Turn in your Bibles, if you would,
to Hebrews chapter 13. I've heard my pastor, Gene Harmon,
say this many a times over the 23 years that I've attended services
here at Rescue. Oh, how I pray for you folks. I pray for myself a lot because
I see my weaknesses more than I see yours. And I thank God
for that. I don't want to see yours. Mine
are ugly enough for me to look at. But I know you have them. I know you deal with them like
I do with mine, and like all of God's people have since the
beginning of time. In our Friday night study, we
read from the 23rd Psalm where it says, the Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want, I shall not be found wanting. It's not easy for some men to
admit this, but I'm thankful that I'm a sheep. I'm thankful I'm a sheep. I have been reminded much late
recently That that's exactly what I am. And I thank my Lord for reminding
me of these things. Reminding me that I need something
stronger than me. Reminding me that the only thing
that I can find that is strong enough to get me through is He
who has all strength. Reminding me that I need to look
to Him. You know, you think I stand here sometimes and just say that. But I mean it from my heart. And I know you folks deal with
these same things in our flesh, and I know it's hard for you
as it is for me. I like being a sheep. Sheep are
known for their desire to be led, and I like the fact that
my Lord leads me, even when I don't know it. It's the nature of the sheep.
If they're not tended to, they'll scatter. It is my desire, my prayer, that
our Lord, our Great Shepherd, would be pleased to bring peace
to our hearts this morning. I pray the Lord has a message
for you. And I pray you came here this
morning seeking a message from Him. I pray that he'll bring peace
to our hearts in these troubled times. And I'm not talking, to be honest
with you, about the troubled things that we see in the world.
I'm talking about the troubled times that we deal with right
here within ourselves. It's my prayer that our great
caretaker would bring his sheep together. It is my prayer, as
it is with all of the sheep of God, that His Word will go out
and not return void. In 2 Chronicles 18, verse 16,
we read this, then he said, I did see Israel scattered, scattered
upon the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. There's still
God's sheep out there, folks. We were talking about this Friday
night. with James and Brother Mike. When the last sheep is
called, there's no reason, there's nothing left but for the Lord
to return in all of His glory and gather all of us up together
that are still here and spend eternity in heavenly bliss with
Him. That verse I just read for you,
scattered upon the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd,
that was my life at one time. I'll bet that was yours too.
That's what my life was like before the Lord called me, wondering
about, thinking that I was on a road of my own choosing, making my own destiny. The world
was mine for the taking. I was just too lazy to take it. The word shepherd implies one
who is a caretaker, one who will lead the flock to green pastures. Look at verse 20 and 21 of Hebrews
chapter 13. The writer is expressing a prayer
for his people, now the God of peace. Folks, there's only one
peace. And again, we're not talking
about the world around us. That's always going to be in
chaos. It's always going to wax worse and worse. It's never going
to get any better. We may have what we think is
peace out there for a little while, but really turmoil is
boiling. We're talking about the God of peace spiritually. Spiritual peace. Peace that doesn't
have to work for salvation. Peace that rests in the works
of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Now the God of peace that
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the very One who
raised up our Lord Jesus. I know the Lord Jesus raised
Himself. He laid down His life. He took
it up again. But God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit are one God. brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood
of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect, that word also
means complete, in every good work to do His will. I was asked, John, don't you
want to do God's will? I made a statement that something
that didn't go according to plan, according to the plan that some
humans had made, and I was one of those humans, that, well,
it's done. It's the Lord's will. It was
what it was. And that kind of offended a person
that I was talking to. Don't you have any desire to
do God's will? Yes, I do. And I want to go about
doing God's will according to His word as much as I can. But
I know that after everything's done and said and finished, it
is according to His will. We could have done a lot of things
to avoid being attacked on September 11th in 2001. Did I get the dates
right on that? I think so. We could have done
some things different. But in the end, it was God's
will exactly what happened. It was His purpose. He's God
of everything. Including our choices. What? God doesn't give us a choice? Sometimes God allows us to make
the wrong choice. What we might think is the wrong
choice. I'm going to bring up this, brought it up before, Jonah. We all know that Jonah was told
to go and preach to Nineveh. And instead, he ran from the
Lord. That's the exact words God uses in his work. Jonah ran
from the Lord. And he went down, and he got
on a ship. And he went out onto the ship, and storms wailed up. And
the people, who's God have we offended? And it turned out Jonah
came forth and said, it was mine. You know, it was me. Throw me
overboard. And a fish ate him. He swallowed up by a fish. Was that God's purpose? Absolutely. Was it for the good of his people?
Absolutely. Did Jonah enjoy it? Absolutely
not. Talks about how he was in turmoil
and afraid. The weeds were wrapping around
his neck. The water was splashing over
his head. He was frightened beyond anything
you and I could imagine. God help us. Now I want you to
read these verses here in verse 21 very, very carefully. And
think about how this applies to you. We may have forgotten the other
words first, so I'm going to back up again and read it again. Verse
20. Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood
of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect, complete, in
every good work to do His will. Working in you, that which is
well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen. In Psalms 80 verse 1, we read
this, Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph
like a flock. Remember Joseph? Joseph had a
little problem with his brothers. His brothers weren't happy about
the fact that he was the youngest and his father, Jacob, loved
him more than the rest. So they turned on him. Imagine what that would have
been like if your brothers would turn on you and throw you in
a pit. And then instead of killing you,
instead of ending your life, ending your misery, they decide,
no, you know what? We don't want the blood to be
on our hands. We'll sell you to these Ishmaelites, and they
can do whatever they want with you. And they take you down to
Egypt, and you get thrown in a prison down there. And then
some lady of a ruler decides that she wants you physically,
and you run from her, and you go to prison anyway. O Shepherd of Israel, that thou
leadest Joseph like a flock, that thou dwellest between the
cherubims, shine forth, shine forth, O Shepherd of Israel. Lord, help us. Lord, help us. to shine forth
our Lord when we're in the deepest pit that anybody could put us
in. Because whatever pit you put
me in in this world, it can't be as dark as the pit that I
was in before He called me. It can't be any deeper, any worse
than the pit that we all walked in at one time. The psalmist writes, the Lord
is my shepherd. Now many know of the great shepherd. They've heard of Jesus. Many
have what is called a zeal for Christ. But they go about walking
in their own imaginary righteousness rather than resting. Resting
in their shepherd, the very one who leads them in all of their
walk. Not just the walk of good times,
but the walk of tribulation. The walk of turmoil in our own
flesh, in our own soul. Paul, writing to the Romans. He said, brethren, in chapter
10, verse 1, he said, Brethren, my heart's desire... Brethren,
my heart's desire... This is the prayer that the writer
of Hebrews is saying. Now the God of peace that brought
again the dead of our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting life, make you perfect. Brethren,
Paul writes, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel
is that they might be saved. I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. No, not according
to the knowledge of Scriptures, the knowledge of truth. They
have a knowledge of their own, a knowledge of the flesh. Then
it says in verse 3, For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness,
and going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. That's
exactly where you and I were at one time. But by His grace,
By His love for us. He calls us out of that darkness
we once walked in. Into His marvelous light, as
we read in 1 Peter 2, verse 9. Folks, the devils know of Christ. They know who He is. But they
know nothing of the mercy and the grace of God for His people. Have you come to torment us?
It's before our time. They know that they're going
to get what they deserve. Because there is no grace for
them. There is grace for God's people. God's sheep. And that's why I like being a
sheep. There's grace for me. I've mentioned before, salvation
is a personal experience of the heart. One who has been loved
from before the world was by God our Creator shall be born
again, shall be given a new heart. Some may wonder, as Nicodemus
did, well how can that be? How can one enter into their
mother's womb? Oh, my dear friends, with man
it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. We read in John chapter 3 verses
6 through 8, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that
which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Our Lord said to Nicodemus,
marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. And then
he says this, Now, folks, this statement takes all the power
out of man. Who has power over the wind out
there? We think we put these big windmill things up there
and that we're taking power from the wind. Have you ever noticed
that those things only blow when the wind is blowing? They only
turn when the wind is blowing. We don't have any power over
the wind. I find it funny that we'll put a whole bunch of them
up somewhere, and then all of a sudden, God takes the wind out of that
area. Go over to Fairfield. You'll see what I'm talking about.
It used to be people who lived over here, it was blowing wind
all the time over here until they brought these things in.
Now we ain't got no wind at all. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof. But canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born
of the Spirit. In Ephesians chapter 2, verse
1, we read these words, and you hath he quickened, who were dead
in trespasses and sin. In Colossians 2, verse 13, we
read it this way, and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven
you all trespasses. Oh, folks, that's our shepherd.
That's because of what he has done. God became a man for you and
I. This is the great love of the
Shepherd for His sheep. He became a man so that He could
go to that cross and die for His people. For us, that He would take all
of our sins imputed to Him and take them into the grave where
God Almighty would see them no more. When one who has had that
old stony heart, that rebellious heart removed and cast away,
Christ moves in and He creates a new man in us. A new flask
to hold new wine. Those for whom God the Father
gave God the Son will call the Lord Jesus, My Shepherd. The Lord is My Shepherd. I shall
not want. We turn all of our cares and
wants over to Him. That's why we can sing that song
simply trusting every day, trusting through a stormy way, even when
my faith is small, trusting Jesus. That is all. No matter how weak we get, we
can turn to Him and say, Ah, the Father, I need you. We put all of our trust in Him.
You know, turn over to the 23rd Psalm, and let's read that together.
I know those of you who were with us Friday night read it. It bears repeating. All of God's
Word bears repeating. So let's read this together. Psalms 23. Can you call the Lord
your shepherd? When you go through the tough
times of this world, of this flesh that we go through, can
you say, Lord, You are my shepherd. Guide me through this. Give me
strength to come out the other side, glorifying You. Psalms
23, verse 1, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. maketh me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. The green pastures is the work
of our Savior. The still waters is the peace
that we receive in leaning upon our Lord for all of our needs. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for His name's sake. That's the same thing as
saying, He leads me in His righteousness. It's not a righteousness for
John's name's sake. It's a righteousness for my Lord's
sake, for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death. And that's explaining the world
that we walk in. It is a world of death. For all
those who the Lord will pass by, all of those who are left
to their own understanding, all of those who are left to their
own works, the very world that you and I have earned and deserve,
yet by the grace of God it becomes a shadow of death. I will fear
no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod, thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of my 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. Surely goodness will be mine.
In the times of chaos and turmoil that surround me in this world, surely goodness May the God of peace make me
perfect in every good work to do His will. I was reminded last
night that our God is the sovereign
ruler of all it is. What have I to worry about? You think this man before you
is any more than that? I know how easy it is to think
that of men. I too know what it means to put
a man on a pedestal. God's preachers, folks, are no
more than any one of you. We are just men, saved by grace,
just as you are. I don't know how to say this
any other different way than just to come right out and say
it. Somebody once told And I'm sure you've had people
tell you this before, too. Don't share your weaknesses with
the people. Make you look weak. Don't fool the people with some
so-called strength that you might have within yourself. If I don't share my weaknesses
with you, God forbid that you might think
something else of me. Paul was very much afraid of
that very thing. That's why he tells us that God
gave him a thorn in his side, Satan, to buffet him. That he
might not think more of himself and that others might not think
more of him also. I had to be reminded that this is just a man of flesh. The message must be from God.
If you're hearing something today, it must be from the Lord, not
from John. John is nothing. John is as John
the Baptist. I must decrease and He must increase. And that's not an easy thing
to swallow. Those of you who have a little bit of pride in
yourselves, and don't tell me some of you don't. I know you
do because I do. It's fleshly. It's part of the
flesh. We have a little pride in ourselves.
I'm not such a bad person. Folks, there is no righteousness
in this flesh. We must look to our Savior, and
I'm going to tell you right now, He will bring you to do so if
you belong to Him. That's why Paul says, I can glory
in my infirmities. Because He knows they're from
the Lord to teach Him the weakness of His flesh, and look to the
only strength there is, and that's to our Savior. We must turn all of our cares
over to Him. Over to our Shepherd. And here's the great thing about
doing that. Our God cannot make an error. He's perfect in everything. What I look at as being an error,
what I look at as maybe, you know, like Jonah, you know, oh
man, I made such a mistake, I should have done what God told me to
do. No. God led him exactly where He
wanted him. And even what I think in my own
heart is an error, at the end of all things, when
it's all said and done, my Lord's purpose was done. My Lord does everything right.
Our text said this, Now the God of peace that brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in
every good work to do His will. Folks, there's no perfection
here in John. There's no imperfection in any
of that flesh that you're walking around in. Our perfection is
in Him. to do His will working in you
that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ
to whom glory be glory forever and ever. Amen. Now mark your
text here in Hebrews and go over to Matthew chapter 25 for a moment. Matthew chapter 25. Christ the Lord is a great Shepherd
indeed. As the God-man, could He be anything
less than the greatest Shepherd there? Listen to the words of
Isaiah 40 verse 10. Behold, the Lord God will come
with strong hand. Did you know that Jesus Christ
has all power in heaven and earth and under the earth? All power. Strong hand. And His arms shall
rule for Him. Behold, his reward is with him
and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like
a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those
that are with young. In Jeremiah 31, verses 10-12,
we read this, Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare
it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel
will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock.
For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand
of him that was stronger than he. Therefore, they shall come and
sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness
of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the
young of the flock and of the herd. And their souls shall be
as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at
all." The Lord of all creation does
as He sees fit. And what He does is right and
pure and righteous in every way. And that includes choosing of
His elect, His people. Are you with me in Matthew chapter
25? Look at verses 31 through 34. When the Son of Man shall come
in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He
sit upon the throne of His glory. And before him shall be gathered
all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on
the right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king
say unto them on his right hand, Come ye, blessed of my father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Our Shepherd has been caring for us from the
beginning. Fulfilling every desire of His
purpose. Every purpose of His desire.
I said that backwards. And it's being fulfilled in His
Son. Now turn over to John chapter 10. And while you're turning there,
in Ephesians chapter 1, he tells us we were predestinated from
the foundation of the world. Folks, our shepherd cannot fail.
He's been doing it from before the world was. I ask you this
morning, do you believe? This is his word. Do you believe
his word? The Lord Jesus is the way and
the truth, and no man cometh unto him but by the Father. And
our Lord gives us a parable here to be an example to us. Look
at verse 1 of chapter 10. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climeth, he that entereth in not by the
door, into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the
same is a thief and a robber." Now that's talking about those
who don't come according to God's will, and God's will is coming
by grace, being called by grace, through faith. But he that entereth,
verse 2, 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, and for they know not the voice
of strangers. Now look over at verse 6. through
18. This parable spake Jesus unto
them, but they understood not what things they were which he
spake unto them. Then he said, then said Jesus
unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the
sheep. All that ever came before me
are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The
thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I
am come that they might have life and that they might have
it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd, the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is a 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 hireling fleeth,
because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am
the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and have known of mine.
As the Father knoweth 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 shall
hear my voice, and they shall be one fold and one shepherd.
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life,
that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down myself. I have the power to lay it down,
and I have the power to take it again. This commandment have
I received of my Father. Now, I want to go over and close
with 1 Peter 2, verse 11. I brought you through all of
that to make sure that we laid down the picture that God gives
through His scripture, and that is Christ is Lord of all. And as the great shepherd of
His sheep, He is Lord of everything. remove his hand slightly, and
allow us to step in something like a large fish. But He's still our Lord, and
He's still our Shepherd, taking care of us all the way through.
Jonah is now with the Lord in heaven. The Lord did not leave
him to that disastrous moment when the fish swallowed him up.
He taught him the lesson that salvation is of the Lord, not
of man. And when he learned that lesson
according to God's purpose, God had the fish spit him out on
dry land. And he was able to go forth and
sing praises unto his Savior. That's exactly what he did when
he went on to Nineveh. Salvation is of the Lord. You
know, if that's all you ever say, if that's all you ever say to anybody
that the Lord crosses your path with, you're singing the praises
to our Savior. There's a lot of people out there
who want to say, well, I started following the Lord in 1966, or
when I was 20, or whatever time that they want to say that they
started following the Lord. God's children say, salvation is of
the Lord. That's singing praises. That's
giving the praise to Him who deserves it. Look at verse 11 through the
end of chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 11. I don't know if we'll read all
the way through the end. Dearly beloved, I beseech you.
Folks, I beseech you. I cry out to you to go about
your days that the Lord gives you on this earth and sin not.
Just as the Lord instructed that woman who was caught in adultery. Go about your days and be holy,
for our God is holy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you
as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war
against the soul." Did you notice that it says abstain? That's like saying fight against
it. Fight the good fight. Does that
mean you're going to win every time? That depends on the Lord.
If the Lord allows you. But if you go to the Lord for
strength, He'll answer your prayers. When you get out on the knees
in the closet and you cry out unto the Lord for the sin that's
besetting you, Lord, I need help. He will help. He hears our cries. We don't have to do it for 200
years. He hears them now. Verse 12, "...having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you
as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall
behold, glorify God in the day of visitation, Submit yourselves
to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be
the king as the supreme, or to the governors as unto them that
are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise
of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that
with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men. as free, and not using your liberty
for a cloak of maliciousness, but as a servant of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Servants,
be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good
of the Gentile, but also to the forward. For this is thankworthy,
if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if when
you're buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently?
But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently,
this is acceptable with God. For even here unto where ye called,
because Christ also suffered unto 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 unto himself to him that judges righteously. who his own self bear our sins,
and his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye are healed. For ye were as sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and the bishop of your
souls. In Ephesians chapter 1, he tells us that we were predestined.
Wait a minute, I've already read that one. Folks, we are just as the goats
at one time. Sheep, we've always been, yes,
but acting as goats going astray from our creator. Who makes us
to differ one from another? The one who made me to differ
is my great shepherd. the very one who will guide me
and keep me. Jesus Christ the Lord, I am thine,
O Lord, lead me in thy ways. Amen.