Look at Psalm 100. We had a good trip. I'm thankful
that we were able to go to Ashland, Kentucky and preach
there. It's a blessing to travel there with
friends and meet new friends when we got there and see some
old friends. Just so you know how it is, it
was a good time. You know it was, don't you? It was a blessing. I appreciate Brother D taking care
of things while we were gone. I know you were able to worship
here too. Psalm 100, make a joyful noise
unto the Lord. All ye lands. Now I know quite a few people
that don't want to make any noise. in public at all. They're very
shy. They don't want to call attention
to themselves. People that would never say amen during a message,
and that's absolutely fine. I actually commend the sentiment
of not wanting to draw attention to yourself. That's not what
we want to do when we make noise in the worship. Some are actually
exactly the opposite of that. Of course, the exhortation here
of our text must be done in the right way, in the right spirit.
But we're to make noise unto the Lord. There's a time to be
quiet, and there's a time to make a noise. And I want to look
at this in the broader sense of this, of all the ways that
worship is expressed, that love is expressed, that reverence
is expressed. God is to be worshiped with the
heart. If you believe in your heart that God raised his son
from the dead, God will save you. And you confess that with
your mouth. Not just one time, not coming
down an aisle and doing that like religion has it. It has
nothing to do with an aisle. It has to do with honoring Christ. God is to be worshipped with
the heart and in the heart, but the heart expresses itself outwardly
in deeds, in things done for one another, in things done for
His glory that sometimes nobody else even knows about but you
and God. In gestures of kindness, in hugs and kisses, what's in
the heart is expressed outwardly. Gifts are an expression of the
heart. And that's what this is. We don't have the Lord Jesus
Christ bodily in our presence to lay hold of him. And to. Like John said, our hands handled
the word of life. That'd be a blessing, but we
still have him. We still have him in our presence. And we still love him by his
grace. And we want to express the worship
that's in our hearts, the love for him that we have in our hearts. When the woman in Luke chapter
seven anointed our Lord's feet with that alabaster box of ointment
and wiped his feet with her tears and kissed his feet, that was
an expression of what was in her heart. And that was a witness to everybody
there and it was an honoring of him. He acknowledged it as
that which honored him. Now we know that Judas also kissed
the master, so the gesture itself alone is not worship. But that
doesn't change the fact that where there is worship in the
heart, there is and must be and should be outward expression
of it. How do you, let me ask you a
personal question, not obviously for you to answer out loud, but
just in your heart, let me ask you a question. How do you show
the master that you love him? How do you personally express
to him your love for him? That one leopard out of 10, Returned
to give him things And we'll see that in our text also it
says in verse 4 be thankful unto him Be thankful unto him The
sinner woman as we mentioned already washed and anointed and
kissed his feet the apostle peter He wasn't even thinking about
it and that's usually how it happens He wasn't saying I think
I'll express here the fact that I love the the lord jesus christ
It just happened that way. You know what he did? You remember
when he, when our Lord was threatened, when they came to arrest him,
Peter drew his sword in the face of a company of soldiers and
said, if you're going to take him, you're going to have to
go through me. And here's a simple thing in our
text, a simple thing that the Lord likes. And I'm putting it that way deliberately
because it's an unusual way to put it when we're speaking about,
it's something that he likes. When you love somebody over the
years, I spent a few years with Vicki, and I still hadn't figured
her out, but I know some things that she likes. You do, don't you? You spend
enough time with somebody you love and you care what they like,
you're gonna learn what they like. I know one thing, come
anniversary time, there's nothing she would rather have than a
big ol' thick steak. So that's what we're gonna go
get, if I got any way of doing it. This is something that our
Lord likes. Make a joyful noise, sing unto
Him. Express the worship that's in
your heart. The love for Him that's in your
heart. When people are gathered together,
Even if you're shy and reserved, that's fine. I like that. I'm
that way too. If there's a time when we're
singing, blend your voice with those who are praising the Savior. And maybe just sometime when
you're alone, make some noise that expresses the joy that He
brings you. Do you rejoice to know Him? Does
it make you glad to know the God of heaven, the sovereign
God, the savior of sinners? Does his love for you bring you
joy? Does his word delight your heart? Make some noise. Make it known. Express it. That's to worship God with your
heart, but also worship him with your hands, with what you do. Worship him with your feet, with
where you go. Worship Him with your voice.
Worship Him with your voice. Don't just sing the songs of
this world. And you know I'm fine with that.
There's music in this world that I like. You know why there is?
Because the Lord wants to entertain His sheep. Isn't it? The Lord gifts people to sing
beautiful music. He does everything for His sheep.
You realize that, right? But don't just sing this world's
music. Make a noise unto the Lord. Make a joyful noise, an
expression of the joy. He put the joy in your heart.
And when he does, it's going to come out. That woman at the
well said, come see a man. It told me all things ever I
did. She was kind of excited about it, wasn't she? Is not
this the Christ, she asked? Isn't this the Christ? Surely
this is him. Well, verse two, serve the Lord
with gladness. Come before his presence with
singing. You know, people have some real profane ideas about
what it is to serve the Lord. Let's go off to some foreign
country or something, you know, to feed people or something like
that. That's all fine and well. I think that's a good thing to
do if that's what you want to do. But serving the Lord. We don't do what we do for the
Lord as equals. This is, I believe, the main
thing we need to understand here. Our relationship with God is
not one of equals. Many who pretend to worship have
the idea that, you know, yes, we must respect God, but he has
to respect us too. He can't violate our free will.
And of course, we're thankful, you know, for what the Lord has
done for us, but he also, we expect a reward for what we've
done for him too. It's kind of an equal thing.
No, serve the Lord. Somebody's the master and somebody's
a servant. And we don't do anything for
God. Do you realize that? We add nothing to God. If we
do anything for God at all, even as believers, he can't accept
it except through the precious blood of Christ. The best thing
we ever do is full of sin. And he's pleased with his children,
of course, but he's pleased with us in Christ, in ourselves. We
can't do anything for him. And he violates our will. Every second. His very existence
is a violation of our will. His sheep wouldn't have it any
other way. That's why we pray, Thy will
be done on earth as it is in heaven. You know how it's done
in heaven? Without exception. Without hesitation. And with all of the heart. Nothing
delights an angel anymore than to do something for him. Just
say the word Lord Send us and we'll go But as I said people have a terribly
perverse idea of what it is to serve the Lord Let's raise a
bunch of us build a bunch of buildings. What does the Lord
want with buildings? He said the heaven of heavens
can't contain me. I To serve, the word serve comes
from the word subservient, to bow, to worship, to serve, to
bow to him and his will. A servant does the will of his
master, and that's all he does as a servant. He may take his
servant hat off and go home and watch television, but as a servant,
all he does is his master's will. And every sinner will serve God
one way or another. But this exhortation is saying
to us, serve him willingly. Serve him with gladness. You're
serving him whether you like it or not. You may be serving him in spite
of yourself, but you're serving his will one way or the other.
Do it willingly, do it gladly. Serve him in his revealed will. Bow to him now, all will bow
one day. Bow now, bow willingly. And this
is a gospel command, a good news thing. Do it with gladness. All who bow in that day are not
going to bow with gladness necessarily, but serve now with gladness.
And not only must sinners bow and do what he says, because
he's God. We're going to receive it. He
made us and not we ourselves. He's God Almighty. Be still and
know that He's God. But the exhortation here is to
be grateful and rejoicing that the Lord would let us serve Him.
Serving with gladness. Be glad to be a bond slave. Wasn't
Paul glad? I'm a bond slave of Jesus Christ. A willing slave of the Master. Do you know how that happens? In the day of His power. Psalm 110.3 says, Thy people
shall be willing. You know what that word is? Volunteers. In the day of Thy power. When you get enough of us rebelling
and fighting and spitting and fuming and rejecting You exert
your power. And we've become volunteers.
In that what happened to Saul of Tarsus. He went from rebel
persecuting the Lord. He said, why are you persecuting
me? A murderous, rebellious. Blasphemer. To what Lord, what
would you have me do? I volunteer whatever I volunteer. That's what that word is right
there. Thy people shall be willing. When did that happen? When God
in power stopped him on his way to hell and put him in the dust.
That's when it's going to happen for you too and me. It was when the Lord revealed
himself to Isaiah high and lifted up. We're talking about serving
the Lord now. And we're going to talk about that quite a bit.
Look at Isaiah chapter six. Isaiah chapter 6 Isaiah volunteered
to I'm gonna show you win Isaiah 6 1 In the year that King Uzziah
died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne I He wasn't hanging
on a cross. He wasn't in a manger. He was
sitting on his throne. That's interesting because that's
where John saw him too. Isaiah saw him there before his
crucifixion. And John saw him there many,
many years after on the throne. That's where he is right now.
He's on the throne. and lifted up, and his train
filled the temple. And above it stood the seraphims.
Each one had six wings, with twain he covered his face, and
with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And
one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory. Picture this now, Isaiah seeing him exalted, and the angels
worshiping him, and crying about his holiness. And the post of
the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house
was filled with smoke. Then said I, woe is me. This
is a reaction similar to everyone who sees the Lord. John said,
I fell at his feet as a dead man. Isaiah said, woe is me,
for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes
have seen the king, not the baby, the king who became a baby. The Lord of hosts. Then flew
one of the seraphim. Now Isaiah said, I'm a goner.
He's holy and the angels are crying holy because he's holy.
And I'm not. I'm wretched and vile and unclean. And I'm a goner. Because God
ain't have anything to do with me. He'll have to put me in hell,
sure enough. But then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having
a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from
off the altar. or the burnt offering of sacrifice,
and he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this has touched
thy lips, and that iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged. That's the greatest power that
God ever observed, the power of the precious blood of Christ
to take sin away. Making a universe is nothing
compared to that, if I can even speak that way. The power that's
in his precious blood to purge Us from all of our sins and also
I heard the voice of the lord saying who shall I send who will
go for me? And as I said, I volunteer In
the day of his power his sin cleansing power his sovereign
power He is the exalted invincible successful savior and when you
see him you're going to say what's salty Lord just say the word
And give me the grace to obey. Serve the Lord with gladness. You're going to do that in the
day of his power, not until. What is the Lord's will? If a
servant does his master's will, what is the Lord's will? Religion
always talking about what we just want to do God's will. Where
did you read in here? God wants you to build a bunch
of a gymnasium. So when people come to play basketball,
you can trick them into believing on the Lord. See, I've been in
this stuff. I know what they do. Where did,
where did you read that? What is the Lord's will? If a
servant does his master's will turn to John chapter two, I want
to show you something. John chapter 2, verse 1. The third day there was a marriage
in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there and both Jesus
was called and his disciples to the marriage. And when they
wanted wine, They'd run out of wine, we learn in another account
of this. The mother of Jesus saith unto
him, they have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, woman,
what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. His
mother saith unto the servants. Are you a servant? This is interesting
now because this is an earthly story. It has to do with the
Lord turning water into wine and there's a gospel, beautiful
gospel picture there. But what I want us to see here
is she said to the servants, and here's what a servant is. Whatsoever he saith unto you,
do. That's what a servant is. Isn't
that interesting? That's what a spiritual servant
is. Whatever he says to you, you do it. You do it. Well, what
has he said to us? This book is full of it, isn't
it? Full of things. We're to go and preach. Wouldn't
you say that's one of the things he's told us to do? Our master
said, go and preach. That's what we're trying to do
here. With whatever ability we have, From him, we're gonna do
that. We're gonna send the gospel out
here and wherever we're able to. Preach his gospel to every
creature that will hear it. He said, if they won't hear you
now, you shake the dust off your feet. But whoever will listen
to you, every creature that will, we're to be witnesses of him.
Isn't that what he said in the book of Acts? Be witnesses of
him. Witnesses just tell what they've
seen and heard. That's what John said, that which
we have seen and heard and that our hands have handled of the
word of life. We tell what we've seen and heard concerning him.
He's told us in all in the book of Ephesians, he said, your marriages
are to be a picture of Christ and his church. We're to conduct
ourselves in our marriages, he said, you husbands love your
wives because Christ loves the church. And you're to show that.
You're to express that in your marriage even. Nothing we do. Let me put it this way. Everything
we do and every relationship we have is for His honor and
glory. That's why we have it. That's
why we have a marriage. To show forth Him. You wives
submit yourselves to your husbands. That's not just good for you.
It's for Him. It is good for you. It's the
right thing. It'll make your home happy. But more importantly, we're talking
about Christ and his church. We're to raise our children,
train them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Even
back in the Old Testament, how many times did he say, teach
them under thy children, teach my statutes to your children.
We're going to see in a minute his truth endureth unto all generations. The same truth that my dad heard
somewhere and believed, he taught it to me and brought me to a
place where I could hear the gospel and learn the truth that
he and his generation learned and heard and rejoiced in. And
my daughters believed on it. And I baptized her. You see? And we're to do that, we're to
teach our children and their children are taught by them. We're to assemble together and
worship him publicly. Don't forsake that, he said.
We are to sing unto him with joy and praise. Before he left
this earth bodily, he said, you love one another now as I've
loved you. We've got a lot of things that the masters told
us to do, don't we? Love one another, he said. He
said, when you show a kindness to one of my little ones, you've
done it unto me. Shall I go on and on and on or
better yet, let's come each week and we'll look together and see
what the Lord would have us do. How about that? But most importantly,
the most important thing he would have us do is to show forth what
he has done, who he is and what he has done in everything we
do. I've seen this like I've never
seen it before. That's what a kindness is. That's
what our marriages are. They're expressions of what He's
done. Isn't that right? What is a marriage? That's what
witnessing is. It's telling people about Him
and what He's done. That's what our love for one
another is. It's an expression of His love. The reason He has
us love one another is because He loves us and wants us to take
care of one another for His sake. You see how it all goes back
to Him. The gospel that we preach and support is all about Him
and what He did and is doing and shall do. And everything
we do is a testimony. It's an homage to Him and what
He did. Which brings us to verse 3. Know
ye that the Lord, He is God. He, it is He that hath made us
and not we ourselves. We are His people. and the sheep
of his pasture. This is why we serve him in all
of these things that we mentioned that he's exhorted us, that he's
commanded us to do. All that are good for us, but
more importantly, are honoring to him. It's because we do know
by his grace that he's God. And we know that we are what
we are. Isn't that what Paul said? By the grace of God, I
am what I am. He made me and I had nothing
to do with it. That's what that said. It is
He that has made us and we had nothing to do with it. All that we do and say should
be primarily because we know that He is God. And it ought
to cause others. We want for others to see that
he's God. That's why we conduct ourselves
the way we do in this world. I want everybody to know that
he's God, that he's my God. I just communicated with a man
who's getting married soon, in a few weeks, and I told him congratulations. And I said to him, I don't like
to give people advice unless they ask me, but it just occurred
to me. I said, now as husband and father,
you honor Christ first. Do that. Honor Christ first as
husband and father. And teach your family by example
that Christ is all. By example. That he's preeminent. that he
is God, that he made me and made me what I am and makes me every
day all that I am. We are his people and he is our
God, and that should never be in doubt. Nobody should ever
not know that about us. It should be obvious and evident
to everyone that knows us. The Lord, he is God. As for me and my house, David
said. We will serve him. Serving with
gladness. What about you and your house? We are the sheep of his pasture. Just on the very surface, you
know that what that may we eat and live. Because he has bought
us and provided for us and takes care of us and protects us. The
Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I'm not going
to like the Lord is my shepherd. He is the good shepherd. I'm never going to lack anything. Now, as this verse says, we first
have to know who he is. John 17, 3, this is life eternal. That they might know the only
true God in Jesus Christ, whom thou hast seen. That's eternal
life. To know that He is God. To know
Him. Some people know God and some
don't. Some will, who don't now. Some never will. How do you come to know God?
Do you know God? How? Our Lord Jesus Christ said,
all things are delivered unto me of my Father. Everything. You think about this
now. The Lord Jesus Christ, the man,
Jesus, the Nazarene, said, God has put everything in my hand. Everything. And here's an example
of that. No man knoweth the Son, but the
Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father,
save the Son. And he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal him." It's in the hand of the Son of God whether
you're going to know God or not. Bow. Serve. Make a joyful noise unto Him.
Do whatever he says do it do it gladly You must know god and you must
know that he is god You got to know him and you've got to always
Acknowledge that he is on the throne and that he is our king
This is why he is to be served because he's sovereign And he
is to be served with gladness Because he's not just sovereign,
but as sovereign as God, he doeth all things well. He's good. That's in our text there. The
Lord is good in verse, last verse there. The Lord is good. That's why we're able to serve
him with gladness. Some masters aren't a pleasure
to serve. Have you ever had a job where
the last thing you ever wanted to do was what your boss told
you to do? You're still supposed to do it now. Under God, you're
still supposed to do it. And when you can't take it anymore,
go find another one. But have you ever had a job like
that? Some masters are not easy to serve. Oh, our Lord's commandments
are not grievous. We can't measure up, we can't
do them very well, but they're a joy to do. They're a delight. Take my yoke. My yoke is easy. My burden's light. Being God doesn't just mean that
he calls the shots. It does mean that he's calling
the shots, whether we like it or not. But it means that he
calls them right. He calls them well. When you
hear of his redeeming, electing love, Know that He is God. You see what I'm saying? There
are people that talk about redemption. They talk about the Lord dying
on a cross to make it possible for people to be saved. Wait
a minute. When you think about His crucifixion,
when you think about the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, know
that He is God. He's not somebody that makes
anything available. He doesn't try to do anything.
Know that He's God when you think of Him on the cross. He is the
king of his people. He is the one whom the father
delivered all things into his hand. That's the Christ that
was crucified. It wasn't just a man trying to
get people to feel sorry for him that died on Calvary. It
was God, the son, the only one who could satisfy the justice
of God against my sin. And he fully satisfied the law's
demands in my place. When you think of him in his
redeeming love, and power know that he's God. Our text says
that we are the sheep of his pasture. Listen to what he said
about that. I've commented on that and I
hope it's scriptural. Listen to what he said about
us being the sheep of his pasture. John chapter 10, I'll give you
the verses because I'm going to skip some. In verse 11 of
John 10, he said, I am the good shepherd. Now you think about it, we're
the sheep of his pasture. The good shepherd, he said, giveth
his life for the sheep. Verse 14, I am the good shepherd
and know my sheep and am known of mine. Verse 15, as the father
knoweth me, even so know I the father and I lay down my life. for the sheep. We're the sheep
of his pasture now. Verse 17, therefore doth my father
love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. Willingly. What are the scriptures? I thought about this. It's not
in my notes, but I thought about this as I was studying this.
You know why the scriptures, I believe, make so much of why
he willingly laid down? Nobody took his life, but he
did it willingly. He came and honored his father
willingly. He entered into the covenant
of grace and became our surety willingly. He did always please
his father, always those things that pleased his father. And
he did that willingly. You know why I believe the scriptures
make so much about that because he's the only man that ever did willingly serve God. Now we do it willingly because
we're made willing. There's a difference. He did
it willingly from his heart, from his very character. It was
joy set before him to endure the cross for me. It was joy
that he had to have. My sheep verse 27 Hear my voice
and I know them and they follow me He doesn't just call and hope
somebody comes he calls and they come the ones he calls They come
And I give unto them eternal life I and they shall never perish. Why won't we perish? Because
he gave his life for us. Anyone who believes that a sinner
for whom the Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life can go to
hell doesn't know God and doesn't know his son Jesus Christ. Did
I say that right? Anyone who believes that Christ
can lay down his life For a sinner and that sinner still perish.
You don't know God If he lays down his life, he said I give
unto them eternal I the Good Shepherd who lays down his life
for the sheep I give them eternal life. It's his to give by virtue
of that blood that he shed on Calvary It's his to give and
when he gives it you're never gonna perish. I Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. There's nothing in them to keep
them from God. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. Who is he that condemned? It
is Christ that died. There's nothing in them to keep
them out of his hand. And there's nobody that can take
us out of his hand. And my father is greater than
all. He gave them to me. And no man is able to pluck them
out of my father's hand. Aren't you glad that the sovereign,
invincible, victorious savior is God and that you're the sheep
of his pasture? That's what our verse says. You
are a sheep and your shepherd is God. Aren't you glad that you do not
worship a God of your making? But that by his grace, you know
and serve the God that made you. That's what our verse, he made
us. We didn't make ourself and we can't make a God, we try. Aren't you glad that salvation
is not your doing? But simply that because you are
his, he laid down his life for you. He said, they're my sheep. I laid down my life for my sheep. And they'll never perish. Because
you're his and that he laid down his life for you, shed his precious
sin atoning blood for you, you are safe, secure, forever blessed. Every good thing that God has
is yours, Christ. Heirs of God and joint heirs
with Jesus Christ. And then look at the rest. Are
you glad about that? Then enter into his gates with
thanksgiving. Don't come up in here without
being grateful. Don't bow before him. And I'm reminding myself now,
don't just say your prayers and ask for stuff. Thank God for
all that He's done. Most of our prayers should be
just that, wouldn't you say? Just thank God. Thank you, God. For what you've done for me,
I can never reckon up unto you
all of your mercies toward me. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving
and into His courts with praise. Say something good about Him. Be thankful unto Him. And bless
His name. This psalm has exhorted us to
do many things. Make a joyful noise. Praise Him. Serve Him. Enter into His gates. Be grateful
to Him. Bless His name. All these things.
And here's why. Verse 5. For the Lord is good. There's nobody good but Him. And everything He does is good.
He made a universe and said it's good. And then we messed it up. By His design. It wasn't an accident. It didn't catch Him off guard
when we messed it up. I don't even know how to talk
about that. allowed us to, I don't know, some people object to that.
In his purpose, we messed it up so that he could make all
things beautiful in his time, more beautiful than they ever
could have been had we not messed it up. Because they're going
to be beautiful in Christ the Savior. We're more than conquerors now.
We were holy and perfect and righteous and just in the garden.
We're going to be so much more than that. We're going to be
just like Him. The Lord is good. Everything
He does is good. His mercy is everlasting. And you know, His goodness has
something to do with His mercy. Because when Moses said, show
me your glory, He said, I'll make all my goodness to pass
before you, Moses, and I'll have mercy. on whom I will have mercy. And His truth endureth to all
generations. Aren't you glad? What was true when my daddy was
saved was true when I was saved. It was true when my daughter
was saved. It'll be true if the Lord is pleased to save your
grandchildren. He'll do it by this same truth.
The gospel concerning his son, who is God, the shepherd who
made us and who is good, who gave himself the good shepherd,
giveth his life for the sheep. Are you one of the sheep of his
pasture and come before him thankful and full of praise because you've
tasted of his goodness. Who's going to praise Him if
you don't? If I don't. May we make a noise everywhere
we go. When it's right, when it's appropriate,
in the right way. May everybody know that our God
is God. And He's good. Let's pray.