Ezekiel chapter 34, please, if
you'd like to turn. And I wish you would want to
read this chapter together in a moment in its entirety. I want to talk to you this morning
by the grace of God, the ability God gives. And my purpose is
to exalt Christ as our great and wonderful shepherd. We are in the hands of a shepherd. He's the shepherd of our souls,
like the sheep out in the pasture. of the sheep of the shepherd.
He cares for them, watches over them, takes care of them. I am thankful that the Lord often
used natural things in His teaching to illustrate or teach spiritual
things. He talks about a fisherman casting
his net out and catching the fishes. We know what that means. People
in Israel truly knew what that meant because a lot of them made
their living by fishing. Then he talked about a sower
went forth to sow and they knew exactly what he meant. And then
he talks about often in the scriptures, Old Testament and New Testament,
talks about the Lord is my shepherd. That's what I want to talk about
this morning. Using things that we're so familiar
with, things that the people in that day were so familiar
with, it has a way of bringing their truth home. Right down
here where we live, we understand it plainly and clearly, and we
see it around us all the time. Sowing seed, catching fish, the
shepherds and the sheep is something they were so familiar with. Israel
was a land of shepherds and sheep. shepherds and flocks, and they
were so familiar with the term shepherd. And unlike many of
us today, they understood clearly what it meant. A shepherd and
his sheep. The sheep belonged to the shepherd.
And I want us to look at that a little bit today. But they
knew all about sheep. They understood the necessity
of sheep having a shepherd, having one who was honorable, faithful,
wise, understanding, powerful. And they understood that quite
well. Now, as we read this chapter
together in this hour before God, I want you to see, first and foremost, the duties
and responsibilities of shepherds. The duties and responsibilities
of shepherds. Then I want you to see the blessedness
of the sheep who have a good shepherd. All sheep don't have
a good shepherd. But not only is the well-being,
the very life of the sheep is in the hands of the shepherd.
As David tells us on one occasion, he said, I was out shepherding
my father's sheep. They were committed to my trust.
And a bear came, and God delivered that bear into my hands. I stood between the sheep and
that bear. Another occasion, there was a lion came. And that
little shepherd lad stood between the sheep and that lion. And
he said, God, deliver that lion into my hands. The sheep's well-being,
their very life, was in the hands of the shepherd. Now, this is
something I want you to see, and I hope it will stick in your
mind real well, for your comfort, Christ's glory in your comfort.
And that's this. Their honor, the shepherd's, is at stake. The shepherd's honor,
we'll read it here in a moment, the shepherd's honor is at stake. Something happens to the sheep,
I'll hold you accountable. And the Lord said concerning
those false shepherds in his day, he said, you bear the greater
condemnation. Sorry shepherds. Sorry shepherds. By wisdom, understanding, diligence,
bravery, and power, they must keep the charge that's committed
unto them. Now let's read this chapter together,
34, all of it. And the word of the Lord came
unto me, And we ought to be interested. This is not the word of some
man. This is not the words of Ezekiel. This is the words of
God that Ezekiel wrote. The word of God came to me, the
Lord. 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 do feed themselves, should not the shepherds feed the flocks.
Well, we have so many in our day. You turn on the TV, different
hours, and hear preachers in Houston and other places preaching
to thousands of people, 30,000 in one coliseum, and then all
out over the radio. And they're just feeding on the
sheep. They're not feeding the sheep. They're not feeding the
sheep. They're feeding off the sheep.
They make merchandise of being sold. And our Lord said, Woe
be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves. Is it
not their job, their purpose, their calling to feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe you
with the wool, you kill them that are fed, but you feed not
the flock. The distressed you have 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 that which was
lost, but with force and with cruelty have you ruled the sheep." He's talking about pastors of
people. leaders of people. And they were scattered. These
sheep were scattered because there was no shepherd. And they
became meat to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.
And my sheep wandered through all the mountains upon every
high hill. Yea, my flock was scattered upon
all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after
them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. As I live, saith the Lord God,
surely because my flock became a prey, my flock became meat
to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd,
neither did my shepherds seek or search for my flock, but the
shepherds fed themselves and fed not my flock. Therefore,
O ye shepherds, hear the word of God, hear the words of the
Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, because
I am against the shepherds, behold, I am against the shepherds, and
I require my flock at your hand. There is a charge committed to
those who claim to be under shepherds, take care of God's people, feed
God's people, pastor God's people. There are people committed unto
them. Their responsibility is to feed
and comfort the people of God, comfort the sheep. I am against the shepherds, and
I require my flock at their hand, cause them to cease from feeding
the flock. Neither shall the shepherds feed
themselves any more. I'll deliver my flock from their
mouth, that they may not be meat for them any more. For thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them
out. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he's among his sheep that were scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all
places where they've been scattered in the cloud in dark day. I bring
them out from the people. Gather them from the countries,
and we'll bring them to their own land. Feed them upon the
mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and all the inhabited places
of the country. I'll feed them in a good pasture,
and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. There
shall they lie in a good fold. In a fat pasture shall they feed
upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock. I'll cause
them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I'll seek that which was
lost, bring again that which was driven away, bind up that
which was broken, strengthen that which was sick. But I'll
destroy the fat and the strong. I'll feed them with judgment.
As for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God. Behold, I
judge between cattle and cattle, between rams and the he-goats.
Seemeth it a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pasture,
but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your
pastures, and to have drunk up the deep water, but must foul
the residue with your feet. And as for my flock, They eat
that which you've trodden with your feet, they drink that which
you've fell with your feet. Therefore thus saith the Lord
God unto them, behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat
cattle and between the lean cattle. And because you have thrust with
your side and your shoulder and pushed all the disease with your
horns, you've scattered them abroad, therefore will I save
my flock. They shall no more be a prey.
I'll judge between my cattle, between cattle and cattle. I
will set up one shepherd. Oh, thank God for this. I will set up one shepherd. over
them sheep, over my sheep. 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. My servant David, a prince among
them, I, the Lord, have spoken it. And I will make with them
a covenant of peace." And I'm not going to read the rest of
this chapter. I've read a whole lot. I may refer to some of these
remaining verses, but you get the idea that a sheep are committed
to the trust of the shepherds and they are responsible unto
the owner of the sheep to take care of those sheep. God said,
I hold you accountable. I'll take it out on you for what
you've done to my sheep. And when David said in Psalm
23, one of the most familiar passages in all the Bible, he
said, the Lord It's my shepherd. He knew exactly what he was saying. And he said a mouthful. The Lord,
if you could say that this morning, with understanding from your
heart, the Lord God is my shepherd. Well, you've said it all. Because he committed, he committed
to taking care of you. He's not going to let anything
happen to you. That's not for your good and His glory. The
Lord is my shepherd. What's going to happen tomorrow,
you reckon, to me? I don't know. But I know this. The Lord is my shepherd. I'm
in His hands. All of my enemies are under His
control. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want The Lord is my shepherd. The
Lord has some sheep. He has a people in this world
that He chose in Christ before the world was ever made. He has
these sheep and He's given them a shepherd. He has some sheep. He's given them a shepherd. He
has committed these sheep unto this shepherd. If you don't take care of me,
the shepherd's honor is at stake. The shepherd keeps the sheep.
The sheep don't keep themselves. The shepherd keeps them. And
he is an able and loving shepherd. The sheep are fully his responsibility. If they wander around diseased
and starving in a prey for the wolves, it's a reflection upon
the shepherd. He's not doing a good job. And so Christ takes care of his
sheep, and they trust him. And everything's working out
quite well. Some shepherds lack the wisdom and the power and
the diligence. They lack loving concern. They
lack faithfulness. They don't care for their sheep.
They just care for their own bellies and the profit they get.
They feed themselves. But I want you to look just for
a few minutes this morning at the wonderful shepherd we have
if we're the sheep of God. The wonderful shepherd that we
have. That great shepherd of the sheep
And as we read about Him and think about Him, and that's the
purpose of meeting together and studying together and worshiping
God, is to learn to trust Him. As I tell you how great He is,
how wonderful He is, how loving He is, how caring He is, laid
down His life for you, oh, we ought to trust Him. We're committed
to Him. God gave Him a sheep, and He's
going to save them. First of all, he is a covenant
shepherd. Verses 23 through 26. I will
set up one shepherd over them. He shall feed them. Even my servant
David, he shall feed them. He shall be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their
God. My servant David, a prince among them. I, the Lord, have
spoken it. I will make with them a covenant
of peace. A covenant of peace. This covenant
of peace that God's made with His people is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let me show you. Look at Isaiah
42 just a moment. Isaiah 42. I the Lord, verse 6, I the Lord
have called thee in righteousness, talking about Christ, I've called
thee in righteousness, will hold thine hand, will keep thee, give
thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentile. He
is given of God to us as a covenant. He stands between God and us.
He establishes peace for us. Everything God requires of us,
He's covenanted to fulfill it. Everything God requires of me,
He took care of it. He fulfilled it, not in a mechanical
way, but from the heart. He said, Thy word, O God, is
in my heart. Thy law is in my heart. And he
served God with perfection, from the heart, all the days of his
life, and established peace between God and me because he was serving
in my name. and your name if you trust him.
For his people, he was serving for his people. Oh, what a wonderful
shepherd. If the shepherd fails, if the
sheep are lost and scattered and torn, it's a reflection upon
the shepherd. He did a good job. If some of
the sheep wander away and are lost forever, it's a reflection
upon the shepherd. But I guarantee you this, none
of his sheep will ever be lost. He finds them, brings them into
the fold, and keeps them forever. Keeps them forever. You remember
Luke 15? He had 90 and 9 in the shed,
and he had one out lost in the mountains someplace. He left
the 90 and 9 and went out into the mountains. And he searched
him out and found him. And he picked him up and laid
him on his shoulder and brought him all the way home, rejoicing,
rejoicing. He found his sheep that was lost. Our Lord does that. He finds
all of his lost sheep. And he said, there should be
one foal and one shepherd. I'll bring them all home. He
said in John 6, this is the will of God who sent me, that of all
which he has given me, I should lose nothing. Nothing, but raise
him up again at the last day. He's not going to lose anything.
We don't keep ourselves. We couldn't keep ourselves. But
I'll tell you, we have a Shepherd. We have a Shepherd. Let's praise
His name. Let's give Him glory. Let's worship
Him. This is a God-made covenant based
upon the Shepherd's character and ability, not based upon anything
in us. We're nothing but sin. But God
covenanted with this Shepherd to send Him down here. to save
us and bring us home. And He won't lose a war. That's
our trust. We trust in Him. All of our faith
and confidence is in Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, that Great
Shepherd of the sheep. Our shepherd. The sheep's peace
is the shepherd's work. The sheep's peace is the shepherd's
provision. He sought it. He earned it. He
worked it out for us. And He gives it to us. He applies
it to us. He gives us peace through faith
in His name. It's His work and His provision.
He stands between the sheep and their enemies, conquering over
every enemy. Conquering every enemy. Death,
hell, and the grave. He is their physician. He heals
their diseases. In Him is their food and water
and shade and shelter and rest. He's everything to the sheep.
Makes them to lie down in green pastures. Leads them beside the
still waters. He feeds them. He clothes them.
He feeds them. He leads them. He protects them. And they say with joy in their
hearts, and the more they understand it, the more joy they'll have
and the more confident, the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my
shepherd. Number two. He is Jehovah's smitten
shepherd. Before the foundation of the
world, He was as a lamb crucified. The lamb of God, the old Passover
lamb of the Old Testament was just a type of that one who was
to come. He's the shepherd smitten, smitten
for the sheep. He said, no man takes my life
from me. That's ridiculous, the very thought.
But he said, I lay it down on myself. I have the power to lay
it down. I have the power to get up and
walk out of that grave. Take it up again. And the Lord
loves me. The Father left me. That great
shepherd of the sheep. Look at Zechariah 13, just a
moment. Haggai Zechariah, chapter 13. Look, just a moment. Verse 6. One shall say unto him,
What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer,
Those with which I was wounded, in the house of my friends. Awake,
O sword, against my shepherd, against the man that is my fellow,
saith the Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered. I will turn mine hand upon the
little ones." He was a A shepherd who sacrificed
himself to save the sheep. Laid down his life to save the
sheep. He stood before the great lion. He stood before Satan. Death,
hell in the grave. Conquered it all for the sheep.
He died that they might live. He died that they might live. I lay down my life for the sheep. But now, according to this passage,
he's a dead shepherd. He's a dead shepherd. Do the
sheep no longer have a shepherd to guide them, to feed them,
to care for them? You remember how confused they
were, how fearful after the death of Christ? Yeah, He's also, this
is my third boy, He's a resurrected shepherd. He lay in that dead
place, He lay in that borrowed tomb for three days. Then He woke up, came from the
dead, Set up, folded his grave clothes, laid them aside, stood
up and walked out. Stood up and walked out. You
can trust him. Just as sure as he came forth from the grave,
all of his people shall come forth from the grave. Every one
of them. Every one of them. Every single
one of them. He's a resurrected shepherd,
Hebrews 13, 20. Look at that. You want to read
it? I'll read it to you. Hebrews 13, 20. Great passage of Scripture. Here's what it says. Hebrews
13, 20. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that Great Shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
do what for us? Do what for us? Make you perfect
in every good work to do His will, working in you that which
is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom
be glory forever and ever and ever and ever and on on forever.
Amen. The Great Shepherd of the sheep.
He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. He worked
in our hearts' repentance. He worked in our hearts' faith,
trust. He gave us the trust, the faith
to trust Him. I didn't have it before. I wasn't
born with it. You weren't born with it. He gave it to you. Therefore, being justified by
faith. We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. And that faith is a gift of God,
not of works, lest any man should boast. And a lot of them boast
in the faith they have, but not God's people. He is a resurrected
shepherd. They're not without a shepherd.
He didn't stay dead. He said, I have the power to
lay my life down. I have the power to take it up
again, too. A dying shepherd purchased their redemption, but
a living shepherd makes the application to their hearts by the Spirit
of God. Again, fourthly, He is a sovereign,
gracious, Shepherd. Sovereign. Gracious. Full of grace. But absolutely
sovereign. Absolutely sovereign. Isaiah
40, 10 and 11. I think maybe we ought to look
at that. At least write it down so you
can read it when you get home. Isaiah 40, 10 and 11. Look what
it says. Behold, the Lord God will come
with a strong hand, and His arms shall rule for Him. Behold, His
reward is with Him, and His work is before Him. He shall feed
His flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
His arm, carry them in His bosom, gently lead those that are with
young." Oh, what a shepherd! I don't see any need in these
sheep that our shepherd cannot fill. The Lord is my shepherd,
if that's true. I shall not want, not anything
that's for my spiritual good, nothing. He won't permit it. I get to the place where I need
some fresh waters, He'll give it to me. I need to feast once
again on the bread of life, He'll give it to me. I need to rest,
lie down beside the still waters, lie down in green pastures. Infinite
power and tenderness are combined in our shepherd to lead us, feed
us, care for us in every way. He became one of us. He took
our nature. He's touched with the feeling
of our infirmities, our shepherdies. He knows what we need before
we do. And He takes care of His people.
He has the power. Sovereignty, I say, yeah, He
has the power to conquer Saul of Tarsus. Going down the Damascus road
so angry, so full of bitterness and hatred, and he just turns
on the light. He falls in the dust. Says, who
is it, Lord? He said, it's Jesus of Nazareth
whom thou persecutest. He said, what do you want me
to do? He told him he did it. What a powerful shepherd. This
sheep full of anger and bitterness, acting like a goat, running around
all over the country, killing Christians. And this shepherd
just turned on the light and spoke to him. And he turned an
enemy into a most loving, dedicated apostle. He did it. Preacher can't do that. Church
can't do that. Only the shepherd can do that,
that great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what
a shepherd. He has power to conquer us all
of Tarsus. Tenderness to console a dying
thief on the cross. What a shepherd. Lord, remember
me. He said today, shalt thou be
with me in paradise." Never a word of rebuke. I'll remember you. You'll be with me. Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. That's our shepherd. And being sovereign and gracious,
sovereign as well as gracious, he is a successful Savior. He never fails. Read the first
few verses of Isaiah 42. He shall not fail to be discouraged
until this whole thing is over. He'll bring it to pass. It's
done. God gave him a covenant for the people. God said, if
I said it, I'll do it. If I purpose it, I'll bring it
to pass. That's our Great Shepherd, successful Savior. John chapter 10, verses 16, 27,
28. He said, I know my sheep. I love my sheep. I'm just paraphrasing. Lay down my life for my sheep.
He said, I call them by name. Every one of them, he calls them
by name. And they all answer. They all answer the powerful
life-giving voice of the Son of God, that great Shepherd of
the sheep. He calls and they respond. He
said, they hear my voice and they know my voice and another
voice they never will follow. They follow me and I give unto
them eternal life, they'll never perish. Powerful, conquering
shepherd. Our Lord Jesus Christ. He gathers
them. He brings his sheep into the
fold. He goes after the lost till he
finds them. And he'll find every one of them.
He won't miss a one. And he'll lay it up on his shoulders
and carry it home. Carry it home. What a good place
for a sheep to be. in the shepherd's hands. You
hear this morning who are really sinners. Death, hell, heaven
are realities. Christ is real. And you can't
find any better place. You wouldn't want any better
place. That's the only place. He's the way, the truth, and
the life. and there's none other name. What a good place for a
sheep to be. The sheep's whole weight is upon
the strong shoulders of the shepherd. The sheep's safety is in the
hands of the shepherd. The sheep's health It's all in
the hands of the shepherd, that great shepherd of the sheep,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, these people who know Him
like that, their hearts should be happy, their minds should
be at rest and peace. Just relax and rest. Trust. Trust the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 42, He shall never fail
to be discouraged. Isaiah 53, 11, He shall see of
the travail of His soul and be perfectly satisfied. All the
Father gave me, I'm going to save them. I'm going to save
them. I pray not for the world, John
17, but those whom He gave me out of the world. I'm going to
save them. I'm going to bring them home.
Matthew 1, the Word came, the Joseph. through the angel, and
said, She shall bring forth a son, thou shalt call his name Jesus,
and he shall save his people from their sins. In the book
of Luke, the angels came to the shepherds and said, Unto you
is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Christ the
Lord. He's not a would-be Savior. He's
not a hope to be Savior. He's not a trying to be Savior.
He is a conquering, successful, almighty Savior. He never fails. He never fails. He has power over all things.
He has power over all flesh. that He might give eternal life
to all of His sheep. And He shall. Somebody might
be here this morning. I don't know. God knows. And
if it's so, God did it. That you might be interested
in having this shepherd to be your shepherd. Oh, I hope it's so. Without Him, there's no hope.
Without Him, you're without God, without Christ, and without hope.
But if you're interested in having Him as your shepherd, He's a
shepherd of the lost. He's a shepherd of sinners. He
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Are you a sinner? Then He's just the shepherd for
you. He's a suitable Savior for sinners. And the Bible says He calls His
sheep by name, every one of them. Has He called you by name yet?
You say, what do you mean? I mean sinner. Guilty sinner. Burdened and heavy laden with
sin. Come to me. Come to me. Come to me. So you hear His voice. Still
small voice. I say this in closing. to myself,
to each of you, to the lost. I say, lay all of your sins, all of your burdens, all of your
guilt, all of your cares upon Him. Upon Him. And trust Him. And trust Him. Rest in Him. Now, I'm going to sit down in
this chair here, and the reason I'm going to try to sit down
in this chair is because I believe it will hold me up. I have that
confidence that that chair is going to hold me up. It has many
times before. I'll tell you what, if you can
rest in Christ, He'll hold you up. You shall be saved. If anybody believes on the Lord
Jesus Christ, shall be, not maybe, shall be saved. Shall be saved. Trust Him. Okay, David.