I did choose thee. 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 Nybert. I've entitled the message for
this morning, Do You Believe on the Son of God? My text is found in John chapter
nine, verse 35. The Lord is speaking to the man
who had been born blind that he had given sight to. And he
says in verse 35, Jesus heard that they had cast him out. This
man was excommunicated by the Pharisees. And when he had found
him, he said unto him, dost thou believe on the Son of God? What a question. Do you believe
on the Son of God? Consider this. He doesn't say,
do you believe you're saved? He does not say, are you sure
you'll go to heaven when you die? He does not say, has your
life experienced enough change that makes you think that you
are saved? He does not say, do you know
that Christ died for you? He does not say, do you know
you're one of the elect? He does not say, do you believe
you've been born again? He says, do you believe on the
son of God? Now, this man that the Lord asked
this question to had experienced miracles. He was born blind. And God gave him sight. Can you imagine that? He'd never
seen a face. He didn't have a concept of what
anything looked like. And all of a sudden he sees a
miracle takes place in this man's life. And this man knew some
things about the Son of God. When they said, what do you say
of him? He said, he's a prophet. He said,
no man could do this unless God was with him. Oh, he had some
high views of the Lord Jesus Christ, but he did not yet know
who Christ really was. And that's when the Lord asked
him, Do you believe on the Son of God? Now, my answer and your
answer to this question will demonstrate to us where we will
spend eternity. This is the most important question
you and I could ever consider. Do you believe on the Son of
God. And I loved the man's reply. And he answered and said, who
is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? You and I cannot believe
on him unless we know who he is. And when we know who he is,
we will believe. This is knowing him, not simply
knowing things about him, knowing him, knowing who he is and him
revealing himself. And Jesus said unto him, thou
hast both seen him and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, this man who had
been given sight, but did yet not know who the Lord Jesus Christ
was until now. He said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. Do you believe? on the Son of
God. I love the way Mark begins the
gospel. Mark 1, verse 1, the beginning
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Now, what is meant by the Son
of God? Now, only in the Bible Do we
have the revelation of God being one God in three distinct persons? Now, if the Bible's not the Word
of God, you're wasting your time listening to me right now, and
I'm wasting my time trying to preach. If the Bible's not the
Word of God, the Bible claims to be the Word of God. All scripture
is given by inspiration of God. And if someone says, well, I
have a hard time believing that. Well, you believe that God created
the universe from nothing. Somebody says, I don't believe
that. Well, there was a time he did. No man is born an atheist. Men are born believing God and
believing He's the Creator. And if God can create the universe
from nothing, He can inspire men to write a book and preserve
it. And all information, accurate
information, that we have regarding the living God is found in the
Bible, this book where He reveals His character. And in the Bible,
God is revealed as one God in three distinct persons. God the Father, God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit. All God, one God in three distinct
persons. Now, that's not something we
could figure out. That's not something we could discover.
The only way we know this is because the Bible reveals this
concerning the character of God. Do you know that this is implied
in the very first verse of the Bible? In the beginning, God
created the heavens and the earth. And in the original, God is in
the plural. God the Father in the beginning,
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit created
the heavens and the earth. God said, let us make man in
our own image. Who is the us referring to? The
three persons of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. When the Lord was giving instructions
to his disciples before his ascension back into glory, he told them
to teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. John said there are three that
bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. God is one God in three distinct
persons. Now, the Lord asks this man,
do you believe on the Son of God? Do you believe on God the
Son? Do you believe on God the Son? Now, he did not yet believe.
even though he experienced these things. And here's why. You cannot, I cannot believe
on God the Son unless he makes himself known to me. You cannot trust an unrevealed
Christ. We're completely dependent upon
him making himself known. Do you believe on God the Son? Do you believe on the Son of
God? And he asked this question, this simple question, this important
question, who is he, Lord? That I might believe. He is the second person of the
Trinity, God the Son. Colossians chapter 2 verse 9
says, with regard to him, in him, in the Lord Jesus Christ
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead in a body. How mysterious, how transcendent,
how glorious all that God is resides in the body of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Fullness of sovereignty, fullness
of omnipotence, fullness of omnipresence, fullness of grace, fullness of
independence, fullness of immutability, every attribute of God. dwells
in the body of Jesus Christ. I love that scripture in John
chapter 1, the way the gospel of John opens, in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God as a distinct person,
and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. I love thinking about this. According
to the scriptures, this one, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, is called in Revelation 13, eight, the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. Now, I want you to think of the
impact of that statement. Before the creation of the world,
He's called the Lamb having been slain. Before there was ever
a sinner, before there was ever a fall, before there was ever
creation, Jesus Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world and the universe was created for this purpose. For Him to come and be the Lamb
slain to manifest the glory of God and the salvation of sinners. Now, when Adam first fell, we
read of the voice of God walking in the cool of the evening, coming
to Adam. Who is the voice of God? Jesus
Christ. He's the Word of God. He made
many pre-incarnate appearances in the Old Testament. He appeared
to Abraham before the destruction of Sodom and spoke with him.
He wrestled with Jacob. Remember Jacob? I've seen God
face to face and lived. And he said, how dreadful is
this place. He came and wrestled with Jacob. He appeared to Moses
in the burning bush and made himself known as the great I
am that I am. And he spoke with Moses face
to face as a man speaks with his friend. I love when he appeared
to Joshua. Joshua saw the man with the sword
drawn and he said, are you for us or for our adversaries? He
said, neither. I'm the captain of the Lord of
hosts. I don't take sides. The issue
is not if I'm on your side or you on my side. I'm the captain
of the Lord of hosts." I think the most thrilling pre-incarnate
appearance of him was found in Daniel 3 when they threw Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace because they wouldn't
bow to Nebuchadnezzar's false god. Now, look what Nebuchadnezzar
says. Verse 24, this is after they'd
been thrown, bound into the fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar
the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake,
and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound
into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the
king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see
four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they have
no hurt. And the form of the fourth is
like the Son of God. The Son of God were with those
three people in that fiery furnace, and they had no hurt. Now, how
did Nebuchadnezzar know he was the Son of God? If you and I
ever see him, we'll know. If we don't know, it's because
we've never seen him. We've never had the revelation
of his person. But if we have the revelation
of his person, we will know. Upon his birth, the angels announced,
that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God. At his baptism, The voice from
heaven said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The demons themselves knew. We
know who thou art, the son of God, art thou come to torment
us before the time? The Pharisees knew this was the
claim he made because they said to Pilate, he ought to die because
he made himself the son of God. You know, when the Roman centurion
saw him die, what was his conclusion when he saw him cry out? He said,
surely this was the son of God, equal to God because he is God,
the God man. Dost thou believe on the son
of God? Now this was the content of saving
faith. Let me make good on that from
the Scripture. After the Ethiopian eunuch heard Philip preach, the
Scripture says he preached unto him Jesus from Isaiah chapter
53. It's a wonderful story in Acts chapter 8. The Ethiopian
eunuch said, see, here's water. What doth hinder me from being
baptized? Now, I have no doubt that Philip
had preached the gospel to him and told him that if he believed,
he ought to be baptized. Baptism is that going under the
water, coming back up, which is representative of the gospel.
When Jesus Christ lived, I lived. When he died, I died. My sins
were paid for. When he was raised, I was raised. That's my confession of faith
in him. And the eunuch said, here's water. What hinders me from being baptized?
And Philip said, if you believe, With all your heart, you may."
And he said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Now that is the victory that
overcometh the world, he that believeth that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. He didn't say, I believe I'm
saved. He didn't say, I believe that I've got to change life.
No, he said what his faith was was concerning who the Lord Jesus
Christ is. Faith is not what you think about
yourself. Faith is what you think about Him. I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, equal to the Father, having every attribute
of divinity. In him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead in a body." Now, when the Lord asked this man
this question, I love his answer. Who is he, Lord? Who is he, Lord,
that I might believe on him? You see, you can't know who he
is until he reveals himself to you. You can't figure this out.
You and I are completely dependent upon him to reveal himself to
us. Now, the Lord gives this answer. And Jesus said unto him, Thou
hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And
he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. Now, it's impossible for us to
believe on the Son of God unless we know who he is. I believe one of the clearest
definitions of faith is found in 2 Timothy 1.12 when Paul said,
I know whom I have believed. He didn't say, I know what I
believe. Somebody says, I know what I believe. Well, that's not what
Paul said. He said, I know whom I have believed. And I am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I've committed to him against
that day. Now here's an example from the
scriptures of what it means to know who he is. When the Lord was crucified,
there were two thieves crucified with him. Now, they both were
cursing Christ. They were both saying, if you're
the Christ, come down, save yourself and save us. They both felt nothing
but contempt for Christ. And one of these thieves, when
they nailed those nails in his hands and feet and lifted him
up and dropped that cross in the stand, in that pain that
he must've experienced, all he knew was hatred for that man
beside him. But something happens. You see,
he heard the words of the Lord from the cross. He heard those
first words, Father, forgive them. They know not what they
do. And when the Lord prayed this
prayer, he didn't pray the way you and I would pray. Lord, would
you be pleased to forgive them? know as equal to the Father,
he said, Father, forgive them. Just like he said, Father, I
will, that they whom you've given me be with me. We couldn't make
a prayer like that, but he does because he's equal with the Father.
And this man had revealed to him who Christ was. Now he didn't know when he went
up on the cross, but he came to know because Christ revealed
himself to him. And as his buddy kept cursing
Christ, he said, don't you fear God? Seeing you're in the same
condemnation, this one you're cursing is nobody less than God,
God, the son, God manifest in the flesh. And then he says,
we're getting exactly what we deserve. You know, if you ever
see who he is, you'll see your own sinfulness. And not until
then. He said, we're getting exactly what we deserve, but
this man hath done nothing amiss. He knew Christ had never sinned.
How did he know that? He hadn't known him but for a
couple of hours at the most, because he knew who he was. And
if you know who he is, you know he's incapable of sin. And then this man said, Lord,
remember me when you come into your kingdom. Now think about
what he says. He sees this one whose visage was so marred that
you couldn't even recognize him, the blood and gore dripping down
his face from the crown of thorns pressed on his head. And he looks
at this man who is so seemingly helpless and he says, you're
the Lord. You're the absolute Lord of creation. You're the Lord of providence.
You're the Lord of salvation. You are Lord of lords and king
of kingdom. Kings. Oh, what a revelation
of His person. He knew His Lord. He said, Lord,
remember me when you come into your kingdom. He says, I know
you're not going to stay dead because of who you are. You're
going to come back as a mighty reigning king, being successful
in whatever it is you do because of who you are. Now, Lord, when
you come back, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Now,
he's saying to the Lord, when I stand before God in judgment,
here is all that's necessary for you to remember me. For you to say, he's one of mine,
she's one of mine, I save them. Nothing else will need to be
said. Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom as
a mighty reigning king. Now, how did he know all of that
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ? Because of Revelation. Christ
revealed to him by his spirit who he was, and he knew. And the Lord gave him assurance
that he never gave anybody else in all the scriptures. He said,
verily I say to you, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. You see, he knew who the Lord
was. And this is what Paul says. He
says, I know whom. I have believed. And because
I know whom I believed, because I know who he is, I'm persuaded. I have been persuaded. I am convinced
that he is able to keep that which I've committed to him against
that day. Now, because of who he is, I
am persuaded in his ability to save me without any help from
me. Now, when you know who he is,
you will be persuaded that you need nothing else but him to
save you. And you believe in his ability,
like Jude said in Jude 24, now unto him that is able to keep
you from falling and to present you faultless, without sin, before
His presence, with exceeding joy. Now this is what you believe. You believe He's able to save
you without any help from you, without any contribution from
you. He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him against
that day. Listen to this scripture from
Hebrews 1, verse 3, when He had by Himself. Don't miss that word,
by Himself. When He had by Himself purged
our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on
high. If you're saved, if I'm saved,
it will not be for any other reason than He saved us. And He did it all. Salvation
is not by works in any measure, to any degree, on any level. Salvation is by what He did. When He said, it is finished,
my salvation was Accomplished. It was accomplished before I
had any works, before I was even born. He said, it is finished. Now, notice what Paul says, I
know whom I have believed. And because of who he is, I am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
to him against that day, that day of judgment. Now you and
I one day will stand before God, the judge of the universe. He's
a righteous judge, a holy judge, a perfect judge. And you know,
everybody deep down knows this. God is the judge of the earth,
shall not the judge of the earth do right? And he is going to
judge. Now, when I stand before him,
I have committed the salvation of my soul to him. My hands are off. If he didn't
do it all, I will not be saved. I am totally dependent upon who
He is and what He did as the only ground of my salvation. I'm not looking to my works.
I'm not looking to the fact that I'm a preacher. I'm not looking
to my experience. I'm not looking to my motives.
I'm not looking to anything about me. I look to Him only. I am persuaded He's able to keep
that which I've committed to Him against that day. I do not believe in works in
any way. If you're looking to your works
in any way, that's a failure to commit. You only commit when
you look to Him alone, nothing more. Nothing less and nothing
else. He is all you have. And here is the man's response
to the Lord's revelation of himself in verse 38. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. Now, when you believe, this is
what you'll do. You will worship him. People talk about, oh, we really
had a worship service and we had singing and shouting and
worship. is knowing you're in the hand
of an absolute sovereign who can do with you whatever he's
pleased to do. You only worship a sovereign.
You only worship Jesus as God, the sovereign God who can do
with you whatever he's pleased to do. That's who he is. And
if you believe You will worship Him as God the Son, the Lord
of all. Lord, I believe. Do you believe on the Son of
God? Who is He? He makes Himself known. Lord,
I believe. And He worshiped Him. May you and I be given grace
to do what He did. We have this message on DVD,
CD. You'll call the church, write,
or look on our website. You can find a copy of the message, a
video of the message. This is Todd Nyberg praying God
will be pleased to make himself known to you. Amen. To receive
a copy of the sermon you have just heard, send a request to
todd.nyberg at gmail.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.