Well, good evening. Hold on a minute. Turn with me,
if you would, to John chapter 10. Well, I expect when I visit a
church to preach the gospel. In fact, when I've been invited
to come and speak about the work in the past, and it hasn't been
mentioned that I would preach. I've said, well, the work of
a missionary is to preach the gospel. And that's our focus,
and I always do. And I'm amazed at the great privilege
the Lord has given me to be called into the ministry of this gospel.
It's a glorious gospel. It's a gospel that tells us a
person who is so wonderful. We can't even begin to approach
an understanding of the depths of the glories of this person. And tonight I'd just like to
look at one aspect. That's all we're going to do.
We're just going to look at one aspect of this great person,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And even in just looking at this
one aspect, even this, as we were walking out the door, Todd
said tonight, we'll never be able to plumb the depths of what's
found in this. And it's true, it's true. because
our Savior is, how does the word describe in there in the first
chapter of John? This is what John said, we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten Son of God, full
of grace and truth. What a description, what a description.
But here in John 10, Here in John 10, let me just begin reading
there in verse 10 with you. Look there, we read, the thief
does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. And
this is where we begin tonight. I have come, this is the Lord
Jesus Christ speaking, I have come that they may have life
and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life
for the sheep. But he who is an hireling and
not the shepherd who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming
and leaves the sheep and flees and the wolf catches the sheep
and scatters them. The hireling flees because he
is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good
shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own. As the
father knows me, even so I know the father and I lay down my
life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which
are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they will hear
my voice, and there will be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore,
my father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take
it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. This command I have received
from my father. Therefore, there was a division
again among the Jews because of these sayings and many of
them said, he has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to
him? Others said, these are not the words of one who has a demon.
Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? Now it was the Feast
of Dedication in Jerusalem and it was winter and Jesus walked.
in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded him
and said to him, how long do you keep us in doubt? If you
are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I have told
you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But you do not believe because
you are not of my sheep. As I said to you, my sheep hear
my voice and I know them and they follow me. and I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone
snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them
to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them
out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." Now,
as you know, this... figure, this figure of the shepherd
and the sheep is one of the most beautiful figures of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which we find in the Word of God. And it's not
just found here, it's found everywhere, isn't it? It's found throughout
the scriptures. But this simple analogy of the
shepherd and his sheep is so full of truth. The words we read
now this evening are words of the Lord Jesus Christ in reference
to himself. And like his person, these words
are rich and deep. They're full of grace, full of
truth. He says, I am the good shepherd. Think of Psalm 23. Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. Now, I don't think it's wrong
in saying that every believer comes to know and to cherish
the words of the psalmist in that psalm. These are the words
which spring from the heart of every believer from the beginning
of his life, the beginning of his life, until he passes through
the valley of the shadow of death into the glorious inheritance
of the children of God. If there was just one truth about
our great Redeemer and Savior that we could have, what would
it be? I've thought about that. How
hard it would be to decide, wouldn't it? I think of so many wonderful
truths. One of my favorite, who being
the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person
upholding all things by the word of his power, who by himself
purged our sins and sat down at the right hand of God." Now
that's a truth, isn't it? Think of those words that Paul
writes, there's therefore now no condemnation to those who
are in Christ. There's another one. And we could
multiply them, couldn't we? we could multiply them, but every
truth about Christ is so good, it's so wonderful. Here is one of those truths,
isn't it? This one truth would surely be sufficient if we would
only believe. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. That tells us, in a sense, all
we need to know. What? We want. We lack. Isn't that true? What do we lack? What is it that we're in want
of? Well, think of this, think of this, this analogy that the
Lord is presenting before us as he speaks about himself, the
shepherd and the sheep. Well, we hear of wild goats,
we hear of wild cattle, wild horses, wild dogs, Wild pigs? But have you ever heard of a
wild sheep? I'm talking about domesticated sheep. Have you
ever heard of a wild sheep? No. Why is that? Because a wild
sheep is a perishing sheep. Every domesticated animal can
fend for itself if necessary, but not sheep. Not sheep. Sheep are unable to find their
own food, unable to find their own water, unable to find shelter,
unable to protect themselves from enemies, unable to find
their way home. You know, I'm sure you've heard
of these touching stories, remarkable stories of these pets, dogs,
that find their way home to their owners, hundreds and hundreds
of miles. Cats, but not sheep. Not sheep. Sheep don't find their
way home. No. Sheep are weak. Sheep are stupid. Sheep are incapable and defenseless. Well, who does that sound like?
That sounds like you. That sounds like me, doesn't
it? Well, why is that? Why is that? The reason is, is
the Lord created sheep to be a picture of his people. That's
exactly why the sheep are the way they are. As the Lord takes
this picture and presents it to us, we know that sheep he
created to be a picture of his people. He surely did. And beloved,
like sheep, were and want. We're in want. We're in want
of righteousness. We're in want of holiness. We're
in want of truth. We're in want of goodness. We're
in want of knowledge. We're in want of courage. We're
in want of hope. We're in want of an incorruptible
body, aren't we? Here we, I'm becoming more and
more aware of this as the years go by and, and I'm feeling, feeling
the consequences of this corruptible body. We're in want of an incorruptible
body. We're in want of peace. We're
in want of joy. We're in want of what? Everything. Everything, that's true. Everything
having to do with life. But listen, here in that Psalm
we read, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. This is all
we need to know. The Lord is my shepherd. The
Lord is my shepherd. And what's that telling us? We
lack nothing. We lack nothing. I am full, perfect,
complete in Him. What do we read there in that
great chapter in Romans, Romans chapter 5, where sin abounded
Grace abounded much more. Grace abounded with a super abundance. That's what's being communicated
to us and how our sin, think of that, the sin
that took our Savior to the cross, how great that is. The sin that
caused the very Son of God the creator of all things, the very
one who sustains all things by the word of his power, the one
who said, my soul is troubled. Imagine
that. Consider the weight of sin that
such a one as this would say, now is my soul troubled. Let me say this reverently. What
could trouble the soul of God? Well, our sin. Our sin. That
troubled his soul. The weight of sin. But where
sin abounded, grace superabounded. I shall not want. I shall not
want. He supplies everything that his sheep everything. He
supplies abundantly, abundantly. Turn to Ezekiel chapter 34 for
a moment, but keep your place here, Ezekiel chapter 34. Now, what is it that we're in
need of? Let me say this again. We're
in need, in Christ, we're in need of nothing. Now, it's so
hard for you and I to believe that, isn't it? It surely is. And as a missionary,
as you know, so often people ask you, well, what are your
needs? And I say, well, we don't have any
needs. But I say that, but I don't feel that way. I don't feel that
way. It's true. But the Lord always,
blesses me in that, as I reflect upon that truth. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. He provides everything I need,
even if it's to be in need. Have you thought about that?
He's providing exactly what I need. And I think how thankful I am
that the Lord has shown me that, and now that brings peace, and
that brings joy, doesn't it? And now, it's not just in the spiritual
realm, but it's the temporal realm too, isn't it? The same
is true, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. There are times
when we're in difficult circumstances, we're filled with turmoil and
uncertainty. We all know this, don't we? Sometimes
we have a family member who's suffering. Maybe we've lost a
child or a spouse, husband or wife, and how hard that is, what
grief and what pain. Sometimes we're in periods of
great pain and suffering due to some sort of illness, circumstances
which completely overwhelm But this truth stands firm. I
shall not want. I shall not want. The Lord is
my shepherd, I shall not want, in all circumstances of life.
You know, and he deals, the Lord, let me just give you an example
of how We've all experienced this in our lives, but you know,
in New Guinea, as Todd mentioned, we work in a primitive area. You know, the people live very
much in a traditional way, very, we would say, primitive existence. Now, Christians there, you know,
sometimes when they get to the point of dying, They're in, they
suffer a great deal. You know, when we have hospitals
everywhere, we have all sorts of medical care, we have all
sorts of medicines to dull that pain and mitigate the suffering
that we face in time of death. But they don't have that. You
know, it's very limited medical resources are available to them.
And typically they die in their village, sleeping on a mat on
the ground. And, you know, I've often heard
testimonies, the people speaking about how a brother or sister
has died, and they speak about how they die in real joy and
peace. Well, that's startling in and
of itself because, you know, these typically Whether you see
it cloaked and hidden here or not, those outside of Christ
die in fear. They truly die in fear. And if
it's right there before your eyes, and if, you know, death
is kept so separate in our society, I don't know if you realize that.
But it's not there, it's right there in front of everyone. And
people die in great fear. And yet, hear these testimonies
of how these saints dying with real peace and joy, and it's
not uncommon to hear them speak of how this person says, as they
come to that point of death, something along the lines of,
I see Jesus. And at first, I thought, well,
I'm a doubter. I'm skeptical by nature. And I thought, well, you know,
I don't That's not our experience, you know. But then I thought,
you know, you do read of this in past history. You do read
of the Lord's people dying and making those statements. And
these are from believers that I have confidence, as much as you can,
that they were the Lords. They were the Lords. A life of
faith in Christ. I thought of that and I thought,
you know, what is this? This is the Good Shepherd coming
to these people in a time of great need. He comes and he,
at that point in time, he gives them a revelation, some of these
people, gives them a revelation of himself as he receives them
to himself. We see that with Stephen in that
time when he was stoned to death, don't we? And what is that? Well, that's the That's the Good
Shepherd. That's the Good Shepherd. I believe
it. He comes to them. What do we read in that psalm?
Yay! Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil. Why? For thou art with me. for thou art with me." And, you
know, as I thought that, that's true of every one of us, isn't
it? Whether we see, whether he, sort of, with Stephen, he gives
us almost that physical manifestation, well, not physical, but that
spiritual sight of Christ, we all, it's true of every one of
us. He's with us as we walk. through
that valley of the shadow of death. And we, too, need not
fear any evil, for He's with us. He's the Good Shepherd. The
Lord is the Good Shepherd. Now, you remember our Lord began His
ministry by reading a very remarkable prophecy from the book of Isaiah. when he was handed the book in
the synagogue. And you remember, he found the
place where it was written, and he read, the spirit of the Lord
is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the
poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the recovery of sight to the
blind. He has set at liberty those who
are oppressed to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
And when he had finished reading, he sat down, and what did he
say? Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. Well,
in just the same way, we could say, when he says, I am the good
shepherd, it's as if he opened the book here to Ezekiel chapter
34. Ezekiel chapter 34, and look there in
verse 11. Verse 11, for thus says the Lord God, indeed I myself
will search for my sheep and seek them out as a shepherd seeks
out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep. So
will I seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places
where they are scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring
them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries
and I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on
the mountains of Israel. Who is Israel? Christ. He'll
feed them on his mountain in the valley and in all the inhabited
places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture
and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. They
shall lie down in the good fold and feed and rich pasture on
the mountains of Israel. Now skip down there to verse
23. Now listen. Listen to this great and glorious
prophecy. I will establish one shepherd
over them and he shall feed them, my servant David, he shall feed
them and be their shepherd. And it's as if here in John 10,
he finished reading. that and sat down and said, today
this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. I am the good shepherd. That's
what he's saying here. I am the good shepherd. He alone
has all the knowledge, all the wisdom, all the strength, all
the authority, and all the righteousness, all holiness. all the characteristics and qualifications
necessary to be the good shepherd. Turn back to John 10. Well, if you haven't realized
it at this point, this is what I want to speak to you about
tonight. The shepherd of the sheep. In John 10 here, he says,
I am the good shepherd. I am the good shepherd. He's,
now note what he says, he is the shepherd. He's the shepherd. In fulfillment of that great
prophecy, he's the shepherd. He sustains a particular relationship
to a particular people. That's what a shepherd does. He is the shepherd. Note, he's
not a shepherd, or he's not shepherd of the sheep, he is the shepherd. He appoints men, it's true, he
appoints men to shepherd his sheep, but he alone is the good
shepherd, the good shepherd. He's distinct from all other
shepherds for this reason. This is what he's, how he describes
himself, I am the good shepherd. There is no other. There is no
other. He alone has all the qualifications,
all the characteristics to be the Good Shepherd. No mere man
can ever be spoken of as the Good Shepherd. Here in this passage,
here in John, I've, well, I'd like to look at 10 things which
Christ himself says distinguish him as the good shepherd. Now,
as we've said, this won't exhaust all the things even in this passage
about the good shepherd, but I'd just like to look at those
where our time is limited. I've already stretched it out.
The first is, look there in verse 11. What do we read? He says,
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life
for the sheep. Now, that's enough right there,
isn't it? The good shepherd gives his life
for the sheep. He's the good shepherd. He secures
every good thing for his people at the greatest cost to himself. That's what that says. The picture
we're given, a picture given by Christ in this picture of
the shepherd and the sheep, the picture we're given is here is
this shepherd and the flock of his pasture is attacked by these
ferocious wolves and the sheep are about to be torn asunder
and be devoured by their enemies. The sheep are about to be destroyed. And what does the shepherd do?
What does the shepherd do? Like the good shepherd, he rushes
in and he enters into mortal combat. Mortal combat to save
his sheep from destruction. He fights for his sheep with
strength and with courage. Well what is he speaking of?
Here is this picture of Christ. This is what he does for his
sheep. He enters into battle with the enemies of his people. Here's the devil. We have subjected
ourselves to bondage, haven't we? In our sin. A bondage that
is so deep, so so strong, so powerful that we're
in such a deep darkness that we can't even understand that
we're in bondage. That's the depth of the bondage
that we're in. And we read in Hebrews, you know
this. Inasmuch as the children have
partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in
the same that through what? Through death. Through death
he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the
devil, and release those who through fear of death were all
their lifetime subject to bondage. He goes into battle for us, for
his people, for his sheep. He enters into battle with the
curse of the law. The curse of the law, for again,
his sheep have subjected themselves to condemnation. What do we read
there in Galatians? Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, having become a curse for us. He enters into
battle against sin and death, for death itself is the wages
of sin. You know how lightly we take
the, don't we? How lightly? The wages of sin
is death. He enters into battle against
sin and death. In that great chapter in Isaiah,
we read, all we like sheep. Again, there's that analogy,
isn't there? All we like sheep have gone astray,
every one of us. We've turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He went to battle for us unto
death. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities,
and the chastisement for our peace was upon him. And we read,
there who bore what? Our sins in his own body upon
the tree. You know, turn over just John
chapter 12 for a moment. John chapter 12. And again, here
is Christ speaking, as I referenced earlier, and he says, look there
in verse 27, now is my soul troubled. Now is my soul troubled, and
what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.
No, no, it's for this hour he's come. But for this purpose I
came to this hour. Now look down in verse 31. What
did he accomplish? He's gonna speak about what is
accomplished in coming to this place where he thrusts himself
into that place, that place of mortal combat for his people.
He says, then Jesus answered and said, The voice, verse 31,
now is the judgment of this world. Now is the judgment of this world.
Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted
up, will draw all people to myself. Will draw all, it says literally,
draw all to myself. And he said this signifying by
what death he would die. He speaks about those great accomplishments
that he was about to accomplish on the cross. Now, now the judgment
of the world is at the end of the age, isn't it? But no, that's
really just the administration of judgment. The judgment was
right here. This is what Christ is saying.
When he's lifted up, now is the judgment of this world. Why is
that? Because that's the distinguishing aspect when he separates, isn't
it? In that last day. Those who are
his sheep and those who are not. This is what he's saying. Now
is the judgment of this world. Now, what a remarkable thing. In death, yes, in death, but
what occurs? Now is the ruler of this world
cast out. And one thing more. If he's lifted
up in death, what will he do? What will that do? Isn't this
marvelous? In his death, he'll draw all
all his sheep to himself. He surely will. What is it, if
you're one of his, what is it that you believed in? What is
it that he revealed to you? He revealed himself upon the
cross, didn't he? And I, if I am lifted up, will
draw all to myself. He draws all his sheep to himself.
The good shepherd, this is what Christ is saying, the good shepherd
gives his life for the sheep. That's the good shepherd. Turn
back to John 10. Now the shepherd is stricken,
smitten, and afflicted. The shepherd falls. It would
seem the flock is doomed to an eternity of misery and death,
but no. No, as we've seen, no. He's the good shepherd. In death
is victory, victory over sin, victory over the curse of the
law, victory over all the powers of darkness. You know, there's a great verse there in Hosea that's
referred to in Corinthians, speaking about the sting of death. And
in it we see that the good shepherd in giving his life a ransom for
sheep, even death, we're told, is swallowed up in victory. Let
me just read that. It's found in Hosea 13, I will
ransom them from the power of the grave. He'll ransom his sheep. I'll ransom them from the power
of the grave. I will redeem them from death.
Oh, death, I will be your plagues. Oh, grave, I will be your destruction. Pity is hidden from my eyes. Death cannot hold him. He will
not leave his sheep scattered. The good shepherd lays down his
life, yes, but what do we read here in John 10? He has power
to lay it down and he has power to take it again. In verse 17,
what do we read there? Therefore, my father loves me
because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes
it from me, but I have power to lay it down and I have power
to take it again. He's the good shepherd. When
it comes to any who would threaten his sheep, pity is hidden from
his eyes. Pity is hidden from his eyes. Death, oh, death, you come with
your sting of sin, do you? You threaten the lives of my
sheep with destruction, do you? Oh, death, I will be your plagues. O grave, I will be your destruction,
your destruction. That's what he says. The good
shepherd rises in triumphant victory. Behold, in Isaiah 40,
we read, behold, the Lord, your God will come with a strong hand
and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him
and his work before him. He will feed his flock like a
shepherd. he will feed his flock like a
shepherd. He will gather the lambs with
his arms and carry them in his bosom and lead those who are
with young. Well, secondly, the good shepherd,
look there in verse 12, the good shepherd is the owner of the
sheep. Verse 12, John 10. but he who is an hireling and
not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf
coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf catches the
sheep and scatters them." Now, Jesus is the good shepherd because
he's the owner of the sheep. We read here the hireling is
one who doesn't own the sheep. He doesn't own the sheep, and
as a consequence when the danger comes, when something comes to
threaten the sheep, well, They're not his sheep. Why is he worried
about them? Why should he threaten his life? He gets up and he flees. He flees
at the first sight of danger. He's not the good shepherd. He's
not the good shepherd. But for the good shepherd, these
sheep are his reward, aren't they? He shall see of the travail
of his soul and shall be satisfied. They're his reward, as we read
there in Hosea. He's the owner of the sheep because
he's redeemed them with a ransom price, a great price, and they
belong to him and no one else. The life, too, that he gave for
his sheep was a life of infinite value, wasn't it? Peter, there in his first epistle
in that first chapter says, knowing that you were not redeemed with
corruptible things like silver and gold, the very best that
we can think of, of value, you were not redeemed with these
things, but you were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. You know, Paul, in writing to
the pastors there at the church at Ephesus, exhorted them and he put it this
way, he said, therefore take heed to yourselves and to all
the flock of God among whom the Holy Spirit has made you overseers
to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own
blood. This is the church of God which
he purchased with his own blood. Now this blood, this life, that
he's speaking of is of more value than all the lives of men, all
the lives of angels. Here is this man, he's a man
of absolute perfection, possessed of all the finest characteristics
and only the finest characteristics in all their purity. He's a man
who is God. He is a man in whom dwells all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily. God in perfection. The blood shed was the blood
of God. He purchased with his own blood. The blood, the lifeblood shed
to purchase his people was infinitely more valuable than if the entire
created universe had been given in sacrifice. Think of that. And then two, he's the good shepherd
that he would purchase and own such ones as you and I. Who else would care for sheep
like these? Who else? You know, don't turn there. I
know you know it. In Ezekiel, we have this, another, a great
picture of the church. And the prophecy there is speaking
about this deplorable state that the people of Jerusalem are found
in. And we read there, thus says
the Lord God to Jerusalem, your birth and your nativity are from
the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite, and
your mother was a Hittite. As for your nativity, on the
day you were born, your navel cord was not cut, nor were you
washed in water to cleanse you. You were not rubbed with salt,
nor wrapped in swaddling clothes. No, I pitied you. See, what's
the picture we're given? Here is this helpless and defenseless
child in a state of pollution. And here on this date of its
nativity and date of its birth, no, I pitied you to do any of
these things for you, to have compassion upon you. But you
were thrown out into the open field when you yourself were
loathed That's us. That's us. You, in the day that
you yourself were loathed on the day you were born. And when
I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to
you in your blood, live. Yes, I said, live. Why would anyone have compassion
upon ones like you and I? full of corruption, full of sin,
sin in every part of our being, in our thoughts and on our lips,
that poison of asps under our lips,
our feet swift to shed blood, destruction and misery, in our
way, the way of peace, have we not known? That's you and I. Who would own ones like us, let
alone purchase us with a price of such infinite value? Well,
the good shepherd will. Oh yes, yes he will, the good
shepherd. Here we are deserving no pity
and no compassion, loathed. Who, who would want someone such
as us? Well, the good shepherd, the
good shepherd. Well, thirdly, the good shepherd
cares for his sheep. Look in verse 13. The hireling
flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. Now the Good Shepherd not only
owns the sheep, but he cares about the sheep. He cares for
the sheep. You see, Jesus says the hireling flees for two reasons. He doesn't own the sheep and
he doesn't care about the sheep. Now, a man may own something,
but he may not care for it, even if he owns it. Now, in The area
where we work, it's not an uncommon thing if a man has many children,
if his wife bears another child, for them to take that child on
the day it's born and go and bury it in a shallow grave. Now if they have a family member,
often the family member, if they don't have many children, will
wait and watch and if they're there on the day that the woman
bears the child, they'll follow them out and rescue that child. And I've heard heartbreaking
stories of how they brush away the dirt stick their finger in
the child's mouth and get all the dirt and brush the dirt out
of their eyes. And, you know, it's been remarkable
how the Lord, in his grace and in his mercy, has saved a number
of these children that were saved in that way. And when the Lord
has saved them, this is what they speak about. They speak
about the fact that here they were. loathed, thrown out, and
yet deserving of that, and yet God in His mercy and His grace
had set His love upon them before time ever began. They were His. They were His sheep. He knew
them, and He cared about them. You know, they say, well, my
mother didn't care about me. But the Good Shepherd did. The
Good Shepherd did. He cares for His sheep. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He
cares for his sheep. He loves his sheep. He pities
his sheep. He has compassion upon his sheep. He thinks about his sheep. He
wants to be with his sheep. He desires the best things for
his sheep. He feeds his sheep. He comes that they might have
life, but not just life. He says, I have come that they
might have life abundant, abundantly. He blesses them with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. He supplies all their
needs according to his riches in glory. What riches? The rich is in glory. He supplies
all their needs. He crowns them with loving kindness
and tender mercy. He's the good shepherd. He's
the good shepherd. We see this care that the Lord
has for his people, for his sheep. everywhere, don't we? We see
it in the Old Testament, we see it in the New, we see it in the
Gospels, you know, one I think of is there where we read, then
Jesus and Matthew, then Jesus went about all the cities and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and healing every sickness and every disease among the people,
but when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion
for them. Why? because they were weary
and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. Here is this compassion
of the shepherd, the good shepherd who cares, who cares for his
sheep. Well, fourthly, the good shepherd
knows his sheep. Look there in verse 14. Look,
I am the good shepherd. He repeats it again. I am the
good shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own. Turn
over to Psalm 139 for a moment. Keep your place here. Psalm 139. Now, Timothy In writing to Timothy, the apostle
Paul says, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And what comfort
there is in that, isn't there? The Lord knoweth them that are
his. He's always known his sheep. There's never been a time when
he has not known his sheep. The Lord will always know his
sheep. Look here in Psalm 139, in verse
16, David here, he sings and he says, your eyes, saw my substance being yet unformed. And in your book they were all
written, the days fashioned for me when there as yet were none
of them." The election by God of a particular
people to himself is a precious truth to everyone who believes.
We will never, never get over the wonder of this, that God
would set his love upon me. love upon one such as I, that
he would care for me. No, no, we won't get over, there's
certain things that we read in scripture that when we're in
glory, they'll pass away, even faith. But this won't pass away,
the wonder of his grace to you and I, that he would care for
one such as us. Well, why does he? because he's
the Good Shepherd. He's the Good Shepherd and he
cares for his sheep. Now the Good Shepherd knows his
sheep. That's what he says here. The
Good Shepherd knows his sheep. He knows them intimately. He
knows what is in them. He knows their frame. He remembers
they were dust. He knows their heart. Now remember Peter, you know,
that heart rending cry of Peter when the Lord asks him three
times how piercing that must have been. Don't you think? Here
he sinned grievously against the Lord of his salvation. And
the Lord says, do you love me, Peter? Well, what did Peter appeal
to? He said, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Oh,
he does. The Good Shepherd knows his sheep.
He knows Peter loves him because he's put his love in his heart.
He knows everything about us. The Good Shepherd knows all our
strengths, all our weaknesses, all our fears. You know, so often
when we're in difficult straits, maybe none of you have been in
difficult straits, but so often when we're in difficult straits,
we think, oh, no one can understand. Have you had that feeling? No
one can understand. You know, people come and try
and comfort you and give you counsel and they have no idea
what I'm going through. And that's true. Often that's
true. But not with the Good Shepherd. No, no. He knows all our fears,
all our sorrows. He knows everything, everything
that's happened in our lives. He knows everything that will
happen in our lives. He's ordered it all perfectly
for our good, for the good of his sheep. Look at the beginning
of that psalm. What does David say? He says,
oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know my sitting
down and my rising up. You understand my thought of
far off before he's even thought the Lord understands. He knows.
You comprehend my path and my lying down. I don't comprehend
my path, do you? You know, I just go along one
day to another. I don't know what's gonna happen,
but not the good shepherd. The good shepherd knows everything
about his sheep. He says, you are acquainted with
all my ways. There's not a word on my tongue,
but behold, oh Lord, you know it all together. He knows his
sheep. The good shepherd knows his sheep. They're his particular people. This is how he knows them. They're
the sheep of his pasture. How true it is what he said of
Israel and Type. He said, you only, you only have
I known of all the families of the earth. Well, what is he saying
there? He's saying that God has only
one interest in this world, his sheep. There's so much I hear today,
so much being preached out there that the work of the church is
somehow to restore the world. So many of these false teachings
coming back in that the work of the church is to feed the
poor and give aid to the needy and all of these things, all
good things. I'm not saying that. The Lord isn't interested in
the world. He's not. He's interested in
his sheep. That's all. That's all. In his
sheep. The sheep of his pasture. Now,
this is one of the chief distinguishing characteristics of his sheep.
He knows his sheep. Have you thought about that?
That's the only reason you're his sheep, because he knows you. In the final day, when the righteous
judgment is rendered, he will say to those who are not his
sheep, what? Depart from me, I never knew
you, I never knew you. We'll turn back to John 10 there.
Fifthly, We see that the good shepherd, well, he knows his
sheep, but he, the good shepherd, is known by his sheep. He said,
I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known by my own. He repeats it again, verse 16,
and other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also
I must bring and they will hear my voice and there will be one
flock and one shepherd. Now, how is it that the sheep
know the shepherd? How is it that the sheep know
the shepherd. We'll look over in verse 26.
Verse 26, and here is Christ, he's responding to these Jews
who are so opposing him, hating this message that he's bringing. there as they have done many
other times before. He says, who are you? How long
will you keep us in suspense? Tell us who you are. How long
will you keep us in doubt? If you're the Christ, tell us
plainly. And what is his response? Jesus says, I told you and you
do not believe. The works that I do in my father's
name, they bear witness of me. Here he is, this glorious person. right before their eyes, carrying
out the works which the father has commanded him to do, clearly
portraying himself as the son of God, clearly portraying himself
as the prophet which was spoken of, the Christ, anointed and
sent by the father, but did they believe? No, no they did not
believe, but listen, what does he say, but you do not believe
for what reason? because you are not of my sheep.
That's why, that's why you do not believe because you are not
of my sheep. As I said to you, well, what
do the sheep do? My sheep hear my voice and I
know them and they follow me. This is what it means that the
sheep know him. They know him by faith. They know Him by faith. They believe because they're
His sheep. They most certainly will believe.
The love of God has been poured out in their hearts by the Holy
Spirit, who has been given to them in that great day, the appointed
day of God, when He comes in power. And He pours out His Spirit
in the heart, opening the eyes of the understanding. And we
see our Savior, don't we? And that's the day of life, isn't
it? That's the day we fall in love
with Him. The Spirit shows them Christ. He reveals Christ in
them and to them. And the sheep then, what do they
do? They distinguish Him from all
others. From that day forth, there's no mistake, is there?
They know Him. They know Him. You know, it's
like the Apostle Paul. He had this great desire, didn't
he? he had this great desire to know
him. And this is what he says, that
he, I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings. This was the very heart desire
of Paul, that he would come to know Christ in all his fullness. And for the sheep, it's true,
isn't it? It's true of us. In our hearts
and in our minds is Christ alone. Upon our lips is Christ alone. Christ alone. Oh, would it be
that that would be every minute of every day? And it will be
in glory. Yes, it will. Like Paul we say,
yet indeed I count all things but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I've suffered
the loss of all things and but do count them as dung that I
may gain Christ. That I may gain Christ. This
is the sheep, the sheep know the shepherd. The sheep know
the shepherd. They know him in his word. They
know him in his word. They delight in hearing from
him, of him in the scriptures. You know, we read of how the
Lord met those two men on the road to Emmaus, don't we? And
it's wonderful, isn't it, how it speaks about Christ opening
up the scriptures to them, and it says, their hearts burned
within them. And we find that to be true,
don't we? I hope it's true of you. Do you know what that means?
As you hear the Word preached, and Christ is revealed to you,
your heart burns within you. They rejoice when their eyes
are enlightened by the Spirit and their understanding is open
to see the unsearchable riches of Christ. His sheep know Him
because He speaks to them in His Word. And the sheep know
him by experience. It's true. They know him by experience. We've heard his voice. We've
heard the voice of the shepherd and we recognize his voice, don't
we? When he comes to us, we certainly do. And we know him too because we've
looked upon the face of the good shepherd. We read there in 2 Corinthians
of the light when of God commanding the light to shine in our hearts
to reveal what? The light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We hear his
voice, we see his face, and we know this is our shepherd. This is the good shepherd. Now the sheep hear the voice
of the good shepherd and they know his voice and what else
does Jesus say? He says they hear his voice and
they follow him. They follow him. What a wonder
that is, isn't it? What a wonder that is. The sheep
hear his voice when he first calls them by this effectual
call when we're called out of darkness into his marvelous light.
The sheep hear his voice when he calls them from death unto
life. You think of that profound illustration
of the son of the widow of Nain. You know, they're bringing him
out of the city and there's that procession. And you remember
that? And they're carrying out this dead body to be buried and
Jesus comes and he puts his hand and he stops them. And this is
what we read there. We read and Jesus speaks to this
dead body. And he says, he said to the young
man, arise. And he who was dead sat up. That's true of every one of his
sheep. When the Lord comes in that appointed time and place, he hears his voice, doesn't he?
He hears his voice. This dead body hears the voice
of the good shepherd. and he who is dead sat up. There's
so much in that. Well, the sheep hear the voice
of the Good Shepherd in his word. They certainly do. The sheep
hear his voice teaching them, instructing them in righteousness,
correcting them, rebuking them, comforting them, encouraging
them, revealing himself to them. The sheep hear his voice in all
things. We hear his voice amidst all
the other voices that are out there. You know, there's this,
there's all these voices out there in the world, it's a cacophony
of voices, isn't it? Pounding upon us, voices of false
teaching, voices of philosophy and empty deceit, the voices
of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride
of life, and they're all calling, aren't they? But the sheep, they
distinguish the voice of their shepherd from all these voices.
They surely do. They know His voice. They know
His voice. The sheep hear His voice. They
know His voice and they follow Him. They trust Him. They believe all He tells them
is good and right and true. And when this is so, when this
is so, what do the sheep do? Well, what does Jesus say? They
follow Him. Well, what else are they gonna
do? They follow Him. Well, let me move along real
quickly here. The Good Shepherd, too, brings
every one of his sheep into the fold. We're not going to get
through all these points, but let's listen to a few, maybe
one or two more. The Good Shepherd brings every
one of his sheep into the fold. What a wonder, what a comfort
that is. Verse 16, look there in John, 10 verse 16. And other
sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring
and they will hear my voice and there will be one flock and one
shepherd. Well, what does this tell us?
The good shepherd will not lose one sheep. Amen. The good shepherd will not lose
one sheep. He will find every lost sheep
and bring them into the fold. What a touching picture we have
in that parable of the lost sheep, don't we? Where here is this
lost sheep and the Pharisees had been murmuring, murmuring
once again at the Good Shepherd. And what does Christ say? He
says, what man of you having a hundred sheep, if he loses
one, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after
the one which was lost? How long does he go after it?
until he finds it, until he finds it. And when he has found it,
he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. He returns with rejoicing and
he's and... What do we know? Not one is overlooked. Not one. Not one is overlooked.
Not one too hard to find. Not one is too troublesome and
obstinate. Think How glad I am of that. Not one
too troublesome, too obstinate, not one in too dangerous a place
for the good shepherd to go and find him. No, no, he went even
unto death, the death of the cross. What did we read there
in Ezekiel? Let me just remind you of that
again. For thus says the Lord, indeed, I myself will search
for my sheep, sheep and seek them out as a shepherd searches
out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep. So
I will seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places
they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day." Oh, that was us,
wasn't it? Scattered on a cloudy and dark
day, and I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them
from the countries. This is why we're on the field.
This is why the Lord raises up his ministers to go forth preaching
the gospel. This is what he's doing. This
is why we're in New Guinea. The shepherd has sent us out. Why? Because he is finding his
sheep. In essence, that's what missionary
work is, isn't it? It's the Lord using us to find
his sheep. to find his sheep, and I will
bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries,
and I will bring them into their own land, and I will feed them
on the mountains of Israel, and in the valleys, and all the inhabited
places of the country, I will feed them in a good pasture,
and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There
they shall lie down in a good fold, and feed in rich pastures
on the mountains of Israel. Well, I think, let's finish there. I have so many, I have a lot
more points. And they're wonderful points.
They're glorious points as we contemplate who this is that
our shepherd is. And how thankful I am that he says
there earlier In John he says, for I've come down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. This
is the will of the Father who sent me, that of all He has given
me, I should lose nothing. What confidence we have in that,
don't we? What hope, what hope? The hope
of glory. Amen.