Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Niber. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 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've entitled this message, Jesus. Sweetest name there is, Jesus. We read in Matthew chapter one,
verse 18, now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. Now, while there is no possible
way that he was born on December 25th, the day the world celebrates
his birthday, nor are we ever told to commemorate his birthday
in the scriptures one day a year. We're not told to do that. Yet
he did have a birthday. a day of His birth. We read, Now the birth of Jesus
Christ, I love His name, Jesus. The Hebrew name is Joshua. Jehovah is salvation, is what
the word means. Now, in the Old Testament, Moses
could not bring the children of Israel into the promised land.
He represents the law. He represents salvation by works.
You can never be brought into heaven by anything you do. It was Joshua, Jesus, who brought
them in to the promised land. The Lord's Christ, the anointed
Messiah, the anointed prophet, priest, and king. Now the birth
of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his mother was espoused
to Joseph, they were engaged before they came together, she
was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Now put yourself in Joseph's
place. Mary becomes pregnant. He knows
that he has not had intimate relationships, an intimate relationship
with her, so he can only come to one conclusion. She's been
with somebody else, but the angel comes to him and lets him know. Verse 19, then Joseph, her husband,
being a just man and not willing to make her a public example,
was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost." Mary was a virgin, and Mary had a child,
and the child that was conceived in her was of the Holy Ghost. Now, the virgin birth, the scripture
teaches it. Mary was not a surrogate mother.
Her DNA was in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're given the first
promise of this in the first gospel message in Genesis 3,
verse 15, the seed of woman. Not the seed of man, but the
seed of woman shall bruise, shall crush the serpent's head. That's the first gospel promise
after the fall. Now, with God, nothing shall
be impossible. And God can bring forth himself
a son through the womb of a virgin. And the virgin birth is necessary
for this reason. Adam's seed It's corruptible. It's sinful. Anyone born of a
man and woman is going to be born sinful and evil. We inherit our father's evil
nature. Everybody that's born is born
into this world a sinner. The little baby crying, not even
an hour old, is a sinner before God. born with an evil nature. The wicked are estranged from
the womb. They go about as soon as they
be born, speaking lies, the scripture says. David said, Behold, I was
shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Now,
if Christ was born of man seed that would have made him sinful,
but he was not born of man seed. He was conceived in the woman
by God, the Holy Spirit. Now, do I understand how that
happened? No, I don't understand it. Do
I believe it? Yes, I do with all my heart. In Isaiah chapter seven, verse
14, Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold,
a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and thou shalt call his
name Immanuel, which means God with us." What a sign! A few
pages over in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6. For
unto us a child is born. Speaking of the birth of the
Lord Jesus Christ. unto us a Son is given." Now
that Son wasn't born, that Son was given because the Son is
the eternal Son of God. God the Son, the second person
of the blessed Trinity, the uncreated Son of God, fully God, fully
man, equal with God, His eternal Son. unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son." Now look what it says next, and
the government shall be upon his shoulder. Now the word government
means the rule, the dominion, THE CONTROL SHALL BE UPON HIS
SHOULDERS." What that's speaking of is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is Lord. He's Lord of Creation. All things
were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that
was made. He's the Creator. He's the Lord of Providence.
By Him, all things consist. He upholds all things by the
word of His power. Everything that happens in time,
He is in control of. He is the first cause of all
things. Everything that happens in time
is nothing less than His will being done. And most especially,
He's the Lord of salvation. That means salvation is in His
hands. Salvation is of the Lord. And your eternal destiny is not
up to you. It's up to Him. You see, He's
not in your hands. You're in His hands. And as to
whether or not you are saved to the praise of the glory of
his grace, or if he passes you by as an act of his irreprehensible
justice, it's all in his sovereign will. The leper understood this
when he said, Lord, if you will, it's all up to your will. If
you will, you can make me clean. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful." You know,
sometimes I'll say to somebody, how you doing? They'll say, wonderful,
wonderful. Full of wonder? That which inspires
worship, awe, and reverence? I don't think so. There's one
whose name is wonderful, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he shall
be called the Counselor. Now here, this is very interesting,
the word Counselor is not a noun, it's not a title, it's a verb. His counsel, his purpose, his
decree is always done. Now, it's not a counselor. A counselor is somebody who gives
good advice. No doubt, the Lord Jesus Christ is the great counselor,
but that's not what this verse is saying. It's saying that his
counsel, his will, his purpose, his decrees are always done. He's in absolute sovereign control. He said, I have purpose to stain
the pride of all glory." That's the same word. That simply means
that His government is enacted and He controls it all. And look what it says next in
verse 6, His name shall be called the Mighty God. Jesus Christ
is God. Jesus is the mighty God. That's who He is. And all you
and I will ever see of God is Jesus Christ. Look what it says
next. He is the everlasting Father. Now, how can He be the Son and
be called the everlasting Father? Well, I know this. He's everlasting. That means he never began to
be. He never began to be. He is eternal. And when Philip
said, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us, he said, have
I been so long time with you, Philip, and yet has thou not
known me? He that has seen me hath seen the Father. All we will ever see of God the
Father is Jesus Christ, God the Father's Son. He shall be called
the everlasting Father. Somebody says, I don't understand
that. Well, who thought you could? I don't either, but I believe
it. This is what the Bible says concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he goes on to say, he's called the Prince of Peace. Oh, what
a name for our Lord Jesus Christ. He made our peace with God. Somebody says, have you made
your peace with God? No, I haven't. Jesus Christ made
my peace with God. You see, on Calvary's tree, He
accomplished my peace. My sin was put away, and now
God's at peace with me. He doesn't have anything to be
mad at, because I stand perfect because of what the Prince of
Peace did for me. And then it says in verse 7,
and the increase of His government, that word increase means the
greatness, the greatness of His government, of His sovereign
dominion, and His sovereign control, and peace, the greatness of His
peace, great peace have they that love thy law, because they've
seen it perfected and honored by the Lord Jesus Christ, and
He is my peace before God, being justified, By faith we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. You see on Calvary's
tree, he justified everybody he died for. And if you're justified,
that means you have no guilt. That means you stand perfect
before God. Oh, what peace there is from
knowing that he is my peace. Of the greatness of his government
and peace, there shall be no end upon the throne of David. and upon his kingdom to order
it." Now remember, the throne of David is the throne of Christ.
It's not talking about the man David. This is talking about
the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. When He had by Himself
purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of His Father,
the throne of David, the throne of Christ. Thy throne, O God,
The Father speaking to the Son, Thy throne, O God, is forever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of Thy kingdom. This is the Lord Jesus Christ. The increase of His government
and peace, there shall be no end upon the throne of David
and upon His kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even forever. Now, because of
the cross, God is absolutely just in bringing me to heaven. All of the requirements of justice
have been dealt with. My sin has been punished. My
sin has been put away. The righteousness of Christ has
been given to me. Just as He was made to be sin,
we're made to be the very righteousness of God in Him. And it's justice,
the judgment of God, that demands the salvation of everybody that
Christ died for. That's great, isn't it? Oh, if
you're a sinner, it's great. If you think that you can be
saved by your works, you won't like this message. It won't make
any sense to you. But if you're a sinner and you
know you can't do anything to save yourself, it's going to
be the best news you've ever heard. The judgment and justice
of God. The cross is the most God-like
thing God ever did. He made a way to be just and
justify the ungodly. Praise and bless His holy name. for the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And it finally says in verse 7, the zeal of the Lord
of hosts will perform this. The Lord is going to make sure
all this is done. Now I want to go back to Matthew
chapter 1 now, the passage of scripture where we began. Remember
the name of this message is Jesus. Matthew chapter 1 verse 19, Then Joseph, after he sees his
wife as being pregnant, then Joseph, her husband, being a
just man, not willing to make her a public example. He didn't
want her to be shamed and humiliated, even though he thought somebody
else had got her pregnant. He wanted to put her away somewhere
else where this thing could be done privately and she wouldn't
experience any shame. And then we read. in verse 20, but while he thought
on these things, I'm sure he was torn up. Behold, the angel
of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou
son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife,
for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus." What a name. And here's why you'll
call his name Jesus. Now remember, this is the Greek
of the Hebrew, Joshua. which means Jehovah is salvation. Thou shalt call his name Jesus
for he shall save his people from their sins. Now I don't
know of a verse of scripture that thrills me any more than
this verse of scripture. Here's a promise. Thou shalt
call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And my dear friend, that's precisely
what I need to be saved from. I need to be saved from my sins. Now listen to the language, he. Jesus of Nazareth. It doesn't
say he and. There's no cooperative effort
with anybody else on this part. He, I love the scripture in Hebrews
chapter one, verse three, when it says, when he had by himself
purged our sins, it doesn't merely say when he had purged our sins,
God, the Holy spirit wants to make sure this is heard. You
didn't have any part in this. There was no contribution you
or I made when He had by Himself purged our sins. You see, salvation
is of the Lord, and He does it all. He is all in salvation. He's not 99% of salvation. He
is all in salvation. He's the Savior. He's the one
who does everything in salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is of Jehovah. Salvation is of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's the one who does it. And
notice the next word. It says, he shall save his people
from their sins. This is a word of certainty.
It doesn't say he shall make their salvation possible. It
doesn't say He shall make their salvation a potential if they
do their part. Now this is the message that
I basically hear in our day. Jesus Christ paid for the sins
of every individual. Your sins have been paid for.
YOU WILL BE DAMNED ANYWAY UNLESS YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING IF YOU
DON'T ACCEPT HIM AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR. IT COULD BE THAT HE COULD
PAY FOR YOUR SINS AND YOU WIND UP IN HELL ANYWAY. THERE'S NO
GOSPEL IN THAT MESSAGE. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT FOR A SECOND.
CHRIST JESUS DID NOT MAKE SALVATION POSSIBLE IF I DO MY PART. THE
SCRIPTURE SAYS HE SHALL. HE SHALL SAVE. OH, THANK GOD FOR THAT. HE SHALL
SAVE. And who shall he save? It says
he shall save his people. Now, who are his people? Well,
he didn't mince words about it. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. His people are the sheep. Not
everybody's a sheep. The Lord on judgment day in Matthew
25 puts the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. their sheep and their goats. He said to the Pharisees, you
believe not because you're not of my sheep, as I said unto you. He didn't say, you're not my
sheep because you don't believe. He said, believe not, you believe
not because you're not of my sheep. He said in John chapter
6 verse 37, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And he said in John 6 verse 38,
This is the will of him that sent me, that of all which he
hath given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the
last day. He said in John chapter 17 verse 9, I pray not for the
world, but for them which you have given me. Who are his people? His sheep. those the Father gave
him. Now that is a reference to divine
election. Now listen real carefully. His
people are the people God chose before time began and gave to
the Lord Jesus Christ to save. Thank God for election. If it
wasn't for the fact that God had elected a people, there wouldn't
be anybody being saved. but his people are the elect. He said to his disciples, you
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Ephesians 1.4 says,
according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him. Now all election is, is God being
God. He is in control. And God chose
a people in Christ before time began. And really, you can't
really understand the death of Christ without election. Christ
wasn't dying to make salvation possible. Christ was dying to
save His people. That's who His people are. Well,
how can I know if I'm one of the elect? Now listen real carefully. You don't need to worry about
whether or not you're one of the elect. You don't come to
God saying, I'm one of the elect. You come to God looking for mercy.
You come to God looking only to Christ. Have mercy on me for
Christ's sake. Oh, that I might be found in
him. You don't come claiming your election. You come as a
sinner needing mercy. And you know what you're going
to find out? When you come as a sinner needing mercy, you're
going to find out you were one of God's elect. That's the only
reason you did it in the first place. Acts chapter 13, verse
48 says, as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Now, do you believe the gospel?
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that whatever
he does must be successful? Well, that's faith. Actually,
it's called the faith of God's elect, the acknowledging of the
truth, which is after godliness. Now, Christ came to save his
people from their sins. Now, if a man is drowning, and
somebody saves him, he's been saved from drowning. If somebody's
in a burning house and somebody pulls them out, they've been
saved from being burned up. Christ came to save his people
from their sins. You know who my greatest enemies
are? My sins. Like David said, my sin is ever
before me. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ came
to save his people, first of all, from the penalty of sin. He bore that penalty on Calvary's
tree. The wages of sin is death. My
sin became his sin and he suffered the full equivalent of hell. And there is now no condemnation. to them that are in Christ Jesus.
I cannot be punished for my sins because Christ was punished for
them. The debt has been paid and I
owe nothing. I've been saved from the punishment
of my sin, the condemnation of my sin because Christ bore that
condemnation for me. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. Not only have
I been saved from the penalty of my sin, I've been saved from
the power of sin. Sin shall not have dominion over
you. The scripture says in Romans 6, 14, it shall not have power
over you, for you're not under law, but under grace. Now, what
does that mean to be saved from the power of sin? Somebody's
thinking sin seems awful powerful in me. Listen, my friend. There was a time when I could
not believe. I'd hear the preacher say, believe,
and I think I would if I knew what it meant. There was a time
when I could not repent. I was under the complete dominion
and control of sin. There was a time when I couldn't
love God any more than I could create a universe. I was in a
state of inability. depravity and inability under
the dominion of sin. Does someone think, well, I'm
not that way? Well, all you proved by that is that you're under
the complete control of sin. Thinking that way, it's deceived
you and blinded you because that is the way you are. Now, while
there was a time when I could not believe, could not repent,
could not come to Christ, the Lord said, no man can come to
me except the Father which has sent me drawing. I can now because
I've been given a new nature. And greater is he that's in you
than he that's in the world. I've been born from above, and
I now can believe. I now can repent. I now can love
God. I've been saved from the power
and the dominion of sin. And listen to this. I've not
experienced this yet. I know it by faith, but I've
not experienced this yet. But I've been saved from the
commission of sin. The scripture says the believer
is already glorified. Whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, then he also called, and whom he called,
then he also justified. Whom he justified, then he also
glorified. And one of these days, I'm going
to experience that. I'm not even going to remember
what it's like to be a sinner. What a name. Thou shalt call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins,
from the penalty, from the power, and one of these days, from the
very presence of sin. This is Todd Niver praying that
God will be pleased to give you this great hope. To request a
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