I did choose thee, Lord, for
Lord that could not be. 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 Nybert. I've entitled this morning's
message, A Message for You. A message for you. I want to hear what God's saying
to me. Not to somebody else, but what
He says to me. Our text is found in John chapter
20. verse 30, and many other signs
truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not
written in this book, but these, these signs are written, recorded,
that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that believing you might have life through his name. A message for you. John clearly identifies why this
book was written. He says this was written that
you might believe. Now, some parts of the Bible
are addressed to believers. There are other parts of the
Bible that are addressed to unbelievers, and perhaps you're struggling
to know which group you are in. The Gospel of John tells us That
this is not addressed to believers or unbelievers, but this is addressed
to you. Not somebody else. But you. Now in verse 30, John says, and
many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples,
which are not written in this book. John did not mention all
the signs that the Lord performed during his earthly ministry that
attested to his divine authority. Matthew, Mark, and Luke mentions
many things that John doesn't mention. As a matter of fact,
he says in verse 25 of chapter 21, there are also many other
things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every
one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain
the books which should be written. But in the Gospel of John, John
gives seven signs that the Lord Jesus gave and these signs are
given that you might believe. Now let me give you the seven
signs that the Gospel of John is built around. The first sign
is when the water was made wine at the wedding feast. John chapter
2 verse 11 calls this the beginning of miracles or the most important
miracle. And we're going to see why that
was the most important miracle. And the next sign was the cleansing
of the temple. When the Lord Jesus Christ on
the Passover day made a whip and drove the money changers
out of the temple and overthrew their tables. And they said,
what sign showest thou that thou doest these things? Who gave
you this authority? That was a second sign, his authority
to come in during their religious ceremony with a whip and drive
these men out of the temple. The third sign was when the nobleman's
son was healed. He came to the Lord and said,
Would you heal my son? And the Lord said, Except you
see signs and wonders, you will not believe. And the man said,
Oh, come down, erry die. All he wanted was his son to
be healed. And the Lord said to him, Go thy way, thy son lives. And he went his way and found
out indeed that his son did live. And the fourth sign he gave was
when that man was laying there at the pool of Bethesda, and
he'd been lying there for 38 years, totally crippled, and
the Lord said, Will thou be made whole? Rise, take up your bed,
and walk. The fifth sign was when the Lord
fed 5,000 people with two sardines and five biscuits. He brought
food into existence. He brought matter into existence
that was not there before. The sixth sign was when that
man who was born blind in John chapter 9 was given sight. And the seventh sign was when
Lazarus was in the tomb four days and he said, Lazarus, come
forth. And remember, Lazarus had already
began the process of decay. His sister said, by now he stinks.
And the Lord said, come forth. And he that was dead came forth. Now, these signs, these miracles
were given, according to John, that you might Believe. This message then is especially
tailored for you. Is he speaking to me? Yes, he
is. And beloved, I want to hear what
the Bible says to me, what God says to me. I'm not so much interested
in what he says to somebody else. I want to know what he says to
me personally. Now, let's consider the most
obvious point behind each one of these seven signs, and each
of these seven signs teaches many things, but there is one
specific point behind each of them. Now, the first sign is
when the water was made wine, and it's called the most important
miracle. It was not Water that looked
like wine. It was not water that tasted
like wine. The properties were actually
changed. Water was made wine. It was made to be something it
was not. Now here we have the Gospel. When God saves a sinner, he's
made to be something he was not. When God saves a sinner, He makes
him righteous. He wasn't righteous, God makes
him righteous. He makes him holy. He wasn't
holy, God makes him holy. He makes him a son of God. I'm
made to be what I was not. And it's all because Christ was
made to be what He was not. He was made to be sin. The holy,
spotless Son of God who never committed a sin in His person
was made to be sin on Calvary's tree. My sin became His. He was
made to be what He was not. Guilty. He was made sin. And because He was made to be
what He was not, I'm made to be who He is. And what I'm not,
I am made to be the very righteousness of God in Him. Now this is the most important
miracle because it summarizes the gospel message. When God
saves a sinner, He makes him to be something he was not. He makes him a new creature in
Christ Jesus. Now the next sign that is recorded
in the Gospel of John is when on the Passover day, You can
read about this in John chapter 2. The Lord made a whip. And
he walked into the temple. And he started beating those
people, driving them out of the temple. Somebody says, would
the Lord do something like that? Yes, he would. He drove those
people out of the temple. He overthrew their tables. Now. Why did he do this? What these people were doing,
they were trying to make worship easier. They were trying to make
worship more accessible, easier to the flesh. You don't have
to bring a lamb all the way from your hometown. Just buy one here. You don't have to bring the silver
atonement money. Just exchange it for here and
we'll make a little profit out of it. It's getting profit out
of religion. That's one thing. It's getting
profit out of religion. But more than anything else, it's trying
to make worship easier, more palatable to the flesh. And the
Lord would not tolerate that. It was an abomination to Him. And our Lord shows us at this
time how human religion is an abomination to Him. He has no
tolerance for it at all. And He drove these people out
of the temple. Now, anything that's contrary
to what is taught in this first miracle, God making us to be
what we were not because he made Christ to be what he was not,
anything contrary to that, God finds to be an abomination and
he'll drive it out. Now, the third sign that took
place is when the nobleman's son was healed. He said, Sir,
come down, ere my child die. And the Lord said, Go thy way,
thy son live. And so the nobleman, you can
read this in the latter part of John, chapter four, he goes
home and he stops and spends the night somewhere. He wasn't
in a hurry to get home because he believed that his son lived
because the Lord told him he did. And so when he gets up the
next morning and starts back on his way home, it wasn't very
far. His servants come and they say, your son lives. And he said,
when did he live? And they told him yesterday at
one o'clock, and the nobleman knew this was the precise time
that the Lord said, Go thy way, thy son liveth. He knew. He knew. Now, here's the point.
I'm not going to have assurance. You're not going to have assurance
until we know exactly when we were saved. Now, what do I mean
by that? Do I mean a date? April 5th or
October 4th at 2 o'clock? No, I don't mean that at all,
because in that sense, I do not know when I was saved, but I
do know when I was saved. I was saved before time began
when Christ agreed to be my surety, when God purposed my salvation.
2 Timothy 1, 9 says, He saved us and He called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to His own
purpose and grace which were given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. That's when I was saved. before
time began. I was saved when Christ said
it is finished. I was justified when he bowed his mighty head
and said it is finished. When he was raised from the dead,
I was accepted. I was saved outside of my personal
subjective experience. I was saved when he was raised
from the dead. And I'm saved when I believe the gospel, when
I hear the gospel and believe the gospel of God's grace, and
not a second before then. Salvation in the past. Salvation
when I believe. Salvation by what Christ did.
And I'm saved right now looking to Christ. I'm not looking to
some experience I had. Right now I'm looking to Christ
only as everything in my salvation. So here we have the issue of
when were you saved? Now, the fourth miracle is when
the Lord gave that man who was impotent powers the ability to
get up and walk. And what is so important about
this? Well, this shows spiritual impotence. This man was impotent. He was
unable to do anything, and he couldn't do anything until Christ
caused him to do it. Our Lord said, No man can come
to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him. And I'll
raise him up at the last day. Spiritual impotence, inability,
sinfulness. The fifth Sign is when the Lord
brought matter into existence, which was not there before. He
fed 5000 people with two sardines and five biscuits. And that shows
us that salvation is the creative act of God, the power of God. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creation. Just as God had no help in the
first creation, he has no help in the second creation. We're
born of God. Now, the sixth sign was when
the Lord gave sight to that man who was born blind. We're born
blind. And when God saves us, we see
these things, these things I'm talking about. And if we don't
see them, it's because we're still spiritually blind. And then there's the raising
of Lazarus from the dead, which speaks of his omnipotence and
salvation, the irresistible and invincible nature of his grace.
Now, listen to me. Grace is not an offer. He didn't
say to Lazarus, Lazarus, if you will, you can come out. It's
not an invitation. Lazarus, it's up to you. No,
Lazarus was dead and he'd remain dead until he gave him life.
Lazarus, come forth. And either was dead, came forth
in obedience to this almighty command. Now, these seven specific
signs are written down for this specific purpose, that you might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing,
you might have life through His name. Now, these seven signs
are given, first of all, that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ. The Christ. That's not his last
name. That's his offices. God's anointed. God's anointed prophet. God's
anointed priest. God's anointed king. Now, in
the Old Testament, there were three people who were anointed.
The prophet, The priest and the king were all anointed with oil,
showing God's special hand upon them. Now Christ is God's anointed
prophet. He is the Word of God. This is
my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. Hear ye Him. He is what
God has to say to us. He is the message. He is God's priest. What is a
priest? A prophet is a man who brings
the message of God to men. Christ is the message of God.
A priest is a man who represents men to God. Christ Jesus is the
one who represents us to God. No other man but He, the Great
High Priest. The reason I can be accepted
is because He comes for me as my representative, as my High
Priest. The reason my prayers can be heard is because He presents
them to the Father as my Great High Priest. Oh, what a priest
he is, and how I need him as my priest. He's God's anointed
priest. 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. He's God's anointed king. What's a king? A king is one
who rules. and reigns, who has all authority
and all control, and that's precisely who the Lord Jesus Christ is.
He's the Lord of lords and King of kings, and I need Him to rule
and reign over me. I need Him to subdue my iniquities
for me. I need Him to cause me to do
His will. I need His kingship. I need Him
as my prophet to bring me the Word of God. I need him as my
priest to represent me before God. I need him as my king to
rule over me. Now, these are written that you
might believe that Jesus is the Christ. John said in 1 John 5,
1, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Now, these are written that you
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and next he says that
you might believe that He is the Son of God. And these seven signs are given,
that you might believe He's God's Christ, and that you might believe
He is the Son of God, God the Son, the Second Person of the
Blessed Trinity, the uncreated, eternal Son of God. Now, when he made that water
into wine, he didn't make water that tasted like wine or smelled
like wine, but looked like wine. No, he made water into wine.
When he did that, only God the Son could do that. When he walked
into the temple with a whip in his hands and drove those people
out and overthrew the tables and let all the oxen and sheep
and doves go, Only God the Son has the authority to do something
like that. I wouldn't have the authority
to do something like that, but He does because He is God the
Son. He showed His absolute authority when He did that. When He said
to that nobleman, go your way, your son lives. Only God the
Son could do that. When He said to that Impotent
man, wilt thou be made whole? Only the Son of God could make
you whole. And when he said, rise, take up your bed and walk,
and he rose, took up his bed and walked, only the Son of God
could have such power in his command that he could cause somebody
to do that. When he created matter, when
he brought matter into existence that was not there before, that's
creation. Same thing that happened in the
first creation. He brought matter into existence that was not there
before. He demonstrated that He is God the Son. When He gave that man that was
born blind sight, only God the Son could do that. And when He
raised Lazarus from the dead, Only God the Son could do that. Now, he says in verse 31, these
are written that you might believe, that you might believe. Oh, may
God the Holy Spirit speak to you right now. These are written
that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that believing You may have life through His name. Now I want to read you a verse
of scripture from Romans chapter 15 verse 13. Notice he says that
believing you might have life through His name. In Romans chapter
15 verse 13 we read, Now the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing. Remember how John said that believing
you might have life through his name. Now in that verse of scripture
we read of three wonderful feelings. Joy, hope, and peace. Hope as opposed to despair. Joy as opposed to grief. Peace as opposed to turmoil. These are wonderful feelings.
Hope, joy, and peace. And these are all had in believing. Now, what is this thing of believing? These things are written. that
you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that believing you might have life through his name. Now the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing that you might abound in hope
through the power of the Holy Ghost. Now what is this thing
of believing? What does it mean? Well, there
are three concepts in believing. They're all the same thing, but
let me give them each to you. First, if you believe, that means
you trust. You trust. It's trusting Him
to save me. I am relying on, I'm trusting
Him to save me. I believe He's able to do it,
and I'm relying on Him to do it. Romans chapter 4 verse 5
says, To him that worketh not. He's not trying to earn God's
favor. He sees he can't do it. I can't work. To him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness. Now, I'm trusting him to make
me righteous before God. Now, this thing of believing,
first of all, is trusting. And secondly, this thing of believing
is entrusting. Interesting, and what do I mean
by that? Well, when you ask somebody to watch your child, maybe you're
going to have someone babysit your child or watch over them,
you are entrusting your child to that person's care. That means
you are totally dependent upon them to take care of your child. Now, when I entrust the salvation
of my soul to Christ, I'm taking that which is dearest to me,
the salvation of my soul, and I'm entrusting it to the Lord
Jesus Christ, trusting Him to save me. I've entrusted to Him
all things. I'm out of the equation. A third
word that's used to describe this thing of believing is committal. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1.12,
I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded he's able to keep
that which I've committed to him against that day. You commit yourself to him. Now, what does that mean? I'm getting ready to board a
plane. I trust that that plane will get me where I'm going.
I believe it'll make it there. But I don't commit myself to
that plane until I get on board and sit down. And at that time,
I'm out of the picture. I don't flap my arms trying to
help the plane get up. I sit there. I've committed myself
to the plane. If the plane makes it to the
destination, I will. I've committed myself totally
to that plane to get me there. And I have committed myself totally
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if you believe in salvation
by works in any way, that's a failure to commit. If you don't entrust
the salvation of your soul completely to him where you're out of the
equation, it's up to him completely to save you. If you don't commit
yourself to him, that is a failure to commit. Now, he said in our
text, these things are written that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing committing,
entrusting, trusting, that believing you might have life through His
name. Now, the name is the person behind
the name. It's not just using His name
like you use abracadabra. No, it's the person behind the
name. His name is who He is. And believing,
I have life through His name. I have life before God's law
through His name. God's law looks at me as not
guilty through the perfect righteousness of Christ. I have the life of
God in my soul, a new nature. I have the life of Christ as
my life. John chapter 14 verse 6 the Lord
said I am the life. He didn't say I'll give you life
He said I myself am the life so that my life before God is
the life of the Lord Jesus Christ That believe in you might have
life through his name that name which is above every name it
works like this Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 says be kind and tenderhearted,
forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven
you. Now this is the message for you.
This is the message for me. These are written, these seven
signs that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, And that believing, you might have life through His
name. Now we have this message on DVD,
CD or cassette. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Knight with a prayer
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.