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 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 Nibbert. I'm going to be speaking this
morning from Matthew chapter 12, if you want to get a Bible
to read along with me. But before I begin the message,
I want to let you know about the Sovereign Grace Bible Conference
we're going to be having at the Todd's Road Grace Church, beginning
Friday, March 8th, and going through Sunday. We're going to
have eight different speakers, and every one of them believe
the gospel of God's sovereign grace. Now, the only kind of
grace there is, is sovereign grace, because God is sovereign. These men all believe in election
by the Father. redemption by the Son, and regeneration
by the Holy Spirit, the Trinitarian salvation. Now, in Matthew 12,
verse 20, we read, A bruised reed shall he not break, And
smoking flax shall he not quench. till he send forth judgment into
victory." I've entitled this message, A Bruised Reed and a
Smoking Flax. Now, the reed was something that
grew in or near water. It was hollow. It was not sturdy. It was not strong. And to think
of a bruised reed, one broken over, good for nothing. It can't support anything. It
can't be leaned upon. And the Lord makes this promise,
I will not break it. And then we read of the smoking
flax. The candle wick that has just
gone out, a flicker ready to be extinguished. It doesn't have
any light. It doesn't have any heat. It
just puts out an offensive smell from the smoke. And the Lord
says, I will not quench it. The tenderness the Lord uses
with reference to this bruised reed and smoking flax. Nothing more weak, nothing more
useless. Yet the Lord says, I will not
Quench it, I will not break it. Now let's look at why the Lord
made this statement. We're gonna have to begin at
the first of the chapter, Matthew chapter 12. Like I said, it would
be helpful if you could follow along in the scriptures as we
consider this. Verse one, at that time, Jesus
went on the Sabbath day through the corn, and his disciples were
unhungered, and they began to pluck the ears of corn and to
eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said, behold, thy disciples
do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. Now, generally, when we think
of the Pharisees, we think of some people back in the New Testament
times, but the Pharisee is what we all are by nature. The Pharisee, the word means
separated one. The Pharisee believes that there's
something he does that separates him from other men and makes
him acceptable to God. The Pharisees were very strict.
The Pharisees thought they were very righteous, but they were
totally ignorant of the character of God. And they accused the
Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples at this time of breaking the
Sabbath. Now, they had no understanding
of what the Sabbath meant, They were trying to make a work out
of not working. They didn't understand that the
Sabbath pointed to resting in Christ. It illustrates faith,
but they were completely ignorant of this, so they accused the
Lord of breaking the Sabbath. Now, let's look at our Lord's
reply in verse three. But he said unto them, have you
not read I love the way he says this. It's a slam at them. Of
course they'd read it, but they didn't have any understanding
of it. And he's saying, have you not read? Have you not read
what David did when he was a hungered and they that were with him,
how he entered into the house of God and did eat the show bread,
which was not lawful for him to eat neither for them, which
were with him, but only for the priests. Or have you not read,
he gives another example, have you not read in the law how that
on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath
and are blameless? But I say unto you that in this
place is one greater than the temple, that temple that you
revere so much, I'm infinitely greater than the temple. But If he had known what this
meaneth, I'll have mercy and not sacrifice, you wouldn't have
condemned the guiltless. You see, every man thinks that
there's some kind of sacrifice they can bring God that God will
accept and accept them for the sake of that. But the Lord says,
you don't know that God says, I'll have mercy, not your sacrifice. And then he said, for the son
of man is Lord. even at the Sabbath day. Now
they thought they kept the Sabbath, and he said, I am the Lord of
the Sabbath. I am the meaning of the Sabbath.
And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue,
and behold, there was a man which had his hand withered, withdrawn. He couldn't stretch it forth.
And they asked him saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath
days? That they might accuse him. Now I want you to think
about how stupid this is. Here a man is with a withered
hand and they thought, you'll break the Sabbath if you heal
this man's hand on the Sabbath. They thought they could accuse
him. This shows how hard hearted these men were and how uncaring
these men were. Verse 11, and he said unto them,
What man shall there be among you that you shall have one sheep,
and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will it not
lay hold on it and lift it out? How much then is a man better
than a sheep? Wherefore, it is lawful to do
well on the Sabbath days. Then said he to the man, that
man that had the withered hand, stretch forth thine hand. He called him to do something
that he could not do. And God calls upon me and you
to do something we cannot do. But when he gives the command,
the power comes with his command. And he stretched it forth and
it was restored whole like as the other, a miracle took place. Then the Pharisees went out and
held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew
Himself from thence, and great multitudes followed Him, and
He healed them all. He didn't wait and see if they
had the faith to be healed. He healed them all. And He charged them that they
should not make Him known. How many times have you read
in the New Testament where the Lord would heal somebody, or
the Lord would do some kind of miracle for somebody, and he'd
say, don't tell anybody about it. He charged all these people
that he healed, do not make me known. Now, why is this? You'd think the Lord would want
this to be made known about him, but he said, do not tell anybody
about this. And here's why. Christ was not,
while he was here, trying to gain a following. He was not
trying to gain a hearing. He was not trying to influence
society. He was not trying to affect the
culture. He was not trying to market or
advertising himself. He was not trying to get people
to believe by seeing the miracles that he performed. You see, the
Lord Jesus Christ does not try to do anything. He came to save
His people from their sins. Matthew 1.21, Thou shalt call
His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Now early in His public ministry,
He said, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me. and to finish his work. He said shortly before his death
in the great high priestly prayer for his people in John chapter
17, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the
work thou gavest me to do. Now let me repeat, the Lord doesn't
try to do anything. And when he came in his earthly
ministry, he wasn't trying to influence anybody or trying to
gain people's favor or try to market himself so people would
believe. He came to do the Father's will. He came to save his people from
their sins. And that's exactly what he did.
He said, I'm not sinned, but to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. Now, that is another name for
the elect, those who believe, the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. The Lord has a sheep. His father gave him. He lays
down his life for the sheep, and he is on the trail of his
sheep. Now, in preaching the gospel,
I'm not trying to change the world. I'm not trying to affect
society. were on the trail of his sheep,
his sheep who will hear his voice. And it's my prayer that a sheep
hears his voice through this preaching this morning. Now,
we read next, after he charged them that they should not make
him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the
prophet. The reason he did this is because
Isaiah the prophet, 700 years inspired by the Spirit of God,
said he would do this. Now I'd like to read this passage
in Isaiah chapter 42 regarding the Lord Jesus. God says in Isaiah
42, behold my servant, whom I uphold, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ,
mine elect, In whom my soul delighteth, I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not
cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street,
just like Matthew quoted. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth
judgment to truth, he shall not fail, nor be discouraged till
he hath set judgment in the earth. and the isle shall wait for his
fall. Now, when it is said that he
will not quench a burning flax and he won't break the bruised
reed, it came from in this passage of scripture in Isaiah chapter
42. Now, God says, behold my servant. Jesus Christ is equal to his
father and he's his father's servant. He delights to do his
father's will. I came down from heaven not to
do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. He is the
servant of God, the one God upholds. And then God says, mine elect. Now, if you read the Bible, you
see the term election over and over again. You know, the Lord
said he'll come and gather his elect from the four winds. Election
is God's choice of his people before time began. But if you
would understand election, understand this, Christ is God's elect. And those that are elect in him
are saved simply because they are in him. Christ is the chosen
of God and all of the elect are in him. Now, somebody says, I
don't understand that. Well, believe it. Believe it.
It's what the Bible teaches. Behold mine elect in whom my
soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
John said, the Father giveth not the Spirit by measure unto
him. Everything he said recommended itself as the very word of God.
And then it says, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
And that's not talking about the judgment of condemnation.
That's talking about the judgment of justification. Not to condemn
them. You see, the world's already
condemned. He didn't come to condemn the world. He came to
save the world in a way that honors the justice of God. Now
here we have, he shall not cry. We're going to come back to this
in a moment. He shall not cry nor lift up nor cause his voice
to be heard in the street. He's not trying to gain a following.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he
not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged. Now that is so important, he
shall not fail. He shall not be discouraged,
the Son of God. Most preaching that I hear sounds
something like this. Christ died for everybody and
wants to save everybody and intends to save everybody, but you will
not be saved unless you accept him as your personal savior.
Now, what that means is that there will be people in hell
that he died for. Now, if there are people in hell
that he died for, you know what he is? He's a failure. He failed
to do what he intended to do, but that will not be, he shall
not fail. Everybody he died for must be
saved, are saved. There won't be anybody in hell
that he died for and intended to save. He shall not fail, he
shall not be discouraged, frustrated that his will is not done. Now, back in our text in Matthew
chapter 12, we'll leave Isaiah now. We read in verse 17 that
it might be fulfilled which is spoken by Isaiah the prophet,
saying, Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in
whom my soul is well pleased, I will put my spirit upon him,
and he shall show forth judgment to the Gentiles. The complete
justification of everybody he died for. Now, if you're a believer,
you know what that means? That means you're justified.
That means you don't have any guilt. That means you don't have
any sin. It means you stand just before
God because of what Christ did for you. Verse 19, he shall not
strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the
streets, and hear this promise, this promise, a bruised reed
shall he not break, and a smoking flax shall he not quench. Now, I don't think there's anything
that describes weakness more than a bruised reed and a smoking
flax. A bruised reed can't support
anything. You can't lean anything upon
it. It's worthless. It's worthless. I thought of
Mephibosheth when David said, are there any of the house of
Saul that I can show kindness to for Jonathan's sake? And the
servant said, yes, there's one, but he's not worth anything.
He's lame on both of his feet. He can't work for you. He can't
fight for you. He can only be carried. Now that's what I think of when
I think of a bruised reed. Bruised by reason of you're seeing
a smoking flax about to go out. doesn't produce any heat, doesn't
produce any light because of its sinfulness. Maybe one time
it seemed like it shined, but no more because of personal and
repeated sin. It's about to go out. How weak
a bruised reed, how helpless and weak a smoking flax. And the Lord of glory says, I'm
not going to crush that bruised reed. And I'm not going to put
out that smoking flax. Now, this is what a sinner is. Do I have any sinners listening?
A sinner is somebody who all they do is sin. They cannot not
sin. Their sin's all their fault.
They can't blame it on somebody else. There's no excuse. They
can't look in judgment on anybody. They have no claims on God. They're
nothing more useless than a bruised reed and a smoking flax. And yet the Lord Jesus says,
I will not put them out. Till he send forth judgment unto
victory. Now here's the fact concerning
that bruised reed and that smoking flax. The Lord Jesus Christ has
borne their sin and put it away and justified them and given
them perfect righteousness and they are victorious through him. Thanks be unto God which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, thanks
be unto God who always causes us to triumph in Christ. Now
I've heard preachers talk about people living defeated Christian
lives. There's no such thing. There's
no such thing if you're in Christ. Thanks be unto God who always
causes us to triumph in Christ. And look what verse 21 says,
in his name, shall the Gentiles trust." Now, the Lord has a lot
of names in the Scriptures to give us some idea of who He is. I'm thankful for the names of
God in the Scripture, but the name I have no doubt that is
specifically referred to is the name that that Gentile Philippian
jailer came up to Paul and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And Paul answered, believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now listen, smoking flax, listen,
bruised reed, Every believer knows something about that. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now, he's
the Lord. You know what that means? He's your Lord. Somebody says,
won't you make him the Lord of your life? You can't do that.
He already is your Lord. You see, he is the Lord. To this
end, Christ both died and revived that he might be Lord both of
the dead and the living. If you're dead in sins, he's
still your Lord. You're in his hand. He can do with you whatever
he's pleased to do. If you're living, if the Lord
has saved you, you know he's your Lord. You delight in his
Lordship. He's Lord of creation. He spake
the world into existence. He's Lord of Providence. He controls
everybody and everything. His will is always done, and
He's Lord of salvation. If you're going to be saved,
it's up to Him. And not only is He Lord, His
name is Jesus, Savior. He delights in saving sinners. He delights in saving bruised
reeds and smoking flaxes. He's the Christ. He's God's anointed
prophet. He is the Word of God. He's God's
anointed priest. If He brings you into the Father's
presence, you're accepted. He's God's anointed king, ruling
and reigning. He's the one who can cause you
to come to Him because He's king. His will is always done. Now, in His name shall the Gentiles
trust. That word trust is the word generally
translated hope. In his name shall the Gentiles
hope. Now, hope is a confident expectation
with regard to the future. The future. It's not something
you're experiencing right now, but you hope you will. Hope that's
seen, Paul said, is not hope for what a man seeth. Why is
he yet hope for? Hope has to do with the future. Now listen real carefully. I
have a hope. I've got a confident expectation.
that on judgment day, God's gonna see me without fault, without
sin, blameless, having never sinned. You say, but you have
sinned. Christ put that sin away, and
he gave me his righteousness. His righteousness is my personal
righteousness before God. Now, I have that hope. I have
that hope. Do you see how you're faultless?
No, but I know I am. And I have a hope that on judgment
day, I'll be perfectly justified. And I have a hope that everything
between now and then is working together for my good and his
glory. What a hope! I stand perfect
before God on Judgment Day, and everything between now and then
is for my good. Whether it seems good or whether
it seems bad, it's all good. Now, Peter said, always be ready
to give every man that asks you a reason for the hope that's
in you. So let me give you the reason
I and every other believer has this hope. First, this reason
is founded on the Scriptures. It's not something I'm just making
up or what my church believes or some denominational distinctive.
This is the message of the scripture, this thing of justification.
And my hope comes to me where I am, not where I should be. People think, here's what I need
to do to get God to save me. No, my hope comes to me where
I am and does something for me. And my hope is carried all the
way through by God. He does it all. in my hope, this
hope I have of being justified before God. Here's why, Christ
took the full responsibility of my salvation. And everything
God requires of me, he looks to Christ for. And everything
God requires of me, I look to Christ for. You see, Christ is
all in this hope. And this hope that I have honors
God. It honors every attribute of
God. His justice is honored. I'm saved
because I'm perfectly righteous. His justice is honored. All my
sin is punished. His grace is honored. A bruised
reed and a smoking flax is saved by his grace. His wisdom is honored. He's found a way to be just and
justify somebody like me. His power is honored in saving
someone like me. Oh, this glorifies every attribute
of God It gives me life and enables me to do what God requires me
to do. Repent, believe the gospel, and
love him. And it preserves me and cleanses
me daily. What a hope for a smoking flax
and a bruised reed. Now listen to me. If that describes
you, utter weakness, utter sinfulness. You are the object of God's mercy
and grace. You are that smoking flax that
He won't quench. You're that bruise reed that
He won't break. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Now, we have this message on
DVD and CD. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Kniper praying God
will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's our prayer.
Amen. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.