Isn T He Wonderful

“ISN’T HE WONDERFUL?”

1 PETER 1:1-9

FOCAL VERSE: 1 PETER 1:8

INTRO: Peter tells us about someone we have not seen, yet we love Him. That

seems kind of strange to love someone that you have never seen. He

tells us we “rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” over the

thoughts of Him.

Once there was a couple who merely started writing to each other—a

young man and a young lady—just pen pals at first. Then, he decided

to go visit with her. Though she lived many hundreds of miles away

he made the trip just to see this person he had become fond of. As

the two visited together—still only a friendship—they both became

attracted to each other, and eventually fell in love, married and lived a

long happy life together. Friends, this is what peter is telling us: At

first, we merely heard about Him; then we came to know all by faith.

Now we are waiting for the day when our eyes shall behold Him and

we shall be like Him and with Him for all eternity!

There is a little chorus which says it best:

“Isn’t He wonderful, wonderful, wonderful?

Isn’t Jesus my Lord wonderful?

Eyes have seen, ears have heard,

Tis recorded in God’s Word;

Isn’t Jesus my Lord wonderful?”

Friends, our Lord truly is wonderful! Psalm 40:5 says—“Many, O

LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy

thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot bereckoned up in order

unto thee: if I would declare and speak ofthem, they are more than can

be numbered.” Someone said, “‘I Am’ is the name of God; and it

imports that in His existence thedistinctions of past, present and to

come have no place.”— JOHN DICK.(PEARLS FROM MANYSEASby J. B.

Software. Albany, OR). Our Lord is wonderful in His ways, will, work,

and wisdom. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 72:18-19—“Blessed be the

LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doethwondrous things. And

blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earthbe filled

with his glory; Amen, and Amen.” And in Psalm 86:10—“For thou art

great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.”

I want to title the message today, “Isn’t He wonderful?” Please note

with me three characteristics of our wonderful Saviour. Each of these

speak to the reality of His wonderful character. Let us see first that…

(1) HE IS A WONDERFUL SAVIOUR!

ISAIAH 45:21-22—“Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take

counsel together:who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it fromthat time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else besideme; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am

God, and there is none else.”

A. HE IS THE SINNER’S FRIEND. Throughout Christ’s earthly ministry

many murmured because Christ was the friend of sinners. In Luke 7:31-

39 we see that the greatest fault many of the Pharisees (the religious crowd)

found with Jesus was that he mixed and mingled with the vile and outcasts

of society—“And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this

generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in

the marketplace, and callingone to another, and saying, We have piped unto

you, and ye havenot danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not

wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine;and

ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye

say, Behold agluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and

sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children. And one of the Pharisees

desired him that he would eat with him.And he went into the Pharisee’s

house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a

sinner, when sheknew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house,

brought analabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him

weeping, and began to wash hisfeet with tears, and did wipe them with the

hairs of her head, andkissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spakewithin

himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would haveknown who and

what manner of woman this is that toucheth him:for she is a sinner.”

But not only the religious leaders but the people murmured when Jesus

went home with a sinner. In Luke 19:5-7 we read—“And when Jesus came

to the place, he looked up, and saw him, andsaid unto him, Zacchaeus, make

haste, and come down; for to day Imust abide at thy house. And he made

haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they

all murmured, saying, That he wasgone to be guest with a man that is a

sinner.” I praise the Lord today that He is the sinner’s friend. Because if He

were not all of us would be without hope.

B. HE BRINGS SINNERS FORGIVENESS. This is the reason He came. Luke

19:10 tells us—“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which

waslost.” He came into this lost world to seek and to save it. His design

was to save, whenthere was no salvation in any other. He seeks those that

sought him not, and asked notfor him.(MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARYON

THE WHOLE BIBLE CONDENSED VERSIONby Matthew Henry. The Master Christian

in sin a person is, He is able to save them (Hebrews 7:25). Brother J.

Harold Smith used to say, “He is not only able to save to the uttermost, but

He is also able to save to the guttermost.” He is able to save, from the

power, guilt, nature, and punishment of sin, to the uttermost, to all

intents,degrees, and purposes; and always, and in and through all times,

places,and circumstances. (CLARKE’S COMMENTARY NT, VOLUME 6B: I THESS. –

AGES Software. Albany, OR).

INTRO: You have seen a cloud drifting across the pure blue of the sky, and as

you watch it, it breaks up and disappears forever. You will never see

that cloud again. So God deals with your sins. You believe in His Son

as your Lord and Savior. Then He blots out your transgressions just

as He sweeps the cloud from your sight forever.The Bible abounds in

these assurances of utter removal of the penalty of sin from the child

ISN’T HE WONDERFUL? HE IS A WONDERFUL SAVIOUR and…

(2) HE IS A WONDERFUL SATISFIER!

PSALM 107:1-9—“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his

mercyendureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

whom he hath redeemedfrom the hand of the enemy; And gathered

them out of the lands, from the east, and from thewest, from the

north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a

solitary way; they foundno city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty,

their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their

trouble, and he deliveredthem out of their distresses. And he led

them forth by the right way, that they might go to acity of

habitation.Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness,

and forhis wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth

the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul withgoodness.”

A. THE SEEKING. People search and reach out to “things” hoping to find

satisfaction and fulfillment in their life. This is what Solomon did. He had

it all and tried it all. But he learned that “things”do not satisfy. Solomon

testified in Ecclesiastes 1:13-17—“And I gave my heart to seek and search

out by wisdom concerningall things that are done under heaven: this sore

travail hath Godgiven to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have

seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold,all is vanity and

vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that

which iswanting cannot be numbered. I communed with mine own heart,

saying, Lo, I am come to greatestate, and have gotten more wisdom than all

they that have beenbefore me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great

experience ofwisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom,

and to know madness andfolly: I perceived that this also is vexation of

spirit.”

The poor fallen woman of Samaria, when she encountered Jesus at the

well, for the first time in her life found water that was not from the well.

Listen to her words in John 4:15—“The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me

this water, that I thirst not,neither come hither to draw.” After she receiving

living waterv28 tells us—“ The woman then left her waterpot, and went her

way into the city,and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all

things that ever I did: is not thisthe Christ?”

B. THE SATISIFACTION. Friends, many today are religious but yet they are

unsatisfied. Psalm 107:9 promises—“For he satisfieth the longing soul, and

filleth the hungry with goodness.” Christ satisfies and Christ fills but

religion leaves one empty and unsatisfied. Religion can’t meet the soul’s

deep need. If religion is all a person has they will be just as hungry and

just as miserable as they were before.

Friends, religion is not what this old world needs. It needs Jesus. In John

10:10 Jesus said—“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to

destroy: Iam come that they might have life, and that they might have it

moreabundantly.” In 1 John 5:11-12 we read—“And this is the record, that

God hath given to us eternal life, andthis life is in his Son. He that hath the

Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of Godhath not life.” Jesus is

come that men mayhave abundance; abundance of grace, peace, love, life,

and salvation.Blessed be Jesus. (MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARYON

THE WHOLE BIBLE CONDENSED VERSIONby Matthew Henry. The Master Christian

ISN’T HE WONDERFUL? HE IS A WONDERFUL SAVIOUR, HE IS A WONDERFUL SATISFIER and…

(3) HE IS A WONDERFUL SHEPHERD!

PSALM 23—“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me

to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me besidethe still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the

shadow of death, Iwill fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff theycomfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

A. THE SHEPHERD’S WISDOM. As a shepherd works with his sheep so does

the Lord work with us. We are His sheep. Psalm 100:3 tells us—“Know ye

that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us,and not we ourselves; we

are his people, and the sheep of hispasture.” The Great Shepherd knows

how to deal with His own sheep. Isaiah 40:11 says—“He shall feed his

flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambswith his arm, and carry them

in his bosom, and shall gently leadthose that are with young.” He knows

exactly what we need, where we need it, and when we need it.

ILLUS: In his One-Minute Uplift email newsletter, Rick Ezell writes, "In the

highlands of Scotland sheep often wander off into the rocks and get

into places that they can't get out of. The grass on these mountains

tastes very sweet, and the sheep like it. They will jump down ten or

twelve feet to a ledge with a patch of grass, and then they can't jump

back up again. The shepherd hears them bleating in distress. The

shepherd may leave them there for days, until they have eaten all the

grass and are so faint that they cannot stand. Only then will the

shepherd put a rope around the sheep and pull them up out of the

jaws of death.

"Why doesn't the shepherd attempt a rescue when the sheep first get

into the predicament? The sheep are so foolish and so focused on

eating that they would dash away from the shepherd, go over the

precipice and destroy themselves.

"Such is the case with us. Sometimes we need to experience a little bit

of death before we can enjoy the abundance of life. The Lord will

rescue us the moment we have given up trying, realizing that we can't

2001 Rick Ezell)

He is:

CONCERNED WITH OUR BURDENS. He invites in Matthew 11:28-30—“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will giveyou rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowlyin heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” He is our burden-bearer!

ILLUS: St. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9, "And God said unto me, 'My

grace is sufficient for thee . . .'" What a hard thing that is for us to

accept. We are like the old man riding down the road on a donkey

while he carried a 200 pound sack of wheat on his shoulder. Someone

asked him why he didn't take the weight off of his shoulders and strap

it to the donkey. "Oh, no!" he protested. "I couldn't ask the donkey to

carry all that weight."

Many of us are carrying burdens today that we do not have to carry.

Only our lack of faith, trust, and confidence that God really is alive

and able to relieve us of our burdens keeps us in bondage. How

frustrated Christ must be with our lack of faith. (King Duncan, Collected

Sermons,

COMPASSIONATE WITH OUR BLESSINGS. Ephesians 1:3tells us—“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hathblessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Our blessings come to us through Christ Jesus! Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:2-4—“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge ofGod, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things thatpertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him thathath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises:that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, havingescaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

B. THE SHEPHERD’S WORK. The Good Shepherd performs a three-fold

work in our lives:

HE CALLS. We read in John 10:1-3—“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the doorinto the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is athief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and hecalleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.” Friends, our Shepherd knows us by name. He knows where we are. He knows how to call us—what it will take to get our attention.

ILLUS: In Southern palestine, there are many caves, and several flocks of

sheep might be herded into one of them to escape a storm, or to

weather overnight. But in the morning, the shepherd doesn't have

to look for brands or markings, he just steps away from the cave,

moves away from the other shepherds, and calls to his flock. And

they come right to him, because they know his voice. --Dr. Marion

HE CARES. The Bible tells us to cast all our burdens on the Good Shepherd because He cares for us. 1 Peter 5:7encourages every believer—“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

HE COMES(JOHN 14:1-3). Someday very soon the Good Shepherd will return to receive His sheep unto Himself.

CLOSING: ISN’T HE WONDERFUL? HE IS A WONDERFUL SAVIOUR, HE IS A

WONDERFUL SATISFIER, and HE IS A WONDERFUL SHEPHERD!