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 toddsropegracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nivert. In Acts chapter 11, beginning
in verse 21, we read, And the hand of the Lord was with them,
and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. When you
believe, you'll turn to the Lord. Then tidings of these things
came into the ears of the church, which was in Jerusalem, and they
sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen
the grace of God. Now notice, it says he came and
he saw the grace of God. I've entitled this message, What
Does Grace look like? He had seen the grace of God.
He saw something. What does grace look like? In 2 Corinthians 8, verse 1,
Paul says, moreover, brethren, we do you to wit or we want you
to know of the grace of God bestowed upon the churches of Macedonia. And he goes on not to give a
formal definition of grace, but he gives what happened to these
churches, what happened to these people, what they looked like
when the grace of God was bestowed upon them. So what does grace
look like? What is it you see? when you
see the grace of God. And before I can see the grace
of God, I must first know what the grace of God is, because
if I don't know what it is, I may be looking at it and have no
idea that it's the grace of God. So what is the grace of God? What does the Bible mean by this
very familiar word, grace? What is the grace of God? Now, in our text, there's a word
in 2 Corinthians 8, 1 that tells us what the grace of God is.
It's the word bestowed. Moreover, brethren, we do you
to wit of the grace of God bestowed upon the churches of Macedonia. It was given, not offered, not
thrown out there for their acceptance or rejection. but it was actually
given, and they received it. Now, this is stated in a way
to show that they did not do anything to get it. It was simply
given to them, not in response to anything about them. God did
not give them this grace because they asked for it. God did not
give them this grace because they felt as though they needed
it. God did it simply because He would. He bestowed this grace
upon them. And it was not a response to
them. Now, understand, grace is never offered. Grace of God
is not offered. It's not offered to you where
you can make a decision as to whether or not you'll accept
it or reject it. It's all up to you. Grace is
never offered. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 says,
and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins,
wherein in times past you walked according to the course of this
world, the spirit of disobedience that now works in the children
of disobedience. And then he says, but God, he
doesn't say, but God offered you grace, but God. who is rich in mercy, for the
great love wherewith He loved us, even we were dead in sins,
hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved."
No, God didn't offer someone dead in sins grace. He gave His
grace. For me to understand grace, I'm
going to have to understand that salvation is not by works in
any form. To him that worketh, is the reward,
not reckoned of grace, but of death. But to him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness." Now, every aspect of salvation,
from the beginning to the end, is of grace. The gift of grace,
the free gift of God. Now, when you talk about biblical
salvation, the first thing you've got to talk about is election.
God's choice of His people before time began. Ephesians 1-4 says,
according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world. Now, Paul calls this, in Romans
11, the election of grace. He didn't look down through the
telescope of time and see, well, I see that one will believe,
therefore I'll elect him, or I see this one will be a good
witness and I'll elect him. No, he did it simply because
he would. As many as were ordained to eternal
life believed. Election is of grace. Justification
is by grace. Here's a word that is so pleasing
to my ears. Justification by grace. If I'm
justified, that means I have no guilt. That means I have no
sin to give an account for. I stand before God without blame. I stand before God perfectly
righteous. And that justification is the
gift of His grace. It's not offered to me. You know,
the judge doesn't offer to the person standing before him, well,
it's up to you. Do you want to be justified or condemned? No.
It's what the judge declares him to be. Justification is by
grace. Redemption. That's the payment
of my sins. It's all of grace. There's nothing
in me that could have merited the blood of Christ. He did this
because He's gracious, and He saved me by His grace. Forgiveness
is holy by grace. If my sins are forgiven, it's
because God decided to forgive them. Not because of anything
in me. He does it for Christ's sake,
and forgiveness is the gift of His grace. You see, Salvation
doesn't end with forgiveness. If you do this, this, and this,
you'll be forgiven. No, it begins with the full, free, frank forgiveness
of sins. Regeneration. Being born again
is by grace. You're not born again because
you decided to be. You are because of the mysterious operation of
God's Spirit through the preaching of the Word wherein you're given
life, spiritual life. You're given a new heart that
was not there before. Calling is by grace. Paul said,
when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me that I might preach
Him among the heathen. Immediately, I conferred not
with flesh and blood. Preservation is by grace. The fact that I persevere in
the faith, the fact that I continue looking to Christ. Jude said,
now unto Him that's able to keep you from falling and to present
you faultless before His presence. with exceeding joy. Certainly,
the final glorification of every believer is by grace. When I
stand perfectly conformed to the image of Christ, it will
be clear that all of this is by grace. Even the faith I have
is the gift of grace, the faith I have right now. Ephesians 2.8.9
says, For by grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should boast. Repentance is the gift of His
grace. The good works of the believer
are all gifts of His grace. Ephesians 2.10 says, For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Now,
the grace of God was bestowed, not offered. but given to the
churches of Macedonia. Now, that's what grace means.
It's something bestowed. It's something given. It's something
that saves. Now, what do you see when you
see it? Now, I want to read verses 2
through 5 of 2 Corinthians chapter 8, where Paul says, I want you
to know about the grace of God bestowed upon the churches of
Macedonia. And look what he says, beginning
in verse 2. how that in a great trial or test of affliction,
the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto
the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record,
yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves. They didn't have to be coerced,
they didn't have to be manipulated, they didn't have to be prompted
or prodded, they were willing of themselves, praying us with
much entreaty that we would receive the gift and take upon us the
fellowship of the ministering of the saints. And this they
did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the
Lord and unto us by the will of God. Now, in those verses,
I see six things that are seen when the grace of God is seen. Here's the first. If you've been
given grace, you will pass the test. Notice it says in a great
trial, a great test of afflictions. You and I will be tested. God did tempt. God did test Abraham. Trials will be brought your way. You can just write that down.
Trouble will be brought your way. You know, there's a lot
of religious people that talk like it's not God's will for
anybody to ever be sick or to have trouble. And if you are,
it's because of some unbelief on your part. And it's God's
will for everything to be financially secure, for you to be healthy,
wealthy, and wise. That's a bunch of foolishness.
There's not a bit of truth to it. Somebody preaching that way
does not know God, nor his book, his gospel, and they're telling
lies on God. Now, somebody like that doesn't
know God. You will have trouble. You will
have trials. God will send trouble. Now, that
doesn't mean that He's trying to tempt you to sin. He tempts
no man to evil in that sense, but He's going to send trial,
He's going to send tribulation, and He's going to test you. It
could be financial troubles, it could be health troubles,
it could be relationship troubles. I mean, there's all, man that's
born of woman is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. You will be tested. Now, I want
to read a passage of scripture from Mark, chapter 4. It's about
the parable of the sower. We read in verse 14, the sower
soweth the word. And these are they by the wayside
where the word is sown, but when they have heard, Satan cometh
immediately and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
They never did really hear anything. And these are they likewise,
this is talking about the stony ground hearers, These are they
likewise which are sown on stony ground, who, when they have heard
the word, immediately receive it with gladness. This is great,
I believe this. But they have no root in themselves,
and so endure but for a time. But when affliction, trouble,
trial, or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, Immediately,
they are offended. They don't continue. They didn't
pass the test. And these, verse 18, and these
are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word,
and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches,
and the lusts of other things, entering in, choke the word,
it becomes unfruitful. They didn't pass the test. They
bore no fruit. And these are they which are
sown on good ground, such as hear the word and receive it,
and bring forth fruit, some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundredfold. The good ground hearers are those
who have the grace of God, and they pass through this test of
trials and afflictions. Now, I am so thankful. When someone
confesses Christ and says the Lord's done something for them,
when a young person does it, when an old person does it, I'm
so thankful and I'm so grateful. But I'm also understanding this. Let's see where you're at in
five years. Let's see where you're at in 20 years. It's only those
who endure to the end that shall be saved that pass the test of
all these trials. Now, Where God's grace is, you
can always see it. These people, God may bring heavy
trials, heavy troubles into their life. There must be much stress.
But they get through it and they continue following the Lord Jesus
Christ. They do not fall away. Where you see grace, you'll see
people pressing on all the way to the end. Now, the second thing
he mentions in this passage of Scripture is joy. how that in
a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and
their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
You can't be saved by the grace of God without being joyful about
it, without being glad. You know, joy is the fruit of
God the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is joy.
Paul said in Romans 14 verse 17, for the kingdom of God is
not meat and drink. It's not rules and regulations. Eat this
or don't drink that. But it's righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Ghost. The joy of receiving the Gospel. The joy of being saved by Christ. The joy of having His righteousness. Romans 15 verse 13 speaks of
the joy and the peace of believing. Now, I have watched people over
the years who would perhaps agree with what's being said when they
hear the word preached. Yeah, I see the Bible teaches
that, but they never seem to rejoice in it. Paul said, rejoice
in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice. Can
you be elected and not rejoice in it? If you know God chose
you, can you not be happy? You can't know that without being
happy about it. Can you have your sins forgiven
and not rejoice? Can you be redeemed and not rejoice? Can you be justified and not
rejoice? The Lord, the psalmist said,
had done great things for us, whereof we are glad. Where there is grace, there is
an abundance of joy. That doesn't mean you're always
happy. You know, circumstances can make
you very sad, very heavy. You may be depressed, but you
know what? If you're a believer, you always
rejoice in Christ. You rejoice that salvation is
in Him. And you rejoice that your entire
standing before God is utterly and completely in Him. And even
in the midst of dire circumstances, where grace is, there is a rejoicing
in Christ and in the grace of God. How do you see? What do
you see when you see grace? Well, you see joy. You see joy. Now, let's go on reading. Verse
2. How that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance
of their joy and their deep poverty abounded into the riches of their
liberality. Where you see grace, you see
liberality. Now, these people were in deep
poverty, Paul tells us. They were extremely poor. But
oh, how generous and liberal they were. He says, for to their
power I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were
willing of themselves, praying us with much entreaty that we
would receive the gift and take upon us the fellowship of the
ministry of the saints. Now Paul felt hesitant to take
the gift that these people were given because he saw they were
so poor and they were giving so much. And he thought, I can't
take this from them, they need it. worse than the people I'm
bringing it to. They're so poor, and yet they
begged Paul to take the gift. Now, here's something that love
always does. It gives. When you see grace,
you see liberality. Now, this same word, liberality,
in this same book, 2 Corinthians 11, is another place translated
simplicity. In verse three of Second Corinthians
11, Paul said, But I fear less by any means as the serpent beguiled
Eve through his subtlety, through his deceit. So your mind should
be corrupted from the simplicity, the singleness, the wholeness,
the onlyness of Christ. Now, it's also translated liberality,
but this idea of liberality and generosity comes from this idea
of singleness or simplicity. Simple as opposed to double. Simple as opposed to compound. Simplicity. I have a simple hope. It's not Christ and. It's Christ
only. I have a simple faith. It's not
In Christ and anything. It's in Christ only. I have a
simple reason for the forgiveness of sins. Because Christ died. That's the only reason. Not because
I did anything. Not because I asked for anything.
But because Christ died. God forgave my sins for Christ's
sake. I have a simple righteousness.
His righteousness. You see, my righteousness is
not imputed righteousness. It's His righteousness imputed
to me. There's only one righteousness.
That's the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have a simple
way of being saved, by grace only. I have a simple rule of
faith, the Bible only, the Scripture only. Now from this simplicity,
where I see Christ only as everything, and I am His, from this simplicity
comes liberality, liberal giving, because you really believe that
everything belongs to Christ. You don't give Christ ten percent.
I don't believe the Bible teaches tithing in that sense. Tithing
is paying a bill. I want to give more than a tithe.
I want to give everything as He enables me. Oh, I want to
be liberal and generous in that sense. If you really believe
that all you have belongs to Christ, giving to Him comes first. It's not something you have to
be manipulated about. It comes first, because He is
all. Where this simplicity is, there
will be a liberality and a generosity of Spirit. Now, in verse 3, he
says, For to their power I bear record, and yea, beyond their
power, they were willing of themselves. Where grace is seen, there is
willingness. We didn't coerce this reaction,
Paul says, it was spontaneous. They were willing of themselves
is what they wanted to do. Now, when people need to be coerced
and manipulated, If that's what the preacher does, if he manipulates
the audience and tries to put pressure on them and coerce them
into a certain way to get them to do what they should, grace
just simply is not there. Where grace is, people are willing. Psalm 110.3 says, Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. Philippians 2, 12,
and 13, Paul says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
for it's God which worketh in you both to will and to do his
good pleasure. And if there's not a will and
a desire to do his good pleasure, obviously he's not working in
you. Where God's people are, there is willingness. I'm willing. Here's my will. Take my will. and make it thine. It shall be
no longer mine." I'm willing to be saved God's way, and I'm
willing to follow Him, and that's my desire. That's what I want
to do. That's my will, is to be a follower
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Where you see grace, you will
see a willingness, a true heart willingness to be out-and-out
disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in every way. Now, Paul says
in verse 4, praying us with much entreated that we should receive
the gift and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering
of the saints. Where grace is, there is a desire
to be involved in the ministry of the saints, in being a servant
to the saints. Now, who are the saints? Well,
you're looking at one. Every believer is a saint of
God, a sanctified one. Saint Todd. I like to say that.
I know some people would cringe when I say this. They say, well,
you're calling yourself a saint. I'm not a saint. Well, I am. I'm a saint.
Every believer is. Sanctified one. Sanctified in
Christ Jesus. Now, I want to be involved in
the ministry of the saints. That means I want to be a servant
to the saints. Paul said, I mean, the Lord said, whoso will be
great among you, let him be servant. The one way to be great is to
be a servant, and where grace is, there is a genuine desire
to be a servant of the saints. And if that's not there, that
genuine desire to be a servant, grace is not there. Where grace
is, there is a desire to be a servant. And then we read in verse 5,
it says, And this they did not as we hoped, but first gave their
own selves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. Now,
where there's grace, there is a giving of yourself to the Lord. Lock, stock, and barrel. I am not my own. I am His. I've been bought with a price,
and I belong to Him. I'm His. Now, He chose me. He saved me. But by His grace,
I give myself completely to Him. John Newton, a preacher of the
past, said if there were two angels called upon by God to
do two different things, one was to be a street sweeper and
the other was to rule an empire, both would do whatever he called
them to do with equal zeal, not caring which task they were assigned
to. simply because He did it, they
gave themselves to Him. Now, where the grace of God is
in operation, you will find people truly giving themselves to the
Lord. I am my Beloved's and He is mine. And then He says, and unto us
by the will of God, in giving themselves to the Lord, they
gave themselves to the apostles. You see, how I give myself to
the Lord is only seen in how I give myself to His people.
Now, this is what you see when you see the grace of God. This
is what grace looks like. It passes the test. It makes
it through the adversity and the troubles and the trials and
afflictions of life. It doesn't quit. It continues
looking to Christ. Where there is grace, there is
joy. You can't help but be happy in
being saved by the free grace of God. Oh, it makes me happy
and joyful. With grace, there's liberality.
There's generosity. If I'm not a generous person,
I don't know anything of the generosity of God to me. With
grace, there's a true liberality based upon that simplicity of
looking to Christ only. Where there's grace, there's
a genuine willingness. You don't have to be manipulated
and coerced. Where there's a grace, there's
a true ministry to the saints. And where there's grace, there
is somebody giving themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what we see when we see grace bestowed. Now, we'd like to invite
you to services at Todd's Road Grace Church this morning. Our
services begin at Bible study, 945. We're going through the
book of Revelation right now. Sunday morning worship service
is 1030. Evening is 6 o'clock. And we'd
love to have you come out and hear the gospel and visit with
us. And we have this message on DVD or 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. She is not dead you you you you you you you you you Aum you Silence Aum you you you you you you you you Aum.