If you'd like to follow along,
I'm gonna be in Ezekiel chapter 34. I kinda had this in my head in
the back for a while and it come out. And I'm going to speak about
several verses, but I just wanna read verses 23 through
25. Ezekiel 34 verse 23. And I will set up one shepherd
over them, 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 love this part. I, the Lord, have spoken it. You know what that means, folks?
It's gonna happen. I've spoken it. Doesn't matter
what you say, doesn't matter what you've heard from anybody
else, I've spoken it. Verse 25, and I will make peace
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. I like
that. I'm gonna tell you something,
Ezekiel 34 is a wonderful, wonderful chapter. I'm serious, it's gracious and
it's glorious and it's chock full of goodness. I sound like
I'm from West Virginia now, don't I? It's okay. My wife told me
that. When I told her, I told her to
reach me the salt. Instead of give me the salt.
Anyway, it's okay. I don't mind. I like West Virginia.
But this chapter, the thing that makes this chapter so glorious,
it is full of the work of the Lord. It's not full of the work
of men. Although men are in it. Bad ones
and good ones. But I'm not gonna go into the
bad ones, but it's okay. But here it is, the illustration
of lost men being compared to lost sheep is appropriate. Because I'm gonna tell you something,
without the good shepherd, we are nothing but helpless and
hopeless. Without him, without him. But, in his flock, under his
care, guided by his hand, we shall not want. We shall not. We shall not lack, even though
we think we might be lacking something. We don't, we don't. He knows, he knows. You understand,
the illustration of sheep is perfect because here's the thing
about sheep. They can't fight. They are incapable
of fighting. as far as domesticated sheep.
I'm not going to, you know, the wild rams up in the, you know,
the bighorn sheep or anything like that, because they fight
amongst themselves. Although that might be another illustration,
but here it is. Sheep, the sheep, domesticated
sheep can't fight. And here's the other thing. They
can't run away fast enough to get away from anything. We need
a shepherd. Sheep need the shepherd. But
when the Lord says these words in this book, in this chapter,
we're gonna go through a bunch of them here. I'll try not to
keep you too long, but there's a lot here. He speaks these two
words, I will. 15 times he says, I will in this
one chapter. Two times he says, will I. It's the way it's written down,
same thing. This is the work of the Lord. for his people,
that's my title. The shepherd for his sheep. Oh, I like that, because he is
for his sheep. But I wanna begin in verse 11,
I'm not gonna go through the first 10 verses, I'll mention
them a little bit, but verse 11. For thus saith the Lord God,
behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them
out. Two different things. But here,
wait a minute, these are the words, and I looked it up, this
is Adonai Yahweh, or Adonai Jehovah, the Lord God. And if you look
at it, you'll see God is capitalized, capital G, capital O, capital
D. It's the same thing as the capital
L-O-R-D, all of it capitalized. But what's he say? Behold. Behold. Pay attention, folks.
Now, I will mention, in the first 10 verses, he's talking about
being against the shepherds that were in Israel, because they
didn't take care of the flock. And he goes through all of that,
and I mean, woe unto them. Woe's a bad word. Woe unto them. Then he says this, behold. Behold,
I'm changing the subject here. I'm going from the people I'm
against to the people that I am for. And I love this part. This
is my favorite stuff here. Behold, behold, pay attention,
see, look. This is important. Pay attention
to what I'm gonna say. Because what is it? The Lord
God is speaking, let all the earth be silent. Mm, what's so
important to God? What does he want you to stop
and behold? Listen, this is important. My sheep,
my sheep. Oh, I like that. Now let's be
clear, the sheep are not important because they're sheep. The sheep
are important because they're mine, God's. They're his sheep. That makes them important. There's
no importance in the sheep and themselves at all. It's his interest
that makes it important. They're my sheep. Oh, I like
that. Oh my. Because these sheep are
Yahweh's sheep. They're the sheep of Jehovah.
Therefore, they're important to Jehovah. Doesn't matter whether
they're important to us, they're important to him. What'd he say? I like this, I looked it up. He
says, I will follow, I will, here's the word, pursue, pursue. Oh, I like that, what? And seek
them out. Who's he talking about? My sheep,
my sheep. Behold, I will search, and that's
the word, follow and pursue, and seek them out. What's that mean? He gonna find
them. He's gonna find them. Understand, sheep are not capable
of finding themselves. Now, you understand, when I'm
talking about sheep, I'm talking about people. He told it in the
part I just read, and I'll read something later on. But you understand,
we're talking about people. People don't like to be told
they don't know what they're doing. I'm a people. I'm exactly the same way, you
know? It used to bug the heck out of
me at work when people come up and try to explain my job to
me. And they have no idea what I do or how I do it. You understand? The sheep don't tell God anything. The shepherd tells the sheep.
and he's gonna seek them out. He's going to find them. Because
I'm gonna tell you something, when God pursues you, he's gonna
find you. There's no place you can go to
get away from God. David said that in the Psalms.
If I go down into the depths, you're there. If I send up into
the heavens, you're there. If you go in a cave, he's there.
If you're in the wilderness or the woods, he's there. You can't
escape God if he's pursuing you. You can try if you want to, Jack,
I mean, you know. Enjoy yourself, but it's not
going to work. Because behold, I, even I, will,
I will, I will both search my sheep and seek them out. That's
what he said. In the first 10 verses, you'll
find out, he talks about it. the false shepherds in there,
that they had scattered the flock. They had scattered the flock
and not fed the sheep. They fed themselves, these false
shepherds. They were eating off the fat
of the sheep, but they weren't feeding the sheep, and they weren't
feeding his sheep. Now, I'm gonna tell you something.
This place that I stand in right here before you is a place of
responsibility. And if I don't tell you the truth,
God required it in my hands. If I don't tell you about Christ
Jesus, who is the good shepherd, we'll go ahead and get that out
of the way. I don't think anybody here is worried about it. I don't
know about it on TV or on the internet. God, Jesus Christ is
God himself, the Lord God, and he is the one shepherd, the true
shepherd. Oh my. But these folks weren't
feeding them, and not only that, they scattered them. They didn't
heal the sick. They didn't bind that which was
broken. Matter of fact, what it is, they
did not pastor the sheep. And God said, I'm gonna require
it in their hands. And then he said, woe unto them.
You understand? It's one thing if I say woe unto
you, but I'm gonna tell you something else, if God says woe unto you.
It's bad, folks, it's very bad. But you understand, the reason
the sheep were scattered and the reason the sheep wandered
was there was no shepherd, not a real shepherd. And the Lord
said, here's the other thing he said, the Lord said, I am
against, what? These shepherds. I am against
them. And for this cause, because of
this, behold, I will, Search and find my sheep. Oh my. So, first thing the shepherd
does for his sheep is he seeks them. Second thing he does is
in verse 12. 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 here. and will deliver them out of
all places. Where they have been scattered,
what? In the cloudy and dark day. Oh my, I'm gonna tell you
something, if you're scattered, if the sheep are scattered, it's
always a cloudy and a dark day. But I'm gonna tell you something,
when he finds you, the sun's shining. Oh, the sun is shining,
I like that. As a shepherd seeks out, keep
possession, possession. The shepherd seeks out his flock,
his flock. You understand, Jesus Christ
is not a poacher. Every one of his sheep belong
to him, wherever they are. Other sheep I have that are not
of this fold. but they're still mine. I have
them, they're mine. They don't know it, but that's
okay. He knows it, and that's the one that matters. Oh, they're
mine, my sheep. And what's he say? I will deliver
them out. And I like that. So he seeks
them, and number two, he delivers them. I love this part too. Out of where? Everywhere. anywhere, wherever they are,
wherever they are, whenever it is, they're mine. They're my
sheep. Oh, I like that. Out of where?
All places. They were scattered. They'd been
wandering. Why? Because they didn't have
a shepherd. They didn't know the shepherd. Oh, I like that. And it says they were scattered
in the cloudy and dark day. What did Paul write about us? We were sometimes darkness. That's what we were. You understand? And guess what? And it was a
cloudy and a dark day. Even if we didn't know it was
a cloudy and a dark day, it was one. And he delivers them out
of all the dark places, out of darkness itself. Oh, I like that. Come out from among them and
be ye separate, saith the Lord. How you gonna come out from among
them and be ye separate? Well, first he's gonna have to
seek you and find you, and then he's gonna deliver you out. Oh,
I like this, I like this. This is the work of the Lord.
I'm gonna tell you something. When God delivers you, you are
delivered. Whether you realize it yourself
or not yet. But he'll show it to you, he
will. He'll send you his gospel. But I'm gonna tell you something,
God, Yahweh, says deliverance is of the Lord. I'll do it, I
will do it. I will deliver them out of all
places where they've been scattered in that cloudy and dark day.
I'm gonna tell you something, though my sheep be scattered,
I'll find them all. I'm gonna search them out. I'm
gonna pursue them. I'm gonna seek them out and I'm going to
deliver them out also. Oh my, I like that. Thirdly,
verse 13. And I will bring them out from
the people and gather them from the countries and will bring
them to their own land. and feed them upon the mountains
of Israel by the rivers and in all the inhabited places of the
country. I will bring them out from the people. What's that
mean? God's gathering his sheep. He's
not worried about anybody else. I'll bring out from the people.
What did Christ say when he was here? I come not to bring peace,
but a sword. And this is the thing that people
don't understand, and to set at variance. Make a division, just as God
divided the light from the darkness. Between the father and the mother,
between the father and the son, father and the daughter, the
mother and the son, the mother and the daughter, whoever, when
he's gonna bring you out, he may be leaving some of your kinfolk
behind. That's just the way it is. He's looking for his sheep. He's not concerned about anyone
else. And that's the truth of the matter. God is particular,
very particular about his people. And he is for his people. Oh my. But here it is. I'll bring them out from the
people, but here's the thing. He gathers them. He gathers his
sheep. I will gather them. Because understand
that he's speaking of the very same people, my sheep. The ones
he search out and seek out and deliver are the ones he's gonna
gather. Now bring them out and gather
them, the very same people. My sheep, will I gather together. I'm gonna tell you this, he brings
them together in one, one flock. And we'll get to it, I've already
read it at the beginning. There's gonna be one flock and
one shepherd. They're gonna be gathered together,
what? In him, in him. Oh, I like that. Believers are
all gathered together in Christ Jesus. He's the head of what? One body. He's the good shepherd
of what? One flock. He's gathering them
together. Oh, oh, I like that. We are one flock, one body, one
vine. We're one olive tree. I like
that. Then verse 14 tells us the next
thing. He feeds them. Well, you say,
verse 14, I will. Feed them in a good pasture. I like that. And upon the high
mountains of Israel shall their fold be. There shall they lie
in a good fold and in a fat pasture. Oh, that's good stuff. Shall
they feed upon the mountains of Israel. Oh my goodness. I'll feed them. I will. I will. I'm gonna taste them.
When he will, you will. That's the way it works. When he will, you will. And he
says, I'll feed him. I'll feed him. Oh, I like that. Lord God feeds his sheep. Understand, here's the thing.
I preach, but it's him that feeds. It's him that feeds. What is
that thing Rolfe used to say? If my voice is the only voice
you hear, nothing of any eternal value is gonna happen. You gotta
hear the voice of him that speaks from heaven. This is his word. If you hear his word, you've
heard his voice. Oh my. What are we told? Desire the
sincere milk of the world. Of the word. His word. Desire
it. Oh, he maketh for me a table
among my enemies. Ah, he's gonna feed his sheep. He's gonna, and I shall not want.
Oh, I like that. I'm gonna tell you something. And I'm gonna tell you something,
not only is he the milk of the word, he's the meat of the word
too. There come a time when he said,
you shouldn't be on the milk, you need to get on some meat.
Guess what? Same message. It's the same message. Excuse me, the same Christ. Oh,
I like that. Labor not for the meat which
perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting
life. Which the Son of Man shall give
unto you. Oh, for Him hath the Father,
God the Father, Sealed. That's John six and verse 27.
I will feed them, saith the Lord God. I'm gonna tell you something,
and they'll be fed. They'll be fed. So the fifth
thing, also in verse 14 and 15, I will feed them in a good pasture. And upon the high mountains shall
their fold be, and there shall they lie in a good fold, and
a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
Verse 15, I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie
down, saith the Lord God. Oh, I like that. Not only will
he feed you, he's gonna give you rest. He's gonna give you
rest. What does it say? I will cause
them to lie down. You understand, sometimes we
get too busy. What does God say? Wait upon
the Lord. Wait upon, that's a tough thing
to do sometimes. That's tough for me to do. And
I'm pretty good at procrastinating some things I should do. You know. But, you know, Walter,
we were there when we were young. I mean, we tried all kind of
things. Well, we got to wait. Wait. Just wait. Just wait. There's
a time to lie down. I'm going to tell you this. He'll
feed you. Your belly gets full. You want
to lie down. And you might want to ponder what you've heard about
him. Ponder a message you've heard.
Ponder this word here. Oh, but he'll cause you to lie
down. He'll cause you. Thank God we don't have to depend
upon ourselves. I mean it. Oh, because here's the thing. He will give rest to your soul,
to your soul. We worry. We fret. We are carried away by our own
fears. And he gives rest. But for your soul, for your soul. Oh, I like that. Oh, I'm gonna
tell you, when my sheep look to the shepherd and bishops of
our souls, he causes us to lay down sometimes. Oh, I like that. because the Lord God, Adonai
Jehovah, is our shepherd, our shepherd, our pastor, and our
overseer. What's that mean? The shepherd
and bishop of our souls. That's what it says. I like that. Then, he fed you, you rested,
you lied down. Then, verse 16. I will seek that
which was lost and bring again that which was driven away and
will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen that which
was sick. But I will destroy the fat and
the strong. I will feed them with judgment.
I'm gonna tell you something, the
fat and the strong, them ain't sheep. They're not sheep. They're the
ones that were feeding on the sheep. They're the ones that
didn't bind up what was broken. Oh, and didn't strengthen that
which was sick. Because here's the thing, I said
it earlier, the Lord God takes us from milk to meat. He does. Oh, he heals, he feeds,
and he causes his sheep to grow stronger. To grow, now let's
be careful about this, you ain't stronger in yourself, you're
stronger in him. Causes you to grow in the grace and the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm gonna tell you something,
when the Lord gathered me in, I was about as ignorant as you
could get toward the things of God. Now I thought I was a pretty
smart fella, but I was ignorant about, I don't wanna say, Christianity. I was ignorant about being a
believer. I didn't know anything. I grew up Catholic, folks. And
I'm gonna tell you something, theological study was not done
a whole lot when I was growing up. Well, it wasn't done a lot
by me. It may have been somebody else, I don't know. But you understand,
I didn't know anything about preaching. I didn't know anything
about teaching. I didn't know anything about
the Bible. I had a lot to learn. but I had a really, really good
teacher. It was a really good teacher. Oh my. He will cause you to grow in
the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through
his word and through his word preached. Oh my. I remember, I remember a long
time ago When I stood before people for the first time at
Babscott and I introduced myself, I said, I'm a novice. Because
Earl used to always say he wasn't a novice. And so I told him I
was a novice, just so you know what one looks like. And it's
true. I was still a novice. But thank
God I'm not as ignorant as I was. I'm not as ignorant. Because
I'm going to tell you something. When he strengthens his sheep,
they're strengthened. They'll be strengthened to where
they will not be blown about by every wind of doctrine. And
you're not supposed to be. You're not supposed to be. 1
Corinthians 16, 1 Corinthians 16 and 13 says this. Watch ye. Stand fast in the faith. Quit you like men or women. Be strong, be strong. Well, there's
only one way to be strong in the faith, and that's for him
to strengthen you. Oh my, it's his faith. He gives it to you. Now, the
good stuff. What I read to you before, verse
23, and I will set up one shepherd over them, over them. Oh my. and he shall be their shepherd. Did the sheep get a vote in that?
Not anywhere I see. They weren't even asked. He says
it's gonna happen. And guess what, folks? It did.
It did. Oh, I like that. The Lord God,
Adonai Yahweh, has one shepherd over his sheep. One shepherd. Oh, I like that. Guess what? He's the one that's gonna search
them and seek them out. He's the one that's gonna bring
them out and gather them. He's the one that's gonna feed
them. He's the one that's gonna cause them to lie down. Oh my. And he's the one that's gonna
bind up that which is broken and he's gonna strengthen that
which was sick. Why? Because he is the one shepherd. One shepherd, oh, I like that.
Oh, he's gonna feed them. He feeds us in pastures of love. The sheep don't feed themselves,
all they do is eat. The shepherd has to take them
to the good pasture, to that fat pasture. Oh, I like that,
oh my. Like I said, those first 10 verses
We're about the false shepherds. Oh, what is it? You know how
you know a false shepherd? They don't feed the sheep. What
do you mean? They don't preach the truth of
God in Jesus Christ. They don't feed the sheep. Matter
of fact, they fed off the sheep. They didn't help the sick, bind
the broken, and they scattered them abroad. Now God says, I
will set up One shepherd over there, and I love this wording.
You understand? He says, I will set up one shepherd.
He didn't just give them one shepherd. They already had one. They just didn't know it. They
just didn't know it. I'm gonna set him up. And you
know what? The sheep are going to know their
shepherds. Oh my, how? He's gonna call them
by name. I know my sheep and am known
of mine. Oh, that's good stuff. The one
shepherd is Jesus Christ and was shown to be by the Lord God
himself. Oh, I like that. I'll set him
up. And here's the thing, folks. This is another part people don't
like. I'm gonna set up one shepherd over them. Not with them, not
holding them from below, although he does hold us in his hands.
He's over us. Oh my, a lot of people don't
seem to like that. You understand, he is the Lord
God. Jesus Christ is Lord of the dead
and the living. He has power over all flesh.
to give eternal life to as many as the Father has given him. The Father judges no man, he's
given all judgment, who? To the Son. He's over us. And that's a good thing. That's a good thing. Oh my. The one who delivers and gathers
is Jesus Christ. The one who pursues and finds
is Jesus Christ. The one who heals and strengthens
is the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, the shepherd set over them
my sheep. Oh, I like that. You understand,
he's put the claim on us. We're branded. We're branded,
but it's his brand. It's his brand. Oh, I like that
too, I do. We're branded. Oh my. I will set up one shepherd over
them, he shall feed them, even my servant David. And David was
a type of Christ. He shall feed them and he shall
be their shepherd. Verse 24. And I, the Lord, will
be their God. and my servant David, a prince
among them. I, the Lord, have spoken it. I've spoken it. It's gonna happen. Matter of fact, it already has
happened. Oh my, I like this stuff, I do. He gives one shepherd
to the sheep. And verses 25 to 29, excuse me, and I will make with
them a covenant of peace and will cause the evil beasts to
cease out of the land and what? They shall dwell safely, safely
in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. Oh, I like that. I
will make with them a covenant of peace. You ain't making no
covenant of peace. He made it. He is our peace,
Jesus Christ. is our peace. And here's the
thing, they're gonna dwell safely wherever they are, in the wilderness
or in the woods. Oh, I like that. On the land
or on the sea, they're gonna dwell safely. You know why? Because the good shepherd's guiding
them with his hand. Oh, I like that. Wherever my
sheep are, they are protected. He protects them. Oh, you may
not feel safe, but you are. You are. In him, in him, you
are safe. Oh, I like that. You understand,
Satan himself is limited by God. Look at the book of Job. I'm
not going into it, but you understand, Satan never laid a finger on
Job until God said he could. And then, He could go no farther
than what God allowed him. And he didn't go any farther
than God allowed him, even though he wanted to. Oh my, no, no. Job was safe. God allowed Job to be touched,
but Job was still safe. You may not feel safe, but you
are in him. Because here's the thing, Paul
wrote it, all things work together for good. to them that love God. Not to everybody, but to them
that love God. To them that are the called according
to his purpose. Who are they called by? The good
shepherd. They're called by the good shepherd,
oh my. He keeps us by the power of God
through faith. That's what it says in Peter.
Guess what? It's his power and it's his faith. He gives us, He gives us. And
we're kept, we're protected. Oh my, that's a covenant of peace
in the wilderness or in the woods. Oh my, all the places round about
my hill, everywhere for my sheep, what's it say? And I will make
them in the places round about my hill a blessing, a blessing. And I will cause the shower to
come down in his season, this is verse 26 in the last phrase. There shall be showers of blessing. Oh my, I'm telling you something. This is, this is the good shepherd. The one shepherd, oh my. I'm
gonna tell you something, there's showers of blessings, especially
when you don't see them. When you don't see them. So the
conclusion. Behold, the word of the Lord. I will give them one shepherd,
one shepherd. I will search and seek out my
sheep. You know why? Because you don't
find him, he finds his sheep. I will deliver them, I will bring
them out. I will feed his flock, my flock. What? In a good pasture. Oh, I like that. I will cause
them to lie down to rest. Then he said, I will destroy
their enemies. Now he's not doing it on your timetable, he's doing
it on his own. What am I saying? Anywhere in
this chapter, where is the work of man? It ain't there. It ain't there. There's not a
thing in here. about that, this is the work
of that good shepherd, the great shepherd of the sheep, of the
sheep, of his sheep. Oh my. Because pertaining to
salvation, man is helpless and hapless. The Lord Jesus Christ has to
find his sheep. And he does. He pursues them. He calls them by name. Oh my, I like that. My sheep,
my flock, look at this. Verses 30 and 31, I'm gonna quit
with this. Thus shall they know that I,
the Lord, their God, am with them and that they, even the
house of Israel, are my people. My sheep are my people, saith
the Lord God. And ye, my flock, the flock of
my pasture, are men, are men. And I, I am your God, saith the
Lord God. I'm gonna tell you something,
that's where I wanna be. I wanna be where I know the Lord
is my God. Oh, I like that. My flock are
my people. Old Testament and New Testament. I'm gonna tell you something,
there ain't but one flock. There's not two flocks, a Jewish
flock and a Gentile flock. There's one olive tree, there's
one body, and one head of the body, what, the one shepherd
of his sheep. Oh, I like that. The Lord God says we are his,
and we are. What does it say? I, the Lord,
have spoken it. What's it say in another place?
I'll bring it to pass. That's the part I like. I've
spoken it, I'll bring it to pass. I've purposed it, I'll do it. And it's not up to you. Call
upon the name of the Lord and thou shalt be saved. This Lord,
the one who saves his people from his sin, from their sin,
excuse me. because the Lord God says where
he is and we are, because I'm telling you, he's the just God
and the Savior. Now understand, this chapter
tells us all about what he's doing and what he does for his
people, what he does for his sheep. It doesn't tell you what
it cost him. You'll find that somewhere else.
Well, John chapter 10, as a matter of fact, Verse 11, I'll leave you this.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd, what? Giveth his life for the sheep. That's what it costs for him
to be the good shepherd and to be able to search us out and
find us and feed us and deliver us and gather us and strengthen
us. I am the good shepherd, and the
good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But, he had the power to lay
down his life, and he had the power to take it back up again.
And he did. Why? He's the one shepherd. The
one shepherd. And the shepherd is for his sheep. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
again for this time and this place. Lord, most of all, thank
you for your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did give himself
for his sheep, for his people, and saved us from our sins. Be with Paul and those down there,
be with Walter as he comes to preach for us, and be with us,
Lord, to let us hear your word. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.