Good evening. Let's open tonight's
service with hymn number 37 from your gospel hymns spiral hymn
book. Number 37. Let's all stand together. my soul the throne of grace in
every time of need. There's mercy for the needy one
whom Jesus' name shall ? I'll lean upon Christ my dear
? ? And read his blood alone ? ? The blood, the precious blood
of Christ ? and to my Father pray. Though Satan tempts my heart
to sin, I'll call upon my God. If I fall, He'll lift me up and
cleanse me in the Nothing can keep me from His
throne, but my own unbelief. Please be seated. Good evening. Let's open our Bibles to Isaiah
53, Isaiah chapter 53. Very familiar and very encouraging
passage of scripture in God's Word. The reason I wanted to
read it tonight is because the text that we're going to look
at in 1 Peter chapter 2, Peter quotes several verses from this
passage. So, when we get to our text for
the message, we'll remember the prophecy that Isaiah made 700
years before Peter wrote. Isaiah chapter 53, beginning
of verse 1. Who hath believed our report,
and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. Second half of
that verse sort of answers the first one, doesn't it? The first
half. Who's believed? To whom the arm of the Lord is
revealed. That's who believes. For he, the arm of the Lord,
shall grow up before him, the father, as a tender plant, and
as a root out of dry ground he hath no form, nor comeliness,
and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him. He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it
were, our faces from him. He was despised, and we esteemed
him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows, Yet we did esteem him smitten, stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him. And with his stripes, we are
healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We have turned to everyone to his own way. And the Lord, the
Father, hath laid on him, the son, the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He was brought as a lamb to the
slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened
not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living, For the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the
wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him. He, the father, hath put him
to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, He, the father, shall see his seed, the
son, and he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the
Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. And by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore, will I divide him a portion with the great, and
he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured
out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors,
and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors." How wonderful is that? Did the Lord remain silent? Why
did he not open his mouth? That's the question I want to
try to answer tonight. I want us to pray for Robert. He fell again this week, and
just having a very difficult time. Also, I want to continue
praying for the group in Clearwater and for Billy. They're very,
they were very excited about the services they were able to
have this past Sunday in Billy's living room. And they're looking
for a place to rent so they can have a place to meet over there.
And I mentioned to the men that there's a, maybe a, perhaps I
said something from the pulpit, I don't remember, that there's
a group in Malawi, Africa that I've been talking to. Gabe Stoniker has actually been
preaching to them for, several months now and a man by the name
of Willie has just separated himself from a bunch of other
stuff that's going on over there and starting a new work. So we'll
be supporting them as we're able along with some other churches
and helping them out. It's been very, very sweet talking
to Willie and they live in abject poverty. I think he was able to rent a
house for $40 a month, but if it had electricity, it was $50. And he was able to find a house
with electricity and running water for like $55 a month. So that's the situation in Malawi. But it's been a blessing. just talking about Christ and
sharing the gospel with them. So I wanna pray for them. Let's pray together. Our merciful heavenly father, how ashamed we are that we did
not esteem thy dear son as we ought. Lord, we thank you for
your Holy Spirit that brought us out of darkness and translated
us into your marvelous light and revealed the beauty and the
glory of Christ. Though we look through a glass
dimly, we desire, Lord, by your grace, that Christ be lifted
up and that we be drawn to him and that he be glorified in our
hearts and in our sights. Lord, we pray that for our brethren
in Malawi and for Clearwater and Lord asks that you would
be pleased to pour out your spirit and glorify Christ and call out
your lost sheep, reveal Christ in them. Lord, we thank you that
by the stripes that our Lord suffered, that we are healed
of the disease of death and sin. Lord, for the hope of salvation
that you give us in him, we pray that we'd be comforted by your
word and by your spirit in that hope again tonight. Pray for
our brother Robert and ask Lord for your strength and mercy to
be upon him and give he and Deanna encouragement and hope in Christ.
For it's in his name we pray, amen. Number 340, 340 from the hardback
temple. Let's stand together. me. Close to my breast, shelter
me safe. O Jesus, my King, only my Savior,
have I found. Grant me your cleansing, my blood,
my heart. Grant me your Nearer, still nearer,
Lord, to Thee I. Give me the Jesus, my Lord crucified. ? Still safe and glory ? ? My anchor
is cast ? ? Through endless ages ? ? Ever to Thee ? ? Nearer,
my Savior, still nearer ? Please be seated. My anchor is cast. I'm so thankful
we have an anchor that is sure, steadfast. Let's open our Bibles to 1 Peter
chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. And you'll see from these verses
how Peter is drawing from Isaiah 53 to tell us about how and why
our Lord suffered the way he did. when Peter writes, the context
of what he's telling us is that when we suffer for the gospel's
sake, that we should look to Christ as our example of enduring
these things for God's glory. Some might read this passage
of scripture and see that as its only message, that we're
to endure afflictions as he endured affliction and turn the Lord Jesus Christ
into nothing more than just an example of suffering. one who
has given us a pattern that we are to follow. If that's all
we get out of this passage of scripture, then we've not made
our Lord any more glorious than Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi. There are plenty of people who
have endured hardships in this world that could be looked to
as examples. but only as we're able to understand
what our Lord endured are we given grace to look to him in
faith that the Lord would give us that hope in him. Let's begin reading in verse
20. For what glory is it if when ye be buffeted for your faults,
you shall take it patiently, But if when you do well and suffer
for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even here unto were you called
to take the offense of the cross patiently. Because Christ also suffered
for us. leaving us an example that we
should follow his steps. Some see our Lord as nothing
more than an example to follow in life. But here's why he endured the
conflicts and the afflictions of sin. Verse 22, who did no
sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who when he was
reviled, reviled not again, and when he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. He committed himself to his father. who his own self bear our sins
in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should
live under righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. For
you were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the
shepherd and the bishop of your soul. Why did the Lord Jesus Christ
take the sufferings of the cross so patiently? Why did he not
revile? Why is he called the lamb that
went to the slaughter and opened not his mouth? Why did he suffer And as Peter
said, threatened not in return. And I believe we have four answers
to that question from scripture. And the first one would be love. Love. Love is the first cause
of our salvation. He opened not his mouth because
of his love for his father. and because of his love for his
bride. He went willingly to the cross.
He suffered the full wrath of God's justice because of love. Herein is love. Not that we loved
God, but that he loved us and gave his son to be the propitiation
of our sins. The full definition of love is
found in what the Lord Jesus Christ did on Calvary's cross. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son. The reason our Lord did not object
to the sufferings that he was experiencing on Calvary's cross
is first and foremost because of his love for the Father and
his love for his people. John puts it like this in 1 John
chapter 4, he said, in this, in this was manifested the love
of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten son
in the world that we might live through him. So here is the manifestation
of God's love and Christ's love for his father and Christ's love
for his people. How can love object to what it
must suffer in order to demonstrate itself to those that it loves? Scriptures are clear that the
Lord has loved us with an everlasting love, so this love, as we've
often seen I know I've repeated this many times but it's so important
for us to remember that when the scripture speaks of everlasting
love and everlasting life it's not speaking of something that
starts now and lasts forever it's talking about something
that never had a beginning and never had an end and though it's
impossible for us in our finite minds which are trapped in time
and space to comprehend infinity and eternity. That is who our
God is and that is exactly what his name means when he called
himself I am. I am that I am. I'm the self-existent one. I'm
the uncreated one. I'm the eternal one. And because
he is immutable and has never changed, his love For his people
has never changed. And so the Lord has always loved
his people. The scripture John says, God
is love. The perfection of love, the holiness
of love is in Christ. And here's why. Here's why he
went as a lamb to the slaughter and opened not his mouth. to object to what was happening
would be to say that his love was unwilling and
it wasn't. God commended his love toward
us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The full demonstration of the
love of God is seen in what the Lord Jesus Christ willingly did
when he laid down his life for the sheep and he went to the
cross. And I can just imagine Those
Roman soldiers have never had anyone lie down on the cross
willingly and extend their arms, I'm certain, to that cross beam. They would have had to use a
couple of men to pry those arms down and hold them in place while
they drove the nails through. And our Lord would have not done
that. He went to the cross out of love
for his people. John chapter 13 verse 1, the
scripture says, and having loved his own, having loved his own,
which are in the world, he loved them unto the end. Oh, what love. What love. Is this not the love of God that
constraineth us? Is this not the goodness of God
that breaks the heart and repentance and causes us to love him? We
love him. But our love to him is our response
to his love for us. And here's why. Here's why. This is the first cause of why
he opened not his mouth. Jacob I have loved. Jacob I have
loved. Greater love hath no man than
this, that he lay down his life for his friends. So when our
Lord went to the cross, he went as a lamb before his shearers,
and he opened not his mouth. He suffered the contradiction
of sinners and the affliction of death, as Peter tells us here,
quoting from Isaiah 53, as an example of what love looks
like. And this is the the example that
he encourages us to looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher
of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured
the cross and he despised its shame. And so the Lord's telling us that
look to him when you're suffering and when you're falsely accused
particularly for the gospel's sake. Remember what he did when he
went to the cross. He looked at the multitude and
he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. Don't you love the
way Peter tells us here in verse 25 of our text? For you were
as sheep gone astray. There's three kinds of people
in this world. There's the goats, the reprobate, those who have
never known and never been in the covenant of grace and never
been loved of God. Vessels fitted for destruction.
We don't know who they are, but we know the world's filled with
them. And then there's two kinds of sheep. There's lost sheep
and there's found sheep. And the Lord's saying here, Isaiah
chapter 53, you were as sheep. As sheep we went, every man to
his own way. There's a way that seems right
unto man, but in the end that way leads to death. And God left
the ninety and nine and he went out in the wilderness and he
found his lost sheep and he brings them to himself. And so he's
telling us here in verse 25, you were as sheep that had gone
astray. You were vulnerable. You were
out there in the wilderness. You were subject to the predators. And had the good shepherd not
come and brought you to himself, the one who is the shepherd,
you've now been turned unto the shepherd and the bishop of your
soul. This word shepherd is the same
word translated pastor, the one who cares for the sheep. And the bishop is the same word
that's translated overseer. And the Lord as the great shepherd
and the great bishop of his sheep provides for his churches under
shepherds and under bishops to oversee the sheep. And they are to do that out of
love for them. Not begrudgingly, but out of
love for them. Our love for one another cannot
measure, cannot be compared to his love for us. So here we are. Here we are as sheep that have
gone astray, that have been brought and turned to the shepherd who
laid down his life for the sheep. And the Lord tells us, he said,
love one another as I have loved you. This is the, love covers
a multitude of sins, doesn't it? This is the thing that binds
our hearts together in Christ and enables us to put up with
one another and to love one another and to forgive one another. Love one another as I have loved
you. You know, we look at 1 Corinthians
chapter 13 as the definition of love, and we attempt to try
to apply that in our relationships with one another, but it was
fulfilled perfectly in Christ. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
13. Look at verse 4. Charity, love, suffereth long. Aren't you thankful that God's
love toward us is long-suffering? It's kind, envieth not, vaunteth not itself. It's not puffed up, does not
behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil. Why didn't he open his mouth?
Why didn't he object? Because he was seeking not his
own, he was seeking the good of his bride and the glory of
his father. That's why he laid down his life
willingly. It rejoices not in iniquity,
but rejoices in the truth. It beareth all things, it believeth
all things, it hopeth all things, it endureth all things. It never
fails. It never fails. Oh, that's my
hope. My hope is that all the failures
and all the faltering and all the stumbling of my love and
my affection and my faith, that His love is perfect. His love
is perfect. And it never fails towards His
sheep. and we see it demonstrated most
perfectly and most fully in what our Lord willingly did when he
went to the cross. Ephesians chapter five. We often
look at that passage of scripture as it relates to husbands and
wives, but we know that that passage is first and foremost
speaking of a great mystery concerning Christ and his church. This is
the husband loving his wife, cleansing her with the washing
of the water of his word, which I hope and pray that he's doing
that right now. That he's taking his word by
his spirit and he's cleansing us of our shame and our guilt
and our sin and renewing us again in Christ. Verse 27, that he might present
it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church
and gave himself for it. No man ever hated his own body. We don't hate our bodies. Who's the first person you become
aware of that's hungry in the world? Who's the first person
you become aware of that's tired? Who's the first person? No man
ever hated his own body. Look at verse 29. For no man ever
hated his own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it, even as
the Lord has done the church. Here's why he opened not his
mouth. He went willingly. We are members of his body and
of his flesh. Don't you love it when they went
to tell the Lord about Lazarus being sick? And they said, Lord,
the one whom thou lovest is sick. They didn't say, Lord, the one
that loves you is sick. Won't you come help him and reward
him for his love for you? Lord, the one whom thou lovest
is sick. Lord, if you're going to help
him, it'll have to be because of your love for him, not out
of reward of his love for you. And here's the first cause. of our Lord going as a lamb before
his shearers and opening not his mouth, his love for his father
and his love for his bride. He could not object to what he
was lovingly and willingly doing. You know, how oftentimes we We make sacrifices
for one another, but we do it begrudgingly and we let the person
know that we're sacrificing for that, you know, that we're making
this effort. We do that in our, and I do that
to Tricia. You've done that. You've been
asked to do something. Well, yeah, I'm gonna do it.
Well, if you're not gonna do it willingly and lovingly, don't
do it at all. You know, that's the way we feel,
isn't it? Our Lord never opened his mouth.
He never objected. We never have the feeling or
the idea that he did this begrudgingly. He did it out of pure love. And that's why he never objected. Secondly, The second reason why
he didn't open his mouth is because of faith. Faith. Oh, if you and I could believe
God as we ought, we would never complain about anything. We would
never murmur. We would never object to anything.
We would say with Eli, when the worst of news is brought to us,
it is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good to him. If we had
perfect faith, which we don't. The Lord did. The Lord did. He believed that the father was
going to fulfill the promises that were made in the covenant
of grace. There was no reason for him to object. He knew that
the father was going to reward him with his bride. He knew that the father was going
to raise him from the dead. That's why the very last thing
that he said from the cross was, Father, into thy hands I commend
my spirit. I'm trusting you. That's why he didn't object. That's why he didn't come down
off the cross. He could have called 12 legions
of angels. And you know they were ready
to come. They had flaming swords drawn,
they were on the precipice of glory, confused about what was
happening. Watching their Lord die on the
cross and not being able to understand. They didn't have any experience
with sin. They didn't know anything about
redemption. They didn't know anything about
grace. He could have called them. He
said he could have, but he didn't. He opened not his mouth. Why? Because he had made a promise
to his father in eternity past. And that's
the best way I know to say it, eternity past. Sometimes we say
back there in eternity before time was. As soon as you start
saying back and before, well, even the word past, it has a
time factor to it, doesn't it? And here, as difficult as these
things are for us to express, the father had made a promise
to his son to reward him for his redemptive work. He had agreed
to become the surety of his people, the lamb that was slain before
the foundation of the world. And he believed that the father
was gonna reward him with that. And he was fulfilling the promises,
this covenant that David spoke of, that was ordered in all things
and sure, this is what was required to order the covenant. This is
what was required to make it sure. This is what was necessary
for the anchor to be set, for our souls to be saved. And so
he did it not only out of love, but he did it out of faith. Ephesians chapter three, verse
nine, in whom we have boldness and access by the faith of him. It is not our faith that saves.
God gives faith and we do have faith. But our faith is the result
of our salvation, not the cause of it. Our faith is the evidence
of regeneration, not the cause of regeneration. Faith is not
our contribution to salvation, you know that. His faith was. His faith was. and to be found
in him not having my own righteousness which is of the law but that
righteousness which is by the faith of Jesus Christ." His faith
and his faithfulness to his father. How could he object? He believed
with all of his heart in what he was doing. There was no reason
for him to open his mouth. He trusted his father to judge
righteously. Turn back with me to our text
in 1 Peter 2. Look at verse 23, who when he was
reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. The Lord Jesus Christ believed
that what he was doing would be effectual, it would be sufficient. He knew that prophecy of Isaiah
chapter 53, that the father would see the travail of his soul and
the father would be satisfied. He believed that. Oh, we believe
God and then at the same time we have to say, Lord, help thou
mine unbelief. He had no unbelief. He had no
struggles in his faith like we do. He believed God perfectly and
fully. And for that reason, he reviled
not again, but trusted himself to his Father, who he knew would
exercise justice and judgment righteously. And he knew that
the offering that he was making, not to us, but the offering that
he was making to his father was a righteous offering. And that
the father would be pleased with it. And that the father would
accept it. And that he would be rewarded
by it. He knew that it was God the father
that was bruising him. How could he object to that? It's what we read in Isaiah chapter
53. It pleased God to bruise him. It was the sword of God's justice
that was killing the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross. And
he knew that. He knew that the father was exercising
righteousness and justice. So for that reason, he could
not object. He cried out in fulfillment of
that prophecy in the Psalms, my God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? But he knew why the father was
forsaking him. He knew that he was bearing the
sins of his people. He knew he was suffering the
wrath of God's justice. And so he reviled not again.
And here's what Peter's saying. When you suffer injustice, particularly
for the gospel's sake, remember his love, remember his
faith. Thirdly, not only because of love and
faith, but because of justice. He was fulfilling divine justice.
And for that reason, he had no defense. He who knew no sin was
made sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Turn with me to Psalm 38. Psalm
38. Here's why he did not object. Here's why he went as a lamb
before his shearers and opened not his mouth because He was bearing willingly the
shame and the guilt of sin and as our sin bearer. That's what
Peter said. He bore our sins in his body
upon the tree. Cursed, God says, is everyone
that hangeth upon a tree. And so he was receiving the due
curse and the due justice of God for the sins that he willingly
was bearing and owning the guilt and shame of for himself. This was not just a legal matter. This was not just a legal transfer. If you suffer for someone else's
crime, you might feel some pride that you are doing something
virtuous, or you might feel some resentment that you're being
punished for something you didn't do, But one thing you cannot
feel if you're suffering for someone else's crime, you cannot
feel shame and guilt for that crime. You can't do it. You didn't
commit it. You know you didn't commit it. And yet when our Lord, when the
Holy Spirit inspires David, to write Psalm 38, he's telling
us that the Lord Jesus Christ, that our sins became so much
his that he calls them. Look at Psalm 38. Look at verse 3. There is no soundness
in my flesh because of thine anger. Neither is there any rest
in my bones because of my sin, for mine iniquities are gone
over my head as a heavy burden. They are too heavy for me. My
wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I
am troubled. I am bowed down greatly. I go
mourning all the day long, for my loins are filled with a loathsome
disease, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and
sore broken. I have roared by reason of the
disquietness of my heart. Lord, all my desire is before
thee, and my groaning is not hid from thee. My heart panteth,
my strength faileth me, for the light of my eyes is also gone
from me. My lovers and my friends stand
aloof from my sore, and my kinsmen stand afar off. They also that
seek after my life lay snares for me, that they may seek my
hurt. They speak mischievous things
and imagine deceit all the day long. But I, as a deaf man, heard
not. And I, as a dumb man that opened
not his mouth, I have no defense. I have no objection because I've
owned the sins of my people as my own, and I'm suffering justly
under the wrath of God. Verse 17, for I am ready to halt
and my sorrow is continually before me, for I will declare
mine iniquity and I will be sorry for my sin. Look at verse 21, forsake me
not, oh Lord. Oh my God, be not far from me.
Make haste to help me, oh Lord, my salvation. This is why he
opened not his mouth, out of perfect love for his father,
perfect love for his bride, out of perfect faith in the promises
that his father had made, and out of justice and righteousness. He had no defense to be made. And finally, fourthly, He opened
not his mouth that you and I might have an example of love and faith
and justice in God's hands. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
four. Hebrews chapter four. I began this message by saying
we're not looking to Christ just as an example to follow like
some men might think, well, he's just a good example of how you
ought to live. The example can't be understood
apart from those first three points, can they? But in light
of what we know to be true in reference to his love and his
faith and his justice, oh, what an example he is. What an example. Look at Hebrews chapter 4. At
verse 14, seeing then, seeing then that we have a great high
priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the son of God,
let us hold our profession. What is our profession? Christ
is all in salvation. It is finished. That is our profession. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Now that doesn't mean that he
experienced temptation like you and I experienced temptation. We sin in our temptation. The
very fact that temptation is temptation means that it carries
with it a desire for it and it's not like the Lord was tempted
in that regard. What this means is he suffered
the real agony of sin which is separation and shame and sorrow. That's the real problem that
you and I have with sin. We get over our temptations pretty
quick. But separation from God and shame for sin and sorrow
for sin, those are the real consequences of sin that we know a little
bit about. By experience, we know a little
bit about that. He knew it infinitely. He knew
separation, sorrow and shame infinitely. So when you struggle
with sin and the real problem you're having is separation from
God and sorrow and shame, know that he knew that infinitely, more than we could ever begin
to imagine. In all points, tempted as we
are, yet without sin. And here's the conclusion. Let
us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Oh, we're
always a needy people. Why? Because sin is always a
reality to us. And here's what our Lord's saying. I went to the cross. I opened
not my mouth. I demonstrated the perfection
of God's love, the perfection of faith, the perfection of divine
justice, and I've given you one to follow. Look unto Christ. Come boldly, come with confidence
before the throne of grace that you might find help in your time
of need. Our Heavenly Father, thank you.
Thank you for the glorious revelation that you've given us of Christ.
And Lord, we pray that you would cause us by your spirit to to
ponder these things, to meditate on these things and to look unto
Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. We ask it in his
name. Amen. 212, let's stand together, number
212.