Sovereign Grace Chapel, located at 135 Annabelle Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. If you'd like to follow along, I'm gonna be in Ezekiel chapter 34. I kinda had this in my head in the back for a while and it come out. And I'm going to speak about several verses, but I just wanna read verses 23 through 25. Ezekiel 34 verse 23. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them. Even my servant David, he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them, I love this part. I, the Lord, have spoken it. You know what that means, folks? It's gonna happen. I've spoken it. Doesn't matter what you say, doesn't matter what you've heard from anybody else, I've spoken it. Verse 25, and I will make peace with them. A covenant of peace. and will cause the evil beast to cease out of the land and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. I like that.

I'm gonna tell you something, Ezekiel 34 is a wonderful, wonderful chapter. I'm serious, it's gracious and it's glorious and it's chock full of goodness. I sound like I'm from West Virginia now, don't I? It's okay. My wife told me that. When I told her, I told her to reach me the salt. Instead of give me the salt. Anyway, it's okay. I don't mind. I like West Virginia. But this chapter, the thing that makes this chapter so glorious, it is full of the work of the Lord. It's not full of the work of men. Although men are in it. Bad ones and good ones. But I'm not gonna go into the bad ones, but it's okay.

But here it is, the illustration of lost men being compared to lost sheep is appropriate. Because I'm gonna tell you something, without the good shepherd, we are nothing but helpless and hopeless. Without him, without him. But, in his flock, under his care, guided by his hand, we shall not want. We shall not. We shall not lack, even though we think we might be lacking something. We don't, we don't. He knows, he knows.

You understand, the illustration of sheep is perfect because here's the thing about sheep. They can't fight. They are incapable of fighting. as far as domesticated sheep. I'm not going to, you know, the wild rams up in the, you know, the bighorn sheep or anything like that, because they fight amongst themselves. Although that might be another illustration, but here it is. Sheep, the sheep, domesticated sheep can't fight. And here's the other thing. They can't run away fast enough to get away from anything. We need a shepherd. Sheep need the shepherd.

But when the Lord says these words in this book, in this chapter, we're gonna go through a bunch of them here. I'll try not to keep you too long, but there's a lot here. He speaks these two words, I will. 15 times he says, I will in this one chapter. Two times he says, will I. It's the way it's written down, same thing. This is the work of the Lord. for his people. That's my title. The shepherd for his sheep. Oh, I like that. Because he is for his sheep.

But I wanna begin in verse 11. I'm not gonna go through the first 10 verses. I'll mention them a little bit, but. Verse 11. For thus saith the Lord God, behold, I Even I will both search my sheep and seek them out. Two different things. But here, wait a minute, these are the words, and I looked it up, this is Adonai Yahweh, or Adonai Jehovah, the Lord God. And if you look at it, you'll see God is capitalized, capital G, capital O, capital D. It's the same thing as a capital L-O-R-D, all of it capitalized. But what's he say? Behold. Behold. Pay attention, folks.

Now, I will mention, in the first 10 verses, he's talking about being against the shepherds that were in Israel, because they didn't take care of the flock. And he goes through all of that, and I mean, woe unto them. Woe's a bad word. Woe unto them. Then he says this, behold, behold. I'm changing the subject here. I'm going from the people I'm against to the people that I am for. And I love this part. This is my favorite stuff here. Behold, behold, pay attention, see, look. This is important. Pay attention to what I'm gonna say. Because what is it? The Lord God is speaking. Let all the earth be silent. What's so important to God? What does he want you to stop and behold? Listen, this is important. My sheep, my sheep. Oh, I like that.

Now let's be clear. The sheep are not important because they're sheep. The sheep are important because they're mine, God's. They're his sheep. That makes them important. There's no importance in the sheep and themselves at all. It's his interest that makes it important. They're my sheep. Oh, I like that. Oh my, because these sheep are Yahweh's sheep. They're the sheep of Jehovah. Therefore, they're important to Jehovah even. Doesn't matter whether they're important to us, they're important to him. What'd he say? I like this, I looked it up. He says, I will follow, I will, here's the word, pursue, pursue. Oh, I like that, what? And seek them out. Who's he talking about? My sheep, my sheep. Behold, I will search, and that's the word, follow and pursue, and seek them out. What's that mean? He gonna find them. He's gonna find them. Understand, sheep are not capable of finding themselves. Now, you understand, when I'm talking about sheep, I'm talking about people. He told it in the part I just read, and I'll read something later on. But you understand, we're talking about people.

People don't like to be told they don't know what they're doing. I'm a people. I'm exactly the same way, you know? It used to bug the heck out of me at work when people come up and try to explain my job to me. And they have no idea what I do or how I do it. You understand? The sheep don't tell God anything. The shepherd tells the sheep. and he's gonna seek them out. He's going to find them. Because I'm gonna tell you something, when God pursues you, he's gonna find you. There's no place you can go to get away from God. David said that in the Psalms. If I go down into the depths, you're there. If I send up into the heavens, you're there. If you go in a cave, he's there. If you're in the wilderness or the woods, he's there. You can't escape God if he's pursuing you. You can try if you want to, Jack, I mean, you know. Enjoy yourself, but it's not going to work. Because behold, I, even I, will, I will, I will both search my sheep and seek them out. That's what he said. In the first 10 verses, you'll find out, he talks about it. the false shepherds in there, that they had scattered the flock. They had scattered the flock and not fed the sheep. They fed themselves, these false shepherds. They were eating off the fat of the sheep, but they weren't feeding the sheep, and they weren't feeding his sheep.

Now, I'm gonna tell you something. This place that I stand in right here before you is a place of responsibility. And if I don't tell you the truth, God required it in my hands. If I don't tell you about Christ Jesus, who is the good shepherd, we'll go ahead and get that out of the way. I don't think anybody here is worried about it. I don't know about it on TV or on the internet. God, Jesus Christ is God himself, the Lord God, and he is the one shepherd, the true shepherd. Oh my. But these folks weren't feeding them, and not only that, they scattered them. They didn't heal the sick. They didn't bind that which was broken. Matter of fact, what it is, they did not pastor the sheep. And God said, I'm gonna require it in their hands. And then he said, woe unto them. You understand? It's one thing if I say woe unto you, but I'm gonna tell you something else, if God says woe unto you. It's bad, folks, it's very bad.

But you understand, the reason the sheep were scattered and the reason the sheep wandered was there was no shepherd, not a real shepherd. And the Lord said, here's the other thing he said, the Lord said, I am against, what? These shepherds. I am against them. And for this cause, because of this, behold, I will search and find my sheep. Oh my. So, first thing the shepherd does for his sheep is he seeks them. Second thing he does is in verse 12. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my sheep here. and will deliver them out of all places. Where they have been scattered, what? In the cloudy and dark day. Oh my, I'm gonna tell you something, if you're scattered, if the sheep are scattered, it's always a cloudy and a dark day. But I'm gonna tell you something, when he finds you, the sun's shining. Oh, the sun is shining, I like that.

As a shepherd seeks out, he keeps possession, possession. The shepherd seeks out his flock, his flock. You understand, Jesus Christ is not a poacher. Every one of his sheep belong to him, wherever they are.

Other sheep I have that are not of this fold. but they're still mine. I have them, they're mine. They don't know it, but that's okay. He knows it, and that's the one that matters. Oh, they're mine, my sheep. And what's he say? I will deliver them out. And I like that. So he seeks them, and number two, he delivers them. I love this part too.

Out of where? Everywhere. anywhere, wherever they are, wherever they are, whenever it is, they're mine. They're my sheep. Oh, I like that. Out of where? All places. They were scattered. They'd been wandering. Why? Because they didn't have a shepherd. They didn't know the shepherd. Oh, I like that.

And it says they were scattered in the cloudy and dark day. What did Paul write about us? We were sometimes darkness. That's what we were. You understand? And guess what? And it was a cloudy and a dark day. Even if we didn't know it was a cloudy and a dark day, it was one. And he delivers them out of all the dark places, out of darkness itself. Oh, I like that.

Come out from among them and be you separate, saith the Lord. How you gonna come out from among them and be you separate? Well, first he's gonna have to seek you and find you, and then he's gonna deliver you out. Oh, I like this, I like this. This is the work of the Lord.

I'm gonna tell you something. When God delivers you, you are delivered. Whether you realize it yourself or not yet. but he'll show it to you, he will. He'll send you his gospel. But I'm gonna tell you something, God, Yahweh, says deliverance is of the Lord. I'll do it, I will do it. I will deliver them out of all places where they've been scattered in that cloudy and dark day.

I'm gonna tell you something, though my sheep be scattered, I'll find them all. I'm gonna search them out. I'm gonna pursue them. I'm gonna seek them out and I'm going to deliver them out also. Oh my, I like that.

Thirdly, verse 13. And I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the countries and will bring them to their own land. and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will bring them out from the people. What's that mean? God's gathering his sheep. He's not worried about anybody else. I'll bring out from the people. What did Christ say when he was here? I come not to bring peace, but a sword. And, and this is the thing that people don't understand, and to set at variance. Make a division, just as God divided the light from the darkness. Between the father and the mother, between the father and the son, father and the daughter, the mother and the son, the mother and the daughter, whoever, when he's gonna bring you out, he may be leaving some of your kinfolk behind. That's just the way it is. He's looking for his sheep. He's not concerned about anyone else. And that's the truth of the matter. God is particular, very particular about his people. And he is for his people. Oh my.

But here it is. I'll bring them out from the people, but here's the thing. He gathers them. He gathers his sheep. I will gather them. because understand that he's speaking of the very same people, my sheep. The ones he search out and seek out and deliver are the ones he's gonna gather. Now, bring them out and gather them, the very same people. My sheep will I gather together. And I'm gonna tell you this, he brings them together in one, one flock. And we'll get to it, I've already read it at the beginning. There's gonna be one flock and one shepherd. They're gonna be gathered together, what? In him, in him. Oh, I like that. Believers are all gathered together in Christ Jesus. He's the head of what? One body. He's the good shepherd of what? One flock. He's gathering them together. Oh, oh, I like that. We are one flock, one body, one vine. We're one olive tree. I like that.

Then verse 14 tells us the next thing. He feeds them. Well, you say, verse 14, I will. Feed them in a good pasture. I like that. And upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. There shall they lie in a good fold and in a fat pasture. Oh, that's good stuff. Shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. Oh my goodness. I'll feed them. I will. I will. I'm gonna chase them. When he will, you will. That's the way it works. When he will, you will. And he says, I'll feed him. I'll feed him. Oh, I like that. Lord God feeds his sheep. Understand, here's the thing. I preach, but it's him that feeds. It's him that feeds. What was that thing Rolfe used to say? If my voice is the only voice you hear, nothing of any eternal value's gonna happen. You gotta hear the voice of him that speaks from heaven. This is his word. If you hear his word, you've heard his voice. Oh my. What are we told? Desire the sincere milk of the world. Of the word. His word. Desire it. Oh, he maketh for me a table among my enemies. Ah, he's gonna feed his sheep. He's gonna, and I shall not want. Oh, I like that.

I'm gonna tell you something. And I'm gonna tell you something, not only is he the milk of the word, he's the meat of the word too. There come a time when he said, you shouldn't be on the milk, you need to get on some meat. Guess what? Same message. It's the same message. Excuse me, the same Christ. Oh, I like that. Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you. Oh, for him hath the Father, God the Father, sealed. That's John 6 and verse 27. I will feed them, saith the Lord God. And I'm gonna tell you something, and they'll be fed, they'll be fed. So the fifth thing, also in verse 14 and 15, I will feed them in a good pasture. And upon the high mountains shall their fold be, and there shall they lie in a good fold, and a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. Verse 15, I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. Oh, I like that. Not only will he feed you, he's gonna give you rest. He's gonna give you rest. What does it say? I will cause them to lie down. You understand, sometimes we get too busy. What does God say? Wait upon the Lord. Wait upon, that's a tough thing to do sometimes. That's tough for me to do. And I'm pretty good at procrastinating some things I should do. You know. But, you know, Walter, we were there when we were young. I mean, we tried all kind of things. Well, we got to wait, wait, just wait, just wait.

There's a time to lie down. I'm going to tell you this. He'll feed you, your belly gets full, you want to lie down. And you might want to ponder what you've heard about him. Ponder a message you've heard. Ponder this word here. Oh, but he'll cause you to lie down. He'll cause you. Thank God we don't have to depend upon ourselves. I mean it. Oh, because here's the thing. He will give rest to your soul, to your soul. We worry. We fret. We are carried away by our own fears. And he gives rest. But for your soul, for your soul. Oh, I like that. Oh, I'm gonna tell you, when my sheep look to the shepherd and bishops of our souls, he causes us to lay down sometimes. Oh, I like that.

because the Lord God, Adonai Jehovah, is our shepherd, our shepherd, our pastor, and our overseer. What's that mean? The shepherd and bishop of our souls. That's what it says. I like that. Then, he fed you, you rested, you lied down. Then, verse 16, I will seek that which was lost and bring again that which was driven away and will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with judgment.

I'm gonna tell you something, the fat and the strong, them ain't sheep. They're not sheep. They're the ones that were feeding on the sheep. They're the ones that didn't bind up what was broken. Oh, and didn't strengthen that which was sick. Because here's the thing, I said it earlier, the Lord God takes us from milk to meat. He does. Oh, he heals, he feeds, and he causes his sheep to grow stronger. To grow, now let's be careful about this, you ain't stronger in yourself, you're stronger in him. Causes you to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I'm gonna tell you something, when the Lord gathered me in, I was about as ignorant as you could get toward the things of God. Now I thought I was a pretty smart fella, but I was ignorant about, I don't wanna say, Christianity. I was ignorant about being a believer. I didn't know anything. I grew up Catholic, folks. And I'm gonna tell you something, theological study was not done a whole lot when I was growing up. Well, it wasn't done a lot by me. It may have been somebody else, I don't know. But you understand, I didn't know anything about preaching. I didn't know anything about teaching. I didn't know anything about the Bible. I had a lot to learn.

but I had a really, really good teacher. It was a really good teacher. Oh my. He will cause you to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through his word and through his word preached. Oh my. I remember, I remember a long time ago When I stood before people for the first time at Babscott and I introduced myself, I said, I'm a novice. Because Earl used to always say he wasn't a novice. And so I told him I was a novice, just so you know what one looks like. And it's true. I was still a novice. But thank God I'm not as ignorant as I was.