If you'd like to follow along,
Jeremiah chapter 50. Jeremiah chapter five zero. I'm just gonna read one verse,
because that's basically what I'm gonna talk from. But I may
mention a bit from before and after. Jeremiah chapter 50 and
verse six. My people hath been lost sheep. Their shepherds have caused them
to go astray. They have turned them away on
the mountains. They have gone from mountain
to hill. They have forgotten their resting
place. And that's where I'm just going
to stop. I'm just going to read this. And before I get started, I want
to tell you something else. because I heard something good,
geez, probably three or four weeks ago, I've been saving this
for a while. There's a saying, and it's a good one. Think before
you speak. And I really wish I could do
that sometimes. But it's a good statement, I
like it. I do try to practice it, and some days I'm probably
more successful than others. And I think it's a good thing
to do, to think before you speak. but I've heard an improvement
or an addition to that saying that I really like. Now, I'll
tell you this, it did come from a secular source, but I believe
it certainly applies to every child of God, including and especially
preachers. It's an addition. You say, think
before you speak. Well, here's the addition. Read
before you think. I like that. I like that. I do. Read before you think. We're
surrounded by those who think it's a great, wonderful thing
to just say anything they want. Just let it flow. Let it slide. So you understand, because they're
thinking, and I've heard them say this. I'm not making this
up. This is not my supposition. This is their own words, that
if you If you're concentrating too hard, if you have notes,
not letting the Holy Ghost flow through you. I'm gonna tell you
something, folks. I'll tell you this, too. You
couldn't stop the Holy Ghost if you wanted to. God's gonna get his message across.
And he tells us to study. Study, not just read, study to
show thyself the proof. And it's tough to study without
reading before you think. Anyhow, and here's the thing,
God has himself, right here, prepared, protected, and preserved
his written word for us, for us. He's given us his word for
his people to read in English and in other languages. So think
before you speak and read before you think because we have been
given in this book God's thoughts written down. You understand
public scripture reading has been around for a few thousand
years. Christ did it in the synagogue. He read the scriptures. Read before you think and think
about what you read. I think it's a good idea. Matter
of fact, I know it's a good idea. So, what did I just read here?
What should we think about? Well, the first thing is, God
said it, so it's true. That's number one, that's number
one. You know what the old saying they have on bumper stickers,
God said it, I believe it, that settles it? Well, it's settled
whether you believe it or not, if God said it. It's not up to
you to settle anything. It's up for him to settle you. But what did God say here? The
first two words he said is, my people, my people. So, I wanna get real deep here
from the start. How do you start with this? Well,
God has a people. God has a people. And I'll go
this far. God always has had a people. Understand, God's the same today,
yesterday, and today, and forever. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today, and forever. The Holy Ghost is the same yesterday,
today, and forever. If God has a people now, he's
always had a people. There's nothing new with God. There might be a lot of stuff
that's new to us, but there's nothing new with God. God has
a people, and he always has. Just think about it for a minute.
Adam and Eve in the garden. And after the garden, Abel and
Seth. Then you can go to Enoch, Methuselah,
and Noah. Enoch walked with God, and then
was not. Why? God took him. God took him. I heard a fellow
preach one time saying that, you know, God told Enoch, it's
closer to my house than yours right now, so you're just gonna
come home with me. I like the thought. But what's
it say? God took him. Why? Because God
wanted to. And that's it. Methuselah was the oldest man
in the world. The flood wasn't gonna come while
Methuselah was alive. And Methuselah lived longer than
any other man that lived on the earth. Noah found grace in the
eyes of the Lord. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, who know
the God of the living. He's a God of the living, not
of the dead. And he's the God of Abraham and Isaac and of Jacob.
What's that mean? Abraham and Isaac and Jacob live
in Christ in heaven right now. And I'm looking forward to one
day sitting down with them in the kingdom of God. Christ said
we would. And he was speaking about Gentiles
at that time. That's in Matthew 8 and 11. You got Joseph, Moses, and Aaron,
Caleb and Joshua, Samuel, Rahab and Ruth. Elijah, who thought
he was alone, but God told him, no, you're not. I've got to myself,
I've kept to myself. Paul uses this later on as a
illustration of election. I've got to myself, kept to myself
7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal or kissed him. Then there's Elisha who got a
double helping of the spirit of Elijah. He filled a whole
bunch of empty vessels with oil. He raised a woman's son from
the dead, and Elisha also sent a leper, who was a Syrian general, to
the Jordan to dip seven times in it, and healed him of his
leprosy. Then there's Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Malachi, Zechariah,
and then we get to the time of Jesus Christ on the earth here.
Peter, Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Philip,
Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Simon, Zealots, and Judas,
not Iscariot. I couldn't name the 12 apostles
without writing them down. Or the 11 apostles without writing
them down. I'm sorry, I'll confess. You
know what I did? I read them, and then I wrote
them down. Stephen, Paul, Silas, Barnabas, Luke, Mark, Timothy,
and Titus. My people. God has always had
a people. From the beginning of this book
until the end of this book, God has a people. Right now, God
also has a people. Who are they? They're every believer
in every town, in every city, in every state, and in every
country. Every believer of every kindred,
tongue, people, and nation. Christ was slain to redeem all
of us to God. All of us. He became a curse
for us. Who's the us? My people. My people. My people. Now, do
you know why Christ redeemed his people? Well, I'm gonna give
you the very simple answer. We all, all of us, all of my
people, including all the way back to Adam, to Zachariah, to
the apostles, to us. Every single child of
God, every single one of us needed to be redeemed. Romans 5 and 12 tells us, let
me see there. Wherefore as by one man sin entered
into the world and death by sin So death passed upon all men
for that all have sinned That's talking about Adam for unto the
law Sin was in the world, but sin was not imputed when there
is no law nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses and
before the law, even over them that had not sinned after the
similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that
was to come. Oh, but happy day. But not as
the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense
of one many be dead, much more by the grace of God and the gift
by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ hath abounded to
many. And not as it was by one that
sins, so is the gift, for the judgment was by one to condemnation,
but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if by one man's offense death
reigned by one, much more they which received abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ. Therefore, as by the offense
of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, and rightly
so, I will put it, even so by the righteousness of one The
free gift come upon all men unto justification of life. For as
by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one, shall
many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. that as sin had reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Many were made sinners. But what does God say? My people. He still says my people. My people,
who all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. God
still says, my people, my people. So what do all of God's people,
all of the people of Christ have in common? One common denominator. My people hath been lost sheep. That's what hit me when I was
reading this. My people lost sheep, that's my title, Paul.
This is a lament of Jeremiah. This is the word of God that
came to Jeremiah that he spoke to the, what was it? Verse one,
the word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the
land of Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. He said, he spoke
against Babylon and Chaldea. They took Israel captive. And
then he said that the children of Israel and Judah in those
days shall go together weeping and seek the Lord their God. I wanna give you a scriptural
truth here. And you can look at any other
scripture, it'll tell you the same thing. Lost sheep, God said
my people have been lost sheep. Lost sheep will remain lost sheep
until they're found. I'm sorry to get deep on you
folks. You understand, a lost sheep's gonna stay lost until
it's found. It doesn't say anywhere that
a lost sheep must find himself. No. It says a lost sheep's gotta
be found. And he said, my people hath been
lost sheep. Now, also, Notice from this statement,
he says, my people have been lost sheep. Very carefully, my people don't
become sheep by being found. Does that make sense? He says,
my people have been lost sheep. They don't become sheep. They're
already sheep. Now isn't that a wonderful thing
when you think about it? My people, they are sheep, but
they're lost sheep. They're lost sheep. Oh, I like
that, I do. Neither do they cease being sheep
by being lost. You understand there's a lot
of people out there that think you become a sheep when God finds
you. That's not what God said. And I've heard, and I've actually
heard some grace people, and I have to disagree. They talk
about the spirit of adoption being you're in the family of
the devil and you've been adopted into the family of God now. My people were lost sheep. Now,
I will tell you this, because the scripture does tell you,
you were just like those that father is the devil. You are
just like the children of wrath. He doesn't say you were the children
of wrath, but you were just like them. Because that's what being
lost means. It means you're lost. But it's
my people. My people have been lost sheep.
You know, there are ways of dividing the whole of humanity in the
scriptures. They're very clear. You have a Jew and you have a
Gentile. More plainly speaking, you have
a Jew and not a Jew. That's what it means. And that
encompasses the whole world by that distinction. Because I'm not talking about
male or female. I'm not talking about old or young. We're not
talking about anything else. But God says here, by saying
this, there are sheep and there are not sheep. There are sheep and there are
not sheep. What in the world does that mean? God says there are my people
and there are those that are not my people. Oh, you're talking about election
here, aren't you? No, I'm just talking about my people. My people
have been lost sheep. That's what God says, and let
me tell you folks, that's what God means. And it doesn't matter
what I think, what you think, I did say read before you think,
but don't try to take your thinking and supersede what you just read. You understand, we're surrounded
by people who wanna talk without thinking. We're surrounded by
people who wanna think without reading. But I'm gonna tell you
this, we're also surrounded by another bunch of people who wanna
read after they think. They go hunting in the scriptures
to try to prove a point they've already got. This is the point
God's saying, is that my people have been lost sheep. That's his description of his
people. They have been lost sheep, and
that's what we got here. Now, God's not gonna say one
thing in one place and then disagree with it somewhere else. That's
what we do. God's not gonna do that, but
that's what we do. And that's why I say, think before
you speak and read before you think, because this is what it
tells us. They may be lost sheep for now, but they're my people,
they're my people. They are sheep eternally in the
mind of God. God said it, I change not. So if you're a sheep in his mind
now, you are a sheep in his mind always. And you always shall
be, lost or found. And that's all I'm saying here. Being lost. Well, here, wait
a minute. Before that, look here. This is in Luke chapter 15, verse
four, talking about the lost sheep. It's in that parable about
the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. What man of
you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after
that which is lost, until he find it. And when he hath found
it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth
together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, rejoice with
me, for I have found, what, my sheep, what, that hath been lost. My sheep that hath been lost,
I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than
over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Whose sheep was it? It was the
shepherd's sheep when it was found and when it was lost. My people hath been lost sheep. Christ said that also. Being
lost, understand this, being lost did not alter or destroy
their state of being. It was a sheep. It was a sheep
before the shepherd went looking for it, it was a sheep after
the shepherd found it, and it was a sheep when he brought it
in. This is the illustration of the
Lord. Here's a question for you. How often has a lost sheep became
a goat? That's a stupid question, if
you really want to think about it. It sort of destroys the illustration. But this is the way some people
think. Now a sheep, When it's lost,
I'm gonna tell you something. When a sheep is lost, it is very
lost. Very lost. Okay, the sheep may
be stupid. Okay, I'll grant you that. The
sheep is stupid. The sheep bow may be sick, may
have lost its half its wool, it may be so dirty and so muddy,
it looks like an ugly dog. But Jesus Christ can point and
say, look, my sheep, even though it's lost, even though it may
be unrecognizable to us. You understand? When Saul of
Tarsus was standing. And they threw their cloaks and
coats at his feet to keep track of while those guys went out
to stone Stephen to death. And he was consenting to the
death of Stephen right then and there. He was wanting Stephen
to be dead and wanting them boys to throw rocks at him. Saul of
Tarsus was one of my sheep. My people that have been a lost
sheep. I don't know who the sheep are. I certainly don't know who the
lost sheep are. I wonder sometimes about found sheep because I can't
know, I can't know. But here's the thing, Christ
knows, God knows, the Holy Ghost knows, and they can say my sheep,
my people, they've been lost sheep. Circumstances doesn't
matter. Conditions don't matter. A sheep
is a sheep. Lost or found. That's what he's
saying. My people have been lost sheep.
Goats don't become sheep. You'll never find that anywhere
in the scripture. Cows don't become sheep. No other
cattle, I am the Lord, now here's the thing, think about this.
I am the Lord, I judge between cattle and cattle. Isn't that a fine statement to
think about one day? You understand? Goats are cattle, cows are cattle,
sheep are cattle. But I judge between cattle and
cattle. My people hath been lost sheep. That's the illustration
he gives us. Nothing else becomes a sheep
in the scriptures. It's either a sheep or it's not.
And if they are a sheep, here's the thing. My people hath been
lost sheep. If you are a sheep, at one time
you were a lost sheep. You hath been lost sheep. That's
what the Lord said here, because the Lord says, My people lost
or found our sheep. Then he says this. Their shepherds
have caused them to go astray. They have turned them away on
the mountains. They have gone from mountain
to hill. They have forgotten their resting place. Oh my. Ezekiel 34 in verse 1 through
6. Oh, I'm going the wrong way.
I marked it and I couldn't find it. Ezekiel 34 verse 1, and the
word of the Lord came unto me saying, son of man, prophesy
against the shepherds of Israel. prophesy and say unto them, thus
saith the Lord God unto the shepherds, woe, woe, W-O-E, not W-H-O-A,
but it meant the same thing. Woe be unto them. Woe be to the
shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves, should not the shepherds
feed the flocks. You eat the fat and you clothe
with the wool and you kill them that are fed, but ye feed not
the flock. The disease have you not strengthened,
neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have
you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought again
that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was
lost. But with force and with cruelty
have ye ruled them. Here's the thing. and they were
scattered. Why were they scattered? Because
there is no shepherd. And they became meat to all the
beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered
through all the mountains and upon every high hill. Yea, my
flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none
did search or seek after them. Why? Because they weren't shepherds. They weren't shepherds. They
didn't do what they were supposed to do. Those shepherds were no
shepherds. They didn't care for their flock.
They took care of themselves. And what? They led the sheep
astray. What's it say here? My people
hath been lost sheep. Their shepherds have caused them
to go astray. It's not saying they're really
good shepherds or anything like that. It's not saying they're
bad shepherds. They're not shepherds at all. Why? Because they're
leading astray the people of God. Posers, fake shepherds,
hypocrites. They cared for themselves and
not the flock. Christ put it this way. And he
said a parable unto them. Can the blind lead the blind?
Shall they not both fall into the ditch? Now in Matthew 15
and 14, that was Luke 639. In Matthew 15 and 14 he says,
let them alone. Let them alone, they be blind
leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind,
they're both going in the ditch. Why'd he say leave them alone?
Well, to be honest folks, I can't help the blind man because the
blind needs sight and I can't give sight and neither can you. Oh, wait a minute though. I do know who opens blind eyes,
you know, and I also know who will dig his sheep out of the
pit. I know who will dig his sheep
out of the deep miry clay. And if you wanna put it this
way, I know who'll pull them out of the ditch, Mason. He's
got to do it. You understand? The shepherd
has got to find the sheep. I'm not here to find sheep, I'm
here to preach the sheep. God'll find them, and God'll
bring them here if he wants. God'll put them on the internet
watching this. A little church in West Virginia
on the side of a hill. What are we? We're nothing. We're nobody, you know? What is it? One said, he says,
ours is just a little church. But listen, folks, we don't have
a little God. We have a great God. And we're
a part of his church, and that's not little. It's his body, and
he cares for it as he cares for himself. Jesus Christ spoke of the time
that would come after his death. This is what he said. Then saith
Jesus unto them, all ye shall be offended because of me this
night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep
of the flock shall be scattered abroad. And I thought about that
after I read it. I thought about that, and I've
been thinking about it for a while. You understand, he said the sheep
of the flock. Now before they're scattered,
they're the sheep of the flock. You know what they are afterwards?
They're scattered sheep of the flock. That didn't change. He did, he scattered them from
Jerusalem. He did. The great diaspora, they call
it. What's that mean? That means
everybody ran away. And where'd they go? They went exactly where
he wanted them to go and spread the word of Christ, the truth
of Christ with them as they went. Oh my. But guess what? Though the shepherd was smitten
and the flock was scattered, Every single one of those sheep
are still part of his flock, always, because there's only
one flock. What'd he say? But after I am
risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. The flock has
been scattered before. The sheep of the flock have been
scattered, but they're still sheep. They're still sheep. What? My people have been lost sheep.
My people have been lost sheep. Those are found sheep. But here's
the thing. Those found sheep, whether scattered
or together, they're still one flock with one shepherd, one
shepherd. And he said, what? They caused
them to go astray, and they turned them away on the mountains, and
they've gone from the mountains to the hill, and they've forgotten
their resting place. On the mountains, listen, lost
sheep go. And guess what? They go astray. That's what lost sheep do. They'll
go from the mountains to the hill. Then they'll go back to
the mountains, then they'll go back to the hill. They'll go
anywhere except for the pasture. Because they don't know where
it is. You know why they don't know where it is? They're lost. They're lost. If they knew where
the pasture was, they wouldn't be lost. Oh, but he's gotta pick them
up and bring them in. But here's the thing, and I looked
at this from Gil, and I think it's about as good as anything,
they go from one religion to another. They'll go from the
mountains to the hill, to the hill to the valley, they'll go
from the valley back to the mountains, and they're going from one false
religion to another false religion, because there's no lost sheep
that has ever found God. It takes God to find his lost
sheep. That's what it is. They have
forgotten their resting place. Remember Ezekiel? Those false
shepherds, they lied to him. They lied to him. You can't rest,
you gotta work for God. God doesn't need me to work for
him. I need him to work in me, amen. Oh my, I need for him to
put in me both the will and to do of his good pleasure. That's the only way it's going
to be there. But there's no rest in the mountains. There's no
rest in the hills. They don't know. It says they've
forgotten their resting place. Well, there is no rest without
Jesus Christ. Why? Because he is our rest. He is the way, the truth, and
the life. And no man, and I'll put it this
way, No lost sheep can come to God except by him. By him, by
him. But my people, the lost sheep,
don't know. They don't know. But they're
still my people. And one day, they will know. Understand just because somebody's
forgotten their rest in place doesn't mean there isn't a resting
place Just because you've forgotten something doesn't mean it's not
slow Because actually if you've forgotten
your rest in place that means there actually is a resting place
and Christ Jesus Christ is the resting place of what? His sheep. My people hath been lost sheep. He's the rest. The rest of God's
people, whether we know it or not. Whether we feel it or not,
there is a resting place. There is a resting place in Christ. Because here's the thing. My
people lost sheep. The lost sheep have a good shepherd. And Jesus Christ said, I am the
good shepherd. He said it twice. He said it
twice. I am the good shepherd. So that
means I get to say it four or five times. I am the good shepherd. But he also said something else
that did me a wondrous amount of good when I first read it
and thought about it. And it still does me good now
when I read it again and I think about it again. He says, other
sheep, what? I have. I have. He said, no, no, no. Other sheep
I'm gonna get. That's not what he said. That's
not what he meant. He said, other sheep I have.
And they're not of this folk. What's that mean? My people hath
been Lost sheep, they're not of the fold. They're not of the
fold, they're lost. But then he didn't stop there,
just saying it, declaring it. No, he says, them, who's that? The ones that are not of the
fold. Them, I must, I love that, I must bring. Oh my, why? Because there's one fold, One
shepherd. Understand, my people hath been
lost sheep. Oh, once Christ finds you, you're
not lost anymore. No matter how you feel, no matter
what your circumstances are, no matter whether you doubt,
if he's found you, you're found. Some days you might feel it more
than others, and I can understand that wholeheartedly. Most days
you don't feel worthy. But that's okay, because you're
not. And neither am I. Christ didn't say, I'm gonna
bring you and you're gonna feel worthy to be my sheep, no. He
said, I'm gonna bring you. And you're gonna be my sheep,
in my fold. You were my sheep before you
got here, you're my sheep after you get here. And though something
may happen and you might be scattered, guess what? If he's found you,
you're not lost ever again. Because he is sending you exactly
where he wants you to be. I have a tendency to say something
about, I've been kicked out of better places than this. Well, that's what some people
think. But you understand. I don't know any other way to
put it than the way God has put it in his word. All things work
together for good to them that love God, to them that are the
called according to his purpose. Because my leaving another assembly
and ending up gathering with Walter and his family in a little
house on Browns Road was one of the best things that ever
happened to me. Why? Because I could hear the truth
of God. unvarnished and actually clear since the last time I heard
Henry Mahan on TV. And I could gather together.
And we were a little assembly. And then we met Earl and you
guys. And you know what? We bound together. You know why? Because we're of the same fold. We're the same shepherd. We were
the same flock. Been together ever since. Through
what, two different diasporas. We got rid of one building, went
to a firehouse, come to this building. And you know what,
we're still here. And we're still preaching. But
my people have been lost sheep. But the good shepherd finds his
sheep and he brings them in. And once he finds you, the good
shepherd has never and will never lose a sheep. What'd he say? I will not leave thee, no, never
forsake thee. He won't, he won't. I wanna read
you another song from Gatsby's. This is number 426. And I read
this and I thought, well, this is just perfect for this sermon. How great and solemn is the thing
for which we here are come. To view the death of Zion's king
and gaze upon his tomb. To see him under death's arrest
enter the dismal grave, a while in that dark cell to rest our
mortal flesh to save. To see him in his grave close
by, his life and glory gone. To ask ourselves the reason why
this wondrous deed was done. to trace him rising from the
tomb in victory over all, the firstborn son of nature's womb
that rose no more to fall. Here humble saints your tribute
pay, a risen savior sing, come be baptized without delay in
honor of your king. He died, why? For his lost sheep. He rose. because the grave couldn't
hold him. Why? For his lost sheep. He came to seek and to save that
which was lost. And my people hath been lost
sheep. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
again for this time and this place. to be able to gather together. Lord, thank you for your son,
our Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep, a good
shepherd, the good shepherd, who is bringing in his lost sheep
as we speak and as we go through this world, Lord, let us never
forget His will, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Be with Paul as he comes to preach
your gospel. In Christ's name we pray, amen.