I invite your attention to the
23rd Psalm. Psalm number 23. And this morning, God willing,
I would speak to you on the subject of the very first line in this
Psalm that reads, Jehovah is my shepherd. 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. Consider this morning, Jehovah
is my shepherd, and consider this morning also the identity
of this shepherd. We will this morning consider
only that first line. I want you to look at the shepherd,
then at another time you can look at what the shepherd does
for you, but it is of paramount importance that we consider whom
and what this shepherd is. A shepherd is one who tends to
a flock of sheep. And this is true in both the
physical and in the spiritual realms. And in this spiritual
realm, Jehovah's people are his sheep. Jehovah has a flock and
his flock is comprised of all his people. His people are his
sheep. He identifies them as my people
and my flock, the flock of my pastor, Ezekiel 34 verses 30
and 31. They acknowledge to him that
the sheep of your pastor comprise your congregation, which you
purchase from of old. That is from everlasting and
eternity in Psalm 74. Every member of Jehovah's church
is a sheep in his fold and pasture. And every one of his sheep will
confess to him that we are your people and the sheep of your
pasture. Psalm 79 verse 13. We, his sheep, confess to all
that we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100
verse 3. And each of these sheep will boast of their shepherd
in this psalm when we say, Jehovah is my shepherd. Now, before we
look at this psalm, I want you to consider that this sheep,
which is every one of the Lord's people, and I hope that This
is your psalm also. I hope that you know that Jehovah
is your shepherd. I hope that you can read this
psalm, even quote it, and that you can say, this is my psalm. I am one of his sheep and Jehovah
is my shepherd. But as you look at this psalm,
I want you to notice that the sheep speaks in two different
directions. First of all, and you'll notice
that when we read the psalm that the sheep in verses 1 through
3 speaks to people around him. He says, Jehovah is my shepherd,
I shall not want. It is as though the sheep is
perhaps talking across the fence to some of the devil's goats
and says, let's compare shepherds. Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall
not want. He, notice the sheep is talking
to others around him. My shepherd makes me do this,
my shepherd does this. And then if you'll notice in
verse number four, that the direction of the conversation changes because
the sheep now takes his eyes away from those around him. And
he says, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil for you are with me. The sheep is now looking
to the shepherd and speaks to the shepherd and then at the
very end of the psalm it is as though the sheep talks to the
shepherd and talks to everyone around him and says and because
Jehovah is my shepherd I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah
forever. This sheep makes his boast in
the Lord in Jehovah his shepherd to everyone around him and to
his shepherd as well. To all who will listen, we declare
to you that Jehovah is my shepherd. Now, who is this shepherd? You'll notice in your English
text that the word Lord is in all uppercase letters. And any
time in your English text, your King James versions, when you
find that the word Lord or God is in all uppercase letters,
that is God's name par excellence. That is God's covenant name. That is the name by which God
is known to his people. It is the name Jehovah. The Jews
would not pronounce the name, that's why it appeared as the
word Lord. But when you find the word Lord
or God in all uppercase letters, that's His name Jehovah. It is
His foremost name. It is His name in His relationship
to His people and to the people of His covenant. Here we find
that Jehovah is my shepherd and I will say to you that Jehovah
is my shepherd in the person of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, Jehovah Jesus. The psalmist is declaring Jesus
Christ, who is Jehovah, is my shepherd. Now, I'm going to show
this to you in various texts of scripture. Locate first of
all the 34th chapter of Ezekiel's prophecy, Ezekiel chapter 34. And here I want you to see that
Jesus Christ alone fulfilled the prophecy of Ezekiel 34, 11
through 16. And in this prophecy, listen
carefully, Jehovah promised that he, Jehovah, would come. Jehovah said, I will come and
be the shepherd of my people. This is Jehovah speaking, if
you will. In Ezekiel 34, verses 11 and
12. Now note carefully, you read
right along with me. For thus says the Lord God. Do you see the word God in all
uppercase letters? That is God's name, Jehovah. And the name here is Adonai Jehovah. For thus says Adonai Jehovah,
indeed I myself, this is Jehovah speaking, I Jehovah, I myself
will search for my sheep and shake them out And as a shepherd
seeks out his flock, on the day he is among his scattered sheep,
so I, Jehovah, will seek out my sheep and deliver them out
from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and
dark day. And they were scattered by false
religion. False shepherds scattered the
sheep and Jehovah says, I myself will come and do what none else
would do. I will search my sheep. I will
find my sheep. I will feed them, oh pardon me,
I will bring them, verse 13, out from the peoples and gather
them from the countries, and I, Jehovah, will bring them to
their own land. I, Jehovah, will feed them on
the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited
places of the country. Ah, Jehovah will feed them in
good pasture and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. And there they shall lie down
in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. Ah, Jehovah will feed my flock,
and I, Jehovah, will make them lie down, says Adonai Jehovah. I will seek what was lost, and
bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken, and strengthen
what was sick. Now listen folks, this is Jehovah
speaking this. He himself declared, I myself
will do this. This is Jehovah speaking. And
no one but Jehovah would do this. And I would remind you that Jesus
Christ declared the very same thing. He said, I have come to
seek and to save that which was lost, Matthew 8, 10, 11. He told
the parable of doing so in the parable of the lost sheep. He
says, my sheep was scattered and I went looking for my sheep.
I looked here and there in the wilderness and on the mountains.
I sought my sheep, he sought every one of his lost sheep and
brought them back to the fold. Jesus Christ declared, I did
everything Jehovah said he would do in the 34th chapter of Ezekiel's
prophecy. We find many examples of him
healing his sheep and strengthening his sheep. Now notice carefully,
Jehovah says, I myself will do this. And when Jesus Christ came,
he says, I fulfilled the prophecy. I did it. I did it. I did what
Jehovah said He would do and what none can do but Jehovah
Himself. Now drop down to verse 23. Now
listen to me very carefully. In verses 11 through 16 Jehovah
said, I myself will do this. Now Jehovah says, someone else
will do what I just said I will do. Now listen to me carefully. Listen to God's Word. Alright?
Jehovah speaks in verse 23. Jehovah has just said, I will
be their shepherd, I will be their only shepherd. Now he says,
I will establish one shepherd over them, my servant David. Jehovah, I thought you said that
you would be their shepherd. That's what I said. And I will
establish one shepherd over them, and Jehovah, if you establish
a shepherd, this is a separate person than you. That's right.
I will be the only shepherd of my people, and I will establish
one Jehovah. Listen! Listen! Don't question. This is what I'm telling you
Jehovah would say. I will establish one shepherd
over them, my servant David. He shall feed them and be their
shepherd. And I, the Lord Jehovah, I will
be their God. And my servant David, a prince
among them. And I, the Lord Jehovah, have
spoken. Verse 30. Thus they shall know
that I, the Lord Jehovah, their God, am with them, and they,
the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God, Adonai Jehovah. You are my flock, the flock of
my pastor. You are men, and I am your God,
and my servant David is your shepherd. Jehovah, I thought
you said you were the shepherd. That's what I said. And I'm telling
you that my servant is my shepherd over my people. There is no contradiction. No contradiction at all. Jesus
Christ is both Jehovah the shepherd and the shepherd sent from Jehovah
and there is no contradiction. Absolutely not. Listen folks,
you don't think God would contradict himself in the very same chapter,
do you? You don't think he's that absent-minded,
do you? You don't think that he would
prophesy something and then contradict himself in the very next breath,
do you? No, no, no. He meant exactly
what he said. Who is the shepherd of Israel?
Jehovah Jesus. Jesus who is Jehovah, and Jesus
who came from Jehovah, and there is no contradiction. Just believe
what it says, okay? Just believe what it says. Number
three, Jesus Christ alone fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah chapter
40, verses 9 through 11. So locate that passage, Isaiah
chapter 40, verses 9 through 11. And in this prophecy, Jehovah
promised that he would be beheld, that Jesus Christ would be beheld
as God by his sheep when he came to and for them. Isaiah chapter
40 verse 9. Oh Zion, that's the church. You who bring good tidings, get
up into the high mountain. Oh Jerusalem, again, that's the
church. Oh Jerusalem, you who bring good
tidings, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up, be not
afraid. And say to the cities of Judah,
watch this carefully now. Behold your God. Point to Jesus Christ and say,
Behold your God. Don't be afraid to do so. Get
up into the mountain where everyone can hear you. Lift up your voice
with strength and declare to everybody, Behold your God. as you point to Jesus Christ. Behold, verse 10, the Lord God
Adonai Jehovah shall come with a strong hand and his arm shall
rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him
and his work before him. He will feed his flock like a
shepherd. He will gather the lambs with
his arm and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those
who are with young." Now behold him, here he comes, here he comes. Our shepherd, look at that. Little
lamb, can't walk. Don't worry, the shepherd picks
him up. Puts the little lamb in his bosom.
looks back at the mother and says, I'll take care of your
little one until you're able to. Now you just follow me. And
there he is. Our shepherd, Jesus Christ, picking
up little lambs, putting them to his bosom, carrying them until
they can walk, and leading their mother and their father. And
I say to you, look to him and behold your God. Behold your
God. Jesus Christ calls his sheep
to look to Christ their shepherd and behold your God. Behold Christ
as the mighty God and the eternal Father. Isaiah 9 verse 6. Behold Christ as God manifested
in the flesh. 1 Timothy 3.16. Behold Christ as Emmanuel, God
with us. Matthew 1.23. Behold Christ and
confess that in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 2.9. Behold Christ
declaring that He who has seen Me has seen the Father. John
14.9. Behold Christ and exclaim with
Thomas, My Lord and My God! Behold your God there. He is
that's Jehovah my shepherd behold him You're in the prophecy of Isaiah
go to the 25th chapter Isaiah's chapter a prophecy chapter 25
Because I want you to look to Christ and obey Jehovah's command
to behold your God now look at him and Christ comes. Now look to Christ. I'm going
to say to you, behold your God. When you see Christ, listen carefully,
behold your God. He said He would come as a shepherd.
And here's what I want you to say. Isaiah chapter 25 verse
9, And in that day they shall say, Behold, this is our God. We have waited for Him. and he
will save us. This is the Lord Jehovah. We
have waited for him and we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. I'm saying to you, look to Christ
and behold you God. And I hope you can say, yes,
this is our God. We have waited for him to come
and be the shepherd of his people. Locate in your Bible Zechariah
chapter 13 verse 7. Here's my fourth point. That
Jesus Christ alone fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 13
verse 7. And in this prophecy Jehovah
declared that the shepherd of his flock is the God-man. Zechariah chapter 13 verse 7. Jehovah says, my shepherd is the man who is my companion or
my fellow, says Jehovah. Jehovah says, my shepherd is
the man who is my companion. And Jesus Christ in Matthew 26
verses 31 and 57 declared himself, this speaks of me. I fulfilled
this prophecy. When Jehovah speaks of my shepherd,
he speaks of a shepherd who comes from him. A person distinct from
Jehovah. he comes from me. When Jehovah speaks of his shepherd
as being the man, he speaks of the human nature of his shepherd. Notice, my shepherd comes from
me. He is the man. That's his human
nature. I suppose no one will question
Virtually no one in the world will question the human nature
of Jesus Christ. They all admit he's a man, but
Jehovah says, no, no, no, he's more than that. He is the man,
but he's more than that. Jehovah says he is my companion. He says he is my fellow. When
he does, Jehovah says he's my equal. My equal. That's the divine nature of our
shepherd. The Holy Spirit speaks of Jesus
Christ as being in the form of God and equal with God, Philippians
2 verse 6. Jesus Christ, the good shepherd,
spoke of himself as Jehovah's companion and as being equal
with him when he declared that I and my Father are one. Notice, two persons. I and my Father are one in the
divine essence. and then the divine substance.
I and my father are equals and we are one. Now they who were there that
day, they knew what he meant. You'll hear people around you
and they'll say, well he only means that they're in agreement.
No, he meant much more than that. You know, he meant only that
they were of the same mind and opinion. No, he meant much more
than that. Because when he uttered these
words, those who heard him and understood what he said, they prepared to stone him to
death for blasphemy and because you, being a man, make yourself
God. That's what they said. On another
occasion, the Jew sought all the more to kill him because
he said that God was his father. I and my father? When he said
God was his father, they said, you make yourself equal with
God. And Jesus did not contradict
them. He said, no, no, no, you misunderstood
me. No, no, I didn't mean that. No, he didn't do that. He said,
you heard me right. I and my Father are one. I came from the Father and I
am one with the Father. Now wicked men today will deny
that Jesus Christ is Jehovah. They may even call themselves
Jehovah's witnesses and deny that Jesus is Jehovah. But I'm
going to say to you that every true witness of Jehovah will
declare to you what I'm telling you. that he and his father,
two separate persons, but one in the divine essence and in
the divine substance. I and my father are one, and
Jehovah says, he's my shepherd, I sent him, he's the man, and
he's my companion. And Jesus Christ fulfilled it.
Now locate John chapter 10. Jesus Christ identifies himself
as the only shepherd of Jehovah's sheep. The only shepherd. When Jehovah's sheep say, Jehovah
is my shepherd, we are declaring we have only one shepherd. It is Jehovah. And it is Jesus
Christ cause he declared, I'm the only shepherd. The only shepherd.
John chapter 10 verse 14. Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. The word good here means ideal. The perfect. I am what a shepherd
ought to be. I am the good shepherd. And I
know my sheep. Oh Lord, Jehovah has probably
a few million sheep. Yes sir, and I know every single
solitary one of them and every hair on their heads. I know them. And them known by my own. Now
let me ask you something. Do you know Jesus Christ as your
shepherd? Because he says. I know my sheep,
and my sheep know their shepherd. If you're one of Jesus Christ's
sheep, you know him as your shepherd. And if you know Jesus Christ
as your shepherd, you can say, Jehovah is my shepherd. In verse 15, he says, as the
Father knows me, even so I know the Father. He says in verse
16, Now let me explain to you what he means. He looks around
him and he's got some sheep. Peter, James, John, Andrew, Bartholomew,
the 12. He's got some other sheep as
well. They're following him around. And then he looks to those sheep
and he says, now I have some other sheep. Lord, where are
they? Well, they will not be around
for another 2,000 years. But some of them are in North
Wilkesboro, North Carolina. And I must go looking for them
also. Other sheep I have, not of this
fold, but they will be when I find them. I'm going to find my sheep.
And down through the centuries, Jesus Christ, through his ministers
and his spirit, has been going into all the world. Because remember,
Jehovah said, I will gather my sheep from all the nations, and
here go the under shepherds. of the great shepherd, and they
go into this place, Boonville, Yadkinville, Winston-Salem, Lexington,
Charlotte, St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Here they
go. What are they doing? They're
looking for lost sheep. That's what they're doing. And
they're declaring the shepherd, and as they declare the shepherd,
the sheep hear the shepherd calling them, and here they come. And
there shall be one foal and one shepherd, because our Lord has
only one foal. Now granted, some of his sheep
are in North Wilkesboro, and some of them are in St. Croix,
Virgin Islands. Some of them are in this place
and that. But there will be one foal and
one shepherd. And Jesus Christ is that good
shepherd. Verse 27. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. You will follow Jesus if
Jehovah is your shepherd. And I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them
out of my hand. People will tell you, yeah, but
you can be saved today and lost tomorrow. You can lose your salvation
and perish. Please, let me introduce you
to my shepherd, because yours is not very good, is he? Can't
keep the sheep, can't give you eternal life? Oh, come on, you
don't have the shepherd, you've got a goat herd, and you're a
goat. Sheep have a shepherd, and they
have eternal life, because their shepherd is their life. My Father, who has given them
to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them
out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Here he says it, folks. My sheep
are in my hand, and I am in the Father. And my sheep are in my
Father's hand, and none can pluck them out, and I and my Father
are one. I feel secure. Now, I really
do. I feel secure. Jehovah Jesus
is my shepherd. Alright, one more. Jehovah's sheep confessed Jesus
Christ as their shepherd. Same text, John 10. Jesus Christ speaks of us, his
sheep, when he says, I am known by my own. It does not surprise
me that others do not know the Lord, but they whom the Lord
knows will know him. I am known by my own. My sheep know my voice and they
follow me. They know my voice. They follow
me. and they will not follow a false
shepherd. I've seen many people who claim
to be following the Lord, and over the years, now I found them
following somebody else. You've undoubtedly seen a number
of these as well. We both have lived long enough
to have seen that many of those we walked with in time past have,
we thought were following the voice of the shepherd, and lo
and behold, they heard another voice, someone else, and now
they follow him. The Lord's sheep will not follow
the voice of a stranger. All goats may try. They may try
for a while. And after a while, they've got
to go foraging somewhere else. Sheep never forage. Sheep always
graze. They graze where the shepherd
puts them. We confess Jesus Christ as the
shepherd of our souls, 1 Peter 2.25. He supplies and provides for
the needs of not only our physical body, but also our spiritual
being. We confess Jesus Christ as that great shepherd of the
sheep, through whom the God of peace will make us complete in
every good work to do his will. Hebrews 13, 20 and 21. We confess
Jesus Christ as the chief shepherd. because there is no shepherd
over him, 1 Peter 5 verse 4. And we confess Jesus Christ when
we declare Jehovah is my shepherd. Now, have you done so? Do you know Jesus Christ as your
shepherd? Have you heard his voice? Has
he called you? If he did, you'll follow. You're
going to find some other people calling you. Goat herds, people
who keep goats in false religion. They're all around you. They're
all around us everywhere we are. They'll be calling you too. But the Lord's sheep will hear
His voice and they'll say, no, I'll follow Him. I trust in Him. I believe in Him. Jehovah Jesus
is my shepherd. Is he yours? Thank you both, Emmanuel, for
coming to be a witness today, giving us that message. We appreciate
it. We thank the Lord our Savior.