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good evening everyone welcome back to free grace baptist church a fresh welcome to any visitors with us this evening it's a joy now to for a second time gather in the house of the Lord for for his worship just a reminder of a couple things dr. renehan dr. James M renehan will be here next Lord's Day giving a presentation in the 930 to 1030am Bible study hour or a prayer hour on I rbs the Institute of reformed Baptists studies and he'll also be preaching for us morning and evening it's going to be a delight to have dr. renehan with us and second announcement you may see already it's the lord's supper this evening so for for all you Christians here this evening we will be observing the Lord's Supper everyone can stay for that believers hear from our church can partake and those who are not believers can observe and watch that blessed ordinance of the Lord as we proclaim his death till he comes again well let's begin our worship then by turning in our Bibles to psalm 107 Psalm 107 our call to worship will be a reading of the first 9 verses of Psalm 107 Psalm 107 beginning in verse 1 the word of the living and true God o give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his mercy endures forever let the redeemed of the Lord say so whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy and gathered out of the lands from the east and from the west from the north and from the south they wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way they found no city to dwell in hungry and thirsty their soul fainted in them then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them out of their de-stresses and he led them forth by the right way that they might go to a city for a dwelling place oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men for he satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness amen well let's stand together as a church we're going to him him we're going to sing hymn number 195 together let's all stand and sing 195 please be seated well let's go to our God in prayer let us pray Heavenly Father we rejoice now we can gather together in this place to worship you are blessed triune God we thank you Father Son and Holy Spirit we can gather here in this place and we do pray that you would receive all honor and all praise and all glory from this your gathered assembly we do pray that this would also be the case around the world that is all your churches gathered together each and every Lord's Day you your name would be hallowed that you would receive the praise that is due your Most High name we thank you that we have the freedom and the Liberty to so gather in this place to worship you we know that many other nations our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ do not enjoy this Liberty and we pray that we would not call it a time of small things when we can gather as the Saints of Christ in freedom with full Bibles to worship our blessed God we pray that you would impress upon us the the high joy and high honor it is to be able to do so we praise you and thank you for the gospel of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ we rejoice in that blessed biblical truth that faithful saying that's worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world sinners to save we rejoice and that same truth that the Apostle Paul brings out that in due time you did send forth your son born of a woman and born under the law that he might redeem those who are under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons and we rejoice in the gospel we know that we're saved not by our own deeds of holiness and righteousness that we are not saved by our own works but rather we are saved by the perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ that perfect life of obedience rendered in our room instead that death upon Calvary's tree where he died in our stead to take upon himself the wrath that is due to us for our breaking your laws for our sin we thank you that he rose again the third day in power and victory and we just rejoice in so great a savior knowing as well that he now sits at your right hand we he does ever live to intercede for all his people and we just pray that you would tonight as we engage in the remembrance of our saviors death in a special way as well as each and every day when we do gather we do pray that you would impress upon us their riches and the excellencies of our Savior the glory of his gospel in the the blessing it is to be found in him not having our own righteousness which is from the law but that righteousness which is from you through faith in him we rejoice in the forgiveness of sins and in the precious blood of our Savior and we would ask yet again that you would wash us a fresh and that blessed found we would ask God that you would just be with us in worship we know that we cannot worship without the spirit we desire as your people to worship in spirit and in truth so we do pray that your spirit would Minister among us here this evening that our minds would be illumined unto your truth that we might lay hold of your truth with great joy that we might lay hold of our precious Christ with a great joy and we do pray that the spirit would be active tonight under the salvation of sinners that you would cause those who came in outside of Christ to leave singing his praises we pray again for those afflicted with many diseases illnesses sicknesses and various injuries God that you would strengthen them and uplift them we pray that you would cause them to know gains and strengthen that you would just heal them Lord God and cause them to rejoice in you we do pray in the midst of affliction that they would nevertheless rejoice knowing the judge of earth the judge of all the earth does right by his people we do pray God that you would be with those who have suffered loss the loss of loved ones we pray that you would strengthen them and kill them and it caused them to know daily the Grace and the mercy that you do afford your people and we pray that you would uplift them in their spirits and just stir up their souls on too high and comforting thoughts of their God and of his promises we do pray God that you'd be with the persecuted Church as we prayed this morning and as we ought to to pray very often you would just lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ and many nations give them courage and give them steadfastness in the midst of opposition and and violence and persecution we do just pray that you would cause them to know the nearness of their God and that they would be a well equipped day in and day out to lay hold of the their hope without wavering and we do pray again that you would deal with those who persecute them that you would save many and those who would remain in opposition to you and would seek to perpetuate violence against the Saints we pray that you would take them out of the way and cause them to stumble like drunken men that they might not bring violence against the people of Christ we do pray that you would be with those who do watch over us we pray you'd be with the governments of the nation's you would cause people in places of power to exercise their rule with righteousness equity and justice that you would remove those from power who would seek to perpetuate perversion and madness in the land and seek to sanction those things which are against your most holy will we do pray now that you would be with us we pray that you would help us this night to honor you and to praise you we pray that all that we do would be done rightly and biblically and unto the praise of your Most High name and it's in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior that we pray amen well let's stand and sing again our next him then before the preaching will be him number 193 let's stand and sing 193 Oh you please be seated you can turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark chapter 15 mark 15 there are many sayings in the Holy Scriptures that are familiar to us many that are heavy that are weighty that can conjure up strong feelings arouse our souls unto certain thoughts of our God and of his Christ I would submit that there are few that are both as sweet and awful as the words that are brought forth in mark 15 here specifically verse 34 my God my God why hast thou forsaken me we want to examine this as we come in a special way to remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ so fitting text to consider as we seek to remember the death of our precious ones so mark 15 i'm going to read beginning in verse 22 finishing at verse 39 once again the word of the living and true god mark 15 22 and they brought him to the place Golgotha which is translated place of a skull then they gave him lying mingled with myrrh to drink but he did not take it and when they crucified him they divided his garments casting lots for them to determine what every man should take now it was the third hour and they crucified Him and the inscription of his accusation was written above the King of the Jews with him they also crucified two robbers one on his right and the other on his left so the scripture was fulfilled which says and he was numbered with the transgressors and those who pass by blaspheme him wagging their heads and saying aha you who destroy the temple and build it in three days save yourself and come down from the cross likewise the chief priests also mocking among themselves with the scribe said he saved others himself he cannot save let the christ the king of Israel descend now from the cross that we may see and believe even those who were crucified with him reviled him now when the sixth hour had come there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour and at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying loi loi lama sabachthani which is translated my God my God why have you forsaken me some of those who stood by when they heard that said look he is calling for elijah then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine put it on a reed and offered it to him to drink saying let him alone let us see if Elijah will come to take him down and Jesus cried with a loud voice and breathed his last then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom so when the centurion who stood opposite him saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last and said and he said truly this man was the son of god amen well let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you before this holy scripture these holy scriptures this text that describes the the death of our Lord Jesus Christ might we come now with a much sobriety and solemnity as we consider this text the words of our Savior that he spoke from Calvary's tree we pray that you would impress upon us the weight and even the glory of this event Lord we pray as we consider now the scriptures that you would help both preacher and here we pray that you would strengthen preacher and pulpit to proclaim rightly the things of your word and we do pray that you would tend unto the hearer that the spirit would be present the strengthening st. and saving center and might this be an exercise yet again for your Glory's sake and that the Lord Jesus Christ might again be exalted upon his gathered assembly and we do pray in Christ's precious name amen well perhaps some words from Spurgeon to introduce the topic we are going to consider both verse 33 and verse 34 under the headings the darkness and the derelict two simple headings as we examine this this quite solemn text Spurgeon in introducing a sermon on this particular passage preached as you see this that is the words my God my God why hast thou forsaken me say to yourselves what manner of people ought we to be what measure of love what we to return to one who board the utmost penalty that we might that we might be delivered from the wrath to come I do not profess that I can dive into this deep I will only venture to the edge of the precipice and bid you look down and pray the Spirit of God to concentrate your mind upon this lamentation of our dying Lord as it rises up through the thick darkness my God my God why hast thou forsaken me want to reread verses 33 and verse 34 these again the words of God now when the sixth hour had come there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour and at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying Loa Loa lama sabachthani which is translated my God my God why have you forsaken me solemn words spoken by our Savior here and before the words though we have the darkness and so we want to consider first the darkness what does this mean when we read in verse 33 now when the sixth hour had come there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour when we read these numbers the six than the ninth we are to see there from noon until 3pm it's what we have in the sixth hour and in the ninth hour now when noon had come there was darkness over the whole land until the 3pm if we you'll afford the liberty of translation there we have this darkness and so what does it mean on this occasion where the King of Kings the King of the Jews is put to death upon Calvary's tree in that place of the skull what does it mean well two things the first is this it is a portent of the doom that would come upon that rebellious generation a portent is simply something that foretells are something that for signifies or represents a more momentous event that is to come not that there's something more momentous than the crucifixion but the darkness here is just a small speck of the darkness that would come upon this adulterous and rebellious generation remember what's going on here remember these are the ones who chose darkness rather than light they did not choose but rather rejected the Savior the one who is light himself the one who created light the one who is the light of the world the one who gives light to men these rejected him and so this is a portent of the darkness of the gloom of divine judgment and retribution that would come upon them by the brightness of his glory and the brightness of his coming this is something that does for signify that great and momentous day where they would be judged for putting to death the Lord of glory fact many a commenter will connect Amos 8 in verse 9 to this particular portent of the darkness of divine judgment notice what we have in Amos 8 beginning in verse 9 and it shall come to pass in that day says the Lord God that I will make the Sun go down at noon and I will darken the earth in broad daylight I will turn your feasts into morning and all your songs into lamentation I will bring sackcloth on every waist and baldness on every head I will make it like morning for an only Son and its end like a bitter day we have this darkness coming upon the land from from the sixth hour noon until the ninth hour three and it is something that for signifies the doom of that generation remember if we recall the we recall the the preaching of pastor Butler on Matthew 21 I wonder I wonder if these men if there if any of their hearts sank when this darkness loomed across the land while they were putting to death the Lord of glory remember the parable that Jesus delivered to these men he gave them that parable of the the landowner and the vine dressers and the the landowner sends he sends workers to bring the the fruits in the in their seasons and they the vine dressers who have leased from the landowner kill all of those are they they beat some and they they kill others and finally he sends the Sun finally he sends his son and they seized him and they kill him they bring him outside of the vineyard they season his inheritance and they kill him remember the the words of the Lord Jesus Christ well in fact the words that of their own lips when they say surely surely he will kill those wicked men miserably those men who put to death the Lord of glory the the only son of the of the landowner and here we have the darkness looming when these vine dressers who have leased the land from the landowner are putting to death seeking to seize the inheritance of the son of the landowner the Sun looms across the land or the darkness looms across the land blocking the Sun we suspect or we we we think with speculation did any of these have their hearts within them sink remembering the words of the Savior is this what's going on is this what's going on it is a portent of the doom that would come upon that rebellious generation when the darkness of the Shekinah glory would be removed from the temple and no longer would God's glory be there but rather and of course his glory is in the ver anyone who they are putting to death upon Calvary's tree secondly it is a sign of the terrible debt deprivation of the the suffering servant this darkness that looms over the land is the sign of the terrible deprivation of the suffering servant that simply means the abandonment of Christ upon the cross this darkness symbolizes signifies that very thing Mathew Henry writes the darkness signified the present cloud which the human soul of Christ was under when he was making it an offering for sin repeat that press the severity of the darkness in its signifying he says the darkness signified the present cloud which the human soul of Christ was under when he was making it an offering for sin Christ was silent and alone upon the cross he'd been rejected by his countrymen he'd been rejected he'd been betrayed by a friend he'd been denied by another he'd been abandoned by the rest save John you see that wasn't what moved him at this particular point to in a moment cry out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me it was the deprivation of the suffering servant when his God abandoned him for the salvation of his people when God left him in straits as he bore his wrath for the sins of all those who had been given to him it is a sign of the terrible deprivation of the suffering servant fitting it is to turn to Isaiah 53 so do that with me because that is no doubt in view we have this occasion this solemn occasion with regards to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ this language of the deprivation of the suffering servant notice what we have in Isaiah 53 no doubt all of the language but let's go to verse 10 and read these words yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he has put him to grief when you make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand no doubt you have considered those words before but consider them a fresh yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him to crush him he has put him to grief no doubt Henry is right when he says the darkness signified the present cloud which the human soul of Christ was under when he was making it an offering for sin it's amazing occasion here and it's not simply again the portent of the doom of that rebellious generation but signifying the deprivation of the suffering servant the one who created light the light of the world the light of men the one whose gospel is light this one is cast in darkness for the sins of his people brethren we observe the lord's supper tonight and that is a remembrance of this dark day and yet this glorious day see it I think it's only in Christianity we have solemnity and joy mingled together in both bitterness and sweetness when we come to the occasion to the accounts to the narratives of this one the king of kings and Lord of lords giving himself for guilty sinners upon Calvary's tree what a blessed thing he's put to death upon this place of the skull and yet he is the hero born of woman who would crush the skull of the serpent this darkness looms the one who created light who is light himself is cast in darkness giving himself for the sins of his people well we have next then the derelict the darkness and now the derelict in verse 34 and at the ninth hour G Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying my God my God why have you forsaken me there's two ways that we can define the word derelict in its noun form you're probably used to the negative one someone who has neglected their duty their derelict of duty they had a task and they did not do that which they were tasked to do when we call Christ here the derelict that is of course not what we mean the other meaning of derelict is the one abandoned the one left the one left in straits and here we have the derelict Christ as that one who is left and that cries out here my God my God why hast thou forsaken me he is made derelict so that we the true derelicts might never be left derelict by our God he is abandoned by God so that we who have abandoned God might never be abandoned by God he cries out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me so that his people saved by his grace and for his glory might never cry out those self same words Spurgeon on these particular words again uses this language in order to describe the event I do not think that the records of time or even of eternity contain a sentence more full of anguish here the wormwood and the gall and all the other bitterness 'as are out done here you may look as into a vast abyss and though you strain your eyes and gaze till sight fails you yet you perceive no bottom it is measureless unfathomable inconceivable the anguish of the Savior on your behalf and mine is no more to be measured and weighed than the sin which needed it or the love which endured it we will adore where we cannot comprehend and so to seek to a door if only a little bit as we have a little bit of time to look at this under the Darrell we want to answer four questions we want to ask and answer four questions and those questions are these who is this why is he crying out what has he done and who did he do it for so the first question who is this we know the answer hopefully all of us in this room know the answer and yet an exploration and a fresh discovery of who it is ought to warm our hearts and lift our spirits and yet at the same time cast us to a place of solemn humility before this one before this one who cried out these words my God my God why hast thou forsaken me who is this it is the god man it is Jesus the Christ son of God and Son of Man if you want to look for a non inspired answer to the question who is this I would commend you to look no further than molido of Sardis in the 2nd century it's a long quote but I impress upon you the identification of the one we all know this is the Christ we all know this is the King our Lord and Savior and yet consider this language of this Bishop of old the 2nd century and so he was lifted up upon a tree and an inscription was attached indicating who was being killed the King of the Jews who was it it is a grievous thing to tell but a most fearful thing to refrain from telling but listen as you tremble before him on whose account the earth trembled he who hung the earth is in place hanged he who fixed the heavens in place is fixed in place he who made all things fast is made fast on a tree the sovereign is insulted God is murdered the king of Israel is destroyed by an Israelite hand this is the one who made the heavens and the earth and formed mankind in the beginning the one proclaimed by the law and the prophets the one in fleshed in a virgin the one hanged on a tree the one buried in the earth the one raised from the dead who went up into the heights of heaven which exists from the beginning of time the one sitting at the right hand of the Father the one having all authority to judge and save through whom the father made the things which exist this one is the Alpha and the Omega this one is the beginning in the end the beginning indescribable and the end incomprehensible this one is the Christ this one is the king this one is Jesus this one is the leader this one is the Lord this one is the one who rose from the dead this one is the one sitting on the right hand of the Father he bears the father and is born by the father to him be glory and the power forever amen who is this crying out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me this is God of God light of light true God from True God begotten not made one in being with the father by him all things were made and he comes in time and in history to take upon himself man's nature with all of our essential properties and common infirmities yet without sin and bears this cross and cries out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me what an amazing thing the question has often been asked if Jesus is God how can jesus cry out my God my God why have you forsaken me going even further why can how can God be forsaken of God how are we somehow to understand some sort of unraveling of the Trinity here that the Son of God is abandoned and may dare elect derelict by his father well we need to understand and in fact Henry helps us here Matthew Henry when he says the darkness signified the present cloud which the human soul of Christ was under when he was making it an offering for sin you see we cannot properly say God is murdered the sovereign is insulted the king of Israel is put to death and murder in the sense of his deity because God is immutable eternal and he's a infinite eternal and unchangeable in all of his holy perfections he is immutable impassable God truly cannot suffer but it is Christ the Son of God who took to himself man's nature crying out in accordance with his humanity as touching his humanity my God my God why have you forsaken me the human soul of Christ under the present cloud of this darkness and the wrath of God who is this that's crying out my God my God why have you forsaken me you see Christians we in these sorts of moments we need to in a sense rally in all of our troops of joy and and happiness and you know fond thoughts of mirth and whatever else and call them to cease and desist for a moment and bring ourselves to a humble solemnity before such a momentous thing the Son of God the second of the Blessed triune the brightness of the father's glory in the Express image of his person is on Calvary's tree his human soul under the wrath and the power and the almighty judgment of God and he cries out my God my God why have you forsaken me and again as we'll get to in a moment this is for one who is holy harmless and undefiled never committed a sin never committed a transgression guile never proceeding from his lips nevertheless he bears the sins of his people upon Calvary's tree this is the Promised One of the Old Testament as we're reading through the passage in its entirety this evening hopefully you noticed the language in verse 28 so the scripture was fulfilled which says and he was numbered with the transgressors when we come to the death of Christ upon Calvary's tree we're not coming to some haphazard and random event that beset the Christ in time and in history we're coming to an event for ordained by God for the salvation of sinners we're coming to an event promised in the Old Covenant in the Old Testament Isaiah 53 is in view there and he was numbered with the transgressors in fact even a prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ is brought to view here from John to aha you who destroy the temple verse 29 and build it in three days save yourself and come down from the cross Psalm 22 is as well in view of course when we read verses 31 through 34 culminating in these words of the cry from the lips of our Savior my God my God why have you forsaken me the Promised One of the Old Testament has come to render that which was promised and these people these wicked ones reject him and they despise him and they put him to death why is he crying out it's a question we ask secondly why is he crying out he's crying out because of the travail of his soul the anguish of his soul you know yes that we do not ever want to minimize the physical sufferings of our Christ upon Calvary's tree he truly did take to himself man's nature and so upon Calvary's tree he's taking into his truly human hands the nails those Roman nails he's taking into his truly human feet those Roman nails he's enduring that the heat of the Sun the spitting 'he's the bruisings the markings he's enduring all of these things he is crying out and no doubt we have the reality that our lord jesus christ is suffer suffering the physical pains of the crucifixion but you see when he cries out these words my God my God why hast thou forsaken me it is the travail the anguish of his soul for bearing the wrath of the sins of his people Calvin writing on that very thing speaks these words or writes these words those interpreters are widely mistaken laying aside this part of redemption attended solely to the outward punishment of the flesh for an order that Christ might satisfy for us it was necessary that he should be placed as a guilty person at the judgment seat of God now nothing is more dreadful than to feel that God whose wrath is worse than all deaths is the judge when this temptation was presented to Christ as if having God opposed to him he were already devoted to destruction he was seized with horror which would have been sufficient to swallow up a hundred times all the men in the world but by the amazing power of the Spirit he achieved the victory christ is enduring this anguish of soul this anguish and travail of his soul being crushed under the infinite eternal and unchangeable Justice of God brethren hopefully when we come to a remembrance of the Lord's Supper will back up for a moment hopefully whenever we come to a remembrance of our Christ we land upon that amazing and and sobering truth that Christ bore the wrath of God in our stead we take that bread and when we take that wine let it never be an empty ordinance it's never to be that god help us if it ever becomes that by that ordinance were reflecting upon an event of events the most momentous event in history when this one cried out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me and gay about the ghost the good of his people for the sins of his people this is too quiet us to calm us for a moment jettisoning joy and happiness in a sense that we might all the more focus more on the solemnity of the thing and then as we will in a moment come back to the joy of the thing but it is momentous it is monumental when this one cried out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me why is he crying out because of the travail of his soul and taking upon himself the wrath of God the third question that we want to ask and answer is what has he done what has he done hopefully all of us here can answer that question but we can answer it in two ways the first answer is from one vantage point he has done nothing what has he done he's done nothing he is holy harmless and undefiled separate from sinners he is the unblemished a perfect lamb of god he is the perfect sacrifice who never himself sinned his disciples his most intimate of companions can say most assuredly this one is perfect so what has he done he has done nothing he is without blemish and without spot yet from another vantage point at the point of this crying out he has done everything that he that is he has completed the work of salvation now that is when he gives up the ghost when he does truly die is he cries out it is finished and then and then dies upon Calvary's tree but we must see here that Christ does everything in his life culminating in his death at Grand Carmen Christian Philippians 2 5 to 11 as it transitions to the to the docks illogical part or the glory of christ in his exaltation it says he was obedient to the point of death even the cross death the beautiful thing that we have here he has done nothing from one vantage point and that he is holy harmless and undefiled the sinless king of kings and yet with respect to salvation he upon the cross it's done everything that later cry proves it it is finished blessed words from our Savior a study in a and a fresh discovery of all of those sayings of our Lord from the cross stirs our heart and warms our Christian hearts what has he done he has done everything he who's been obedient to the point of death even the cross death there is nothing to be added to the perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ he's done everything righteousness comes from the law and Christ died in vain you see we take anyone to this scene take anyone to this scene who whether in the smallest degree or to the greatest degree seeks to heap anyone's righteousness and anyone's works upon that of Christ's we take them by the hand firmly and we say cast your eyes upon this scene and then tell me if you still want to perpetuate your blasphemies we can add to the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ in Christ alone our hope is found and here we see the weight of that coming in this occasion when he cries out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me who did he do it for then is our last question our fourth question who did he do it for first off he did it for the father that cry is a cry to the father isn't it my God my God why hast thou forsaken me cries out to his father the the derelict again in the sense of being abandoned upon the cross the wrath of God has poured out upon him pleased the Lord to bruise him to crush him he is put into grief this cry is to and for the father in the first place my God my God why have you forsaken me secondly though he did it for all who believe in him we've said it again and you've heard it time and again Christ our King cries out these words my God my God why hast thou forsaken me so that we never have to cry that cry we come a few moments to remember our Lord and remember that blessed truth remember these this cry of dereliction from the cross do you understand that this cry of dereliction is a cry of substitution this cry of abandonment is a cry of atonement he cries out this cry so that we never will he did it for all who believe in him this is what he has done and this is who he did it for all those who had been given to him by the father that him that I believe we just sang by Isaac Watts was it for crimes that I had done he groaned upon the tree what first do you think was in the mind of Watts when he penned that was it for crimes that I had done he groaned upon the tree my God my God why hast thou forsaken me blessed truth the scriptures are replete with this blessed truth the 1st Corinthians 15 that gospel message contains what at the beginning he died for our sins according to the scriptures I think very often when we read through such a text we can skip past the four hour and just you know not dive deep into the reality that that is substitution ery language he died in our room instead for our sins he died in our place upon that tree Galatians 13 we're only going to rehearse three of these texts there's so many but Galatians 3 13 the beautiful language of substitution area tone meant Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree having become a curse for us Christian if you're here tonight Christ became a curse for you we were we should have endured the the curse of the law not that the law in and of itself is a curse but it brings a curse because it brings death because we can never obey it we can never fulfill it we break it time and again breach upon breach of the law is our character in this lower world all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God we should have borne the curse and yet Christ bears the curse for all who believe but a blessed text Christ has become a curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree that text in second Peter 2 is a text as well that has Isaiah 53 in the for when Peter is rehearsing this blessed reality the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ and it's substitution ery character this excuse me first Peter 2 verse 24 notice the language what we had that we have in that particular tax speaking of Christ who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we having died to sins might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree believer if you're here tonight Christ bore your sins in his own body on the tree remember what we talked about this morning we can peruse seriously peruse the diary of our memories and find the witnesses of our gilt having their faithfully recorded their names you see that guilt is removed that guilt is taken away the wrath of God for those sins is taken away by this one who bore in his own body our sins upon that tree what a blessed truth what a sweet and awful thing it is to rehearse my God my God why hast thou forsaken me well just a few observations in closing before we move on to prayer and the Lord's Supper the first thing we want to observe is for the unbeliever you are to fear your lot if you reject the Savior remember what our first point was with regards to the darkness it is a portent of doom that would come upon that rebellious generation it's also a portent of the doom the darkness the gloom of your own judgment and condemnation if you do not believe in the king of kings and the Lord of lords who gave himself upon Calvary's tree for the sins of his people see we want to have this one who cries out my God my God why have you forsaken me as our savior and redeeming King you do not want to have him as judge you do not want to have him as the one who will say to you my god will say to you depart from me into the lake of fire reserved for the devil and his angels this one who here for a time was at a position if you'll allow of disadvantage being put to death by lawless hands upon Calvary's tree crying out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me but remember by the spirit he gained the victory Calvary says our Calvin says we come to the scriptures and we know that is the case because he rose the third day he ascended was given Dominion and glory in a kingdom he rides his valiant white steed according to Revelation 19 and he puts to death with the sort of his mouth those who would reject such a glorious one if you're here tonight fear your law if you reject the Savior because if you die outside of Christ your life ends outside of Christ it is an eternity of Christ 'less a godless eternity with the qualification it isn't a godless eternity because he is there present with the hotness of his unchanging justice so you reflect for eternity upon your rejection of so glorious a savior believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved and these words will be words that were cried out for you so that you would never have to cry them out before the believer we need to buy this verse understand that our God will never leave us or forsake us see that's what the one of the the many blessings that we have in this passage is that Christ cried these words out and it really is true that because of that all who believe in him never will have to see him that we're going to sing in a moment for the Lord's Supper and I would submit that this is one of the best poems of the death of the Lord ever written John ellerton writes Lord should fear and anguish roll darkly or my sinful soul thou who once was thus bereft that vine own might never be left teach me by that bitter cry in the gloom to know the NYE see this one christ was bereft he was left he was abandoned he was derelict that his own might never be left might never be derelict might never be abandoned teach me by that bitter cry my God my God why hast thou forsaken me so that in the gloom will know that you're near we have in this cry the testimony the certainty that God will never leave us nor forsake us when were found safely in Christ and lastly in light of the text in light of this verse my God my God why have you forsaken me don't forsake him by neglecting the means of your nearness to god the point I'm trying to make is we ought never to forsake the Lord's Supper we ought never to forsake the gathering of ourselves together and that the death of Christ the death of Christ wherein he cried this cry is the weight of the argument that Paul brings in the book of Hebrews that were not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together in deliberately avoiding and not engaging in the gathering together of the saints of Christ with sinful and neglectful intentions we are forsaking the one who cried out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me so that we might never be forsaken don't forsake the one who cried out these words don't neglect the Lord's Supper brethren I fear that it has been brought to the point where it is some sort of you know appendix to to worship where it is some sort of optional thing tacked on to the worship service it's not optional it's an ordinance of positive and sovereign institution ordained by the Lord Jesus Christ to be observed in his churches until the end of the world oh the weightiness and the burden of the Lord's Supper know in solemn reflection it is still and nevertheless a joy to gather together and to think upon and reflect upon this King of the Jews this king of kings and Lord of lords who cried out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me so that all who believe might never have to why would we ever entertain the forsaking of such a blessed ordinance of our Lord whereby we cast away the demons of a base ingratitude replace it with solemn and holy reflections burning remembrance of our Savior the king of kings brethren we are to think often on our Christ reflect often upon his perfect and saving work his person and his work and we are never to neglect the means of our preservation the means of our nearness to god worship of God on the Lord's Day the preaching of the word prayer baptism the Lord's Supper and other means Ord ordained by him that we might grow in the grace of faith so we now close in prayer and look forward to the Lord's Supper believer rejoice in this one who cried out for you unbeliever come to this one who cried my God my God why hast thou forsaken me and find in him you're all in all let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this time together we rejoice in the truths that we read from mark and from the rest of the scriptures we rejoice in the truth that our Savior bore our penalty bore the wrath that was due us upon Calvary's tree we thank you that he bore in his own body the sins of his people upon that tree that we having died to sin might live for righteousness and we thank you that he became a curse for us for all those who believe and we pray that as we now reflect upon his death in this ordinance of the Lord's Supper we pray that you would help us to do so with that proper solemnity and that proper joy you might receive all honor and praise and that yet again our Savior the Lord Jesus would be thought upon highly by the gathered assembly and that he would be exalted upon our praises so be with us now as we engage in this act for your glory and for our good and we pray in Christ's name Amen well you can turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew we consider in Matthew 26 a read will read from the passage there concerning the institution of the Lord's Supper and as we partake of the elements the bread and the wine that do truly remain bread and wine we will read from those passages a few things of introduction before we do observe the Lord's Supper a reminder that it is an ordinance for Christians only this is an ordinance given by our Lord to be observed by Christian's in his churches until the end of the world the words of our Savior are quite clear this is the New Covenant in my blood which is shed for many for the remission of sins it's only those who avail of the remission of sins only those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who are to lawfully and properly partake of the Lord's Supper so if you are an unbeliever here tonight you're not to take this isn't an insult that comes from the church to you you can talk to myself you can talk to me afterwards if you have any questions about taking the Lord's Supper but this is for those for whom that cry of dereliction was cried and for whom that sacrifice on Calvary's tree was given all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ reminder that if you are a believer here tonight and you're harboring unrepentant sin you're not to take unless you repent of your sins it's a it's a very simple thing and when I say simple I mean to stress the reality that Christ Jesus died and gave his blood for the remission of sins we are not to entertain prolonged seasons of guilt you know guilt seasons where we go off for however long and lament over our own over our own sins Christian repent of your sins and find fretta refreshing in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ fly immediately to the one who gave himself for guilty sinners that advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous but if you are continuing to harbor sin that you do not and will not repent of then you are not to take in that particular state but again repent find forgiveness in Christ surely and do take of the bread and of the wine now when it comes around the juice is in the outer ring if you do prefer to take juice the juices in the outer ring the wine is in all of the rest of the inner circles well if I could ask the brothers to come up to pass out the bread as they are doing that you can stay seated and we're going to sing in your hem book him 183 that's him 183 a to a familiar tune you can stay seated and sing 183 as a church just a reminder before we read from Matthew 26 Lords in the Lord's Supper the bread remains bread and the the wine remains wine they are not changed into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ as such an understanding is repugnant repugnant to Scripture and to common sense and undoes the glory of the gospel the bread is bread and the wine is wine we do take it from a common use and now apply it unto a holy use this blessed ordinance and sacrament of our Lord but nevertheless the bread is emblematic of the broken body of our Lord and the wine emblematic of his shed blood for guilty sinners well this is a reading then of Matthew 26 as we partake of the bread verse 26 when as they were and as they were eating Jesus took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body let us pray Heavenly Father we rejoice in now this act of blessed worship and obedience taking the Lord's Supper and we thank you for this bread and what it represents we thank you that we follow in that line of observance going back to that night of betrayal when our Savior took bread and and and said it before those who would partake is emblematic of his body broken for us and we do thank you that in due time he did have his body broken he took a breach upon breach in his body for our having breached the law of God and we know that it was not just bodily suffering but much more the wrath of God poured out upon him for the sins of his people and we thank you that by that act we have salvation that he truly was a wrath bearing sacrifice in our stead and as we now partake might we rejoice in the blessings of salvation by such a savior and it's in Christ's name that we pray amen let's take together staying seated you could turn in your hymn books to him num number 188 will sing 188 together as the wine now comes around a reminder that the juice is in the Outer Ring you you the account and the words of our Savior continue then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but I say to you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's Kingdom and when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives Amen will let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you that we can now partake of the wine represents the shed blood of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ the blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins we rejoice in that fountain dup for sin and for uncleanness and we pray now that you would cause us to have the solemn and joyful reflection upon the dying of our Savior upon Calvary's tree and the shedding of his blood for the remission of sins might we always count that such a blessing to be found forgiven it might we now rejoice as we take in the shed blood of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ and it's in his name that we pray amen let's take together well let's all stand and sing our final him a wonderful hem man of sauros what a name it's 175 in your Trinity hymnals let's close our evening with a singing of 175 you father we pray that you'd go with us now into this upcoming week we do pray God that you would strengthen your Saints to rejoice in Christ and to live in a manner worthy of the gospel we do pray that we would go out into this week seeking to walk in a manner worthy of our calling by grace and we do pray still father as the night is not over is we now have solemn reflection and joyful prayer and a time of praise and thanksgiving as we close in prayer we do pray that you would by your grace and for your glory make dead sinners alive they might leave this place singing the praises of such a savior and it's in the name of Jesus Christ that we pray amen please be seated you'll have a brief time of Prayer when the piano has finished you're free to leave you