I want to talk to you this morning
about Christ, our shepherd. Christ, our shepherd. My text
is John chapter 10, beginning at verse 11. John chapter 10,
verse 11. In this passage of scripture,
the Lord Jesus uses his own parable to describe himself as a shepherd. In verse 11, he speaks of the
characteristics of one who is a shepherd and says, this is
what I am. I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. For the salvation
of the sheep. In the behalf of the sheep. In
the room instead of the sheep. But he that isn't hireling and
not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf
coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the wolf catcheth
them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because
he is an hireling. That's what you expect a hireling
to do. And careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd,
and know my sheep. and am known of my sheep. As
the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay
down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which
are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Hold your hands here and turn,
if you will, to 1 Peter 2. In fact, you'll want to put a
bookmark there. We'll come right back to 1 Peter 2 in a few minutes. In verse 25, the apostle Peter
writes by divine inspiration and speaks of our experience
of God's grace, the experience of all who are the Lord's sheep,
those whom he must bring. Into this one fold where there's
one fold in one shepherd Peter says in verse 25 first Peter
2 25 For ye were as sheep going astray But are now returned It
doesn't say have now returned he says are now returned The
distinction is clear It's not that we somehow of our own will
or by our own effort returned, but rather we were returned,
forcibly returned, irresistibly returned, by omnipotent mercy
returned, returned by the shepherd unto the shepherd and bishop
of your souls. What a blessed, delightful, instructive
subject we have before us. Christ our shepherd. May God the Holy Spirit take
the things of the shepherd and show them now to the sheep. Throughout
the Old Testament scriptures, our Lord Jesus was prophesied,
promised, and spoken of as a man who would come into this world,
God in human flesh, and a man who would exercise all the tender
care and work of a shepherd, watching over, buying, gathering
out, and saving his sheep. Listen to the scriptures. Isaiah
said, he shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather
the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently
lead those that are with young. They shall not hunger nor thirst. Neither shall the heat nor the
sun spite them. For he that hath mercy on them
shall lead them even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
And then speaking through his prophet Ezekiel, the Lord God
speaks like this. Thus saith the Lord God, behold,
I even I will both search my sheep and seek them out. Therefore, will I save my flock
and they shall no more be a prey. I will judge between cattle and
cattle and I will set up one shepherd over them. And he shall
feed them, even my servant David. Now, clearly, when Ezekiel writes
his prophecy, David had been dead for a long time. So he's
not talking about David, the man physically, that physical
man, but rather he whom David represented in all his life and
in all his dominion, Christ Jesus, the Lord. I will set up my servant
Christ. He shall feed them and he shall
be their shepherd and Christ, my servant. shall be king over
them. And they all shall have one shepherd. They shall also walk in my judgments
and observe my statutes to do them." When God's servant David
meditated on these things, being a shepherd himself, his soul
and his heart bubble up within him. And he says, the Lord is
my shepherd. I shall not That's what it means
for the Lord to be our shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. In the New Testament, there are
three distinct adjectives used by which our shepherd is described.
John chapter 10 our Lord Jesus three times in verses 11 12 13
and 14 Speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd and here he speaks
of himself in his redemptive work in his work of grace for
his people purchasing his sheep gathering his sheep and protecting
his sheep in Hebrews 13 20 The Lord Jesus has spoken of in his
resurrection glory as our shepherd. But here he's spoken of as that
one who is the great shepherd, the good shepherd, our redeemer,
our savior, the great shepherd, risen again, seated on the right
hand of the majesty on high with all power and dominion given
to him. In reference to his glorious
return, the apostle Peter in first Peter 5, 4 speaks of our
Lord Jesus as the chief shepherd. When the chief shepherd shall
appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Our Lord Jesus then has spoken
of in his redemptive glory as the good shepherd. He's spoken
of in his resurrection glory as the Great Shepherd. And he's
spoken of in his coming glory as our Redeemer and King, as
that one who is the Chief Shepherd. These three adjectives describe
him in these three different characteristics, in these three
different works, and they're never interchanged. They're never
mingled together. They're never mixed up. As our
Redeemer, he is the Good Shepherd. As our great king he is the great
shepherd as our lord who soon shall appear He is the chief
shepherd. All right, let's look at these
things together back in john chapter 10 The lord jesus calls
himself the good shepherd look at verse 11. I am the good shepherd I am god almighty the good shepherd
The good shepherd, this one who I am, giveth his life for the
sheep. Verse 14, I am the good shepherd. And I know my sheep. I know them. I love them. I approve of them. I watch over them. I care for
them. I know them. And they know me. I'm known of mine. In redemption
then, in the salvation of our souls, the Lord Jesus is the
Good Shepherd. I ask you to put a bookmark in
1 Peter 2. Let's look at these verses for just a few minutes.
1 Peter 2, verse 21. Peter, writing by inspiration,
takes up this subject. And in verses 21 through 25,
he shows us five things about Christ, the good shepherd. Five
things by which our Lord Jesus is set before us as our great
and good shepherd who loved us and gave himself for us. Beginning
in verse 21, Peter speaks of our Lord Jesus as the suffering
shepherd. For even here unto where ye called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example
that you should follow his steps. Here's our calling here and who
were you called? All God's elect redeemed by the
precious blood of Jesus Christ at the appointed time of love.
shall be called by the almighty, irresistible grace and power
of God the Holy Spirit. You who now believe have been
called, not just called by the preacher's voice, not just called
by the message of a song, not just called by hearing the testimony
of a man, but called Inwardly in your soul by God the Holy
Spirit with irresistible power by which he gently Forces you
to your knees and forces you to believe and you thank God
that he does Called Irresistibly called and those who are called
are called to a life of suffering Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, and to this we were called. To this
we were called. For unto you it is given in the
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer
for his sake. We must, through much tribulation,
enter into the kingdom of God. Christianity is not a bed of
roses. Faith in Christ is not a life of ease. It's not everything
full of delight and joy and happiness. The Apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus,
if you read the history of the man in the Book of Acts, it seems
like he never knew pain until the day he met the Savior. Never
knew sorrow until the day he bowed to the Son of God. Never
knew anguish and grief, never knew opposition, until the day
he met the Son of God on that Damascus road. And from that
day on, it was sorrow, darkness, trouble, tribulation. Brother
Don, that's not any way to entice fellows to follow Christ. I'm not here as a recruiting
officer. I can tell you the truth. I'm not here as a politician
trying to get you to vote on something. I'm here to tell you
the truth. If you follow Christ, you must
take up your cross daily and follow him. Now I'm not talking
about pain and suffering that's caused by acting like a horse's
rear, but following Christ will cost
you. Paul our Peter says in chapter
4 first Peter turn there for just a minute and verse 16 first
Peter 4 16. Look at this If any man suffer as a Christian
That's how Peter suffered in Acts chapter 4 said we've got
a great honor As our James and John suffered with him. We oh,
there's a great honor suffer as a Christian Not as an ordinary
fellow, not as somebody who's contrary and hot-tempered and
can't hold his tongue, but as a Christian. What's his name?
Let him not be ashamed, but rather glorify God on this behalf. To suffer as believers, to suffer
because we follow Christ. is to knowingly walk with God,
recognizing that every heartache and trial we have comes from
Christ our God. He's the original cause. It is
to suffer as one with Christ so that we bear in our bodies
the marks, the scars of the Lord Jesus. And it is to suffer for
Christ's sake. Willingly. Whatever it costs
me to follow him. Whatever it costs me to do his
will. It is to suffer with him. This is a great honor indeed. All right. Back to first Peter
221. Here's our rule of life. Christ
also suffered for us, leaving us an example. That you should
follow his steps. Rebels have to be ruled by law. That's the reason laws are made,
is to hold rebels and crooks and thieves in check. Mercenaries,
that is soldiers for hire, are ruled by reward. They go to the
highest bidder. Religious mercenaries are ruled
by reward. Religious rebels are ruled by
law, not God's people. Believers are ruled by love,
by faith, by the example of the Redeemer. You remember how our
Lord took a towel and a bowl of water and he knelt down and
washed the disciples' feet? Wash their feet. Now, he wasn't
establishing an ordinance. He was establishing a principle.
He said, you go do to one another what I've done to you. Wash one
another's feet. That's the most base, common,
ordinary, worthless, but refreshing thing
you can do for somebody. Just wash their feet. Just wash
their feet. Long time. Your feet are hot,
tired, and dirty. Sit down. Somebody comes. It's refreshing enough to just
put your own feet over in some cool water and wash your feet.
But when somebody comes with water, and they got a towel,
and they wash your feet. That's something else. Ever since
I was a little girl, these Peterson girls catch me back at the back
after service, rubbing knots out of my back. And one of them
just give me this. What's that worth? Well, nothing.
Not a thing. What are you going to pay for
that? Nothing. What are you going to do with it? Nothing. Oh, but
man, how refreshing. How delightful. A whole lot better
than that doorpost. A whole lot better than that
doorpost. You mean, Brother Don, the Lord
teaches us to just do what we can for the pleasure and happiness
and well-being of his people? It's called love, isn't it? It's
called love. Go do as I've done to you. Our
Lord's left us an example that we should follow in his steps. Now look at the example he left
us. He tells us to live by his example, particularly because
Christ also suffered for us. Oh, now that's the, Great, great,
great point of the text. The necessity of our Lord's death
was the holiness and the justice of God. He who is our shepherd
who cares for and tends the sheep suffered for us. He suffered
for us because there's no other way to redeem us. He suffered
for us because there's no other way to save us. He suffered for
us because only in his sufferings can God be just and the justifier
of him that believeth. The Lord Jesus, had he not died
in our stead, could never have made us alive. Had he not died
in our stead, he could never have freed us from the curse
of the law. Had he not died in our stead, The curse would still
be upon us and forever upon us. In a word, had not the good shepherd
suffered for us, he couldn't have saved us. But since he suffered
for us, since he paid all our debt, since he satisfied all
the justice of God for us, not one sheep shall ever suffer the
wrath of God. Look at verse 22. The Lord Jesus
has spoken of here, this good shepherd as the sinless shepherd
who did no sin, who did no sin. Did you notice in the bulletin,
the first article by John Bunyan, it says that he's quoting 1st
2nd Corinthians 5 21, where God had made him to be sin for us. He said, strange doctrine. A
fool would think it blasphemy, but truth said it. Truth, I say,
hath said not that he was made to sin, but that God made him
to be sin. Something far worse. Not that
he was made to sin, but made to be sin. Made to be sin, but
this one himself did no sin. He's wholly harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners. Neither was any guile or deceit,
perversity or crookedness found in his mouth. He knew no sin. He did no sin. He was without
sin. But he was made sin for us. That is to say, he became upon
the curse tree. Everything we are. and bore all the consequences
of what it is to be sin. Our transgressions, our iniquities,
our sins, our diseases, our sicknesses, our infirmities, our fevers,
our shame, our fear. No end. No end to it. He bore all when he who did no
sin. was made sin for us. He took
our place and became what we are by nature, that we might
take his place and be what he is forever in glory. Sons of God, holy, righteous,
harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Look at verse 23. The good shepherd is the submissive
shepherd. Lord willing, I'll say more about
this in a week or two, but we're told here, verse 23, who, when
he was reviled, reviled not again. He suffered, didn't say a word
about it. When he suffered, he threatened not. But rather than
threatening, rather than reviling, rather than avenging himself,
rather than taking matters into his own hands, he committed himself
to him that judgeth righteously. Committed himself to God the
Father. Before the world began, our Lord
Jesus speaks in Isaiah chapter 50, and he says, God's opened
my ear. He's that bond servant. Before
the world began in covenant of grace, the Lord Jesus said, sacrifice
an offering thou wouldest not. Lo, I come in the volume of the
book. I delight to do thy will. Oh,
my God. And that's written in Psalm 40.
But then when our Lord Jesus came into this world, when he
voluntarily assumed to himself all that we are, when it took
on him, into union with him, our nature, our flesh. As he's
coming into the world, he volunteers again. Turn to Hebrews chapter
10. Let me show you. Hebrews chapter 10. He voluntarily
submits himself to the will of God, the will of the triune God,
which will is the salvation of his people. Look at Hebrews 10,
because sacrifice and offering could never take away sin. The
blood of bulls and goats couldn't purge anybody from sin. Wherefore,
verse 5, when he cometh into the world, do you remember the
firstborn? God's law of the firstborn, the
firstborn is mine. You do remember who the firstborn is, don't you?
The firstborn is the one who opens the womb in his birth. Well, no child ever born opened
his mother's womb in his birth. That's how the child's conceived.
Every child except the child who's born of a virgin. Every
child except that child who's conceived in his mother's womb
by the overshadowing power of God, the Holy Spirit. He is Jehovah's
firstborn, that one to whom all honor is given, for whom all
things were made, that one who is the heir of all things. When
he cometh into the world as he is breaking his mother's womb,
he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body
hast thou prepared me. And he goes back and quotes Psalm
chapter 40. He says in verse 8, above when
he said sacrifice and offerings and burnt offerings and offerings
for sin, thou wouldest not, neither hath pleasure therein. which
are offered by the law. Then said I, said he, lo, I come
to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second. Now watch this. By the which
will, we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ one time. Our Lord Jesus, his first words
recorded in scripture, his first words while he walked on this
earth, he said to his parents, wished ye not that I must be
about my father's business? And that was his life, submissive
unto his father. While he walked on this earth,
doing his father's will, doing always those things that please
his father, not for himself. There was no need for himself.
He had no need. He was born the perfect man.
But for the people he represented, he obeyed the will of God in
the totality of his life. His very last words are like
this. Now is my soul. exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death. What shall I say? Father, save
me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto
this hour. Father, glorify thy name. He cried out in Gethsemane, not
my will, thy will be done. And his very last word, it is. It's finished. Redemption is
all the will of God by which all the sheep of God are saved
forever. It's finished. And he bowed his
head as the obedient servant and gave up the ghost. Back in
verse 24, our Lord Jesus was a willing
victim, a voluntary substitute, an unconstrained, unforced sacrifice
for sinners. And in verse 24, we see that
this shepherd is our substitute, who his own self bear our sins
in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should
live unto righteousness by whose stripes we are healed. Substitute. What's that mean?
What's that mean? Christ died for the sheep. He died, as I said it when I
read the text, for the benefit of the sheep, on the behalf of
the sheep. He died to take care of the sheep. But principally, the word means
he died in the place of the sheep. He died in their place. In a
couple of weeks, I'll be preaching the Lord willing down in St.
Croix when it starts to get real frosty here. And Brother Larry
Chris is going to be standing here. That's called a substitute. And when Larry Chris is standing
here, there's no room for me. We can't both stand in the same
spot. We can't both be here doing this
work. One has got to step aside and
the other take his place. That's called a substitute. How
much clearer can scriptures be? Until you understand The gospel
doctrine of substitution. You don't understand the gospel.
Christ died in the place of his sheep. He took my place under
the horrid wrath of God Almighty. He took your place. That means
there's no room for you under the wrath of God. Have you got that? There's no
room for you under the rod of divine justice. Well, pastor,
if that's the case, then what you're preaching is limited atonement. Well, of course it is. What fool
ever imagined that Christ took somebody's place and they died
too? Only a fool. Only a blasphemous fool. Why
would you say that to suggest that Christ? Died for goats as
well as the sheep is to declare that which is contrary to scripture
Our Lord Jesus teaching this doctrine down in verse 26 the
Pharisee said we don't like that He said I didn't expect you to
you're not my sheep You're not my sheep. You know, you believe
not because you're not in my sheep. You're not my sheep. I
He never makes goats into sheep and sheep never become goats.
He laid down his life for the sheep. God's wisdom is such that
it would be utterly foolish to think that God Almighty would
sacrifice his son to redeem people who are already in hell. That's
nonsense. It would be an utter denial of
God's justice to suggest that God would punish both the surety
and the people for whom the surety died, both the shepherd and the
sheep for the same crime. Oh, no. The whole responsibility
of the shepherd is the salvation of the sheep. Not at all is it
the responsibility of the sheep to suggest that Christ died for
all men without exception, goats as well as sheep. is to declare
that really salvation doesn't have anything at all to do with
the death that Christ died on the cross. That doesn't really make any
difference at all. If he died for everybody and some folks
go to hell, his death doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean
anything. No, no. What really matters is
you and your decision and your free will And your works, oh,
that's the way we like it, isn't it? That's the way we like it. That's what really matters. Oh,
no. Oh, no. Oh, no, that's utter
blasphemy. And this is the reason why in
this day, when God's glory is so constantly attacked by religious
people all over the world and the souls of men are being damned
by the delusions of free will works religion, we must declare
the truth of God and declare it plainly and clearly and constantly. Christ, the good shepherd, laid
down his life as a substitute for the sheep. Therefore, the
sheep must go free. If you seek me, he said to those
soldiers, let these go their way. You can't take me and take
my people. Let these go their way. And so
he says to God's holy justice, whom seek ye? Whom seek ye? We come seeking sin and the sinner
and satisfaction. And he takes the point of the
sword. and holds it to his heart. And this is all right. The skip's
got to go free. It's called redemption by his
blood. Look at verse 25. This great
shepherd, our good shepherd, the Lord Jesus, is the successful
shepherd. For ye were as sheep going astray. That's us. That's all sheep know
how to do. I was talking to Brother Bill
Eldridge last week. He used to tend sheep, kept them
on his farm down in Mercer County. I said, are they really as dumb
as I think they are? He said, they're dumber than
that. He said, I've never had one to
give birth by itself. Never had one give birth by itself.
A cat can do that. Mice can do that. Not sheep. Can they extricate themselves
when they're caught in something? Nope. Gotta go get them out.
It's a strain. I don't tell them to get home.
They can't come home. A dog can and will. A cat can
and will. A horse can and will. Cattle
can and hogs can and do. Even a dumb jackass can and will. But not sheep. All they can do
is strain. You were a sheep going astray,
and you won't come back. Oh, bless your heart, you won't
come back. It doesn't lie within the realm
of possibility, you won't come back. If the shepherd doesn't
come and fetch you, perish forever in hell. But now are returned, are returned
to the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Oh, this great shepherd,
the good shepherd, sitting on his throne of glory, returns
his sheep to himself by almighty effectual grace. and will not
let them go. You are now turned. I repeat
what I said earlier, not you have now turned. No, no, no.
Our Lord sent his disciples out and said, go, go and preach remission,
repentance, and remission of sins to all the world. Preach repentance. How do you
do that? Well, if you repent, the Lord
will save you. No. No, that's giving advice to repent. How do you preach repentance?
The good shepherd, Frank, 2000 years ago, returned you to himself
by the blood of his cross. And we proclaim the returning.
We proclaim the returning and the good shepherd. at the appointed
time of love, comes to every chosen redeemed sinner and returns
him to himself. After that, I was turned. I repeated and turned unto thee. All right, look at Hebrews 13
20. I'll be very brief about these
next two, but they're very important. I want you to get them. In all
his work of redemption, Christ is called the good shepherd.
Here in Hebrews 13 20, The Holy Spirit shows us that
with reference to his resurrection glory, the Lord Jesus is called
the great shepherd. Now, the God of priests, what
a name for our God that brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of
the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work
to do his will. working in you that which is
well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen. The Lord God, our God,
is the God of peace. He is that one who made peace
by the sacrifice of his son, the great shepherd of the sheep.
Our Lord Jesus is here called the great shepherd, the great
shepherd, because It was written of him in Psalm 21 verse 5. His glory shall be great in thy
salvation. See him yonder. Seated as he is on the throne
of universal dominion, he possesses all things. He has all power. He is the great shepherd of the
sheep. He has all power over all flesh
to give eternal life to as many as the father has given him.
And then we're told that he brought again the Lord Jesus, that great
shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant. Now, you know what the covenant
is. You can read about it in Jeremiah 31, read about it in
Hebrews 8, Hebrews 12. God says, I'll be their God,
they shall be my people. This will be a covenant, not
like the covenant I made with them when I brought them out
of Egypt. And I said, do this and live, and do that and live,
or don't do this and you'll die. No, no, no, no. This is not a
covenant of works or a covenant of law. Oh, no, this is a covenant
of pure, free grace. I'll forgive their iniquities
and their transgressions and their sins. I'll remember them
no more. He said, I'll put in them a new
heart. And I will cause them to walk
in my ways They shall not leave me and I will not leave them. That's the everlasting covenant.
Blessed, blessed covenant. Order in all things, ensure this
is all my salvation and all my desire, David said. And you know
what the blood of the covenant is? In the Old Testament, sacrifices
were offered continually on God's altar. Offered continually by
covenant relationship. Offered continually as God Almighty
was portraying the covenant. Covenant blood. What's the blood
of the covenant? The blood of the covenant is
at last represented in the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb. The Paschal
Lamb who represented Christ our Passover sacrifice for us. The Good Shepherd who gave his
life for the sheep. The blood of the everlasting
covenant then is his own blood. His own blood by which he entered
in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for
us. But now watch this. Why is the
resurrection of Christ connected with the blood of the everlasting
covenant? The God of peace brought again from the dead that great
shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting
covenant. What's the connection? Why does
the Spirit of God there in Hebrews 13 tell us that Christ came out
of the grave through the blood of the covenant? Because everything
in the covenant hinged on the blood. Everything depended on
the blood. Everything, every blessing was
conditioned upon the blood, the blood of the everlasting covenant. And the Lord Jesus could not
come out of the grave. He who was made sin for us. You remember. On the day of atonement,
Aaron had to do a strange thing, Merle. He had to go in and make
atonement for his own sins and then for the people's with the
same sacrifice God make atonement first for his own sins and then
for the people's because only when sin both the sin which the
priest had and the sin which the people had had atonement
paid for only when it's exposed then could the blessing be bestowed
upon God's people and when Christ was made sin for us God slew
his son as our substitute. And by the blood, by the merit
of his own blood, yonder sits the God-man risen
and ascended on high. And by the merit of that same
blood, you and I are redeemed. And by his blood, he works in
you. to will and do of his good pleasure
by his blood he perfects the work that he has begun in you
and by his blood he brings us at last into heavenly glory all
right now look in first peter chapter five first peter chapter
five verse four in his redemptive work christ
is the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. In his
resurrection glory, Christ is the great shepherd who by his
blood accomplished redemption, arose from the dead, and guarantees
that we shall also rise from the dead. And the Lord Jesus,
he who is coming, behold, he cometh. He cometh. God teach us to live on the tiptoe
of faith. He cometh. Christ is coming right
now. Right now. They say, he's been coming a
long time. No, he just been gone three days. Not quite three days
yet. Just two days. Excuse me. He's
been gone two days. A thousand years with the Lord
is one day. He's coming. Ever since he ascended to glory,
he's been on his way back. He'd been on the way back. Now
the Scriptures, I've got to say this, you've got to say it. The
Scriptures gave such precise, detailed prophecies of His first
coming that anyone who just bothered to count up the number of weeks
of years described by Daniel the prophet, all they had to
do was just If they didn't have, they didn't have calculators
back then, they didn't have enough fingers they could get those
balls they used to do. Count them out that way. All
they had to do was count up to 70 weeks of years. That's all
they had to do. Man, he got to come right about
this time. And when he came, everybody who knew anything about
the prophets, you talk about prophecy mania folks. Man alive,
if they'd had Dallas Seminary back then, it would have been
so full you couldn't possibly get into, say, Texas. I mean,
they were they were prophecy nuts. They were prophecy nuts.
Everybody who was anybody was looking for the Messiah. When
John the Baptist came, said, Are you the Christ? They had
already embraced several imposters. Are you the Christ? I mean, it
was precise. No longer. With regard to his second coming,
We're never given a hint as to when he's coming. And we're never
told to look for signs of his coming. Oh, this must be it. What you talking about? War? Didn't you tell me a time when
we didn't have it? Oh, you know what's going on over the Middle
Middle East? It's been going on that way since the thing with
Hagar and Sarah. Well, hadn't been this bad. Ask
him. Ask him. Oh, what's going on? Oh, we're
running out of oil. Well, that's debatable. At current prices, you're not
likely to run out anytime soon. You mean, Brother Donovan, there's
not any signs that the Lord's coming? None. How come? Because
he never tells us to look for signs. He says, look for me.
Look for me. Oh, maybe today. Maybe before
I get done with that bowl of grits I'm going to have for lunch. Maybe today. Maybe today. He's
coming. Behold, He cometh! And every
eye shall see Him. And when He comes, all the sheep
shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee. Glorified me with the glory which
I had with you before the world was. And the glory thou hast
given me, I have given them. Jerry Sadler, the glory that
Christ has is yours. All of it. And he's going to
soon set on your head that same crown of glory that fades not
away. You mean heaven's all a free
gift and no rewards, degrees of reward for us? We don't earn
something by being good? No. No, we earned everything
by Christ being good. We earned everything by his obedience
unto death. And now the chief shepherd is
coming to set on our heads the glory he earned for us. soon. We'll see him. And when
we see him, we'll be like him. For we shall see him as he is.
Amen.