So once again, the help of God. I'd like us to turn together
to the chapter that we read last week, the Gospel according to
John, chapter 10. And the text you'll find in verse
11. I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. we have seen over the last few
weeks of the I Ams of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the bread
that came down from heaven. Here's the light of the world. Here's the door into the sheepfold
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he also is the Good Shepherd
and we have seen how the Lord Jesus Christ is taking those
illustrations from the Old Testament, those things that were credited
to God himself and then applying them to himself and so he is
pointing people to who he is by using various attributes that
have been associated with the Old Testament and crediting them
to himself. And so we can see, we have seen
how that this angered those people that he was speaking to. how
they acknowledge that it's not this Joseph, Jesus the carpenter's
son whose father and mother that we know and how they said to
him you being a man maketh yourself equal with God and so the statements
of the Lord Jesus Christ caused those who were with him to be
angry. One of the most important things
for a believer is to confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is
God. God manifests in the flesh. There
are those who reject that Christ is God. There are those who say
that he was just a man. There are those who say he was
just a prophet. for us to come here today and
to worship God through the Lord Jesus Christ it is essential
that we believe that he is God manifest in the flesh, that he
is the son of God, that he is God himself because if he is
not God, if he is not who he says he is then he is a liar
and we are sinners still in our sin and committing sin today
by idol worship. The Ten Commandments tell us
you are to have no other god before me and so if we come to
God and we worship him through another means then we are committing
idol worship And so today we come and we worship God through
the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And so it's essential that we
understand who the Lord Jesus Christ is. That he is God in
the flesh. That he is the bread that came
down from heaven. That he is the light of the world. God is light and in him there
is no darkness. This is essential that we understand
that he is the doorway by which we enter into the sheepfold.
He is the doorway by which we enter into the presence of God
and have communion with God. Not only is he just then the
doorway but he is the good shepherd, the good shepherd of his sheep
and those sheep he lays down his life for them that they may
live that they may come in and out, that he will lead them in
paths of righteousness, that he will commune with them, that
he knows them and that they know him. And so for Jesus to say
that he is the good shepherd is to say that he is God himself. Throughout the Old Testament
we saw last week that God refers to himself as a shepherd, that
he leads his people out, he led them out of Egypt and he took
them through the wilderness and he brought them through to the
promised land. We saw how David acknowledges
himself as a sheep of God. the Lord is my shepherd, that
he wanted to be led by God, he wanted to be fed by God, he wanted
to be protected by God, he wanted to be disciplined and chastened
by God, he wanted to be submissive to God and so for Christ to come
along and say I am good shepherd is for him to step
into the place of God and to say follow me. I will lead you
through the valley of the shadow of death. I will lead you to
the still waters. I will lead you to the green
pastures. I will lead you into heaven itself. In the book of Isaiah Isaiah chapter 63, verse 11, it says, and he remembered
the days of old, Moses and his people saying, where is he that
brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock?
Where is he that put his Holy Spirit within him, that led them
by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the
water before them and making himself as an everlasting name? He led them through the deep
as a horse in the wilderness that they should not stumble.
as the beast goeth down to the valley the spirit of the Lord
caused him to rest so did thou lead thy people to make thyself
a glorious name and so as Christ says I am the good shepherd he's
stepping into now this position of God that God led his people
he led them like a shepherd He walked before them, he provided
for them, he gave them that manna, he gave them the water, and he
brought them through to where he said he would take them. And so Christ says, I am just
like, or I am that great shepherd, that good shepherd. And in doing
so, he distances himself from those pharisees that called themselves
the shepherds of Israel. Remember that the kings in the
Old Testament were likened to shepherds, that pastors are likened
to shepherds. Those in positions of leadership
are likened to shepherds and Jesus uses an illustration and
he says that I am the good shepherd. I am not like you other shepherds
who climb over the wall like a thief and a robber but I have
a relationship with my sheep and I exist for the benefit of
my sheep. The difference between a thief
and a robber and a good shepherd is that the robber is only after
what the sheep have or what the sheep are. There are those who
make millions out of ministry. They step into a position of
leadership not because they have come through the doorway of the
Lord Jesus Christ and be given a humble mind of the Lord Jesus
Christ but they've climbed over the wall, they've got in some
other way. And their aim is not to benefit the sheep, not to
teach the sheep and to feed the sheep, but their aim is to rob
the sheep. Their ultimate goal is to have
what the sheep have for their own benefit. We saw a lot of
it in Kenya and in these third world countries where these men,
they're not even believers in Christ. call themselves pastors
and they exist basically to make themselves rich. Their church
is a business. They've climbed over the wall
another way. They don't know the good shepherd.
They haven't come through the door but they are robbing the
sheep of their goods to make themselves rich but Christ The
good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep is there for the
sheep's benefit. As God in the Old Testament led
the people of Israel out, he delivered them, he helped them,
he provided for them, he gave them all that they needed. He
led them out by that right way. But Christ is also the fulfilment
of prophecy in calling himself a shepherd. As we saw last week
there were those prophets that proclaimed this coming one, the
Lord Jesus Christ. And in the book of Ezekiel it
speaks of the great shepherd of Israel that would come, likened
to David, the great shepherd of Israel. And so in Christ calling
himself the good shepherd he's saying I'm the fulfilment of
this prophecy. The shepherd that would come
to bring the people out of darkness. To bring the people from that
lost condition. To bring them to the truth of
God. And so he is the fulfilment of
prophecy. But Another thing that struck
me is Jesus calling himself good. In the book of Matthew, there was a man who came to Jesus,
a rich man who came to Jesus and he says, Matthew chapter
19, verse 16, And behold, one came and said
unto him, good master, what good thing shall I do that I might
have eternal life? And so he comes to the Lord Jesus
Christ and he addresses him by the word good. Jesus asks him
a question, why callest thou me good? There is none good but
God, but that is God. But if thou will enter into life,
Keep the commandments. Jesus says there's none good
but God. Why are you calling me good? I believe that he was
expecting the man to state, well you are God. You are good. In you there is no darkness.
There is no uncleanness. There is no sin. But he doesn't. Jesus now calls himself good. He's already said there is none
good but God. Now he's saying I am the good
shepherd. I'm the fulfillment of prophecy.
I am the one that led you through the wilderness. I am the true
shepherd that would come to deliver his people from their sins by
laying down his life for them. And as And as the Old Testament
shepherd, as the Old Testament God searched for the children
of Israel as he says I'm going to gather them from the nations,
I'm going to search for those that are lost, I'm going to carry
the lambs in my arms. So the Lord Jesus the Good Shepherd
seeks for those that are lost. We read in the Gospel according
to Luke of the parable of the lost sheep. of the shepherd going
into the wilderness to find that one that was lost. And when he
finds it, he lays it upon his shoulders, rejoicing. And so the Lord Jesus Christ,
as the good shepherd, he goes out. He knows that there's one
missing. He knows there's one that should
be in his sheepfold. He knows there's one still on
the broad road that leads to destruction. And he goes out
and he finds it. when he finds it he brings it
to the sheepfold. He brings it under his protection,
under his care and the scripture says there is rejoicing over
one sinner that repents and so the illustration is that this
lost sheep is an unrepentant person, someone who doesn't understand
their lost condition, they are brought to the knowledge of the
truth, they cry out seeking for mercy and the Lord Jesus comes,
he hears their cries and he carries them to the sheepfold where they
are safe. The scripture tells us that all
we like sheep have gone astray, every one to his own way, we
are lost in a lost condition in a wilderness as it were like
a lorry load of sheep on their way to the slaughter to fall
under the judgment of God but Christ comes in his mercy and
he delivers such and brings them to safety. There was once a story
of a load of pigs that were on their way to the on their way
to the slaughterhouse. And in a traffic jam one of these
pigs escaped and he jumps over the edge of the lorry and he
makes his escape. And there was a great appeal
put out that he should be spared. People were protecting him from
going to the slaughterhouse. And he was spared and taken to
a farm and there he lived. In a sense we are like that,
although we don't rescue ourselves, the Lord Jesus comes and rescues
us, but we're on our way to the slaughterhouse, the great judgment
of God, to fall under God's justice for our sin. But Christ comes
as the good shepherd of Israel, the good shepherd of his people,
to deliver his sheep from that great slaughter, from that great
judgment. he brings them and he places
them into the sheepfold. He puts them through the door
through his blood and he keeps them there safely. I was reminded of David. You know David when he comes
before Saul as he's going to fight with Goliath he says, thy
servant has delivered the lamb from the bear and the lion and
smoked them. And this shall happen to this
great Philistine. He wasn't afraid. He said, I'm
able to do it. I'm able to slay the lion and
the bear and this Philistine. Well, Christ is able, the good
shepherd, to deliver his people out of that great lion, Satan. that great bear of death and
that great Goliath the grave he is able to deliver his people
as David the little shepherd boy delivered the people of Israel
so Christ is able to deliver his people from the great lion
the Lord Satan himself. Thy servant he says killed the
lion and the bear and this great servant the Lord's servant, the
Lord Jesus Christ is able to deliver people from death, destruction
and despair and to bring them safely through into his sheepfold,
into his church, to make them part of his glorious body where
they will be with one day with him forever and ever. And so
he says, I am the good shepherd. David was a good shepherd. He
protected the sheep, but Christ is a greater shepherd. Not only
does he protect his sheep, he dies for the sheep. He lays down
his life for the sheep. Jesus, we remember as John says,
behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. not only is he this great shepherd
that's able to deliver his people he does so by laying down his
life for them and we know that he laid down his life upon the
cross for the sins of his people he was bruised upon the cross for the sins of
his people he was crushed under his father's hand to pay the
penalty for the sins of his people. I lay down my life for the sheep. We go to the book of Revelation,
the apostle there has a vision and he sees into heaven and he
sees the Lord Jesus Christ walking through the midst of the candlesticks,
the churches And then the scene changes and he sees to heaven itself in chapter 5 verse 6 it says,
and I beheld and low in the midst of the throne four beasts and
in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits
of God, sent forth into the earth. And he came and took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. When
he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty
elders fell down before the lamb, having every one of them harps
and gold, rituals full of odours, which are the prayers of the
saints. they sang a new song saying thou art worthy to take
the book and to open the seals thereof for thou was slain for
thou has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred
and tongue and people and the nation. So this lamb of God that
was slain was only held in the grave for those three days and
then he was raised again from the dead a lamb as it had been
as though he had been slain his blood there in heaven itself
he entered into the temple not made with hands to present himself
before God the spotless Lamb of God it says for thou was slain
thou has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred
tongue and people the good shepherd laid down his life for the sheep. He says no man takes it from
me I lay it down of myself I have power to lay it down and I have
power to take it up again. He is the good shepherd he laid
down his life for the sheep and there he is in heaven itself
a lamb as though he had been slain. What are they singing?
worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing and every
creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth
and such are in the sea and all that are in them i heard saying
blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth
upon the throne and unto the lamb forever and ever and so
it's really this God manifested in the flesh the
Good Shepherd but the Good Shepherd became a lamb in order to die
for his sheep that his sheep that were destined for slaughter
may be able to be redeemed that his blood would be able to buy
them and set them free And so the great shepherd became a lamb
in order to spare his people. I am the good shepherd and I
lay down my life for the sheep. As God in the Old Testament protected
and provided for his people, so Christ The good shepherd lays
down his life for his sheep. He goes before them, puts them
into his sheepfold and he gives them protection and care. They are safe. Remember last
week we said those outside of the door, there are roaring lions,
there are dangers, there's Satan. But inside the sheepfold there
is safety and protection, security. Christ sleeps across the doorway. No one can go in and out unless
he says so. So there is that protection.
Peter tells us that he is the bishop of our souls. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 25 it says For ye were as sheep going astray
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. That is how we were. We were
going astray, lost in a lost condition but Christ goes into
the wilderness and searches for his people and brings them back.
You were as sheep but now You're under the authority of the bishop,
the overseer of your souls. This is what a
bishop is, is an overseer, someone who sits over a superintendent,
someone like that is an overseer. And so Christ is the overseer. the souls of his people, he preserves
them. They are kept in his sheepfold
and they are kept until he comes again to bring them to himself
for forever and ever. He leads them out. Not only does
he protect them, he goes before them. In Kenya they used to drive. Everything was driven. The shepherds
would go at the back. They would have a stick and they
would whack the cows. They'd whack the sheep. They
would have stones and they would throw stones at them to make
them go before them. The animals were petrified of
their shepherds. Not in these eastern countries.
They went before. They led them. They trod the
pathway before the sheep, before the goats, before their animals.
There was a relationship there. The sheep loved the shepherd
and the shepherd loved the sheep. They trusted one another. And so Christ, he leads out his
people and they follow him. And they know his voice. leads them in paths of righteousness
for his namesake. Yes they must walk through the
valley of the shadow of death which is this world but at times
as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death he takes
us to the still waters. There's times of refreshing and
enjoyment and He takes us to the green pastures and there
are times of satisfaction and meditation upon the Word of God
and blessing for our souls. He must continue on that journey
through that valley of the shadow of death until we come ultimately
to the promised land. He will lead his people and they
will all get to that place where he will have them to be. He goes before them. There was a story that I read
of two shepherd boys in Scotland. It was coming to winter and the
sheep were still on the mountains. They hadn't gathered them in
for the winter. But there came an early winter
storm and snow. And so they decided that they
had to go off into this snow storm and try and gather the sheep and bring them
down to safety. So one of the brothers led and
the other went behind. The one in front took the full
force of the snowstorm and his brother followed behind him.
And his brother writes that The closer I walked to my brother
the easier the journey was. My brother was taking the full
force of the storm and if I slacked off then the wind would come
around him and hit me and the snow would hit me. But I found
the closer I walked to my brother the easier the journey was. If
I walked in his footsteps And he had taken the hardness out
of the way. And so it is with the Lord's
people, isn't it? Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ has gone before
us. But how often we drift back and we follow him at a distance. We don't walk in the closeness
that we ought to walk. the storm as it were causes us
to drift away. We neglect those vital ordinances
of all those graces of prayer and scriptural reading and fellowship
and meditation and we slowly we drift back and we wonder why
the way is getting harder. We wonder why things are more difficult. And it's because we've drifted
away from our elder brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, who's
gone before. He says, I know my sheep and
they know me. He says, they know my voice. But you see, when we drift back,
we can't hear his voice because of the loudness of the storm.
We get despondent and despairing. there are times when he comes
and blesses us even though we don't deserve those blessings,
we don't deserve those encouragings, it's us that has drifted away
yet he comes because he is the good shepherd and he delights
in his sheep and he speaks again to them and he says follow me. We hear his voice and we get
up and we follow again, we turn again unto him and we walk closer
than we've ever walked before and we are blessed. And then
we drift. And so goes our cycle of the
sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ. But Christ remains the good shepherd
and he leads his people and he encourages them and he blesses
them. and he knows them and they hear
his voice and he calls them and he knows their name. We read
in Revelation 21 that the lamb has a book that he is worthy
to open that book and that in that book he has the names of
all of his sheep. It's the lamb's book of life
like a ledger of all of his people. When the roll call is call up
yonder I'll be there. Will you be there, my friend,
when the time comes like Norman for you and me to be snatched
from this world? Will your name be written in
the Lamb's Book of Life? Is Christ your Good Shepherd?
Are you following Him? Do you know Him? Does He know
you? Is there a relationship there between you and Him? You
do not know if you're going to survive the rest of this day.
And God has given us a warning right at our doorstep that we
can be snatched in a moment into eternity and then the door will
be shut, the gospel will be no more able to be echoed into our
ears and the good shepherd will what? Will become the judge. This good shepherd who now stands
at the doorway will become the judge. What does the scripture
say? It says he will stand and he
would divide the sheep from the goats as a shepherd divides the
sheep from the goats he will divide the nations before him
the righteous and the unrighteous on that last day and there he would judge we sing of the little baby Jesus lying in a manger When he comes
again, he won't be the little baby Jesus. He'll come as a warrior,
a judge. The trumpets will sound again
and the Lord Jesus Christ will come and then everything will
be over and he will stand. The nations will be before him
and he will divide them. You, on the left hand, into everlasting
punishment for you rejected the good shepherd. You on the right
hand come in thou blessed of the Lord. Why standest thou without? Come with me to my kingdom. We will be together forever and
ever. And so this good shepherd who
gave his life for the sheep will come to judge. I am the good
shepherd and I know my sheep I am known of mine. There will
be no hiding on that day. The scripture tells us that they
will call for the rocks to fall on us, fall on us, hide us from
the face of him that sits upon the throne but there won't be
any hiding. Jesus will call and he will call
his sheep for he knows them and he knows them because they belong
to him and they will be with him forever and ever. And other sheep have I which
are not of this fold, them I must bring and they shall hear my
voice and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. How it be on that great and that
final day when all the nations shall be gathered before him.
He separates them, brings out his church, brings out his sheep
separates them from the goats and there will be a multitude
of people of every nation, of every kindred and of every tongue. Not just one denomination. A people gathered from the whole
world to be with Christ. Which is far better. The hymn
says, shall I among them stand? such a worthless worm as I, who
sometimes am afraid to die, be found at his right hand. I will each be found there. Amen. Let's sing our closing hymn number
535. 535, O the love of Christ to sinners,
who can make its wonders known. Sin-born slaves through grace
are winners of a bright celestial crown. Jesus gives us endless
glory and renown. 535, tune 684. O the love of Christ to sinners
who can make its wonders known. Send on faith through grace the
winners of our bright celestial crown. Jesus gives us, Jesus
gives us endless glory and renown. We by nature are disgraceful,
Thou dim earth, Thou field of hell. Who the righteousness is
faithful, who can other business tell? Satan's captive, Satan's
captive, and we loved his service well. Jesus saw us, saw him moving,
and determined us to save, shed his blood and brought us to him,
? For at thy physical became ? ? He redeemed us ? ? He redeemed
us ? ? From sin, Satan, and the grave ? ? Endless love he gave
us ? Love redeemed us. Love redeemed us. and will ever hold us host. Almighty God, we do thank thee
for the good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. And we pray, Lord, that each
one may hear his voice, that they may follow him, that they
may live. Do give us ears that hear and
hearts that respond to thy word, we pray, and do dismiss us with
thy blessing. And now may the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father, with the fellowship
and the communion of the Holy Spirit, do rest and abide with
us each now and for evermore. Amen.