Sunday Morning Worship Service September 6, 2020

Aren't you grateful for the rain today? Been praying for this for what, three weeks now or something like that?

I don't know about you, I mowed my lawn the other day. It was the first time in, I think, about a month since the lawn got mowed.

And it felt good to get those weeds cut down and so forth. Roll the wheels over that brown grass and leave the marks in the grass.

Some of you are smiling because you've done the same thing and so forth. But we have needed this rain and the

Lord is blessed in providing it and we're so grateful for it. Also grateful for the opportunity of enjoying showers of blessing.

Hope that they'll be poured out upon us today as we've gathered together to worship the Lord. A few announcements just to share with you in your bulletin to keep you abreast or remind you of what's going on.

This morning I'm looking at, in the morning's message, looking at the same passage,

Psalm 22, that we looked at last Sunday night, but looking at it from a different perspective.

Last Sunday night, looked at the psalm from the standpoint of the psalmist and his personal suffering, but then recognized that that was prophetic, that that psalm and the suffering of the psalmist was prophetic of the

Savior, our Good Shepherd. So this morning we're going to focus on Psalm 22 and look at the

Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep. But then tonight we'll go to Psalm 23, the next psalm, which is the psalm of the

Great Shepherd. So I encourage you to be back tonight at 6 o 'clock if you can be here for that evening service.

I want a change in this daily devotionals that I'm doing. I'm sure if you watch those every day you might have figured out that I don't wear the same clothes every day, so I must do something else, and I do.

I record those sessions ahead of time and then broadcast them through the week.

So I added a 7 .30 broadcast in the morning, so you could catch it live on Facebook or when it is aired on Facebook at 7 .30

at noon and at 6 o 'clock. And then you can always catch those in the past, the devotionals from the past, you can catch those on YouTube, on our

YouTube channel, and on the website as well eventually. So just to note that if that's something you would like to just watch first thing in the morning, 7 .30

is the time you could do that. Next Lord's Day, Roberto and Patricia Coelho will be with us.

They're missionaries with Baptist World Mission to Brazil. They've been on the field of Brazil for a few years, and they're home on furlough.

And they were actually here at our church probably about 17 years ago.

So they completed deputation, went and served, I think, two terms on the field. They're back on furlough, so they're going to come next

Sunday, next Lord's Day, and they're just going to be here in the morning. So in the Sunday school hour, everybody, you know, junior age,

Sunday school on up, will meet here in the auditorium, and they'll share their testimonies and present the work that they're doing in Brazil, do any questions, answer any questions, and so forth.

And then they'll also minister in the morning service as well. And then they'll be leaving to go back to Minnesota after the morning service.

So plan on that. Next Lord's Day, the Coelhos will be with us. There is a note in the bulletin today about a church family business meeting after the service.

We are having to do that, and that is a meeting for the church family.

And so what that means is when the service is over, if you're visiting with us and you can slip out at that time, if you're not a member of the church, but you are seriously considering membership in the church, then that is a meeting you're welcome to attend as an observer.

I debated about that and thought maybe that shouldn't happen, but then I also thought if I were a prospective church member,

I would want to know how a meeting like this is conducted. So you could stay and observe.

Obviously, no participation for non -members, but that's after the morning service today.

Well, we have gathered to worship the Lord. That's our primary focus this morning. In Psalm 22, verse 27 says,

All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee.

All will eventually say, Behold our God. Jim is going to come and lead us in that opening hymn from our song supplement book.

Jim. Thank you, Pastor. That's number six in your blue supplemental books.

Number six, Behold our God. Let's all stand together, please, and sing Behold our

God, number six. Who has held the oceans in his hands?

Who has numbered every grain of sand? Kings and nations tremble at his voice.

All creation rises to rejoice. Behold our

God, seated at his throne. Come, let us adorn him.

Behold our heaven -come.

Who can teach the one who knows all things? Who can fathom all his wondrous deeds?

Behold our God. Let us adorn him.

Remain standing for prayer. Our Father, we are reminded and encouraged by your word and encouraged even in Sunday school, when we've seen a reflection of the foundation of our nation, those that have come over from persecution of their religious beliefs to found a great nation based upon the word of God, our rock, our

Savior, Jesus Christ. We thank you for this country. We thank you for the freedoms that we have, that we can worship freely, even in this place at this time without persecution.

We do pray for our country, and you continue to work in it through us.

For we come to worship you. We lift our voices in praise in anticipation of the very word of God that you've established in Christ.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you. Be seated. Psalm reading.

I want to read Psalm 22, verses 1 through 18, a lengthier psalm reading today, so it's not on the back of your bulletin.

So if you have your Bible, follow along. Psalm 22. This also is a passage to prepare our hearts for the

Lord's table, sharing together, commemorating the Lord's Supper. When you came in on the table in the foyer, there were these little cups with the bread and the juice.

If you did not grab one of those and would like to partake of communion, you know the Lord is your Savior. You've been obedient to Him and been baptized.

You can join with us in that remembering of the Lord's table. Maybe during the next hymn, if you didn't pick one of those up, you can slip out, grab what you need, and come back in while we sing.

Psalm 22, verses 1 to 18. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not, and in the night season, and am not silent.

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee, they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

They cried unto thee and were delivered. They trusted in thee and were not confounded. But I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despised of the people.

All they that see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the

Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. But thou art he that took me out of the womb.

Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb.

Thou art my God from my mother's belly. Be not far from me, for trouble is near.

For there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me, strong bulls of Bashan have set me round.

They gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws.

And thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me.

They pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones, they look and stare upon me.

They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

The Lord add his blessing to the reading of this psalm today. The next song is

My God, My God in Your Sheet. You should have a sheet. Does anybody not have one?

Dan, just raise your hand and Dan will come and give you this insert.

Do you all have that? Does one up here, Dan? You would? Up here? You would? Anybody else?

Anybody else have one? Oh, that's very good. Thank you, brother. Appreciate that. Okay, let's sing

My God, My God, all four verses together. We'll be seated as we sing that together.

My God, my God, to you I cry.

Oh, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you far from giving help and from my agonizing plea?

All day, my God, I cry in vain.

By night yet no relief I gain.

But still you are the holy one.

On Israel's praise you walk enthroned.

Our fathers put their trust in you.

To you saved them when to you they groaned.

To you they cried and rescue came.

They trusted and were free. Reproached of men and despised.

A word and now all they had seen.

He let them shake their hands and save him.

Him he safely brought.

Gave faith when since birth and trusted to.

Recognize that as being the words, many of them, that Jesus prayed on the cross.

He cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He knew that was coming the night before the cross.

Did not take him by surprise in the least bit. We're going to see later on in Psalm 22 in John chapter 10.

That Jesus had full authority over all that happened to him. So on that night before the crucifixion, the night in which he was betrayed.

As he gathered with his disciples for this Passover meal. He could look ahead to the next day and the events of that day.

And he knew that his body was going to be broken. And he knew his blood was going to be shed.

As he looked at that table around which all the disciples were gathered. They were reclining at that table.

He saw the bread and the wine and knew full well that those reflected.

Very well what was coming the next day. So he picked up that loaf of bread.

And he took the bread and he broke it. And used that as an emblem. So take your bread as the

Lord took that loaf of bread that night. We don't have a loaf to pass and share around. But this little wafer that we can remember that.

And imagine that we were there at that table. You're a follower of Christ. You're there at that table.

And the loaf comes to you and you pull off a pinch of that loaf. And then when it's come fully around.

You had to have been wondering what's going on. What is this all about? And Jesus said to them when they all had their piece of bread.

Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. I'm sure there was a measure of perplexity on the part of the disciples.

Having heard that. Having the flavor of that bread still on their tongue.

Wondering what is this all about? What does he mean by this? And then the

Lord took the cup. That cup was the red wine. And he saw that as a symbol of his blood.

It was going to be shed. He took that cup and he passed it around.

And he told them when that cup comes to you. He said this cup is the new covenant in my blood.

All of you drink from this cup. And he announced that that cup of his blood.

Contained the new covenant. It was the new covenant that was in his blood. His blood that was shed for many.

Our Father and our God. We do thank you today for that blood that was shed.

For the body so willingly given to be broken. And bruised and abused.

And done so for us. Unworthy as we are.

Nevertheless our Lord Jesus. In his love for those whom you have given to him.

He willingly, gladly. For the joy set before him endured the cross.

Despised its shame. Gave his body to be broken. And his blood to be shed.

Again our Father we thank you. For that gracious sacrifice.

That gift of eternal life. The gift of the new covenant. In the blood of Christ.

And we thank you our Father that because of his work on the cross. His giving of his body for us.

That we can be your children. And then his rising from the dead. For our justification.

And his ascension to the right hand of the throne on high. That our

Savior. The Lamb of God that took away our sins on that cross.

Our Savior is also our great high priest. And he intercedes for us even today.

Even this morning. In this very hour. How greatly we need that intercessory work of our high priest.

So we come before you today. And we pray for your people who are in need.

We think of our missionary families. And many of them experiencing some unique needs at this particular time.

The Bacaryks in the Philippines still restricted from having any kind of gatherings.

And therefore ministering in this most unique way. Use them.

Give them grace. Give them endurance through this time. We pray for Lynette Hynek.

Recently recovering from surgery. I pray that she would make a full recovery. And she would be well again.

You'd protect her from any infection. And especially care for the heart needs that she has.

Thank you Father that Rachel and Kelsey Barilla have arrived back in Cameroon. And I pray that as they have been reunited with Mark.

And can restore the work of the ministry there. That you would use them and give them great grace.

As they too face difficulties and challenges with the global virus.

Father we pray for those in our midst who are recovering from illness and suffering.

We pray for Bob. Continue to work in his body and give healing to his ankle.

We pray for him as he deals with chemotherapy this week. Having another round of it. I pray that his body would respond well to it and not have adverse reaction.

Pray for Harold and Kathy as they deal with rehab.

And I pray that you'd give strength to the body. Strength to the bones and the muscles that need that rehab work.

I pray that you would meet their needs. Also pray for Kent Foster today. And pray that you would encourage him and strengthen his body after a difficult week.

Raise him up we pray. And Father we pray that you'd meet these needs. We think of our church family.

And Lord we know that even here today there are some who are in great need. And struggling with some various things.

Some with some emotional challenges and heartache. I pray that you would minister the balm of Gilead to the breaking heart.

There are some who are struggling today physically just because of the limitations of age.

And all that goes with that. Give grace through that time. We also pray for your grace to sustain those who are shut in and cannot be with us for services.

Because of, again, the limitations of age and health. We pray for Sue Cherry.

Lord we thank you for her. And just pray that you would meet her needs. Jeannie Ludwick and Jerry Sailors and Dean Kinnaman.

Just pray for these individuals. Others like them who would love to be gathered together with God's people.

But for prudence and even for physical limitations cannot. I pray that you would bless them and meet their needs today.

And I trust that as many as cannot attend but are watching by live stream.

That you would minister to them even in that most unique way. When they cannot enjoy the fellowship of an encouragement that comes from God's people.

So meet these needs today we pray. And we ask all of these things in Jesus' name. Amen. And in your supplements, once again, your blue book that is number 40.

Number 40, In Christ Alone. I'd like to sing all four verses together.

Let's stand together please. In Christ Alone, number 40. I take that back.

There's verses 1, 2, and 4. Skipping verse 3. 1, 2, and 4.

In Christ alone my hope is found.

He is my light, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground.

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What height of love, what depths of peace.

When fears are still, when striving cease. My comforter, my all in all.

Here in the love of Christ I stand. In Christ alone who took on flesh.

Wholeness of God in helpless babe. His land of love and righteousness.

Scorned by the thorns he came to save. Till on that cross as Jesus died.

The wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on him was laid.

Here in the death of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death.

This is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry,

Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man.

Can ever plumb his hand. Till he returns or calls me home.

Here in the power of Christ. Scripture reading for our message this morning is from John chapter 10.

I want to read verses 7 through 18. I'd encourage you to put a marker or a ribbon or whatever you need to do in Psalm 22 or John 10.

We're going to flip back and forth between these two passages for the message this morning.

John 10 verses 7 through 18. Follow along in your copy of scripture as I read.

Jesus said to his disciples, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture.

The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. He that is in hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth.

The wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he is in hireling and careth not for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. As the father knoweth me, even so I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep.

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold. Them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice.

And there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I may take it again.

No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again.

This commandment have I received of my father. A brief prayer. So our father, we do thank you for this passage of scripture.

Pray that you would speak to us through this and the 22nd Psalm. Help us to appreciate and respond well to our good shepherd.

This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Mr. Tushins was my first boss.

My first boss and my first real job. I worked at a Ponderosa steakhouse.

He hired me. I was all of 15 years of age. And you know,

Jesus talked about the hireling that doesn't really care for the sheep. And you know if you have a boss that's a hireling that's just doing his job and doesn't really care for his employees.

That wasn't Mr. Tushins. Mr. Tushins cared about his employees and I felt a special sense of care and consideration from him.

It was first noticed most significantly when, not long after I was hired.

I was still 15 years of age. And I wasn't going to turn 16 for about 5 or 6 months if I recall.

He came to me and he said, Brian he said we've got a little bit of a problem. I said what's that?

He said corporate, from the top down, corporate is requiring us to let go all of our 15 year olds.

Anybody under age 16. Now you could, in Illinois you could work at age 15 but you had restrictions on how many hours and the time and so forth.

And actually if you closed the Ponderosa, you closed the store, you would actually end up working past that curfew time.

So he said, the store, the corporate headquarters have told us we have to let go all of our 15 year old employees.

And I think I must have looked a little crestfallen or something because I'd only been working there for a couple of months.

And he said, but I'll tell you what, just bring me a copy of your birth certificate. I said, okay, why?

He said, don't ask me why, just bring me a copy of your birth certificate. So I got a copy of my birth certificate and brought it in and gave it to Mr.

Tutions and I never heard another word about 15 year olds needing to be let go.

Now there were some 15 year olds co -workers that I worked with that were let go. But then later

I found out what he did was doctored my birth certificate a little bit and made me a year older than I actually was.

I suppose I shouldn't have gone along with that. I was a 15 year old kid and just wanted a job, you know.

But here's the thing about that. Even though he put his own job on the line, it was very clear to me that he cared about me and he cared about having me as one of his employees.

And he showed that many, many times through the course of his tenure there as a manager at the

Ponderosa Steakhouse. Managers, of course, their tenure was short. There was a lot of turnover in that position.

But he's one. Now, let's see, how old am I? 47 years later,

I look back upon with fond memories. I respected him as a good boss.

Now, I use that illustration because those of us in the 21st century, few of us have had any experience being shepherds.

None of us have had the experience of shepherding like a 1st century Mediterranean shepherd.

So we may not be able to relate very well with what Jesus is talking about when he speaks of himself as being the door of the sheepfold and the good shepherd of the sheep and going out and coming in before him and all that.

And yet we do understand what a good boss is like. And I'm thinking particularly about the response that the sheep have to a good shepherd.

The response that an employee who's got any sense has to a good boss.

So with that in mind, I want us to see this morning three qualities of our good shepherd that demand of us the right kind of response.

The kind of response that is brought out in the 22nd Psalm. So first of all,

I want you to notice how Jesus, the good shepherd, endured suffering for the sheep.

He endured suffering for the sheep. In John 10, 11, he said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. We just reflected on that a few minutes ago on what our good shepherd did for us in giving his life for us.

But back in Psalm 22, we see some of the ways in which our good shepherd suffered in behalf of the sheep.

In John 10, Jesus just simply says, speaking of what's coming, the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

But how does he do that? What does he go through to give his life for the sheep? Psalm 22 gives us some insight.

And we notice, first of all, how Jesus suffered emotionally. He suffered emotionally.

Now, the psalmist, of course, as we indicated last Lord's Day in the evening, David is writing this from his own experience, but he's also writing it prophetically.

All that David expresses in Psalm 22 finds its fulfillment in the suffering of our

Savior, of the good shepherd. So he suffered emotionally. We see this in verse 6 when he says,

I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despised of the people.

He was treated, Jesus was, with utter contempt. What an idea of an image in your mind of what that contempt must have been like.

Think of how you respond when you hear the name

Adolf Hitler. There's not a person in this room who has any respect for that man.

I would venture to say everyone in this room has nothing but contempt for that man, and rightly so.

But that justified, legitimate contempt that you have for an

Adolf Hitler, that kind of contempt is the contempt that these at the cross had for Jesus.

I am a reproach of men. I am despised of the people.

He suffered emotionally in that contempt. He suffered emotionally, furthermore, from the mockery and being made a laughingstock, as is expressed in verses 7 -8.

He says, All they that see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

He trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. And the way I read that,

I think, is the way they expressed that. It wasn't a statement of fact.

Oh, well, you know, after all, he trusted in the Lord, that the Lord would deliver him. So let the

Lord deliver him. Like they were watching and expecting that to happen. This was derisive.

This was mockery. They were laughing at him. Of all things, he thinks the

Lord's going to deliver him. And look at him hanging on that cross. Where is his Lord who said he's going to deliver him?

It's a laughingstock. He's mocked. We have no way of accurately paralleling the disparity between the one hanging on the cross, who is absolutely unworthy of any kind of mockery, and those who are doing the mocking.

We have a faint picture of it, and maybe you saw this picture, of the follower of Christ who was at one of these riot protest things, and he was simply trying to share the gospel.

He was trying to be a witness for Christ. And he had some kind of a placard in his hand, a banner or something, a sign in his hand, and it was a gospel -oriented sign.

I don't remember what it said. But dripping down from his head was raw egg.

He'd been egged, and the article went on to talk about how he'd been pushed around and shoved and mocked and made fun of because he was trying to tell people about Christ.

Jesus suffered that and so much more. Verse 14 indicates the emotional depletion that the

Lord experienced. He says, Jesus suffered emotionally, but he also suffered physically.

You can't read verses 14 through 17 without realizing the physical suffering.

He says, All my bones are out of joint.

And you have heard enough about the cross and the method of crucifixion to realize how that happens.

As he's still lying down, he's pinned to the cross, nailed to the cross, the victim is.

And then that cross is lifted up over the hole, which is dug for the post, and then dropped into it.

And when the dropping occurs, the cross beam, the post, hits the bottom of the ground, and the whole thing just rattles and gravity forces the bones to go out of place.

Verse 15, he says, And you remember how

Jesus said on the cross, to give him something to drink.

And then verse 16, He's hanging there on the cross.

Jesus could say, I can count all my bones. They look and they stare at me.

Jesus suffered physically, but then he suffered spiritually. And this, I think, is his greatest expression of suffering.

Verses 1 and 2 of the psalm, when he says, Jesus quotes this psalm on the cross,

Now, let me clarify.

There are two different ways in which God forsakes. One of those ways is an absolute forsaking, when there's a final, complete, total, final withdrawal of God from an individual.

We don't know when that comes. We do know that for the unconverted, the one who has never trusted

Christ, we do know that that comes at death. They'll be separated from God for all eternity.

But there's that total, final withdrawal of all God's mercies.

But there's another kind of forsaking, and William Plumer describes it this way.

He says, It's like you sense that God is not here, that his presence has been withdrawn.

You don't sense the energy, the life, the animation that his cheering presence gives to you.

This is Jesus on the cross. Why have you forsaken me? He goes on to express an utter sense of helplessness.

Why are you so far from helping me? And he expresses then a sense of being completely unheeded, as if God doesn't hear him, as if he's crying out, and yet his prayers don't get any higher than the ceiling, like the heavens are brass.

Why are you so far from the words of my groaning? My groaning.

Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but you don't hear, and in the night season, and I'm not silent, but yet you have forsaken me.

You are far off. He suffers spiritually.

Now what the psalmist prophesied in his experience and then writing it down, the

Lord Jesus fulfilled. I've been mentioning that throughout, but I want you to go to John 10 now and look at how

Jesus anticipates this fulfillment in John 10 by what he says, how he speaks of his own suffering and what's coming.

He says in verse 11 that he will suffer sacrificially. We mentioned this earlier,

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Jesus is looking forward.

Those who are hearing him, they really don't get it. They don't get it.

When they look back and they remember what he said, then it all makes sense after the cross.

But now while he's saying it, he gives his life for the sheep. What does he mean by that? What does he mean by that?

Is he talking about how he could have a career somewhere and just maybe be a carpenter in a carpenter shop and make good quality furniture and have a lucrative career and be comfortable and settled and all of that, but instead he's committed himself to teaching us and leading us around and teaching other people.

Is that what he means? He's given his life? What does he mean by that? Well, they will find out.

But what he means by that, Jesus, is that he is indeed going to give his life sacrificially.

He also suffered obediently. Verses 17 and 18, Jesus says, Therefore doth my

Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself.

I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it up again. Now look at what he says at the end of verse 18. This commandment have

I received from my Father. You're all familiar with John 3 .16,

right? God loved the world in this way, that he gave his only begotten

Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God loved the world in this way, that he gave his only begotten Son. He sent his

Son into the world. But what if his Son was a rebel? What if his

Son was not fully obedient, actively and passively? What if his Son wasn't an obedient Son?

What did Jesus say in John 6 .38? John 6 .38, he said,

I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me.

In 8 .29, John 8 .29, Jesus said, He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone.

I always do those things that are pleasing to him. So even the cross, even at the cross,

Jesus is suffering obediently. He's doing what he was sent to do.

He's doing as he was told, if you will. I've received this commandment. And then those same couple of verses, 17 and 18, along with verse 15 here in John 10, indicate that Jesus suffered voluntarily.

Last part of verse 15, Jesus says, I lay down my life for the sheep. In verse 17, he says,

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life. Verse 18, no one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself.

So even though Jesus was doing what he was doing out of obedience, as an obedient son to his father, out of love for his father and obedience to his father, what he was also doing was absolutely, totally voluntary.

I lay it down of myself. No man's taking it from me. So when the disciples were in the

Garden of Gethsemane and Judas showed up and the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Jesus said,

Take me, take me. He could have called 10 ,000 angels to destroy the world and set him free.

He said, go ahead, take me. He went through all of the ridicule of the mock trial and all that stuff, and then the beating and the scourging and the crown of thorns and led out with the cross, carrying it for a while and falling under that and then being taken out to Calvary.

And the whole time, he's going voluntarily. And those who were taking him were thinking, we're in control.

What's Jesus saying? No, I'm doing this voluntarily. I'm going along as a volunteer.

Here he is hanging on the cross. He could have called 10 ,000 angels to destroy the world and set him free.

But he died alone, voluntarily, for you and for me.

He suffered voluntarily. And verse 17 also indicates that Jesus suffered purposefully, purposefully.

Look at the end of the verse. He says, I lay down my life that I might take it again.

I lay down my life that I might take it again.

Do you see the twofold purpose expressed in that statement? I'm laying it down. This isn't capricious.

This isn't a whim. There's a purposefulness behind that laying down of the life.

And I take that, and I'm doing so. I am laying down my life so that I might take it up again.

What's he getting at there? Paul helps us understand that, doesn't he? In Romans 4 .25,

Paul says, Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses. This is why he laid down his life.

He laid down his life that he might deliver us from our trespasses.

But the verse goes on to say, Romans 4 .25, he was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

So when Jesus says here in John 10 .17, I lay down my life that I might take it up again, he's doing this for the sheep.

He's doing this to deal with the trespasses. He's laying down his life to deal with the trespasses of the sheep who deserve to have their lives laid down.

He said, but I'm doing it. I'm doing it for the trespasses of the sheep, and I'm doing it.

I'm laying my life down for the trespasses of the sheep so that I might take it up again. And why? Why do

I want to take it up again? For their justification. Not only that their trespasses might be forgiven, but that they might stand justified in the presence of God.

He suffered purposefully. And verse 18, in the middle of the verse, he says literally here,

I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it again.

He suffered authoritatively. In other words, what that means is,

Jesus was in absolute total control of the entire situation.

Completely. Again, from the moment in Gethsemane when Judas showed up, to the moment when he said, it is finished, and he yielded up the ghost, to three days later, when he came out of that tomb.

He suffered authoritatively. Again, William Plumer describing this suffering of Jesus, he said,

Jesus is often called the mysterious sufferer, and so he was. In his sorrows were manifested, now listen, in his sorrows were manifested love so amazing, condescension so unparalleled, holiness so spotless, justice so inflexible, wisdom so boundless, that without the explanations of scripture, we could know nothing satisfactory on the subject of Jesus' suffering.

The good shepherd endured suffering for the sheep. Secondly, the good shepherd provides salvation for the sheep.

Back in Psalm 22, verse 26, the last part of the verse, it says, your heart shall live forever.

Your heart shall live forever. The heart of the sheep shall live forever.

So what is that heart like that lives forever?

It's a heart, verse 23 shows us, that fears the Lord, recognizing who he is.

The psalmist says, you that fear the Lord, praise him. The fear of the Lord is that which is, is a response that comes from one who really gets who

Jesus is, who really gets who the shepherd is, who really gets who the Lord is, has some degree, as much as we as human beings can, in our fallenness, with our eyes graciously open to, and our minds graciously open to see and understand, recognize who he is.

And if we really recognize who he is, we respond from the heart with a fear, a reverence for our

Lord. The heart of his sheep that lives forever is also a heart that seeks the

Lord, hearing the promises of his. The middle of verse 26 says, they shall praise the

Lord that seek him. Why would somebody seek the

Lord? I would suggest because of not only who he is, but because of what he's promised.

And what is he promised? Listen to what Isaiah 55, verses 6 and 7 say. Isaiah 55, 6 and 7 says,

Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.

Let him return to the Lord that he may have compassion on him. Listen to the promise. Let him return to the

Lord that he may have compassion on him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon.

Why seek the Lord? Because of his promise. What is his promise? He will have compassion on me.

He will abundantly pardon me. What did Jesus say about this? He says,

Seek and ye shall find. And the heart that lives forever is a heart that has sought the

Lord, has sought the Lord. And then it's a heart that trusts the Lord, trusts in him.

John 10, verse 9, Jesus said, I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture.

I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.

By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. So the heart of the sheep that knows the blessing of living forever is one that trusts the

Lord. By the Lord, he enters in. And the heart of the sheep is one that calls upon the

Lord, calls upon the Lord. Psalm 22, verse 24 says,

He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the affliction, neither hath he hid his face from him.

But when he cried unto him, when he cried unto him, he heard. Now this is the hearing of the father, the listening of the father to the cry of the son.

And as the father heard the son's calls, so does the Lord hear the call of the heart that calls unto him.

How do we know that? Romans 10, 13 tell us. Everyone who calls upon the name of the

Lord shall be saved. And what does that mean? Shall be saved.

John 10, verses 28 and 29. Jesus said, I give unto them my sheep.

I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish. And neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

My Father which gave them is greater than all. No man is able to pluck them out of my

Father's hand. The good shepherd not only endured suffering for the sheep, but he did so that he might provide salvation for the sheep.

And then thirdly, the good shepherd brings satisfaction to the sheep.

Again, back in Psalm 22, verse 26, the first part of the verse says the meek shall eat and be satisfied.

What is required that one might really know that satisfaction that the shepherd, the good shepherd brings to the sheep?

What must he know? What must he do to experience that? What are the basic requirements?

Well, one thing is a meek spirit, right? This is what that verse says. The meek shall eat and be satisfied.

The meek shall be satisfied. So it's not the person who says, I know what

I want and need to make me happy, to give me satisfaction, and so forth.

I will follow my instincts. I will follow my heart, so to speak.

I will do what I think. That's not meekness. That's pride and arrogance.

And that is the kind of heart that finds out just how inadequate the heart is to give a person satisfaction.

No, it's the meek spirit that enjoys that satisfaction that the good shepherd comes to give.

A meek spirit, and secondly, a hungry heart. Look at our verse again.

The meek shall what? Eat and be satisfied.

Eat. But that implies that he's hungry for the right stuff.

The meek is hungry for the right food. What would that food be?

I think the same psalmist who wrote this expressed it in Psalm 34, verse 8, when he said,

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

There's a hunger and a thirst after righteousness. There's a hunger and a thirst after the

Lord, and the meek shall eat of that which the Lord offers.

Isn't this what Jesus also said at the table, right? Pass the loaf of bread.

This is my body, which is broken for you. Take, and what? Eat in the cup.

Drink ye all of it. And we also said earlier in John's gospel that he that would eat, he that would have eternal life needs to eat his flesh and drink his blood, and they were totally confused in what in the world he was talking about.

But you who have come to faith in Christ, you for whom

Christ has suffered and to whom Christ has given salvation and provided salvation, you understand the satisfaction that has come to your meek soul as in the hunger of your heart you have tasted and discovered that the

Lord is good, a hungry heart. And thirdly, what's necessary for as a basic requirement is a trusting dependence.

They that seek him. Verse 26 says, they shall praise the

Lord that seek him. We go back to that idea of seeking. There is something else behind that, isn't there?

That act, that work, that step of seeking the Lord. And what's behind that is an actual trusting in him, a dependence upon him.

We see that as well in Psalm 34 verse 8 that I mentioned earlier. Oh, taste and see that the

Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusts in him. There's a parallelism to those two ideas.

Tasting and seeing, trusting in him. And what Jesus says in John 10, 27 also communicates that necessity of trust.

When he says, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. They follow me.

Trusting. So you have to meet those basic requirements of a meek spirit, a hungry heart, a total dependence to enjoy the satisfaction that Jesus, the good shepherd, provides.

But if you go back to John chapter 10 and you find what satisfaction he does provide. He provides the satisfaction of security in verse 9.

You see it? I am the door. By me, if any will go in and out, he shall be saved.

He shall go in and out and find pasture. You see the security in that?

This is what Jesus is wanting to communicate. You're my sheep. You don't have to worry about anything with me as the door.

He provides the satisfaction of security. He supplies the satisfaction of necessities being met.

He shall find pasture. He shall find pasture. Every shepherd would trust that he'll show his sheep where the pastures are.

But I suppose it's possible in a time of a serious, severe drought that he may have a difficult time finding some place for the sheep to get something to eat.

But not when you're Jesus' sheep. You go in and out and you will find pasture.

And he provides the satisfaction of life in the middle of verse 10. He says in verse 10, the thief comes not but to steal, to kill, and to destroy.

But I am come that they might have life. That they might have life.

And then there's the satisfaction of abundance in that life. They might have life and have it more abundantly.

The good shepherd endures suffering for the sheep. He provides salvation for the sheep.

And he gives satisfaction to the sheep. What a shepherd. How then should you respond?

The good shepherd should be responded to with a submission of all.

And indeed he will receive submission from all. Back in Psalm 22, verses 27 through 29, speak of that ultimate submission that everyone will give to him.

Some will submit but not voluntarily. They will have no choice in the matter. Verses, Psalm 22, verse 27, says all the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the

Lord. All the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's. He is the governor among the nations.

And this is, this is a psalm, a psalm method or way of communicating what

Paul tells and speaks of in Philippians 2, verses 9 through 11, says therefore

God has highly exalted Jesus and given him a name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

And every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the

Father. Oh, some will submit involuntarily and have to declare yes,

Jesus is Lord. But those who know him as their shepherd, they will submit voluntarily and gladly.

This comes out in verses 30 and 31. A seed shall serve him.

It shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born that he has done this.

There are sheep who submit voluntarily and they submit gladly. Why? Because of what they know.

Like in John 10, verse 4, Jesus says the sheep follow him for they know his voice.

It's a voluntary following because they know his voice. If you have heard his voice, you know it.

You know his voice. It is his voice that said to you, come unto me, you who labor and are so heavy laden, who said you take my yoke upon you and learn of me.

And you responded, calling upon the Lord to save you. You will submit, sheep will submit voluntarily and gladly, not only because of what they know, but because of whom they know.

Again, John 10, verse 14, I am the good shepherd, Jesus said, and I know my sheep and am known of mine.

Not only have you heard him, but you know him. You know him.

You know him in a way that those anarchists who threw the eggs at the man simply trying to tell them that Jesus loved them and died on a cross to save them from their sins, they knew that name, they heard that name,

Jesus, but they did not know him. And they threw eggs. But you know him.

You who are Christ. You who have submitted voluntarily and gladly to him. You've done so because you know him.

And they do so because of by whom they are known. By the good shepherd.

He says, I know my sheep. I am intimately acquainted with all of my sheep.

And furthermore, finally, his sheep will submit voluntarily and gladly because of what they are to the shepherd.

Because of what they are to the shepherd. What are the sheep to the shepherd?

Look at John 10 29 again. The first part of the verse where Jesus says this, my father, which gave the sheep to me is greater than all my father who gave the sheep to me.

What are you follower of Christ sheep of the good shepherd? What are you to that shepherd?

You are a gift from the father to the son.

God the father in his grace has given you an unworthy sheep to his son as a gift.

Why would we not then submit voluntarily and gladly to the shepherd?

Jesus is indeed the unfathomably immeasurably good shepherd.

He endured suffering for the sheep. He provides salvation for his sheep.

He brings satisfaction to his sheep. But listen, are you one of his sheep? Do you hear his voice calling even today saying come follow me?

Come. You're so heavy laden. You're so weighed down in your sin.

Come to me. I will give you rest. Do you hear his voice calling you today? Well, come to him.

Come to him. So our father and our God, I pray that if the shepherd is calling even now that sheep yet converted would hear his voice and come.

Come. Trust him. Come taste and see that the Lord is good.

Come. Find this good shepherd to be a merciful savior even today.

This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. I want you to take your hymnals and turn to number 323.

323 is that invitation hymn Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy.

323. We'll stand together and sing the first and the third stanzas only. Stanzas one and three.

Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy. Come ye sinners poor and needy

Weak and wounded Sick and sore Jesus ready stands to save you

Full of pity love and power

I will arise and go to Jesus He will embrace me

Arms in the arms of my dear

Savior Oh there are ten thousand charms

The third Come ye weary belated

Lost and ruined by the fall If you tarry till you're better You will never come at all

I will arise and go to Jesus He will embrace me

Arms in the arms of my dear Savior Oh there are ten thousand charms

After we have a closing benediction you who are wanting to leave may do so.

And then the rest of us will stay for this family meeting. And now may you grow in the grace and knowledge of our

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You're staying. You may be seated.