Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neidert. 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 Nibert. I'm reading from the
book of Zechariah, chapter 4, verse 6. Then he answered and
spake unto me, This is the word of the Lord undesirable, saying,
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit saith the Lord. I've entitled this message, The
Source of Success. Now, what do I mean by success? I'm not talking about what the
world would consider successful, wealth, riches, health and status. And I'm not talking about what
religion would consider successful, big numbers, a big show. But I'm talking about what the
Lord would call successful. Somebody who stands before God
in judgment and is justified, that's a successful person. Someone
who by the grace of God enters into heaven, that's a successful
person. Someone who is enabled to persevere
and continue in the faith, that is a successful person. A place
where the Gospel, the true Gospel of God is preached, that place
is a successful place, whether it be one person or one thousand
persons. So, what is the source of success? I read that verse from Zechariah
chapter four, but let's back back up to the first verse of
Zechariah chapter four. I'd like to read the first three
verses right now. And the angel that talked with
me came again and wake me as a man that is wakened out of
his sleep and said unto me, what seest thou? And I said, I've
looked and behold, a candlestick all of gold. with a bowl upon
the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes
to the seven lamps which are upon the top thereof, and two
olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl and the
other upon the left side thereof." Now what we're given a picture
of is a golden candlestick And on each side, there is an olive
tree with pipes bringing oil from that olive tree. So it's
a candle that never has to be tended by man. No human tending. Now, that's what Zechariah saw,
a candlestick without anybody keeping it trimmed. Now, verse
four. So I answered and spake to the
angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my Lord? Zechariah
didn't understand what this was supposed to signify. Then the
angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou
not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then
he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the
Lord unto Zerubbabel. Now, who was Zerubbabel? He is
the man that God used to rebuild the temple. Now, the temple of
Solomon had been leveled. The children of Israel had been
carried into captivity. And they had been in captivity
for 70 long years. And at the end of the 70 years,
they are brought back to Jerusalem. God moved the heart of Cyrus
to let them come back and to rebuild the temple. And Zerubbabel
is the man God used to rebuild the temple, and this is God's
message to Zerubbabel to encourage him in this thing of rebuilding
the temple. Then he answered, verse 6, and
spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel,
saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith
the Lord. Now, the rebuilding of the temple,
is a picture of the work of God's grace in the soul of man. Now, the temple had been destroyed. It had been leveled to the ground
by Nebuchadnezzar and there was nothing left. And Zerubbabel
is sent to rebuild the wall and the temple. Now, when Adam fell,
In the garden, he was destroyed. He became sinful. He lost fellowship
with God. He lost favor with God. He fell. He became dead in trespasses
and sins, unable to build himself back. But when Zerubbabel comes,
this pictures the work of God's grace in the soul rebuilding,
making new, rebuilding the temple. Now, the rebuilding of the temple
was not by might. It was not by the collected efforts
of men pulling together. It's not by armies. It's not
by power. It's not by the prowess of any
one single individual, but by My Spirit. Not a bunch of men. Not amen. But the rebuilding
of the temple, the spiritual temple, The work of God's grace
in the soul is the work of God the Holy Spirit. Not a bunch
of men, not a man, but the work of God the Holy Spirit. Now let's
consider this, not by might. The rebuilding of the temple,
the work of God's grace in the soul is not brought on by armies
is what the word actually means. The collected efforts of men. Religious crusades never caused
one person to believe. You've heard of the crusades
they had in order to turn everybody from heathenism to Christianity
centuries ago. No one ever heard the gospel
through anything like that. Grace cannot be legislated. It doesn't come from a bunch
of right-wing religious people saying we're going to legislate
things and get America turned back to God. That doesn't turn
anyone to God. Grace doesn't come by men pooling
their resources or denominations pooling their resources to bring
about revival. It's not big churches getting
new methods and gaining new ways in order to speak to the culture.
It's not by men's collected efforts. Not by might. Zerubbabel, the
temple is not built by armies, the collective efforts of religious
men in order to bring about revival, nor is the temple built by power. And this is a reference to the
prowess of any one single individual. The salvation of the soul is
not brought about by the efforts or the abilities of any single
individual. the best preacher, the most charismatic,
the most persuasive, the most powerful preacher. He has absolutely
nothing to do with the salvation of a soul. He can't bring life. Only God can do this. This is beyond their power. The only way the temple can be
erected, the only way God's grace in the soul can be brought about
not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord."
Now, the planning for this building was done by the Father in eternal
election. when He chose the stones of this
building. Every individual believer, the
stones of this building, was chosen by God in eternal election. That's when the blueprint was
made. The purchase price for this building
was done on the cross when Christ Jesus paid for the sins of all
those the Father gave Him. And the erection of this building,
which is salvation in our experience, is the work of the Holy Spirit
of God. It's not the work of a bunch
of men. It's not the work of any single individual. It's the
work of God the Holy Spirit. Now, here is a man dead it seems. He hears the gospel and he believes. He finds it a message of good
news indeed. And he rejoices. And the person
sitting beside him finds it a dull and uninteresting subject and
is looking forward to the services being over so they can go ahead
and get on with their day. What's the difference? Was one
man more intelligent? A better person? More moral? And that's why He is saved and
the other one's not? No. The difference is the Spirit
of God. What God did for the one that
He did not do for the other. 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse
7 says, Who makes you to differ from another? And what do you
have that you didn't receive? It is God who makes the difference. It's the Spirit, our Lord said
in John 6.63, that quickens or gives life. The flesh profits
nothing. Now, life, spiritual life, this
is the work of God's grace in the soul. This is the erection
of the temple. Spiritual life is that which only God can give. Men cannot give life. Life cannot be reproduced in
a laboratory. Faith and repentance, they are
the results of life, spiritual life, not the cause. Now, religion
gets that backward. If you believe and you repent,
then you'll have spiritual life. Faith and repentance are the
fruit of spiritual life. Life is a creative act of God. Now, how much did you have to
do with your first birth? Well, you know, you had absolutely
nothing to do with that. You were passive in it. But how
much do you have to do with your second birth? Did you contribute
in your second birth, the new birth, if you've been born again?
No, you didn't have any contribution in that either. In John chapter
3, We read where Nicodemus came to the Lord Jesus Christ. I think
this is interesting. This is that famous passage of
scripture regarding the new birth. Billy Graham wrote a book entitled
How to be Born Again, but the Bible never tells how to be born
again, but it tells you you must be born again. Now, let's read
this passage of scripture together. There was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He was a religious leader.
The same came to Jesus by night. Was he ashamed? Perhaps, but
I think what this really refers to is the fact that he was utterly
in the dark. He didn't have any spiritual
light. And he said unto him, Rabbi,
we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can
do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
born from above, given life from above, he cannot see the kingdom
of God." Nicodemus, you have no idea what you're talking about,
except you be born from above, except God births you and gives
you life, spiritual life. You can't see the kingdom of
God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he
is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and
be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except
a man be born of water, which is a reference to the Word, and
of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, he cannot enter the kingdom
of God. That which is born of the flesh,
It can't rise above its source. It's flesh. And that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee,
you must be born again. The wind blows where it listeth
or where it wills. You hear the sound thereof, but
you can't tell whence it comes and whither it goes. So is every
one that is born of the Spirit. And you do not breathe and then
live You breathe because you live. You do not believe and
then live. You believe because you live. Faith and repentance are the
evidence of life. If I don't breathe, I'm dead. And if I don't believe, if I
don't repent, it's because I am dead in trespasses and sins. The salvation of the soul is
not by might nor by power, But by My Spirit, saith the Lord."
Now here is the source of success. The Spirit of God. Now let's
go on reading in verse 7 of Zechariah chapter 4. Not by might nor by power, but
by My Spirit, saith the Lord. Who art thou, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain. And he shall
bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace,
Grace, unto it. Now, if you read in the book
of Ezra and Nehemiah, you find about all the opposition there
was that the Jews faced to the building or the rebuilding of
the temple and the rebuilding of the wall. They faced such
opposition. And how much opposition is faced
in God doing this mighty work of grace in the heart of a man.
You think of the opposition. The heart. Jeremiah 17, 9 says,
The heart is desperately wicked, deceitful above all things. Who can know it? The understanding
can't understand. The will is bound by sin. The
affections are evil. The flesh is so deceitful, so
unable, so sinful, so depraved. Ignorance, prejudice against
the truth, the love of sin, the depth of pride and self-righteousness,
the opposition of the devil. All these mountains of opposition
will be leveled by the invincible, irresistible work of God's grace
in the soul. Psalm 110 verse 3 says, Thy people
shall be willing. in the day of thy power." Now,
I'd like to read a passage of Scripture in Mark chapter 10.
This is after the rich young ruler had gone away. And we read in verse 26 that
the disciples were astonished. Mark 10, 26. They were astonished
out of measure saying among themselves, who then can be saved? If this
man, this moral man, this religious man, if he can't be saved, Who
then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith,
With men it is impossible. Salvation, the work of God's
grace in the soul, being made like Christ, being justified,
being sanctified, being glorified. Salvation, the work of God, with
men it is impossible. You can't find man as a source
of success, but not with God. You see, with God, all things
are possible. In Zechariah chapter 4, Who art
thou, O great mountain, all these mountains of opposition? Before Zerubbabel, thou shalt
become a plain. and shall bring forth the headstone
thereof, with shouting, crying, Grace, Grace unto it. And as a rubble will bring the
headstone. Now, remember, in those buildings
in the temple and so on, the only means of construction were
through arches. They didn't have steel beams
the way we have now. And when a big building went
up, the roof was held up by arches. All large buildings were built
with arches. Now that was the only way the
roof could be held up. Now in the arch there is a headstone
or capstone and the arch is built up and is held up by timbers
until that capstone is placed in and then all the weight of
the arch is on that capstone and then they can tear the timbers
down and it stands by itself and here's what Zerubbabel will
be crying at the completion of the arch, the headstone. Who
art thou, O great mountain, before Zerubbabel? Thou shalt become
a plain, and he shall bring forth the headstone, that's the completion
of the building, with shoutings crying, Grace, Grace, undo it. Now the work is finished, and
what is the cry? Grace, Grace, undo it. Now here is the source of success
Grace. Now, we call it free grace, we
call it saving grace, we call it sovereign grace, but here
is another adjective that wonderfully describes the grace of God, successful
grace. I'd like to read a passage of
scripture in Genesis chapter six. We're going to look at the
first time the word grace is used in the Bible. Now, in Genesis
chapter six, verse five, we read, And God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth. and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And do you hear what that says?
When God looks at man, he sees that every, not most, but every
imagination, the things that men consider good, the things
men consider evil, God lumps them all in this. Every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. No good. Now, that's what happened
to man as a result of Adam's fall. That would describe you
and me. Was Abraham, was Moses, was David,
was Noah in this group God described? Yes. This describes all men. Now, here's where grace comes
in. Verse 8 of the same chapter, Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Noah found favor in the eyes
of the Lord. And here's what happens when
someone finds favor in the eyes of the Lord. In chapter 7, verse
1, and the Lord said in Noah, Come down all thy house into
the ark, for thee have I seen righteous. before me in this
generation. God sees Noah as righteous for
one reason, because Noah is righteous. Now, Noah was included in that
description of whom it said every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil continually, but God made a difference by
his grace. Grace is God's unmerited favor. not offered but given to the
objects of His affection without it being earned in any way. God's grace is in no way dependent
upon human works, worth or will. It depends solely on God's will
and cannot be earned by merit nor lost by guilt. Grace, the grace of God, is absolutely
free of human influence. If human influence is involved
in any way, it ceases to be grace. Oh, where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. Now, here's the source of success,
the grace of God. And I think of the grace of God
in salvation. The grace of God in election,
when He graciously chose a people. If God had to find good works
in me in order to choose me, or anything good in me in order
to choose me, He would have never chosen me. But oh, how gracious
He is in this choice, for the children being not yet born,
neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of
God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him
that calleth. Oh, how grace is demonstrated
in justification. I am aware of the fact that I
am a very sinful man in and of myself. And yet, I stand before
God without sin, not guilty. perfectly just in His sight through
what Christ did for me, Him taking away my sins and giving me His
righteousness, so I stand before God just, perfect and righteous. Oh, how that displays the grace
of God! How the grace of God is seen
in my redemption. I couldn't pay for my sins, but
He did, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that's in Christ Jesus. Oh, the grace of God that's demonstrated
in the forgiveness of sins. Listen to me real carefully.
Forgiveness is the beginning of salvation, not the end. You don't do something, then
become forgiven. He forgives. Salvation begins
with His forgiveness before you even ask for it. If you're in
Christ, if you're someone who looks to Him, His forgiveness
is full. free, everlasting, irreversible,
bottomless, and absolute. Their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more." How the grace of God is demonstrated
in that. Oh, what grace is seen in His
call. Paul said in Galatians 1.15,
when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace. Oh, it's a most gracious call. And how the grace of God is seen
in the preservation of the believer. Now, I must persevere. I must
continue to walk with Christ. But how His grace causes me to
do it. I know if He didn't keep me,
I would fall. I know that. Jude 24 says, Now
unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present
you thoughtless before His throne. The only reason I don't fall,
the only reason I am presented thoughtless before His throne
is because of His keeping grace. And how will the greatness of
His grace, the freeness of His grace be seen on Judgment Day
when I stand before God? And the searchlight of God's
holy law looks me over and says, He's perfect. There's no blot
in Him. There's no blemish in Him. There's
nothing to reprove Him for. He stands perfect before me. Oh, what a demonstration of grace
that will be. As a matter of fact, I think
that's when I'm going to have some inkling as to what grace
really is when I stand before God accepted in the Beloved,
literally graced in the Beloved. Now, the source of success is
the Spirit of God, not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,
saith the Lord. And the source of success for
the erection of the temple is the grace of God. Now, we have
this message on cassette tape and CD and DVD. If you call the
church or write, we'll be glad to send you a copy or email in
the address given at the end of this message. And we'd like
to invite you to services at Todd's Road Grace Church. Our
morning worship begins at 1030. Bible study 945 and we also have
Sunday evening services if you come at 6 p.m. Every Sunday evening. This is Todd Divert praying that
God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's our prayer. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send a request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.