Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neibert. 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 Neibert. I've entitled this morning's
message, When the Wrong Answer is Right. Here is the question. The Lord says to James and John,
after they made the request to sit at his right hand and his
left in his coming kingdom, but Jesus said unto them, you know
not what you ask. Can you drink of the cup that
I drink of and be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized
with? Are you able to do those things? And here's their answer. And
they said unto him, we can. We're up to the task. We are
able. when the wrong answer, and that
is the wrong answer, is right. Now, in this passage of Scripture,
we see the self of self-indulgence, self-promotion, self-will. Look at this passage with me
in verse 35, and James and John The sons of Zebedee came unto
him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us
whatsoever we shall desire." What a self-indulgent request. Now, I have no doubt that I've
made that request and you've made that request, but they're
saying to the Lord, we want you to give us whatever we ask for. That's what we desire. And look at their desire. He said unto them, what would
you that I should do for you? They said unto him, grant unto
us that we may sit one on thy right hand and the other on thy
left in thy glory. Now, we know from Matthew's account,
this request was made by their mother. I have no doubt that
they put her up to it, but look at the self-promotion going on
here. We want to be the top dogs in
the kingdom of heaven when you come in your glory. We want to
sit on your right hand and on your left. We want to be exalted
above the other 10. We want to be the main men. We want to be the top dogs. What
self-promotion and self-advantage, all born out of self-love. There
wasn't anything noble in what they were asking. But Jesus said
unto them, you know not what you ask. And I have no doubt
that's true about everything we ask. You know not what you
ask. Are you able to drink of the
cup that I drink of and be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized
with? Now, what the Lord is talking
about is what only he could do. Are you able to drink of the
cup that I drink of? Now, what cup is this? Do you
remember in Gethsemane's garden when he said, oh father, if it
be possible, let this cup pass from me. What was in that cup? Now the Lord Jesus Christ, at
the thought of drinking the contents of that cup, the scripture says
he sweat great drops of blood. What was in that cup was the
sins and the sins of his people. The scripture says he bare our
sins in his own body on the tree. The sins of God's elect were
in that cup. and he drank it, and they became
his sins. Now he never committed a sin,
but he was guilty of the commission of every one of those sins when
he drank of that cup. And his holy soul recoiled at
the thought of being made sin. If it'd be possible, oh Father,
if it'd be possible, it wasn't possible. Christ is called the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, but just the thought
of that pressed him down. Are you able to drink of this
cup? And then he said, are you able
to be baptized with the baptism I'm baptized with? Now he'd already
gone through water immersion, John the Baptist baptized him,
but he's talking about the suffering of God's wrath that he was going
to endure because he drank of that cup and was made sin and
was made guilty of that sin. You see, this is God's great
and glorious way of making a way for him to be just and punish
all sin and yet be able to forgive and justify somebody like me
or you. Now, Christ said in Luke chapter
12, verse 50, I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how
am I straightened until it be accomplished? He's talking about
being immersed in the wrath of a just and holy God and his hatred
of sin. That's why he cried out from
the cross, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? because
he drank of that cup. He was made sin. He was made
guilty of the commission of the sins that he drank up as the
sin-bearing substitute for his people. And he was completely
immersed under the wrath of God. And he says to his disciples,
Are you able to do this? Are you able to drink of this
cup that I drink of? Are you able to be baptized with
the baptism I'm baptized with? And they said, we're up to the
task. Yes, we are able. Now, they had no idea what they
were saying when they made this incredibly stupid and arrogant
reply. Yes, We're able, but what I find
so amazing is the Lord doesn't rebuke them for this self-deluded
statement. He doesn't rebuke them. Look
what he says. Now, through this horrible example of the disciples'
self-interest and self-righteousness and self-indulgence and self-promoting
and self-seeking through this horrible example. They were men.
They were sinners just like you and I are. You know, people talk
about the disciples as if they were sinless. No, they were just
as sinful as me. They were just as sinful as you.
They were men. And remember, the best of men
are men at best. And the disciples are demonstrating
their own weakness and their own self-delusion, thinking they
were able to drink of this cup and be baptized with this baptism.
They had no idea what he was talking about. Yet through this
event, The Lord teaches us the gospel. We're taught about union
with Christ. We're taught about greatness
in the kingdom of heaven. And we're given a mission statement
by the Lord himself, why he came here in the first place. Now
let's go on reading. They make that statement. We
can. And Jesus said unto them, you
shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of. And with the
baptism that I'm baptized with, you shall be baptized. Now, what in the world does the
Lord mean by that? He doesn't correct them. He says,
you will drink of that cup. and you will be baptized with
the baptism I'm baptized with. Now, according to Ephesians 1,
verse 4, there's a great number of people that are chosen in
Christ before the foundation of the world. According, Ephesians
1, 4, according as he hath chosen us in him, before the foundation
of the world, the elect, God's chosen, and here's their standing. They are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what does it mean to be
in Christ? Well, the Lord gave us a beautiful
illustration of what it means when he said, I am the vine,
you are the branches. Now, the vine and the branches. They're not the same thing, but
the same stem goes through both. Every believer is in Christ,
united to Christ eternally. There's no connecting point.
Somebody says, do you understand that? No, I don't understand
it. I just believe it. I've always been in him. We're given an illustration of
this in Hebrews 7, verse 9, where Levi, the great grandson of Abraham,
is said to have paid tithes when Abraham paid tithes, because
he was yet in the loins of his father Abraham. Levi had not
yet been born, but when Abraham paid those tithes, everyone in
him paid those tithes. Levi paid tithes when Abraham
paid those tithes because he was in Abraham. Now, the Lord
said to John the Baptist in Matthew 3, verse 15, thus it becometh
us to fulfill all righteousness. You see, everything the Lord
did, he did as an us. When he fulfilled all righteousness,
every believer fulfilled all righteousness. Now this is what
this thing of union with Christ and being in him means. And this
is why he says to John and James, you shall indeed drink of the
cup that I drink of and you shall be baptized with the baptism
I'm baptized with. You see, when he drank of that
cup, I was in him. When he was immersed under the
wrath of God, I was in him. When he kept the law, I was in
him. I did too. When he was nailed
to the cross, I was nailed to the cross as well because I was
in him. Paul said, I am crucified with
Christ. When they laid his dead body
in the tomb, I was in him, dead. When He was raised from the dead,
I was in Him. When He ascended back to the
Father, I went with him. I was in him. As he's seated
right now at the right hand of the Father, the scripture says
to all of God's people, we're seated together in the heavenlies
in Christ Jesus. So when the Lord says, you shall
indeed drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism I'm
baptized with, They did drink of that cup. So did every other
one of God's people in him. Now they didn't have any idea
what he was talking about, but they would. Now let's go and
read it. He says in verse 40, but to sit on my right hand and
on my left is not mine to give. but it shall be given to them
for whom it is prepared. Now, who are these people for
whom it was prepared that will sit on his right hand and on
his left? I've, in the past, thought it
was two men that we don't know anything about. It wasn't gonna
be James and John, somebody that the Lord ordered, and I suppose
it could be that, I don't know. But I know this, the Lord said,
I go, and he's talking about going to the cross. I go to prepare
a place for you. And he said, with regard to the
sheep, come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. I think it's gonna
be all of God's elect. They are the ones, every believer,
they are the ones for whom it is prepared. Now, we read in
verse 41, and when the ten heard, they heard about James and John
wanting to be the top dogs. They heard about them making
this request to sit on his right hand and on his left. They were
sore displeased. they were moved to indignation. I can hear them saying, those
narcissists, those self-centered, self-serving jerks, they're trying
to seek a place above us. If the truth were known, they
thought they ought to be in that place. And that's why they were
so upset with the disciples. They thought, this is the place
where we ought to be. But, verse 42, they were displeased
with James and John, but Jesus called them to him and saith
unto them, you know that they which are accounted to rule over
the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones
exercise authority upon them, and that is the way of the world. Seeking to have power, seeking
to have authority. Know something you don't know,
therefore I have power over you. I know somebody you don't know,
therefore I have power over you. I have something you don't have,
therefore I have power over you. That's the way of the world,
competition. Seeking to have power. Seeking
to exercise power over somebody else. It's what the scripture
calls the pride of life. Thinking that you have power
over another individual. Now this power seeking, let me
say this. Power belongeth unto the Lord.
And when we talk about a man having power or a woman having
power, they have a borrowed power, but it's not theirs inherently.
Power belongeth unto the Lord. No natural man has any power
at all. I love it when Pilate said to
the Lord, don't you know that I have power to crucify you and
I have power to release you? And the Lord replied, thou couldst
have no power at all over me, except it be given thee from
above. So this whole thought process
of having power and seeking to be the greatest, that's exactly
what James and John were doing. They were seeking to be the greatest,
to be able to exercise their authority over their brethren.
Look what he says, that's the way the world acts, and that's
the way John and James were acting at this time. But, so shall it
not be among you. But whosoever will be great among
you shall be your minister. And whosoever of you will be
the chiefest shall be the servant of all, even as the Son of Man
came not to be ministered to, but to minister. and to give
his life a ransom for many. Now we've seen, we're given a
glimpse of what union with Christ is. Next thing he tells us about
is what it takes to be great. Now every believer ought to aspire
to this greatness. It doesn't take wealth. It doesn't
take education. It doesn't take great gifts. All it takes to be great is to
be a servant. No competition among brethren. Brethren are to seek to be servants
one to another. And that is greatness in the
kingdom of heaven. And the Lord gave us that beautiful
example when he washed the disciples' feet. And he didn't look at it
as an act of condescension because he is the one who is meek and
lowly in heart. The Son of God, the Creator,
is meek and lowly in heart and approachable. And he served the
disciples. He said, I came not to be ministered
to, but to minister. And he demonstrated that when
he was washing their feet. You can read about that in John
chapter 13. And look at verse 45 again. For
even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Now, through the disciples' ridiculous
requests, we're given a true view, a clear view of what union
with Christ means, everything he did, the believer does. We're
given a look at true greatness, being a servant, and the Lord
gives us a very clear mission statement as to why he came. Now, I'd first like to read several
scriptures without really making any comment on them with regard
to why Christ said he came. We read in John chapter five,
verse 43, I am come in my Father's name. And he said in John chapter
six, verse 38, for I came down from heaven, not to do my own
will, but the will of him that sent me. In John chapter 12,
verse 27, when facing death on the cross, he said, what shall
I say? Father saved me from this hour.
For this cause came I in to this hour. This was my reason for
coming. We read in John chapter 18, verse
37, where the Lord said, I came to bear witness to the truth. And oh, how he bore witness to
the true character of God, the true character of man, and the
true character of salvation in his coming. He said in Matthew
5, verse 17, think not that I've come to destroy the law and the
prophets. I came not to destroy, but to
fulfill. He is the fulfillment of the
law. And he said in Matthew 9, verse
13, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He didn't come to call good people.
He came to call sinners to repentance. He said in Matthew 10, verse
34, think not that I'm come to send peace on the earth. I came
not to send peace, but a sword. And then we read in Matthew 18,
11, the Son of Man has come to save that which is lost. And in Luke 19, verse 10, for
the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. He said in Luke 9, 56, the Son
of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. He said in John 9, verse 39,
for judgment have I come into the world, that they which see
not might see, and that they which see might be made blind. Somebody says, what in the world
does that mean? Well, if you can see, why I'd
save you? Well, I can see why he'd save me. I'm a good person,
I've done my best, I've believed, I've fill in the blank. Well,
you've been judged as blind. There's no salvation for you.
But that one who can't see, who can't see in themselves any reason
why God would look in favor toward them, that's the person he came
to give sight to and to cause them to understand the gospel.
And then we have our text. The son of man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom
for many. Now he came to give his life
a ransom, a ransom payment. And that speaks of his death. Now, what good would it do us
if Christ lived a perfect life and then just went back to heaven?
Absolutely none at all. It's his death, it's his blood
that made atonement, that satisfy God's justice, a price of redemption. He gave himself a ransom for
many. That's what he was doing on Calvary's
tree. And notice this word for many, not for just a few, not
for all men without exception, but for many. Now, you can only have three
views of what Christ was doing when he was dying on the cross. I think most people have some
idea that he was dying for sins, and think with me. Christ was either dying for all
the sins of all men, some of the sins of all men, or all of
the sins of some men. Now follow me. All of the sins
of all men, if he died for all the sins of all men, then everybody
will be saved. It would be unjust for God to
send somebody to hell if their debt has been paid. If he died
for all the sins of all men, everyone will be saved. If he died for some of the sins,
of all men, or even all of the sins, but one of all men, no
one will be saved. I've heard people say, well,
he died for every sin, but unbelief. Well, you've been guilty of unbelief.
If he died for not all of the sins, but just some of the sins
of all men, then no one will be saved because I can't stand
before God with any sin. or you think he died for all
of the sins of some men. And that's what he's referring
to when he refers to the many. He died for all of the sins of
some men. He gave himself a ransom for
many, not just a few, but for many. Now, listen carefully. Most preachers present the death
of Christ as a way of forgiveness being made available to you if
you accept what he did. And if you reject it, you will
not be saved. Now, my dear friends, that's
just not so. There is absolutely no truth
in that kind of thinking. that is really salvation by works. You're putting salvation to be
ultimately dependent on something you do. And that won't work. It won't work. You see, his death
was a sin atoning sacrifice. When he said it is finished,
the sins of everybody he died for were paid for. and put away. Hebrews 1.3 says he by himself
purged our sins. And then he sat down at the right
hand of the Father. The blood of Christ was not an
offering making salvation available to you if you'll accept it. There's no gospel in that message.
If that's the message you believe, you've not believed the gospel
yet. I pray you will, but you haven't believed the gospel yet.
He gave himself a ransom, a complete salvation, a sin atoning victim
for many. Now, somebody says, well, how
can I know if he died for me? I can tell you how you can know
if he died for you. 1 Timothy 1, verse 15, Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the
chief. If you're a sinner, he came for
you. Romans chapter 5 verse 6 says,
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. If you're without strength and
if you're ungodly, bless God Christ died for you. Your salvation
is accomplished by Him. you look to him and rest in what
he did as all in your salvation. Now we have this message on CD
and DVD. If you call the church right,
we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Nyberg, praying God will
be pleased to make himself known. To receive a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to todd.nyberg at gmail.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.