David a shepherd but here's the
first thing I want you to notice about David here in this chapter
here he was an obedient son an obedient son look what he says
here in verse 17 Jesse said unto David his son take now for thy
brethren an ephod of this parched corn and these ten loaves and
run to the camp And then look what it says in verse 20. And
David rose up early in the morning, left the sheep, and took and
went as Jesse had commanded him. So he was an obedient son. He
was an obedient son. He done what his father told
him to do. And he did it immediately and
he did it without thinking about it. And he rose up early to do
it. He went about his father's business.
He went to do what his father sent him to do as our Savior
did. But not only was he an obedient
son, but he was a shepherd. Now we're going to go back over
here. to chapter 16 look at a few things where you know it says
there David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's
sheep but here is look what it says
now in verse 11 and Samuel said unto Jesse are here all thy children
remember Jesse Samuel's there to anoint King seven men's passed
before him seven men's went before him And he said, are here all thy
children? He said, they remaineth yet the youngest. And behold,
listen to this, he keepeth the sheep. He keepeth the sheep. And Samuel
said unto Jesse, send and fetch him, for we'll not sit down before
he comes here. And look what else it says down
here in verse 18. It's a beautiful description
of David here in verse 18 and 19. Then answered one of the
servants, this is when the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul,
and they said, oh my, is there anybody that can help me? And
they told him, said, well, they answered one of them in service
and said, behold, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite,
and that is cunning in playing, exceptionally good in playing,
and a mighty, valiant man. This is a man who's got some
value to him. You know, when you're in the
military and that, they'll give you a V for valor sometimes. You know, you'll get a medal
and you'll get stars on it or a V for valor. You know, and
David was a man who was valiant. He had valor. And look here,
a man of war. And he's prudent in matters and
a crumbly person. And here's the greatest thing
about him is the Lord's with him. the Lord's with him. Wherefore Saul sent messengers
unto David, and this is where I wanted to go, and said, Send
me David thy son, which is with the sheep. Which is with the
sheep. We're going to talk about David,
a shepherd. David, a shepherd. Now back over
here in verse chapter 17. In fact, chapter 17. It says there, you know that
David turned from Saul to feed his father's sheep. You know,
David was a shepherd in so many ways and like our Savior was. And our Lord Jesus Christ, David
said, we just got through singing that song. Never have heard that
before and I'm glad that he found it. But David said, the Lord
is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. And
when he said the Lord is my shepherd, he knew what it was to be a shepherd.
Because he himself was a shepherd. He knew what it was to take care
of sheep. He knew what it was to take and
tend sheep. And here's the first thing I
know that David knew and that we know. Sheep need a shepherd. He said, the Lord is my shepherd.
The sheep need a shepherd. And what's a shepherd without
sheep? Can't be a shepherd without sheep. And our Lord Jesus Christ
and David was a shepherd. And I'm going to give you three
reasons Why? Sheep has to have a shepherd.
I'm going to give you three reasons and then I'm going to get on
with it. First of all, sheep are dumb. They are truly, truly
a dumb animal. I had a friend of mine, he's
dead and gone now, a friend of mine, he raised sheep and he
said one of them get around the barn and couldn't find his way
back around the other side. That's how dumb they are. And
that's the second thing. They're directionless. They can't figure out what direction
to go in. They don't know which direction to go in. And the third
reason is that sheep need a shepherd is they're defenseless. Sheep
are dumb, directionless, and defenseless. And I tell you what,
I admit that I'm all three of those things without Christ. And I tell you here, first of
all, they're dumb. They're dumb. You know, people
have dogs. Dogs are loyal. Dogs are loyal. I mean, you can kick your dog
and he'll come back and lay down at your feet. Dogs are loyal. Cats, they're smart. They're
smart enough to get you thinking that you're petting them and
they're petting you. Petting themselves. And horses,
horses are strong. Strong. But sheep, they're dumb. They're dumb. You can't teach
a sheep any tricks. They can't be trained to do anything.
And you know another thing about sheep is they have very, very
poor vision. And that's why they have no sense
of direction. And you know they follow other
sheep just as dumb as they are. I got on YouTube today And there's
a sheep that went off a cliff. You look it up yourself. 400 sheep went right over the
cliff with him. One went over the cliff,
400 walked right behind him. Now you got to be pretty dumb.
If somebody jumps off a cliff, you jump with them. But they
did that, and I looked up today, and I seen a mother of sheep,
and she had a little lamb. And she got up on these rocks,
and she couldn't get down. And so she started sliding, and
she started falling, and when she started falling, she went
to running, went to running like this, and right off the cliff,
she went. That little lamb followed right
behind her, Jumped over the cliff behind him. Right up behind him. You talking about sheep or dog?
Oh my. And I tell you, there was four,
but I read this that only 50 of them died. The others lived
because they landed on the dead ones. And I don't mean to be
funny, but they landed on the dead. So they survived because
they landed on the dead ones. So listen, that tells you Be
very careful who you follow. I don't mean to make light of
it. It just comes out that way. And
since they have no sense of direction, they so easily, easily go astray. Like I told you, Fred told me,
he said, the sheep will get around behind the barn. He'd have a
shed to shear them in that area. One get around behind the barn.
He couldn't find his way back. They just get out there and go
to wandering. And here not only can sheep dumb, not only do they
have no sense of direction, but sheep can't defend themselves.
That means they're easy prey. You know, he's talking about
sheep and wolves and sheep's clothing. I'll tell you something
about sheep. They don't bite and they don't
fight back. A sheep, when you get a hold
of him, he'll just lay down. You get a hold of him, he'll
just lay down. And that's why they said our Lord Jesus was
led as a lamb, led as a lamb to the slaughter. And they don't
hiss like a cat. They don't show their teeth like
a dog. And Gary was talking about this
this evening. Believers, you go through history.
I mean, this religion is fought. Catholic church and Muslims and
different religions have fought one another for centuries. But
you cannot find where the church, the church that Christ bought
with his own blood ever stood up for himself or fought or drawn
out a sword. You know what Christ conquered
this world with? With his word. You know what
Christ conquers men today with? With his word. We don't, our
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual. We're not, listen, that's what
we're talking about here. God's people, we are defenseless. People can say what they want
to about us, we don't offend ourselves. People, I've been
hit a couple of times, I've been attacked a couple of times over
the years, and I have not raised a hand back. And I will never raise a hand
back. I tell you what, the only time
I'll ever raise a hand to anybody if they hurt my children or hurt
my wife, then I'll raise a hand to defend them. But for myself,
and you shouldn't either, but that's what we're talking about.
They're dumb, directless, and defenseless. And our Lord Jesus
Christ, He said it like this in Isaiah 53, We all like sheep. What did we do? Go astray. Going astray. Oh my. And this is the animal. This
is the animal that God uses to depict His people. Sheep. Sheep. And this world is divided
into two classes. Sheep and goats. Sheep and goats. Goats are not made into sheep
and sheep's not turned into goats. God don't save goats and turn
them into sheep. Lost sheep, found sheep. Goats,
sheep. Our Lord Jesus said, you know,
said that when that last day comes, he'd put the sheep on
his right hand and the goats on his left. And I'll tell you
what, them two will never come together. And I'll tell you something,
look over here in John chapter 10. Let's look at a few things
about sheep. Over here in John chapter 10, start at verse three. The world's divided into two
classes. And not everybody's a sheep.
Now a lot of folks like to think everybody's a sheep. But everybody's not a sheep.
Gary said somebody come in his shop down there and went on and
on and on about free will, free will, and it's in the Bible.
And Gary handed him a Bible and said, show me. He couldn't. You can't show nobody that salvation
is by free will in this Bible. It can't be done. You know the
only way free will is used in the scriptures? Offerings, giving. That's the only time the word
is ever used. And that's in the Old Testament.
But anyway, the world is divided and not everybody is a sheep.
Look what our Lord said here in verse 26. But you believe not, because
you're not of my sheep." Everybody's not a sheep. But the Lord tells us what his
sheep can do. You know, I told you what they
can't do. They're dumb, defenseless, and
directionless. But our Lord tells us what they
can do. Look what they can do. Look in verse 3, John 10. To him the porter opened it.
Now watch this. They can hear. They can hear
His voice. They can hear. And watch this. And listen to this one. And He
calleth His own sheep. And He calls them by name. Oh my. So we're sheep. And then look what it says down
in verse 4. And he put forth his own sheep, and he goes before
them, and what's this? And the sheep follow him. He
goes in front of them, and he leads the way, and we follow
him. He ain't going to go off no cliffs. He ain't going to
take us no place where we're going to get hurt. He ain't going
to take us no place where things are going to hurt us. No, no,
no. Not his sheep. And look what it says here. And
so he calls his own sheep and leads them out. And he puts them
forth and they go before him and the sheep follow him. And
they know his voice. They know his voice. But now
look what he says in verse 5. But here's something about sheep.
Something about sheep. A stranger they will not follow. They won't follow a stranger.
Do you know why you're hearing the gospel and why you're listening
to the gospel? Because you heard the voice of Christ, He put you
forth and you're following Him and you heard His voice and you're
not going to follow a stranger. If he's not Christ and got Christ's
message, you're not going to follow a stranger. And look what
He says here. Not only will they not follow Him, but they'll flee
from Him. They'll get away from Him just
as fast as they can. Why? Because they don't know His voice.
They don't understand his voice. They don't get the voice. That voice don't sound right.
That voice don't sound right. Now look down here in verse 24. And then came the Jews round
about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to
doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. We want to know. Just come out
with it. And our Lord answered them, I told you. Remember they
took up stones to stone him one time because he blasphemed, making
himself equal with God. I told you and you believe not
the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
But here's why you don't believe and why you believe not, is because
you're not of my sheep, as I said unto you. You're not of my sheep. now here's the difference my
sheep hear my voice I tell you when you hear that voice
of Christ No other voice speaks like it. No other voice sounds
like it. No other voice can touch you
like His voice can. No other voice can meet your
needs like His voice can. And you know we hear His voice
in His blessed word. And He says this, I know them. I know them. I know them. And here He says again, and they
follow Me. And those that hear His voice
and follow Him, I give unto them eternal life. And that's why
they know the sheep. That's how I hear His voice.
He gives them eternal life. And they'll never perish. They
ain't going to be going off no cliffs. They ain't never going
to perish. And ain't nobody going to pluck them out of my Father's
hand. And He laid down His life. For who? For His sheep. For His
sheep. he's the good shepherd giveth
his life for the sheep so sheep need a shepherd they need a pastor
they need a pastor Paul said feed the flock over which the
Holy Ghost has made you overseers you know there are people and
it's sad that some people seek to pastor themselves some people
seek to pastor themselves And they don't do a very good job
of it. You know, one sheep can't take care of himself. Somebody
got to take care of him. But oh my, don't do a very good
job. But Christ is the Good Shepherd. Ain't that what he says here
in verse 11? I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. Oh my, not for everybody, for
his sheep. And then he's the chief shepherd. Look with me
over in 1st Peter chapter 5. 1st Peter chapter 5. He's the
chief shepherd. 1st Peter 5. I want you to see
this. He's the chief shepherd. I heard
Bruce Crabtree bring an outstanding message on this one time. Sheep need a shepherd. They need
a pastor. They got to have a pastor. and he's the chief shepherd look
what he says first Peter 5.1 the elders which are among you
I exhort who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings
of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed
now listen to what he says to the elders now feed the flock
of God which not which is among you It's among you. They're not out over here. They're
among you. And you take the oversight. You
watch out for them sheep. You care for them sheep. Nobody's
got to constrain you to do it. Nobody's got to make you do it.
You don't have to send over the whip to do it. But you do it
willingly. Don't have to pay you a big lot
of money. You're not in it for money. You're
not in it for silver and gold. Not for filthy lucre. But do
it with a ready mind. neither as being lords over God's
heritage their God's heritage be it but being ensembles to
the flock and when the chief shepherd shall appear you'll
receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away so he's the chief
shepherd and then he's the great shepherd of the sheep you know
who brought again from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep
now look back with me over here In 1 Samuel 17, he's that great
shepherd of the sheep. Shepherd laid down his life,
chief shepherd is going to appear, the great shepherd who is brought
again through the blood laid down his life. And David depicts
Christ as a shepherd here. And first I want you to notice
his care for his sheep. You know the first time we're
confronted with David, the first time we see David, do you know
where he's at? He's out with sheep. Samuel said, ain't you
got any more sons still waiting to be anointed to be king? You know you got seven here,
none of these right. But you know where David was
the first time we're confronted with him? He's out taking care
of sheep. Tending sheep. Tending sheep. And I tell you
what, tending his father's sheep, they're the most important things
to him. While the other seven brothers
are at the feast, he's out there taking care of his father's sheep.
Taking care of his father's sheep. And here in verse 15, look what
it says here in 1 Samuel 15. But David went, when he went
over there to Saul, returned from Saul, now watch this, to
feed feed his father's sheep. You know, he calls them his father's
sheep. And down here in verse 20, when
he went to do his father's will, went to check on his brethren,
and Christ, he's our brother, and he comes and keeps us and
feeds us and takes care of us. He made sure he had a keeper
of the sheep. Verse 20, and David rose up early
in the morning and left the sheep, listen to this, the sheep with
a keeper. You know who Christ left us with?
With the Holy Spirit. He said, I go away. I'm going
away. But I'm not going to leave you
without any comfort. I'm not going to leave you without
any assurance. I'm not going to do that. He
said, I'm going to send another Comforter. And when He has come,
the Holy Spirit, He'll take the things of mine and show them
unto you. So I tell you what, Christ keeps us, the Holy Spirit
keeps us. And I tell you, he's ridiculed
and criticized by his eldest brother as being a keeper of
the sheep. Like his brethren hated him. Look what it says
down here in verse 28. He's ridiculed and criticized
by his oldest brother as a keeper of the sheep. And Eliab, his eldest brother,
heard when he spake unto the men, and Eliab's anger was kindled
against David. And he said, Why comest thou
down hither, and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in
the wilderness? Ridiculed him, criticized him
for being a shepherd. Oh, he was insignificant to his
oldest brother. but oh my the sheep was insignificant
to his eldest brother but to David they were so important
to be taken care of and look what he says down here in verse
34 and 35 talking about David now oh my look what it says and
David said unto Saul thy servant kept his father's sheep again
he said his father's sheep his father's sheep and there came
a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock and I went after
him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth and when
he rose against me I caught him by his beard and I smote him
and slew him the servants slew both the lion and the bear and
this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them now let
me ask you would you take on a lion and a bear to protect
the sheep Talked about they're defenseless. Would you take on
a lion or a bear to protect a sheep and save a sheep? And when they
wanted to send him out to fight that giant, he said, I don't
want human armor. I don't need armor. I don't need
armor. Look what he said down here in verse 40 when he went
out to face that giant. And he took his staff in his
hand and chose him five smooth stones out of the brick and out
of the brook. And look what it says here. And
he put them in a shepherd's bag. The shepherd could take care
of any enemy. I don't care how big they are.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And I tell you what,
and David, oh my, he had five smooth stones and put them in
a shepherds bag, took them out of us and put them in a shepherds
bag. And what care, what care, what care and how protective
David was for his sheep, his sheep. I don't care who hurts
one of them sheep, I'm going to protect that sheep. I'm going
to protect that lamb. A lion got it. I'm going to take
that lamb back from that lion. A bear got it. I'm going to take
that lamb back from that bear. And that's the way Christ is.
There's nothing, nothing that can get us. Nothing can lay hold
on us. Oh my. In fact, that's what it
talks about. Our Lord laid down his life for
the sheep. And that's what David did when he went after those
lambs. He put his life on the line for those sheep. his life
as nothing to save those sheep. And you know what our Lord says
about a hireling? Oh, he leaves the sheep. You
know why he leaves the sheep? Because he don't care for the
sheep. They're not his sheep. He ain't
interested in the sheep. He's interested in money. He
sees trouble coming. It's time for me to scoot out
of here. Time for me to leave. And oh, I'll tell you what, but
our Lord Jesus Christ, talking about Christ and talking about
David caring for his sheep and protecting his sheep and saving
his sheep, you know what God said to us? He said, cast all
your care. You got some care as a sheep? Some feel like they got you in
their teeth. Some feel like they got you in
their arms. Some feel like they got you in your heart and some
got you in your mind. And you're troubled and you're
cast down and you're worried and anxious. Cast all your care
upon Him. Why? For He careth for you. Huh? Oh, listen. There's nothing about you that
is unimportant or insignificant to Him. Our Lord Jesus said He
leaves the ninety and nine and goes find that lost sheep. You know why the ninety and nine
are safe? They're in His fold. Ain't no nothing gonna get in
there and get that sheep out of His fold. And when it says
there that David defeated that lion and that bear, that speaks
of his ability as a shepherd. What ability he had as a shepherd.
Oh my, what an ability he had. I mean, you're talking about
loving sheep and caring for sheep and tending sheep. And you think
he had ability to kill a lion and a bear? The Lord Jesus Christ
is the sovereign, the almighty, the one who's got all power in
heaven and earth. You think anything can hurt us? No! The shepherd He leads His flock. He feeds His flock. Bless His
name. He protects His flock. And when
one goes astray, He goes and gets it and brings it back. The
shepherd's responsible for the sheep. And oh my, He leads His
flock. And what is she supposed to do?
How do you follow? How do you follow? He said he
leads the flock. He leads them. He went out. And
we looked to the shepherd. And wherever the shepherd goes,
we got our eyes on him and we're going to follow him. We're going
to follow him. Keep your eyes on him. And what,
listen, what an infallible leader he is. What an infallible leader he
is. Oh, he led us to Christ. The
Holy Spirit led us to Christ. And he leads his flock. You say,
I don't know which way to go. The Lord does. Just wait. Keep
your eyes on him. Keep your eyes on him. And then
he feeds them. He feeds them. He said he fed
his father's sheep. After he left Saul, he went to
feed his father's sheep. You know what Bethlehem means?
Bethlehem means house of bread. House of bread. And our Savior
comes from Bethlehem, the house of bread. Not only did He come
from the house of bread, but He is that true bread which cometh
down from heaven. And you know what our necessary
food is? Christ. Christ is our necessary
food. Oh, listen. He's our meal, morning,
noon, and night. We feast on Him. We live on Him. I read a little article today
from Don Portner. He said, you know, some things
are always on the table. Bread, butter, salt, pepper. Always on the table. And those
things just make the meat taste good. And that's what the gospel
always is. It's bread, puts butter on the
bread for us, and then sauce it, and peppers, and gives it
the best flavor the Holy Spirit does in the gospel. Don't it?
He flavors it up for us. Oh boy. And I'll tell you what,
Christ is our necessary food. Christ crucified. Christ in His
blood. Christ in His righteousness.
Christ in His resurrection. And you know how he feeds his
sheep now? He feeds them to the gospel. He asked Peter, said,
Peter, do you love me? Yes, Lord. Well, go feed my sheep
then. If you love me, go feed my sheep. And he protects us. Oh, He protects
us like David protected the limbs of Israel from the lion and the
bear. He protects us. You know what He protects us
against? Self. Self. He will not let self control
us. He won't do it. You know what
He'll do to keep self from controlling us? Put us down. He'll put us down. He'll cross
your path with some trouble. He'll part your path with some
heartache. He'll part your path with a great
trial. He'll cross your path with a temptation. And I tell
you what, He'll bring you down and where you just absolutely,
you're like Paul, he said, you know, have no confidence in the
flesh. And then I tell you what, and
He protects us against our sins. Oh, our sins ain't going to have
dominion over us. Our sins are there, but He's
not going to let them rule us. He's not going to let them reign
us. He protects us against them. And then He protects us against
all of our enemies. You know, Christ had a great
enemy, Saul of Tarsus. And our Lord, He's one of Christ's
sheep. Now listen to me, He's one of
Christ's sheep. And Satan had Him locked, stock and barrel.
Pharisee-ism had him. Zeal had him. Traditions had
him. Religion had him. Block, stock,
and barrel. But our Lord Jesus Christ met
him one day on the Dabascus Road. Sob, sob. What? What? Why are you persecuting
me? You know, he said, whatever you
did against mine, you do against me. Why persecutest thou me? And I tell you what, he even
protected his sheep from Saul of Tarsus and made him a pastor
after his own heart. And he's the great shepherd.
He's the great shepherd who always, always, always goes after the
lost sheep and the stray sheep. Let me close with Psalm 119,
verse 176. Look what it says here. Look what it says here. Psalm
119, verse 176. The last verse of the 119th Psalm. He's going to go after his sheep. And when they go astray, he knows
where they're at. And he goes and finds them. Look
what David said here. Now this is David. He said, I
have gone astray like a lost sheep. Oh my, I've gone astray
like I'm lost. Lord, I lost sight of you. I
lost sight of you. I got my eyes off of you. And
I went a different way than I should have went. I've gone astray.
Now watch what he says. Seek thy servant. Come looking
for me. Come get me. Come seek me. I don't forget thy commandments,
so seek me, Lord. Come look for me. Come look for
me. And I tell you what, He'll come
looking for you. He'll come looking for you. And
believe me, He knows where to find you. He knows where to find
you. Oh, gracious Father in heaven.
Our blessed, blessed Master. Our Lord Jesus. Thank you for
being our shepherd. Oh, our shepherd. David's just
a faint shadow of what you are as a shepherd. Just a faint shadow. Just a picture. Just a picture. You're the reality. He's a shadow. You're the substance. And we
thank you for it and bless you for it and praise you for it.
As your people depart here this evening, I pray you protect them
and preserve them and keep them. Give them a good night's rest.
Enable them to start their day tomorrow, thinking of you and
looking to you as we hope we all do. And our Father, we again
pray for those who are hurting in our midst. God bless them. God encourage them. God strengthen
them for Christ's sake. Amen. Amen. I got a little chorus
here. Let me see what it is. He's the Savior of my soul. Jesus, Lord Jesus, He's the Savior
of my soul. Savior of my soul. He's the Savior of my soul. He's the Savior of my soul. Good night, God bless you. See
you Sunday, Lord willing. Oh, the ladies, ladies' luncheon
tomorrow.