First Peter chapter two. Thankful, Lord laid on the heart
of Al, Psalm 100. It says, we are his people and
the sheep of his pasture. We're gonna be looking at sheep
and the shepherd this morning. Actually, I've titled this message,
Returned into the Shepherd. The question I have is, what
does it mean to be lost? What does it mean to be lost?
It's probably the greatest fear of the believer, to be lost.
When the Lord told the disciples, one of you is going to betray
me, nobody pointed to Judas. Nobody pointed to Judas. Everybody
pointed to self. Lord, is it I? Is it I? John said, Lord, who is it? Who
is it? Fear of the believer is being
lost. Never being found in Christ,
that is lost. Never being found in Christ.
You wanna know what lost is? That's the best definition. Not
being found in the Lord Jesus Christ. One time we were driving,
needed to get directions, and this was before, maybe GPSes
were a thing, but we just didn't have them. But we pulled over
and asked somebody for directions, and I was prideful. I was much
younger then. But I said, fine, I'll ask directions. And I asked the guy, and I said,
how do you get, we're trying to get to here and we're lost.
He says, you can't get there from here. And I said, what? He said,
no, you're going to have to go down there and then turn right
to get there from here. I said, well, I can still get there from
here. Just go down there and turn right. So what's my point? Well, this
man didn't say the right words in getting me unlost and saying,
and he didn't help anyways, really, we stayed lost. But he said,
you can't get there from here. What men don't realize is in
being lost, We can't be found because of
what we do. We really can't get there from
here. We can't get found on our own. I never had remembered that
conversation until I was studying for this message. And I thought,
well, that's a really good example. We can't get there from here.
No, if I'm not in Christ, I can't get there from here. He's going
to have to put me in himself. He's going to have to have been
my substitute on the cross of Calvary. He's the one that must
have stood up and said, I will be surety for him. Otherwise
I'm not in Christ and I am lost. I am lost. Peter gives us great
comfort regarding this fear. Let's read our text in first
Peter chapter two in verse 21 to the remainder of the chapter. It says, For even hereunto were
you called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example that you should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled
not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. 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 ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. My hope this morning is that
the Lord gives us comfort in looking to the Lord being our
shepherd, the shepherd of our souls, Christ, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the shepherd of our souls. Shepherd's job is never finished. The shepherd's job is never finished.
He can't leave the sheep or they'll scatter. Shepherd's job is never
finished. He has to stay with them all
the time in rain, in snow, and sunshine and wind, daytime, nighttime,
anytime, the shepherd must tend to the sheep. Otherwise, the
sheep will scatter. Otherwise, there is a risk of
losing a sheep, whether it be to predator or it be to wandering
afar, not knowing how to get their way back. Shepherd's job
is never finished. He can't leave the sheep or they
may scatter. He must protect and provide them
with everything. He must protect and provide them
with everything needed or the sheep will die. Sheep have no
defense mechanism. And I'm gonna go back and forth
a little bit on some interesting facts about sheep and shepherds. And my intention in doing so
is to show you as the Lord's sheep, how great our good shepherd
is. Sheep have no defense mechanism.
And if we put that in perspective for the law, the law coming and
demanding justice, we have no defense mechanism. We can't defend
ourself to the law. We can't defend ourself to Satan
in and of ourself. We have no defense mechanism.
Their only natural response, sheep's natural response is to
flee, to run away, to hide. They retreat. That's a sheep's
natural response. Sheep are not the most intelligent
of animals. They'll drown themselves if they
are given water that comes from a fast-moving stream. They'll
snort the water up their nose and drown themselves. Sheep never walk a straight line. Did you know that? Never walk
a straight line. If you ever look at where sheeps
walk, you'll see that it's crooked. This comes from the fact that
sheep's vision, their eyes are on the sides of their head. They
have tremendous and fantastic peripheral vision. They can see
this way, a long ways, and that way much more than we can, but
they can't see right in front of their nose. They can't. Their
eyes are on the side of their head. Their sense of direction
is based on following the herd, on following the herd. They are
a herd. They're in the herd category. They stick with one another.
They stay with one another. They're watching the one in front
of them go, and they'll go with that one. They follow the strongest
leader. Their sense of direction is based
upon following the herd. Sheep are easily distracted,
therefore they can be easily lost. Now a shepherd, in making sure
he's tending to the sheep, he has to be sure to never be distraction.
He must be alert at all times, because sheep are easy target
for wolves and other predators. They don't have the ability to
fend off any vulnerability that may come to them. They are vulnerable.
They need type of attack because they're vulnerable. The shepherd can't be distracted
or he might lose his sheep. Remarkable fact is the sheep
know one voice. They know the shepherd's voice.
They know the shepherd's voice. And when he calls, they know
that it means safety. It means protection. It means
provision. Everything necessary for the
sheep, they know that that shepherd's gonna supply for them, and they
come to the shepherd. The sheep know the shepherd's
voice, and they flee to his voice, knowing it means safety, and
so it is with our shepherd. Lord said in John chapter 10,
starting at verse 28, my sheep hear my voice and I know them
and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they
shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
from my hand. My father which gave them me
is greater than all and no man's able to pluck them from my father's
hand. I and my father are one. The Lord's sheep hear his voice.
He is the shepherd of their soul. He's not just our physical shepherd
in the sense that we need to be protected from dangers in
this life, and that is true, and he does protect his people
physically. He allows good things to come upon us that we don't
think's good, but he tends to our every need, doesn't he? But
more so, he's the keeper of our soul. He's the shepherd of our
soul, is what Peter's saying right here. If salvation depends
on us, we are lost. But our shepherd has secured
eternal redemption by his own blood for his sheep, for his
elect sheep. Look in verse 24 on how he did
that. Who his own self bear our sins on his own body, on the
tree that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness
by whose stripes ye were healed. For you were as sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Who did the returning? Well,
the lost sheep can't find its way back. They don't have a good
sense of direction, and they can't see right underneath their
nose. That's us, isn't it? That's us. Lord, I can't see
right underneath what's right in front of me. You're going
to have to bring me. You're going to have to return me to the full.
I'll never be returned. I'll wander off. but he's the
good shepherd, he's the keeper of his sheep. He bore the sin of his people
in his body, and our shepherd put away the sin of the sheep,
he did, on the cross of Calvary, thereby attaining eternal redemption.
He says this about being, you can apply this to him being the
shepherd and we being the sheep, the Lord said this in John 6,
of all that the Father give me, I'm not gonna lose one. I'm not
going to lose one. He said that again in John 17,
all that the father give me will come to me in John six. And he
that cometh to me, I'll in no wise cast him out. See the ability
to come to the shepherd is the fact that you're a sheep. That's
your ability. He's made you a sheep from the
foundation of the world. It was determined you were going
to be a sheep, either were sheeps or were goats. So go to lead
anything. Sheep has to have green pasture. A goat will drink from
a fast-moving brook and won't drown itself. A goat has horns
for a defense mechanism. A sheep has none of these things.
It has to be led by the still waters, the waters of peace. The Lord Jesus Christ, he has
to lead his sheep, and he does. He does. The ability to not be
lost is the fact that you're found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And did you know that if you're
found in him right now, you've always been found in him. You've
never been lost. He said you were as sheep going
astray. But he's returned you. He's returned
you. He flipped the light switch on
and revealed the Lord Jesus Christ, didn't he? He flipped the light
on. He revealed the person, the Lord Jesus Christ, that you've
always been in him. You've never been lost. You've
always been. He's always had his eye right
on you. He's always made every provision that you needed. He
knows that you can't find your way. He is the way. He is the way. Everything required,
he provided. A sheep will go and wander off
and they can't see right in front of them. They'll wander right
over a cliff. Is that not true with you and I? We'll wander
right over a cliff, won't we? Lord, if you don't keep me, Lord said,
all that the Father gives me, I'm not gonna lose one of them.
I'm not gonna lose one. If you're my sheep, you're gonna
be kept by my power. This is promises of the shepherd.
This is what he said about his sheep. Who's gonna separate us
if God is the shepherd of our very soul? What can be done unto
us? Only that which he purposes,
only that which he ordains, only that which he allows. He's the
shepherd of his people's soul. Our shepherd was tasked before
time began, tasked with keeping the sheep given to him by his
father. Now, do you think anything can stop God? But our Lord was
given the task, the responsibility. He took ownership as the shepherd
of his sheep. What if our shepherd, what if
our shepherd is God? He is. He is. What can harm his sheep? What
can harm his sheep? What power could cause us to
be lost? Aren't you glad your will can't override His, can't
contradict His, can't challenge His. No, we were wandering sheep,
but He had His eye on you the whole time, protecting you even
then, bringing you into the fold. Can you say with certainty that
no power, no power can cause us to be lost? No, not if we're
His. Can you say that with certainty?
I'm confident in the shepherd, aren't you? He's gonna keep His
sheep. What greater hope is there than to say, the Lord is my shepherd,
mine. I own him, he owns me, he did
all the purchasing. I own him and he owns me, he
did all the purchasing. He's given me, he's given his
people eternal life, the Lord is my shepherd. If you knew that
that was true, what comfort, what hope? Know it, believe it.
The Lord's not going to lose one of his sheep. Well, what's
the evidence that you're a sheep? You're looking to the shepherd.
You can't look around. You'll go over a cliff, look
to the shepherd, hear his voice, follow after him. Paul, I believe
said it this way, to whom coming. Coming to Christ is not a one-time
thing as given in false religion. Being saved is not a one-time
thing. We're being saved right now, and right now. We're being
called right now, and right now. We come to Christ right now,
and right now. Throughout all time, and he's
the keeper. He's the one that's doing it as the shepherd. He's
calling us to himself over and over. Now, I don't wanna... discredit the work on the cross
of Calvary. We were saved in eternity past. We were saved
on the cross of Calvary. It's a done deal. It is finished.
The Lord's not going to lose any, any single sheep that he
died for. And he only died for sheep. So
don't think that I'm saying that you have to be saved right now
by something you do. That's not what I'm saying. I'm
saying the Lord's keeping us from ourself right now. And is it
not true in the believer's life as sheep? We find ourself being
drawn away just for a brief moment, only to have the need of our
shepherd rescuing us again. If I turn to the law, I have
no hope. If I turn to self, I have no hope. Lord, save me. Is that
not the prayer? Save me. Being saved right now. We're being saved right now.
That's what I mean by that. The Lord is my shepherd. He saved
his sheep. He continues to save his sheep.
There's our hope. When a sheep confidently realizes
the Lord is my shepherd, then the only possible conclusion
that sheep will have is I shall not want. I shall be in want
of nothing. There shall be nothing lacking
if God is my shepherd. And I want nothing else but him.
That's the conclusion the sheep will have. We have no other desire
but to have him as our shepherd. He is the good shepherd. We're
gonna turn a couple of placers. First, let's turn to John chapter
10 and look at that. The good shepherd. First John chapter, I'm sorry,
John chapter 10, the gospel of John chapter 10, verse 11, says this, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep, but he that is in 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 and careth not for the sheep. I am the good
shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. 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. Therefore doth my father love
me because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my father. Imagine for a moment what the
Lord is saying about laying his life down for the sheep. Imagine
having sheep and laying your life down for those sheep. That
doesn't seem very logical to me, that we would lay down our
life for an animal. But to think ourself as an animal
would actually be too big a praise for what the flesh is. How often
in scripture is our flesh likened to a worm? translating into a
maggot. That's what that word means.
That's what the flesh is likened unto. And yet in order for the
Lord to redeem his sheep, in order for the Lord to redeem
his worms, what does it say in Psalm 53? The Lord prophetically,
David was speaking about the Lord on the cross. I am a worm
and no man. That's what the Lord did for
his people. He died for sheep. He died for sheep, his sheep.
Now, if you were to lay down your life for your sheep and
you had power to determine the outcome of the sheep's lives,
would you not make certain that in your death those sheep would
be saved from whatever danger that they were in? Certainly.
I'm not just going to lay my life down for no reason. If I'm
going to lay my life down for even, if I'm gonna lay my life
down for my children, it's gonna be to guarantee their safety.
I'm not just gonna randomly lay my life down, am I? It's gonna
be for a purpose, and you're the same way. You understand
what I'm saying? That's what the Lord Jesus Christ did, is
he laid his life down for a purpose. He laid his life down on purpose.
He had all power, he says right here, to lay it down and to take
it up again. I have that power as a commandment
from my Father. and I lay down my life for my
sheep. This is our shepherd. This is
our shepherd. This is what he did. This is
how David can say with certainty, I shall not want. Because everything
the shepherd, our good shepherd, everything he purposed to accomplish
on the cross of Calvary was successfully accomplished on the cross of
Calvary. I shall not want. Nothing lacking. I'm gonna have
everything he has purposed me to have. He's God. That's the
shepherd of our souls. That's who we've been returned
to. What we lost in Adam, we gain back in the Lord Jesus Christ.
You couldn't, I was trying to think of the proper number. If
I said a million fold, that, that ain't even enough, is it?
What we gain back in the Lord Jesus Christ that we lost in
Adam is infinitely, infinitely better, infinitely better. The only way that we can say
I shall not want is if we're following after the Lord Jesus
Christ. Sheep are natural born followers.
They follow after the strongest, they follow after the shepherd.
Even if there's another sheep that's been there longer, that's
been stronger than the rest of the sheep and they follow after
that sheep, when the shepherd comes around, they go to the
shepherd. They go to the shepherd. This is what the Lord's people
do are natural followers because we've been created in Christ
Jesus. We've been made alive in Christ that we have a new
nature, a nature that's unto him that follows after righteousness
that follows after him. Yet another distinct characteristic
of sheep is that they're fearful animals. They're fearful animals. But if we're looking to the Lord
Jesus Christ as our good shepherd, there's nothing to fear. Do we
see that? If we're looking to Christ, there's
nothing to fear. If we're looking to Christ, we're not gonna go
astray. But sheep by nature like to wander off. Sheep by nature
scare easily. And their only defense mechanism
is to flee. So what is our hope? That he's the shepherd because
he's not gonna lose one sheep. There's my hope, the Lord is
my shepherd. Isaiah 53, six says, all we lack sheep have gone astray.
We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all. All we like sheep were going
astray, but the Lord fixed it. How did he fix it? Because the
father laid our iniquity upon him and he successfully put away
our sin, our iniquity, our transgression. He redeemed us back, redeemed
us into good graces with the father. We are now considered
perfectly righteous. That's how he views his people.
We are sheep. We've been found, but really
we were never lost if we were in Christ. That's just not how
we, we seen ourself as being lost, dead in trespasses and
in sin. And now we've discovered that we're found, but the Lord
never took his eye off of his people. Lord created them for
his glory, for his purpose. He's always had them in the palm
of his hand. Understand salvation is not achieved
upon the revelation that you're found. Salvation was achieved
on the cross of Calvary. If you discover that you're found,
it's because salvation was accomplished on the cross of Calvary, not
the other way around. It's not to say if I discover
I'm found, that means I got saved. No, no, no. No, salvation's of
the Lord accomplished on the cross of Calvary. The Lord gives
salvation to his people on the cross of Calvary before time
and in time. Why? Because we're his sheep.
We're his people and the sheep of his pasture. That's what we
heard earlier. Can a sheep keep itself? Answer
that question in your heart. Can a sheep keep itself? I've
already answered that, haven't I? No. Sheep's kind of dumb. Lord, I'm dumb. I need to be
saved. I'm not putting anybody down.
Don't get offended at me. But if you've seen yourself as a
dead dog sinner, you understand exactly what I'm talking about.
The things that I would do, I would not. The things that I wouldn't
do, that's what I find myself doing. I'm just an old, dumb sheep.
But if I am a sheep, there's good news. He's the shepherd
of the sheep. He's the shepherd of the sheep. The Lord is my
shepherd. What rest there is in that? I
can't keep myself. He keeps his sheep, don't he?
He keeps his sheep. The good shepherd saved his sheep
from their sin. That's the whole purpose of him
coming. Did you know that? The Son of Man has come, says in
Matthew 18, the Son of Man has come to save them that which
was lost. To save that which was lost.
The sheep that were lost, they're not lost anymore. He found them.
He found them. Sometimes we talk and back and
forth. So I've already said that we
were never lost if we're in Christ. That's true. And he found us.
That's true. Now you want to try to explain that I can't,
but we believe it. We know that it's true, don't
we? That's what the scripture teaches us. He can't lose one. He did the
seeking out. He did the finding. He did the
redeeming. He does the keeping and he did the calling. He does
it all. He's our good shepherd. Turn with me to Ezekiel chapter
34. Look at verse 11, Ezekiel 34, 11. For thus sayeth
the Lord God, behold, I, even I will both search my sheep and
seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all
places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and the 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 mountain 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
shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they
feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will
cause them to lie down, saith the Lord. I will seek that which
was lost. and bring again that which was
driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will
strengthen that which was sick. But I will destroy the fat and
the strong, and will feed them with judgment." There's a lot
of I wills in that, aren't there? What's the sheep's responsibility?
I didn't read one thing that the sheep had for responsibility,
did you? No. He's the one that said, I
will and you shall. I will bring you and you'll be
brought. I will feed you and you'll be fed. You'll feast upon
the fat of the land, it says. You'll feast upon the mountains
of Jerusalem. What's he talking about there?
That's Mount Zion, that's in Christ Jesus, isn't it? This
is all a metaphor of the Lord bringing us to the knowledge
of his glorious gospel and us being found in Christ. Him revealing
that we're found in Christ. This is what all this is about. Now this isn't an offer. Can
you imagine the shepherd saying, okay, I'm willing to find you,
but you're going to have to let me. I'm willing to find you lost
sheep, but you're going to have to let me. Think about that.
It's not what he says. He says, I will find you and
you'll be found. I've bought you. You're mine.
You're mine. I'm not going to lose one. I'm
not gonna lose one. This isn't an offer to be found.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. That's what he's saying
in verse 14. I will feed them in a good pasture and upon the
high mountains of Israel shall be their fold. There shall
they lie in a good fold and in that pasture. There's the green
pastures the Lord brings his people into. They shall feed
upon the mountains of Jerusalem. I will feed my flock and will
cause them to lie down, saith the Lord. What does he feed us
with? The living manna. The fountain of living water.
He restores our soul, doesn't he? He feeds his people. When you read the words, he maketh
me to lie down in green pasture, does that offend you? No. Lord,
make me lie down in your green pasture. That's my only hope.
Lord, if you're my shepherd, you're going to have to make
me. Lie down in green pasture, and if he's my shepherd, he will.
If he's your shepherd, he will. He makes me lie down in green
pasture. Somebody gets, they say, no, it's your choice, it's
your will, it's your this, it's your that. He maketh me to lie
down in green pasture. Boy, there is a piece about that
that takes away all the other confusion, all the doubt. No,
he maketh me lie down in green pasture. Why? The Lord is my
shepherd, that's why. David said, I've gone astray
like a lost sheep. Seek thy servant. He didn't say,
Lord, I've gone astray and I'm going to return to you. He said,
seek thy servant. David said, Lord, I wouldn't have sought
you if you had not said, seek you my face first. And believer knows if the gospel
is hid, it's hid to them that are lost. It's hid to them that
are lost. The Lord has to reveal it. He
seeks out his own, he reveals the truth of this glorious gospel,
and the rest comes in knowing the Lord is my shepherd because
that means you're found in the Lord Jesus Christ. When must
you be found in the Lord Jesus Christ? Always. Always. Because if we're in him right
now, we've always been in him and we're always going to be
in him. I love the thought that we looked
at Wednesday night about us always having been graven in his hands.
Scripture says, I've graven you in my hands. He didn't say your
name. You have graven you in my hands. He carries his people. Do we
see that? What did that represent all the sin that we are as wandering
sheep lost without hope? Lord's returned us. We've been
returned unto the good shepherd, the shepherd and bishop. You
know what a bishop does? He is responsible for the, I
have to turn back to the last page. I was going to save that
to the end, but he's responsible. He's one who sees that the duties
and responsibilities of others are properly accomplished. Think
about that. He's the one that makes sure that you do what you're
supposed to do. Well, I can't do what I'm supposed to do. That's
why he had to become your substitute. He made sure of it. You've done
it in Christ. You've done it in Christ, our
shepherd. That's what he's saying. You've been returned to the bishop,
the bishop and the shepherd of your very soul. I was gonna have his turn, but
we don't have time. I'm gonna tell you the story. of what the Lord
did for his people in redemption, of how our shepherd successfully
redeemed. And one of the best allegories
in scripture for this is a shepherd, his name's David. And you remember
David was told by Jesse to go down to find out how his brothers
were doing in the battle. And what had happened was, is
a man named Goliath, a Philistine, rose up against the nation Israel.
There are two different encampments and there's a valley in between.
And he says unto them, Send out your best champion to fight me.
Now I'll remind you that Goliath's a nine foot guy. He's a big dude. But he challenges them by saying,
send out your champion to fight me and whoever wins will win
the battle. If you win, then we'll be your servants. If you,
if I win, you'll be our servants. You literally, you win and that's
the end of the war. That's a picture of having confidence
in the flesh, isn't it? I guarantee we're gonna win,
guys. See how big I am, how strong I am? That's what Goliath's attitude
would have been. He'd have been, you know he'd have been arrogant
and self-righteous. David comes down with provisions,
the scripture calls it, to his brothers, provisions. I love
that word, provisions. David was sent of his father,
with provisions, our Lord Jesus Christ with sin of his father,
with the only provisions that could redeem his people, his
precious blood. And as he, as David gets down
to the camp, one of his brothers becomes angry with David. He
says, I know why you've come down here. You've come down here
just to look at the battle. You've come down here to meddle
in our affairs. You're just a young kid, and you're arrogant and
high-minded. You're going to come down here
just to watch the show, so to speak. David says these words.
David said, I was sent of the Father for a purpose. He says
these words. Is there not a cause? Was there not a reason for me
to come down to see you? I was sent by the father. Was
there not a reason for the Lord Jesus Christ? Was there not a
cause for the Lord Jesus Christ, our shepherd to be sent of his
father? Yes. He was sent with the provisions
of redemption for his people with the purpose of redeeming
them. And he did every single sheep given to him of his father.
He redeemed them. Well, David hears of the challenge
being made by the Philistine and all the men are quaking in
fear. You can imagine, I mean, naturally speaking, it would
have, it wouldn't be, couldn't be naturally speaking that we
would face the giant. You know, that looking at a nine foot human
being, we would be scared as well. But David said, who is
this that defies the armies of the Lord? David had confidence
in Christ, didn't he? Even then the Lord had given
him faith to believe. There's no other way you could have faced
the giant except for looking into the Lord Jesus Christ. And
he did so and gives us the five stones that he took as the number
of grace founded upon the rock of the Lord. All that's just
a picture, isn't it? But Saul says, David asked, he
said, send me. Send me. And finally, Saul agreed
to it. And Saul says, but first, take
my armor with you. And he puts all this armor on
David. David's never wore armor. He's a shepherd, remember? He's
a shepherd. He tends to sheep. He's a lad.
Scripture tells us, means he's probably around an estimated
15 years old, give or take. He's just a boy and he's putting
on this armor. And Saul was a big man. David
says, I've not tried this armor. I've not tested this armor, but
I'll tell you what I have done by the grace of God. By the grace
of God, when I was tending to the sheep, a bear came out and
also a lion came out. And I slayed the bear and I grabbed
the lion by the beard and I pulled the lamb out of the lion's mouth.
That's what David says. He said, I'm gonna go to battle
with what I trust and what I know, my sling and my staff. And he does. And what does David
do whenever he faces the giant? He chops off the head of the
giant, doesn't he? He kills the giant. Brethren,
this is the picture of salvation and what the Lord Jesus Christ
accomplished as our shepherd. The bear is a picture of the
law that demands justice for the sheep of God. Nobody escapes
justice. Nobody. The law says you've sinned,
you must die. If you've sinned one time, the
penalty's death. That's God's standard in his
law. Not 10 times, not two times, one sin. And you and I know that's
all we are is sin. We're sin. So what's the consequence? Death. This is the bear that's
coming after the sheep. How's the sheep gonna defend
itself against the bear? Can't even see it coming unless
it's coming from the side. No, we're going to scatter. We
have to flee. We can't. We can't stand before the law. We have
no hope in standing before the law, no righteousness whatsoever.
And here's the lion. The lion being Satan coming after
the scripture says he walketh about as a roaring lion seeking
whom he may devour. He has a death grip upon us,
it would seem, with his jaws. And yet. Our David, our shepherd. Put. He bruised the head of the
lion, the scripture says, on the cross of Calvary, grabbed
him by the beard and released us from his grip. He slayed the
law for his people. He is the end of the law for
righteousness sake. And the flesh being Goliath that
we cannot contend with, we cannot contest because it is what we
are. He's chopped the head off of it. Everything required for
the salvation of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
on the cross of Calvary. And when he had by himself purged
the sheep's sin, he sat down. He sat down. Now in closing,
I want to turn to Psalm 23. Psalm 23. Let's read this together.
We know it probably can quote it, but I want to show us something
in closing that I've not saw before the Lord revealed. The
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 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 anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now, you ever wondered why it
says he anoints my head with oil? I looked this up. I was curious just to see. Now
it is true that the spirit in the scripture is a picture of
oil in the Old Testament. And we heard about the oil that
was poured upon Aaron's head and it went down his hair and
into his beard, the scripture says. It was a picture of the
outpouring of the spirit upon Aaron whenever he was ordained
as the priest over Israel. And I apologize because I realized
that that was done in the men's study, but that's what we read
in the men's study. Anyways, What is he talking about? He
anointed my head with oil. Well, we've heard about many vulnerabilities
of sheep, but one vulnerability that they have particularly is
parasites. Parasites. Parasites will land
in their ears and in their nose, and they'll lay their eggs. And
they don't have hands, as you well know. And whenever those
hatch, you can imagine the irritations and the pain that it would probably
cause sheep. A sheep will beat its head on
rocks trying to relieve itself of this agony, of this suffering. That's what the sheep will do.
And the shepherd, to prevent that, anoints the head of the
sheep with oil. Now the parasites, they don't
come around. They don't like the oil. They
don't land on this sheep. They don't lay their eggs on
this sheep. It doesn't bother them anymore. What's that a picture
of? Well, when the lion roars, When the lion roars, the Lord
anoints our head with oil. Is it not true that our old flesh
is a parasite and it literally consumes everything? And every
time our flesh wants to rear its ugly head up, the Lord anoints
our head with oil so that we don't beat our head on a rock.
No, we feel the grief of our sin and we feel the agony of
our sin sometimes to some extent and we're mourning it, we grieve
it. And yet the Lord reminds us,
no, you've been anointed with oil. That's not true. It's not. It's been put away.
I've taken care of it. I've protected you in every aspect.
These parasites are what causes the Lord's sheep agony. It's
what causes us to turn away from him just for a moment. And he
prevents it by anointing us with oil. Well, how does he do that?
The washing of water by the word with his gospel going forth.
He anoints us afresh every time we get together. So the parasites
of our sin are being revealed as gone. The attack of the lion
can no longer come to the child of God unless the Lord purposes
it because he's defeated the lion. The law cannot say anything
against the child of God because he conquered it on the cross
of Calvary. In the very flesh that we are, the Lord has put
away all the sin of all of his sheep once and for all on the
cross of Calvary. With one fell swoop, with one
fatal blow, he conquered it. He conquered it. Our good shepherd anoints his
sheep with his spirit, silencing the flesh and the lull Revealing
he satisfied the law. He satisfied the law and Satan
is done for. He reveals it is finished. That's
what that oil does. He anoints my head with oil.
That's why the next verse says, my cup runneth over. He's thought
of everything. Every provision. That's why I shall not want.
Why? The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. If you're here listening to the
parasites, stop. Look to the shepherd. Look to
the shepherd. You know what I'm talking about.
I'm making sense. Look to Christ. Look to Christ. He's the end of all those buzzings
in your ear and the things that would cause you to doubt and
fear. Look to Christ. He's the shepherd. He anoints
your head with oil. Look to him. He makes us lie down in green
pastures. He makes us drink from the still
brook of peace. How can that brook be peaceful
and not raging? Because the Lord satisfied the
law's demands. It's just peace with God now.
We have peace with God now. We'll be able to say when we
see that we've been bought with the precious blood of the lamb.
Our good shepherd bore our sins on his own body on the tree.
that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness by whose
stripes you were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray,
but now, now you're returned to the shepherd and the bishop
of your souls. I'll remind you that the bishop
is the one who sees the duties and responsibilities of the other
party are properly accomplished. That's exactly what he did for
his sheep on the cross of Calvary. He has returned us. He has returned
us to our good shepherd and the bishop of our soul. That's the
sheep's hope, isn't it? The Lord's my shepherd. The Lord's
my shepherd. Let's pray. Father, thank you for anointing
us with the oil of gladness, for just being our shepherd,
our shepherd's surety, our substitute, our righteousness before God.
Thank you. calls us to rest in you in Christ's name. Amen. In closing, let's turn to number
326, more about