who
came to Christ full of leprosy. I come to Christ full of sin. And the scripture says that leper
fell down and worshipped him. Now, he worshipped him before
Christ had healed him, but he knew the Lord Jesus Christ was
worthy of worship as God. Now, he's worthy of worship,
whether he saves me or not. He's worthy of worship. That
leper fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if you will,
You can make me clean. He didn't say, Lord, I'm gonna
let you make me clean, or I've decided to become clean. He knew
he was in the will of the sovereign Christ. If you will, you can. You have the ability to make
me clean. Oh, here's my desire that you
would make me clean. Now we have this message on DVD
and CD. If you call the church, write,
we'll send you a copy, look at our website, and the message
will be posted on that. This is Todd Nybert, praying
that God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's
our prayer. To receive a copy of the sermon you have just heard,
send your request to todd.nybert at gmail.com. Or you may write
or call the church at the information provided on the screen. Mm.