Every being is free, by His own
hand we be and be. This thankful power I would be,
for by His hand we be and be. Turn with me now to Hebrews 13. Look at Hebrews chapter 13. Those of you who have been in
on these messages know that we started here and did a message
on the God of peace. Verse 20 of Hebrews 13. This
is a prayer that Paul or the writer of Hebrews makes and says
now, Hebrews 13.20, 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. The Lord is called
that great Shepherd of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ. Go over
there in John 10. The Lord is called in Scripture the
Shepherd of the sheep. John 10, he's called the Good
Shepherd. He calls himself that. John 10,
verse 11. He says, I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd. giveth his
life for the sheep. Verse 14, I am the good shepherd,
and know my sheep, and have known of mine. He calls himself the
good shepherd. He's good. He's good in his person. He alone is perfectly good, isn't
he? I remember somebody came to him
one time and said, good master. He said, wait a minute, why do
you call me good? Why call the style of me good?
There's none good but God. He's good. And He's most certainly
God. And good to His sheep. He's good.
Always is. He's good in His work. He's a
good shepherd. Good in His person. Good in His work. He's a good
shepherd. Because He's never lost a sheep. He's good at what He's called
to do. Never lost a sheep and never
shall. It's probably never been said
of any shepherd in the history of mankind. If you would ask
shepherds, have you ever lost a sheep? Have you ever had a
sheep lost or a cow or whatever? Huh? Well, he said that, didn't he? Men that speak of a Jesus who
tried and failed, they speak of a Jesus who loves everyone,
and yet some of them could not save and they perish. Not a very
good shepherd, is it? Certainly not the good shepherd,
because he said in this same chapter, I give unto my sheep,
I give unto them eternal life, and they shall what? Never perish. He said to the Father, those
that thou hast given me, I have kept, and none of them is lost. He's a good shepherd. He's good
in his person. He's good in what he does. Now,
that's the good shepherd. And if you're a sheep, we'll
talk about sheep here in a minute, you need a good shepherd. He's
called the chief shepherd. Peter calls him the chief shepherd. when the chief shepherd shall
appear." Chief means he's the head shepherd. He's the head. He's chief. He has men. The word pastor means shepherd. That's what bishop, the word
means. Pastor, bishop, shepherd. That's
what that is. The Lord called out men to be
pastors or bishops, shepherds, but they're his sheep. He's still the chief, isn't he?
And those men know it, and they answer to him, and so do the
people. The flock, they know who the
great of the chief shepherd is. And now here he's called the
great shepherd. The great shepherd of the sheep.
He's great in his sovereignty, he's great in his person, his
power, he's great in his work. He's called that great. that great shepherd of the sheep. Now, we're going to look first
of all at the sheep. Sheep. Because if you describe
a sheep, you will see why they must have that great shepherd. Okay? And I hope, you know, The Lord said they're sheep and
they're goats. And I hope that you are a sheep. So I hope you'll
listen to this. If you are, you'll need that
great shepherd. I remember what David said one
time about Goliath's sword. He said, there's none like that. Give it to me. And I hope after
you hear this, you'll say, I need that great shepherd. That great
shepherd. Sheep. Now, our Lord said in
Matthew 25 that there are two types of people in the world.
Sheep and goats. That's what he said. Let me just
read it to you, unless you want to follow along. Matthew 25,
he said this. He said, shall be gathered all nations,
and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth
his sheep from the goats." There are sheep and there are goats. All right? Which are you? Which
am I? Sheep, goats. He said the sheep
will come. He said, Come, ye blessed of
my Father, into the kingdom, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you. ordained for you from the foundation
of the world. These are His chosen ones, His
sheep. And then He'll say of the goats
on the left hand, cast them out. So this is important. Are you
a sheep? Am I a sheep? I'm going to try
not to get excited this morning. I'm just going to tell you the
truth. You're a sheep or you're a goat.
Alright? Sheep. Alright, number one, sheep
are owned by shepherds. There are no wild sheep. They're
owned by shepherds. If they're wild, they won't last
long. They're owned by shepherds. Alright? Our Lord said this of
the sheep. God's elect, they're called.
They're called those which... well, look here in John 10 if
you're still there. They are those which the Father
gave to him. In verse 29, God chose them and
gave them to Christ to be their shepherd. Verse 29, my Father
which gave them me. Talking about the sheep. He said that in John 6, didn't
he? A couple of times. All that the Father giveth me. He said that in his prayer to
the Father in John 17. About six times or more. Those
whom thou hast given me. And they are owned by Him. These
sheep, God chose them and gave them to Christ the Shepherd who
bought them, redeemed them all. He purchased them. They are a
gift and they are also purchased by blood. And He says of these
sheep, they are not their own. Somebody owns them. They are
bought with a price. And if you are a sheep, you love
this. All the sheep loved that the
Lord owns them, chose them, bought them. Who loves the truth, the
blessed truth of election? Who loves it? The elect do. And no one else does. The elect do. As the old saying
goes, "'Tis not that I did choose thee." Well, Lord, that could
not be. If thou hadst not chosen me,
this heart would still refuse thee, if thou hadst not chosen
me." Well, they're owned by the shepherd. He said, My sheep,
verse 14, John 10. My sheep, and I'm known of mine,
verse 26 and 27. You believe not, because you're
not my sheep. As I said unto you, My sheep,
hear my voice. I know them, they follow me.
My sheep. What a wonderful thought. to
belong to that great shepherd, to say the Lord is my shepherd. I used to have a little animal
kingdom, a little farm, you know, a little kingdom, and boy, how
blessed the animals were that came on my farm. We didn't eat any of them. We
didn't eat any of them. And they didn't have to work.
Chickens had to lay some eggs, but that wouldn't work. How blessed
my little kingdom, you know, how blessed they were to be a
part of my kingdom. Oh, we just don't know. To be
included into His kingdom. My sheep, my sheep. Wonderful
thought to belong to Him. Oh, my. If the Lord is your shepherd,
if you belong to Him, your salvation is certain. If you belong to the Lord Jesus
Christ, your salvation is certain. If the Lord's your shepherd, somebody says, you talk about
once saved, always saved. Yes, I am. And it depends on
who saves you, right? If the Lord saves you, he said,
I give unto them what kind of life? Eternal. And they shall
never. If the Lord saves you, you're
saved. All right. They belong to the shepherd.
That's the thing about sheep. They belong to someone. Sheep
are dumb, ignorant creatures. I mean, they're dumb. They're
stupid. Yes, they are. They're foolish. You know, have you ever heard
somebody say, he's acting sheepish? That's what that means. He's
acting foolish. Foolish, like they've been caught
in something so foolish and guiltish, acting sheepish. foolish, stupidly. All of God's people know their
foolishness and their ignorance. David said this. David, king
of Israel, he's one of God's sheep, but he said this about
himself, Oh, God, thou knowest my foolishness. He said, So foolish was I and
ignorant. He said, I was like a beast before
them. They know it. They know they're
ignorant. ignorant, stupid beasts until
he gives them a mind and understanding. Solomon asked for wisdom to lead
so great a people and such a rebellious people. Moses had to lead a bunch
of hard, stiff-necked, hard-hearted people, didn't he? Needed wisdom. The sheep have a great shepherd
to lead so many and all so ignorant and so foolish. Sheep are ignorant. Sheep are dirty creatures. You look at sheep. You drive
by and you see sheep from a distance. They look real cute, don't they?
Real pretty and white, don't they? Real clean, don't they?
From a distance. And you get up close. And they're
smelly, dirty creatures. That's right. That's right. It's dirty and smelly. And you
know, I thought about this. What a great shepherd that he
would be even mindful of such dirty creatures, let alone come
down here and visit such dirty creatures and become one of us,
be made in the likeness of sinful fare. We just don't know what
condescension it took for the Lord to come down here to this
earth. amongst vile creatures like we are. That's because he's
a great shepherd. He lived among these smelly creatures. We don't know how repulsive human
nature was to the Lord Jesus Christ. Read their thoughts,
knew all thoughts. I don't know. That was a great
shepherd. What a great shepherd that he
would condescend sheep know that they're filthy creatures, don't
they? Every sheep that reads Psalm
38, they'll say, that's me. My loins are filled with a loathsome
disease. Right? Every sheep that reads
Psalm 51, they'll say, that's me. Romans 7, they'll say, that's
me. The sheep. Goats, butt, butt,
butt, butt, butt, butt. That's all goats can do is butt,
butt, butt, butt. Sheep, they bow, they believe,
they know. It's so. They know it's so. They
feel it. They know it's so from experience. Dirty, filthy creatures. Well, sheep are weak, helpless,
easy prey. Sheep are easy prey for any predator. Sheep are prey. They're peaceable
creatures, and so predators prey on them. They're easy prey. You know what I'm talking about? Like a dog is a carnivore, and
he's a predator. A wolf is a wild dog, and wolf
sheep are the prey of wolves especially. What does the scripture
say about wolves? So many wolves out there, and
even in sheep's clothing. And sheep are so easily taken
captive and so weak and so helpless. They need a great shepherd. They can't keep themselves. They
need a great shepherd. They're weak. Well, the Scripture
said Satan is a roaring lion. He's a real person. Our Lord spoke of him more than
anyone. But Satan is a roaring lion, seeketh whom he may devour. But our Lord said, of his sheep. And this is why we need a great
shepherd. And only he can deal with it. He said one time, he
went out before them and an angry mob was coming. They were going
to take all of them. And our Lord went out in front
of them. and said, if you seek me, let these go. And they had
to. And so it was then and so it
is now. Every one of his sheep, he stands
in the gap. He stands before them. The first
thing he did, Brother John, was meet our adversary, didn't he?
As a man, met him headlong, didn't he? For forty days and forty
nights and met him headlong. And he defeated him. He said,
you see, I've come on behalf of My sheep. Now let's tangle. And he won. He won. They're weak. They're helpless. They're easy
prey. They're easy prey. And none,
our Lord said, He said, I will deliver My flock from the mouth
of the predator. No man shall pluck not one of
them from My hand. Not an old one. Not a young one. Not a weak one, especially not
the weak ones. You'll not have them. They'll
not have them. Not one. As Moses said, we're
going out of here. He said to Pharaoh, we're all
going out of here. And he said, not one hoof left
behind. Pharaoh said, leave your cattle.
He said, no. Not one hoof will be left behind. There's a picture
of our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm bringing them all out. Not
one hoof of one sheep left behind. Not one. We need a great shepherd,
don't we? A great shepherd. Sheep are totally
dependent, totally dependent on the shepherd. They have to
be fed, they have to be watered, they have to be led all the way.
They have to be led all the way from childhood, from birth to
death. They have to be led all the way.
Listen to Deuteronomy 8. He said, You are going to remember.
Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee. in the wilderness. You've got
to remember that. Deuteronomy is a rehearsal of
all that the Lord did. And He said, You will remember
all the way. We sing that song, don't we?
All the way, my Savior leads me. All the way. You will remember. And you will thank Him for being
your great shepherd. He's called the author and what?
The finisher of the faith. The first and the last. It was
before us and behind us. He began the work, and what did
he do? He finished it. He finished it. They must be totally led. They
must be totally led. They must be fed. They must be
fed. Those children of Israel whom
the Lord brought out of Egypt, estimates have it that there
were as many as two million people or more. Two million. Think about
that. Two million. And basically one
man led them. Two million for forty years. Two million. Do you know how
much food they require? And water? And yet not one of
them worked a job one day. And none of them banged for one
morsel of bread. Well, who provided for them?
Their great shepherd. 2 million people. I believe I
could lead about 10 people for a few days. 2 million for 40
years. And he fed them with bread from
heaven. It just fell out of the sky.
Folks, ours does too. Yes, it does. Our bread comes
out of the sky. You know, sitting up, you say,
no, mine came from Kroger. Man is such a fool, isn't he? A fool, a fool that said, no,
God. It came out of the sky. Everything
comes out of the sky. Sun and rain. God Almighty created
it all. To grow our food, to grow our
clothes, the elements in the ground. To build our buildings? God did it. God did it. Blessed be His holy name who
loads us with benefits daily. It all comes out of the sky.
Yes, it does. And, you know, what a great shepherd
to lead and feed two million. Well, what about, the Scripture
says, God has a people which no man can number. Ten thousand
times ten thousand and thousands of thousands for thousands of
years. One shepherd. Led them all. And not one of them begging bread. Not one of them providing for
themselves. He provides for them all. That's
a great shepherd, isn't it? That's a great shepherd. Every
one of them must be doctored. Sheep have to be tended to, don't
they? Like those horses you have. Catherine,
those horses you all have, they're all the time getting into something.
They're going to hurt themselves. Pitfalls they fall into, and
injuries they bring upon themselves. They do it to themselves, don't
they? They bring themselves injury. All of their mischief and so
forth. And you have to doctor them, don't you? They'll die
if you don't. All the diseases that they're susceptible to. Our Lord is the Great Shepherd.
great physician. He binds up every wound and heals
every disease. A great shepherd of every single
sheep. Every single one. None of them
will die of the wounds or the disease. Sheep are fearful. Sheep
are fearful creatures. Afraid of everything. Afraid
of anything. Everything. Oh my. Our Lord was constantly having
to soothe the fears of his disciples constantly, every day, day in
and day out. And he would say, why are you
afraid? Be not afraid. It is I. Be not
afraid. It is I. Whatever it is, it is
I. And I caused it. I brought it.
I'm in charge. I'm the Lord. Peace. Be not fearful. Why are you afraid? Fear not.
Fear not. The Lord said that more than
anything else to them. Fear not. Fear not. I am with thee. Oh, be not dismayed. I am thy God. I will still give
thee aid. Fear not. Through many dangers,
you see, toils and snares, we all have already come. And there
are many more to go, aren't there? many more. Well, "'Tis Christ,"
we change the word of that psalm, "'Tis Christ hath brought us
safe thus far, and Christ will lead us home." He's a great shepherd. A great shepherd. If you're a
sheep, you need a great shepherd to allay your fear. David said,
what times I'm afraid. David was a strong man. David
was a mighty man. David was a a powerful man. The Lord gave great strength
and wisdom and courage and so forth. But David got afraid too,
just like anybody. Yes, he did. And David became
foolish like anybody. He's a man, isn't he? And David
said, what times I'm afraid, I'll trust in thee. I'll trust
in thee. That Christ has brought us safe
thus far lead us home by his grace. He's the great shepherd.
Sheep are wandering creatures. Wandering. That's the nature
of the creature. Wandering. Always wandering,
aren't they? Always wandering. That's the
nature of the poor animal. They wander. Prone to wander.
In search of who knows what. What are they looking for? Why
do they wander off? They're in search of something. Greener
grass? That's always the case. greener
grass. Part of the problem is they're
always looking down. Until they run off, they'll run headlong
off a cliff. Now watch where they're going.
Wander, or maybe they're running, scared, something frightens them
and they run off. Where their strength is, they stay still.
Look to their shepherd. Not wrong. Prone to wander. We
sing that song. That's why we love that song
in it. That one verse. All God's sheep Come thou fount
of every blessing to my heart. Prone to wander, we sing. Lord,
I feel it. All sheep know that. They feel it. They grieve over
it. Prone to wander. What did I go after that for?
Why did I run away? I ran away from my only help.
Where am I going to escape? From what? Oh, no. Stay here. It's your safety. with David
in the cave, prone to wander. They all do, and therefore need
a great shepherd. They need a great shepherd to
go find them. Not just once, but they keep wandering. He's
got to go keep finding them and bring them back. the sweet psalmist of Israel,
who was himself a shepherd. He knew something about sheep.
He knew a lot about sheep and a shepherd. That's why he wrote
so much about the great shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd, David
said. David needed one, or as that put me. But David, the very
last verse of Psalm 119, verse 176, David said to him, I've
gone astray. Like a lost sheep, seek thy servant. Would you please come find me
again? Again. Sheep know that, don't
they? Come find me again. Call me again. Call me. Like
I told you about my old dog, he used to always be always calling. Every day I'd call him. I'd call
him every day. Every day. It wasn't a one-time thing. I called him every day. And so
does the Lord, just right now. Just right now, the gospel is
called. Called by the gospel. Who's it
for? Wandering sheep. Hey, come on
back now. Come on back. Wandering. Prone
to wander. Are there any good points about
sheep? Huh? Have I said anything good about
sheep? There's nothing good in and of
them. All right? However, let me say this about
sheep. It's some things that make them
different from a goat. Or rather, someone makes them
differ. Who maketh thee to differ? And we're not born sheep. We're born again sheep. Okay? We're made sheep. Not born sheep,
born again sheep. And I'll tell you this about
sheep, about God's people. They're humble. Sheep are very humble. They're
meek, humble, harmless creatures. They're humble because they know
what they are. That's why they're humble. 30
helpless, weak, ignorant, foolish sheep. They know that about themselves.
And so they're humble. They're not proud like goats.
Not proud like goats. I've told you this before. Someone
hasn't heard it, I'm sure. Brother Bill Clark, a missionary,
passed away years ago. A dear friend of ours. He traveled
all over the world. And he would go to Africa quite
a bit. few sheep there in Africa. And he ran across a place where
the sheep, he said, the sheep and the goats looked just alike.
They looked just alike. There was this type of goat and
type of sheep. You could not tell them anything
different between them. There's only one way you could
tell. If you look closely, there's one way you could tell the difference
between the sheep and the goat. He said the sheep would have
their tail tucked between their legs. And the goats walked around
with it sticking straight up. That's a real good picture, isn't
it? Showing what they are. Sheep
are humble. Goats are proud creatures. Sheep are dependent. Goats pride
themselves on being independent. They're not. Somebody's still
taking care of them. The rain falls on the unjust
as well as the judge. God feeds the goats as well as
He does the sheep. But He lets the sheep know it. He tells the
sheep. They know it. Sheep will hear the shepherd's
voice. Our Lord said that, didn't He?
He said, My sheep hear My voice. He said to His people, to His
disciples, Blessed are your ears, they hear. Many have ears to
hear, but they don't hear. Many turn away their ears from
the truth. Things that have been said this morning, most people
do not like, and they turn away their ears from the truth. I
can't tell you how many people I've preached to these very things
and watched them literally get mad. And you have to talk to
people and watch them literally get mad over the truth. And not say anything but what
God's Word says. Right? Well, why is that? There
it goes. Our Lord said, you believe not
in John 10 verse 26. He said, you believe not because
you're not my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice. They hear my voice. They love
it. They love the truth. They not only hear it and believe
it, they love it. They love the truth. And they follow. Sheep
follow the shepherd. They need to be led. They love
to be led. And they follow. They're good
followers. They're good followers. Sheep. Good followers. They'd rather
follow than lead. They'd rather follow than lead. Savior, like a shepherd, lead
us. We sing that song. And so the nature of the sheep,
you see, makes it necessary that they have a great shepherd. Did
I describe you? Huh? Did I describe you? Huh? That somebody must own you. You're not your own. That you're
dumb and ignorant and poor and stupid. Is that alright to say
that? Dirty, weak, helpless, easy prey,
totally dependent, must be cared for, fearful, afraid of everything,
wandering, prone to wander. Is that anybody here? Know you nothing, hear the shepherd's
voice, delight to hear his voice, and want to follow, want to be
led. Anybody? And so we have a great shepherd. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
one and only great shepherd of the sheep. He's great in His
sovereignty. He's great in His sovereignty.
He owns many. I went to a place down in Tazewell
County, Virginia. This fellow had once was 2,500
acres, now it's down to about 1,000 acres. It was down to a thousand acres.
He had 900 head of sheep. I went to buy a couple of Belgians,
and he had a flock of Belgians all over. Horses, sheep, 900
head. He said, Well, our Lord, the
earth is the Lord's in the fullness thereof, the world and they that
dwell therein. All souls are mine, he said.
He's the great landowner, the great husbandman, the great shepherd
over a great multitude which no man can number. Great, because
He has a great and vast flock of sheep. And how great He is
in His mercy, as I said before, that He would choose one of these
filthy creatures, not let alone so many. That's the point I'm
trying to make here. The fact that he would have mercy
upon one son of Adam, let alone a number which no man can number. He's a great shepherd, isn't
he? Great. He's great in his sovereignty.
He's great in his person. Oh, what wisdom it takes to deal
with many, so many. He that ruleth, David said in
2 Samuel 23, he that ruleth over men must be just. ruling in the
fear of the Lord, must be wise and just. The judge of the earth
will do right. Oh, what a great shepherd that
he would deal with every single individual on the top side of
his earth and do what's right. Every single person God does
what's right concerning them. He's just. That's what that means. It doesn't mean just in a strict
sense. It means in a wonderful sense. He's just. He's going
to do what's right. He's righteous. He's great in
His person. He's great in His wisdom. He's
great in His justice. He's great in His mercy. Great in His mercy. He must be merciful. He must
show mercy to anyone and everyone. And He must continue to show
that mercy for all the days of our life. We require it. Because of our nature. And our
God, that's His name. Merciful. Great in His mercy. Oh, in His tender care. Listen to this. Oh, just bless
my heart to read it. The Lord God will come with strong
hand. His arms shall rule for Him.
His reward is with Him. His work before Him. He shall
feed His flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm, carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that
are with young." Gently lead those that are with young. I
thought about us, you know, us parrots, us older people. We
feel so weak and so helpless and so afraid and so, you know,
So foolish and so ignorant, don't we? All right? And now come along
these little ones. They're our children. They become
our responsibility. Now we've got to care for them.
And we have hard enough time on our side. And then we have
these little ones. Well, who cares for us? Who cares
for them? He'll gently lead those with
young. If you have any young, that's
a good news. Trust Him. Cast all your care
upon Him. You got any little ones you care
about? Generally, God, we don't know
what to do. Tell us. Remember when Jehoshaphat
and the people stood before the Lord with their little ones?
Oh, we're not at our wits' end. Anybody ever been at your wits'
end? Parents? Huh? What are we going to do? We look to You. What was the
answer? Just stand still. The battle
is not yours. It's the Lord's. Providing for them is not up
to you. He didn't provide for you, and
you're not providing for them. Do what you will, do what you
can, but in the end, you're going to find out, I've been all along, all along. My, my. Gently, tender, great
in His tenderness, in His love, in His kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus our Lord. Great in His work. Let me finish
with this. Luke 15. Go over there in closing. Luke
15. Luke 15, in closing, great in his work, great in his sovereignty,
great in his person, great in his work, that great shepherd,
that one, there's only one, that great shepherd. Like I said,
when this is over, I'm hoping you'll say, that's the one I
need. Give it to me. There's none like him. That great
shepherd came into this sinful world to save such poor, sinful
creatures as we are that Scripture says to give his life For the
sheep, the good shepherd giveth his life." That means he devoted
his life for what? Christ came into this world to
devote his life for what? Not the righteous. Some might
die for a righteous man, for a good man, but God commendeth
His love toward us. And while we were yet sinners, get a hold of this. My, my. Great in his work, that great
shepherd came to give his life for the likes of us, huh? Devote
his life and then lay down his life. He said, I'm the good shepherd
and I lay down my life for the sheep. I give my life as a ransom
to die for the sheep as their substitute. He who knew no sin. Die for them? That's because
he's so great. That's why he's so great. Great in his mercy, in his grace,
in his work of redemption. Great. Great sinners require
a great Savior and a great sacrifice. Great mercy. A great shepherd. Verse 1 of Luke 15. It drew near unto him the publicans
and sinners to hear him. Do you hear it now? Verse 5, he says, verse 4, which
one of you having a hundred sheep, if you lose one of them, doth
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after
that? One of them. One of them. One of them? Would you go after one? Would
you stop everything and go after one sheep? David did, didn't
he? Remember that? One little lamb.
But it's just a nothing. It's an insignificant... If you
read the article for what it's worth, by the worthless author
in our bulletin, there are no insignificant people. If Christ
laid down His life for them, they're valuable to Him. His
glory is at stake. His Word is at stake. His promise
is at stake. Truth is at stake. And Christ,
it says, He'll leave the ninety and nine and go after one. Go after one. One. And it says,
until he find it. Until he find it. The Lord has
never gone after one sheep, never sought one sheep that he didn't
find. Until he find it. Well, did he? Well, the next
verse says, and when he finds it, when he comes home, when
he finds it, when he hath found it, verse 5. When he hath found
it, who found who? The shepherd found the sheep.
The sheep was lost. I told you about that person,
that soul winner went up to that fellow, that believer. Well,
the soul winner went up and said, have you found the Lord? And
he wisely said, I didn't know he was lost. Who's lost here? He has got it
all wrong, don't they? We don't need to call on men
to try to find the Lord. We need to call on the Lord to
find men. If He does, they'll start seeking
the Lord. He said, I've sought of them that I've found of them
that sought me not. Oh, my. One of them. You go after one of them, and
when he hath found it, he lays it on his shoulders. Oh, my. lays it on his shoulders. God laid on him not only the
iniquity of us all, but laid us on him. Not just our sins
were laid on him, we have been on his shoulders from day one. There's a stupid little saying,
you know, footprints in the sand, and I call it stupid because
it is. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. Footprints in the sand,
you know, the two sets of footprints, and then all of a sudden there's
one. And the person said, why did
you leave me, Lord, when the going got tough? He said, no,
that was when I carried you. I've got news for you. In Isaiah
46, it says, our Lord says, He says, say unto them that are
born by me from the belly, carry. from the womb. He said, to your
old age, to your hoary heads, I'll carry you. There never has
been but one set of footprints. They've all been on his shoulders
from the beginning. All of them. And it says, when
he had found them and put them on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Scripture says, who for the joy that was set before him. Joy. Sheep? Yes. Rejoice over sheep. I found my... Rejoice over that
prodigal son? Come home? Yes. Yes. Rejoice for the joy set before. And when he comes home, when
he comes home, and when he is coming again, our great shepherd
who came the first time is coming again. And he said, I go to prepare
a place for you. If it were not so, I would have
told you. But if I go, I'll come again and receive you unto myself.
That where I am, you may be also. And tells everybody, let's have
a celebration. Let's make it last forever. Why? Because this sheep, this
one, no good, good for nothing, dirty, stinking, I went and found
him and brought him all the way home. Now look at him. He looks
just like me. To the praise of the glory of
his grace. Oh, my. The exceeding riches of his grace. And I was going to have you turn
back there to Ezekiel 33 that Gabe read. Go back and read it
again for yourself. He said, I will search my sheep
and find them out. I'll bring them. I'll do this. And there'll be one. They're
the sheep of my pasture. There be my sheep and I'll be
their God. That's the great shepherd that
we're talking about.