These notes are normally about
14 pages long, but today's 18. So, bear with me. Let me find page 1. The song we just sang, we sang
a couple of Wednesdays ago and it was about the same time we
were discussing what time we'd have service today and who was
going to speak and I volunteered to speak and at that moment I
had no clue what I was going to speak about, what the subject
was going to be or anything like that. As we were singing this
old familiar tune, a phrase stuck out in one of the stanzas and
it hit me and I immediately knew the title and the theme of today's
message. And I find it how amazing that
we can sing a song, or read an article, or passage of scripture,
or we can sit and hear gospel sermon after sermon, and although
we may agree and believe with them and enjoy them, they may
not have that special joy. But then there's that one time
that you can tell all of a sudden, and that comes by revelation,
something glaring off the page, and oh how precious it is to
you. And oh, how sweet and real it is when the Holy Spirit speaks
directly and wakes a dead sinner and convicts him that he is lost,
convinces and convicts him. God abhorring, excuse me, convicts
him of his lost, God abhorring state and reveals Christ as Savior
to him. Then he calls him to repentance.
Even the angels rejoice in the salvation of one of God's elects. This person may be a first-time
visitor or may be a lifelong attendee. But if he or she is
the Lord's, then in due times, in God's mercy and grace, he's
going to save them. He's going to bring it off the
page to them and he's going to apply it to their heart. I pray
that it be God's will today that somebody either here or in some
other gospel meeting that he may be merciful and reveal himself
to such an unbelieving sinner. I do count it a privilege to
sing the true gospel hymns which are faithful and in agreement
with the scriptures. We've learned that many years
ago in this place, how important it is that the song matches the
message. Oftentimes, in order to do this,
we may have to change a word or two in a hymn, which we'll
do in the last one that we're going to sing today, or we may
delete a phrase or stanza if it does not agree to make sure
that we do not violate or dishonor the Word of God. We cannot preach
a sovereign, electing God who has chosen and saved His particular
people and then sing a song which declared that He's died for everyone. In today's closing hymn, we'll
have to change, like I said, two words and replace them, the
word all, for his. And I'll point it out to you.
And then we're going to change the word men to saints. And it'll
still fit the music, but it makes it a bit much better. So again,
it's very vital that the music agrees with the message. And
the title for today's message comes from a part of the third
verse in the song that we just sang, His Matchless Worth. We'd
sing, I'd sing the characters he bears and all the forms of
love he wears. And that's today's title is All
the Forms of Love He Wears. I know that no one man, especially
this one, can understand or grasp all the scriptures, what all
the scriptures reveal regarding the enormity of God's love in
Christ for his people. However, I do want to look at
some of the love relationships he has for and with his people
and how amazing it is that he can love such a worm as I. One of the forms of love he wears
is that of a friend or brother. If you would, go ahead and turn
to 1 Samuel chapter 18. As you're turning, I'll just
give you the background. Chapter 17, this little shepherd boy
went to the army against the Philistines and they had nobody
to go out to fight this giant except this little young man.
And he carried with him five stones and a slingshot and slew Goliath. So when we start verse chapter
18, Saul had just found out in chapter 17 who this was. It was
David. And it says, and it came to pass
when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul that the soul of Jonathan
was knit to the soul of David. And Jonathan loved him as his
own soul. And Saul took him that day and
would not let him go no more to his father's house. Then Jonathan
and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul.
And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him
and he gave it to David and his garments, even to his sword and
to his bow and to his girdle. Then in the following verses,
and we're going to have to skip through quite a bit here, there were several battles and
conflicts that went out. And when they came back from
the conflicts, they started singing, and the song was, Saul slayed
his thousands, but David his ten thousands. And the king's
wrath became very angry because David was getting all the glory.
And from that time, from that day forward, it says in verse
9, it says, and Saul eyed David from that day and forward. Now
go to chapter 20. recorded in chapter 19 with many
times where Saul tried to kill David. But here in chapter 20
we find David fearing for his death in the hand of Saul. And
he and Jonathan made a plan to signal whether or not it would
be safe to return to Saul's house. You remember if I shoot close
to you, it's not safe. If I shoot away, I forget which
ward it is, but one or the other, it'd be okay to come back, and
if not, you need to leave. So that was one of the covenants
that they made together. Now look at verse 14. Whether
David was going to be safe to come back to Saul's house or
not, Jonathan knew. that David is one day to become
the king. So look at verse 14 and we hear
Jonathan's words. And you shall not only while
yet I live show me thy kindness of the Lord that I die not. But
also, you shall not cut off thy kindness from my house forever.
No, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David, every
one from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with
the house of David, saying, let the Lord even require it at the
hand of David's enemies. And Jonathan caused David to
swear again, because he loved him, for he loved him as his
own soul. Now go to 2 Samuel 9. At this point, Jonathan and Saul
are both dead. You're very familiar with this
passage. Start with verse 1. And David said, Is there yet
any of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's
sake? And there was of the house of
Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called
him unto David, the king said unto him, Are you Ziba? And he
said, Thy servant is he. And the king said, Is there not
yet any of the house of Saul that I may show this kindness
of God unto him? And Ziba said unto him, Jonathan
hath yet a son which is lame on his feet. And we know the
remainder of this story. This story is a beautiful story
of mercy and grace. David said, go fetch him. Phoebe Schiff couldn't come on
his own. He said, go fetch him. It is here that we have a picture
of God fetching a dead dog lame sinner to show him mercy for
Christ's sake. For Christ's sake. This covenant
between friends, David and Jonathan, was made before Mephibosheth
was even born. Before the foundation of the
world, God the Father entered into a covenant. with the Lord
Jesus Christ, giving him a people from Adam's dead race, and making
Christ the surety, the redeemer of every one of those people.
The mercy, kindness, repentance, justification, sanctification,
and love God bestows upon sinners is due to his love for his son. We see here a brief glimpse into
the eternal love of God toward His own. He is the Alpha and
the Omega, and He is the Lord that changes not. So take comfort
to know that if God has set His love upon you in saving grace,
then He has and always will love you. He is also the beginning
of your salvation, the institution of your salvation, the sustaining
of your salvation, and the eternality of your salvation. As Jonah proclaimed,
salvation is of the Lord. As a man, Christ experienced
all the feelings and trials of every man, yet he was without
sin. He had relationships and friendships just as we did, and
Jesus had a great love for his friends. John chapter 11. Now, a certain man was sick named
Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which had anointed
the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose
brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore, his sister sent unto
him, saying, Lord, behold whom thou lovest. is sick. When Jesus
heard that, he said, the sickness is not unto death, but for the
glory of God, that the Son of God might be
glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha and her
sister and Lazarus. And we know that Jesus waited
for two days before even starting the trip to Bethany. And it had
been four days since Lazarus had died and been buried before
Christ arrived. And upon coming to the grave
of Lazarus, it says, Jesus wept. Jesus wept for them for their
unbelief. And he wept with them for their
sadness and the loss of their love. And he wept because he
loved Lazarus. The Jews noted, behold, how He
loved him. But you know what? Christ also
participated in their joy. He was their joy. As this great
miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead was performed, verse
40 it says, Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto you, that
if thou wouldest believe, you shouldest see the glory of God?
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead
was laid, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I
thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest
me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said
it, that they may believe that you have sent me. And when he
had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth,
bound head and foot with brave clothes, and his face was bound
with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him
and let him go. This is exactly what God does
to save one's dead soul. He must give life. Lazarus could
no more ask to be brought back to life than all men who without
exception can ask and be accepted to be saved." No, we're dead,
dead, dead. Dead in trespasses and sins.
We can't ask for life. God has to give us life. He has
to pronounce, come forth. And it says, my people shall
be made willing in the day of my power. Greater joy than this
earthly joy of having a brother or friend come back to life can
be seen in verse 45. For it reads, then many of the
Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did,
believed on Him. That's spiritual life. So here
in this text we have three chosen sinners. All were saved by the
grace of God. All were alike in the objects
of His electing love, His redeeming blood, and saving grace. But
they were not all alike. Martha appears to be somewhat
of a bit too pushy and domineering. Mary appears to have been very
spiritual though somewhat negligent of her earthly responsibilities.
And then of Lazarus we're told nothing. In the whole scriptures
we're told nothing of Lazarus except the fact that he was dead.
and the Lord Jesus raised Him from the dead. Yet we're told
plainly that the Lord Jesus loved all three. Our Savior's love for us is free,
sovereign, everlasting, and unchanging. It does not depend on us, who
we are, what we are, what we fail to do, or what we do do
in any way. It's all on Christ. Jesus also had, he loved his
mother. He made sure while he was on
that cross that she would be taken care of. And the one he
put in control or asked to do that is the one in the scriptures
that says, of whom he loved very much, which happened to be John,
the disciple John. And he loved and he prayed for
his disciples and his people. While on the face of this earth
Christ showed compassion and love for those who were sick
in health and in spirit, his compassions, they fell not. So
one form of love that he shows is that of a brother and of a
friend. Another form of God's love is
that of a father. Of his own will, begat he us
with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first
fruits of his creatures. And as a father, he loves us
and gives us many things. He does this due to his great
love of the only begotten, Christ Jesus the Lord. John 3 says,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. I'm going to eliminate that one
because I didn't write down, I was going to put a text for
that but I just did that. This is where the rich young
ruler came to Christ and it said he loved him. But the young ruler
went away. At that point it seemed no way
to make a profession that God had done anything for him. But
folks rest assured if God loved him, he was one of Christ. And he would be his, rest assured. He has, does, and always will
love his children. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. I'll refer to this same verse
later, but I'll go ahead and read it now. It says, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love, in love having predestinated us into the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ of Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made
us accepted in the Beloved. Jeremiah 13.3 says, The Lord
hath a period of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee
with an everlasting love, and therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee. He loves us as a father. What
great love He has. In love He causes us to seek
Him. By faith which He gives us, and
then He rewards us for seeking. By faith, He causes us to seek
Him by faith. Let me say that again. And that
He gives us. And then He rewards us for doing
the seeking. He gives it to us first. But
without faith, the Hebrew says, it's impossible to please Him.
For he that cometh to God must believe that He is. And He is
a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. God communicates us
with us through his word. He says, sanctify them. Sanctify
them through thy truth. Thy word is truth and Christ
is that word. Our Lord corrects us as a father. Hebrews 12 it says, for consider
him that endures such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest
ye be wearied or faint in your minds. ye have not resisted unto
the blood striving against sin, and ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as children. My son, despise not the chastening
of the Lord, nor thank not when you are rebuked of him. For the
Lord loveth For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourge
every son he receiveth. If you endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father
chasteneth not? But if you be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then you are bastards and not sons.
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected
us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of Spirits and live? For verily,
for a few days chastened us chasing us after their own pleasure
but he for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Now no chastening for the present seemed to be joyous but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward it yielded
the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto him which are exercised
thereby. Oh, what a wonderful Father is
our God and our Savior. Romans 8 tells us, For as many
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For
ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again unto fear, but
yet ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry,
Abba, Father. A third form of God's love is
that of a husband. We'll look briefly here at a
love story of a Moabitess woman, Ruth, and Boaz, the kinsman redeemer. Ruth returned from Moab with
her mother-in-law, Naomi, who was broken and in despair. And
she told Ruth to go and glean into the fields out of Boaz. And this man took notice of her
and he ordered that extra grains, handfuls of grains be left for
her to glean. He was taking care of her. He
chose to redeem her. He wanted to marry her. But there
was a problem. There were some other people
that were closer akin to Naomi's husband who passed away than
he was. And he had to go before the crowd and say I want to redeem
this woman. I want to redeem Naomi. And in
redeeming her, you also have to redeem Ruth, the Moabitess.
And so everyone that he went to, we're not going to do that. We can't do this. But he met
the law. He did exactly what the law said. And then he was able to go and
marry Ruth, and what love and mercy he showed with this bride. And in turn, these two had a
child, and the child's name was Obed, father of Jesse, and the
grandfather to David, the king, who is in the direct line of
Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus became Jesus Christ became
incarnate through the virgin birth and he is known as our
kinsman Redeemer For he alone kept the entirety of the law
in our stead and he alone Can redeem a simple rich as I am? Turn to Hosea chapter 1 Here's
an amazing love story about this man Hosea chapter 1 just after the book of Daniel. The beginning of the word of
the Lord by Hosea, a prophet. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go,
take unto thee a wife of Hortums, and children of whoredoms. For
the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the
Lord. What a command! Go and marry
a harlotess woman." Hosea's name means Savior and is presented
in the story as a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was
commanded of God to go down to the red light district and take
a wife from among the harlots. And Hosea chose Gomer, a prostitute,
whose name means consumption. And that's us. That's us, God's elect, consumed
with sin and consumed by sin. Gomer was the daughter of Dibliam,
whose name means dried or dead. And like Gomer, We're the children
of a dead father Adam. And Gomer also means consummation. And that's us too. As Gomer,
it was the consummation of all of Hosea's purpose and work.
The consummation of his great love. So God's elect are in the
ultimate end the consummation of all of God's purposes, works,
and great love. The Lord gave Hosea and Gomer
three children. Jezreel means the seed of God. Lurahama means no mercy. And Lurahemi means not mine or
not my people. We may look at those in a later
message. We who were not his people and
had not obtained mercy are now his people and obtained mercy
in Christ. And that's exactly how the Holy Scripture instructed
Paul to interpret this story in the book of Romans. It says,
and he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my people, which were
not my people, and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it
shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto
them, ye are not my people, there shall they be called the children
of the living God." Hosea came home one day and Gomer was gone, gone back to
the streets. Going back to her lovers. Chapter
2 tells us about this and Gomer's great fall and Hosea's purpose
of love and grace concerning her. Chapter 3 tells us how Hosea's
love and grace prevailed and he fetched Gomer home again.
Says he hedged her way about. She didn't know it. He was taking
care of her. She thought it was her lovers
doing it. And it was Hosea the whole time. He hedged her about
and he brought her home. What a portrait of sovereign
loving, of loving grace is plain set before us here. There's seven
characteristics of grace I want to look at. First is sovereign
electing grace. There are many in this world
to whom God is not gracious. I know men talk about common
grace and special grace, but there's nothing common about
the grace of God. God's grace is always special
and it's always particular. He sovereignly bestows his grace
upon some and refuses to be gracious to others. Many are called, but
few are chosen. There are some men and women
in this world who are loved and chosen of God from eternity,
who He has determined and will save. To them He is gracious
always gracious and gracious in all that he does. For those
elect sinners who God has chosen to save, there is a sovereign,
unchangeable, eternal purpose of grace by which he rules the
world. We read earlier in Ephesians
1, which said, Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places, chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. This grace is undeserved, undesired,
and unconditional. Gomer was a common strumpet,
a whore, prostitute, hooker, streetwalker, whatever you want
to call her. She was not looking for a husband. She didn't even
want a husband. She didn't deserve a husband.
But Hosea chose her. He loved her and he wanted her.
And his heart could not be satisfied until he caught her. Can you
see yourself here? Can you picture yourself here?
Not looking or desiring for God. Not working or you're working
to gain favor from a religion, a false god which can never save.
But God, who loved us notwithstanding, called you by His unconditional
electing grace." God's grace is prevenient or preparatory. Knowing not when grace in a believer
begins, prevenient grace is the grace of God that precedes His
saving grace. It is pervenient grace that followed
and pursued us, provided for us, and protected God's elect
into the time of their calling. Jude 1 says, Jude, the servant
of Jesus Christ and the brother of James, to them that are sanctified
by the God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. This grace is distinguishing
in its effectual. Look at chapter 2, verse 19,
since I made you turn, Hosea. We'll look at a couple of verses.
Verse 19. And I will betroth thee unto
me forever, yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness,
and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. The
grace of God that brings salvation is always distinguishing and
effectual and irresistible. Everything that Hosea did, he
did for Gomer alone, that he might have Gomer. And he did
have her. God the Holy Spirit, Romans 9.16
says, turns the eyes of the prodigal, excuse me, God the Holy Spirit
turns the eyes of the prodigal to his father's house, seeks
lost sheep, and calls the adulterous wife. This grace of God is costly and
redeeming and it's a sin atoning grace. Chapter 3, verse 2. So I bought her to me for 15
pieces of silver and an omer of barley and a half omer of
barley. Before Hosea could have Gomer,
he had to redeem her. He did not buy all the slaves.
He did not want all of them. He wanted that one. He wanted
Gomer. So he bought Gomer. And having
bought her by a lawful ransom price, he could not lose her. And that's what our Savior says
to us. I have bought you with the silver of my sweat and the
gold of my blood, and you are mine. Chapter 3, verse 3, right
here. Look at verses 20 to 23 in chapter 2. I will betroth thee into faithfulness,
and ye shall know the Lord. And it shall come to pass in
that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens,
and they shall hear the earth. And the earth shall hear the
corn, and the wine, and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel.
and I will sow unto her unto me in the earth and I will have
mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy and I will say to them
which were not my people you are my people and they shall
say you are my God. Grace perseveres toward us Grace
preserves us and grace causes us to persevere in grace. And finally, seventh in this
point, look at chapter two, verse 18. And in that day, I will make
a covenant for them with the beast of the field and with the
fowls of heaven with the creeping things of the ground. And I will
break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth and
will make them to lie down safely. And the covenant of God's grace
is not only resolved to save us, but he will also make all
things to be instruments of mercy toward us. And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are called according to his purpose. Turn to Galatians chapter 5,
speaking of husbands and wives. If Rupert married you, this scripture was always used in a marriage ceremony. But we'll
find out what this scripture is really all about here in a
second. Verse 20, giving thanks always for the always for all
things unto God and the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of
God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto
the Lord. For the husband is the head of
the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. And he is
the savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands in everything."
And wives, you think that's a tough standard to hold to. Look at
the next verses. Husbands, love your wives even
as Christ also loved the church and he gave himself for it that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water
by the word that he might present it to himself a glorious church
not having spot or wrinkle or any such things but it should
be holy and without blemish So ought men to love their wives
as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. For no man ever yet hateth his
own flesh, but nourish it and cherish it, even as the Lord
the church. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but
I speak concerning Christ and the church. This was an allegory
about Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let every one of
you in particular so love his wife even as himself, and the
wife see she reverence her husband. And as we think of God's love
is that of a husband we would be remissed if we did not look
at two particular and beautiful passages in Jeremiah, and I'll
just read them for time's sake Jeremiah chapter 23 in verse
6 we read of our Christ and In his days Judah shall be saved
and Israel shall dwell safely and this is the name whereby
he shall be called the Lord our righteousness. Then in Jeremiah
33, 16, we see the blessed bride of Christ. This is the bride,
and it says of her, in those days shall Judah be saved, and
Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this is the name wherewith
she shall be called the Lord our righteousness. How wonderful
it is to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. So many women today,
I'm not taking his name, I'm going to keep my independence.
Find me a believer that doesn't want to be called the Lord Our
Righteousness in Christ. You don't want to take his name.
That's not a believer. Another form of Christ he wears
is that of a shepherd. And the love that he has. Ezekiel
chapter 34. Turn there if you would. As Ed would say, I'm giving you
a Bible drill. Start with verse 1. And the word
of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against
the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say unto them, Thus
saith the Lord God unto the shepherds, Woe be to the shepherds of Israel
that feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed
the flocks? Yay, eat the fat, and you clothe you with the wool. You kill them that are fed, but
you feed not the flock. The diseased have you not strengthened? Neither have you healed that
which was sick. Neither have you bound up that which was broken. Neither have you brought again
that which was driven away. Neither have you sought out that
which was lost. But with force and with cruelty
have you ruled them. And they were scattered because
there is no shepherd. And they became meat to all the
beasts of the field. And they were scattered. Now
let's go down to verse 9. And I've got about 8 or 9 verses
maybe there. And I want you to notice the
wheels. All the wheels that are here. And notice whose wheels
are being spoke of. Verse 9. Therefore, O you shepherds,
hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, behold,
I am against the shepherd, and I will require my flock at their
hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock. Neither shall the shepherds feed
themselves anymore, for I will deliver my flock from their mouth,
that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek
them out. And as a shepherd seeketh out
his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all
places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. and
I will bring them out from the people and will gather them from
the countries and will bring them to their own land and will
feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers and in
all inhabited places. I will feed them in good pasture
and upon the high mountains of Israel shall be their fold. There shall they lie in a good
fold and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains
of Israel. I will feed my flock And I will cause them to lie
down, saith the Lord God. And I will seek that which was
lost, and bring again that which was driven away. And I will bind
up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was
sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong, and I will
feed them with judgment. Verse 23. And I will set up one shepherd
over them. This is Christ. And he shall
feed them, even my servant David, he shall feed them and he shall
be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their
God. And my servant David, a prince among them, I, the Lord, have
spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant
of peace and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land.
And they shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the
woods." Did you see or hear all the wills there? In every instant,
it is God speaking. It's Christ who does the willing.
Our shepherd controls all things and provides all things for his
sheep. And Paul writes concerning his sheep in Christ, excuse me,
1 Peter, it says, For ye were a sheep going astray, but are
now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Christ
is the good shepherd. I am the good shepherd. And the
good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. He's the great
shepherd. Hebrews 10, it says, Now the
God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus
Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of
the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work
to do his will, working in that which was well pleasing in his
sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever. And Christ is that chief shepherd
And it says in 1 Peter 5 verse 4, and when the chief shepherd
shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth
not away. And as we saw earlier, God's
grace is sovereign, elective, distinguished in grace. And the
New Testament clearly describes the distinction between God's
love for the sheep, his sheep, and the goats. There are but
two distinctions between all men, sheep and goats. The sheep have always been sheep
and always will be a sheep. Can the leopard Can the leopard
change his spots? Can't do it. Same thing about
the goats. Goats have been goats and will
always be goats. And there are but two distinctions.
Christ himself spoke these words. When the Son of Man shall come
in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He
sit upon the throne of His glory. And before Him shall be gathered
all nations, and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divided his sheep from the goats. And He shall set the sheep on
His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the king shall
say unto them that is on his right hand, that's to the sheep,
come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. Christ knows his sheep
and is known of them. He knows who they are. And like I said, they know Him.
What a shepherd we have who willingly gave up His life for His sheep. For our study today, that brings
us to our final form of love that He wears. And this is the
greatest form of all, that of a Savior. Matthew 1, if you'll turn there.
Chapter 1, Matthew chapter 1. starting with verse 18. Now the
birth of Christ was on this wife. When as his mother Mary was a
spouse to Joseph before they came together, she was found
with the child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, Fear not to take unto
thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is
of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and ye shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins. He shall save his sheep from
their sins. This infant is none other than
the Son of God who is the fulfillment of all types, pictures, shadows,
and prophecy of the Old Testament. This second Adam had to be born
of a virgin in order to escape the damnation imputed to every
child of the sinful first Adam. He is the God-man and he lived
every second of his life completely obeying God's holy law. Daniel 924 gives us a great synopsis
of Christ's life. It says, 70 weeks are determined
upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression,
to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity,
and to bring into everlasting righteousness, and to seal up
division and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. As Christ
traveled throughout Israel, he showed great compassion and love
to the deaf, dumb, blind, halt, lame, lepers, some who were filled
with evil spirits and devils, some who were religious. He showed
love for his disciples. He showed love for the Jews and
non-Jews, for rich and poor, for a thief, and even for a few
who were dead. His love for his chosen one had
no end and has no end. His compassions, they fell not.
As a man, Christ met every law of God, both written and ceremonial.
He was perfect in every way. He was the beloved son of God.
And after three and a half, excuse me, 33 and a half years, three
years of his public ministry, the crux of all time had come.
He was betrayed. falsely arrested and accused
and sentenced to die on the cursed tree. These events were not a
surprise to Christ. No, this is exactly what the
mediator between God and man must endure. Christ voluntarily
came to live and to die as the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the earth for His people. His substitutionary, satisfactory
sacrifice is the only payment God would, can, and does accept
in the place instead of His people's sins. We are complete, we are
sanctified, we are redeemed, and we are saved through His
blood. John 10 says, 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 my
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 foal and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No
man take 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." Betty, if you need a text for
today, here it is, John 15, 13. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Christ
was buried and in three days he arose and he is seated on
his throne this very moment and through an endless eternity as
the King of kings and Lord of lords. Not one of those for whom
he died will ever be lost. No one or
nothing can pluck them from his hand. This is your last turn.
Romans chapter 8. Verse 27. And he that searches the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the spirit, because he maketh intercession
for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that
all things work together for them, for good to them that love
God, to them who are decalled according to his purpose. For
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified,
and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we
say to these things if God be forced? Who can be against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us. And who shall separate
us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake
we are killed all the day long, We are accounted as sheep for
the slaughter. Know in all things we are more than conquerors through
him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither
death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any creature shall be able to separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Oh, what a Savior. Brethren, the day is coming that
we'll be together with our friend, our father, our husband, our
shepherd, and our saviors. Oh, the forms of love he wears. Amen.