Ezekiel 34, where I was working
in my garage the other day, working on an automobile, and I decided to put a tape in, set
tape, listen to it. These tape things, we need them,
they're a great help. It's the next best thing to hearing
the gospel in person, and I was at that time feeling. As we often feel. Downcast and. Depressed and discouraged and
sinful and. All of those things. And I listened
as. The Maurice Montgomery as it
was I just grabbed the tape no Jack shanks. Jack shanks. And I listened to
him preach a message that I heard before. I was there when he preached
this message years ago. Same message I've heard before,
not just by him, but by the message of Christ. Just declaring the
truth, preaching God's word. And it was such a help to me.
It blessed me so much. I just can't tell you, I don't
need to tell some of you what a blessing it was to me. And it confirmed to me that what
we need to hear, what we really are blessed by, is not something
new, but the same old gospel, the same old truth, the same
old story. God's sovereign mercy and grace
in Christ and saving his people. That's what this story is, this
story of the good pastor. You don't think surely that this
message is about me, do you? Or my pastor or any other man
for that matter? This is the good, capital P,
A-S-T-O-R. That's what this message is all
about, or rather who, the good, the, I wrote down at first a
good pastor and I scribbled it out. The good pastor or shepherd
and good pastor verses one through four. The Lord. Pronounces woe on these shepherds,
these so-called shepherds, these men seem to be shepherds. The people thought they were
shepherds. They held the title of shepherd or pastor. Shepherd
and pastor are the exact same word, OK? Exact same word, pastor
and shepherd. Pastor sounds like pasture, doesn't
it? That's because it's a similar
word. A pastor or shepherd is one who pastures. or grazes or
feeds that's his principal job that's his job. Feed the sheep. In pasture. And there's one past
year we'll see that in a minute but these fellows. And today
you've got fellow heads. Females doing it. Seem to be
shepherd people thought they were they held the title and
but they weren't feeding the people. They were feeding themselves. They were serving their own interests. They were serving their own glory. They were doing things in the
name of God, they said. But it was really their own names
that they were setting forth, that people remember. And he
said in verse 3, The fact of your sales you killing them you
killing the people not feeding them killing. You know. These false preachers
and I don't want to dwell too long on these but the Lord sure
did deal a lot with false prophets. The true prophets back then.
Had to first renounce. and expose the false prophets
in their day. And. But these false prophets
and preachers today, and there are many the woods are full of. What they're doing is more than
just error and doctrine. That's why this is so serious,
it's more than just error and doctrine. They're killing people. The souls of men are at stake.
It's more than just error of doctrine. And that's why we speak out as
we do against them. That's why the Lord's Word speaks
so harshly of them. The Lord Jesus Christ, when He
walked on this earth, He dealt with these Pharisees
and scribes and lawyers and so forth, didn't he? And they were
everywhere. Everywhere. He called a few common,
ordinary, working class men from among the people, men that everyone
knew, and clearly saw the Lord's hand on these men. But he faced
hundreds upon hundreds of these. School trained religious man. Who put on good air and a good
show and talk good and had everybody fool and dress certain way and
so forth. And he constantly before the
people said you said he said you beware of these scribes.
These Pharisees these hypocrites he said he said they're putting
on a show All they do is to be seen of men. The Lord renounced them, didn't
he? He exposed them clearly. And we're not trying to be, we're
not being too hard or harsh when we name names and so forth. The
Apostle Paul named ten names in his epistles of evil men and
seducers. I'm sure it surprised the people
when he named some of the names he did. But he said in verse
four, they're not, the disease they haven't strengthened, the
sick they have not bound up, or that which is broken hasn't
bound up, the sick they haven't healed, the brought again, the
driven away, the lost, they sought the lost, but with force and
with cruelty have ruled them. I thought of this thing of disease
and said something earlier about this. False prophets don't tell
people that there's anything wrong with them. They prophesy
smooth things. God loves you. Jesus died for
you. God needs you, wants you. You're a wonderful person and
he can use you. He loves you so much if you'll
just let him have his way. He has a wonderful plan. You
know, you hear it. That's all they say. That's all
they say. But the prophets of old and the
apostles, they went around saying things like this. Listen to this.
From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, There's
no soundness in it. Nothing but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. It's a horrible sighting. He
said things like David said, the Lord looked down from heaven
to see if there were any that did understand. He said, all
together, put them all together, he said, they're stinking to
God. That God doesn't need anybody. Nothing good about it. The prophets
never said anything good about anybody. It's all bad. He said
things like this. In your flesh dwelleth no good
thing. Your loins are filled with a loathsome disease. And
what the prophet said about the people, he said about himself. Old Isaiah said, Man of unclean
lips, and I dwell amongst a people of unclean lips. This planet
is diseased. It's dying. It's sick. Just sick. Look at it. Look at modern man. He hadn't
made any progress. He's digressing. He's become
an animal. Just look around you at what
he's done to himself. And there's only one cure for
this sick society and people. One cure. The balm of Gilead. The balm, you know, you don't
know there's any problem. I mean, you don't know you need
Christ until you realize how sick you are. How sick you are. Christ is the
great physician. Programs and things like that
can't heal this disease. Only a person. Christ is the
great healer of hearts. Christ is the Lord and shepherd
who alone must seek out his sheep. Men can't do it. Soul winners
can't do it. Christ alone. You know, he denounced
these shepherds who did what they did to his people. He said,
my sheep have become a prey. Verse eight, my flock become
a prey. My flock is meat to every beast
of the field. They've been, they've fallen
prey to every one of these beasts. And that's what these so-called
preachers, these sheep butchers, that's what they are. sheep butchers. Most in here. Many if not most. Were raised
in religion or you were brought up in religion of some core some
sort Methodist Southern Baptist whatever Catholic whatever it
may be. And you were pray to some of these fellows. I think about these small children
throughout our land that they go take buses and cup of sea
and land to round them up and take them to their places and
indoctrinate them with their fault, with their lies and giving
these children a refuge of lies and raising up little Pharisee
and build schools to make them even more Pharisee. And I think about your children.
Our children. Well that's why this is so important
here. Your children are going to hear
in here what they will not hear any place else. Except where
the truth is free. That's why you need to avail
yourselves of every opportunity. It's your responsibility to have
your children under the sound of this word every time. Our teachers devote a lot of
time. Our teachers in the classes don't
get paid today. They devote a lot of time and
effort, prayer and concern over our children. They're really
concerned about your child's soul. Not like these other places. You've been a part of that. Many
of you were part of that. Says down in verse 4, they ruled
with force and cruelty. I've sat under some of that.
I was one time in a meeting, preaching in a meeting, with
some of these so-called Reformed fellows. They're the worst. They've got the doctrine and
no Savior of Christ in it. And the pastor got up and his
son, his wayward son, was in the congregation. for the first
time in a long time. His son, and he got up after we sung a
song, and everybody knew who he was talking to, but he lambasted
us, hollered, screamed, said, you have no right to sing that
if you don't know what you're singing. Just came down hard
on us. I thought that's it driving away
they'll never come back. There you go. Cruelty and force. All right
that's enough about those films. All right you had enough. Fourteen
minutes of those false prophets. All right. God says Christ says
this is Christ himself. Verse eleven who is the word
incarnate. Thus saith the Lord God. Mercy
eleven. Even I will search my sheep and
seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he's among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and I will deliver them. I, behold
I, as a shepherd seeketh his sheep. You know where this is
found, don't you? Where is it in the gospel that
Christ speaks of being the good shepherd? John 10, good. Go to John chapter 10 with me. Who is this talking? Who is speaking
here? The Lord, His name is capitalized
in several places. That's Jehovah. Is this the Lord
God or is this the Lord Jesus Christ speaking? Yes, it is. He is. Here's a good passage, isn't
it, Sister Jeanette, to talk to these So-called Jehovah's Witnesses.
Who's the shepherd here? The Lord God said he would come
and dwell among his people and seek out his sheep. Who? Christ. Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's my shepherd. John 10, verses 11 through 14. He says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. He that is in hireling. He's
the one that wrote Ezekiel thirty four. Says the same thing here
he's not the shepherd who's on the sheep or not. No he sees
the wolf coming. He's working for the wolf. He
sees the wolf coming leaves the sheep and fleas and wolf catch
it down and scatter it to sheep. The hireling fleeth because he's
a hireling. He's in it for pay. He cared
not for the sheep, I am the good shepherd. Christ said, I know
my sheep and am known of mine. As the father knoweth me, so
know I the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
shepherd of his sheep, the good shepherd. We'll see how good
he is in a moment. The great shepherd. There really
is no other like him. The chief shepherd, he's the
one that hires the under shepherd to take care of his flock. And
he takes care of them that doesn't take care of his flock. He said,
our Lord said, he giveth his life. The good shepherd giveth
his life for the sheep. Go back to Ezekiel 34. He giveth
his life for the sheep. It says in verse 12, we read,
has the shepherd. He says, I'm the shepherd. that seeketh out his flock in
the day that he is among his sheep," he said. He's among his
sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ was made flesh and dwelt among
us. A body, Scripture says, thou
hast given me. God had sheep chosen before the
foundation of the world. Yes, the Lord knoweth them that
are And he gave them to the Lord Jesus Christ in a covenant, in
an agreement. Father owns them all, the whole
world, and they're goats and they're sheep, his sheep. He
chose them. He said, I'll judge between the
cattle and cattle. They all look alike, but they're
not alike. I got goats and I got sheep,
and they're my goats. I'm going to throw them, but
these are my feet. I'm going to save them. And he
sent a good shepherd to do the job, a great shepherd to do the
job. The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
know my sheep, and it says he giveth his life for the sheep.
You ever thought about that in this sense? After that, he said,
I lay down my life. There he said, I give my life
for the sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ devoted
his life to the sheep. He lived for them. He said, I
live that they might live. I am come into the world to seek
that which was lost. I have given my life, made flesh,
to come and seek out these lost sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ
came into this world looking for his lost sheep. Gave his
life. That was his life work. And I
love the thought of how everything he did and every step he took
and every gesture he made and every word he spoke was for the
purpose of finding one of his sheep. And we look at this so much that
I never get tired of thinking about it. But the Lord and the
apostles didn't know where he was going. They did not know
where he was going from one moment to the next. He did because he
had sheep. He said, I'm come to seek and
to save that which was lost. And he'd go looking for them.
They weren't looking for him. They're lost. Is she there someone
is lost doesn't know where to look later. Those that are truly
lost don't even know they're lost. But he does. And he went to find them. And
he found every one of them. And at the exact moment in time,
he had them where he would have them. Put them where he would
put them. That goes back to you. Put him
up a tree. Put that man up a tree on purpose. How many sycamore
trees were in the land of Israel? And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
I've got to go by one tree. There's a fella up it. How many
whales were in Israel in that day? Well, the Lord had to go
and sit on one whale because there's a woman he's got a divine
appointment with one of his lost sheep. See, this is my hope. For not
only myself, but God in his good time and the fullness of time
had me, young prodigal, young rebel, where he would have me
that day, and found me. God didn't know his loss. And
that's my hope for you, your loved ones, and others that This
is where he finds them. This is how they're known. This
is how he calls them out. He said, my sheep hear my voice.
He said, I'll seek them and I will deliver them and I'll bring them
out. Go with me to 1 Samuel 17. It said the Lord God sent the
great shepherd to do this job, find his lost sheep. They're
prey, they're meat, they're in the hands of the enemy. Not just these false shepherds,
but the great adversary that's in whose hand, you know, our
Lord spoke of Satan more than anyone else. No one spoke more
of Satan than the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not a figment of
our imagination. He's not some fairy tale creature.
That's to call Jesus Christ a liar. Well, Jesus Christ said, I beheld
Satan fall as an angel. I was there. He's a real person.
subtle and crafty, and he says there that men and women are
in his captivity. Under his rule, he's called the
God, small g, of this world. Well, unless a stronger than
he binds him, we're no match for him. And he's
called the lion Our Lord said Satan as a roaring lion. Walk up about seeking who he
made about. That's not a fairytale, but Lord
Jesus Christ said. Well, here in first Samuel 17
is the story of David. When the Lord said in Ezekiel,
I'll make David my my shepherd, Tammy, David had already lived
and died. He lived before he. Well, you
talk about things that you. The son of David. The Lord Jesus
Christ, that's who you're talking about. OK, David had already
come and go his sepulcher, we have this day, Peter said this
is. Well, here in 1 Samuel 17, David
is a young strapping lad, young man, perhaps, I don't know how
old he was, 20 some years old. And all of Israel was cowed down
before this giant named Goliath. True story. This is not a fairytale
either. And it was none man enough to
face this and he was going to destroy and make a mockery of
all Israel and the God of Israel, but God had his king waiting. David, there was no beauty in
him that men should desire and no former comrade, just a lad,
he's just a kid. Oh, you just wait. And he sent
him and in verse 12 he came to Saul and Saul was afraid of David. I'm sorry, 1 Samuel 17 and verse 32, verse 32, David
came to Saul and said, Let no man's heart fail because of him,
because of this giant, thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, You're
not able to go. You're just a kid to go against
this Philistine to fight. You're just a youth. He's a man
of war from his youth. David said unto Saul, Thy servant
kept his father's sheep. That's what I am. I'm a shepherd,
he said. And a while back, I was keeping my father's sheep. And
there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb. Both of them
took one little lamb out of the flock. And I went
out after him. And I smote him, and I delivered
it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught
him by the beard, and I smote him, and I slew him. And thy
servant slew the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised
Philistine shall be one of them." He's defined God. So Jesus Christ
came. The Son of David. You know, David,
that one little lamp. Sounds like he delivered that
one little lamp. from such a great adversary.
Is one lamb worth it? If he can't deliver one little
lamb, he's not a good shepherd, is he? But our Lord Jesus Christ
came to this earth in search of his sheep, yes, his little
lambs. And he said, after it was all
over, listen to this, the Lord Jesus Christ said, to his Father,
I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do." What's that? Find the sheep,
every one of them. Deliver them on the mouth of
the lion. Purge them from their sins. And bring them all home. They're
my sheep. I love them. And Christ said,
all that you've given me, I've kept. Not one lost. Not one little lamb. All kept. Now that, Lord, is
my shepherd. How about you? The world, these
false prophets speak of a Jesus who tried and failed, a God who
wants to and can't, a Jesus who died for all but saved none. You can have that pitiful fellow.
The Lord is my shepherd. How about you, Brother Henry?
Don't you need a shepherd like that? The Lord Jesus Christ,
he's no shepherd in name only, he's the true shepherd, the chief
shepherd. He finds all his lost sheep,
he delivers all the father gave him, he saves every sheep, every
single one whom God gave him, whom Christ died for, shall be
presented to the father in that day, safe and sound. To the praise of the glory of
this great chief shepherd. So he gave his life. searching
for, seeking for the sheep, and he laid down his life. He died
for the sheep. Here's the difference between
David's story and the son of David's story. David spared the
sheep and he himself was spared the lamb. The Lord Jesus Christ,
God spared not his own son. In order to deliver us God had to deliver him up for
us all. In order for us to be accepted
by God, he had to be rejected, didn't he? He had to be forsaken
for us to be accepted. He had to be made sin for us,
that we might be made righteous. This is substitution. He was
delivered into the hands of the land, the hands of the world.
the hands of the father, and it pleased the father to bruise
him, to kill him, because it pleased the father to make you
his people. God can't give us life unless
he kills his son. But all who believe him and come
to him, all who are in Christ who died, shall never die. And that's to the praise of the
glory of the lamb, as it had been slain. Smite the shepherd,
and the sheep are scattered. But at the same time, they're
gathered. He doesn't stay dead. He's smitten,
wounded, afflicted, bruised. He died, but he lives. And he
gathers them all unto himself. For the carcass is equal to him. There's a different and restore. Now, here's the good pastor. So that's the good pastor. He's
the good shepherd. Now, here's the good pasture.
Look at verse 13. He says, I'll bring them out
from the people. Out from God chooses a people,
elects a people out of every tribe, kindred, nation, tongue
and people under heaven. You look into this, look at this
congregation, you see a people of all different walks and backgrounds
and so forth. God has a people. And that great
gathering someday is going to be glorious. People with a distinct heritage
yet all look alike. Like those animals, those clean
animals on the ark. Well, he says, I'll bring them
out from the people and gather them from the country. And he
has to bring us out of the camp, doesn't it? Out of the world. Into himself, bring us out to
bring us in and gather them from the country and we'll bring them
to their own land. It belongs to them. Home, I'm
going to bring them home. He's not talking about the nation,
Israel, although. He did to show his sovereign
power, but this is talking about true Israel. He said, I'll bring
them, verse 13, to their own land and feed them on the mountains
of Israel by the river. In other words, they're going
to eat in a place, a high place with a glorious view. I love these Blue Ridge Mountains.
I love to hike up like Peaks of Otter told you that story
many times. But the view from that mountain.
Sharp Topper Eagle Eagle's Top is magnificent. You can see afar
off. Well, God brings his people.
And sets them on Mount Zion, the church of the living God,
where they can see afar off. Look forward to. They see what's
coming, Nancy, and it's a beautiful view, not something to dread,
but something to look forward to. A high mountain, and it's
beside the rivers. Verse 13, beside the rivers,
water of life. Verse 14, he says, I'll feed
them in a good pasture. A good good is green. Tell me what sheep what is sheep
food. Sheep eat one thing. Sheep eat one thing. That's right. That's all you need to sustain
sheep is grass. Grass. Well, our Lord said, I
will make them to lie down in green pastures. Grass. His word. God's word. They need
one thing, and this is how you know sheep from goats. I ask
you, what is it you want to hear when you come here? What is it
you need to hear when you come here? What is it that feeds your
soul? What is it that meets your need?
What is it that really satisfies you and nothing else will? The
word of God. This is how you know the difference
between sheep and goats. Goats need all sorts of bacon. They can eat, I think, ten cans. That's the way they show it on
the cartoons. Sheep won't eat that. They won't
fall for that stuff. They put goats on the side of
a hill full of briars and brambles and all that so they'll clear
it off, don't they? Devour the land. sheep want one
thing and one thing only. And God's people want one thing.
This is how you know them. Goat, you have to keep entertained.
Goat, you have to provide all sorts of different things for
them to devour and keep them interested, not sheep. This is
how you know them. That's a good sign for you. If
this is all you need, if there's one thing needful for you, if
you know that your children need one thing, What you see. Verse fifteen I'm going to quit.
Verse fifteen he says I will feed my flock. It'll be verse
fourteen a fat pasture. They'll feed upon the mountains
of Israel. I will feed my flock. Christ himself, he said, my sheep
here, my boy, I will feed my flock. He said, I will give you
pastors after my own heart. I'm a good shepherd. I feed my
flock. And that's what my pastors do.
That's all they do. Feed them. Peter, do you love
me? Yeah, Lord, feed my lamb. Feed them. That's the requirement. That's no lofty position, is
it? That's not something to be held
in such high esteem for. A cattle feeder? A sheep feeder? Oh, no. And I've told you so
many times, I'm just a short order cook. And I'm eating the
same food. Same food. Enjoying it immensely. And just can't wait for you to
eat it. I didn't make it. I didn't create it. I'm just
serving it. And so the Lord said, I will.
And I love the thought. Oh, oh, my. This is why we call upon the
Lord. Lord, you said your sheep would hear your voice. This is
this preacher's hope. This is his preacher's confidence.
Now, I get up here with this book, this word, which God Almighty
said will not return void. He said, I have a sheep. I'll
bring them to hear it, sit them down, and in the day of my good
pleasure, you'll preach the same old, same old, and I, in my time,
will pierce their heart. I will bring them home. You can't
do it, but I can and I must, and I will, He said. That's this
preacher's hope. My dad talked to this young prodigal
for years. But God, one day in his mercy,
unbeknownst to this fella, brought me there and shook me! Shook
me! Bless God Almighty. With this
right here. And I thought I was the only
one sitting there. He's talking to me. Yeah, he is talking to you.
Who's the he? Jesus Christ. He can take the
most obstinate, hard-hearted, the oldest. Fifty-five, fifteen,
twenty-five, seventy-five. Ask Virgie Jones. Ask Abraham. You will never convince me of
nothing, preacher. No, I won't. But if the preacher
does, if the Lord Jesus in you, man, I hope He does. And that's
why we pray to Him. And that's why we don't use all
this stuff and gimmicks to try to trick people into... People
aren't tricked into heaven. They aren't convinced into heaven.
They hear from Christ. And He said, My sheep hear My
voice. Get up, Ezekiel, and preach to
these dry bones. That's foolishness. That's what
I use. Say, hear the word of the Lord,
you dry dead bone. Preach the truth and stand back
and watch. Glory be to God. And he says
in closing, I will, verse 15, I will cause them to lie down. They'll eat so much and get so
full in this fat pasture that they'll just fall over and lie
down and just sleep. Empty. It's a good pasture. That's a
good pasture that's so green that you eat so much and get
so fat. You want to be fat spiritually.
and fat things, wine on the leaf. I've told you this story so many
times, but it's the best, the only one I know, really. Old
Molly, that big old horse that I had, you know, we tried our
best to have the pastures fertilized and limed and all that for them
so it'd be green, green pastures. I was a pretty good shepherd,
pretty good. Too good, actually, Kelly. None
of them had to work for a living. None of them did a thing. That's
a good picture, though, isn't it? That's a good type. But anyway,
Molly, she got pretty fat on those pastures. And every now
and then, you know, horses don't like to lie down. You know that? They're creatures of prey. They
got to be standing up so they can take off running. They don't
like to lie down. They feel very insecure when
they're lying down. You know that? But Molly and the rest of them,
they would eat to their heart's content until finally they'd
just lie down in the sun in those green grass pastures. I'd look
out every now and then and Molly would be laying there still eating. And one time, several times,
I'd go out there. She was as tall lying down as
she was standing. I'd go out there. And now horses,
they don't like for you to approach them when they're lying down.
They're preachers of flight. I'd walk out there. She was so
at ease around me, so trusted me. Did not, you know, fear that
I was going to do anything. All I've ever done is feed her. And I'd go out there every now
and then and I'd just lay on the old mottled. And we both
lay there. That's a lot of fun. Try it if
you haven't done it. They talk about smelling like a horse.
I think they smell good. But she was, the point is, she's fat and a good pasture,
content, not afraid. She had a good shepherd watching
over her. She could just lie down and go to sleep, not fear
anything or anyone. And the rest of this chapter,
read it for yourself. He said, I'll make you lie down
in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. He said, I'll prepare
them a table in the midst of their inn. Nothing and nobody's
going to make them afraid. Nothing. Anybody says what happens
in the world, it won't make them afraid. Why? The shepherd's watching over
her. Shepherds what you know, we don't
need to fear anything. The Lord is running this place. The devil's in his hands. What
made you up? What made I fear? All right. Let's turn to hymn number 293,
Stand Together. We're going to sing this to the
tune of O for a Thousand Tongues. you