EZEKIEL 34 A SHEPHERD FOR GODS SHEEP2016 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ezekiel 34 A Shepherd For Gods Sheep

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2016. Well, this morning as we look at Ezekiel chapter 34, the title of the message is A Shepherd for God's Sheep.

a shepherd for God's sheep. Because here in Ezekiel chapter 34, God is speaking through Ezekiel to the shepherds of Israel. Now, as he speaks to the shepherds of Israel, we need to understand he's not primarily concerned with their livestock and the keeping of that livestock, but it's an illustration, it's a metaphor for the leaders of Israel. And

When the Bible talks about a shepherd in this way, it's talking about anyone who has authority of any kind.

Now, primarily in this chapter, it's talking about civil leaders. It's talking about Israel's kings, Israel's governors, the rulers of Israel, as well as their religious leaders, their priests and their prophets. But primarily talking to the leadership, the civil leadership of the nation of Israel. Now, we...

As Christians, when we hear about shepherds, we typically think of it in a spiritual sense, and that certainly does apply. But it's interesting to look at what the Lord's saying here and understand that he was talking to those political leaders, to those social leaders, and dealing with their failures as leaders. The reality is Israel's shepherds had failed miserably.

And so now God is going to step in and do the job that the shepherds were supposed to do. Now, there's a lot of things that we could get into in Ezekiel chapter 34. And I will kind of mention a few things here and there that you can take and research on your own if you'd like to dig in further. But in this chapter, there are things that are fulfilled here.

immediately after or soon after Ezekiel prophesied these things. It's called the near fulfillment. And that is that as Ezekiel is with the Jews captive in Babylon, God is going to step in and intervene and

They're there in Babylon because the shepherds had failed, but God's going to step in after that 70-year captivity, and he's going to bring his people back to the land of Israel and reestablish them in the land. It's going to be a work of God and not a work of the leaders of the nation of Israel. And so that was a near fulfillment that took place. It has happened, fulfilled as the Jews returned from Babylon. But then there's what's called a far fulfillment period.

And that is still yet to come as we read these things in Ezekiel chapter 34. We find the ultimate fulfillment of these things will take place in the millennium. Now the millennium is after the rapture of the church, after the tribulation period, then Jesus comes back and establishes his kingdom for 1,000 years here upon the earth. And at

at that time, he's going to rule and reign physically present in Jerusalem, and every detail of chapter 34 literally is going to be fulfilled and ultimately fulfilled there in the reign of Christ. And so there's some things that you could look at for that time period as well. So you have the near fulfillment, you have the far fulfillment, but also I want to kind of more focus and emphasize this morning, you have the immediate fulfillment for us reading these things today.

And that is that Jesus is the good shepherd. You might remember in John chapter 10, verse 11, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. And so Jesus presents himself as...

the good shepherd who will step in and fulfill the role that these shepherds had failed to do. Jesus is that good shepherd. And so there's spiritual application for us as we look to Jesus Christ that fits in with these things we'll be studying here in Ezekiel chapter 34. And so we're talking about the leaders of Israel. We're talking about perhaps the leaders of our nation. Now, you guys know me. You've been around for a bit.

you haven't heard me speak very much politically, right? I mean, maybe you don't even know. If I know what politics are or if they exist, I really... Now, I don't do this as a rule because it's like, I really strictly believe nobody should talk about politics from the pulpit. That's not why I do that. I do that because that's just my personality. That's just me. In real life,

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And it still mostly isn't a political message. But it is interesting to me that the Lord orchestrated this way and kind of surprised me after the fact and showed me some things he wanted me to share. And I said, that was pretty sneaky, Lord. You kind of snuck in that one on me, forced me to share some of these things. But the reality is that God does care about us.

the issues that are before us. And as we head into this election week, there's some things that he wants to remind you about as we look at Ezekiel chapter 34, about leadership and about him as our good shepherd, as the one that we trust in ultimately. And so as we dig in, we're going to look at four points here in Ezekiel chapter 34. The first one is found in verses 1 through 10, and that is God is against bad shepherds.

This is the one that immediately applies to our present circumstances. God is against bad shepherds. Let's jump into verse 2. Here's what it says. Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God to the shepherds, woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

Here God begins addressing the leaders, the shepherds of Israel, and he pronounces a woe upon them. Now that's a form of lamentation saying, oh my goodness, you are in for such judgment. That's kind of what woe means. It's you're going to be judged. You're going to be dealt with by God because you have failed as shepherds. He says, woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves and then

He asked the question, should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Now, shepherds and sheep, it's a good illustration for leaders and the people because, well, as you look at the shepherds and the sheep, you understand the shepherd's job in the field is to care for the sheep, to make sure the sheep are fed and provided for and protected and their needs are met and

And that's the job of leaders of Israel, as well as leaders of any kind, that their job is to care for the people that have been entrusted to them. And here God is calling out the shepherds of Israel and saying, you guys are focused on feeding yourself. You're focused on what you want. You're focused on, you know, getting the things that you desire and that you're craving and

But aren't shepherds supposed to feed the flocks? Isn't that what shepherds are supposed to do? And absolutely, yes. And the shepherds of Israel were failing at that. God explains it a little bit more in verse 3. He says,

flock. And notice as he highlights some of those things, each of those things are related to shepherds and sheep, right? Eating the fat, that was the best pieces of meat, the best parts of the sheep was included in the fat. And so they are making sure they get the best portions. They're feeding themselves with the best meats. And he says you're clothing yourselves with the wool,

So you're shearing the sheep and you're keeping the wool and making yourselves clothes and making sure that you're covered and cared for. And you're slaughtering the fatlings. You're getting the best of the best. You're keeping the best for yourself, but you do not feed the flock. So you're making sure that you are meeting what you want and what you desire at the expense of the flock, but you're not providing for the flock. You're not providing for the people, right?

These shepherds were exploiting the sheep, taking what they want and not providing what the sheep need. Now, on the one hand, it is reasonable for a shepherd to be provided for by the sheep. It wasn't necessarily wrong for a shepherd to have a good lamb chop here and again, you know, every once in a while. It wasn't wrong for them to be fed or to be clothed by the wool of the sheep. But they were supposed to

as part of that provision, also care for. The sheep were to be benefiting from the care of the shepherd. Instead, the sheep were just there for the shepherd's enjoyment, just to explore or exploit, you know, and get whatever they wanted. And so the shepherd saw it as, you guys are all there to meet my needs. And God says, that's a failure as a shepherd. The shepherd is there to meet the sheep's needs. And the shepherd will be provided and taken care of,

But his primary responsibility is to feed the sheep, to take care of the sheep. Verse 4, he says, So not only have they exploited the sheep and used the sheep for their own ends, but they have neglected those sheep that were in need.

There were those who were weak that needed to be strengthened and the shepherds didn't strengthen them. There were those who had been injured or wounded or sick and the shepherds did not heal them or bind up the broken. There were sheep who had wandered and were lost and the shepherds had not sought them out. And instead they've ruled with force and cruelty. They've neglected the responsibilities that they had as shepherds, exploited the sheep for their own ends and

and not ministered to the needs of the weak. And so verse 5, so they were scattered because there was no shepherd. God says there was no shepherd. Now there was shepherds, right? Because that's who he's speaking against. But in reality, there was no shepherd. There was no one to actually care for the flock. There were people who filled that role and that responsibility, but they neglected their responsibility and just used it to meet their own ends and desires. And so the sheep were scattered.

And they became food for the beasts. They were scattered. They were spread out. They were taken advantage of in other places and all over the place because the shepherds had failed in their responsibility. Now jumping to verse 10. Thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against the shepherds and I will require my flock at their hand. I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more.

for I will deliver my flock from their mouths that they may no longer be food for them. And so God makes it very clear. Behold, I am against the shepherds. Those leaders who have not fulfilled their role, those leaders who have not met the responsibilities of

God says, I'm against you. I'm going to work against you. I'm going to take my sheep away from you. You are going to be defeated. You're going to be destroyed. God says, I will deliver my flock from their mouths. Because remember, they were eating the sheep. They were devouring the sheep. I'm going to take them away so you can't exploit them any longer, is what God says. He's going to deal with these shepherds. And he does. He does.

God delivers the people of Israel out of the leaders of Israel by bringing Babylon in and conquering Jerusalem. He takes the leaders out of the equation and the people are delivered from those bad shepherds. God is against bad shepherds. Now, as we talk about God being against these bad shepherds, I want to remind you what Paul tells us in Romans chapter 13, verse one. Paul tells us, let every soul be subject to governing authorities.

For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. God is not against authority. And this is important for us to remember because, well, we've all experienced bad leadership. I'm sure you've experienced being exploited by some form of authority, whether it be in the government, whether it be in the home, whether it be in the workplace, maybe even in the church, unfortunately.

In all those arenas, in all those realms, there are positions of authority. Now, Paul makes the point, every single position of authority is established by God. There is no authority except from God. And all the positions, the roles of authority that exist are appointed by God. That's God's doing. God gives those positions in the nations, in the home, in the

In the workplace and in the church, those positions of authority are created by God, appointed by God. He's not against authority, but God is against the misuse of authority. And sometimes we, because we've been offended, we've been hurt, we've been exploited by leaders in the past, we can take this position of being against authority altogether. And that's not God's position.

God is against the shepherds, not because they have this authority, but because they've used the authority to enrich themselves and at the expense of the people that God has entrusted to them. But what God has called us to do as believers is to be submitted to authorities in the government, in the workplace, in the home, and in the church. God has called us to be submitted to those authorities that he has placed over us, but

trusting him to deal with those bad shepherds. Yes, there are bad shepherds, but God will deal with them. And we don't have to be so concerned about that. God will deal with those bad shepherds. That is

It's his promise. And that's what we're dealing with here in Ezekiel chapter 34. Commentator H.A. Ironside says it this way. He says, Ironside says it that way.

God has given authority. And then he holds those who have that authority responsible to exercise it for the good of the people. And wherever that is not taking place, he says his judgment is certain to fall. As we consider what's happening in our nation, as we consider whatever unfolds this week, here's something that we can know. God is against bad shepherds. We don't have to fret and freak out and

be stressed out, have sleepless nights, be worried, be upset, be frantic, be cursing out everybody on Facebook whenever one person gets in or the other person gets in. Listen, whatever happens, God's gonna deal with bad shepherds. He's gonna deal with anyone who uses the authority that they have in a way that does not honor and represent God. God will deal with them. He is against them.

We don't have to stress out about that. No matter what happens this week, God is going to deal. It's his position. He created those positions of authority. He established them. And he will hold the people accountable for what they do with that authority. And we can trust in that. We can rest in that, knowing that God has this in control. Now, I want to flip it around for a second before we move on to the next point. And that is, there are many of you

who are shepherds. We're all sheep, but some of us also have been entrusted with the lives of other people. You have authority. There are those of you who have authority in the workplace. That is a shepherd position just as much as a king or a president or anything else. You have authority.

It was given to you by God, that authority, that position, that role was created by God, that authority is to be used for his purposes, for the benefit of the people, and not primarily for your benefit. There are those of you who have authority within the home. God has established the structure in the home. The husband has authority in the home. So does the wife, mom and dad. There is authority there.

You've been given that authority. You've been entrusted with that authority. You better make sure that you use that authority to feed the flock because you know what? God is against bad shepherds. And if you neglect your responsibility, that doesn't get you out. A king who runs from the throne is just as guilty as a king who uses the throne to exploit the people. You need to take responsibility

and exercise the authority that God has given to you and use it for his purposes, for his glory. And so if you have authority in the home, if you have authority in the workplace, if you have authority in the church or in any other arena, maybe it's just authority in the social realm and, you know, your social circles, that's entrusted to you by God. And you need to know God's against bad shepherds. So be a good shepherd and use your authority to minister to the people.

Well, moving on to verses 11 through 16, we have point number two, and that is God will shepherd his sheep. God will shepherd his sheep. Israel's leaders have failed miserably. So God says, I'm going to step in and do it myself. Verse 11. Actually, we'll read verses 11 through 13. Here's what it says. For thus says the Lord God, indeed, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.

Verse 13. Verse 13.

So God says, the leaders have failed. The sheep have been scattered. And God says, I'm going to step in now and I'm going to gather the sheep. I'm going to search them out. I'm going to bring them back.

Now again, there's a near fulfillment of these things that are being told here by Ezekiel on behalf of the Lord. The near fulfillment, the immediate, that wasn't immediate in the sense that it was the same day, but after the 70 years of captivity that took place in Babylon, the Jews were released from Babylon and returned to Jerusalem. They were given the opportunity to go back to

to rebuild the temple, and then later to rebuild the city. And we have the record of this in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, how many of the people or some of the people chose to go back to Israel and rebuild the temple and the city. But as you read through those accounts and you understand what took place and how the people returned, none of that happened because of the work of Israel's leaders. None of this was the result of Israel's shepherds.

It wasn't, you know, the king, Zedekiah, who negotiated with the king of Babylon or the king of Persia who conquered Babylon and said, you know, we will work things out and we'll be good subjects to you and let us go back. And there was no negotiation. There was no use of authority on behalf of the shepherds that had any part in the return of God's people to their land.

It wasn't their persuasion. It wasn't their tactics, their negotiations. It wasn't them exercising authority. They had been broken. And instead, God himself intervenes and does the work to bring his people back to their promised land. How does he do it? Well, they were captive in Babylon because Babylon conquered them. After the 70 years of captivity, the nation of Persia rose up and conquered Babylon.

And Cyrus, the king of Persia, well, God speaks to him directly. God speaks to him and stirs up something in his heart. It's recorded for us in Ezra chapter 1 verse 2. Here's the decree of Cyrus. Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, all the kingdoms of the earth, the Lord God of heaven has given me. And he has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

So Cyrus comes on the scene. He conquers Babylon. He walks into the city of Babylon. He hears about prophecies. Scriptures are presented to him. Isaiah and Jeremiah both prophesy about Cyrus. And now he makes this decree. He says, look, God has given me all the nations. He leads now the world empire as the king of Persia. Conquered everything that Babylon had conquered and conquered Babylon itself. God's given everything to me. That's the truth. He's a shepherd.

It's a position of authority that God had given to him. And he said, here's what God's told me. God's commanded me to build him a house. And so he tells the Jewish people, you want to build him a house? Go, because God's told me to do that. So go, yes, go, have my blessing, get all the supplies you need, and go build the house of the Lord. This was a work of God. God stepped in and was the shepherd that Israel needed when Israel's shepherds failed miserably.

And he worked directly in the heart of Cyrus. He worked out the deals. He did the negotiation. He did what shepherds are supposed to do and provided for his people to be gathered together back in the land. Now, that's the near fulfillment. Again, the far fulfillment. We look forward still to that future kingdom of Jesus Christ when he sets up his kingdom for a thousand years. And at that time,

then all of this will be fulfilled even to a far greater degree than what has been fulfilled. And the nation of Israel, the people of Israel will be gathered back into the land fully and completely in the way that is described here. But God says, I'm going to do it. It's going to be my work because there was no shepherds to do that work. Verse 14, he says, I will feed them in good pasture and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel.

There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. Verse 16, I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away. Bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick. I will destroy the fat and the strong and feed them in judgment. Here you see God saying, I'm going to do everything that the bad shepherds failed to do.

They left the weak and wounded all by themselves. And God says, I'm going to minister to the weak and to the wounded, and I'm going to heal them. They drove away the sheep, and God says, I'm going to gather them back. The shepherds fed on the flock and didn't feed them. And God says, I'm going to feed them in good pasture. I'm going to provide for them, and I'm going to meet their needs. I think it's interesting as you continue to consider the book of Ezra.

Here we see Cyrus, king of Persia. He takes the throne, releases them. Sometime later, Artaxerxes is now king of Persia. And Artaxerxes sends a man named Ezra to Jerusalem. And again, it's a work of God. It's not the persuasion of some of Israel's leaders. It's not some king or some shepherds that have stepped up and said, hey, you know, we need this kind of thing and we have this kind of need and we need to be fed in this way.

Artaxerxes, stirred up by the Lord, sends Ezra to Jerusalem. And we have a piece of the instruction that Artaxerxes gave to Ezra in Ezra chapter 7 verse 25. Here's what King Artaxerxes says, And you, Ezra...

according to your God-given wisdom, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the river. And notice this, all such as know the laws of your God and teach those who do not know them. So King Artaxerxes, Persian king, pagan, not a believer in Jesus. Well, Jesus hadn't come yet, but you understand. He wasn't a believer in God. He didn't follow Judaism, but God worked in him

and sends Ezra back to Israel. He sends a scribe to teach the people the law of God, the word of God. Set up these authorities, set up these rulers among those who know the laws of God, and those who don't know the law of God, while Ezra lives,

I'm going to give you the authority, the responsibility to teach them. And as you look at the book of Ezra and you read about his ministry, that's what he did. In Ezra chapter 8, he brings forth the word of God and they make it clear to the people and there's repentance and revival and God's people are being fed in a way that they were never being fed by those bad shepherds. God is meeting the needs of his sheep. God will be their shepherd when their shepherds fail.

As we consider these things today, of course, we continue to look for this same kind of provision from the Lord. We can't trust in our shepherds, looking at our political arena, looking at the things going on in our country. We've got bad shepherds. And no matter who takes the office after this coming election, we'll still have bad shepherds. It's not going to change. We're still going to need to look to the Lord to be our shepherd. But

We can look to the Lord because Jesus himself said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Notice what God says he will do here in this passage. I'm just going to highlight some of the things that we read here. In verse 11, God says, I myself will search for my sheep. God says, I'm going to do that.

In verse 13, he says, I will bring them from the peoples and gather them. I'm going to bring them back. I'm going to gather them together. In verse 15, he says, I will feed my flock. In verse 15, he also says, I will make them lie down. I'm going to give them rest. In verse 16, I will seek what was lost and bring them back. God is actively involved in

in the lives of his people. He is a good shepherd. And Jesus is going to meet your needs as you trust in him and look to him. He will take care of you. When our shepherds in the political realm, in the workplace, in the home, when our shepherds fail in their responsibility to meet our needs, we can know that God will shepherd his sheep.

We can trust that God will step in and take care of his people. He's made that his responsibility. He's made it clear he will do that, and we can count on him to do that. So no matter what happens this week, understand and hold fast that God will be faithful to shepherd his sheep. We can trust in that and rest in that. God will shepherd his sheep.

Moving on to verses 17 through 22, we have point number three, and that is God will judge bad sheep. Shifting gears a little bit. Been talking about the leaders, the authorities in the land of Israel, but now God begins to deal with the Israelites, the Jewish people, as people and how they treat one another. You see, it's not just the authorities that have been a problem that has caused them to be in the place that they're in, but also they haven't been good neighbors. They

They haven't been good sheep to each other. And God's going to deal with those relationships. In verse 17, it says, and as for you, oh, my flock, says the Lord God. Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. Behold, God says, I'm going to judge. Now, again, it's similar to the woe. It's a pronouncement of judgment. It's a pronouncement, hey, you're in trouble.

If you are not the sheep that I've called you to be, if you're not behaving the way that I've called my sheep to behave, even if you don't have responsibility as a shepherd, listen, you have the responsibility of being a sheep. You have a responsibility to be, well, the kind of sheep that God calls you to be. What's his issue with the sheep? Well, he describes it a bit in verse 18 and 19.

Here God begins to address the people and says, look, you blame a lot on your leaders and

And some of that is accurate. Your leaders are messed up and they have failed in their responsibility. But also you as sheep have responsibility and those who have not fulfilled their role as sheep, I'm going to deal with them. He says, look, I've blessed you. I've given you so much. I've given you good pasture. But there are some sheep who have, well, taken advantage of the blessings of God to make sure they enjoy those blessings for themselves and

But in doing so, they also ruin those blessings for others. So he describes this good pasture, right? And this sheep goes in and eats the good pasture by themselves before other sheep can get there. You know, this is the person who rushes to the front of the buffet line, like, and then I'm going to take everything. And the people behind you, you don't get to eat those, you know, whatever dishes that are brought. He says, you've drunk the clear waters and then you

Stir up the residue. You foul the residue with your feet. Think about it this way. Let's say you and I were out in the desert. We've been wandering for a couple days. We're thirsty, looking for water. We finally find a clear, fresh spring. We're hot. We're thirsty. We see the spring. We see the water. And I push you out of the way. And I go and drink and have my fill. And then I take a bath in it. If you want to drink, you could drink my bath water. That's cool. I don't mind. I don't mind.

But I made sure I got my drink and I got my bath and everybody else missed out. That's what God's saying is you took the blessings that I gave you and you enjoyed them for yourselves in a way that you kept others from enjoying them. And then you went above and beyond and you ruined it for other people so that you ate the grass and you didn't even let people just have some of the remnants, but you stomped all over it and fouled it up and messed it up so that people couldn't even enjoy the remnants, the little bit of leftovers from the things that I blessed you with.

God says, I'm going to judge sheep like that. Bad sheep, sheep bullies, pushing people around and out of the way and making sure I get what I want. Selfish sheep will be judged by God. And so here's what you can know. If there's people pushing you around, you don't have to fret about it. You don't have to spend, you know, night after night after night worrying and trying to figure out some way of revenge or some way to get them back.

Listen, God will take care of them. God will deal with bad sheep. But I would suggest we turn it around and make sure that we are not one of the bad sheep. And so let me ask it this way. Is anyone less blessed because of you? You know, we live in a land that we are blessed with lots of great things and privileges and freedoms and abundance and

As you compare it to the rest of the world and the rest of history, we have great blessings from God. But are people less blessed because you're involved in their lives? I mean, that sounds kind of harsh, right? But that's the reality. We need to consider. We need to examine. You don't have to be an authority to exploit people. But we can exploit people just as fellow sheep exploit.

exploiting one another and seeking our own ends and our own needs and our own wants at the expense of others. Is your spouse less blessed because of you? I mean, God's blessed you. He's blessed your family, but you make sure you get those blessings from God and you don't share them or you ruin them for the rest of your family. Are your kids less blessed because of you, your friends, your family, your neighbors, your church, your

Are you taking away, ruining, messing up the blessings that God has provided? You're making sure you enjoy them. You get all the benefits, but you don't really care if others get the benefits or get to enjoy the blessings. Last week, I shared the greatest commandment that Jesus shared in Mark chapter 12, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. He goes on from that greatest commandment to say, here's number two on the list, to

It's found in Mark chapter 12, verse 31. He says, These are the top two. Love God and love your neighbor. If you are loving your neighbor, you will be good sheep. But if you don't love your neighbor, you're going to be a bad sheep. Love does what is best for people. That's what it means really to love.

It doesn't mean to feel mushy or squishy or, you know, cry and do that. I mean, there's emotions involved, but here's bottom line what it means. Love does what is best for people. That's what Christ has done for us. He died upon the cross for us. He did what was best for us because he loves us. And that's what God calls us to do with our neighbor. Now, that's not talking about strictly, you know, the address on the street right next to you. That's the...

It's not limited to that. It's the people that you're connected with, the people that you relate to, the people that you're around. Love your neighbor. Do what's best for them. Don't just look out for yourself and don't just enjoy the blessings and the benefits of what God provides for you. But you as a sheep have a responsibility to love and do what's best for the people around you. No matter how they treat you or what you get back, you have a responsibility as a sheep to love them.

God will judge bad sheep. Don't worry about those exploiting you. Don't worry about those. God's going to deal with them. That's his responsibility. Instead, I would turn it around and suggest, let's focus on making sure we're the sheep that God wants us to be, that we're loving our neighbor as ourself. Well, finishing it up now in verse 23 through 31, we have point number four. God will shower his sheep with blessing.

This is why I suggest we should focus not so much on those bad shepherds or those bad sheep. We can blame a lot on them. We can fret a lot about them. We can consume and waste a lot of time worrying about all those bad shepherds and sheep. But I think instead the Lord would have us focus on being his sheep because there's so many great benefits to being his sheep. He will shower his sheep with blessing.

Check out verse 23 through 26. It says, Verse 26.

I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season. There shall be showers of blessing. Doesn't that sound glorious? Showers of blessing. Man, I want that. God says, I have that for my sheep. Now, again, looking at the fulfillment of these things, the far fulfillment,

is what most applies here. That is, in the millennium, when Jesus rules and reigns, Israel will be gathered back and he will be there present in Jerusalem ruling. And then truly, as you read about, well, actually going forward in Ezekiel, this coming week, as we read through Ezekiel, we'll see some of the showers of blessings, as God describes, some of the things that will take place during that thousand-year reign of Christ. It's going to be amazing. But again, there is more than just that final moment

far fulfillment. There is the spiritual fulfillment in Christ because Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. In verse 27, 28, and 29, I'm not going to read them, but it describes just some of the fruitfulness, the abounding blessings of God upon his sheep, upon his people. And we have those things in our lives as well in Christ because he is our good shepherd.

The Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter one, verse three says, blessed be God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have been put in a place of blessing where we receive every spiritual blessing that exists. If there's a spiritual blessing that exists, we have that spiritual blessing in Christ. Every great promise exists

Every awesome thing that God has declared he will do, every word of hope and comfort, everything that God has for us is found by believing in Jesus Christ. And as believers in Jesus Christ, we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Showers of blessings are yours as a sheep in God's fold. You're blessed. Now you might say, well, those are nice words. I like the concept.

but I'm not yet in heavenly places. I don't yet feel all those showers of blessings. I mean, life kind of stinks a lot of the time. And so let me remind you about some more blessings that we have. Matthew chapter 6, verse 33. But seek first the American dream, and all these things shall be added to you. Is that what it says? Of course not. But seek first the kingdom of Trump, and all these things will be added to you. Is that what it says? Seek first the kingdom of Clinton, and

and all these things will be added to you? It doesn't say that either. Here's what it says. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. You have the promise. The context of Matthew chapter 6 is you don't have to worry about what you're going to eat or what you're going to wear. You don't have to stress about the things that you need, because God's promise is that he provides for his sheep.

And so you put God first. You focus on being his sheep. You focus on trusting him and walking with him. You focus on his will, his desires, and his promise, his guarantee is you will be taken care of. Your needs will be met and you will be showered with blessing. Everything you need in this life and every spiritual blessing that's possible in the heavenly realm.

You have great promises from God as his sheep. He will shower you with blessing. And so this morning, I want to really encourage you, no matter what happens this week, you stay focused on being God's sheep.

That's what we need the most. That is what is best for us. No matter what happens in our political realm, no matter what happens in our society, no matter what happens in the world around us, our primary objective is to love God and to love our neighbor. That's being focused on being a sheep. Trusting God and walking with him and loving the people around us is what he's called us to do.

That's the most important thing in our lives. More important than anything else by far. There's a shepherd for God's sheep. And we can trust, we can rest, knowing that God is going to deal. He's against the bad shepherds. He's going to deal with them. That's his responsibility, and it's his promise that he will. He's against them, but he will shepherd his sheep. He will tend his flock. He will take care of his people. And if there's bad sheep...

taking advantage, trying to exploit you, trying to mess with you. He's going to deal with them. You don't have to stress and worry. God's going to deal with those bad sheep. That's his responsibility. It's his promise. But he also promises to shower his sheep with blessing. And so again, I encourage you, focus on being his sheep because then you're set. You've got the shepherd to take care of you. You don't have to fight off the bad shepherds. It's not your responsibility to

to throw over, you know, those things, unless God makes it your responsibility and tells you to do that. But he's got it. He's got it taken care of. You focus on seeking the Lord, trusting that God will provide for you, knowing that God will bless you because you are his sheep. Now, listen, we get to partake of communion this morning, and it's perfect.

Because Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. And he says in John chapter 10, verse 11, he says, the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. As you think about focusing on being his sheep, here's what you need to understand. Jesus is the good shepherd, ultimately proven once and for all, because he gave his life for the sheep. You see those bad shepherds in Israel? The sheep gave their life for the shepherd, right?

They're having the fat, you know, of the lambs and the fatlings and they're slaughtered and they're consuming, they're eating, they're partaking of the sheep. But Jesus flipped it around and says, I'm the good shepherd. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give myself on behalf of the sheep. And he sacrificed his life for us, proving once and for all, he is the good shepherd.

And that means that we can trust him. That means that we should love him. That means we can walk with him and know that he will take care of us no matter what happens, no matter what takes place. We can trust and rest in him as the good shepherd, believing in Jesus and walking with him. He gave us the bread as a reminder. He said, this is my body, which is broken for you. Don't forget that. Do this in remembrance of me.

Remember, I'm the good shepherd. Remember, I gave myself to be beaten, to be broken on your behalf. And then he gave the cup and he said, this is a reminder of my blood, which is shed for the remission of sins. Don't forget that. I died for you. I met your greatest need, offering you forgiveness from your sin that you could have right relationship with God and everlasting life. Jesus is the good shepherd.

He wants us to remember that. And so we want to take time this morning. Ronnie's going to lead us in a song. You can come on up. And the ushers are going to pass out the bread and the cup. And as they do, we want to do things a little bit different this morning. Usually, I have you just partake at any time. But this morning, I want to encourage you, hold on to your portions. And let's just worship the Lord. Let's allow this to be a time where we remember what he's done for us as he instructed us to. So they're going to pass out the bread and the cup. Hold both portions.

And after we've had some time to reflect and consider all that God has done and the fact that he's our good shepherd and focus on being his sheep and trusting him and receiving the forgiveness that he offers, at the end of the song, then we'll partake together as a family and spend a little bit of time in prayer for our nation. So let's just focus now though on what Christ has done. He is the good shepherd. Let's worship him and focus on being his sheep.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.