Turn with me to Ezekiel 34. We're going to read verses 11-16. Ezekiel 34, verses 11 through
16. And before us this morning, perhaps,
we have one of the most tender and most compassionate sayings
of our Sovereign to the likes of us. And we know who's speaking. It's
God, Jehovah God, who cannot lie. What a promise! What a promise for all His redeemed. Look at these verses with me
here this morning. Verse 11, For thus saith the
Lord God, Jehovah, Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep
and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock
in a day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so
will I seek out my sheep. And I will deliver them out of
all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark
day. 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 feed them in a good pasture,
and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. There
they shall lie in a good fold, and in a fast pasture shall they
feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock. I will
cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that
which was lost, I will 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, and I will feed them with judgment." We're going to
look at one verse, verse 11. That's what caught my attention. Thus saith the Lord God, behold
I, the great I Am, the Ancient of Days, the Alpha,
the Omega, the One who speaks and it is, it was, cannot lie. I will both search my sheep and
seek them out. I want to notice just two thoughts.
There's a two-fold searching and seeking that God does to
his sheep. He's talking about sheep here.
He's our great shepherd. The first thought is, while we
are lost and we don't seek Him, He searches us and seeks us.
That's the first thought. His sheep will be both sought
out and carried home, like that ninety and nine. He leaves the
rest and goes and finds that one sheep. And the illustration
is that he throws it over his shoulders and carries, carries
the sheep home. I, even I, this is who's speaking. This is not my word. There's
things I say and will determine to do and can't get done. That's
my human frailty. And it becomes worse when you
get older. It becomes worse when you get
older. Bruce and I are talking. It's
kind of a, it's almost a game. It's almost a competition. It's
like, I got this done. I know Bruce is gonna say, I
didn't get that done. I got too much to do. So we're always comparing. It's
like when you get older, they say you talk about food, and
I like to talk about food. But this also, what I've gotten
done. What I've gotten done. He both searches out and seeks
out His people. We sing a hymn, Come Thou Fount. And I couldn't remember. I remembered
the one phrase, typed it in, and it came up. Because I'm like,
ah, this is going to be a hard one to find. Because I thought
it was a couple other hymns. But it says in the second stanza, the third paragraph,
I guess, Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the
fold of God, He to rescue me from danger interposed His precious
blood. That's exactly what happened.
That's exactly what happened. I, the Lord God, choosing the
Son, dying for those who I've chosen, the Holy Spirit quickens
those whom the Son died for whom I chose. I, even I, will both
search out my sheep and seek them out. How cheerfully does
our Lord and Savior find out His chosen. Perhaps we were so
very near the flames of hell, yet He snatched us as a brand
from the fire, says Zechariah 3, verse 2. That's what He did.
Some of us, He's done that. Some of us, He saved during young
age. Some of us, middle age. Some
of us, our friend David later in life. He searched, He sought, and He
found. By the Father sending His only
begotten Son to reclaim us, nay propitiate for us, nay cover
us from the day of wrath, to set us up among princes, the
Scripture says. Bless the Lord of glory, He did
seek, and He found, and He redeemed, and he will resurrect us. We
will be with him as where he's at. So basically, the wandering
ones were found. The distant ones were brought
nigh, says the scriptures, by the blood of Christ. The wayward
ones were set on that straight path. The helpless ones are comforted
and aided. The guilty ones are made new
and whole because the scripture says the iniquity is sought for
and not found. Why? Because I, even I, will
both search my sheep and seek them out. Oh brethren, this is
what I enjoy. Brethren, do not lose hope of
those the Lord has laid on your hearts. parents, good friends who do
not know the gospel. He's laid them on our heart in
prayer. Perhaps they will also will be sought out and found
by grace. Perhaps. Don't lose hope. I, even I, will both search my
sheep and seek them out. The second thought is this. While
we stray He's found us, like Bruce said, and I thought he
was going to pretty well preach the message when he's towards
the end of the text. We wander, because the flesh, we wander,
we wander, we wander. The second point is He will seek
us and search us out, His sheep, and seek us out when strained
from the pastures of truth and holiness. Perhaps we are by sin
and neglect, we have gone astray, we become cold and indifferent
to His Word, to His fellowship, to His assembly. Perhaps that's
us here this morning. He will not lose any for whom
He both searches and seeks out. Can't be done. Never. If this
is the only verse, verse 11, let's just say you have a fire
and everything is destroyed, but this one verse, this is enough. This is enough. I remember reading
George, I got a little book, it's a little bitty old thing,
George Whitfield, It's a strange and unusual conversions. And
I remember a story that he tells, you know, of course, he was in
the 1700s, so the kind of ships they had, well, the ship that
this person, you know, the cargo ship, kind of like in the Book
of Acts, I guess, well, it sunk. It burnt, sunk, exploded. There was a guy, he was floating
in the ocean, And he was floating on a piece
of the debris of the ship, and the moon was out and bright.
Of course, everything else is dark. And he said another board
came by him, and a part of the Bible was infused, burnt into
the wood, and he could read it. And he read the passage, and
he said the Lord did something for him. If this is the only word you
hear. Verse 11, if this is it, this
is it. He charges, He changes not. Thus
He will not stop seeking His people out. He is part of His,
He's immutable. Part of His, that's one of His
attributes. He does not, means He does not change. If he says
something, he will do it. And he says, I will both search
out my sheep and seek them out. As all these preachers, he'll
cross your path with the Gospel. He'll cross your path with the
Gospel preacher. He'll cross your path with the
Word of God. If the Lord does something, you're going to seek
it. He sought you. He found you. You're going to
seek where you can hear the Word in truth. You're going to hear
the Gospel. In providence and in His sovereign
grace, He will pursue that He seeks and searches out. Another
word for that is pursue, run after, chase. I like this one,
woo. It's not a word we use very often,
but when we're trying to find our spouse, you know, the Lord
has someone for us, we're like, we woo. Remember, He's married to us. There's no way we will ever be
totally separated from our spouse. He woos us. I'm going to show
you some examples. People who the Lord sought, His
sheep, whether they were in foreign lands. Turn to Genesis chapter
50. Foreign lands. Joseph, he's in a foreign land. He's in Egypt. He's over everybody
other than the Pharaoh. Genesis chapter 50, starting
in verse 15. And when Joseph's brother, and
he finally got together with his brother, and they saw that
their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate
us, because remember they sold him for slavery. They're going
to kill him. But Benjamin's older brother
said, no, don't do it. Don't do it. His blood will be
on our heads." So they just put him down in a big old hole, left
him for dead. So now their father is dead,
and they'll hate us, and will certainly requite us all the
evil which we did unto Him, which I would have done, and I would
have been revengeful. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph,
saying, Thy father did command thee. He died, saying, before
he died, saying, So shall you say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray
thee, now the trespass of thy brethren and their sin, for they
did unto thee evil. And now we pray thee, forgive
the trespass of thy servants of the God of thy father. And
Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went
and fell down before his face. And they said, Behold, we be
thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear
not. For am I in the place of God? But as for you, you thought
evil against me, but God meant it unto good to bring it to pass
as it is this day to save much people alive. These people, they
mean evil. But he saw the overriding providence
of God that all things work together for good. Romans wasn't even
written. Romans wasn't even thought about. Paul wasn't even born.
The Old Testament saints, they knew the Gospel just like the
New Testament saints. So whether you're in a foreign
land, even I will both search and seek out my sheep. What about
Ruth? We won't turn there, but what
about Ruth? Naomi to this foreign land, the
children married, and then all the children are dead, her husband's
dead, and then there's Ruth. She's in a foreign land. I want
your God to be my God. God in His providential dealings
with her saw to it that she was going to go back, light on a
field, a man whose name was Boaz, the next of kin, and the rest
was history. What about Esther? Esther. What about her? Mordecai
and Esther and all the Jews, they're not even in their own
land. They're in a foreign land. Sought, found, and kept. Every one of them. Secondly,
what about if we are found in poverty? Luke chapter 16. Found
in poverty. Poverty is never fun. It's a
burden. that people who have money don't
realize. What about if you're in poverty?
Well, God, can He still find you? Can He still search you
out? Can He still seek you out? Well, let's look at Luke 16. Verse 19, And there was a certain
rich man that was clothed in purple and fine linen. He fared
sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus which was laid at the gate full of sores and
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's
table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked the sores. It came
to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels
in Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was
buried. And in hell he lifted up his eye being in torment,
seeing Abraham afar off. And Lazarus in his bosom, and
he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus
that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue
for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things and likewise
Lazarus evil things. But now he, Lazarus, is comforted,
is comforted, is comforted. and you're tormented. I'd say
the Lord sought him out and found him. Ezekiel 34 verse 11. He found him, he comforted him,
and he kept him. What about if we're in obscurity?
Nobody knows who we are. 2 Kings chapter 4. Nobody knows
who we are. Bruce Crabtree and I were talking
the other day He said, when we die, nobody's going to remember
us. We're not that important. Now,
I know the lecturers and the folks that are higher up, the
streets named after them, cities named after them, sports coliseums,
but that's not going to happen to us. That's not going to happen
to us. What about this widow who the
Lord multiplied the oil, 2 Kings chapter 4, Verses 1-7, now there's a certain
woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets, doesn't even
have her name. She's not even named. Who is this obscure person
who's going to be sought out? And who's going to be searched
out? Saying, my husband is dead, and now knowest that thy servant
did fear the Lord, and the creditor has come to take unto him my
sons to be slaves. She couldn't pay. The sons are
going to go work it off. Elijah said unto her, What shall
I do for thee? Tell me what thou hast in thy house. And she said,
I have not anything in the house, save a pot of oil. He said, Go,
borrow thee vessels abroad, and thy neighbors, even empty vessels,
borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou
shalt shut the door upon thy sons, and shalt pour out unto
all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
And she went in from him and shut the door upon her and her
two sons who brought the vessels to her, and she poured out. And
it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto
her son, Bring me yet another vessel. And he said unto her,
There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. And she came
and told the man of God, and he said, Go, sell the oil, and
pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest, and
in rest. Who is she? She is obscure. But she's my sister. She's your
sister. And the Lord, I, even I, both
searched my sheep and sought them out. Nonetheless, she's not named,
but nonetheless, she was searched out, sought out, and much assisted. And I stopped and I thought,
isn't the grace of God wonderful? When you stop and think about
what we have that we don't deserve, it is wonderful. Lastly, what
about if we're in despair? 2 Samuel chapter 9. What about in despair? I'd say
there's believers in four lands, there's believers in poverty,
there's believers in obscurity. What about in despair? 2 Samuel chapter 9. David 1, 2 Samuel 9, 1, and David
said, Is there yet any left of the house of Saul that I may
show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? And there was of the house
of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And he called David
the king unto him and said, Are you Ziba? And he said, Yes, I
am. And he repeats the question, Is there any left of the house
of Saul that I may show him kindness of God unto him? And he said,
Jonathan has yet a son who's lame on both feet. He's in despair. He can't get around. I would
suspect he didn't have wheelchairs back then. He got to be carried. And the king said unto him, who
is he? Where is he? He's in the house
of Micah, the son of Amul and Lodabar. The king said, fetch
him. Fetch him. Seek him out. Search him out. I'm searching. I'm asking these
people. And they know somebody. They know there's one person. His name is Mephibosheth. And the last two verses of this
chapter 12 and 13, Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was
Micah. All that dwelt in the house of
Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth, This man who
is in despair, this man who had nothing, this man who couldn't
go anywhere without assistance. So this man dwelt in Jerusalem,
for he did eat continually at the king's table and was lame
on both feet. He was sought out. He was found. Poor Meshubetheth. What about
Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus come down. What about
disheartened Peter who denied the Lord three times? The Lord
specifically sought him out and comforted him and wrought grace
for him. Now I would say that everyone for whom this applies can say this. now unto him that
is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. To the only
wise God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power
now and forevermore. I say this Jude verse 24 applies
to all the shepherd seeks and to all that He is able to save.
Because Ezekiel says, Lord God, behold, I, even I, will both
search my sheep and seek them out. While I further can state,
on the basis of Scripture, this book, this airless, God-breathed
book, states over and over again, it is a point of utmost honor
with Christ to seek and to save all the flock
without a single exception. There will none be lost. Every
single sheep will be found. And that's kind of what we're
here for. What are we here for? To go to work? Yes. To pay Caesar's? Yes. But to speak of Christ.
If you can't speak, get a card. Give them a card. Say, this is
where I go to church. Come. Because when that last
elect is found, He's going to wrap it up. But that, I can say
that without exception, there's a point of, it's a point of honor
with Christ to save all the flock without a single exception. He
will not lose any honor or glory because if he would do, if he
would not save all of his elect, that would be a point of honor
or dishonor to him and not glory, but humiliation. And he was humiliated
once. And right now, He's seated at
the right hand of Majesty on High. So I want to re-read this
last verse. For thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them
out. And I think we can say at the
end of that verse, Selah. Selah. Which David often put
after Psalms. Selah. What's that mean? It means
to pause and consider. To pause and consider. He will seek us out. He searched us out and seek us
out. So I'm going to pause and consider
and as well a heartfelt amen. It is so because God says it
and he says it to comfort As I said, this verse of Scripture
is perhaps one of the most tender and most compassionate sayings
our Sovereign has to those who do not deserve any of His mercy.
He says He will do that. So we'll say, Selah. I'm going
to pause and consider. When I'm right in the middle
of my job and the boss is hollering at me, or they want me to give
a speech and I don't know what I'm supposed to say or do, I'm
going to pause and consider. what He's done for me. And I'm
going to thank Him and say, Amen and Amen. Nathan, would you close
us?