Turn with me now to a very familiar
portion of Scripture. John chapter 10. John chapter 10. Let's read verses
14 to 16. I am the good shepherd and know
my sheep and am known of mine. As the father knoweth me, even
so know I 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 shall hear my voice, and there shall be
one fold and one shepherd. As you know, I had oral surgery
a week ago Monday. And everything was fine until
I believe infection set in last Friday night. And I had some very intense pain
throughout the weekend that was off and on controlled by medication. And I'm very grateful to the
men who were willing to step up at the last minute and help
me. I needed help, and I'm very,
very grateful to them for that. It was a very strange Sunday
for me. It was a very strange Sunday.
But it was a very blessed Sunday for me, and it's because normally
I am only focused on my task at hand. I get up early on Sunday
morning, and it is nose to the grindstone, you know, I have
a job ahead of me and I never feel ready and I'm always, you
know, scribbling and scratching and then I come here and I do
my job and then I get something to eat and I go home and it's
nose to the grindstone and then I come back and do my job and
that's how Sunday is for me. And last Sunday I didn't have
a task in front of me. And it was odd. It was really
odd. So I got up, you know, I did
what I used to do before I was called to do this. I kind of
laid around for a minute and drank some coffee, and then the
girls got ready. About, you know, the time they
were leaving, I turned sermon audio on. And I started streaming
my dad's service. They have a 930 and a 10 service. We didn't have a Bible study
at 10. So I turned their service on
and I was able to listen to their song service and their announcements
and their scripture reading and dad's message. And I saw different
brethren on the TV and then at 1045 I switched over to our service
and I listened to the song service and I listened to the reading
and I listened to the message and I saw different brethren
on the TV and then when ours was over I
knew that the congregations in central time would be coming
on so I went to the alphabet of Sermon Audio and started scrolling
through and the first one I noticed was Bible Baptist Church, David
Edmondson. So I listened to their song service
and their announcements, their personal announcements and the
reading of scripture and Brother David's message and the whole
morning just warmed my heart. Like the whole experience of
just going here and there, it warmed my heart. I had an ice
pack on my face. I had a cold cheek and a warm
heart. And it was just special to me. And I'm gonna try to convey to
you why it was special to me. I got to enter into all of these
different local assemblies that witness a true confession of
Christ. And as I watched each one of
them, and as I saw each one of them, you know, I went to one
place, and there were believers there, and there was a message
there, and there was a spirit there, and reading there, and
then another place. I was sitting there thinking, I love these
people. It's so good to see that one, and it's so good to see
that one, and I love these brethren. And I was just thinking, the
Lord is so good. The Lord has been so good to
us. He honestly has been so good
to us, all of the fellow assemblies, this fellowship all over this
world. It was just special. Normally,
the only way I get to hear other men live like that is in a conference
or if they come here. and preach, but it was wonderful
to just watch them at home with their local assembly. Just routine,
the day in, the day out, just that local family. These pastors
who faithfully week after week have fed the sheep of God. I was thinking that. You know,
you go to a place, and this is what a man does week after week,
and this is what brethren do. They gather faithfully week after
week, worshiping God, and it blessed me. It blessed my heart.
It encouraged me. It strengthened my desire in
this, just all the way around. I just think it was so good for
me. The name pastor comes from the word pasture. It literally means to pasture,
to tend to, to feed, to shepherd. That's why pastors are called
under shepherds. They've been called on by the
shepherd to earthly speaking, you know,
physically, humanly speaking, tend to the sheep of the Lord,
feed the sheep of the Lord, guard over and watch over the sheep
of the Lord. And I entered into how thankful
I am for these little flocks that the Lord has raised up All over the world, here and
there, I'm so thankful for these little places. But it hit me
that I am more thankful for the fact that real soon, real soon,
this dynamic that our Lord has ordained to be will be over. And a new dynamic is coming. In light of, I love these people.
I love those brethren. I'm so glad to see those brethren.
It's so good to see them. It's great to hear him. A new dynamic is coming. We're
not going to have little local assemblies with little figurehead
under shepherds. Real soon, there is going to
be one fold and one shepherd. Does that excite you at all? I can't wait. I cannot wait. I love the calling that I have
been given. I am thankful for the calling
that I have been given, but the thought of all of these dear
people, these dear brethren that I know and love so much being
in one congregation. The Lord Jesus Christ being our
pastor. I can't help it. I just can't
wait. That's not a death wish. That's just excitement. That's
all it is, is excitement. You talk about getting excited
for the next message to be preached. Do you ever find yourself on
Wednesday or Sunday, probably more Wednesday, like you're going
about your life and your whatever, and you realize it's Wednesday.
We get to go to service tonight. You ever find yourself, you know,
excited, wondering where are we going to be in the scripture?
What are we going to look at? I'm excited for the next message. Well, We have never known excitement
for a message like we are going to know. Think about that. We have never dreamed of how
glad we are going to be to go to the house of the Lord like
we're going to be. You talk about a song service.
I enjoyed the song services that I heard. I enjoyed hearing Brother
Gary Bourne lead the singing up there in Fairmont. And then
I enjoyed hearing Brother Eddie lead the singing here. And then
I enjoyed hearing Brother David Edmondson lead the singing in
Madisonville. I enjoyed that so much. But you
talk about a song service. choirs of God's angels, singing in the tongues of angels. We'll understand, we'll know
every word, we'll be singing right along. And honestly, can you imagine
what it's going to be like to watch the Lord Jesus Christ stand
and walk up to a pulpit? A pulpit of wood. All of us sitting in pews, listening
to him as he preaches to us. Genesis 1-1, in the beginning,
I created the heaven and the earth. And I'll tell you exactly how
the earth was. I was there. I said, Let there be. Noah found grace in the eyes
of me. That rock was me. I was led as a lamb to the slaughter. I cried, my God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? I bowed my head and gave up my
ghost. We literally cannot imagine what
that's gonna be like. That is gonna be so glorious.
It's going to be so glorious. When all of this is over, when
all infections are over, and all sin is over, and all separations
are over, and everything that this is prophesying of and pointing
us to, when it all comes to pass, there will be one fold and one
shepherd. one pastor, and what a pastor
he will be. In that day, we're going to say,
the Lord is my pastor. He's our pastor right now. It's
just we're going to physically know the experience of it. I've told you before that that
really hit home to me. 17 years ago, we were in Mexico,
and I picked up Brother Cody Groover's Bible to see if I could
understand anything out of it. I turned to Psalm 23 because
I knew what Psalm 23 verse 1 said. And in Spanish, his Bible said,
Jehovah or Jehovah, however you say it in Spanish, es mi pastor. The Lord is my pastor. I shall not want." Verse 14,
he said, I am the good shepherd, pastor. I am the good shepherd and know
my sheep, love my sheep, care for my sheep. Our Lord Jesus Christ has sheep. He has sheep, he is the shepherd
of sheep, particular sheep, his sheep. Not every soul on this
earth is one of his sheep. Look at verse 24 right here.
It says, Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him,
How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ,
tell us plainly. They said, We doubt your word. We doubt what you're saying. How long dost thou make us to
doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered
them, I told you, and you believed not. The works that I do in my
father's name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not because
you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. Not every soul on this
earth is one of his sheep. Not every soul on this earth
can say the Lord is my shepherd. Our Lord said on that great day
of judgment, many are gonna find out that they are not one of
his sheep. Many are going to find that out. He said on that
day, I'm going to divide the sheep from the goats. And the goats are going to be
cast out. Well, how can I know if I'm one
of his sheep? We talk about this one fold and one shepherd and
how glorious and how wonderful, wonderful it will be. Here's
what I need to know. How can I know if I'm one of the sheep? What evidence is whether or not
a person is a sheep? Verse 25, Jesus answered them,
I told you and you believed not. The works that I do in my father's
name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not because you
are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice. And I know them and they follow
me. They hear my voice in this word
and they believe. They don't believe this is just
the word of a man. Have you ever heard people say,
well, the Apostle Paul said this, and John said that, and I've
even heard people say, well, the Apostle Paul said it here,
but he changed his mind, and he said this over here, and these
are not the words of men. These are the words of God Almighty. He said, my sheep will believe,
they will believe that this is the word of me. They will bow to it, they will
come, they will follow me, not men. They won't follow men, they'll
follow me. Verse 27, my sheep hear my voice
and I know them and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life. How did he do that? How did he
secure eternal life for his sheep? Look at verse 11. He said, I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. He gave his life for the sheep.
The end of verse 10, he said, I am come that they might have
life and that they might have it more abundantly. I'm the good
shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Verse
15, he said, as the father knoweth me, even so know I the father
and I lay down my life for the sheep. He was brought as a lamb
to the slaughter. For the transgression of his
sheep, he was cut off in their place. He died in their place. He made his grave with the wicked
and with the rich in his death so his sheep wouldn't have to.
The judgment of God saw the travail of his soul in the place of his
sheep and was satisfied. The shepherd
became the sheep. God's substitute lamb and God
was satisfied with his sole offering for sin. And because of that,
the lamb, who is the shepherd, is raised up, lifted up, highly
lifted up to the throne of eternal life. And because he now lives
forever, his sheep now live forever. in him. That's why he could say
in verse 28, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. That's
who the shepherd is. That's who the sheep are. He
sends his word to them and by God given faith, they hear it
and they believe it. They bow to it. If we're one of His sheep real
soon, we're going to be in His fold. We are all physically going
to be in His fold, and it's going to be glorious. Turn with me
over to Ezekiel 34. Ezekiel 34, in the first part
of this chapter, the Lord is condemning false shepherds, false
pastors of this world who have scattered His people and malnourished,
spiritually malnourished His people and harmed His people. And He said, I'm going to put
an end to it. Verse 11, Ezekiel 34, verse 11, 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 his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and will 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 by the rivers, and in 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 and in a fat pasture. shall they feed upon the mountains
of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will
cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. Verse 22, he said,
therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey,
and I will judge between cattle and cattle, and I will set up
one shepherd over them. and he shall feed them, even
my servant David." That's Christ. He shall feed them and he shall
be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their
God. And my servant David, a prince among them, I, the Lord, have
spoken it and I will make with them a covenant of peace and
will cause the evil beast to cease out of the land And they
shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I
will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing.
I'm gonna make them to be a blessing. I will cause the shower to come
down in his season. There shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall
yield her fruit and the earth shall yield her increase. And
they shall be safe in their land. and shall know that I am the
Lord when I have broken the band of their yoke and delivered them
out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And
they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall
the beast of the land devour them, but they shall dwell safely
and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up for them
a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger
in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen anymore.
Thus shall they know that I, the Lord their God, am with them,
and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith
the Lord God. And you, my flock, the flock
of my pasture, are men. And I am your God, saith the
Lord God. What he's saying is, fear not,
little flock. Just return unto the shepherd
and bishop of your souls. Psalm 100, we read it for our
scripture reading. It said, we are his people and
the sheep of his pasture. So let's enter into his gates
with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Let's be
thankful unto him and bless his name for the Lord is good. His
mercy is everlasting and his truth endureth to all generations."
Real soon, that's going to become a physical reality for us. One
fold, one good, great chief shepherd who loved us and gave himself
for us, the Lord Jesus Christ, our pastor. Amen. I can't wait. I can't wait. I want a pastor. Amen.