Good morning. If you would, open
up your scriptures to Luke chapter 15. Luke 15. And I was remiss on
Wednesday night. I forgot to tell everyone that
all the congregation in Spring Lake sent their greetings, asked
me to be sure to tell everyone hello. And I forgot. This morning, the focus of the
study is going to be on our great shepherd. And as we start, I
want to read some passages concerning the attributes of good shepherds. Here in Luke 15, verse 3. And our Lord spake this parable
unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep,
If he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine
in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he
find it. And when he hath found it, he
layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth
together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with
me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost. The man that owns these sheep
is the shepherd, and we can tell from his actions that he's a
good shepherd. If you can, I want you to try
to bear the thought of what this man did in mind as we go through
the message this morning. What he did for a single sheep,
he left all his comforts, all his pleasures and he went after
one sheep. One sheep was lost and he went
into the wilderness and Matthew's account says that he went up
into the mountains in search of his sheep. He diligently searched
and The rough terrain, the weather
conditions, nothing deterred him. He diligently searched until
that sheep was found. Having found that sheep, he took
it upon his shoulders. He didn't tie a rope around his
neck and drag it back. He didn't force it back. He didn't leave it to find its
own way back. He laid it upon his shoulders
and returned rejoicing. All the way back over whatever
terrain, whatever obstacles, the good shepherd kept his lost
sheep on his shoulders. And that sheep wasn't taken down
from that shepherd's shoulders until they returned home. And that sheep was returned to
the flock. Although that sheep had been
the cause of much suffering and much heartache to that shepherd,
he rejoiced, returning the sheep, and he rejoiced when he got that
sheep home. While a single sheep was missing
from the fold, the shepherd had one job, to find that sheep and
to return it home. Now, turn with me to John chapter
10. John chapter 10. These are some of the attributes
of the good shepherd. John 10, beginning in verse 1. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth
up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. But he
that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and
he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when
he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the
sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will
they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the
voice of strangers. The shepherd of the sheep enters
by the door, is known of the porter, and he knows his own
sheep by name. Now down to verse 11. I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an
hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not,
seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the
wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The harling fleeth
because he is an harling, and careth not for the sheep. I am
the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine."
The good shepherd, unlike the harling, will not leave his sheep
to be slaughtered, but he will lay down his life to save the
sheep. This morning, I want to focus
on what our great shepherd has done for his own sheep. First,
I want to know how the sheep became his. Then we'll take a
brief look at the nature of his sheep, how he recovered his lost
sheep, and finally, can we know if we're one of his sheep? Our Lord Jesus Christ declares
himself the good shepherd. In Hebrews, he's called that
great shepherd of the sheep. And Peter refers to him as the
chief shepherd. A good shepherd, we've already
seen, has a flock that he knows and he calls them by name. He's
not the shepherd of every sheep. but he has a sheep which are
his own. How did the Lord Jesus Christ
obtain a flock of sheep to be the shepherd over? First, his
sheep were given to him. Look over in verse 27. My sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them
me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out
of my Father's hand." The Father bestowed those sheep to the Son
before the foundation of the world, and the Son accepted responsibility
for them. Verse 11 says, the good shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. Not only were the sheep given
to the Lord Jesus Christ, but he also purchased them. You can
put a mark here in John 10, we're gonna come back, but let's turn
over to Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20, verse 28. Acts 20, 28, Paul is speaking
to the elders of the church here, and he says, take heed therefore
unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy
Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church of God, which
he hath purchased by his own blood. The Lord's sheep are doubly
His. They were given to Him freely
of the Father, and He purchased them by the shedding of His precious
blood." Now, if you would, turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter 2 will begin reading in
verse 21. For even hereunto were ye called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example,
that ye should follow his steps, who did no sin, Neither was guile
found in his mouth, who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously. Who his own self bear our sins
in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed? for ye were as sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls."
These sheep, men and women given to the Lord Jesus Christ by the
Father, purchased by the shedding of His precious blood, one would
think that these sheep would be the most content, the most
faithful, the most willing flock to simply abide by their shepherd's
side. But oh, how our nature proves
time and time again that that just isn't the case. What's the
nature of those the Lord has been given? Psalm 2.8 says, Ask
of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance. Here in verse 25, we read, you
were a sheep going astray. Psalm 119, 176, the psalmist
writes, I have gone astray like a lost sheep. And Isaiah 53,
six, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have all turned everyone
to his own way. The nature of the Lord's chosen
flock heathen, straying, lost sheep. Do you find the words
of the poet true like I do? Prone to wander, Lord, I feel
it. Prone to leave the God I love. Thank God we have a great shepherd
as our shepherd. As we read the parable of Luke
15 of that shepherd going after the lost sheep, That sheep was
a sheep by nature. It was being returned unto the
sheepfold with sheep just like itself. Those people that were
given to God the Son for His inheritance, those that the Lord
Jesus Christ became surety for, they are sinners. They do not
have the nature of God. They're rebels against God, and
yet they are chosen, redeemed, vessels of mercy. When the Lord
Jesus Christ accepted responsibility for his flock, he was tasked
to take lost, ruined sinners and make them the very righteousness
of God. With such a wretched, lost inheritance,
Our Lord was given, what was our shepherd to do? Here in verse
21, for even here unto were ye called
because Christ also suffered for us. To redeem his people,
Christ suffered. That word suffered here means
to have a sensible experience. feel to enter in to be those that he suffered for. Lord
Jesus Christ, God, came in the likeness of sinful flesh to have
a sensible experience for those that he loves, for those who
were given to him. As the shepherd with a lost sheep
who left his home and went to find that sheep, so our Lord
came. He who wrote the law was made
under the law. Then, having found that lost
sheep, the shepherd picked the sheep up and laid it on his shoulders."
Do you know what that sheep did while he was on that shepherd's
shoulders, being up there? That sheep did whatever the shepherd
did. If the shepherd moved, the sheep
moved. If the shepherd turned aside,
the sheep turned aside. If the shepherd stopped, the
sheep stopped. Do you know what our Lord did
while he was under the law as a man? Verse 22, who did no sin,
neither was guile found in his mouth. As a man, the Lord Jesus
Christ accomplished that which no child of Adam can. He perfectly
obeyed the law of God. And while our Lord was walking
in the flesh upon this earth, he carried with him the lost,
ruined sheep that he came to redeem. As he walked perfectly
without sin, those he carried walked perfectly without sin
in him. Christ testified in John 17,
4, I have glorified thee on the earth. And those for whom Christ
is the great shepherd, we have the same testimony in him. Having walked the earth, With
a walk that we cannot walk, Christ obtained, in the stead of His
elect, a righteous standing before God. But their sin and their
iniquities are still there. The debt that is due our sin
has yet to be paid. To redeem us, that sin debt must
be paid. Therefore, verse 24. Christ, his own self, bear our
sins in his own body on the tree. On that tree, he was forsaken
of the Father. He shed his blood, he laid down
his life, and having those lost sheep laid upon his shoulders,
As he carried them in life, he carried them in his death. As
Paul said, I am crucified with Christ. He laid down his life
for the sheep and was buried in the tomb, the tomb that he
didn't deserve, the tomb that was reserved for those sheep,
the tomb that he went to because of the sin of those sheep. he still carried that sheep on
his shoulders as he went into that tomb. On the third day,
he arose, for the debt was fully paid and death had no hold on
him. As the great shepherd, he still
didn't forsake his sheep. As he came forth from that tomb,
he carried them upon his shoulders. Does he stop there? Having paid
the debt that we owe, Having redeemed us, does he leave us
now? No. On a hill outside of Jerusalem,
our Lord was taken up into heaven. As he ascended, so too have all
we ascended with him. For it's recorded, as he is,
so are we in this world. We see it. We know it by faith. We know, we believe this word. As he is, so are we in this world. But I don't see it now. I can't
see it in this flesh. We're not yet what we shall be. We haven't yet been fully brought
into that eternal flock. But one day soon, for all of
God's elect, At days coming soon, we will finally be carried into
the Lord's redeemed sheepfold. Until that day comes, the Lord
Jesus Christ continues to carry us safely upon His shoulders. For ye were as sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls."
That word returned has nothing to do with us. It means caused
to return. Considering our marvelous, loving
shepherd, there's one thing I desire to know. Am I one of his sheep? Have I been caused to return
unto the shepherd and bishop of my soul? When I was little,
I remember going into a business near where we lived, and there
were a group of men in there, and some of them looked over
at me and said, you're Gary's boy, aren't you? I didn't know
those men, but they knew my dad. knew him pretty well. And they
looked at me and they saw characteristics of my dad displayed in me as
a boy. Those who are bought and adopted
into the family of the Lord Jesus Christ share certain characteristics. Turn back again to John chapter
10. Among the chief of those characteristics
that those that are brought into the family of Christ share is
we bow to, we submit, and we rejoice to see the Lord Jesus
Christ have all the glory. We want to see him exalted. Not only in those things that
we consider good, but in the hard things of life as well. After all, he has done all things
well. Another characteristic is shown
here in John 10, verse 4. And when he, the shepherd, putteth
forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow
him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee for him, for they know not the voice of
strangers. Those who are called, ransomed,
and sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ know his voice, and they'll
follow him and none other. And I'm sure there are a multitude
of other characteristics, but I'll finish with this one. We
love to be in the presence of others of like precious faith. We love because the Lord has been pleased
to give us a love for one another. It's not anything we have to
glory in of ourselves. In and of myself, I have love
for one, me, and me alone. But Christ in us will cause our
love to go out to our fellow believers. As our Lord recorded
in John 13, a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love
one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that
ye are my disciples, my sheep, if ye have love one to another. In short, the characteristic
of one of the Lord's sheep is we want to be with our Shepherd.
That is, our greatest desire is to be with Him. Lord Jesus
Christ has a people chosen by His Father, given to Him, and
purchased by His precious blood. Those people are lost rebels
who, left to themselves, would perish. but God in Christ has
shown abundant mercy upon them. Our Lord, as the great shepherd,
seeks out each of his lost sheep and places them upon his shoulders. As he lived, he bore those sheep,
fulfilling all righteousness. As he stood before judgment,
he bore them there. As he endured the agony before
the cross, he bore them. As on the cross, bearing our
sins in His own body, He bore us upon His shoulders. In the
tomb, He bore us as He put away our sin. He arose bearing us. He ascended bearing us. And He
will finally deliver us safely into the eternal sheepfold with
Him. In closing, you can turn to Psalm
23, or you can just hold and listen to it. Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me. I can't do it of myself. I'll
continue running. I'll continue working. I'll continue
doing. But the Lord maketh me to lie
down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness. For his name's sake that he receives
all the glory. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? The Lord is my shepherd. For thou art with me, thy rod
and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. Why? The Lord is my shepherd. Pray that's a blessing to you.