that I did choose. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Niver. 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 Nivert. I've entitled this morning's
message, The Christ of God. I'm reading in Luke chapter 9,
beginning in verse 18. And it came to pass as he was
alone praying, his disciples were with him, and he asked them,
saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John
the Baptist, but some say Elijah, and others say that one of the
old prophets is risen again. They put you in some pretty high
cotton. These were great men. And he
said unto them, but whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, the Christ
of God. I love the way that sounds, the
Christ of God. What think you of Christ? Now, the Lord asked his disciples,
whom say the people that I am? And they gave different answers.
And they compared him with many great men. John the Baptist,
Elijah, one of the old prophets. But he was not those men. What they said was not true. You know, men's opinions are
always varied and different. Error is always multiple choice.
And their opinions were contradictory. He couldn't be both of those
people. And what they had done, even
in comparing Christ with these great men, they made Christ to
be lower than He is. You see low views of the person
of Christ is behind every error, whereas right views of Christ
is the foundation of all truth. Now without commenting on men's
views, he asks them a far more important question, whom say
ye that I am? Not what have you heard others
say regarding me? Not what have you been taught
to say regarding me? But whom do you say that I am? What are the thoughts of your
heart regarding me? When God looks in your heart,
and He does, what are the thoughts He sees with regard to the Lord
Jesus Christ? Now this is the issue. what think
ye of Christ? This is the issue. Not, what do you think about
abortion? I'm sure you have an opinion,
but that's not the issue. Not, what do you think about
gay rights? Not, what do you think about Christian involvement
in government? Not, what do you think about
gun control? Not, what do you think about the believer's relationship
with the law? Not, what do you think about
the end times and eschatology? Here is the only issue, what
do you say? What are your thoughts concerning
the person of Christ? Whom say ye that I am? Now everything hinges on this. Everything else you believe will
be determined by how you view the Christ, the Christ of God. Your view of the Scripture, your
view of law and grace, your understanding of the atonement, your believing
and repenting are all dependent upon who you say He is. You see, what we believe is determined
by who we believe. Somebody says, well, here's what
I believe. Well, listen to what Paul said. He said, I know whom
I have believed. And I am persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I've committed to him against that
day. Now, Peter answers. And he says, the Christ of God. And I have no doubt that he speaks
as the spokesman for every believer. the Christ of God. The Christ. Now, Christ is not
the Lord's last name. It means something. The Christ. The Christ of God. Do you remember when Simeon was
told in Luke chapter 2 that he would not see death until he
had seen the Lord's Christ? And when he held the Lord's Christ
in his arms, he said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart
in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. The woman at the well, she said,
I know that when Messiah, which is called Christ, has come, he'll
tell us all things. And the Lord said, I that speak
unto thee am he. When he was casting out some
demons, as they were being cast out, they cried out, thou art
the Son of God. And then it says, for they knew
he was Christ. These demons, they knew he was
Christ. The Lord watched some people
leave him, his whole crowd, 5,000 people after they heard what
he said. And he looked at his disciples and he said, will you
also go away? Peter said, to whom shall we
go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. These words that these people didn't like, we find them
to be words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the son of the living God. When the high
priest asked the Lord, right before his crucifixion, Are thou
the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? The Lord said, I am. When Peter is preaching on the
day of Pentecost, he says, God hath made this same Jesus, whom
you crucified, both Lord and Christ, the Christ of God. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. In Romans 8, chapter 34, Paul
said, Who is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died. Yeah, but he was a really bad
guy. It's Christ that died. But what about it's Christ that
died? I need no other argument. I need
no other plea. It is enough that the Christ
has died and that he died for me. In Romans 10, verse 4, we
read that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
everyone that believeth. And in 2 Corinthians 10, we're
told that every thought is to be brought into captivity to
the obedience of Christ. We read of the grace of Christ.
We read of the simplicity of Christ. We read of being justified
by the faith of Christ. We read of the unsearchable riches
of Christ. Paul said, for to me to live
is Christ and to die is gain. Paul said in Colossians 3.11,
Christ is all. Now this gives us just some idea
of the importance of the Christ of God. Who do you say that I
am? Peter answered, The Christ of
God. Now what does the Christ mean? The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Christ of God. What is the Christ? Now the word
Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah. It means
anointed, God's anointed. Now, in the Old Testament, there
were three offices that God anointed. He anointed the prophet. You remember how Elijah went
and anointed Elisha as prophet. He was said to be anointed. The
priest was anointed. Oh, he had to be anointed in
order to be a priest of God. And remember, the king was anointed. Do you remember when Samuel said,
when David came in, rise and anoint him. This is he, the king. The prophet, the priest, and
the king were all anointed. Now in the Old Testament, no
man ever held all three of these offices. Moses was a mighty prophet. And Moses was king, but he wasn't
a priest. He didn't offer sacrifices. Aaron
was a priest. Aaron was a prophet, but he wasn't
a king. Samuel was a priest. Samuel was
a prophet, but Samuel was no king. David was king. David was a prophet, but David
was no priest. He wouldn't have dared offer
up a sacrifice. No man in the Old Testament was
allowed to have all three offices. You remember King Uzziah? When
he decided he was going to offer up In sense, as a priest, God
turned him into a leper. No man could have all three of
these offices, only the Lord's Christ. Only the Christ of God
has all three offices, the offices of prophet, priest, and king. Now Christ is that prophet. Now what is a prophet? A prophet
is a man who speaks for God. A prophet is a man who brings
men God's message. A prophet is a thus saith the
Lord. A prophet brings the Word of
God. He doesn't bring his own words.
He brings the Word of God. I want to hear a prophet, don't
you? I don't want to just hear a man give me his opinions. I
want to hear a prophet who speaks for God. Christ is that prophet. And He's more than a prophet.
He's the thing spoken. He's called the Word of God.
Now, how can you know what's going on in my mind? The only
way you can know what's going on in my mind is by the words
that come out of my mouth. That expresses what's in my mind.
Christ Jesus is called the Word of God. He is the expression
of the mind of God. If God speaks, here's what comes
out, this is my beloved Son. All that God is, Christ is. He is the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. Now I need a prophet, oh how
I need a prophet, because I'm so ignorant and I can't know
the mind of God. I'm totally dependent upon revelation. I'm totally dependent on God
speaking to me and giving me His Word and what a prophet the
Lord God is. Now by nature, listen to this
real carefully, I'm talking about myself, I'm talking about you,
by nature all of our thoughts regarding God are wrong. He's
not like you think he is. He's not like I naturally think
he is. You know, the word holy, God
is holy, holy, holy, holy. That word means other. That means
he's not like you. That means he's not like me.
You know, he said in Psalm 50, thou thoughtest I was altogether
such a one as thyself, but he's not. And I need him. to reveal Himself to me. I need revelation. I need Him
to make Himself known. That's what a prophet does. A
prophet makes known God. Now listen to this scripture
from Matthew 11 beginning in verse 25. The Lord said, I thank
Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hid
these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto
babes. even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me
of my Father, and no man knows the Son but the Father." The
Lord says, I'm so great, I'm so incomparably great, so utterly
unique, nobody can know me but the Father. neither knows any
man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal." He is the prophet that reveals God. And the only
way you and I are ever going to know God is if He, God's prophet,
reveals Himself, the Word, to our hearts. We're totally dependent
on revelation and what a mighty prophet He is. He is the one
who brings the Word of God Himself to men. Our Lord not only is
prophet, He's priest. Now, we need him as a prophet
because we're so ignorant and we're totally dependent upon
him for revelation, but we need him as a priest because we are
so sinful and have no access to God because of our sin. We
need him to represent us. God's holy, we're sinful, we
cannot approach him, but thank God he is the great high priest. He represents people. He brings
men to God. He said in John chapter 17 verse
9, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which you have given me, talking about his elect,
for they are thine. He is the priest of all believers. Now, there are three things that
are necessary for someone to be a priest, and I mean a successful
priest. I know there's all kinds of men who call themselves priests,
but that's phony. That's a lie. They're not priests.
Not the way they say they are. A sinful man can't represent
another man. They can't do you any good at all. A man taking
on the name of priest like that is a phony. He's unjust. Here's what's necessary for a
real priest. First, he has to be a man. If
he's going to represent men to God, he has to be a man. But secondly, he has to be a
sinless man. He has to be a man without sin. He has to be a man that's perfectly
righteous. Or he can't represent somebody
else. Why would God hear him if he's got sin? And thirdly,
he has to be divine. He has to be God. You know, only
God can satisfy God. Now, let me talk about a priest
for just a moment, a true priest. A priest is a man that represents
men before God. Now, the reason I have to have
a priest is because I'm a sinner, and I can't come into God's presence
on my own because God's holy. He can't accept me. He'd cease
to be God if he accepted me just the way I am. Somebody says,
I want God to love me just the way I am. He can't and still
be God. No, God's holy, and I'm a sinful man. And God's law must
be satisfied. God's justice must be satisfied.
The soul that sinneth shall surely die. God's law's got to be honored
and kept. If it's not honored and kept,
God must punish the lawbreaker. So I'm in great need of a priest
to represent me before a thrice holy God. Now, I can't satisfy
God. If I die and went to hell, you
know what? Hell would be eternal, and here's why. The reason hell
lasts forever is satisfaction is never made. Sin is such an
infinite evil that satisfaction to God is never made by the punishment
of the sinner. It goes on forever. I cannot
satisfy. Man can't satisfy. The soul that
sins shall surely die. You know, the only one who can
satisfy God is God. But God can't die. Now we have
a problem. Man can't satisfy. Only God can. And God can't die. Only man can. But listen to this. The God-man
did both. The God-man fully satisfied God. And the God-man died. Now how
the God-man died, I don't know. I don't know what was it. That's
one of the great mysteries of the gospel. I remember one time
somebody said, well, the man part died, the God part did.
Oh, you can make a statement like that. This is mysterious. The God-man satisfied, and the
God-man died. The God-man was raised from the
dead, and as the great high priest He offers Himself. He offers His own blood, and
God accepts Him, and God accepts everybody He represents. The Lord Jesus is the only one
who has access to the Father. The Lord Jesus is the only one
who could satisfy the demands of the law, perfect obedience.
The Lord Jesus is the only one who could satisfy the penalty
of the broken law. You see, the reason he was raised
from the dead is because he offered complete satisfaction. He suffered
the full equivalent of hell. When he cried out, my God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? It's because God forsook him
because he was made sin and he suffered the equivalent of a
full hell, but God raised him from the dead because God said,
I'm satisfied with what he did and I'm satisfied with everybody
he did it for. What a priest that satisfies
God and brings us into the very presence of God. God raised him
from the dead because of his satisfaction. And as the priest,
he brings his own blood as satisfaction. And as priest, he intercedes. for us. Let me give you a scripture
in Hebrews chapter 9. I love this scripture, beginning
in verse 24, talking about the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We read, For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with
hands, which are the figures of the true, not just that physical
material tabernacle, but into heaven itself now. Now. Oh, for everybody who needs an
intercessor, he's in heaven now to appear in the presence of
God for us. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often as the high priest enters into the holy place every
year with the blood of others, for then must he have often suffered
since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the
world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. This is what our priest did.
He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And he's now in heaven
interceding, representing his people. Let me give you this
scripture. First John 2.1, John said, These
things I write unto you that you sin not. Our intention is to never sin
again. These things write unto you that
you sin not when you do. We have an Advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Oh, what a glorious Advocate
He is, Jesus Christ. He's no crooked lawyer. He's
Jesus Christ the Righteous. And let me tell you something
about this lawyer. what he does for his clients. He makes them
plead guilty as charged. He doesn't try to get them to
say I'm innocent. He makes them plead guilty as
charged, and yet every one of them are justified. The judge
declares them to be justified without guilt. What a lawyer
we have. He's made a way for God to be
just and justify the ungodly. He said, Peter, I've prayed for
you. Satan has desired to have you
that he may sift you as wheat. And he did sift Peter as wheat.
He said, but I've prayed for you that your faith fail not.
If the Lord Jesus prays for you, everything is well. I've prayed
for you. I think of Hebrews 7.25, wherefore
he is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Romans
8.34 says it's, who is he that condemneth? It's Christ that
died, yea, rather that's risen again, who's even at the right
hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. When the Lord said from
the cross, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do, that
wasn't a generic prayer. Everybody he prayed for was forgiven. You see, that's the kind of priest
he is. He's man, he's the sinless man,
he's God, he's a successful priest. If he represents you, you must
be saved. He said, I pray for them. I pray
not for the world, but for them which you've given me, for they
are thine. And he is the king of God. He's the anointed king of God. God said, yet have I set my king
on my holy hill of Zion. He's king of kings and he's lord
of lords. Now, king is one who reigns. A king is one whose will must
be done. Now, that's the King, the King
Jesus. He's the King of the universe,
the material universe, the physical universe. He controls the weather.
He controls everything, all matter. He controls the plant kingdom,
the animal kingdom. He controls demons, He controls
angels, He controls men, unbelievers and believers. Thou has given
Him power over all flesh that He should give eternal life to
as many as Thou has given Him. He rules and He reigns. He's
the King of Providence. That means everything that happens
He's in control of. It doesn't matter what it is. He's the first
cause behind it. He's working all things together for His glory
and the good of His people. He's the King of Providence,
and most especially, He's the King of Salvation. That means
if I'm saved, it's because He saved me. He willed my salvation,
and I need Him as my King. You see the great things of being
in the Kingdom of Heaven. For instance, blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. I need
Him to make me poor in spirit, or I won't be in the Kingdom
of Heaven. What about when He said, except you be converted
and become His little children, you won't even enter the Kingdom
of Heaven. I need Him by His power to convert me and cause
me to be as a little child. Psalm 110.3 says, thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. I need him to make
me willing in the day of his power. I'm totally dependent
upon him for all things. I need him as my king to rule
and reign over me and cause me to do his will by his almighty
power. I need him as king. I won't enter
heaven unless I do the will of the great king. I need him as
the king of grace. He's called in Revelation 17,
14, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and they that
are with him are called, chosen, and faithful. I need him to call
me. I need him to choose me. The Lord said, you've not chosen
me, but I've chosen you. Lord, choose me. I need Him to
enable me to be faithful. I need Him to give me faith.
I can't even come up with a faith. He has to give it to me by His
grace. By grace, you say, through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
I need Him to enable me to persevere all the way to the end. If He
doesn't keep me, I'll fall. I need Him as my King to rule
and reign over me. Now, I think of the Lord's words once
again to Peter and the rest of the disciples while they were
watching that crowd leave. 5,000 people left him. And he
looked at them and he said, you fellows want to leave? Will you
also go away? He's not going to have any unwilling
disciples. Will you also go away? And Peter answered, Lord, where
would we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Christ of God, the Lord's Christ, the
Son of the living God. Now, I'm not asking you right
now if you know that Christ died for your sins. I'm not asking
you if you know that you're a believer. I'm not asking you if you know
you're one of the elect. I'm not asking you if you know
whether or not you've been born again. Those questions, as important
as they are, are not the questions I'm asking. I'm asking this one
question. What do you think of Christ? Do you believe that Jesus is
the Christ of God and what the Bible means by that? Well, if
you do, listen to this scripture. First John chapter five, verse
one says, who so believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of
God. God sees what's in my heart and
he sees what's in your heart. And if you're one who's believing,
who's relying on him as the Christ of God, you need him as your
prophet. You need him as your priest.
You need him as your king. 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
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