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 Hebrews 12, verse 25, we read
these words. See that you refuse not him that
speaketh. For if they escape not who refused
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape if we
turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. I've entitled this
message, Him That Speaketh from Heaven. Now, I am so thankful
that the God of glory, the infinite, immutable, independent God of
glory, the creator of the universe, I'm so thankful that God speaks. He's not like the God of the
deists who begins things and remains silent and watches to
see what's going to happen. No, he is the God who speaks. And if he is the God who speaks,
how foolish would I be if I didn't listen to what he had to say? Now somebody may say, I've never
heard the voice of God speak. Well, I've never heard the audible
voice of God speak either. And if somebody, I've heard preachers
say, the Lord said this to me or said that to me. And I want
to say, you're a liar. You never heard him say anything
to you. He doesn't speak audibly in that sense, but he does speak. He speaks by creation. The heavens
declare the glory of God, and the earth showeth forth His handiwork. Romans 1.20 says this, the invisible
things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal
power and Godhead, so that we are without excuse. In creation,
God tells us that He's all-powerful. Somebody made this universe and
He's eternal. Nobody made Him. Hence His eternal power and Godhead. He speaks by creation and He
speaks by providence. Everything that happens tells
us we ought to seek the Lord. He speaks by providence. He speaks
to us by the good things and blessings we enjoy. He speaks
to us by the trials we endure. All these things say we ought
to seek him who created the world. And thank God he speaks by his
word. 2 Timothy 3.16. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God. God breathed. This book was written by God. What if you saw on the best-selling
list a book where God was the author? You'd say, well, I'd
buy that. You've got it in the Bible. God is the author of holy
scriptures and he speaks from his word. Now in the context
of the verse of scripture I just read, we read in the previous
verse of the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than
that of Abel. That's when he says, see that
you refuse not him that speaketh from heaven. He speaks of the
blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Now, if you know the story of Cain and Abel, Cain and Abel
were the sons of Adam and Eve. And this is after the fall. Both
of them brought an offering to God. Cain brought the fruit of
the ground. Abel brought the blood of a lamb
that was slain. And both approached God in their
sacrifices. Now Cain said by his sacrifice,
this is my best. I've done my best. Surely God
will accept this. Abel said by his sacrifice, I'm
a sinner, and the only way I can be accepted is by the blood of
the coming one, that promised seed of woman that will bruise
the serpent's head. Now the scripture says God had
respect to Abel and to his offering. But to Cain and his offering,
God had no respect. Cain got upset about that. He
and his brother discussed what had taken place, and Abel said,
the only way we can approach God is through the blood, not
the best you can do. Cain was insulted. He was offended. He was offended by the fact that
God gave him no respect, but he gave Abel respect through
the blood of the sacrifice that he brought. And he became so
angry, he murdered his brother. The issue was the sacrifice,
same issue today. And the blood of his brother
flowed into the ground, it was a bloody death, and I would imagine
that Cain hid the body of his brother, not wanting anyone to
know what he'd done, but God saw. And he said to Cain, where's
your brother? And Cain said, am I my brother's
keeper? He was lying, he knew exactly
where his brother was. And then God said to Cain, your
brother's blood cries to me from the ground. Now what did it cry? Condemnation. Judgment. Vengeance. Cain deserves to die
because he murdered me. But you know, the blood of Christ
speaks better things than the blood of Abel. It speaks forgiveness,
salvation, justification before the law. Oh, it speaks better
things. The blood of Christ Speaks of
salvation by what Christ accomplished by his death. It speaks of who
died. Christ. Why he died. To put away sin. What he accomplished
by that death. The complete putting away of
sin. Justification before God. Salvation. Oh, the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It speaks of God's justice being
satisfied. It speaks of God's eternal purpose
being accomplished. It speaks of the complete forgiveness
of sins. It speaks of the love of God. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation
of our sins. Now, the blood of sprinkling,
that word sprinkling speaks of the application of that blood.
You know, most people think, well, we gotta apply the blood.
Jesus Christ died for everybody, and it's up to us to apply his
blood to ourself to make it work. No, no. The only one who can
apply the blood is God himself. He said, when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. Now, that's the message of the
gospel, what the blood of Christ has to say, the blood of sprinkling,
God's application of the blood to the sinner. This book is about
the blood of Christ. Let me repeat that. This book
is about the blood of Jesus Christ. And if we have any apologies
to make about preaching on the blood of Christ, it's that we
don't preach it enough. I think of what Paul said in
1 Corinthians 2, verse 2, I determine not to know anything among you.
saved Jesus Christ and Him crucified, speaking of His bloody death. Now, the writer to the Hebrews
says, see that you refuse not Him that speaketh from heaven.
He speaks from heaven, He speaks in creation, He speaks in His
providence, He speaks from His word, and oh, how powerfully
the blood of Christ speaks. See that you don't refuse Him
that speaketh. Now, the word refuse, does not
necessarily mean an open rejection. It's also translated, make excuse,
avoid, decline, shun, beg off. Don't treat God's word like that.
Don't treat it with neglect. How shall we escape if we neglect
so great a salvation? Now the first time this word
is used is found in Luke chapter 14. And I would really like for
us to spend the rest of our time with this parable the Lord gave
about refusing the word. Now in Luke chapter 14, here's
the way it's used first in verse 18, and they all with one consent
began to make excuse. That's the word refuse. It's
to make excuse. How many times have I tried to
make excuse for my misdeeds? How many times have I tried to
make an excuse to cover myself? How many times have you done
that? Make excuse. Now what, where did this come
from? In verse 16 of this same chapter,
then said he unto him, a certain man made a great supper and paid
many and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that
were bitten, come for all things are now ready. And they all with
one consent, began to make excuse. And how frivolous their excuses
were. The first said unto him, I bought
a piece of ground, I must need to go see it. I pray that you
have me excused. Now who buys a piece of ground
without looking at it first? This fellow said he did, and
I need to go see it. Let me be excused from this great
supper. Another said, I bought five yoke
of oxen and I go to prove them. I pray that you have me excused.
Another said, I've married a wife and therefore I cannot come.
These men, when they heard of this great supper, this command
from God, they all with one consent began to make excuse. Now, I love the language in verse
16. A certain man made a great supper. Every aspect of salvation is
what he has made. Let me give you two scriptures.
2 Corinthians 5.21 says, for he hath made him to be sin. who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. This is what he has done. 1 Corinthians
1.30 says, of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Every aspect of salvation is
what He has made. It's what He has done. It's not
what you do. It's what He has done. All things are ready. Now, notice
what He says to the servant. He bade many. He called many. That's what the word means. He
called many. Doesn't say he invited many.
I really don't like it when people present the gospel as an invitation
because it's not an invitation, it's a command. There's nothing
wrong with turning down an invitation, but there's something wrong with
disobeying a command. The gospel is God's command to
all men. He made this great supper and
he bade many and sent his servant at supper time to say to them
that were bitten, that were called, come, for all things are now
ready. Now here is the message of the
gospel. Come, not go and do, not make
yourself better, not straighten out your life. Come right now
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now somebody says, what's that
mean to come to Christ? Well, in John chapter six, verse
35, we read, he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he
that believeth on me. shall never thirst." To come
to Christ and to believe on Him is the precise same thing. You come to Christ when you trust
Him only. You believe on Him as all that
God requires for you to be saved. You look to Him only. And the
message of the gospel has come. Now, works religion says, straighten
your life out. Stop committing this sin. Start
doing this good thing. The message of the gospel is
right now, as you are, come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe
on Him. Come, for all things are now
ready. You can't say, I have nothing
to bring. Nothing is needed. You can't say, I have nothing
to wear. He supplies the wedding garment, the righteousness of
His Son. You can't say, I have nothing to recommend me. Nothing
is needed. All things. Do you hear that? All things are now ready because
Jesus Christ is all. Nothing else is needed. There's no excuse we can fabricate
to not come. But they all, with one consent,
began to make these excuses. So the servant came, verse 21,
and showed his Lord these things. How? No one came. Even hearing
this message, everyone, without exception, began to make excuse. And that's the way you and I
will be if God doesn't do something for us. We'll just find a reason
to not come. So the servant came and showed
his Lord these things. Then the master of the house,
being angry, If I refuse him to hear him that speaks from
heaven, the master of the house being angry. He said to his servant,
go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring
in hither the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind. Now notice he doesn't say, call
them. He doesn't say, invite them.
He says, bring them. Bring them in. And there's a fourfold description.
They're poor. They have nothing. They are maimed. They are unable to get there. They are halt. The word means
deprived of a foot. Whatever it takes to come, they
do not have, and they're blind. They cannot see the way. They
can't get there. Go get them and bring them in.
I couldn't help but think about David saying of Mephibosheth, he said, Is there
any that I can show the kindness of God to? Any in the house of
Saul that I can show the kindness of God to for Jonathan's sake? Jonathan was the son of Saul.
They'd made a covenant. Jonathan said to David, have
mercy on my descendants. Years later, after Jonathan's
dead, David remembers that covenant. He says, are there any of the
house of Saul that I can show kindness to because of that covenant
I made with Jonathan years before? And a servant said, well, there's
one, but he's not worth anything. He's lame in both of his feet.
He can't work for you. He can't fight for you. All he
could be is carried. His name is Mephibosheth. And
David said, go fetch him. He didn't say invite him to come,
go fetch him and bring him in. I'm so thankful for fetching
grace. The servant is called upon to
bring in the poor, the blind, the lame, and the halt. So he
comes back with this message, verse 22, and the servant said,
Lord, it's done as you've commanded. And yet there is room. What a blessed word of grace.
Yet there is room. And listen to me very carefully.
You may feel like there's no room for you. You may feel like
perhaps you've sinned away any hope of being saved. You may
feel like you've been passed by and you hear the gospel message
and it's finished. Yet there is room. It's done, and yet there is room. Now, look what the master says. And the Lord said unto his servants,
Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come
in, to force them, to urge them to come in. That my house may
be filled for I say unto you that none of those men which
were bitten, which were called, shall taste of my supper. He
says you go out into the highways and the hedges, and compel, use
every argument, use force, do whatever it takes, compel them
to come in. Now I would like, by the grace
of God, to do this right now in the preaching of the gospel,
to compel you to come to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
let me give you five reasons why you and I should believe
on Christ right now without delay. Number one, he commands us to. When he says, coming to me all
ye that labor and are heavy laden, that is a command. He commands
you to rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. He commands me to. And
here's the second reason, we'll be received if we come. The Lord
said, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. The third reason is
we'll go to hell if we don't. That's a good reason, isn't it?
We'll go to hell if we don't. I don't want to go to hell. I
want to spend eternity in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I don't want to be cast off into outer darkness. The fourth reason
is it's crazy not to. I mean, the only thing that prevents
you and I from coming is ourselves. It's crazy not to. And fifth,
what joy we will have in coming. He said, compel them to come
in that my house may be full. And I want to compel us to come
in, and I want to deal with the excuses that men make to keep
them from coming. Now, somebody makes this excuse
with regard to coming to Christ. I'm afraid I'm not elect. Now,
election's true. The Bible teaches that God chose
a people before time began to be saved. Christ died for those
people, saved they must be. I love election because it glorifies
God. It tells us that salvation is
all of grace. But can somebody say, well, I'm afraid I'm not
elect. You don't come to Christ because you're elect. You come
to Christ because you're a sinner needing his mercy. That's how
I come to Christ. I don't say, Lord, save me because
I'm one of the elect. I say, Lord, save me because
I need your mercy. I need your grace. I need you
to save me. I don't have anything else. Elect
or not elect, Lord, have mercy on me. That's the way you come
to Christ. You come as a poor, needy sinner,
needing mercy. Not as an elect sinner, but as
a poor, needy sinner, pleading, crying for mercy. Have you done
that? Here's another objection people
make. I've tried to believe, but I
can't. My dear friend, you don't try
to believe, you believe. One plus one equals two. Well,
I'm trying to believe that. No, you believe it because it's
true. You believe the gospel because it's true. You believe
that Jesus Christ is the son of God. You believe that his
death is all that's needed for the payment of all sins. You
believe that's true. You believe it's true that his
righteousness is the only ground to salvation, and you believe. You don't try to believe. You
believe something because it's true. Now, if you believe something
that's not true, you choose to make that, that's a choice you
make. For instance, If one and one
is two and I choose to believe it's three, I'm choosing to believe
that. But if I believe one and one
is two, it's because it's so. You believe something because
it's true. You don't try to believe the
gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Somebody says, well, I don't
want to be part of that group because there's so many hypocrites
in the church. You know, that's true, and you'd feel right at
home then. You would be accepted just like they are. A hypocrite means an actor, and
everybody has some kind of extent to which they feel they're an
actor that comes into the church. They're aware of their own sinfulness.
Too many hypocrites, you're one too, so you'd fit right in. Don't
use that as a reason to not come to Christ. Somebody else may
object, I'm too sinful to come. Paul said in 1 Timothy 1.15,
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
the chief. The most evil sinner that ever
lived has already been saved, so you can't use that argument.
Listen to me. You can be too good to be saved,
but you can't be too bad. You can't be too sinful. Somebody else says, Well, I can't
come to Christ until I first stop committing sin. Well, you
ought not commit sin. I ought not commit sin. But if
you can't come to Christ unless you stop committing sin, nobody's
ever going to come to Christ. We're sinners and we don't come
to Christ because we quit sin. We come to Christ because we're
sinners and we need His mercy. That's why we come. Don't say,
I can't come until I get the victory over some sin. You look
to Christ right now. Somebody else says, well, I'm
afraid to come because I'm afraid I won't persevere and continue
in the faith. You come to Christ, he'll enable
you to persevere. If you don't come to Christ,
you won't be saved. Don't use that as an excuse not
to come. He'll give you the grace to persevere. Somebody else says,
but I just don't feel my sin the way I should. I don't feel
my need the way I should. I feel so dead. I feel so lifeless. I just feel like I can't come
because I don't feel enough. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor a fitness fondly dream. The only fitness he requires
is to have a need of him. Not to feel your need. I'm not
asking you if you feel your need. I'm asking you, do you have a
need? The scripture says he healed them that had need of healing. Do you have need of healing for
your sin sick soul? He receives all who come He speaks from heaven. Don't refuse. Don't make excuse. Come to Christ now as an empty-handed
sinner, pleading nothing but His merit as the only ground
of your acceptance. Don't let anything stop you. Don't refuse. Don't make excuse
with regard to Him who speaks from heaven. The promise is,
Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. To receive a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to todd.neilert at gmail.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.