By grace I'm saved, grace free
and boundless. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor. We
are located at 4137 Todd's Road, two miles outside of Manowar
Boulevard. Sunday morning Bible class is
at 9.45am. Sunday services are at 10.30am
and 6pm. Wednesday services at 7pm. I'm going to read a verse of
scripture from Hebrews chapter 9 verse 15 and I've entitled
this morning's message Have I Been Called? I'm asking the question
has God called me? Has God called you? In Hebrews chapter 9 verse 15
we read and for this cause He is the mediator of the New Testament,
that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions
that were under the First Testament, they which are called, they which
are called, might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. They which are called. Am I in that group? Are you in
that group? Not everybody is. Now, I hope
we will know the answer to that question by the end of this message. Have I been called? In verse 15, it says, for this
cause, He, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the mediator of the New Testament. The Old Testament could not save. Now, by the Old Testament, I'm
not just talking about the books of Genesis through Malachi, I'm
talking about the Old Covenant, the covenant of works, the Ten
Commandments, the sacrifices of the law, the feast days of
the law, the moral law, the civil law, the ceremonial law, The
Old Testament. The Old Testament could not save. The Old Testament shows our need
of righteousness, but it doesn't give us the power to perform
a righteousness. The Old Testament shows us our
need of a sacrifice, but it doesn't give us a sacrifice that actually
puts away sin. The blood of bulls and goats
could never take away sin. The Old Testament shows us our
need of a priest to represent us before God, but it doesn't
give us a priest who can actually represent us. These priests under
the Old Testament were sinful men, just like we are. They actually
couldn't come into God's presence. They represented something. The
Old Testament could not save. The New Testament does, and Christ
is called the Mediator. of the New Testament or the New
Covenant. Now what is a mediator? A mediator
is not what we think of as a mediator in our day. You see in our day
we attach The idea of being a negotiator with a mediator. A mediator is
someone who negotiates between two contending parties. The mediator
tries to get one party to make concessions and another to make
compromises and so on in order to bring them together. Now that's
not the kind of mediator the Lord Jesus Christ is. You see,
God doesn't negotiate with sinners. God never compromises. And God
never concedes. Why should he? He's God. In the
New Testament, this word mediator is literally a go-between. One who brings the two together,
not by making compromises, but by making peace. He made peace
with God and he made a way for God to be at peace with me. He's
my mediator. There's one God and one mediator
between God and men. The man, Christ Jesus. In the New Testament, a mediator
is literally a guarantee. He guarantees something. He secures something that would
not have been obtained unless he secured it. Now, Hebrews uses
this word in the book of Hebrews three times, a mediator, and
every time it means a guarantee. He's the guarantee of the New
Testament. He's the reason the New Testament
saves. The New Testament, what is that
all about? Well, it's talking about the
covenant of grace, but in this context, he's talking about the
New Testament as a will, like a last will in testament. Look
in verse 16 of the same chapter, for where a testament is, there
must also of necessity be the death of the testator. He's calling
the New Testament a will. This is God's will. This is God's
purpose. For a testament is a force after
men are dead, otherwise it is no strength at all, while the
testator liveth. So the New Testament is God's
will. It's God's will. Listen to this
scripture. John chapter 6, verse 38. The Lord said, I came down
from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that
sent me. And this is the Father's will,
which has sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should
lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day." Now there's
God's will. It's God's will for all that
He gave to Christ to be saved. That's God's last will in the
Testament. It's His will that all of the
elect be saved. And in order for that will to
come to pass, Christ had to die. Listen to the scripture again,
Hebrews 9.15, and for this cause He's the mediator of the New
Testament by means of death. for the redemption of the transgressions
that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance." Now, Christ died. That's why
he's the guarantee of this New Testament of salvation for all
that the Father gave him. He died. The sins of God's people,
my sin, literally became his, so he became guilty of it. He
bore the shame of it. He bore the guilt of it. He became
guilty before God. My sin became His so that He
was guilty. That's why He died. The wages
of sin is death. He died because the sins of His
people became His. And through that death, He redeemed. Now listen to me real carefully.
The Lord Jesus Christ did not make redemption a possibility.
He actually redeemed. Now, what I hear preached in
our day basically is this. Jesus Christ redeemed everybody.
He paid for everybody's sins, but there's something you need
to do to make what he did work. It could be that your sins are
being paid for and you wind up in hell anyway if you don't do
something that makes what he did work for you. Now my dear
friends, that's just another form of salvation by works. There's
no gospel in that message. You see, the only hope that I
have of being accepted by God is that Christ died for me. If
you tell me that he can die for me and pay for my sins and I
wind up in hell anyway, you've taken away the only hope I have
because my only hope of standing accepted before God is the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He actually redeemed. He didn't
make salvation a possibility. He saved. He said, I lay down
my life for the sheep. He didn't lay down his life for
goats. He didn't lay down his life for those who do not believe.
He did not lay down his life for those who wind up in hell.
He laid down his life for all who come to him. He laid down
his life for the believer. He laid down his life for those
the Father gave him. He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out." His redemption was a successful redemption. Everybody he died for, they're
redeemed. If he died for me, I must be
saved. I can't run the risk of the hazard
of the possibility of being anything but saved. Oh, the preciousness
of his blood. When he said, it is finished,
my salvation was accomplished. Now, here's my question. How
can I know if he died for me? I know He died for His people.
I know He died for those who believe. I know He died for everyone
who comes to Him. How can I know if He died for
me? Now listen to this scripture.
Hebrews 9, verse 15. It says, For this cause He is
the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the
redemption of the transgressions that were under the first law,
they which are called might receive the promise. of eternal inheritance. Who did he redeem? They which
are called. Called by God. Now the Bible has a whole lot
to say about this thing of being called by God. We read in Romans 8.28, and we
know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose. A lot of people
quote that verse, and they only quote half of it. And you know
everything works together for good. And people say, well, I
just believe somehow everything's going to be fine. Everything
works together for good. All things work together. Finish
it. All things work together for good. to them that love God,
to them who are thee called according to his purpose. Now let me go
on reading in that passage of scripture. Four. Whom he did
foreknow. He didn't foreknow everybody
in this sense. That word actually means forelove. Whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover,
whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. There we have the great chain
of salvation, beginning with God's foreknowledge and ending
in glorification. And in it is calling. You see,
you can't make your election sure unless you make your calling
sure. Peter said in 2 Peter 1 10, to
give diligence to make your calling and election sure. You will not
make your election sure until you first make your calling sure. Now, does God call everyone? The answer to that is no. He does not call everyone, because
everybody He calls, He saves. Everyone He calls, they come
to Him. If He calls everyone the same, And some respond and
some don't. That would put salvation in man's
hands and not in God's hands. And that's not the way it is.
Salvation is in God's hands. He's absolutely sovereign. Those
He calls. Now let me show you this from
the scripture. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, we read verse 22. For the Jews, that's the religious
fellows, they require a sign. They want to see something tangible
that makes them think God is in it. The Greeks seek after
wisdom. This is the intellectuals. They
want something that they can feel good, makes their intellect
feel like they're smart. But, Paul says, we preach Christ
crucified. There's the gospel. Who he is
and what he did. Christ crucified. Now unto the
Jews, this message is a stumbling block. Unto the Greeks its foolishness,
but unto them which are called." Don't miss that. To some, Christ
crucified is a stumbling block. To others, it's sheer foolishness,
but unto them which are literally the called. called of God. Now, this call in the scriptures
is described as a high calling. We read of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus. It's called a heavenly calling.
Wherefore, brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling. It's called a holy calling. God
saved us and called us with a holy calling. Now, when you're called,
there's something you hear. That's what it is to be called.
There's something you hear. What do you hear when you're
called? You hear the gospel. Paul said he called us by our
gospel, by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He called
us by the gospel. So when you're called by God,
you hear the gospel. You hear it audibly, but more
than that, you hear it internally. You hear the voice of God behind
it. You know it's the truth. That's what it means. When you
hear from God, you know what you're hearing is nothing less
than the truth of God. If all you hear is a preacher's
opinion or a denominational distinction or distinctive, you haven't really
heard from God. But when you're hearing what
you're hearing is the very truth of God, that's God calling. You know it is God's word. This is the call of the gospel.
Now, this is a sovereign call. That means God calls whoever
he wants to call. Mark 3.13, it said of the Lord
that he called whom he would. Listen to this scripture, Romans
9.11, talking about Jacob and Esau. to 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." It was said unto her, The elder shall
serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, and Esau
have I hated. This is a sovereign call, and
it is a gracious call. You see, he doesn't call you
because he sees that you deserve his call. He doesn't call a man
because they're worthy, or because they're meritorious, or because
they have good works that God thinks he can use, or because
they have Talents that God thinks he can use no it's a gracious
calling listen to this scripture from first Corinthians 126 for
you see your calling brethren How that not many wise men after
the flesh not many mighty? Not many noble are called But
God hath chosen the foolish things of the world To confound the
things which are wise and God hath chosen the weak things of
the world to confound the things which are mighty, and the base
things of the world, and the things which are despised hath
God chosen, yea, and the things which are not, to bring to naught
the things that are. This is a most gracious calling. And because this is a sovereign
call, and because this is a gracious call, it's a most effectual call. In other words, when God calls,
people respond. Christ said, Lazarus, Come forth. Could Lazarus have said, no,
I'm not going to? No. He that was dead came forth. When the Lord said to Zacchaeus,
Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. Today I must abide at thy
house. You know what Zacchaeus did?
He made haste and he came down and he received him joyfully. Oh, what a glorious call this
is. Now, remember, a high and a heavenly
and a holy calling If God's called you, if He's called me, He's
called us to something. Galatians 5.13 says He's called
us unto liberty. You know what Christian liberty
is? People get this confused. People think, well, liberty is
getting to do certain things. Christian liberty is not having
any debts. Christian liberty is knowing
I have all that I need in Christ. And I don't need to do anything.
I'm not in bondage. I don't have to worry about,
well, have I done enough? All God requires, I have in the
Lord Jesus Christ. I'm complete in Him, and I need
nothing. And I'm free. I'm free. You know,
most people's religion is an unhappy thing. Most people have
bad enough religion to make them miserable, make them feel guilty.
They don't get to do what they really want to do, and they're
doing what they really don't want to do. But that's not the
case with a believer. I'm free. I want to follow the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's my want to. You see, when
God saves you, He changes your want to. And that's what happens
with a believer. It's a call to liberty and it's
a call to peace. Colossians 3.15 says you're called
to peace. Peace with God. And the reason
I'm at peace with God is God's at peace with me. He's not mad
at me. He says in Jeremiah 29 verse
11 regarding all of his people, I know the thoughts I think of
you. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to bring to you an expectity
and God is at peace with me because Christ made my peace with God.
I've heard people say, have you made your peace with God? No,
I haven't. Christ made my peace with God and I am at peace with
him because he's at peace with me. I'm at peace with my brothers
and sisters in Christ. We're not competing. You know,
most religion, it seems like they have a competition. Who's
the most blessed? Who's the holiest? Who's kind
of a competition in who's getting God's favor the most? And it's
not that way with God's children. We're all one in Christ Jesus.
We all have all we need. We don't have... My brother,
I've got everything I need. I don't want what he has. I'm
happy for him. And we're called peacemakers.
God called us to peace. God called us to light. Peter
said, you've been called out of darkness into His marvelous
light. I have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. I have light as to how God can
be just, and yet justify somebody like me when I'm sinful, and
yet make me just before Him and righteous before Him. That light
is in the Gospel. We're called to light. Now, I
see in the Scriptures three evidences that will show me and show you
whether or not we're truly called of God now the first evidence
is found in first Corinthians chapter 1 verses 23 and 24 we
preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and
unto Greeks foolishness but unto them which are called Christ
the power of God and Christ the wisdom of God now here's the
first evidence that I can see as to whether or not I have been
called of God. Remember, He calls whom He will. Am I one of them? If I am, I
see Jesus Christ as the power of God. Not one who God made
powerful, but I see Him as the mighty power. of God. Now, God's omnipotent. He's all-powerful. Whatever He wills, He has the
power to make sure it comes to pass. And Christ is the power
of God. He's the creative power of God.
Christ spake the world into existence. all things were made by him,
and without him was not anything made that was made. He is the
creative power of God. He is the power of God in providence.
Hebrews 1.2 says he upholds all things by the word of his power. Everything that happens, he's
in control of. There's nothing he's not in control
of. He reigns. He's sovereign. He has a will. He has the power
to make sure his will comes to pass, and he does make his will
come to pass. Everything that happens in Providence,
he's in control of. He purposed it in eternity. He
reigns. He really is the Lord. It's not
an empty title. He really is the Lord. He's the Lord of Providence,
and most especially, he's the Lord of salvation. He saved It's
His work and His work alone. What power He displayed when
He became a man. The infinite God became flesh. What power He displayed when
He never sinned. Oh, the power of that sinless
life. What power He displayed in His death when He died. He
actually wiped out my sins. Everybody He died for, their
sin's gone. It's wiped out. That's why they
must be saved. What power He demonstrated in
His resurrection when He gave Himself life and raised Himself
from the dead. And when He was raised, all of
God's people were justified. cleared of all guilt just before
God. What power there is in His intercession
when He represents His people. If He prays for me, everything's
fine. You know, He said, Father, forgive
them, they know not what they do. You know what? The Father
forgave them. Everybody He prays for, they must be saved. He said,
I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which You've given Me, for they are Thine. God's people
see Jesus Christ as the power of God. And we see Christ Jesus
as the wisdom of God. Now this is how wise God is.
God's all wise. He's omniscient. He knows all
things. He's all wise. And God in His
wisdom has made a way for Himself to remain just. and yet declare
Todd Nybert to be just, when Todd Nybert in and of himself
is a sinful man, and he does it in a way that honors his justice
and his righteousness. What wisdom that he's made a
way to be just and yet justify the ungodly. Oh, I see the wisdom
of God. Men couldn't come up with this,
and if they could, they couldn't execute it. But he can, and he
does. God's people see Christ as the
power of God and the wisdom of God. That's the first evidence.
Now here's the second evidence. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 2,
we read, Under the church of God, which is at Corinth, to
them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints. with all that in every place
call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and
ours." Those who are called, call upon the name of the Lord. To call, call. Here's the evidence of calling. If God calls me, you know what
I'm going to do? I'm going to call on His name.
Now, to call on His name doesn't simply mean I know what His name
is and I use the right name. When I call on His name, His
name is who He is. It's the person behind the name.
I call on His justice to save me. I call on His sovereignty
to save me. I call on His mercy to save me.
I say, Lord, have mercy on me. I'm calling upon Your name. Save
me for Your name's sake. Save me for Christ's sake. Oh,
I'm always praying that prayer. Lord, have mercy on me. I'm always
calling on His name. This is what the called do. They
call. And thirdly, The called receive. They receive. Now, back to our
text in Hebrews chapter 9, it says, They which are called might
receive the promise of eternal inheritance. The called receive. Now, if God gives you something,
you know what you do? You receive it. And if you don't
receive it, He never gave it. He never gives something that's
not received. If it's not received, He never
gave it. The called receive. Now, there's no merit in receiving. Past religion makes that act
of reception the act of salvation. God gives everybody salvation,
but one receives it and another doesn't, and the one who receives
it is saved, and the one who fails to receive what God gave
him is not saved, and they make the act of reception The act
of salvation, and that's foolishness. That's foolishness. If God gave
you something, you'll receive it. He never gives something
that is not received. You see, everything a believer
has is received from Him. Paul says, who makes you to differ
in what you have that you didn't receive? Everything we have we've
received as a free gift. Listen to these scriptures. We
read in John 20, 27 that we received the Holy Spirit. And we received
the Holy Spirit because He gave Him. In Acts 10.49 we receive
the remission of sins, and we receive the remission of sins
because He forgave our sins. We receive of His fullness in
John 1.16, and the reason we receive of His fullness is He
gave of His fullness. In Romans 1.5 we're said to receive
grace, and it's because He gave us grace. In 2 Corinthians 4.1
we receive mercy, it's because He gave mercy. In Romans 5.17,
We're said to receive the gift of righteousness. Righteousness
is not something you do in order to be. It's something you receive
as a gift. His righteousness. We receive
the adoption of sons in Galatians 4 or 5. In Romans 5.11 says we
receive the atonement or the reconciliation. In Acts 1.8 we
receive power. That's the strength to do. 1
Corinthians 2.12 says we receive the knowledge of the things freely
given to us of God. John 2.12 says the anointing
which you received of Him. The reason we believe what we
do is because He's anointed us and taught us. 2 Peter 1.9, we
receive the salvation of our souls, and here in our text we
receive the promise of eternal inheritance. You see, everything
God does is eternal. It's not in time like you and
I are. There's no yesterday and tomorrow with God. It's all in
the present. And God's people have always
been in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's never been a time when
they were not. And all of God's blessings we receive. 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. The saving came before the calling,
and the calling came because of the saving. And all God has
to give, every believer receives. The called receives. Now we have this message on cassette
tape and CD. If you call the church, write
or send an 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. Amen. I'll see you next time.