It is not that I did choose thee Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neiberg. 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 Nyberg. I want to preach to you
this morning on the subject of impossibilities. Impossibilities. In Hebrews, chapter six, verse
17, the writer to the Hebrews says, Wearing God willing more
abundantly to show under the airs of the promise, the immutability
of his counsel. confirmed it by an oath, that
by two immutable, unchangeable things in which it was impossible
for God to lie. Somebody says, God can do anything. No, He can't. He cannot lie. Impossibilities. We think and
we act and we make decisions in terms of probabilities and
improbabilities. We go to school because we think
in doing so it's highly probable it will help us get a job in
doing something we want to do. We go to a certain restaurant
because we believe that it's highly probable that we'll get
a meal that we'll enjoy. And if we thought that it was
highly improbable that the food would taste good, we would not
go to that restaurant. We married our spouse because
we believed it would be highly probable that that union would
make us happy. If the doctor tells us that there's
a 50 cent probability that we'll be cured of a disease if we do
nothing, but there is a 100% probability of us being cured
of the disease if we have a surgery and live through it. However,
90% of those people who go through that surgery die. We probably
will elect to not have that surgery. When we invest money, we do so
because we feel as though there's a high probability that there
will be returns, good returns on our investments. Now, as you
know, probabilities do not always turn out as calculated. How many
people have lost everything on something that they thought was
highly probable that they would gain by? The things that we think
will happen do not always happen. The decisions we make in life,
though, do have a lot to do with how we view what is probable
or improbable. Now, this morning, I'm not going
to talk about probabilities. I'm going to talk about impossibilities. There's a big difference. No
chance-taking, no calculated risks are involved, no speculation. And I can say this regarding
these things that the Bible says are impossible. They're more
certain than mathematical certainties. Now, 2 plus 2 is always 4. It's never 3. It's never 5. It's
never 3.9. And it's never 4.1. 2 plus 2 is always 4. That is
certain. And these things are more certain
than mathematic principles. Now, the first impossibility
that I want to speak of is in the text I just read, Hebrews
6.18, where we read, it is impossible for God to lie. I love that impossibility. It
is impossible for God to lie. Titus chapter 1, verse 2, Paul
says, God cannot lie. He is unable to lie. It would be against His nature. As far as that goes, it's impossible
for anyone to act outside of their nature. God cannot lie
because it's against His nature. The fact that it's impossible
for God to lie tells us that He cannot be anything but that
which He is. Whatever He is, He always is. He's the same. He is immutable. He does not change. And we don't have to speculate
regarding His isness. You see, God has given a revelation
of His isness in this book we call the Bible. All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God. There is no error in the Bible. This is God's revelation of Himself. Now, I realize many people will
say, well, men wrote the Bible. Yes, men did in fact write the
Bible, but they did so as they were inspired and moved by the
Holy Spirit. But men are fallible. That's
true. Men are fallible. But God is infallible. And these
fallible men wrote the infallible Word of God. And the Bible has
a monopoly on the truth. This is God's revelation of Himself. And in this book, God tells us
who He is. God is infinite. He never had a beginning. He
never will have an end. Now that's beyond our grasp,
but we believe because this is what the Bible reveals regarding
the isness of God. God is omnipotent. He is all-powerful. There's nothing beyond the range
of His power. According to the Scriptures,
He's omniscient. That means He's never learned anything because
He knows everything. God is omnipresent. You cannot
go anywhere where God is not, because He's everywhere at once.
God is a Spirit, and God is omnipresent. He's everywhere at once. God is sovereign. That means
He's in control of all things, and that He's the first cause
behind all events, and nothing happens without His will. He's in control of everything. He's sovereign over everything. He's the sovereign of the universe. God is just. That means He will
by no means clear the guilty. All sin must be punished because
God is absolutely, immutably just. And God is merciful. And God is gracious. and God
delights in mercy. Now how do we know these things
regarding God? Because He makes them known in
His Word. He said, I am that I am. All that He is, He is. And He's made Himself known in
His Word, His isness. God is holy. How do we know that? Because He said in His Word,
be ye holy, for I am holy. And it is impossible. Now listen
very carefully. It is impossible for Him to not
be who He is and what He is. It's impossible for Him to not
be sovereign. It's impossible for Him to not
be just. It's impossible for Him to lie. He cannot not be any of these
things. And anything we believe or hear
that contradicts His is-ness in any way is wrong. Now, when
the angel told Mary, who was a virgin and had never known
a man, that she would have a son, she said, how can these things
be, seeing I know not a man? Now, we understand her asking
that question. I would ask the same question. In Luke 137, the
angel replied, with God, nothing shall be impossible. You see, nothing is beyond his
ability. Romans chapter 4 verse 21, we
read that Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief. And what was that promise? That
he would have many heirs and that the seed, the heir, the
Lord Jesus Christ would come through him. Now when God made
that promise, Abraham was an old man, and his wife had already
gone through menopause. So, humanly speaking, it was
impossible for him to have any physical descendants. Yet God
said, you're going to have descendants as the sands by the seashore,
as the stars in heaven. Abraham staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving
glory to God, being fully persuaded. that what God had promised he
was able also to perform. I want to ask you a question. Do you believe that God has the
ability to make you to be without sin? Not merely forgive it, not
merely pardon it, but do you believe that God has the ability
to make you without sin, even though you are a sinner, in a
way that's consistent with all of His attributes of justice
and holiness and power. Do you believe that? In Mark
10, verse 26, we read where the Lord is speaking to His disciples
after they ask a question that they're just astonished by. In
verse 26 of Mark chapter 10, And they were astonished, out
of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? Now why
did they ask this question? Well, there was a rich young
ruler who came to the Lord and said, Good Master, what good
things shall I do to inherit eternal life? And the Lord said,
Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that
is God. Keep the commandments. And he names the commandments
and this young man, this fine young man said, all these have
I kept from my youth up. And the Lord lets him know that
in reality he had not kept the commandments. He said, you're
lacking one thing. You go sell what you have and
give to the poor. You'll have treasures in heaven.
And come and follow me. This man didn't understand that
he didn't love people. He didn't understand that he
was eaten up with covetous and he was controlled by materialism.
He thought he was a good man when in fact he was an evil man.
He just didn't understand that. But the Lord said that to him
and he left. And his disciples were amazed. They were astonished. If this
man can't be saved, who then can be saved? This is the finest
humanity has to offer. If he can't be saved, who can
be saved? And our Lord said in verse 27,
And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible. With men, salvation. is impossible. Do you hear those
words? With men, salvation is impossible. Now that goes against the preaching
of this day. The preaching of this day makes
salvation possible for men if they do whatever it is they're
supposed to do in order to be saved. Yes, salvation lies within
your possibility if you do what you're supposed to. God loves
you. Christ died for you. He wants to save you. And it's
possible for you to be saved if you decide to accept what
He did for you and let Him forgive you. Salvation's in your hands.
Salvation's possible if you do your part. My friends, that's
a lie. Now hear what I said. That's
a lie. Somebody preaching that way does
not preach the gospel. With men, salvation is impossible. If God leaves me and you to ourselves,
we will go to hell. We will not be saved. Now I'm
telling you God's truth. With men, salvation is impossible. But it doesn't stop there. He
says, but not with God, for with God all things are possible. God can save an evil, ungodly,
sinful man, because with God all things are possible. And
then we read in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 4 that it is not possible
that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. It is not possible. All those
sacrifices that took place in the Old Testament, they didn't
put away one sin. They were simply given to picture
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they never could put away
sin, nor can any other religious act put away or take away sin. Baptism can't take away your
sin. If you take the Lord's Supper, That can't take away your sin.
If you respond to the altar call and walk down to the front of
the church and shake the preacher's hand, that will never take away
sin. Faith doesn't take away sin. Repentance doesn't take away
sin. Holy living does not take away
sin. No religious act can take away
sin. Did you know death cannot take
away sin? Hell cannot take away sin. That's why it lasts forever,
because the sin is never taken away. It's never satisfied. God's
justice is never satisfied. Only the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ can take away sins. I John 3, 5 says He was manifested
to take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. In Matthew chapter 26, verse
39, remember we're talking about things that are not possible,
things that are impossible. In Matthew chapter 26, verse
39, our Lord is praying in Gethsemane's garden and this is when His suffering
began. And He said, O Father, if it
be possible, let this cup pass from Me. Now, what is the cup
he's speaking of? He's talking about the cup of
God's wrath. He's talking about being forsaken
by God. He's talking about being made
sin. He's talking about suffering
the full equivalent of an eternal hell. He's talking about being
separated from God. And he said, oh, if it's possible,
he'd sweat great drops of blood at this time, He said, if it's
possible, He was laying on His face, praying to His Father,
if it's possible, His humanity was overcome with the thought
of being made sin. If it's possible, let this cup
pass from Me. Now, if it were possible, don't
you think God would have answered His Son's prayer and not let
this cup pass? But the fact of the matter is,
It was not possible. Why is that? Well, one reason,
Christ is called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
This was decreed and God's decrees are never altered. Why was it
not possible? Because Christ is one with His
people. Hebrews 2.11 says, Both he that
sanctifyeth and they who are sanctified are all of one. He had to become what I am. And that's why God forsook Him.
He took my place as my substitute. He became one with me. My sin
became His sin. He bore our sins in His own body
on the tree, the Scripture says, that I might become who He is. Perfect. holy and righteous before
God. No, it was not possible. God's going to save His people.
He's decreed it. He's purposed it. And for them
to be saved, Christ had to do this. So, no, it was not possible. for this cup to be taken away
and he drank it dry and he satisfied God. Now we read in Acts chapter
2 after his death, Peter is preaching on the day of Pentecost and he
says in verse 22, ye men of Israel hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth
a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders, and
signs which God did by him, in the midst of you, as you yourselves
also know, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loosed
the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holden of it." It was not possible for Him to stay dead. Why? Who died? It's Christ that died. This is not a mere man. This
is the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And in His death, He
put away the sins of everybody He represented. The reason his
body did not see decay is because the moment he died, God's justice
was satisfied. He said, I can ask nothing else. The law was honored. He put away
sin. The sin is gone. He who is life,
the God-man, must rise from the dead. He must die. It's God's purpose. He must die
because the sins of His people became His, and the justice and
law of God punished Him and killed Him. But He must be raised from
the dead because He's the God-Man, because He satisfied God's law,
and God's justice, and God's purpose, and God's love demanded
His resurrection. It was not possible for him to
stay dead. Thank God for that. And then
in Hebrews 11, verse 6, we read that without faith, it is impossible
to please God. Without faith, it is impossible. I don't care what else you have.
If you don't have faith, you do not please God. You are displeasing
to God. You are a subject of His justice
and wrath if you die without faith. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. Now, what is faith? Faith isn't
simply believing in God. Someone says, well, I believe
in God. Well, so does the devil. That's not faith. Faith is not
believing in God. Faith is believing God. You see,
faith is in a person. It's not in a doctrine. It's
in a person. What we believe is determined
by who we believe. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed, and I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that which
I've committed to him against that day. Faith is in a person. You know, when I call upon a
man to believe, I don't say believe that Christ died for your sins.
That's not faith. You can believe Christ died for your sins and
wind up in hell. That's not faith. Faith is believing Him. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now, while
it's impossible to please God without this faith, this reliance
on Christ, when I say I believe, what I'm saying is I'm relying
upon the Lord Jesus Christ as all I need to make me holy and
acceptable before God. Now, without that faith, that
reliance, we can't please God. But with that faith, we are pleasing
to God. And then in Mark chapter 13,
we read in verse 22 where the Lord said, For false christs
and false prophets shall rise and show signs and wonders to
seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But did you know
it is not possible? He said if it were possible,
these false prophets who show great signs and wonders, they
imitate light and they can make your night look just like day.
Oh, how deceitful. They put truth in every one of
their lies and people are drawn to them. And if it were possible,
Even the elect would be seduced and deceived, but thank God it
is not possible. Who are the elect? You say, well,
the Lord tells us in verse 20 of the same chapter, except the
Lord had shortened the days, no flesh should be saved, but
for the elect's sake whom He hath chosen. He has shortened
the days. Who are the elect? The people
that He hath chosen. Before time began, 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. Those people that God hath chosen
cannot be deceived by a false gospel. It's not going to happen.
In Hebrews chapter 6, beginning in verse 4, we read, For it is impossible. Here's
the word again. For it is impossible for those
once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were
made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good word
of God and the powers of the world to come, if they would
fall away to renew them again into repentance, it would be
impossible to do it if they could fall away. Because Christ would
have to be crucified over again for them. Now here's the point.
It's impossible. That's the word. It is impossible
for someone who was once enlightened taught that they're sinners and
that Christ is the Savior of sinners. Taught who God is and
taught who they are. And it says that they have tasted
the heavenly gift. The gift of righteousness. Not
something you can lose. Not something you can earn. It's
a gift. The gift of a perfect righteousness before God. And
they were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, regenerated by God
the Holy Spirit, and given a new nature. And they've tasted the
good Word of God, the Gospel in a taste. and the power of
the world to come. It is impossible for those people
to fall away. The things they've experienced
make it to where it is. Listen to me. The Lord said,
My sheep shall never perish. That's what He said. My sheep
shall never perish. I give unto them eternal life.
Not temporary life, eternal life. Now, in Matthew chapter 17, Verse 20, a question is asked by the disciples
to the Lord. They said, Why could we not cast
the demon out? And the Lord answered and said,
Because of your unbelief. For verily I say unto you, If
you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto
this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove,
and nothing shall be impossible to you. You can stand before
God without sin through faith. It's said in a little bit different
way in Mark chapter 9, the same story, but we read beginning
in verse 14. Let's read the whole story. And
he, when he was coming to his disciples, he saw a great multitude
about them, and the scribes questioned with him. And straightway all
the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, running
to him, saluted him, and asked the scribes, and he asked the
scribes, Why question ye with him? And one of the multitude
answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which
hath a dumb spirit, and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth, and
he foameth, he gnashes with his teeth, he pines away, and I spake
to thy disciples that they should cast him out, and they could
not. He answered him and said, O faithless generation, how long
shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?
Bring him to me. And they brought him unto him,
and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tear him, and fell
on the ground, and wallowed foamy. And he asked his father, saying,
How long is it since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child,
and oft times it hath cast him into the fire, and into the water
to destroy him. But if thou canst do anything,
have compassion on us, and help us. And when that man said that,
he had no faith. If thou canst do anything, with
God, nothing shall be impossible. He shouldn't be asking a question
like that. That was filled with unbelief. And the Lord turns
the tables on him. And Jesus said unto him, If thou
canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of
the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. I believe that God in Christ has made me perfect, even right
now, without sin, holy, unblameable, and unreprovable in His sight.
I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. And
we have this message on CD and DVD. If you write to church or
call, We'll send you a copy. This is Todd Knight, praying
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
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