I want to speak on the subject of the shepherds this morning. There are several things about the shepherds. Lord willing next week we'll mention a number of things about the sheep. And it's nice to notice that when David is using this song, although he was a shepherd himself, he's speaking as though he were a sheep. He's taking the place of a sheep, and he says, the Lord is my shepherd. We'll speak on that more next week. For those who may not know, we might mention the fact that there are three aspects of the Lord Jesus as the shepherd. First of all, he says in this chapter that he is the good shepherd, and he layeth down his life for the sea. Now, that's relative to his death. In the Old Testament, the Lamb... died for the shepherd. When the shepherd wanted to approach God, he got a lamb such as Abel did. That was true in the Old Testament. The lambs died for the shepherd. But in the New Testament, the shepherd died for the lamb. That's what this one is. Imagine a shepherd dying for a lamb. And that's exactly what happened. We were sheep. gone astray. We have turned every one to our own way, and God hath laid upon the Lord Jesus the good shepherd, the iniquity of us all. So the Lord Jesus, the good shepherd, gave his life for the sheep. Over in Zechariah thirteen seven, it says, A weak old sword against the shepherd's against the man that is my fellow. That's very interesting. God the Father is speaking, and he says, awake, old sword against my shepherd. That sword that was in the hand of the cherubim in Genesis chapter three, when man sinned and he was driven out of the garden, and there stood that terribly with a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life, that any man should touch it and live forever as a sinner, there is that flaming sword, God's judgment against sin. And God at Calvary, call upon that sword, a weak old sword against the shepherd, against the man that is my fellow. Jesus Christ was God's fellow. God's companion, the one who was with them in ages past, when the time comes when God calls upon that sword of divine justice, and is got to be seized in the very heart of the Son of God. A week goes forward against the shepherd against the man that is my fellow. Might the shepherd And I will turn my hands in defense of the little one. Isn't that an amazing statement? There's a hymn that says, None of the ransomed ever knew. How deep were the waters soft. How dark was the night that the Lord passed through. There he found the seat that was lost. And over in Matthew chapter twenty-six, you read these words. The Lord resists speaking about that cloth, and he says, Then says Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written, referring to Zechariah, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I have listened again, I will go before you into Galilee. So then the Lord is referring to himself being smitten by God the Father, the shepherd dying for the sheep. And the good shepherd, given his life for the sheep. Then the next reference you have to the Lord Jesus, he spoke on earth, as a great shepherd over in Hebrews verse thirteen, twenty. And this has reference to his resurrection. Notice this. Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant. God raising that shepherd. He brought them again from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant. I'm not going to tell you how they used to carry out that covenant in the Old Testament. We did that when we spoke on Psalm twenty three, so I'm not going to go into that now. But here is the great shepherd, the good shepherd, the great shepherd. Yes, we read in the Old Testament about the great high priest, about the high priest, but the Lord Jesus is the great high priest. The Old Testament you read about shepherd, but the Lord Jesus is the great shepherd. None greater. All others inferior. He is the great shepherd of the sheep. Then you just have his resurrection, and you come to the third reference of Christ, the chief shepherd in First Peter five. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that paideth not away. Now he's coming as the chief shepherd, as the good shepherd, He gives it life for the sheep. And as the great shepherd, he's raised from the dead. And he sits with God's right hand. But as the chief shepherd, and the chief and the tribe of Indians is always in the middle. Christ is the supreme one. He's in the middle. And the chief shepherd, he's coming again. And what's he going to do? He's going to reward those sheep. Now, you need to get this clear. Rewards and gifts are different. When you think of gifts, there are three references in your Bible about the gifts of life, the gifts of righteousness, the gifts of glory. But you read also about the crown of life, the crown of righteousness, the crown of glory. The gift of tempting trees. These crowns are rewards, wages. Now, when you give a person a gift on their birthday or at Christmas, that's not wages. That's not a reward. That's an outright gift. No strings attached. But if that person to whom you gave that gift were to do some work for you, then you'd give them wages. You'd pay them. But what is? God's salvation is an absolute gift. The gifts of God is eternal light through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's a gift. The gift of light. God will give you everlasting light. Right now, the Bible is very plain on that. Not by words of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He has saved us. We're saved by grace and faith. It is not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. That's the reason. When you receive Christ as your gift of life. When you receive Christ as your gift of divine righteousness. When you receive Christ as your gift of glory. You're ready for glory the moment you accept Jesus Christ. But then, after you're saved, God says, I want you to spend your life for me. Work for me, and I'll pay you when I come again. That wages. He stands up for nothing and pays us for everything we do afterwards for him. Can you find any better salvation or deal than us? Salvation is a gift, a free gift. You can receive it here this morning. as a gift. But then there are rewards to be obtained. And the reward will be commensurate with how you've lived for Christ after your service. And isn't it wonderful? The Lord Jesus, as the good shepherd, he gave his knife for the sheep. And then as the great shepherd, he lives at God's right hand. And as a chief shepherd, he's coming to reward those who will live for him after the their sandation. How remarkable that is. Now these twelve things about the shepherd, the first one we've mentioned, he laid down his life for his sheep. In these, oftentimes those shepherds, when they come back from having taken their sheep out past her, sometimes they'll be gone a whole week They'll come back to the little village where they live. And then this shepherd's leaf, they come from different directions. And then the topic of their conversation is, did you lose any sheep this week? Yes, I did. Did you get it back? I did. But I'll tell you one thing, it was an awful fight, and he kicked off his robe. That's what they wore in those days. Here's a big, ugly scar. Here's another one. He fought the wild beast. It may have been a hyena, or it may have been a lion, or it may have been another animal. But before he received, and he showed his scars, how he was willing to lay down his life to save that sheep. The Lord Jesus has scars. He was wounded for our transgressors. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement with the view to our having peace was laid upon him where his stripes were healed. And on that resurrection morning he says to his own, Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and gold as he truly had. Look at these stars. And he said, Thomas, Put your finger forth and put it into that scar, that wound in my hand. Trust the fist into my sight. Here is the shepherd who fought the fight and won. And in the day to come, here is unbelieving Israel today. They don't believe that Christ is their Messiah. The day is going to come, and the days are getting dark in the Middle East. And Israel in the coming day will stand alone. She dreads it today if she wants to have the United States to back her up. She wants to also be established peace with Egypt. A day coming when Israel will stand alone. And not only a few Arab nations, but the whole world will concentrate their vengeance on Israel. How will she survive? She'll only survive when those kings of the North have come down and the kings of the East, the Asiatic, and all the Arab world unite, and even the support she gets from the West, will also concentrate on Israel. This is a little nation that brought forth the conqueror. Just as the nation and just a little part of land is where that king came up, where he was crucified. And they say he's coming back to raise. And these nations will congregate to prevent him from coming back to raise. That will be the arm again. How many they feel themselves right at the last minute that saved the extermination of Israel and the nation? He'll show them wounded hands and wounded feet on a wounded side, and they will say, What are these wounds in thine hands? He says, These are they with which I was wounded in the house of my friend. Nineteen hundred years ago I received these wounds. I came to deliver you as a nation. You rejected me. You crucified me. And I've been in heaven long, two thousand years. And I've been saving Gentiles and Jews alike. Now I've come back. And your only hope is me. The surrounding nations will devour you and exterminate you. Yet I am. You're Messiah. And you'll see those wounds and that sequencer. Then they shall say, and use that penitential psalm that I quoted, why, he was wounded for our sins. He was wounded for our illegitimate, which we deserve, for our feet was laid upon him. And with his stripes we are healed. Then the nation shall be sworn in a day. And Israel as a nation will fall in their faith and receive them. He's the good shepherd. His scars are his credentials. Those scars prove that he was Israel's true Messiah. And those far scars speak of his love for them and the power to redeem them. And the only man in heaven with the millions and trillions and will be in glory, the only man in heaven with the marks of sin upon him will be the man who knew no sin, who was without sin but made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This is the man, the shepherd, who laid down his life to his feet and his scars to him. Oftentimes when the shepherd's Shepherds compare those garb bodies, the one who's got the most scars, will be made the more of the pound. The heat of a community. The only one who deserves to lean over this earth is the man who can produce the most ugly scars. The scars on a man who never seen. None of the lamps can ever use. How deep were those waters soft. How dark was the night that the Lord passed through. And he found the sheep. That was lost. What scar. Thy scars. Thy wounds, thy wounds, Lord Jesus. Those deep, deep wounds will tell of the sacrifice that saved me. From sin, from death. from Herod. Here you have the good shepherd in his threefold aspect, the good shepherd, the great shepherd, and the people. The next thing about the shepherd, he loves them. You'll notice in verse thirteen, you want to read this. The hireling fleeth because he isn't hireling and caredeth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and I'm known of my sheep. The Lord Jesus compares himself with the hirelings. The numbers were those who were just hirelings in the Old Testament, some false prophets came along. But where it was evident they were going to lose their lives, they retired or they escaped. They weren't willing to stand and defend their will, the little hand of the Jews. He had their highlings. And the highlings were a page of tents that tend to sheep. They don't love the flock of sheep like the shepherd. If they say their life is in jeopardy, they're wrong. Those sheep don't belong to them. Why should they jeopardize their life? That's the highlings. Not that two separs, he won't give an empty. He'll die for those sheep. The difference is between a nurse and a two mother. A nurse serves for pay. She may look after your child, but the mother serves out of love. What a mother won't do for her officer, no nurse will do. He says, a hireling, please. George doesn't love those sheep. But he says, I'm Richard Shepard. I'm no hireling. I love my sheep, and I'll pay the price for those sheep. Remarkable, isn't it? He loves these sheep. Then the third thing, he knows them. In verse fourteen, he will notice what we read. I am the good shepherd and knows my sheep. He knows his sheep. That's a remarkable statement. Do we know everyone? He does. Over in Psalm. One forty-seven, you read a remarkable verse. There are two there. She healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds. She telleth the number of the stars she calleth them by their name. Here you have broken hearts and shining consummation is linked together. She knoweth. the stars. That's a fantastic statement. He knows the stars. When you start to think there are billions of stars in our galaxy, billions of them, and yet there are millions of galaxies, galaxies in our universe, where are you going to begin to know all those stars? He knows it. He knows the stars. Here you have broken hearts and shining stars compared. Can you number the stars? No. You don't know more. Can you number the broken hearts? Wouldn't that be something? Where would be the computer today that could give you the number of broken hearts in this world? We think of the war over in Vietnam and China. It seems, as over there, they don't think a bother about the casualty list. They talk about thousands killed this day and thousands later. But those are sons of mothers, whether they're in China, Vietnam, or elsewhere. When the news comes of that boy being killed, they'll feel it just like if he's up in the message that your son. broken heart. All over the world there are broken hearts and like the stars in number of them. And yet God knows every one. Especially those of these children. Some of those stars are visible by the naked eye. Others are not. Some stars are seen and some are not seen. Some broken hearts We see, but there are millions we haven't seen. Those silent sufferers, broken hearts. They won't disclose a broken heart. It's molders within. God knows those broken hearts. Some stars are small, some of them. Some hearts are not so broken as others, small by comparison, as God made them all. He knows the stars. Furthermore, when you stop the thing of it, He created the stars. And He created us. We are the creatures of God. But He's not satisfied with that. He wants you to become one of His feet. He wants you to redeem you. Everybody... is God's creature, but only those who are born again are God's children. And there's subtle bit of propaganda that's been scattered around ever since I being in the first and up in Canada too. And this is it. Do you think that God will allow one of His children to go to hell? Referring to everybody in the world. No, not one of God's children will go to hell. But there'll be millions of us creatures going to heaven. But not one of God's children will go to heaven. Those who are his children will be born again, brought into the family of God. And he says he's happy because I give unto them eternal life, and he can never say. But there are those who are not born again, they are not sheep. They're goats. And I say this, they will not go to heaven. Unless they get saved, they're going to fail it. But there's no mistake about it. God wants to redeem. He created the stars. He created us. But he says, I want to redeem you. You see in the stars my power, but you can't see my love there. Look at the cross if you want to see God's love. There's where he proves his love. when he tore his heart from his bosom and lips, left it hanging at the cross in the person of his son. God loves you. He gave his son. He gave his very heart. Just who you love him? And he might redeem you and bring you into his family. And you know when you start to think to this, he loves you. gave his son for us and he wants to redeem us that's his desire that's why the Lord Jesus came he wants us to be brought closer than just a creature it is he wants to be brought into the family redeeming another thing here says he keeps them he keeps his teeth you know that what he says in verse twenty eight verse twenty eight And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. He keeps them. Isn't that wonderful? Within his hand, in the Bible says he holdeth the stars in his hand. All of us, the stars within his hand. And what a wonderful place to be in his hand. how secure we are. But then it says he names them. He names his sheep. Notice verse three. To him, of course, an opener. And the sheep hear his voice, and he's called it his own sheep by name. Believe it or not. I was kind of mused the other day and possibly heard and saw on the TV about these pictures that were taken and they're coming back as if it was Mars. Is that the planet they're exploring? Jupiter? Jupiter. I don't know how many times larger than the Earth. But did you notice on that TV screen there were little moons sailing around Jupiter? And I was surprised that the astronomers saw them. I've got a name for all those little moons. I didn't even know the rest. Such a name. I don't know how these astronomers... Find a name for every planet, every moon, every sun that's flying around. It's like they've got thousands of names. But to think that the Lord Jesus, He numbers the stars and He gives them a name. Now that is staggering. He names every star. He names every moon. He names every star. He names every sun. And that's two of the three. He names the three. Isn't that nice? The Lord knows your name. Your name's written in the book, so you must have one. Our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Oh, Mr. Van Ryan said when his father and mother, or grandmother and grandfather, had twenty-four children, and they had to have it over in Holland, they were giving three names to every child. He said they had difficulty when the twenty-four child came along. How in the world were they going to name them? What name was they going to use? They ran out of names with twenty-four kids. Think of the sheep God has. Billions of them all down the centuries. You've got a name for every one. And your name, if you're one of his sheep, has written down in the land book of life, are newly formed by that name. Names speak to an individual, a character, a personality. And God has put your name down. And in that day, you'll respond. And if your name's not there, the lake of fire. You may have your name written in every search register and all, but if that won't take you to heaven. You've got to have your name written in the lab of the book of night. But whosoever's name was not written in the book of night. It was cast into the lake of fire. He called his own seat by name. He called them. That's the sixth thing. Remarkably, he called them. Did you ever hear his voice? I'll tell you why I was under conviction many years ago at the age of nineteen, and Mr. Duncan of Cleveland was preaching. There was only one person in that audience that night, and there was only one name, and that was my name. The Spirit of God was calling us to wisdom. And I knew it. I was hearing his voice. The Holy Spirit was calling me, my name. I was figured out. And many a time in my life, people were so after the meeting, they said, you just looked at me this morning, or tonight. And there wouldn't have been any more shock if I'd have called their name because God was speaking right to you. The Spirit of God's fingers were about. He can't speak into you this morning. He's singling you out. He knows your name and he's calling. And he wants you to listen. He's calling his own children. My name. And then it says, he leaves them out in verse three. He leaves them out. Sing before you what you have in Psalm twenty three. One. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness to his male sick. The Lord called those sheep, and then he leads them. And in the east, oftentimes several shepherds meet far from home, and there are great big holes, and all the sheep mingle together in that big fold. And then in the morning, this shepherd is trying for him to take his flock, And all he does is look into that great flock of sheep, and that great big foal, and he starts calling his sheep. It must be innocent, and only his sheep will follow. Then another man's sheep won't follow. Every sheep knows it's separate. And he leaves them out. It must have been a wonderful game to see all these sheep follow one man, and the other separately call his sheep, and they'd follow him. They know the voice of their shepherds. In our case, there's only one shepherds, the Lord Jesus. And it's nice when Christians, who are his sheep, they're been saved, they follow him. Following the shepherds are wonderful, and he leadeth them in the path of righteousness. Another thing, he protects them. In verse ten and eleven, I think we read that, I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd, give it his life for the sheep, for he that is in harling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, he is the wolf coming and leaves with the sheep and clearest, and the wolf catches them and scaring them, the harling clearest, because he is in harling and careeth not for the sheep. The good shepherd should catch his own sheep. That's why they have a rod and a staff. They're ready to meet all comers. They use that rod in defense. Sometimes we get close enough to use that to beat the wolf or a hyena or some other animal trying to catch the sheep. Oh, yes, how wonderful to know he's protecting us by his peasants. and by his father. Then the night came he seemed at them. He said to Peter, the clothes of John, feed my sheep. Peter was an undercutter. He didn't say, fleece my sheep. He said, feed him. A lot of preachers out where I am this morning in another building and they're standing in a congregation and they're policing the sheep for their money. We're not here to flee sheep for a dime. The Lord says, feed my sheep. He doesn't say, feed my giraffe. He lifts your heads the way up in the air. Some people are giraffes. They want something intellectually. He said, feed my sheep. And indeed, that's. He leadeth me by gene into gene and pastures. Why isn't that too lovely? Not Dale Hayes. Not dry grass. These pastures are green. satisfied. You've got sixty-six of them in your Bible. And if you need them, there's any one of them, and you're going to give them to you. He sees them. He sees. He satisfies them. The Lord is my shepherd. He'll satisfy them. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Satisfy. Are you satisfied this morning? A lot of lovely texts in your Bible in Psalm one, three, five, who satisfies thy mouth with good things. In Psalm one hundred and seven, nine, he satisfies the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Over Isaiah fifty-five and one, wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? Your labor for that which satisfies not. Psalm, seventeen, fifteen, as for me I will behold thy faith and righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness, and that's the only time you'll be fully satisfied. I'm satisfied when I wake with thy likeness. I'm satisfied now as for my salvation, I know I'm going to heaven. But we'll never be fully satisfied until we're awake and like him. This poor world can't satisfy me. You can try it all your life, but there is still no vacancy there. Only Christ can satisfy. Then another thing about this shepherd, he has his grace, he satisfies, and he's got a gift on his own feet. And that's what we say in the paper. His grace, his gift, and his glory. The Lord has referred to that verse in chapter twenty-seven. My feet hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never carry. Jesus and every man plucked them out of my hand. My father which gave them his giving all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. Talk about security. Eternal security. Eternal life is eternal life. You can't get around it. If you say, well, I'm a Christian now, I've got a new life, but I could lose it, then it's not eternal. One becomes a child of God forever. The moment you're saved, you're saved forever. Not for a month, not for a millennium, but forever. You're the child of God. son may change his name, but he's still the son of a certain man. That son may be the father, but he can't change the affinity between father and son. He's the son. And the moment you're saved, you become the sons of God. That son may be poor, uneducated, disappointed, be still a son. God's transmission of life to a soul is an accomplishment that is forever. That's what the Bible says. I give unto them eternal life for they to never face. I may lose my gift on God, but God never loses his gift on me. God forever. Like the old Irish lady says, you know, sometimes I tremble on the lock, you see, for the lock never trembles underneath. And that's true. I give unto them eternal life. And they can all say. Here's a passage, and I just want to turn to you. To me, it's very certain to you. It's very confusing. I read, if you want to turn to it, you may. The school were in First Corinthians chapter five. to show you how bad a Christian, a born-again Christian, can backslide and still be saved. Notice it. First Corinthians five. It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you and such fornication that it is not so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his father's wife, a stepmother, eventually, and only. and ye apostles, and have not rather mourned, that thee that are done this day and ye might be taken away from you. For I verily, as absent in body, the present in spirit, have judged thy feet. And so I worship, concerning him and her son so done this day. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together in my spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus, I'm over. To deliver such-and-one unto Satan, and he hitherto, deliver such-and-one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. How are you going to give her honor? She is a man. And whoever there's a backslider is this fellow in sin with inexcusability. And it seems unprecedented. A public scandal arose about this man. Paul wouldn't even pray for his restoration. Paul says let him die on men forget his dirty deeds. What does it say? Paul says, let the truth deliver that man, a Christian, unto Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, his body. But the Spirit may be saved in the days of the New Year. With all his wickedness and shame, that man is a born-again Christian. And the Spirit is saved. Until Christ comes and is secure. different evidence of eternal security. Or you say, that means you can get saved and do as he likes. Quiet. God will deliver you over to Satan. If you let in your body and lust of that body interfere with your testimony as a Christian, God will do what has happened here. He would turn your body over to Satan. He knows how to do it. worse toward that body. Remember, Job? When God left Satan's image, Job, he lost his flock, his herd, his wife, and left lost ten children, he lost his health. That's what Satan can do to the body of a fish. But his soul is saved by the blood of Christ. He's serious in it. He says, I give unto my sheep, keep eternal life. He's very, very, none of that. And the Lord means what He says. There's no getting around that. When a person is saved, He stays, He stays the other. God has a way of dealing with his children in this life when they don't appreciate his salvation and they bring dishonor on his name. The prodigal was just as much a son, simply as he was, in the far country as he was, clean, home. He was a son. But once you become a son of God, you will serve God forever. And he wants you to live like a gift. Here's a double gift. The Lord Jesus says, I give unto my feet, eternal life. They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hands. My father which gave them the nearest greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my father's hands. A double grip. A grip of the son and a grip of the father. How are you going to get out? He says, I, my Father, once and double you, how safe, how secure a child of God is. One is washed and blessed. If a sinner washed and drunk should turn up in hell, all heaven would go to a drudge. Because the God of Jesus Christ, God's son, friends of all. And no person is known the purging power of the blood of Christ will ever be heard. It may not live as a Christian after he is saved. And if he doesn't, God has a way of whispering his child. The relationship is there. Communion may dissolve it, but the relationship is there. That's where God's grace continues. God's great grace, God's great gift, and God's great gift, that we all need for the glory of God that he would take a person like that to heaven because they trusted his son. You may point your finger and find Paul with Christians and say you live as good as they do, but there's one thing that Paul the Christian has done that he hasn't. And that is, that all the Christian has trust in Christ, and that's what he wants. And he'll take you to heaven on the day here. How secure a child of God is. The twelve point is the reward. He's coming to be there. Will you have any rewards when it comes, or a blank? I don't think this fella in Corinth will get any reward? No, he forfeited his life to any reward. He saved all of it. But his life will turn up a blank of a judgment to the sight. After he was saved, he wanted to live for him in his life in the happiest life. He can save the Lord. He's my shepherd. He's my. I stand alone. I shall not want for grace to live for him, for strength. He is sublime, my Lord. What about this supper, this one little supper? Will you pray me this morning, at your very, very own, at what you will pray? Our Father in heaven in the days of our Lord Jesus Christ who came into thy presence He asked thy blessing on thy holy word, how we thank it, for our good shepherd, our great shepherd, our chief shepherd, is coming soon to take us home, to lead us into those eternal dream pastors and forever beside those water requirements. Anyway, here this morning, and you know not Christ, may they trust them, may they trust them, may they... It's very tough to know.