Lord. 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. I have entitled the message for
this morning, Who is the Son of Man? And this is a title Christ gave
to himself. And these people, upon hearing
him, said, who is this son of man? And did you know that the
answer to that question has something to do with the answer to every
other question? Now, that's how important this
is. Who is this son of man? In John 12, verse 32, the Lord
said, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all
men unto me. This He said signifying what
death He would die. He was talking about dying on
the cross. And evidently, at least some
of them knew he was referring to being put to death on a cross
because they give this objection. The people answered him, we have
heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever. We don't read
of the Christ being crucified or dying. As we understand our
reading from the law, Christ abides forever. And how sayest
thou the son of man must be lifted up? And they knew he was talking
about being crucified. And then they asked this question,
who is this son of man? What a question. Who is this
Son of Man? Now, this is the Lord's favorite
title with regard to Himself, the Son of Man. He's the Son of God, equal to
the Father. the son, the only begotten and
well beloved son of God. He's the son of David. He's David's
son, David's Lord, the root and offspring of David. He's the
cause of David. He's the offspring of David. He was the son of Mary. born
of a virgin, uncontaminated by Adam's corrupt seed. But the
title he used to describe himself the most was the Son of Man. Eighty-three times he referred
to himself as the Son of Man. Now, this name of our Lord is
found first in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 7, this is in
the Old Testament, Daniel's giving his vision, and he says in verse
13 of Daniel chapter 7, I saw in the night vision, and
behold, one like the Son of Man." There's the first mention. The
Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient
of days, and they brought Him near before Him. That means He
came to His Father, the Eternal Father. And there was given Him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom. that all peoples, nations, and
languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which
shall not be destroyed." Now, obviously, this is speaking of
the heavenly kingdom. I love when the Lord said, my
kingdom is not of this world. Indeed, it's not. But the Son
of Man is the king of His heavenly kingdom, and He exercises absolute
and the sovereignty of God. This
only describes Him. That was the Son of Man. who
was the voice of God walking in the cool of the evening to
approach Adam and Eve, our first parents, after their fall. The gospel promise of the seed
of woman crushing the serpent's head was nobody less than a prophecy
with regard to the Son of Man. Virgin born, baby to Mary, was
the Son of Man, who is the brightness of His Father's glory and the
express image of His person, the image of the invisible God. It was the Son of Man whose delights
were with the sons of men. Before time began, it was the
Son of Man who said, let us make man in our image and our likeness. That was the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of Man speaking. Now he is described as the Son
of Man in Revelation chapter one, verse 12. Let me read this
to you. Revelation one, verse 12. And
I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven
golden candlesticks. Now the voice that spake with
him was the voice of the Son of God, the Son of Man. Verse
13, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the
Son of Man. There he is. And listen to this
description of him. clothed with a garment down to
the foot. That's his kingly garment. And gird about the paps with
a golden girdle. That refers to his priesthood.
The great high priest had this golden girdle. His head and his
hairs were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were
as a flame of fire. And his feet likened to fine
brass, as if they burned in a furnace. And his voice as the sound of
many waters. And he had in his right hand
seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. And his countenance was as the
sun shineth in its strength. And when I saw him," John says,
the son of man, when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. Now, that is the only response
to seeing him as he is. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I'm alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and death. Now that was John's vision. And this vision is also recorded
in Daniel chapter 10. Now, when John sees the Son of
Man, he'd seen him as the Son of Man in the past, in the Lord's
earthly ministry, but that's not how he sees him now. You
see, he's not as he was now. the babe in the manger wrapped
in swaddling clothes. He's not what he was as the youth
of 12 years old who must be about his father's business. He's not now as he was, a man
of sorrows, acquainted with grief, despised and rejected. He's not as he was, nailed to
a cross, stripped naked before a jeering and hostile mob, crying
out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Now he was
all of those things, but that's not how he is now. When John
saw him, he saw him as he is. Now in Revelation chapter one,
verse eight, here's who is speaking. Christ says, I am Alpha and Omega. That's the first and last letters
of the Greek alphabet. Now, we've said everything A
to Z. Well, that's what the Lord is
saying. I am all. I am all in the scriptures. Everything spells me. I am the alpha and omega. I am
the beginning and the end. The beginning is the origin.
I am the origin of all things. Whatever it is, I'm the origin
of it. Now, you can't take that too far. That's because of who
He is. He is the divine origin of everything. Somebody says,
are you saying He created evil? I'm saying He is the origin of
all things. Now, there would be no evil.
had it not been His purpose. And He brings good out of evil,
only He can do that. But He's the origin of all things,
and He's the end, or the purpose of all things. The reason for
everything is for His glory. He's the end of all things. And
then He says, saith the Lord, which is, which was, and which
is to come, the Almighty. Jesus Christ is omnipotent. That's who the Son of Man is.
He's the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the
One which was, is, and always will be, the Almighty. Now, John
speaks now, John says, I, John, who also am your brother and
companion in tribulation in the kingdom and patience of Jesus
Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word
of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. John had been
exiled to the isle of Patmos, and this is the last book written
in the Bible. John's an old man at this time.
He was probably a teenager when he walked with Christ, but now
he's somewhere between 90 and 100 years old, banished to this
isle. And he says in verse 10, I was
in the Spirit on the Lord's day. I love the way Sunday's called
the Lord's Day. That's the day he was raised from the dead.
And John says, I was in the Spirit. The only way spiritual things
can be apprehended is if I'm in the Spirit. With the spiritual
nature that he gives, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day
and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying, and here
Christ speaks again. This is the voice he hears. I am Alpha and Omega. The first and the last. What thou seest, write in a book
and send it unto the seven churches. And he names those seven churches
that are written to in the book of Revelation. And John says
in verse 12, and I turn to see the voice that spake with me.
How do you see a voice? Because it's the person, the
son of man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And being turned, I saw seven
golden candlesticks. Now, I turned because I was being
turned. And what did I see? Seven golden
candlesticks. And we don't have to guess as
to what those represent, because verse 20 of the same chapter
says, the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my
right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks, the seven stars
are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which
thou sawest are the seven churches. So these seven candlesticks represent
the seven churches that he was having this letter written to. Verse 13, and in the midst of
the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man. Now, I don't
want to leave this. Where did he see him? In the
midst of the seven golden candlesticks. And he still walks in the midst
of the seven golden candlesticks. This is talking about church.
This is talking about the gathering of God's people. Now, I'm preaching
on TV. And I'm preaching to you hoping you will believe the gospel.
But if you believe the gospel, what you need is to be in a church,
not listening to a TV preacher, but a church where the gospel
of God's grace is preached. meeting with his people. The
Lord said, where two or three are gathered together, there
am I in the midst of them. This is no substitute for church. He is made known. He makes himself
known in the midst of the churches. And here is what he sees. He
says in verse 13, in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one
like unto the sun Now, who is the Son of Man? Well, listen
carefully. He gives us a description of
himself. And this description was never
meant to be put on canvas. People have attempted to make
a painting of this description of the Lord, and it's ridiculous
and it's idolatry. Any picture of the Lord is idolatry
in the first place. But listen to this description. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one likened to the son of man, clothed with
a garment down to his foot. That is his kingly garment. The Son of Man is the King of
Kings. He's the one whose will is done. Nothing's up for vote. His will
is done. He's the king of kings. He saw him with this garment
clothed to the foot, his kingly garment, and girded with a golden
girdle. This is what the great high priest
had around his garment. He is, who is the son of man?
He's the king priest. Like Melchizedek, the priest
of the Most High God, king of righteousness, king of peace. He is Melchizedek, the king priest. That means he's king, he's God's
king, yet have I set my king on my holy hill of Zion. He's
your king whether you know it or not. He's king of kings. He's
Lord of Lords, and He's the Great High Priest. You see, a priest
is someone who brings men to God. And Jesus Christ brings
His people to God. And He's not like an Old Testament
priest who would bring the sacrifice of an animal. He brings His own
blood. He's living and he brings his
own blood and that's what makes his people acceptable before
God. The Son of Man is the King Priest
and how we love him in that light. The King Priest. Now let's go
on reading in verse 14. His head and his hairs were white
like wool, as white as snow. Now this is speaking of His age,
His eternality. He never had a beginning. He's the eternal King. He's the
eternal priest. He's God. God never began to
be. He's always been. He always will
be. He's the everlasting King Priest. This is who the Son of
Man is. He's the Eternal King Priest. Now, you and I are creatures
of time, not Him. He is the Eternal King Priest. Now, I realize in the Song of
Solomon, his hair is described as black as a raven's. And that's
talking about his eternal youth. Thou hast the dew of thy youth. He never grows old and decrepit. He is the eternal son of God,
the king priest. Now let's go on reading. It says
in verse 14 of Revelation chapter one, with regard to the son of
man that John saw, it says his eyes. whereas there's a flame
of fire. You see, his eyes do not depend
upon the sun to see. His eyes come from within himself,
and he sees all and knows all. This is talking about his seeing
eyes, not dependent upon the sun to see. His light is in himself
because he is the light of life, and he sees things as they are. Now understand this, you and
I don't see things as they are. We really don't. What somebody's
going through, we can't see it, and we can't even understand
our own thoughts. We're so conflicted and complex,
and not him, not him. He sees things as they are, and
he says to every believer, everybody that he gave His righteousness
to and paid for their sins on the cross, He says, Thou art
all fair, my love. There is no spot in thee. Now, if there was a spot, He
could see it, but because of His glorious work in their behalf,
He can see as things really are, and he says to every one of his
people, thou art all fair, my love. There's no spot, not the
spot of sin, not the spot of uncleanness. Every believer is
perfect in Christ Jesus. He sees things as they really
are. Now, how can that be? Well, it's
described in his feet, and his feet, verse 15, this one who
is the son of man. His feet like a defined brass,
as if they burned in a furnace. Now, His feet, this is His standing,
this is the foundation of all things. His feet like a defined
brass. Now, what is brass? the altar
sacrifice was made the brazen altar. Now the reason that he
can see his people as without sin and without fault is because
of what took place in his sacrifice. Now notice it says his feet like
undefined brass as if they burned in a furnace. Do you know every
time the word furnace is used in the New Testament, it's used
with reference to hell? A very difficult thing to think
about, but there is a place called hell. Everyone who does not believe
will spend eternity in hell. But do you know on the cross,
Christ bore the full equivalent of eternal hell? Now, the reason
hell is eternal is because the debt's never paid. Sin is against
an infinite God, and the debt's never paid. God can never say,
I'm satisfied with that. But when the Lord Jesus Christ
died on Calvary Street, bearing the sins of His people, He satisfied
God. God said, I'm not looking for
anything else. He made a full payment of those
sins. He made them to where they're
not. Listen to this scripture from 1 John 3, verses 5 and 6.
He was manifest. To take away our sins. That's why I came. To take away
our sins. In Him, He said in verse 6, is
no sin. That means if I'm in Him, I have
no sin. He put it away, it's gone, it's
canceled, it is no more. And when He says, you're holy
and unblameable and unreprovable, it's because, in fact, because
my sin has been taken away by His sacrifice. I am, in fact,
holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight. Now, this is the
Son of Man. He has feet of fine brass in
a furnace. And the reason he can look at
every believer as perfect is because of his great sacrificial
death on Calvary's tree. And then, verse 15 says, his
voice is the sound of many waters. Have you ever heard the, have
you ever been to Niagara Falls and hear the roar of the water?
Well, that's a trickle compared to his voice. You see, this is
the voice that raises the dead. The hour is coming, and now is
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and
they that hear shall live. This is the power of his voice
that raises the dead. Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth. Verse 16, in this description
of the Son of Man. And he had in his right hand
seven stars. Now we know from verse 20 that
those are the angels of the churches, the seven golden candlesticks.
It's the pastor of the church. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. And he uses preaching
in that sense. But here's what's preached. Let's
don't put too much emphasis on the preacher because it's the
word of God that they're preaching, not their own word. The Word
of God. He says in verse 16, he had in
his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp,
two-edged sword. Now that's the Word of God. That's the Word of which Paul
said to Timothy, Timothy, preach the Word. Does the Word declare
it? Preach it. Don't apologize for
it. Don't hide it. Don't cover it up. Preach it.
Does the Word declare that God is absolutely in control? Preach
it. Does the Word declare that men
are dead in sins and unable to save themselves? Preach it. This
is the sharp, two-edged sword that goes out of His mouth, the
Word of God, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but
if incorruptible, by the Word of God. which liveth and abideth
forever." That's the message that comes from His mouth, the
Word of God. We're not interested in the words of men. We're not
interested in the thoughts of men. I want to have the Word
of God. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God. The Gospel is the Scripture.
Genesis to Revelation contains the Gospel of God. Out of His mouth went this sharp,
two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun that shineth in
his strength." I think that John got a glimpse of this on the
man of transfiguration when the Lord's countenance was altered,
and his face shined as the sun, and his raiment was white as
light. But now he sees it even in more
power when he sees the Son of Man and his countenance shining
like the sun. And look at John's response.
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. You know, Daniel, when he gives
this same vision in Daniel chapter 10, he said, When I saw him,
I retained no strength, and my comeliness was turned to corruption. You see, when you see him, when
I see him, Only then will we have a vision of ourselves, how
sinful and weak we really are. Job said, I've heard of thee
with the hearing of the ears, but now mine eye seeth thee,
wherefore I hate myself, and I repent in dust and ashes. If you don't see your own sinfulness,
it's because you've never seen Him. If you ever see Him, you'll
see your own sinfulness. And like John, you'll fall at
His feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon
me saying, fear not, I'm the first and last. This is what
he says to everyone who falls at his feet as dead, fear not. Now, if you don't fall at his
feet, you've got every reason to fear. But if you fall at his
feet, he says, fear not, I am the first and last, I am he that
liveth. and was dead. Jesus Christ actually
died. Why? As a sin-bearing substitute,
putting away the sins of His people. I was dead, and behold,
I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of hell and death. Now,
what that means is our eternal destiny is in His hands. It's up to Him where you and
I will spend eternity. Now, somebody says, I don't like
that. I want to have some control in it. Well, if you do have any
control in it, You will end up in hell because of your sinfulness. I will end up in hell because
of my sinfulness. So this is the only safe place
for us because he delights in mercy. He has the keys of hell
and death. Sue for mercy. Lord, save me. Lord, have mercy on me. There's
no one that's ever sued for mercy that he turned away. Oh, the
glory and the greatness of the Son of Man who is the Son of
God, the only Savior. To receive a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send a request to todd.neibert at gmail.com,
or you may write or call the church at the information provided
on the screen.