All right, now, if you would,
open your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11. I titled the message this
morning, Faith Blessing Part 2. Remember last week we looked
at Faith Blessing Part 1 from Hebrews chapter 11, verse 20. By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob
and Esau concerning things to come. In verse 21, by faith,
Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph and worshiped. leaning upon the top of his staff.
Last week when Jacob received the blessing from his father
Isaac, I showed you how that was faith's blessing. God's blessing
to his people is a spiritual blessing. It's given and received
by faith in Christ. Now, look back at Genesis chapter
28. That was the blessing that Isaac
gave to his son Jacob. He blessed Jacob and Esau that
day. Jacob received a spiritual blessing. Esau received a physical,
material blessing. But before he died, Isaac blessed
Jacob one more time. And he gave him the blessing
of Abraham. He gave him the blessing of the
covenant of God's grace that God made with Abraham. Genesis
28 verse 1. And Isaac called Jacob and blessed
him and charged him and said unto him, Thou shalt not take
a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the
house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take thee a wife
from thence of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother.
And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply
thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people, and give thee the
blessing of Abraham. Oh my, the blessing of God's
covenant to Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee, that
thou mayest inherit the land, wherein thou art a stranger,
which God gave unto Abraham." How Isaac, what a great blessing
he gave to Jacob here, the blessing of God's covenant of grace. Jacob received a blessing, didn't
he? Well, what happened after that? Was Jacob's life just a
bowl of cherries because he'd received this blessing? Not at
all, was it? God's blessing never promised
a life of ease to his people. Matter of fact, they promised
a life of trouble, not a life of ease. Immediately after receiving
this blessing, Jacob had to run for his life because his brother
Esau was going to kill him. And he never saw his parents
again. Jacob traveled alone across the desert. He made the journey
all the way to Laban, where his father told him to go. to his
mother's brother, Laban. This is his uncle. And when he
got there, oh my, he saw a girl. He fell head over heels in love
with Laban's youngest daughter, Rachel. And he would have just
done anything. Laban, what is it going to take
for me to marry this girl? And Laban said, all right, you
worked seven years for me and you can marry Rachel. Look at
Genesis chapter 29. Jacob did that. And when he did,
he was a picture of Christ. Genesis 29 verse 20. And Jacob
served seven years for Rachel and they seemed unto him but
a few days for the love that he had to her. Oh, how he loved
her. But now this was done as a picture
of Christ who came to redeem the people that he loves. And
he did it even to go to the cross for the joy that was set before
him to redeem the bride that he loves. Our Lord Jesus Christ
was never disappointed in his work for his bride. His work
for his bride was never a failure. Not one second of that work was
ever wasted. But ironically, Jacob the deceiver
was deceived by his father-in-law Laban. Jacob the deceiver met
his match with his uncle Laban. And Laban, you know what he did?
He tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, the older sister. Jacob did not love. And Jacob
had to work another seven years to marry Rachel. And the problems
that that caused poor old Jacob being married to those two sisters,
I mean to tell you the problems that caused him. Everybody knew
Jacob loved Rachel. He loved her more than he loved
more than Leah. And the hard feelings that that caused in
Leah just, oh, I mean, you feel sorry for her. I mean, you know,
your father did this and you feel sorry for her. But the problem,
Jacob had to live between those two fighting, jealous sisters
all his days. I mean, what a miserable fella.
And you think, that's the man that God blessed? Wow, what a
life he's lived. This is a struggle for this fella.
And all the while that Jacob worked for Laban, Laban cheated
him. Look at chapter 21 of Genesis, or 31, excuse me, chapter 31
of Genesis. Laban was cheating him the whole
time. Genesis 31 verse 7, he's, Jacob's gathered together his
wives and he told him, now your father had deceived me and changed
my wages 10 times, but God suffered him not to hurt me. God suffered
him not. to hurt. All this cheating didn't
hurt Jacob any. But now he still had to endure
that. You ever had a bad boss just cheating you? Stuff to live
with, isn't it? Stuff to live with. And things
got so bad between Jacob and Laban, Jacob had to take his
family and leave. And they went out into the wilderness
and they had to build them up a stack of stones. They built
up a pillar of stones. Things were so bad between those
two men, they said, this is the boundary between me and you.
Jacob said, I won't cross it to go back to you. Don't you
cross it to come to me. We got to stay separated. That's
how bad it got between him and his father-in-law. And Jacob
left that place, got away from Laban. But now he's got to go
back home where Esau is waiting for him. And he worried Esau
was going to kill him. And we looked at that last week.
Esau did not kill him. And Jacob settled in that country,
raising his family in that country. And his children were growing.
And while he was there, this uncircumcised Gentile came, wanted
to marry one of Jacob's daughters. Jacob's two of his sons, Simeon
and Levi, they went to that family, Gentiles, and said, now this
is against what we believe. If you're going to marry our
sister, every man in this tribe's got to be circumcised. All those
grown men. And they were. And while they
were recovering, you know what those two boys did? They went
and killed that man and his father that wanted to marry their sister.
And that brought such shame on Jacob. It hurt his reputation,
that whole land. Oh, he was so hurt by that. And
we think, this is the man that God blessed? His family's a mess. This is the man that God's blessed?
Then one day, Jacob's sons came home from being out in the field,
and they went to their father and told their father, a wild
animal's eaten your favorite son, Joseph. They all knew the jealousy that
caused them. Jacob, let it be known, it's my favorite son.
And they said, that wild animal's killed your favorite son, Joseph. Now, I can't imagine the grief
a parent feels being told your child is dead. And Jacob said,
that grief is so great it's going to put me in the grave. It's
going to kill me. And he endured that. He lived through it. God
didn't take him. He lived with that for years
and years and years. And as if that wasn't enough,
Jacob endured famine. The famine got so bad they had
no food left whatsoever. And he sent his sons down to
Egypt to buy them some corn because he'd heard there's a wise ruler
down there in Egypt. that saved up enough corn for
all the world. And they went down there, those
brothers went down there and they got corn. But they met that
ruler. And that ruler made those brothers
leave Simeon there in jail in Egypt until they come back with
their youngest brother, Benjamin. By this time, Benjamin is Jacob's
favorite son. When they come home, those boys,
they tell their father, We've got to take Benjamin back to
Egypt." And he said, where's Simeon? They said, well, now
Simeon, that ruler, we met him. He kept Simeon down there in
jail in Egypt. And Jacob said, no way, boys.
No, no, no, no. I already lost Joseph. Now I've
lost Simeon? Every time I send one of my sons
with you boys, something bad happens. You're not taking Benjamin
down there. And they waited until they're
out of food again. They're going to starve to death.
So Jacob sent Benjamin, his favorite son, down there to Egypt. Now
can you imagine the heartache that old Jacob felt? He was just
sure three of his sons were dead. He just wrote him off as dead,
wrote Benjamin off as dead when he sent him down there. And he's
sitting there in misery waiting for his sons to come home. And
in all that heartache, you know God ordained all that to give
us another glorious picture of Christ the Redeemer. Look at
Genesis chapter 43. Jacob is making this decision
to send Benjamin down there to Egypt. Look here at Genesis 43
verse 8. And Judah, now this is the head
of the tribe of Judah from which Christ the Savior will come.
And Judah said unto Israel, his father, Send the lad with me,
and we'll arise and go, that we may live and not die, both
we and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him. But my hand shalt thou require
him. If I bring him not unto thee
and set him before thee, let me bear the blame forever." Now
that is a picture of Christ our Redeemer who told His Father,
these people that you've chosen, give them to me. I'll be surety
for them. I'll bear the blame forever if
I don't redeem every one of them. All this is happening is a picture
of Christ, but Jacob didn't know that at the time, did he? Oh,
he's so miserable. He's just waiting, just looking
every day, like the father of that prodigal son, just looking
every day. Are my sons coming back yet?
Do they got him all with them? Is Benjamin with them? And we
look at that poor, miserable man, and we think, that's the
man? God blessed? Well then finally, Jacob heard,
his sons came home. And Jacob heard, Joseph your
son is alive. You know that wise ruler we heard
about down there in Egypt? That's Joseph. Joseph is second
in command there in Egypt. He's got, if anybody wants food
in this whole wide world, they gotta go to your son Joseph.
And Jacob went down there to Egypt to be with Joseph. To live
with Joseph. Joseph told him, you come down
here, I'll provide everything. And that's a glorious picture
of Christ too. Look at Genesis chapter 45. This is Joseph speaking to his
brethren. He's revealed himself to them
and he said, you should tell my father of all my glory in
Egypt and of all that you've seen and shall haste and bring
down my father hither. Now right there is preaching.
You go tell God's people of all God's glory, all the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ. You tell them everything God
showed you. You tell them everything you know about the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's preaching. That's declaring the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 20, Joseph tells them
also, regard not your stuff for the good of all the land of Egypt
is yours. Now this is preaching. Regard
not your stuff. What is it you think you got
that's of any regard? Regard not your stuff. Regard
not your good works. Regard not your possessions of
this life. You leave them all behind and you come to Christ
empty handed. All the riches of Christ are
yours. He'll supply all of your need.
Well, Jacob went down there in Egypt. He lived down there for
a while. And now Jacob's an old man. And he knows the day of
his death is near. This has been the life now of
the blessed man. When it comes to the place, he
knows I'm going to die. So he calls his family together. He calls the boys together to
give them another blessing of faith. This is faith blessing
part two. Now I've got the same two questions
about this blessing I had last week. About the blessing Isaac
gave. How do you get the blessing?
I want to, there's a blessing. I want to know, how can I get
the blessing? And number two, what is the blessing? Well, first,
how do you get the blessing? Well, you get it, number one,
by adoption. Now look at Genesis chapter 48,
the passage that we read to open the surface. Genesis chapter 48, beginning
in verse three, you get this blessing by adoption. And Jacob
said unto Joseph, God almighty, or look at verse two. And one
told Jacob and said, behold, thy son, Joseph cometh unto thee
and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on upon the bed. And
Jacob said unto Joseph, God almighty appeared unto me. It was in the
land of Canaan and blessed me and said unto me, behold, I'll
make thee fruitful and multiply thee. And I will make of thee
a multitude of people and will give this land to thy seed after
thee for an everlasting possession. And now, thy two sons, Ephraim
and Manasseh, which are born unto thee in the land of Egypt,
before I came unto thee into Egypt, they're mine. As Reuben and Simeon, they are
mine." Now, this is what Jacob's telling Joseph. Those two boys,
Ephraim and Manasseh, they're mine. They belong to me now.
They're mine by adoption. They're my sons just as surely
as, lost my place, as Reuben and Simeon. It's just as surely
as Reuben and Simeon are my sons, Ephraim and Manasseh are my sons. And that adoption was real. Those
two boys became Jacob's sons. They became Israel's sons. When
we talk about the children of Israel, there's 12 tribes. There's
no tribe named Joseph. but there's a tribe named Ephraim
and Manasseh. They became the sons of Israel. This adoption
was real. Think of these two boys. Joseph's
wife was an Egyptian. These two boys are Egyptian princes. Israel said to him, I've taken
those sons of Egypt, those sons of bondage, those sons of slavery,
those sons of sin. And I made them mine. I made
them two of the heads of the tribes of Israel. Now you see
the picture? How do sinners like you and me
get the blessing of God? It's by being adopted into God's
family. This is a great mystery, a great
miracle of God's grace, a great miracle of God's love that he
would adopt sinners into his family. Just like old Mephibosheth
down there in Lodabar. Lay him on both his legs. You
fetch him, David said. He couldn't sit at the king's
table. He was one of the king's sons. Almighty God chooses a
people. And he says, I know they're sinners. I know they're lost in sin. I
know they're in bondage to sin. But they're mine. And this adoption
is real. This is not just some legal document
now. When God adopts his people, they're
given a new father. Adam's not your father anymore,
not God is your father. They're given a new name. No
longer do you bear the worthless name of Adam, but this is the
name wherewith she should be called. Jehovah said, King, the
Lord, my righteousness. They're given a new home. No
longer do you dwell down there in Egypt and sin under the bondage
of the law, but you sit at the King's table, at the King's seat.
And you're given a new family, all the tribe of Israel. Ain't
you get a new inheritance? Made joint heirs with Christ. That's the adoption of God's
people. Secondly, how do we get this blessing? We get the blessing
through God's election. We don't get it through our natural
birth now. We don't get it through our works. We get it through
God's electing grace. Look at verse eight here of Genesis
chapter 48. And Israel beheld Joseph's sons
and he said, who are these? And Joseph said unto his father,
they're my sons, whom God has given me in this place. And he
said, bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I'll bless them.
Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not
see. Israel was blind, just like his father was before he died.
He's blind. He can't see a thing. So he brought them near unto
him, and he kissed them, and he embraced them. And Israel
said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face. And lo, this
is how God's blessed me. He showed me also thy seed."
He got to hug on those grandsons. And Joseph brought them out from
between his knees and bowed himself with his face to the earth. And
Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's
left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right
hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out
his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger,
and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly,
for Manasseh was the firstborn." You see what's happening here?
Joseph brings his sons. He puts that oldest son, Manasseh,
towards Jacob's right hand, and Ephraim, the younger, towards
Jacob Israel's left hand. When those boys got there, Jacob
crossed his sentence. He put his right hand on Ephraim,
the head of the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh, the
head of the older. He crossed his hands. Now this
is an act of faith. This is an act of faith. Look
here at verse 17. When Joseph saw that his father
laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased
him, and he held up his father. He took his hand and picked it
up to remove it from Ephraim's head and put it on Manasseh's
head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father, for
this is the firstborn. Put thy right hand upon his head.
And his father refused and said, I know it, my son. I know it.
He also shall become a people. And he also should be great.
But truly his younger brother should be greater than he and
his seed should become a multitude of nations. Jacob knew exactly
what he was doing when he crossed his hands. It's the blessing
of faith. He didn't do it because he could
see his eyes were dim with age. He guided his hand wittingly,
scripture says, putting his right hand on the head of the younger.
Now, just like these boys, How is it that you and I are ever
going to be able to get the blessing of God? Well, we're not going
to be able to earn it, are we? No, we're guilty. We can't earn
it by our deeds of the law. Just like we saw in our lesson
this morning, we're guilty. We're guilty. We can't keep any
of the law. And we can't get it because who we're related
to. We can't get it because we're the first born. We can't get
it because we're related to a Jew. To you and me, I'd say we can't
get it because we're part of a family full of believers. No,
God's mercy, God's grace, His blessing doesn't come through
human bloodlines. No, it comes from the blood of
Christ. It comes from God's electing grace. We can't get this because
we're born bigger and better than anybody else. Y'all remember
being a child hearing about this law of the firstborn. Well, I'm
the firstborn in my family. I always thought that's a good
deal. I only thought that because I was the first born. I wouldn't
have thought that if I was back here, Jonathan, would I? I thought
that's a good deal. That's one by the flesh, because
you're just born older, having to be born older than somebody
else. That's not how we get the blessing of God. We receive the
blessing because of God's election of a people. Almighty God chose
to save a people who didn't deserve it. They're not the firstborn. They're the younger. They're
the one who doesn't deserve it. God chose them to give them a
blessing. And everybody God chose to save
is the weakest, most vile, most sinful person Almighty God could
find. That's who he chose to save.
And that's who gets the blessing. See, God always chooses to bless
the lesser. Never the greater. See, that's
how we receive the blessing of God, by being the lesser, by
God's electing love, just because God chose, this is one I'm going
to bless. So that's how we get the blessing,
by God's adopting grace, by his electing grace, putting us into
the family of God. Right? Here's my second question.
What's the blessing? What's the blessing? All across
this world today, and I hate to use the word churches, religious
buildings, you're hearing a lot about blessing, aren't you? Oh,
the blessing. You do this, God will bless you.
You do this, something or the other, God will bless you. And
the blessing is always a material thing. God will bless you with
more money. He's going to bless you with a better job. He's going
to bless you with a bigger house. He's going to bless you with
children that, you know, mind you pretty reasonably well, don't
get on drugs and don't go off and do these things. Is that the blessing? If it is,
that's not much of a blessing, is it? I mean, I'd like to have
all those things, but there's coming a day when I'm like Jacob
and prop myself up on my deathbed, talk to my children, I'm going
to leave it all behind. Is that really the blessing?
Or is it a blessing you take with you? Now, what's the blessing?
Well, I can tell you what the blessing is. It's to be shepherded
by the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 15, Genesis 48.
Here's the blessing. And he blessed Joseph and said,
God, before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac did walk and
God, which fed me all my life long. And to this day, the angel,
which redeemed me from all evil, blessed the lads and let my name
be named on them and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac,
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. Now
this is the blessing. That word fed that Jacob uses
there in verse 15 means shepherded. That's the blessing. The blessing
of God is for Christ to be our shepherd, to do all the work
of a shepherd for us. The blessing is to be not left
on our own, but to be put under the care of Christ the shepherd.
I want you to turn to John chapter 10. What does it mean for Christ
to shepherd us? What does it mean for Christ
to do all the work of a shepherd for us? I'm going to give you
four or five things that that means. Number one, it means this. To have Christ be our shepherd
means that we've been elected of God. He's got to have some
sheep, doesn't he? I mean, a shepherd's not a shepherd
if he doesn't have any sheep. A shepherd's got to have sheep. Well, Christ
is the good shepherd. He's the great shepherd of the
sheep. Where'd he get his sheep? Where'd he get it? The sheep
are the ones the Father gave him in divine election. John
10, look at verse 29. My Father, which gave them meat. He's talking about his sheep.
My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man
is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. The sheep are
the ones that the Father chose and gave to Christ. He put them
under the care of Christ the shepherd. Well, what did Christ
the shepherd do for his sheep? Here's my second thing. This
is what it means to have Christ be our shepherd. Christ has redeemed
his people from all their sins. Remember Jacob there talked about
the angel in chapter 48, the angel that redeemed me. If you
go back and read that, you'll find that's a capital A. You're
not talking about an angel created being. That's somebody's name.
It's the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the angel that spoke
to Jacob who redeemed him from all evil. Well, that's what Christ,
the great shepherd of the sheep has done for all of his sheep. He has redeemed them from all
evil. He has redeemed them from their
sin. And you know how he did it? By giving his life as a ransom
for their soul. Verse 11, John chapter 10. I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. The good shepherd willingly,
voluntarily laid down his life for his sheep. He said in verse
18, no man taketh it from me. But I lay it down to myself.
I got power to lay it down. I got power to take it again.
Nobody took his life from him. Nobody forced him to do it. He
did it willingly. Christ willingly died as a substitute
for his people to redeem them from the law. To redeem them
so the law doesn't have anything against them. So the law can't
kill them. That's the blessing. That's the
blessing of God. All right. Thirdly, Christ the
Shepherd calls all of His sheep to Himself. Now the Savior, He
died for His sheep. Willingly, didn't He? To redeem
His people from their sins. But He doesn't leave the salvation
of those sheep up to their decision. He's not waiting to see, are
they going to make a decision for me? Which way are they going to go?
Are they going to follow me? Are they going to follow the devil? Which are they going
to do? He doesn't leave it up to their decision. Those sheep
are lost. And you know the thing about
lost sheep, they always go the wrong way. They can't find their
way back. So he's not leaving it up to
their decision. He's not leaving it up to chance. Maybe they'll
stumble into the right place. Now that's what he does. He calls
his sheep by the power of the Holy Spirit. And he doesn't call
them to religion. He didn't call them to live a
more moral life. He calls them to Christ. Christ,
Christ, Christ. Can I tell you one more time?
Right where you sit, come to Christ. Come to him, look to
him, depend upon him. All of God's sheep come to Christ
and they follow him. Look what he says in verse two,
John 10. He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of
the sheep. To him the porter openeth and
the sheep hear his voice. and he calleth his own sheep
by name." He's not just saying, well, whoever wants to come to
me. No, he calls them by name and says, come. And he leadeth
them out. When he calls them by name, they
come. And he leads them out. He putteth forth his own sheep.
And he goeth before them. He doesn't send the sheep out
there to be out in front of him to protect him in case the wolf
comes out around the corner. He goes before them. Every step they take, He takes
first. He goes before them. The shepherd
who gave His life to redeem you, every step you take, He takes
first. You think you're taking steps
in the dark, you don't know where you're going? He went there first.
Oh, He suffered under the powers of darkness. As He suffered,
the sun went out. He suffered at first. He took
those steps first. You face in pain and heartache? He took that step first. Oh,
the pain, the heartache he suffered to redeem his people from their
sin. He took that step first. Are you like Jacob? You're old
and you're afraid. The day of my death is at hand. I don't know when, but it's coming
soon. Are you afraid to take those steps? Your shepherd took
them first. He took those steps first. And
you know what? There's a set of footprints coming
out of that tomb, too. You'll rise again. You'll rise
again. You'll be with Him every step you take. He took first. I got off my point there. I'm
sorry. But that's just beautiful, isn't it? God's got some sheep. But when they're born in this
world, they're born lost. They're wandering out there in
the wilderness. And Christ the Good Shepherd, He leaves in 99.
And He goes out there in the wilderness. And He finds that
sheep. He never comes home without them.
He finds them every time. And He calls that sheep. And
He brings that sheep home. Now I know that sounds kind of
mysterious. Do you want me to tell you how
He does it? It's very simple. Christ reveals
Himself through the preaching of the Gospel. By what we're
doing right now. And He gives His sheep spiritual
ears to hear. You're not going to audibly hear
the Lord call you by name. But if you're one of His sheep,
you're going to hear the gospel. And you're going to say, that's
me. He's describing me. I'm lost
like that. I need a shepherd like that.
I need somebody to come find me. I need somebody to come save
me. He's talking about me. He's calling me. And you'll come
running. Nobody's going to have to talk
you into it. You'll come running. He's called you and you'll follow
him for the rest of your days. And just like old Jacob, they're
not going to be a bowl of cherries, but you'll follow him all your
days. And you know why you'll follow
him all your days? Because he will never leave you nor forsake
you. He's a shepherd who never loses
one of his sheep. He doesn't even lose track of
one of them. He's got them all in his hands. But this work of
calling the sheep and bringing the sheep to himself is the work
only of Christ the Good Shepherd. He says in verse 16, other sheep
I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. He's not leaving this to some
flunky. He's not leaving this to some under shepherd. I must
bring them and they shall hear my voice and there shall be one
fold and one shepherd. This is the work of the shepherd.
to bring all of his people to him. Now what's the blessing? What
does it mean that Christ is our shepherd? It means that Christ
the shepherd gives his sheep eternal life. Eternal life has
got to be the gift of God, doesn't it? We can't earn it. No, it's
got to be the gift of God. And it's the gift that God gives
all of his people. John 10, verse 10, the Savior
says, the thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and
to destroy. I am come that they might have
life, and that they might have it more abundantly. This is eternal
life, abundant, rich, eternal life. He says in verse 28, I
give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. And you know
why God's elect have eternal life? It's because Christ died
in their place. If Christ died for you, you can
never die. Spiritually, you can't. You can
never die. And we talk about eternal life.
Eternal life is not living forever. Eternal life is not talking about
the length of it. Everybody's going to live forever
somewhere. Eternal life is life with Christ. It's being made
just like Christ and being with Him forever. And that's abundant
life. And that's the life that God
gives all of His sheep. Fifthly, this is what it means
for Christ to shepherd us. Christ the Shepherd gives His
sheep faith in Christ. Now here's how God saves sinners.
God the Father chose a people to save. God the Son came to
redeem those people by dying in their place, paying their
debt for them. And God the Holy Spirit gives life to those people
and reveals Christ to them. All right. Here's the million
dollar question. How can I know if I'm one of
those sheep? And that's a fair question. I
want to know that, don't you? I want you to know that. How
can I know if I'm one of those sheep? The answer is very simple. It's faith in Christ. It's faith
in Christ. If you have faith in Christ,
if you believe that Christ is all your salvation without anything
you add to it, do you believe that? I want you to answer that
question in your heart right now. Do you believe that? Well,
if you do, Christ died for you because God only gives that faith
to his sheep. Our Lord told the Pharisees,
the evidence that you're not my sheep is you don't believe
me. But if you believe Christ, that's
the evidence you are my sheep. Look what he says, verse 26.
But you believe not, because you're not of my sheep. As I
said unto you, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me. See, the Lord said, you believe
not, because you're not my sheep. He didn't say you're not my sheep
because you don't believe. It was like, if you could believe,
then you'd make yourself a sheep. You can never make a goat a sheep.
He said, you're not my sheep or you don't believe because
you're not my sheep. But all of God's sheep believe
Christ and you know how you know they believe him. They hear his
voice and they follow him. They follow him. They come to
him. That's the blessing of Christ
being our shepherd. But I thought one more thing
I got to show you before we quit. Look at Psalm 23. This is the
blessing. of Christ shepherding us and
being our shepherd. I know everybody here practically
could quote this psalm from memory, but if you can, listen to it
like you've never heard it before. In light of this Christ shepherding
His people, the blessing that God gives His people is to be
able to say, the Lord is my shepherd. That's a blessing because look
in verse one, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. If Christ is my shepherd, I will
not want for anything because he's going to supply me everything
I need. He himself is everything I need. He'll supply me all spiritual
good in him and give me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. Give me eternal life. Give me forgiveness. I'm
not one for any of it. I'm not one for peace. Because
Christ is my peace. I'll not want for any good thing
if Christ is my shepherd. Verse 2, He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still waters.
Christ the shepherd feeds his sheep by making them lie down
in the green pastures of his word. Some folks might not like
those green pastures of his word. Does that feed your soul? That's
because Christ your shepherd fed it to you. Christ the Shepherd
gives His sheep to drink of the water of life, and they'll never
die. Verse 3, He restores my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness
for His namesake. The Lord revives His people.
You just get so weak and weary and tired going through this
world, you think, I can't do this another day, another second. Christ revives the soul of His
people. He strengthens them. He gives
them strength for the way by what He said in verse 2, feeding
them in the green pastures of His Word, giving them drinks,
free drinks of the water of life. Christ the Shepherd makes His
people righteous. He makes them righteous and He
puts them in paths of righteousness, leads them in it so they can't
fall off of it for His namesake. Now here is a comfort. Christ
being your shepherd. The glory of his name is at stake. If he loses one of his sheep,
all his glory is gone. The glory of his name is at stake. Do not lose him. Do not lose
him. Verse four. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art
with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.
Thou knowest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Christ the
shepherd, he comforts his people. All through their journey, through
the valley of the shadow of death, he comforts his people. He provides
for them. He provides them a table in the
presence of their enemies. And it never ends. He makes goodness
and mercy follow them all the days of their life. Verse six. Surely, without a doubt, goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I'll
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now you see that? What's
the blessing? It's not our stuff, is it? I
say with Joseph, regard not your stuff. That's not the blessing.
Christ is the blessing. If you got him, you got it all. What a blessing. to go through
this life being shepherded by Christ, the great shepherd of
the sheep. Let's bow together in prayer.
Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this
glorious picture of Christ, the good shepherd of the sheep. Father,
I pray that you would take us under your wing, under your hand
to redeem, to lead and to guide and protect, to provide for,
to comfort our hearts, to reveal Christ to our hearts. Father,
I beg of you that you not leave us alone, that you not leave
us to our own devices or our own way that we think is right.
But Father, lead us, put us in the path of righteousness and
lead us for thy namesake. Father, we pray that you would
save your people for your namesake, that you'd revive and comfort
the hearts of your people for the glory of your name. that
you keep and preserve and protect your people for the glory of
your name. Father, save us for the glory
of the name of Christ our Savior. It is in his precious name we
pray and give thanks and ask these blessings.