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 Nybert. The title of the message for
this morning is, Who is God? What a question. Who is God? When Moses came into Pharaoh,
In Exodus chapter 5 verse 1 we read, and afterwards Moses and
Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, thus saith the Lord God of Israel,
let my people go. And Pharaoh's reply was, who
is the Lord that I should obey him? I know not the Lord. Neither
will I let Israel go. Now, Pharaoh said this in haughty
arrogance. Who is the Lord that I should
obey his voice? But what a question. Who is the
Lord? Who is God? Did you know you'll only find
the true answer in the Bible? Now, you can know things about
God without the Bible. You can know He's very powerful. You can logically deduce that
nobody made Him. He's eternal. But you can't really
know who He is apart from this book called the Bible. Now, somebody
says, do you expect me to believe that the Bible really is the
inspired Word of God? Well, it claims to be. It claims
to be, and somebody says, well, that's so hard to believe. Well,
is it hard to believe that God created the universe? He's all
powerful. It's only logical to believe
that God created the universe. Someone who takes the position
of atheism is taking an illogical and an irrational position. Now,
I know they claim to be academic and smart and so on, but it doesn't
even make sense. The only thing that makes sense
is that God created the universe. And if he has the power to create
the universe, he has the power to inspire a book and preserve
it without error. Here's what the Bible claims
for itself. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. Now, who is God? where we're
going to look at where God made himself known to Moses. This is that famous passage of
scripture where when Moses asked him his name, he said, I am that
I am. Now, who God is, is not predicated
on what we think about him. He is who he is. I am that I am. Now I want to look in Exodus
chapter 3 where the Lord appeared to Moses and made himself known. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro,
his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock
to the back side of the desert. and came to the mountain of God,
even Horeb. He'd been there 40 years. He
left Egypt 40 years ago. He had been learned in all the
wisdom of the Egyptians, but that was a distant memory. And he's been a shepherd of a
flock. Verse two, and the angel of the
Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of
a bush. And he looked, and behold, the
bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Now we don't read where Moses
was seeking the Lord, but the Lord appeared to him. And he
appeared to him as the angel of the Lord. This was a pre-incarnate
vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He appeared in a bush that
burned with fire and was not consumed. Now, this picture,
it's something that actually happened. There was a bush burning
with fire and it couldn't be consumed. But in this, we see
a very clear view of who God is in the person of his son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this bush did not depend
on the wood or the energy of the wood to keep the flame going. It was independent. This is who
God is. He is the only independent being. He has no needs. He has life in himself. That fire that kept going and
didn't need the energy of the wood or the bush represents the
deity, the Godhead of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that wood could
not be consumed. That wood represents the humanity
of the Lord Jesus Christ that could not be consumed by the
fire. And what this refers to actually
is the cross. When the Lord Jesus was hanging
on that cross and the fire of God's wrath fell down upon Him
as the sinner's substitute, He consumed the fire of God's wrath. The fire of God's wrath could
not consume Him. He consumed the fire of God's
wrath and gave complete satisfaction to the justice of God. Now here
we have this glorious appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ in the
burning bush. And what a magnificent view we
have of who Christ really is. Fully God, fully man. The God-man Christ Jesus. Now really, all we're going to
know of God is Jesus Christ. Now let's go on reading, verse
three. And Moses said, I will now turn
aside and see that great sight, why the bush is not burnt. Perhaps he had looked at it and
several hours later, he saw it's not burning out. Something is
amazing about this. I wanna see what's going on.
So he moved toward that bush. And when the Lord saw that he
turned aside to see, the Lord was watching him. He was looking
at what his reaction would be to that burning bush. And he's
looking at me and he's looking at you to see what our reaction
is. And when the Lord saw that he
turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of
the bush and said, Moses, Moses. Oh, I pray that the Lord calls
my name. I pray that the Lord calls your
name. And I tell you what, if he does,
you will respond just like Moses did. Here am I. God never calls someone with
the irresistible call of his grace when they say no. No, they present themselves to
the living God. And look what God said. And he
said, draw not nigh hither, Don't come close, Moses. Stay right
what you are. Put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place wherein thou standest is holy ground. Now, if I ever see who he is,
I'm gonna see something of his holiness. Only thou art holy. there's no knowledge of God apart
from some revelation of the holiness of God, the otherness, the separateness,
the uniqueness of God. No one It's like him. There's nobody to compare him
to. He's utterly unique. That's why
any kind of idolatry is such a sin, because it's trying to
bring God down to a human level. God is holy. And you'll never have any understanding
of sin I'll never have any understanding of sin until I see God in His
holiness." Now, what is holiness? The best way we can answer that
question is by looking at Psalm 22, verses 1 through 3, where
David said, but we know these are the words of Christ from
the cross. This is a Messianic psalm, as they all are. But David
says, and Christ said from the cross, my God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping
me? And the words of my roaring. Now, God the Father forsook Jesus
Christ. He turned His back on Him. He
refused to help Him. Why? Because Christ was made
sin. The Father forsook Him at that
time because that is what He deserved. He was made sin. The sins of His people became
His sins, and the Father forsook Him. And in the third verse,
He says, Why? But thou art holy. That's why, if you want to understand
the holiness of God, look to the cross when sin was found
on Christ and God forsook him. Now, until you and I have some
concept of the holiness of God, we're not going to understand
our own sinfulness. We're gonna think, well, I'm good as anybody
else. We'll be like the Pharisee. I thank thee that I'm not as
other men are. We can always find somebody that we compare
ourselves to and think, well, I look pretty good. But if we
ever see God in his holiness, let me read the words of Isaiah
in Isaiah chapter six. In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted
up. And his train filled the temple.
Above it stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With
twain he covered his face. With twain he covered his feet.
And with twain he did cry. And cried one to another and
said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. The whole
earth is full of his glory. You know what Isaiah said in
response to that? Then said I, woe is me. I am undone. For I am a man of unclean lips,
and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes
have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. When Daniel saw him,
he said, my comeliness turned to corruption. When Job saw him,
he said, I've heard of thee with the hearing of the ears, but
now mine eyes seeth thee, wherefore I hate myself, and I repent in
dust and ashes. When Peter had who the Lord really
is first revealed to him, you know what his response was? Depart
from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. You don't wanna
have anything to do with me. Now, the reason men have such
high opinions of themselves is they've never seen the Lord. But Moses did at this time, and
he found out something about the holiness of God. Verse six. Moreover, he the Lord
said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, the God of Jacob, the covenant God. And Moses hid his
face, for he was afraid to look upon God. Now the reason men
have such bold familiarity with God and the way they speak His
name without fear is because they've never seen Him. If you've
ever seen Him, you'll do as Moses did. And the Lord said, I have
surely seen the affliction of my people, which are in Egypt,
and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know
their sorrows. And I am come down to deliver
them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the
land into a good land and a large under land flowing with milk
and honey, the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites
and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore
behold the cry of the children of Israel, come to me. I've also
seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppressed them.
Come now therefore and I will send thee into Pharaoh that thou
mayest bring forth my children, my people, the children of Israel
out of Egypt. Now 40 years later, earlier, Moses attempted to help
the children of Israel. And he thought they'd understand
that he was the one that God was going to use to deliver them,
but they didn't understand. As a matter of fact, they rejected
him. Now, 40 years later, when God tells him to do it, he no
longer wants the job. Read with me. And Moses said
unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should
bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And here's Moses'
credential. God said to him, Certainly I'll
be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee that I have
sent thee. When thou hast brought forth
the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
And Moses said unto God, behold, when I'm coming to the children
of Israel, and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers
has sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, what is his
name? What shall I say unto them? God said unto Moses, I am that
I am. And he said, thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am has sent thee, me unto thee. I am that I am. Remember this message was titled,
Who is God? Well, he answers this question
for us, I am that I am. Now, if I called your home and
asked for you and someone picked up the phone that didn't know
me, And if they said to me, well, shall I say who's calling? What
if I said, I am that I am. Tell them that I am is calling
you. They'd probably hang up on me,
wouldn't they? But here we have the living God saying to Moses,
I am that I am. And there's so much in that statement.
I am eternal. No one ever made me. I am independent. I have no needs. I am self-sufficient. I am immutable. I never change. I can't be diminished. I can't
increase. Now, Jesus Christ took this name
to himself. In John 8, verse 24, he said,
if you believe not that I am, you shall die in your sins. You
remember when they came to arrest him and they came with a great
multitude and the Lord said, whom seek ye? And they said,
Jesus of Nazareth. And he said, I am. And they all
fell backwards at the power, the sheer power of his name,
I am. When the Pharisees said to him,
you're not yet 50 years old and you say you've seen Abraham?
He said, verily I say unto thee, before Abraham was, I am. In Exodus chapter three, verse
14, where the Lord says, I am that I am, it's spoken in the
plural. I, the Father, am that I am. I, the Son, am that I am. I, the Spirit, am that I am. Who is God? He is one God in
three distinct persons. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. Now, can we understand that? Of course not. But it's what
is taught in the scriptures. We're told to baptize in the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now, I love
this passage of scripture in Hebrews chapter 11, where it
says, he that cometh to God must believe that he is. Somebody
says, well, I believe in God. Well, so does the devil. That's
not what that's saying. It's not believing in the existence of
God. It's believing in the isness of God. He that cometh to God
must believe that he is. Now, God has attributes. They're revealed in the scriptures. His isness is declared in this
book. And we can't understand this
book except he's pleased to reveal himself by his spirit in his
word. We're not going to understand
anything in here unless he's pleased to make it known. He
only is. He says, I am that I am, not
I want to be, could be, should be, will be, used to be. He is
the eternal. I am that I am. He never began to be. He's eternal. No one made him. He is holy. He is the holy one of Israel. His love is a holy love. His
wrath is a holy wrath. His justice is a holy justice.
His sovereignty, and He is sovereign. That means you're in His hand,
and He's in control of you. His sovereignty is a holy sovereignty. You see, me and you are in His
hand, and we don't have any control over Him. That's who He is. He
is utterly sovereign. Colossians 2, verse 9 says, In
Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Think
of that. In him, in the Lord Jesus Christ,
dwells, resides all the fullness of the Godhead in a body. Christ is all-powerful. God is
all-powerful, omnipotent. That's seen in creation when
he spake the world into existence. He created the universe from
nothing. There was a time when all there
was, was God. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. And the great three in one willed
the universe into existence as an act of their power. God's
power is seen in Providence where he controls everything and everybody. God's power is seen in salvation
where God became a man. when God took on the sins of
His people and put them away and made them to be justified
and righteous in His sight. What power is displayed in God? He's absolutely just. He'll by
no means clear the guilty. And the only way we can understand
that is in the gospel. The gospel teaches how God can
by no means clear the guilty and yet forgive and save sinners
for Christ's sake. Jesus Christ is grace. It's said
of him that he's full of grace and truth. He's independent.
As the father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the son to
have life in himself. Oh, who is God? Jesus Christ
is God. Jesus Christ is God. Oh, I love to say that. Jesus
Christ is God. That's who God is. Now, I think it's very interesting. In this name, I am that I am,
it can be seen because Jehovah's name is in this. Jehovah is salvation. It means I save in the manner
which I save. Now, who God is, is seen in the
manner in which he saves. And any aspect of his salvation
that's denied by a man, and it's really a denial of the character
of God. For instance, here's an example
of what I'm saying. According to the scriptures, salvation
is of the Lord. He chose who would be saved before
time began. Somebody says, well, I don't
believe that. Well, then you're denying that God's God. This is who He
is. He saves in the manner which
He saves. And on the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, every
attribute of God is manifested. He's been pleased to make known.
His holiness is seen. His hatred of sin. His justice
is seen. He's going to punish sin. His
purpose is seen. Christ is called the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. God created the universe for
the cross so he could make himself known. His wisdom is seen, how
he can be just and justify the ungodly. Only God could do this
and execute it. Man couldn't come up with this,
nor could he execute it if he did come up with it. His grace
is seen in love. God so loved the world that He
gave His Son. All that God is, is seen in the
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. When I ask the question, who
is God? That is answered in the cross. The cross is the whole
counsel of God. Now, who is God? He's revealed
in the Bible. Who He is is not predicated on
what you and I think. He is who He is. I am that I
am. And all of His isness is revealed
in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that's who He is. Now, let me close with this scripture,
Romans 10, 13, but it's found so many times in the scripture.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now the name of the Lord is who
he is. It's not just audibly saying
his name. His name represents who he is,
his isness, his holiness, his power, his independence, his
sovereignty, his justice, his loving kindness, his graciousness. That's who he is. And when I
call upon his name, and don't miss this word whosoever, that's
a great word. I'm a whosoever. You're a whosoever. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord. And this is what I want to do
right now. This is what I want you to do right now. Lord, save
me. Save me by your power. I don't
have any power. Save me by your grace. I don't
have any good works. I must be saved by your grace.
Save me by your justice. Save me in a way that honors
your justice and all sin will be punished. Save me in a way
that honors your love and shows the greatness of your love. Having
loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them to the
end. Save me by who you are. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord. shall be saved. That's a sure word. Shall be
saved. Saved from your sins. Saved from
yourself. Saved from the wrath and condemnation
of God. Saved from hell. Whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord. shall be saved. Now this infinite, glorious one,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God, said this in Matthew 11,
verse 28. Come unto me, not go to the law
and try to work your way to heaven. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden. and I will give you rest." What's
rest? Among other things, it's not
working. Resting in Christ because He finished the work of salvation. Who is God? God the Father, God
the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the great I am that I am, all
of his isness is revealed in his word. And whosoever shall
call upon his name shall be saved. We have this message on DVD and
CD. If you call the church, email
or write, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Nyberg, praying
that God will be pleased to make himself known to you. 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.