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. I'm going to read a passage of
scripture from the book of Micah in the Old Testament. The 7th
chapter, beginning in the 18th verse, Micah says these words,
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and
passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage,
he retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again. He will have
compassion on us. He will subdue our iniquities,
and thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou will perform the truth to
Jacob and the mercy to Abraham, which thou has sworn unto our
fathers from the days of old." I've entitled this message, Who
is a God like unto thee? Now this is a rhetorical question
that tells us that there is not one. No one can be compared to
God. The reason idolatry is forbidden,
any graven image, any man-made form of God is because it's always
going to bring God down. There is no one like God, who
is like me, who can be compared to me. There are no comparisons. Moses said, who is likened to
thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is likened to thee? Glorious
in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Who is like me? unto me." I love
the fact that God can't be compared to anything. He's utterly unique. He is by himself. He is other. He is separate. He has no peers. He is in a class by himself. Now, something that looks like
a $20 bill is what? counterfeit. Any attempt we make
to make something look like God, all it is is a counterfeit. How much purchasing power does
a counterfeit $20 bill have? None. And what about those who
try to pass it, put them in jail? They're criminals. Now, in this
passage of Scripture, We have a description described by God
Himself through the prophet Micah of Himself. He is the incomparable
God, the supreme God, the matchless God, the ultimate God, the unequalable,
the matchable, the unrivaled, the unparalleled, the unsurpassed,
the final, absolute, perfect, sovereign God. This is who He
is, and He gives us this description of Himself. And if this God that
Micah described is not my God, I have a false God, a nonexistent
God. I'm worshiping an idol. Now who
is a God like unto thee? And the first thing Micah mentions
is this, who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity? Now, he begins with something
that's very important to all who worship him, the pardoning
of iniquity, the forgiveness of sins. Now, this is where salvation
begins, with the pardon of iniquity, with the forgiveness of sins. Now, a counterfeit God And a
counterfeit gospel ends with the forgiveness of sins. It goes
something like this. If you confess your sins, and
if you're sorry for your sins, and if you turn away from your
sins, and if you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior,
you will have the forgiveness of sins. Now, that's the message
that most preachers preach. You do this, you stop doing that,
and you will have the forgiveness of sins. Now, that is a counterfeit. In salvation, forgiveness doesn't
come at the end of a formula of things you do. Salvation begins
with the full, free, complete forgiveness of sins. And a gospel that ends in the
forgiveness of sins is a counterfeit gospel and a counterfeit God. Now, let me give you some scriptures
I'd like you to think about. In Revelation 13, verse 8, we
read that Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. Before time began, He was the
Lamb slain. Before there was ever a sinner,
there was the Savior, the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world, accomplishing the forgiveness of sins. Listen to
this scripture. 2 Timothy 1.9 says, He saved
us. And he called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began." Now, everything that a believer has was given
him in Christ Jesus before the world began. And included in
that is the forgiveness of sins. Now, you do not know they're
forgiven, and you're gonna come to Christ for mercy if they are
forgiven. You're gonna ask him to forgive you, but this forgiveness
is not God's response to you asking. It's his response to
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Salvation in the
true gospel The forgiveness of sins is the beginning, not the
end. Now let's go on reading. Who
is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth
by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? Now, God's people
are always described as a remnant in the earth. And as a matter
of fact, election is called a remnant according to the election of
grace. Now, what this is talking about is his elect. He passes
by the transgression of his elect. Now, a message that does not
extol The electing mercy of God is a counterfeit message. It's
not true. It didn't come from God. Now,
somebody may think, what do you mean by election? Well, what
the Bible means. For the children, being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of him that calleth. God chose who would be saved
before time began. Christ came for those people
and put away their sins. He didn't make salvation available
or possible. He actually accomplished salvation. And that's what he did on Calvary's
tree, and now because of God's electing mercy, because of Christ's
successful redemption, he passes by the transgression of that
remnant of his heritage. Now, I love this word, he passes
by. When God said, when I see the
blood, I will pass over you. Now he says this to everyone
who looks to Christ, to everyone who is pardoned, to everyone
who cries for mercy, when I see the blood, not when you see the
blood, not when I see your faith, not when I see your tears, not
when I see your reformation, when I see the blood. I will pass over you." Who had
to see it? God did. God did. When He sees the blood, He does
pass by. Now, what if somebody in one
of those houses with the blood was over the door committed some
kind of heinous crime that very day, something awful and dark. Would God go ahead and destroy
them? No. He said, when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. You see, His blood put away sin,
and now God sees no sin. Now, a message that does not
clearly bring forth Him passing by the remnant, the transgressions
of the remnant of His heritage, extolling the electing mercy
and the saving, redeeming blood of Christ is a counterfeit message. Now let's go on reading. Verse
18 says, he retaineth not his anger forever. Now, what is meant
by that? Let me read you a passage of
Scripture from Isaiah 54 that I think will be helpful. He retaineth
not his anger forever. We read in Isaiah 54, verse 7,
For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies
will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face
from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have
mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." Now, on Calvary's
tree, Christ was forsaken. He was forsaken because my sin
became his sin, so that he actually became guilty of the commission
of those sins that I've committed. And God forsook him, and God
poured his wrath upon him, giving him actually what he deserved. Yes, he deserved it, but it's
because my sin became his sins. And the reason that I don't have
wrath, the reason his anger is not on me, is because Christ
put it away. He was forsaken for a small moment,
which is the full equivalent of hell, him being forsaken by
God and bearing the awful wrath of God, but it's over. It's over. For the believer,
there is no wrath. God says, there's no fury in
me. He retains not his anger forever,
because the scripture says, he delights. In mercy, the living
God delights in, takes pleasure in, loves, showing mercy. Now, how interested are you in
mercy? I know this, I'm very interested
in it. And here's why. I know I'm guilty. And if God
gives me what I deserve, He will send me to hell. That's what
I deserve. So, oh, I need mercy. I'm guilty. I need mercy. I need
God to show me mercy, not to give me what I deserve. Not to
respond to some kind of promise I made. Well, if you show me
mercy, then I'll be this way and I'll be that way. That's
just bargaining with God. That's not asking for mercy.
You only ask for mercy when you are completely guilty and you
have no claim on God. Your sin is all your fault. You
can't blame somebody else. You can't blame your circumstances
or your environment or you can't blame God. It's all your fault. Guilty as charged. That's when
you'll cry out for mercy. Now, anybody who cries for mercy,
do you know God is more willing to give you mercy, to show mercy
toward you than you are to receive it? Because He delights in mercy. There has never in the history
of the universe been somebody who asked for mercy, who sued
for mercy, that he turned down. Somebody may say, well, I asked
for mercy and you didn't give it to me. You didn't ask for
mercy then. You tried to strike a deal with
God. You tried to bargain with Him. You said, if you do this,
I'll do that. That's not asking for mercy. Anyone who asks for
mercy has mercy. Who is a God like unto thee that
delights in mercy? Now look what it says in verse
19. It says, He will turn again. He will have compassion on us. He will subdue our iniquities,
and He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Now
this is talking about what God will do. Now, salvation. is what God will do. It's not what you do. It's not
a cooperative effort between you and God. Salvation is of
the Lord, and salvation is all about what He will do. He will, not He will if we do
this. No, He will turn again. He will not turn away from us
to do us good. He will turn to us Turn now unto
me and have mercy upon me, David said, for I'm desolate and afflicted. Oh, turn thyself again. That's
the cry of the believer. He will. Turn thou to me according
to the multitude of thy tender mercies, he will. Hide not thy
face from thy servant, for I'm in trouble, he will." He will
turn toward every one of his people, everyone who needs mercy. Now, that's how you can identify
yourself as one of his people, your need of mercy. your guilt
and your need of sovereign mercy. Now remember, mercy is not an
entitlement. The only kind of mercy there
is, is sovereign mercy. It's his to give or his to withhold. And if you ever come for mercy,
you know that. You don't come, well, I asked for mercy, you
ought to give it to me. You don't come demanding forgiveness. I
asked for forgiveness, now you need to forgive me. No, that's
not the way you come. You come before an absolute sovereign.
And you're given this promise, he will turn. He's going to turn toward me.
Turn thou me and I shall be turned. David said, Turn us again, O
God, O Lord God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine, and
we shall be saved. He will turn toward you. He will bend his ear toward you. If you're somebody looking for
mercy, he will turn toward you. He's not going to pass you by.
He's not going to ignore you. If you're someone who needs mercy,
he will turn again. And it says, He will have compassion. He will have compassion. He said, I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion, and I will show mercy upon whom
I will show mercy. And how great are His compassions. He will have compassion. As a father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. He knows our frame. He remembers that we're dust. He will have compassion, and
oh, the greatness of His compassions. Now, any God that's not like
this is a counterfeit God. Next, he mentions this glorious
blessing of grace. He will subdue our iniquities. Now, this is something that I'm
greatly interested in, Him subduing my iniquities. And the reason
I'm so interested in this is I can't subdue one's sin. not
one. If the Lord leaves me to myself,
I've had it. There's no hope for me. I cannot not sin. I can't subdue
one iniquity. I can't do anything but sin.
That's all I do. If I did it because of who I
am, it's sin. I can't look down my nose at
anybody. I have no claims on God, and
all my sin is all my fault. And here we have this promise,
He shall subdue our iniquities. Matthew 121 says, Thou shalt
call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Now, in subduing our iniquities,
He saves me from the penalty of sin. That's a price I can't
pay, but He can. And there's therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. He saves me
from the power of sin. You know, there was a time When
I didn't even know what it meant to believe, I'd hear the preacher
say, believe, and I'd think I would if I knew what it meant, or if
I could. I'd hear the preacher say, repent, and I'd I would
if I knew what it meant. I couldn't enter into these things. I couldn't really understand
them. But then God gave me life, and he gave me a new heart. He
gave me a heart that loves him. Now I love God. I love his way of salvation. I believe. There was a time when
I couldn't. I do now. I repent. I'm in a continual
state of repentance. There was a time when I couldn't,
but I do now. Why? Because he subdued my iniquities.
Romans 6.14 says, Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're
not under the law, but under grace. And how I look forward
to that time when I will never sin again, when my iniquities
will be put away and I'm going to be made just exactly like
the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall subdue our iniquities. Verse 19, go on reading, the
next thing, and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths
of the sea. God will take the sins of the
remnant of his inheritance and cast them into the depths of
the sea. Now, that is the most remote
place imaginable. the depths of the sea, our sins
have been separated from us. This is true of every believer.
Our sins have been separated from us as far as the east is
from the west. That's an infinite distance. We bear them no more. Now, what
this is speaking of is the removal of our sins from us. If I'm going
to be accepted by God, my sins are going to have to be removed
from me, separated from me. And the Scripture says regarding
the Lord Jesus Christ, who His own self bear our sins in his
own body on the tree. Now, if Christ bore my sins and
put them away, I do not have them anymore. They've been cast
into the depths of the sea, cast behind God's back. They've been
canceled. They've been blotted out. They
are no more. It's what the Bible calls justification. That means I stand before God,
not just as if I've never sinned. I've heard people define justification. Well, justification is just as
if I never sinned. That's not what it means. It
means I never sinned. It means I stand before God without sin,
without guilt, perfect, the righteousness of Christ, just as truly as my
sin became His sin, His righteousness becomes my righteousness. Now, this removal of sin is full
all sin. It's free. There's nothing I
do to earn this. It's unconditional, and it's
irreversible. The reason he can say there are
sins and iniquities I will remember no more is because there's nothing
there to remember. They've all been put away. And then in the 20th verse, Micah
says, Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob." Now that word perform
could be translated more accurately, that will give the truth to Jacob. Now God always works through
the truth. He doesn't use error. He doesn't
use false doctrine. He doesn't use false concepts.
All He uses is the truth. Now God that doesn't use the
truth is a counterfeit God. He's not the God of the Bible.
The God of the Bible always uses the truth. Sanctify them through
thy truth. Thy Word is truth. We're bound
to thank God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. God is spirit, and they that
worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. And God
always uses truth. He never uses error. He never
uses lies. He only uses the truth of His
Word, the true character of God, the true character of man, the
true character of salvation. Christ is all in salvation. He will always perform the truth
and give the truth. Thou wilt perform the truth to
Jacob and the mercy to Abraham. He always gives His mercy to
His people. Abraham, Jacob, that's Israel,
and all of God's people are Israel. Israel is not that real estate
in the Middle East, although we call it that, but Israel is
all God's people. All of Israel shall be saved. Thou wilt perform the truth to
Jacob and the mercy to Abraham, which Thou hast sworn unto our
fathers from the days of old." Now, I don't understand how God
is not in time. He dwells outside of time. He's
not limited by space or time the way you and I are. There's
no yesterday with Him. There's no tomorrow. A thousand
years are as a day, and a day is a thousand years from everlasting
to everlasting. Thou art God. But everything
He does is eternal. Everything He does was done in
eternity. The works were finished from
the foundation of the world. And this is why they're so secure.
What God does, He does eternally. There's eternal redemption. There's
eternal salvation. The gospel is called the eternal
gospel. All God does, He did before time
began, and time is the stage upon which what He has decreed
to come to pass, comes to pass. This is who God is. From everlasting
to everlasting, thou art God, and everything He did is according
to His eternal purpose and according to His eternal will. He purposed all things after
the counsel of His own will. Think of this scripture, according
as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him. God is eternal,
and everything He does is eternal. And while I realize we can't
understand this, we can sure enough believe it. And someone
who does not present the eternality of God and His grace and His
work, they're presenting a counterfeit gospel. But thank God for this
God who is. 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 Nyberg praying that
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 todsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.