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 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. I'm going to be speaking from
Luke chapter 4 this morning, and I'd also like to let you
know that next Sunday through Wednesday, I will be speaking
at the Rocky Ford Baptist Church in Liberty, Kentucky. In Luke
chapter 4, beginning in verse 32, we read these words after
some people had heard the Lord Jesus preach, and they were astonished
at his doctrine, for his word was with power. And then in verse
36 of the same chapter it says, And they were all amazed, and
spake among themselves, saying, What word is this? For with authority
and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. Now, I want to speak on this
subject. The power and the authority of
Christ. The power and the authority of
Christ. Now they heard him preach and
they were astonished at his doctrine. What he had to say for his word
was with power. It was with authority. After
he preached on the sermon what is known as the Sermon on the
Mount, it says they were astonished at His doctrine for His Word
was with authority and not as the scribes. You see, truth carries
with it its own authority. It recommends itself as true. It doesn't need embellished.
And our Lord spake with authority. His words were nothing less than
the very words of God Himself. And right after this, we're given
a picture a story that illustrates to us His authority. So let me
pick up reading in verse 33. Luke chapter 4, And in the synagogue
there was a man which had a spirit of an unclean devil. This man was morally perverse. totally under the power of Satan. Demon possessed. Somebody says,
is there still demon possession today? I suppose there is. I
don't know why it would stop. It was that way in the days of
the New Testament, and it's that way now. I don't understand everything
behind that, but I know this. This man was demon possessed. Now look what he had to say in
verse 33. He cried out with a loud voice,
this man that was demon-possessed, saying, let us alone. Now who's speaking? The demon
or the man? Both. Let us alone. This man did not want to be saved. He did not want to be delivered. He says to the Lord Jesus Christ,
let us alone. What have we to do with Thee,
Jesus of Nazareth? We have no connection. You're
holy. We're evil. You're righteous. We're unrighteous. You're light. We're darkness. We have no connection
with Thee. Let us alone. What have we to
do with Thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us?
I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God. This is what's
so scary. This demon-possessed man knew
exactly who the Lord Jesus Christ was, the Holy One of God, yet
he said, I don't want to have anything to do with you. This was a man who was given
over, a man of great wickedness, possessed by a demon who did
not want to be saved. Now, in this man, we see clearly
that the power of Christ to save does not lie in the person he
saves, but in Christ himself. This man was not looking for
mercy. He was demon-possessed, opposed to mercy. He didn't want
to be saved and he was not seeking God or Christ. He did not have
a drop of faith. He was an utterly hopeless case. Now look what our Lord says to
this man after this response. Verse 35, And Jesus rebuked him,
saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. Now, when the Lord
told that demon to come out, could the demon say no? Absolutely
not. This is the call of irresistible,
invincible grace. Come out. That demon didn't have
a choice. You see, this is God Almighty
saying, come out. The Lord Jesus Christ, His will
is done. If He says, come out, that demon
must come out. He didn't have a choice. Out
he went. And He said, hold your peace.
You see, when the Lord saves someone, and I want to use the
right language here, but when the Lord does something for someone,
the first thing that He does is He shuts them up. He said
to this demon-possessed man, hold your peace. Now before a
man is saved, he has all kinds of objections. regarding the
gospel and how God saves sinners and whether God's fair in this
or right in that, all kinds of different objections. But when
the Lord does something for somebody, they're shut up. They stand before
God guilty, without excuse. As Paul said in Romans 3,10,
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world stand guilty,
subject to the judgment of God. Now, what happened when he made
this command? We read, And when the devil had
thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. And here's the reply of the people.
And they were all amazed. People were watching this, and
they knew who this man was, and they knew he was a demon-possessed
man. They'd seen him perhaps many years. And they were all
amazed and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this? For with authority and power
he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame
of him went out into every place of that country round about.
Now, I want to talk about a very glorious subject, the power and
the authority of Christ. Now, the word power means inherent
ability, might from within, and the Lord Jesus Christ possesses
omnipotence. He is all-powerful. He said, all power is given unto
me. He's even called Christ the power
of God. Now, when we think of omnipotence,
I suppose the first thing we think about is creation. Only
God can create something from nothing. He's really the only
one who creates. We talk about creative people,
and I suppose that that is an okay word to use, but really
they're not creative. They're working with what the
Creator gave them. They're not truly creative. Only God creates. He spaked the world into existence,
and that's what is said of the Lord Jesus Christ. All things
were made by Him and for Him, and He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist. He controls providence. Not only
did He create the universe, but He controls everything that happens
within the universe. He's the cause of causes. He
upholds all things by the Word of His power. Nothing happens
without His will. He has the power of creation.
He has the power of providence. And most especially, He has the
power of salvation. He is able to save. Oh, the power
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen. to this scripture. John
chapter 10, verses 17 and 18, I think, demonstrates His power
in a way that can't be explained, just bowed to and believed. He said in John chapter 10, verses
17 and 18, Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay
down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from
me. The Lord Jesus Christ was not
a victim. No man taketh it from Me." The only reason He was nailed
to that cross is because He allowed it to take place. No man taketh
it from Me. I have power to lay it down.
And I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of My Father. The God-Man had power to lay
down His life. How can the God-Man die? I don't
know, but He did. And He had power to raise Himself
from the dead. Now that is almighty power. When Pilate said, Speakest thou
not to me? knowest thou not that I have
power to release thee, or crucify thee? And the Lord replied to
him, Thou couldst have no power at all over me, except it be
given thee from above. I love when they came to arrest
him. He said, Whom seek ye? They said, Jesus of Nazareth.
He said, I am. And the Scripture says they fell
backwards. He was letting them know at this time that He was
in control of this situation. And it was His will being done. Oh, the power of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is almighty. Now, the word
authority. They talk about the power and
the authority of His Word. The word authority means liberty
or freedom of action. The right to exercise power. The right to do as one pleases. He said, can I not do what I
will with my own? As the Father raises the dead
and quickens them, even so the Son quickens whom He will. He has all right to do whatever
He wills to do. Now, this is what is called sovereignty. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
sovereign of the universe. Now, what does sovereign mean
when we talk about the sovereignty of God? Well, that means God
has the right to do as He pleases, and He has the power to make
sure whatever He's pleased to do is done, and He always does
as He pleases. Now, that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's absolute sovereign. He has all power. He has all
authority, right of action. Now, it's my prayer. that as
I'm preaching this message, the Lord Jesus Christ will demonstrate
His power and His authority in making Himself known to someone
who has not yet bowed the knee to His glorious power and sovereignty. Now, I want to read several Scriptures
that deal with the power and the authority of Christ. The
first is found in John chapter 17. He said in verse 2, speaking to his father, he's
praying. As thou hast given him power over all flesh. All flesh. Doesn't matter who
you are, doesn't matter whether you're a president or whether
you're a beggar or anything in between. He has power over all
flesh. That means he has power over
you. You're in his hands. I'm in his hands. He's not in
our hands. I've heard people say, won't
you let Jesus have His way? My dear friend, He has His way.
He is all-powerful and He has power over all flesh. Right now,
you're in His hands. As thou hast given Him power
over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given Him. He has power over all flesh and
in that power, He saves everybody that God gave Him, which is a
reference to the elect, those the Father gave him or those
who were chosen in him before time began. He has power over
all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou
has given him. Now, that's that's his power
and authority. Let me read you another scripture
in John, chapter five. He says this. This is glorious. Once again, he said in verse
twenty six of John, chapter five, for as the father hath life in
himself, So has He given to the Son to have life in Himself,
and He has given Him authority to execute judgment also. Because He is the Son of Man,
He has the authority to execute judgment. He has the authority
to pronounce, me and you, either justified or condemned. That's the authority He has.
Now, people, preachers want to accept Jesus. That's not the
issue. It's not, won't you accept Jesus? It's, will He accept you? Will
He be pleased to do something for you? You see, He has the
authority and the power to justify you. He can declare you to be
not guilty, and if He declares you to be not guilty, you're
not guilty. Or He can say, depart from me, ye that work iniquity,
I never knew you. He has all authority to execute
judgment. You see, He can pronounce me
justified if He's pleased to do it for this reason. You see,
if I'm justified, here's why. My sin, my guilt became His. He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them His very own. He
bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. My sin
has been paid for. It's been washed away and He
takes His very righteousness and gives it to me and declares
me to be justified. He has the authority to do that.
He is given the authority to execute judgment because He is
the Son of Man. Now, in Matthew 9, in verse 6,
some people said this, or he said this to some people in verse
6, but that you may know that the Son of Man hath power, hath
authority on the earth to forgive sins. Christ Jesus has the authority
to forgive you of all your sins. Now, what led the Lord to say
this? Now, if you read in this passage of Scripture, there were
some men who brought their friend to the Lord Jesus. to be healed. He was paralyzed, laying on a
cot, couldn't walk. And these four men brought them
to the Lord Jesus to be healed. And the Lord looked at that man
and He said, Son, be of good cheer. Thy sins be forgiven thee. Now, He hadn't physically healed
him as of yet. He simply said, Thy sins be forgiven
thee. And then the crowd, the Pharisees,
the scribes heard him say that and they said, what blasphemy
is this? Who can forgive sins but God
only? No man has the authority to forgive
somebody of their sins against God. Who does he think he is?
None can forgive sins but God only. They were right about that.
They were right about that. And then our Lord looked at them
and He said, what's easier? To say, rise, take up your bed
and walk? Or to say, your sins are forgiven. Well, it's easier
to say, your sins are forgiven. I can say to you, your sins are
forgiven. But that doesn't mean they are. But I can say it. I
can say it very easily. You know, preachers tell people,
you know, if you do this, if you do that, your sins will be
forgiven. And they guarantee people the forgiveness of sins.
It's easier to say, your sins are forgiven. Priests say that
all the time. Somebody does something, they
confess it to the priest and say, do this, this, this, and
your sins are forgiven. Now, it's easy to say that. But just
saying it means nothing. It would be much more difficult,
though, to say to a man who's paralyzed, rise up and walk,
so that you may know that I actually have the power and the authority
to forgive sins. Let me show you what I can do.
And he looked at that man who was paralyzed. He said, rise, take
up thy bed and walk. And that's exactly what that
man did. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
has the authority to forgive sins. And if He forgives you
of your sins, you're forgiven. And He also has the authority
to pass you by and pass me by. Now, if I'm an unbeliever, what
can I say about Him saying, Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity,
I never knew you. If He says that, that's what's
going to take place. But He has power on earth to
forgive, to completely absolve my sins. In Hebrews 7, verse
25, we read this, Wherefore, he is able. That means
he has the power. Wherefore, he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come to God by him, seeing he
ever liveth to make intercession for them. He has the power to
save to the uttermost. Now, what about this word uttermost? Well, how saved is Christ? He's
saved to the uttermost. Now, He was here. He suffered
His Father's wrath on the cross. But the Lord saved Him to the
uttermost. He's seated at the right hand of the Father now.
How secure is Christ? He's secure to the uttermost.
How holy is Christ? He's holy to the uttermost. Now,
this passage of Scripture says He is able to save them to the
uttermost that come to God by Him. Now, what does it mean to
come to God by Him? Do you remember how the Lord
said, I am the way? He didn't say, I'll show you
the way. He said, I am the way. He said, I am the truth. He didn't
say, I'll tell you the truth. He said, I'm it. He said, I'm
the life. He didn't say, I'll give you
life. He said, I'm life. I am the life. No man cometh
to the Father but by me. Now here's how I come to the
Father. It's not beside Christ. It's not behind Christ. It's
not pleading His name, although I do all those things. But when
Christ comes to the Father, I do too, because I'm in Him. You see, salvation is being in
Him. That's what we testify when we're
baptized. Baptism by immersion. This is
so important. What baptism by immersion says, and this is the
Gospel, When I'm baptized, I'm saying when He lived, I lived. When He died, I died. I was in Him. When He was raised
from the dead, I was raised from the dead. I was in Him. When
He kept the law, I kept the law. All my hope of salvation is being
in Him. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. Oh, in Him I come to the Father
by Him. Now, I'm coming pleading only
His name, and that's a part of this, but I'm coming in Him so
that when He comes to the Father, I do too. Wherefore, He is able
to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing
He ever liveth to make intercession for them. And then we read this
verse of Scripture in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9. Paul says, He said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee, for My strength, My strength is made perfect,
is made complete in weakness." Now that word weakness means
powerlessness, impotence, without the ability to produce results. My strength, My power, is made
perfect, complete in weakness. That's why Paul says, Most gladly,
therefore, will I rather glory in mine firmities that the power
of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in
firmities and reproaches and necessities and persecutions
and distresses for Christ's sake. For when I'm weak, Then am I
strong. Only when I have no strength
of my own do I depend only on Him. Only when I am nothing is
He all. And what a blessed thing it is
to be nothing and to have Him as my all. I'm a poor sinner
and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. What precious words. His power,
His strength is seen in weakness. And then in Hebrews 2, verse
17, we read where He is able to succor or help them that are
tempted. He has the power to help those
who are tempted. Now, somebody may say, but you
don't know how easily I fall before temptation. How weak and
sinful and unbelieving I am. I'm so weak in trials. Well,
this passage of Scripture says He is able to help. Oh, He has
sufficient strength to help those who are tempted. Oh, temptation. We're taught to pray. lead us
not into temptation. Lord, I don't even want to be
tempted, because I'm afraid that if I'm tempted, I'll fall. But,
oh, how we have this promise. He's able to help, to succor
them that are tempted. And listen to this scripture
in Psalm 110.3. It says, Thy people, thy people, and not everybody
says people, only those who believe, only the elect, All men are not
the children of God. You know, the Lord said to one
group, He said, You're of your father the devil, and the less
of your father you'll do. Not all men are His people. Matthew
121 says, Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save
His people from their sins. Psalm 110.3 says, Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. Somebody may think
my problem is my will. I want to want to, but I can't
get past that. I want to believe. I want to
follow Christ, but I can't. I'm stuck. Listen to this. Thy
people shall be willing. in the day of thy power." You
see, He has the power to make you willing. Now, only God can
do that. It almost seems like an oxymoron,
make somebody willing, either willing or you're not, but He
has the power to make His people willing to be saved by Him, to
follow Him, to do whatever He calls upon them to do. Oh, what
power there is! in making us willing. Philippians
2, 12 and 13 says that it's God that worketh in you both to will
and to do of His good pleasure. Now, here's one of my favorite
verses of Scripture in the Bible. In Jude chapter 24, or verse
24, it says, Now unto Him that's able, Him that has power to keep
you from falling. I fear falling. But now unto Him that's able
to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." Not only is He
able to keep you from falling, He is able to present you faultless. That means justified, without
fault, without sin, before the very presence of God. What power
that He can keep me from falling. Because I know that if He doesn't
keep me from falling, I will fall. But what power is demonstrated
in keeping me from falling and actually presenting me before
His very throne in judgment as faultless, without spot or blemish
or any such thing. And then Paul said in 2 Timothy
1, verse 12, I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded that
He is able, that He has the power, that He has the ability, that
He has the strength, I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded
that He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him against
that day. Now, I've committed the entire
salvation of my soul to Him. I'm not looking to works in any
way. If I look to works, that's a failure to commit. No, I've
committed the entire salvation of my soul to Him to where He
does it all. And I am persuaded that He is
able to keep that which I've committed to Him against that
great day. Oh, the power, the authority,
the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't care how sinful
you are. He is able to save you. Ask Him to. Ask Him by His mighty
power to save you, to reveal Himself to you, to make you willing
in the day of His mighty power to create faith in you. He is able. Now I want to remind
you once again that next Sunday I will be speaking at the Rocky
Ford Baptist Church in Liberty, Kentucky, beginning Sunday evening
through Wednesday evening. We have this message on DVD and
CD. If you call the church right
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Kniper 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 toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen. I am very nice and that would
have been because she was very strong