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 chapter 11, we have the
story of the resurrection of Lazarus. He was sick and his
two sisters, Martha and Mary, came to the Lord and said in
verse three, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest. is sick. And they waited for the Lord
to come to their brother. And by the time the Lord had
received this message, Lazarus was already dead. Now we pick up in verse 14 of
John chapter 11, Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is
dead, graveyard dead. His body has already gone through
the process or it's began to go through the process of decay. He is dead. You know, we've made a lot of
progress in medicine, but here's something that we've had no progress
with at all, death. No one can bring back somebody
from the dead. I know in cryonics they try to
freeze people and Hope that maybe sometime in the future we'll
be able to restore him to life. No, dead is dead. Lazarus is dead. Graveyard dead. A cold, lifeless, decaying corpse. Now he says in verse 15, and I'm glad for your sakes.
that I was not there. Now that's unusual language. I'm glad I wasn't there for your
sakes. That's strong language. I wouldn't
think I would use that kind of language at a time like this.
He said, I was glad. I was happy that I wasn't there
for your sakes. And here is why I was happy for
this intent that you may believe. This is what my intentions are
in not being there. Here are my intentions. This is my intent that you may
believe your believing. Now I realized that he was speaking
to the 12 disciples, but are you and I. included in that intent
when he says that you may believe. I want to read the last verses
of the book of John, John chapter 21 beginning in verse 24. This
is the disciple which testified these things and wrote these
things. I'm the one who wrote the Gospel of John and we know
that his testimony is true. And there are also many other
things, which Jesus did that, which if they should be written,
everyone, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain
the books. There's so many things written, but he says in verse
31 of chapter 20, but these are written that you might believe. Are you reading the writing?
Are you listening to the writing? These are written that you might
believe. Now you may have feared you're
not included, but here we read it. Take what you can get. These
things are written that you might believe. You may not be sure
that you're one of God's elect. Now, there is no doubt that the
scripture teaches that God, before time began, elected a people
to salvation and they shall be saved. That's what the scripture
teaches. And you may wonder, maybe I'm not one of them. You
might not be sure Christ died for your sins because he only
died for the elect. And you may not be sure that
he died for your sins. You may not feel included. Well,
are you reading this? Do you hear what's written? These
things are written that you might believe. And here's my big question. Believe what? What is it that
I'm called on to believe? Well, in this same chapter in
verse 40, John 11, verse 40, Jesus saith unto her, said I
not unto thee that if thou wouldst believe, Thou should see the
glory of God. Now notice the order. If you
would believe, you'd see. Not you'd see and believe. If
you believe, you'd see the glory of God. Now, how can I believe
what I have not seen? You mean I have to first believe
before I really see anything? Kind of like if I believe that
there's a million dollars in my bank account, it'll be there?
I can believe that all I want, but it won't be. That's not what
that is referring to. And if my belief is what made
it happen, that would put salvation dependent upon me, my works,
my choice, and that's not the way it is. Now, the first time
the word belief is used is in Genesis chapter 15, verse six,
where God said to Abraham, can you count the stars, Abraham?
Abraham said, no. He said, even so shall thy seed
be, a vast multitude. And the scripture says, Abraham
believed the Lord. He believed what the Lord said
to him. Now, if I would have said to
Abraham, I, a fallible, sinful man, if I would have said, Abraham,
you see the stars? And remember, Abraham hadn't
had any children yet, and his wife was barren. He said, see
the stars, Abraham, if I said that, so shall your seed be. Would Abraham believe me? No,
he wouldn't believe me because he knows that I don't have the
power to bring that to pass. But he knew the one speaking. So he knew that whatever he said
must come to pass. That is why he believed whatever
the Lord says must come to pass. He knew who it was that he was
speaking to. Now here's the important point.
I'm not asking you what you believe. I'm asking you who you believe. That is the issue. That is the only issue. Who is Jesus Christ? Is He a mere man? Is He a good
man? Is He a martyr? Is He a reformer? No, He's God the Son, and whatsoever
He says must come to pass. If you see who He is, you will
believe. Everyone without exception who
sees who he is, believes. I think of when the Lord said
to his disciples after the crowd left him in John chapter six,
the people he fed, they couldn't take his message and they left. And the Lord watched them leave. He didn't ask them to come back
either. He didn't say, let me restate this. He watched them
leave. And he said to the 12, will you
also go away? You see, the Lord's not gonna
have any unwilling disciples. Will you also go away? And Peter
answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? Notice he didn't say,
where would we go? He said, to whom shall we go? Really, there are no other options.
Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are
sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. That's who Jesus Christ is. He's
the Christ. Now what does that mean? It means
He's the Messiah. Christ is the New Testament translation
of the Old Testament word, the Messiah. Now, the Messiah was
he who is prophet, priest, and king. Jesus Christ is God's prophet. And he never said, thus saith
the Lord. He said, I say unto you. You see, when he speaks, God
speaks because he is God the Son. There was never a reason
for him to say, thus saith the Lord, I'm speaking. I love that
passage in Matthew chapter seven, after he had finished preaching
the Sermon on the Mount, they were amazed at his teaching. For he spake as one having authority. I say unto you, I say unto you,
and not as described, you see, he's the word of God. In the
beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was
God. Oh, he's God's prophet, he's
God's word. When God speaks, what comes out
of his mouth, and I'm saying this spiritually, his son, this
is my beloved son, hear ye him, he's God's priest. Now, a priest
is someone who brings us to God. Now, no human priest can bring
us to God. Men claim to be priests, and
no. The only priest is the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, all God's people are a kingdom
of priests, the scripture says, but there's one priest that brings
us to God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, he is able to save
them to the uttermost that come to God by him. seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them." He's not like a human
priest who brings a sacrificial animal. He brings his own blood.
And the Father always hears him pray. He's God's King. Not some
king with borrowed authority who really has no power at all.
Whatever he has is what God gave him. He has inherent authority
as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. His will must
be done. He is the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. I believe this, I don't know
exactly how to explain it, but I believe it with all my heart.
God is one God in three distinct persons. God the Father, God
the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Somebody says, how can that be?
I don't know, but it is. He's revealed it in his word. And Jesus Christ is God, the
son, the second person of the Holy Trinity called the only
begotten son of God, the sole representative of the being and
character of him who sent him, the only begotten son of God. Now, Peter says this, there's
nowhere else to go. To whom shall we go? Thou hast
the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. It was the
same Peter, who in Matthew chapter 16, when the Lord said, whom
say ye that I am? He said, thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God, the same confession. And the Lord
said, blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Joan, flesh and blood didn't
reveal this to you. But my Father, which is in heaven,
I say unto you, thou art Peter, and upon this rock, this confession
of who I am, the Christ, the Son of the living God, I will
build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. Let me tell you one thing I know
that the thief knew. Remember the thief on the cross?
There were two thieves crucified on either side of the Lord. The
thief that the Lord saved, and we know He saved him because
He said, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. He knew
who Jesus Christ was. That's the issue, that's the
content of faith. He knew who Jesus Christ was. He said when he first went to
the cross he didn't know who he was. He was cursing him with
his buddy. But something happens. The Lord reveals himself to him
and he now knows that Jesus Christ is God. Don't you fear God? He
knew Jesus Christ, that one beside him nailed to a cross was God.
He knew he, himself, the thief knew he was getting exactly what
he deserved. And he knew Christ never sinned. This man has done nothing amiss.
How did he know that? Because he knew who he was. He
knew he was the Lord. Lord. I bet people snickered
when he said that. He's calling him Lord? Hanging
on a cross? He knew. Lord, remember me when you come
into your kingdom. You're not going to stay on the
cross. You're going to come back as a mighty reigning king, accomplishing
whatever it is you set out to do. Would you be pleased just
to remember me? Make mention my name before the
Father if you remember me all as well. And the Lord said, today
thou shalt be with me in paradise. I think of the Roman centurion.
He began that day business as usual. He was going to put to
death one of the enemies of the state by crucifixion. He didn't
know who the Lord Jesus was. And he began that day presiding
over the crucifixion, telling who to do what. And sometime
during that time, when he heard the words of the Lord, he heard
the seven sayings of the Savior from the cross. When he cried,
it is finished and gave up the ghost, that Roman centurion said,
surely this man is the son of God. He knew who he was. Now back to John chapter 11,
the Lord says to Martha, Thy brother shall rise again. He
shall. Martha said unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection of the last day.
You know, I have no doubt the Lord had taught them of the resurrection
of the last day. And she goes, she says, I understand
the resurrection. And I know on that last day,
when you return and the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ
shall rise. I know that I've got, I'm familiar
with that. Verse 25, Jesus said unto her,
I am the resurrection and the life. You see, the resurrection
is not an event. I am the resurrection and the
life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. and whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Do you believe this? You see, when the Lord is speaking
to Martha at this time, he'd not yet died, nor had he yet
been raised from the dead. Yet he says to her, I am the
resurrection. It's not an event, it's not an
event, it's me. I am the resurrection, I am the
life. Now, how could the Lord say that?
Well, Revelation 13, verse 8, He's called the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. That means before the creation
He was the Lamb slain. Now, if He was the Lamb slain
before the foundation of the world, and I love thinking about
this, before there was ever a sinner, there was a Savior. This is God's
eternal purpose. But not only is He the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, He's the Lamb raised from the
foundation of the world. So He could say to her, I am
the resurrection, I am the life. Now, the only way you or I will
be saved is if His life is our life. I'm talking about His perfect
obedience, His law keeping, His righteousness, His merits. The
only way God can accept me and be pleased with me and embrace
me and bring me into His heaven is if the life of Jesus Christ
is my personal life before God. You see on the cross, My sin
became His sin. I didn't make it that way, God
did. God took my sins and my sorrows and He placed them on
the Lord Jesus Christ and that is why He died on the cross as
a sin bearer. Now, he never committed sin,
but he became guilty of the commission of my sin, and God treated him
as such, as a lawbreaker, as a criminal, as a sinful man that
deserved to go to hell. Christ bore the wrath of God.
And when he died, he did something that no one else has ever done. What he did satisfied God. The
law now looks at me and says, All debts have been paid. All
sin is paid for. He's perfect in my sight. He
has no guilt. You see, just as truly as He
took my sin, He gives me His righteousness, His life. And
my life before God is the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
why I'll be accepted on Judgment Day. However righteous Christ
is, that's how righteous every believer is. And He says, I am
the resurrection. I am the life. Whoso liveth and
believeth in Me shall never die. Now notice the order. You live.
You're given spiritual life. And what's the result of that
living? You believe. He that liveth and believeth
in Me shall never die. Believest thou this? She said
unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God. Now, as we've seen, that is the
content of saving faith. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He's the great I am that I am
that spoke to Moses from the bush that burned and could not
be consumed. I love to think of this bush.
It burned and it could not be consumed. The bush did not need
the energy of the wood to continue to burn. It was independent. That's the independence of God.
That's the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The bush could
not be consumed. The wrath of God could not consume
perfect humanity. Perfect humanity, the Lord Jesus
Christ consumed the wrath. He said in John 8, verse 24,
if you believe not that I am, you shall die in your sins. The issue is, who is Jesus Christ? Now, she said, I believe that
thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into
the world. Now, his person, I believe that
you're the Christ, the Son of God, and here's His work, which
should come into the world. You see, He was before He came. In John 6, five times, He says
to the people He's preaching to, I came down from heaven.
I came down from heaven. I came down from heaven. Now
if I said to you right now, I came down from heaven, you'd say,
this guy's a nut. He's not come down from heaven.
I don't know what he's saying. And I'm sure they thought the
same thing about the Lord Jesus Christ when he said, I came down
from heaven. They said, we know his mom and dad. We know his
brothers and sisters. What is this about him saying,
I came down from heaven? Well, the fact of the matter
is he was before he ever came, the eternal son of God. And he
came down from heaven because the father sent him. He said in John 6, 38, I came
down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him
that sent me. And this is the will of him that
sent me that of all, which he has given me. I should lose nothing. But raise it up again at the
last day. You see, the Lord's no failure.
He came to save his people, those the Father gave him. He said,
I lay down my life for the sheep. And it's not possible for Christ
to represent somebody and come to save that person and that
person not be saved. I came down from heaven to do
the will of him that sent me. This is the will of him that
sent me, that of all which he has given me, I should lose nothing. Raise
it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son and believeth on Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. And I'll raise Him up at
the last day." Now, you've got to see the Son. You've got to
see who He is before you believe. You can't believe in an unrevealed
Christ. You believe who He is. You see the Son. You see He's
the Eternal Son of God. You see He's the Creator. You
see He's the only Savior of sinners. That's when you believe. Everyone that seeth the Son and
believeth on Him hath everlasting life. I think of what the Philippian
jailer said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? I realized
I can't save myself. I'm going to have to be saved.
Well, what must I do to be saved? And Paul and Silas answered,
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Those two blind men came to Christ
Thou son of David, they knew who he was. That's the key, they
knew who he was. Thou son of David, have mercy
on us. What wilt thou that I do unto thee, that we might receive
our sight? Do you believe that I am able
to do this? Yea, Lord, we believe. Do you believe Christ is able
to save you with no help from you, with no contribution from
you? That is what faith is, it's believing
his ability. Believing is the evidence of
election. When Paul preached his sermon
on Acts chapter 13, the first public sermon recorded by him,
Luke gives us this editorial comment at the end. After Paul
preached, he said, as many as were ordained to eternal life
believe. Belief, faith is the evidence
of election. That's the evidence of being
a sheep. The Lord said, you know, remember they're sheep and they're
goats. And the Lord said of his sheep, or he said to some people
who were not his sheep, he said, you believe not because you're
not of my sheep, as I said unto you. You see, sheep believe. That's what they do. When the
Lord said to that man in John chapter nine, dost thou believe
on the Son of God? He said, who is he, Lord, that
I might believe? And the Lord said, thou hast
both seen him, and it's he that speaketh with thee. You see,
you will not believe until he reveals himself to you who he
is. And he did at that time to that
man, and that man, the scripture says, he worshiped him and said,
Lord, I believe. You see, when you see who he
is, there's one thing for you to do, worship. You only worship
a sovereign. If you can manipulate him, if
you can control him, there's no worship there. If you can
get him to respond, there's no worship there. You worship an
absolute sovereign. You're in his hands and he can
do with you whatsoever he is pleased to do. Now in Acts chapter
eight, Philip has preached the gospel
to that Ethiopian eunuch. He's preaching from Isaiah 53
to that man. And they go by a pool of water. And the Ethiopian eunuch said,
see, here's water. What hinders me from being baptized?
And Philip answered, if you believe with all your heart, you may. And that man said, I believe. Now, first, I'm going to say
what he didn't say. He didn't say, I believe I'm
saved. He didn't say, I believe that Jesus Christ died for my
sins. He didn't say, I believe I've been born again. He doesn't
say, I believe I'm elect. He says, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, the Creator, the Second Person of
the Blessed Trinity. You see, what you believe is
determined by who you believe. It's not a what, it's a who.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And Philip baptized
him. Now, the Lord said, I'm glad
I wasn't there to the intent that you may believe. Question,
do you believe who he is? I'm not asking if you believe
you're saved. Do you believe who he is? That is the content. May God richly bless you for
Christ's sake. To receive a copy of this sermon
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