Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 34. Ezekiel 34. The verse of scripture
that I want to deal with will actually be the one that I end
with. in today's message, and it's
verse 26. Ezekiel 34, 26 says, and I will
make them and the places round about my hill a blessing. And I will cause the shower to
come down in his season. There shall be showers of blessing. I want for us to consider for
a few minutes the blessing of God. The blessing of the Lord to send to His people shepherds. Shepherds who are chosen, called,
taught, and sent by God to feed the sheep, to tell them the truth
about the great shepherd. We have one shepherd, one shepherd. Now God sends pastors under shepherds,
ministers, to preach the gospel of the great gracious, faithful
shepherd himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want us to start
in verse 1 of chapter 34 and just come up to that last verse
and take, as the Spirit of God has written these scriptures,
and set forth how the Lord blesses his people and sends them showers
of blessing. Many claim to be shepherds, but we're taught something about
the character of God's shepherds and the responsibility that they
have and strive after toward the proclamation of the truth.
They struggle. They strive. They're called of
God and they know it. And this is not a job. This is not a vocation like men
have vocations. This is a calling. This is a
ministry. And we're to be responsible. to that ministry. And the Lord
gives a warning. Here's my first point. The Lord
gives a warning to those who make claim to be shepherds, but
fail to exhibit the heart and the responsibility. of a shepherd,
an under-shepherd called God. Look at verse 6, verse 6 verses,
Ezekiel 34. And the word of the Lord came
unto me saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
prophesy and say unto them, thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds.
Now let me tell you, I'll tell you before I finish this reading.
He's talking about those that claim to be shepherds. They're
said to be these shepherds of Israel. Men that are standing
in pulpits, and not called of God, they think that they're
preaching to the same people that everybody else is preaching
to. They think that they're truly called of God, and so they're
saying, we're called of the Lord. Well, here the Lord is saying
to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, those that claim to
be, 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? You eat the fat. You clothe you
with the wool. You kill them that are fed, but
you feed not the flock. The diseased have you not strengthened,
neither have you healed that which is sick, neither have you
bound up that which is broken or was broken, neither have you
brought again that which was driven away, neither have you
sought that which was lost, but with force and cruelty have you
ruled them. And they're scattered because
there's no shepherd. And they became meat to all the
beasts, not physical animal beasts, Wicked men, is what he's talking
about, of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered
through all the mountains upon every hill. Yea, my flock were
scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search
or seek after them. The message of the Holy Spirit
is given to Ezekiel to be delivered unto the unfaithful shepherds
that were found within Israel. that may claim to be true shepherds. The message that is relative
to every season and generation since these scriptures were even
written. Here's what it is. You feed the sheep of God. You feed them. This is what a
pastor is called to do. What's his calling? Feed the
sheep. That's what the Lord told Peter.
Peter, lovest thou me more than these? Feed my sheep. Feed them. God's people are born
in this world, diseased with the plague of sin, bound up in
the bondage of iniquity, separated from God by their transgressions. They're lost. This is how they're
born into this world. With no knowledge of their plight. And they need to hear the gospel. The power of God unto salvation.
And the Lord truly does call pastors. He calls true pastors
according to His heart. And He charges them. You feed My people with knowledge
and understanding. That's Jeremiah 3.15. And it's
required. of these shepherds, these stewards,
that they be found faithful and by the grace of God they are.
They do, they know their calling. They know what the responsibility
is. I've said so many times, I think
of this often when I'm going through Proverbs. I've told you
before, Proverbs is the hardest book I've ever preached in my
life. And I know the subject. It's
the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when I read that, I know
where I'm going. But it's like Mr. Spurgeon says. He said, you take a passage of
scripture, and you know where it leads. Because the Lord said,
these scriptures speak of me. But he said, it's the responsibility
of the pastor. He said, you get on a road that
leads to Christ in that passage. And he said, you go there. That's
what you do. Preachers do. They're going to
feed the sheep. And the only thing that the sheep
want is they want to hear of the bread of heaven. The water
of life. That's their meat. That's their
hunger. You tell me about Him. It's so
easy, well easier for me to relate what that statement would mean. If this pet were my last day,
I'm dying. I'm dying. I'm on my deathbed. I've got moments left. What do
you think I want to hear? You tell me about my one hope
of glory. Don't burden me with all this
other stuff that doesn't matter. I don't want to hear it. Tell
me of my Lord. Tell me of him that won't leave
me and won't forsake me. Tell me about him as we just
read in Psalm 111. He ever remembers his covenant.
Tell me about the one that I can cry unto and say, Lord, like
that thief on the cross, Lord, remember me. Lord, don't leave
me to myself. God, please. This is what a pastor
called of God is called to do. But the charge against these
self-called shepherds, those who claim to be called of God,
but according to the word of the Lord, don't feed the sheep,
you know. Isaiah describes them like this,
Isaiah 56.1, they're greedy dogs which can never have enough.
They are shepherds that cannot understand. They all look to
their own way, every one for his gain from his quarter or
that is every one of them. They all do the same thing. But notice in Ezekiel 34. Here's
the charge. Here's the offense. Here's the
rub right here. Verse six, the charge is against
them that neglect the sheep of God. Look at verse six again. My sheep wandered through all
the mountains and upon every hill. Yea, my flock were scattered
upon all the face of the earth and none did search or seek after
them. So here's the rub. These are God's people. I mean,
it looks and is made to realize to my heart in a different way
when I look and I think, there's some God's sheep here. Here's
some people that are everlastingly loved of God, redeemed by the
precious blood of Christ, the bride of the Lord Jesus. You
feed them. You make sure that you set forth
that which is to their edification and is honoring to the Lord.
So I know this. There's a warning against unfaithful
undershepherds. Secondly though, here's what
I know. The Lord is gonna deal with their
unfaithfulness. Look at verses seven to 10. Therefore,
you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. As I live, and he who lives forever, he
who is the eternal God, he says, as I live, on the basis that
I'm alive, he's what he's saying. As I live, saith the Lord God,
surely, because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat
to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd,
neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds
fed themselves and fed not my flock. Therefore, all you shepherds,
hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, behold,
I am against the shepherds and I will require my flock at their
hand. and cause them to cease from
feeding the flock. Neither shall the shepherds feed
themselves anymore, for I will deliver my flock from their mouth,
and that they may not be meat for them." Now, obviously the
Lord has sent this message of rebuke to men claiming to be
God-called shepherds. standing in pulpits today, and
I know this based upon, I'd have no right to be able to make this
statement if I didn't have this word right here. But I know what
the message is. I know the message of the gospel. It's that glorious message of
redemption that God Almighty has eternally set forth to be
for a people of His love and choosing and affection. A people
that He chose and gave to the Lord Jesus Christ. And Christ
came and lived for and died for those elect. Those who could
not live for or die for themselves. They were dead in trespasses
and sin. And God saved them by grace.
Not according to their works. I know that's the truth. So therefore,
whenever the Lord sets forth and declares these to be false
shepherds that don't feed the sheep, what are they doing? They're
not telling them the truth of salvation by grace that gives
all the honor and the glory and the praise to the Lord. That's
what they're doing. They're not feeding them. They're telling them a lie. Telling
them that they can do something for themselves. And the Lord
said, He said, I'm going to require the, you know, against them. I'm going to require their deeds
for not feeding my sheep. Hold your place right there.
This Matthew 25 gloriously sets forth this very
truth. Matthew 25 verses 41 to 46 in
the day of judgment. The Lord's gonna separate sheep
from the goats, gonna put sheep on his right hand, goats on the
left. And I'm just gonna read the part
starting in verse 41 where he deals with what he's gonna say
to those unfaithful. Then shall he say also unto them
on the left hand, depart from me ye cursed into everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungered,
now I preached on this one time, but I'll just remind you what
I said. What he's talking about is he's talking about what they
failed to do in proclaiming, loving, believing, proclaiming
the gospel. When he said, I was hungry, he's
talking about his people. He's talking about those that
are his, that are his body. When he said he was hungry, he's
talking about his people. that were truly spiritually hungry.
I was hungry and you gave me no meat. You didn't feed me the
gospel. You didn't tell me of the bread
of heaven. I was thirsty. You gave me no drink. I was a
stranger separated by birth from God and you took me not in. I was naked without a fit righteousness
before God but nothing but filthy rags. and you clothe me not. You didn't tell me of the imputed
righteousness of Christ. I was sick from the crown of
my head to the sole of my foot. I was in prison, bound in trespasses
and sins. You didn't visit me with the
truth. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we
thee and hungered, or thirst, or stranger, and naked, sick,
prisoned, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer
them, Verily I say unto you. Now listen. This is what he's
talking about when he says, I'm going to require that these false
shepherds, I'm going to require their hand, what they did not
do. Every man, every man I'm telling
you that's standing in a pulpit and lying to people. Giving a
false truth, a false gospel, false hope. Telling them that
you do this, that or the other and you'll be right. In the day
of judgment, they're going to stand before God and God's going
to judge them for what they didn't do. What they did do, but what
they didn't do. Then shall he answer, Verily
I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least
of these, you did it not to me. And these shall go away to everlasting
punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. Is there going to be a reckoning
for standing in a pulpit and lying to people? You better believe
it. The Lord says, I'm going to require
at their hands. The Lord has promised to not
leave His people to these frail men. He's going to call them
out of darkness. He's gonna put them under the
sound of the gospel. He said, I'm gonna give you pastors. He's promised. I won't leave
you. I won't leave you to yourself.
But I'm telling you, there is a reckoning concerning men that
are standing in pulpits and lying. Thirdly, the sheep of God shall
surely be sought, found, and delivered by the good shepherd. Look at verses 11 to 16. For thus saith the Lord God,
behold, I, even I will both search my sheep and seek them out. I've read that again and again. I thought, you know, whenever
the Lord sends a pastor and teaches him the gospel, And they preached
the truth. The Lord said, that's me. I'm
doing that. Paul the Apostle said, we are
ambassadors for Christ. We beseech you in Christ's stead. We stand here as the representatives,
truly, setting forth the truth of God's gospel. The Lord said,
it's me talking. These are not my words. I'm a voice. That's what John
the Baptist says. I'm just a voice. I know men
despise, men of this world, they despise the truth of the gospel
because it just flies in the face of their flesh. I understand
that. But I'm telling you, whenever
a man stands up and proclaims the gospel of God's free grace,
men need to be told This is the Word of the Lord. This is the
Word of God. This is the voice that the Lord said, My sheep
hear. It's His voice. You say, well
Marvin, that's you speaking. It's my voice, but these are
not my words. These are His words. 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 is among the sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and deliver them out of all places
where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 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 rivers and all the inhabited
places of the country. I will 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 will
cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. 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 strong. I will feed
them with judgment. So according to the promise of
God, who cannot lie, the sheep are going to be sought, they're
going to be found, and it is the Lord Jesus himself. He is the one who, according
to God's everlasting covenant of grace, has given His word
that He is the one, personally, that's seeking Him out. I mean,
it's so easy for us to think, well, the Lord's in heaven, which
He is. The Lord is seated at the right
hand of the glory of the majesty on high, which He is. But he
who is omnipresent, he said, when the sheep are sought out,
he said, it's me seeking them. It's me. It's me that it's calling
them out of darkness. David said, the Lord is my shepherd. I'm not going to lack. I shall
not want. So here's the promise of God. Of all out of Adam's fallen race
that have been chosen eternally, everlastingly, whose names are
written in heaven, written in the Lamb's Book of Life, all
that Almighty God has everlastingly loved and chosen and given to
the Lord Jesus Christ, entrusted to Him. As the shepherd, they're
going to be gathered out from among men out of all the nations
of the world. Yes, they fell in Adam. All of us did. All of us did.
But they shall surely... This is the promise that we've
got from the Lord. He said, you do this. You go
into all the world. And you preach the gospel to
every creature. This is the means by which God's
going to call out his sheep. You preach the gospel to them.
I don't have the power to make it effectual. I told you about
my friend years ago. I was in Louisiana. And he hated
this message. He hated it. And I thought, I'm
going to read one passage of scripture to him. And I'm telling
you, there will be no way in the world that he won't get it.
That's one I read and love all the time, 2 Thessalonians 2.13. But we are bound, I said listen
to this, listen to this. But we are bound to give thanks
unto God always for you. brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth." I said,
now, you believe that? He said, well, I don't know. I thought, I don't have the ability to make
it a factual. but the Lord didn't commission
me to make it effectual. This is what he said. You preach
it. You preach it. Can these bones live? Can these dry bones live? Lord,
you know. I don't know. You preach to them
and you say, oh, dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. And he
said, and I will cause breath to come in them. This is what
I know. The Lord said, as a shepherd
seeks out his flock in the day, I'll seek out mine. I'll call
them. We have this promise, John 6,
39. This is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all
which He hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day. That's the hope. That's the hope
that we've got. Our message is not one without
hope. I know this. We're still here
today on this earth because God's still got a sheep. There's some
sheep that haven't been called out yet. I know that. So what do I do? I preach the
same message to them, just take a different passage. Same message. You're not hearing anything any
different today. They're going to be gathered.
They're going to be fed with good food. And it's going to
be the gospel. That's what's going to feed them.
If I would preach something else this morning, you would look
at each other and you'd think, what in the world is he talking
about? What's he doing? Tell me of him. Tell me of him. You know, I know
that until the Lord calls them, I know they don't get it. They
don't see it. They're blind. They're deaf. They got a dead
heart. But when the Spirit of God comes
and takes out that heart of stone and puts in a new heart and gives
them a new, Brother Henry says, new attitude. I like that. Gives them a new mind, new attitude.
And they see, gives them eyes and they say, I never saw that
before. And now it's everywhere. It's
in all the scriptures. And you hear it and you think,
that bears witness to my heart. And the Lord seeks them out. And He tells them, this is what
I've done for you. And they believe it. He gives
them faith to believe it. And He tells them, I redeemed
you from the curse of the law being made a curse for you. They're all going to get there.
Well, what if they're out there in the middle of the desert?
What if they're from Ethiopia or some place like that and they're
just out there in the middle of nowhere? God's going to send
a Philip. God will send a preacher. The Lord said, I will. And He
sends His Spirit and He affectionately blesses that and calls them. While he's calling his own, he
said in that latter verse, verse 16, I will seek that which was
lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind
up that which is broken, and will strengthen that which was
sick, but I will destroy the fat and strong, those that think
themselves to be, those that don't feed the flock. Now I'm
telling you, I read, Robert Hawker, on this passage of scripture
right here, he said, every man truly called of God, when he
hears that right there, but he makes a quick check on himself.
Man, am I feeding the flock? Because he knows God's just,
and God's gonna do that which is right. And it just, it's like
a reality check. Lord, help me. He says, I will
destroy the fat and the strong and will feed them with judgment. And then, fourthly, the Lord
shall make known who are His according to His sovereign choice
and who's not. He's going to make, look at verse
17. As for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God, behold, I
judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Now, the Lord is saying that
he's going to make a separation. And he's going to make it known.
He's going to make it between the wheat and the tares. See, every congregation, no matter
what, the whole nation of Israel, It seemed, according to men,
to be the Lord's flock. When they came out of Egypt,
who could tell? Who could know? They all come
out. They're all walking out of Egypt. They're all being delivered. They're all walking out. But
according to the providence of God in time, the Lord made it
evident. There was some among the nation
that possessed a different heart, a different character. But the
Lord knew how to distinguish them. He said that He was going
to judge or vindicate His people that had been wrongly treated.
That's what He said in verse 17. He was going to litigate.
He was going to judge. going to make a call, going to
make it obvious between the sheep and the malicious tyrants that
were found among the people. And so it appears that the Lord
is speaking directly to those who would actually be sowing
discord among the brethren. He makes known the way of those
that are among the sheep by their attitude. toward His Word and
His people, which is actually toward Himself. Here's how He
did it. Look at verse 18 and 19. He said, Seemeth it a small thing
unto you that have eaten up the good pasture, but you must tread
down with your feet the residue of your pastures, and have drunk
of the deep waters, but you must foul the residue with your feet,
And as for my flock, they eat that which you've trodden with
your feet, and they drink that which you've fouled with your
feet." What he's saying is this, you that make claim to love the
Lord, that love, you say, the gospel, but though your mouth
is with me, he said, your heart's far from me. You deny by your
actions that which you say that you love. It's like those in
Jude 1, 4, there were certain men crept in unawares who before
of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace
of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said, what you're doing,
by your actions, your attitude, toward this word, but toward
my people. By this shall all men know you're
my disciples. You have love one for another. Here's what he's
saying. You're denying what you say you believe as you tread
upon and disrespect my own. Your shepherds haven't fed them.
People that don't love the gospel He said, you tread upon by your
actions and attitude that which is precious. And he said in verse
19, as for my flock, they eat that which you've trodden with
your feet. The disrespect toward my people and my word, what you're
trampling on by your actions. He said, that's what my people
feed on. And you're stomping on it. Fifthly, the sheep have a shepherd
that shall save and bless them. This is my last point this morning.
Verses 20 to 26. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God unto them, behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat
cattle and between the lean cattle. He's talking about between the
sheep and the tares. because you thrust with side
and shoulder and pushed all the diseased with your horns, mistreated
my people, till you've scattered them all abroad. Therefore, will
I save my flock? They shall no more be a prey.
I will judge between cattle and cattle. I will set up one shepherd
over them, and he shall feed them. Even my shepherd David,
or the one of whom David was a type, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He shall feed them. He shall be their shepherd. I,
the Lord, will be their God, and 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 will cause the
evil beast to cease out of the land. And they shall dwell safely
in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. I will make them,
when he said, they'll dwell safely in the wilderness of this world
and sleep in the woods of, you know, the dangerous places of
this world. You know, somebody said, well,
boy, sleeping out in the woods, you know, there could be snakes
and all kinds of stuff out there, you know. He's talking about
being in this world. I'm going to watch over him.
I will make them in the places round about my hill, that is,
my church. A blessing. I'll cause the shower
to come down in his season, and there shall be showers of blessings. Now in this last part right here,
this is the blessing. The Lord said they're in a world
that doesn't love them. You'll be hated of all men for
my name's sake. They're in a place that is not
their home. They're sojourners and pilgrims.
The Lord said, I'm going to call you out. And I'm going to watch
over you. I'm going to take care of you.
I'm going to feed you. I'm going to give you shepherds. And they're
going to tell you of the shepherd that's going to have them. And
they're going to be blessed. They are going to proclaim the
one good shepherd that gives life to the sheep, the faithful,
that shall not fail, but shall deliver, protect, the obedient
one, the one that always did only those things that pleased
the Father, the covenant shepherd that has ever stood as the surety
of the sheep. And by the death and resurrection
of the shepherd, the true shepherd, the substitute of his bride,
the sheep are assured, you're going to be at peace. You're
going to be, there's going to be There's going to be trial
and tribulation. But I'm telling you, you're going
to sleep in the woods, in the wilderness, and be at rest. Because I'm going to keep you. You're going to walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, this world. But fear no evil. Why? Because I'm with you. I'm with you. Even in the midst
of this world where people hate us, yeah, yeah. I'll take care
of you, you'll be blessed, blessed. I will cause the shower to come
down in his season. Now that shower, the ultimate
shower, that God's going to come down in his season, the Lord
has promised in my time, notice the wording in closing, I will
cause the shower to come down in His season. The shower that He's promised
in His season is the gospel. The gospel of His Son. The gospel of Christ. I will
cause the shower to come down. Now, you know, we think about
when the Lord causes rain. That's true. He said, I caused
it to rain on the just and the unjust, the sun shines just,
and I let it rain here and it doesn't rain here, and then I
say rain over there and it doesn't rain right here, and it just,
whenever it pleases God, that's what Paul the Apostle says, when
it pleased God that separated me from my mother's womb, immediately
I conferred not with flesh and blood. It was spiritual, what
he's saying. When the Lord was pleased to
call you or me, why did he do it then? Because it pleased him
to do so. How many years I sat under a
lie and believed it, and believed it, convinced of it. But when he sent the shower of
blessing in its season, then I saw. He said, that's what
I'm going to call it. But the Lord, His people, they're
going to receive that shower of blessing. But then He said
something in closing here, there shall be showers of blessing. The showers of blessing that
is going to set forth in the blessing, the one blessing, the
shower of blessing in season, The showers that are going to
be found in that is that the refreshing knowledge in that
gospel of peace and pardon and righteousness and forgiveness
and life eternal Where's the end of the showers of blessing? There's no end to them. They
all come from the one shower. The shower of God's blessing
is the truth of the gospel, the power of God on salvation. But all found within that glorious
shower are the showers that blesses the people of God, their hearts,
to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul said
this. Philippians 4.19, but my God
shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus, the Lord. James said, 1.17, every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from
the Father of lights with whom there's no variableness, neither
shadow of turning. showers of blessings. Oh, that
almighty God might bless us, refresh us today for His glory
and our eternal good. Amen.