[0:00] Welcome to our service this morning as we join together in the worship of God we pray for his blessing upon our time together.
[0:11] We're going to begin singing from Psalm 80. Psalm 80. And from the beginning of the psalm.
[0:30] Psalm 80. Psalm 80 from the beginning. Here is your shepherd like a flock.
[0:42] Thou that dost Joseph guide. Shine forth, O thou that dost. Between the Jerubims abide. In Ephraim's and Benjamin's and in Manasseh's sight.
[0:55] O come for our salvation. Stir up thy strength and might. Turn us again, O Lord our God, and upon us vouchsafe.
[1:06] To make thy countenance to shine, and so we shall be safe. O Lord of hosts, almighty God. How long shall kindled be thy wrath against the prayer made by thine own folk to thee?
[1:22] Thou tears of sorrow give'st to them instead of bread to eat. Yea, tears instead of drink thou give'st to them in measure great.
[1:34] Thou makest us a strife, and to our neighbours round about. Our enemies among themselves at us. You laugh and flout.
[1:44] Turn us again, O God of hosts, and upon us vouchsafe. To make thy countenance to shine, and so we shall be safe. And so on.
[1:55] We're going to sing verses 1 to 6. Psalm 80. Here is your shepherd like a flock. Thou that dost Joseph guide.
[2:05] Dear Israel, shepherd like a flock.
[2:19] Thy land as Joseph guide. Shining horde, O Lord of hosts, and the cherub is the light.
[2:47] In Old The nations that are of God's men of mine Turn us again, O Lord our God And our heart was there To make thy thousand hearts to shine
[3:56] And so wish not be there O Lord our hosts of my people I long shall enter thee Thy wrath against the brave And may my dying Lord fulfill Thy tears of sorrow gives to them In heaven's dead In heaven's dead
[4:58] In heaven's dead In heaven's dead O Lord our God And may my glory Thou give to them In misery Thou make as the sun A bright country A river Drone Thou give to them Thou give to them Thou give to them Thou give to them Thou give to them Thou give to them Thou give to them Let us join together in prayer.
[6:03] Let us pray. Most gracious God, as we come before you in prayer and with praise upon our lips, encourage us to believe that you are a willing recipient of our worship.
[6:22] Do not allow us to think that what we are doing is in any way redundant. That may be the prevailing opinion within our society, that God is a thing of the past, an entity that has no place in modern society, and scorn is poured upon those who would give a place in their lives to their spiritual relin, except in perversions offered, when the reality of God is something that is at odds with the way that we live our lives here in this world.
[7:24] And we acknowledge that even at the outset, that we need to turn, as the psalmist of old, brought his petitions into your presence, seeking from you the grace to turn, encouragement to believe that you were willing to lift up your cowardice upon us and bring home to us the reality of salvation, brought by your own hand.
[8:06] So as we pray and as we contemplate the truth around which we are met and under his teachings, we seek to find ourselves with receptive hearts.
[8:28] We ask for your help. We ask for your help. We ask for your hand to be upon us, so that we would not, for whatever reason, shut ourselves off from the truth and what that truth has to say to any one of us.
[8:47] The same truth may speak to every one of us and be relevant to our circumstances and situations and perhaps in ways that are different and yet it is the truth of God, a living truth.
[9:07] And for that reason, we are thankful that your word is a mighty word. It is compared to a sword, even a two-edged sword that is able to penetrate into the very recesses of our being, dividing asunder the thoughts and the intents of the heart.
[9:37] We give thanks for the way in which you are able to speak into our individual needs, that you are able to separate these needs temporal from the spiritual and spiritual from the temporal, and even bring them into perfect accords that we know that these things that are a burden to us in the spiritual realm impact upon our lives in the world in which we live and vice versa.
[10:10] We pray then your blessing upon your word, upon your people, upon those who gather with them in this place and elsewhere. give thanks for the word that is proclaimed from the pulpits of our land especially as it directs us to think of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the alone Saviour of sinners.
[10:33] May his name be magnified, may his grace be brought home to us as that which is in the very thing that we need most.
[10:44] we pray that you would remind us of his willingness to save to the uttermost even those who would come to you by way of him.
[10:56] We remember in your presence all who have a need today that may be exceedingly great. Those who are unwell we bring before you and pray for them.
[11:09] Those who are housebound, those who are hospitalized, those who are ravaged by the effects of old age. We pray for them and especially any of our own number who may be found within the circuit that number.
[11:32] We pray that you would visit them in mercy and speak into their need with the voice of the almighty that they may know that you are the one who can cause the storms to be calmed and the voice of the almighty can say peace be still and there is a peace and there is a stillness even upon the soul.
[11:58] So we pray Lord that you would remember all such and all who minister to their needs be they temporal or spiritual. Remember the nursing fraternity, the doctors, all who belong to the care, caring fraternity throughout the community be they in hospital, care homes or ministering to the needs of the many within their own homes.
[12:27] We pray for them and you would keep them safe in this winter weather that we have to contend with, whether it is wind or rain or snow or ice.
[12:41] We are in your hands and you are a merciful God and we pray that you would be watching over each one. We pray for all the various sources of care within our society, we pray for our police force, our ambulance service, our fire services, we pray for the armed forces as they may be ever so limited in number when we are threatened with imminent dis-peace within the European continent once again.
[13:28] men. We do not know the extent of the danger that there is, but we know that there is danger and we cannot but in wisdom draw nigh to God who is the one who is able to unravel the complexities of the machinations of men.
[13:50] men. We pray Lord that you would overrule for good in all these things. Remember the places in the world where there is a constant threat of war, if not an ongoing reality of war within various nations and countries.
[14:08] we give thanks for the peace that we enjoy within our own nation. But we know the fragility of peace, that it doesn't need war to disturb it, it doesn't need the threat of war to disturb it.
[14:25] There are so many things that can intrude upon our peace and we pray that you would sanctify whatever it is that you in your wisdom see fit to allow us to encounter.
[14:39] May our eye always gravity towards you knowing the wisdom of putting our trust in God. So watch over us each one. Remember again, we pray for the children of the congregation, of the community, we pray for those who are parents of such, we remember them to you and ask that you would guide them as they raise up their children in a world that has so many challenges to bring to bear upon the homes and the family unit.
[15:19] We pray for our nation that is so confused in so many different ways. We pray Lord that you would overrule for good in the lives of our nation that those who govern would know to look to God.
[15:38] We remember our queen, our royal household and all who sustain her in her reign. We give thanks for the longevity of it and we pray for grace to be ever more real to her that she may know to rest in the salvation that is wrought by the hand of another even King Jesus.
[16:08] So remember our prayers answer them in wisdom we ask guide us in the truth and grant mercy for our sins in Jesus name Amen.
[16:19] Amen. We're going to read from the scriptures of the New Testament the gospel of Jesus Christ according to John we're reading from chapter 10 John chapter 10 and we read from the beginning Verily verily I say unto you he that entereth not by the door into the sheep but climbeth up some other way the same as a thief and a robber but he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep to him the porter openeth and the sheep hear his voice and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out and when he putteth forth his own sheep he goeth before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice and a stranger will they not follow but will flee from him for they know not the voice of stranger this parable spake
[17:28] Jesus unto them but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them then said Jesus unto them again verily verily I say unto you I am the door of the sheep all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep did not hear then I am the door by me if any man enter in he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture the thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy I I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly I am the good shepherd the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep but he that is unhearing and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth and the wolf catcheth him and scattereth the sheep the hireling fleeth because he is unhearing and careth not for the sheep
[18:32] I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine as the father knoweth me even so know I the father and I lay down my life for the sheep and other sheep I have which are not of this fold them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice and there shall be one fold and one shepherd therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again no man taketh it from me but I lay it down of myself I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again this commandment have I received of my father there was a division therefore again among the Jews for these things and many of them said and his mind why hear ye him others said these are not the words of him that hath a devil can a devil open the eyes of the blind and it was of
[19:37] Jerusalem the feast of the dedication and it was winter and Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch then came the Jews round about him and said unto him how long dost thou make us to doubt if thou be the Christ tell us plainly Jesus answered them I told you and ye believe not the works that I do in my father's name they bear witness of me but ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep as I said unto you my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand my father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand I and my father are one then the Jews took up stones again to stone them Jesus answered them many good works have
[20:40] I showed you from my father for which of these works do you stone me the Jews answered him saying for a good work we stone thee not but for blasphemy and because that thou being a man makest thyself God Jesus answered them is it not written in your law I said ye are gods if he called them gods unto whom the word of God came and the scripture cannot be broken say ye of him whom the father hath sanctified and sent into the word thou blasphemest because I said I am the son of God if I do not the works of my father believe me not but if I do though ye believe not me believe the works that ye may know and believe that the father is in me and I in him therefore they sought again to take him but he escaped out of their hand and went away again beyond
[21:41] Jordan into the place where John said John did no miracle but all things that John spake of this man were through and many believed on him there Amen and may the Lord at his blessing to a reading of his word and to his name be the praise we're going to sing from Psalm 78 Psalm 78 78 and verse 68 but he the Jews Jehudah tried to be the rest above and off Mount Zion he made choice which he so much did love and he his sanctuary built like to a palace high like to the earth which it had found to perpetuity of
[22:43] David that his servant was he also choice to make and even from the folds of sheep was pleased him to take from waiting on the youth with him he brought him forth to feed Israel his inheritance his people Jacob seed so after the integrity he of his heart them fed and by the good skill of his hands them wisely governed we can sing these verses from verse 68 of psalm 68 to the end but he did choose Jehuda's tribe to be the rest upon of earth So The rest of us
[23:48] And all of us I know he rejoins With Jesus O heart and love And his son You are in heaven Like you are in heaven Like you in the air With Jesus The man that you is here On David And his servant born
[24:55] He also joins His name And even from the old Lord he Was busy être Sure Ooooh O wise and the integrity,
[26:08] Heal all his heart and bread, And by the good, Give all his love, O wise and the integrity, We can turn to John chapter 10, and we can read at verse 14.
[26:49] I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine, As the Father knoweth me, Even so know I the Father, And I lay down my life for the sheep, And other sheep I have, Which are not of this fold, Them also I must bring, And they shall hear my voice, And there shall be one fold, And one shepherd.
[27:20] I am the good shepherd. I am sure many of you are familiar with this chapter in the Gospels, And fond of the words of this chapter.
[27:40] As someone who grew up with sheep in the home, Like many of you, We had exposure to looking after sheep, And being involved in sheep from a very early age.
[28:01] Boys and girls, I am sure if you ever went on a picnic, And I am sure every one of you has, Gone on picnics. I did not know what a picnic was, Except reading about it in a book.
[28:14] And the closest thing I ever got to a picnic, Was going to a fank. And even then, What I enjoyed at the fank, Was probably being allowed to share in, Some food that had been brought to, Those who had been out on the moor, Gathering the sheep.
[28:34] Somebody had brought them, Something very appetizing, Like oat cakes, And sour milk. I don't know if you ever had sour milk before, Bonnet you.
[28:48] But it was good for thirst, And they enjoyed that. It was a big feast. And I was allowed to see that, And to take part in that.
[28:59] It was part of my upbringing. And I suppose, Looking after sheep, Or having an interest in sheep, Is something that's either in you, Or a twizzle.
[29:10] And I know that. My first experience, Was as a gatekeeper. And I was either a gate myself, Or I was holding the gate, To let the sheep go in and out.
[29:24] And when I was the gate, I was very small, When I was the gate, When you would think, It would be a dangerous job, But my father, Had very good dogs, And the dog would be sitting behind me, And there was no danger, That the sheep could come anywhere near the gate, Because of the dog.
[29:46] But I was given a very important job. And, That's the kind of person, That has an interest in sheep. Somebody who grew up with them, Somebody who knows, A little about them.
[30:01] But I've also discovered, That not everybody likes sheep. I've seen people coming, Towards a fang, Tourists, And their noses, Begin to wrinkle, Before they're, 50 yards away.
[30:17] The smell gets to them, They don't like it. And, They're, They're very much, Turned off by the smell, Of sheep.
[30:29] I'm not aware of it myself, But, Many people are, Many people are, Conscripted into looking after sheep. And, They, They, They do it, Much against their will.
[30:44] Others, They wouldn't, Be involved at all. Now, When you think of that, And you think of, This, Story, Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[30:57] And the fact that he calls himself, The good shepherd. And you wait up in your mind, And you say to yourself, Why, Did Jesus speak of himself, As the good shepherd?
[31:12] Now, When I began to think of it, I was thinking, Well, Of all his disciples, I can't think of any one of them, That was a shepherd. They were fishermen, There was a tax collector, There was a doctor, I don't know, I didn't have time, To go into it, But I couldn't think of any one of them, Any one of the twelve, That was a shepherd, Which seems strange, And yet, Jesus identifies himself, As the good shepherd.
[31:49] And, Then again, When you think about, The vast majority of people, Have no interest in sheep, They have, They wouldn't be seen, Anywhere near sheep, And yet, Jesus uses this, Illustration, Of, A relationship, Between himself, And his people, And, He, Uses this, To, Convey to us, Certain, Truths, And teachings, That are, Relevant, To, The relationship, That the Christian, Has, With the Savior, And, When you, When you think of it, Like that, Then you might think, That, Jesus got it wrong, That really, He would have been better, Calling himself,
[32:49] The good fisherman, Because, Because a lot of the men, That he spoke to, Were fishermen, And, He, His, His ministry, Was carried out, Beside the sea, Of Galilee, And various places, Where, The sea, Featured, But, There is, A clear, Teaching, That is meant to be conveyed, To us, By, The Lord, Describing himself, To his people, As, The good shepherd, And when you, Begin to, Look at it more closely, You'll find that, God was speaking, To our people, Who, Were, Themselves, Shepherds, Not all of them, Obviously, But a great many of them, Were, If you go back, In the history of the Bible,
[33:51] The story of Cain, And Abel, We're told, That Abel, Was a keeper, Of sheep, When we read, About the various patriarchs, Abraham, Had many flocks, Jacob, Had flocks of sheep, We're told, About Job, That he had 7,000 sheep, We know, The best known shepherd, Of all, David, Was somebody, Who had, Initial, Care, Of the flocks of sheep, Even Moses, Even Moses, Was 40 years, Looking after flocks, Of his father-in-law, In the wilderness, So, In the Bible, There is, This historical background, Which is a pastoral, Background, A people, That God, Had spoken to, And, Was, Speaking to, As his own people,
[34:52] He often, Reminded them, Of, Who he was, That he was, The shepherd, Of Israel, That he was, The one, Who, Looked after, Israel, The way, A shepherd, Looked after, His flock, And, The scripture, Has, Many references, In the old testament, Of that relationship, But, It all pointed, In one direction, It all pointed, To the day, In which, The Lord, Was going to, Redeem, A people, To himself, Through, The good shepherd, And, The background to it, Is an introduction, To, The nature, Of this relationship,
[35:54] If you go to, Ezekiel, You go to, Isaiah, You go to, Zechariah, Passages, Are found there, Where God, Speaks about, The, The kind of God, That he was, And, At times, He speaks, Of himself, As, The kind of, Shepherd, That the sheep, Needed, And, They needed him, As that kind of shepherd, Because of the kind of sheep, That they were, They were, The last sheep, Of the house of Israel, They were wandering sheep, They were strange sheep, They were sheep, Who were, Broken, In body, They were sheep, Who needed to have, Hones, Tied, Tied, And healed, So when it comes, To Christ, Speaking of himself, As the good shepherd, It's not really, A surprise to us,
[36:55] That he identifies himself, As, This good shepherd, So I want us just, To think, Very simple thoughts, About, What Christ says, About himself, First of all, What are we to, Take, Take in, About, This, Self, Designation, How Christ, Describes himself, To us, In this chapter, He says, I am, The good shepherd, We're so familiar, With it, And yet, There is so much, Bound up, In that self, Designation, A name, That he gives, To himself, That should be, An encouragement, To each one of us, To understand something, Of the care, That he has, For his own, The second thing, The sheep, That he describes, As my sheep,
[37:56] What can we, Say about them, And, Thirdly, I think, The most important, Thing, That he wants us, To understand, Is that, The good shepherd, Gives his life, For his sheep, And that's not something, That every shepherd, Will do, If any, At all, Would do it, This one, Has given his life, For his sheep, Now, Jesus in this passage, Identifies himself, As a shepherd, Not just a shepherd, But the shepherd, Not just the shepherd, But the good shepherd, And, We can glean a lot, From that description, Because, Sometimes, We've looked at, The various times,
[38:57] That Jesus, Especially in John's gospel, Has used this, Description of himself, I am, The good shepherd, In this passage also, I am, The door, Of the sheep, I am, The bread of life, And so on, And in each one, Of these cases, The use of this, Word, I am, Ego, I me, Is something, That alerts us, To the fact, That Jesus is here, Teaching, That, This person, Who is the shepherd, Is the Lord, Is, The good shepherd, In the sense of, God being, The shepherd, Of which he speaks, You know, In verse 7, He says, Very, Very, I say unto you, I am, The door, Of the sheep, Later on, In the chapter, Jesus makes, The bold claim, In verse 30,
[40:00] I, And my father, Are one, He says, And when he says that, There is a response to it, And the response tells us, When Jesus says that, Those who hear him say it, Understand perfectly well, What do you say?
[40:17] They're not confused, They're not bemused, They know exactly, That when Jesus says, I and the father, Are one, That he is laying, A claim, To divinity, To be, The same as God, To be God, And, They take up stones, To stone him, And in verse 36, He states, Plainly, Say ye of him, Whom the father hath sanctified, And sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, Because I said, I am the son of God, So not only, Do they understand, But he, Means them to understand, That when he speaks of himself, In this way, He is identifying, Himself, With God, This God, Who is the shepherd, Is God, Jesus, Is God,
[41:19] And, Again, If you remember, When Jesus was, Met by a young man, We are told, And, This young man, Said to him, Something along these lines, Good master, What will you, Have me to do, And Jesus, Speaks to this man, And he says to him, Why do you call me good, And then he says, There is none good, But God, And, Jesus understands, That, Through goodness, Genuine goodness, Is, Divine, And he is not saying, I am not God, But he wants this person, To speak into him, To understand, That when he calls him good, That he should understand, That by calling him good, He is also, Ascribing to him, The goodness that only, God has,
[42:21] So when, Jesus is here, Speaking of himself, I am the good shepherd, He is speaking, Of himself, As God, As one, Who is, Unique, In the position, That he holds, As a shepherd, No other, Liker, There are plenty, Shepherds, He is not saying that, But only one Christ, He speaks of hirelings, They are people, Who, Are caring for, Looking after the sheep, But the sheep, Are not theirs, That is not, What is true about Christ, His care of the sheep, Is a care, Given to his sheep, They are his sheep, Thieves and robbers, They go away with the sheep, But these sheep, Are not theirs, They are intent, On killing the sheep, Jesus says, I am not,
[43:21] Going to kill the sheep, I am going to, Give life to the sheep, I am God, And these are my sheep, So that's the first thing, That when Jesus speaks of himself, Using this designation, Using this name, He wants us to understand, Who it is, That is speaking, And, Who it is, That is, Addressing, Or identifying, These sheep, As his own, These sheep, Of which he speaks, Are God's sheep, My sheep, He says, My sheep, And what, What are we allowed to say, About his sheep, Well again, We can read this passage, For ourselves again, More, Closely, In verse 29, He says, My father,
[44:24] Which gave them me, Is greater than all, And no man is able, To pluck them out, Of my father's hand, The sheep, Are given to him, By, The father, They are his sheep, God, Gave them to him, And, The, The question you ask, When, I suppose, Would be a question, That occurs to me, When did God, Give, The good shepherd, These sheep, To be his own, And, You could answer that, In many different ways, I'll give you an answer, Given by, Bishop Ryle, A preacher, Of a past generation, He says, We were chosen, And given to him,
[45:26] By the father, Before the foundations, Of the world, Were laid, Our names, Were written, In the covenant, Of salvation, Before we were born, We were predestined, Or foreordained, To be his people, From all eternity, Now, Obviously, Bishop Ryle is a theologian, But, He goes back, To the point, Of origin, Where, This transaction, Took place, And in many ways, We can't explain, Because, What he's speaking of, Is something, That happened, Before the world, Existed, Before, Adam and Eve, Were created, Before the world, Was created, It's something, It's something, That happened, Within, The trinity, Within, The, Discussions, Or the conversation,
[46:27] Or the experience, Of God, Before God, Created, The world, And anything, That is in the world, You might be dismissive, Of that, And you might say, Well, That's something, That's beyond, My understanding, Well, You're right, It is beyond, Your understanding, It's something, We can't explain, But that the Bible, Tells us, Happened, And God, In his wisdom, Has, Allowed us, Access, Through his, Informing us, That this is, What happened, That in the covenant, Of eternity, In the, In the world, That God, Occupied, Before this world, That we occupy, Existed, We can only speak of it, Using language, That makes sense, To ourselves, This was something, That God did,
[47:28] And he gave, Sheep, To his son, He gave a people, To his son, Sometimes he speaks, Of it as election, Sometimes he speaks, Of it as, For ordination, Some, Some other, Descriptions, But, We cannot, Go back, Into the realms, Of, Eternity, Because, We have no, We have no, Right of access, To that place, But what Jesus, What Jesus, What Jesus, What Jesus, Allows us to do, Is, Speak about, The experience, That we have, In this world, And our experience, Of him, Dealing with us, In this world, And, We're given, We're given an inkling, In verse 16, Of how that works, Jesus, Says, I, Other sheep,
[48:28] I have, Which are not, Of this fold, Them also, I must bring, And they shall hear, My voice, And there shall be, One fold, And one shepherd, Now Jesus is there, Speaking about, How, The sheep, That the father, Gave him, Before the world was, Came, To be, Within the sphere, Of influence, Of the shepherd, In this world, And that's what it's all about, What God did, In eternity, Within the trinity, Within their conversation, Within their, Within their deliberations, Within their, Within their, Conduct of, Of, Divine thinking, May be a mystery to us, But the way he works, In time, Is something that we can, At least begin to understand, And,
[49:31] While verse 16, May speak to think of, The extension of the kingdom, Of Christ, In the world, The kingdom of Christ, In the world, That may, As some would interpret it, Speak about, When God was speaking, To his people, The children, Of Israel, Speaking, Of the promised, Progeny to Abraham, Speaking, Of, Those, Who were going, Who were going, To be, Of, The seed, Of man, That would be, Blessed, Through, The redemption, Of Christ Jesus, There is, An extension, To that kingdom, Beyond, Simply, Those, Who, Were originally, Considered, To be, Beneficiaries, Of the blessing, And the promise, Of God, Remember, God's promise, Came first of all, To, To Eve,
[50:33] As it were, After sin, Came into the world, And then it was, Focused on Abraham, And his descendants, But then, Through, The words, Of the New Testament, We understand, That the promise, Goes out, Beyond, The Jewish nation, To the Gentile nation, Through the preaching, Of the word, Of God, Through the preaching, Of the gospel, Salvation, Is not simply, The, The, Confined, To the Jewish nation, But beyond, The Jewish nation, To those, Who are non-Jews, To the Gentiles, Other sheep, Jesus says, I have, Now that could be, What Jesus is speaking about, Here he's, Got an eye, To a broader, Flock, Than the limited, Thinking, That belonged, To the Jew, When he thought, About God's people, But the fact,
[51:35] Of the matter is, Whoever they are, Whether they are, Jew, Or Gentile, Christ's, Sheep, Can only, Be brought in, By Christ, And he is the one, Who will bring them, Within the fold, And he tells us, How he does this, He tells us, That he will call them, And that, They will hear his voice, And that they will know his voice, And that he will call them by name, And when he calls them by name, That they will follow him, And, I think that is just, In the simplest possible terms, A picture of how the gospel works, A picture of how, The gospel call, Goes out to all, And all who hear, The voice, Of the son of God, Will live, We are told,
[52:35] All who hear his voice, All who, Listen to his voice, Will live, And, The fact he, He speaks of them, And speaks to them by name, Suggests to us, Not, The fact that, If somebody here today, Was going to be converted, Somebody unconverted, Was going to be converted, That the way to their conversion, Would be, If, The voice came from heaven, And it addressed them, By name, Personally, Now that's not, What he means, But it means that, There is an intimacy, In the gospel, When it is directed, To the person, That that person, To whom the gospel, Is directed, Knows, This is a word to me, Not to them, But to me,
[53:37] A word, From Christ, Speaking into my heart, Into my life, Into my situation, Whatever it may be, And, The response, Of that individual, Proves, That to be the case, Once they hear the voice, They will follow the voice, They will follow the shepherd, Because, It is the voice, Of the good shepherd, They recognize, I was thinking, There is, I can't get away, From mystery, In connection with this, But, There is a mysterious, Element to it, That, Cannot really be explained, In ways that, That are easily understood, But, The beneficiary, Of the gospel, The person, Who hears the gospel, When Christ, Speaks,
[54:37] To that individual, It is such, A personal communication, That they are, They are so convinced, That he is speaking, To them, That, There is, There is, A confusion, I suppose, Because of how, Direct it is, Because of what, Christ is saying, To them, They are saying, How can, How can he speak to me, In this way, How can he speak to me, In this personal way, It is as if it is, You are saying to yourself, When it happens, I am only imagining this, There are so many people, Say, When, God, Was working, In their life, It, It changed their life, In so many different ways, Especially, With regard to the way, That they listened, To the gospel, The change,
[55:38] That happened, First of all, Was that change, They believed, Happened to the minister, It was the minister, That changed, Not them, Because, The minister, First of all, Began to make sense, Prior to that, He was speaking nonsense, He began to get better, He began to, Be someone, That they could listen to, Who began to, Speak, Truth, So relevantly, And so, Personally, And so intimately, That, There was something, Wrong with this person, Who was speaking to them, That they attributed, To that person, Not to themselves, To anything that was, Happening themselves, They did not, At that moment, Take, The person, Of Jesus Christ, The good shepherd, Into their thinking, It was the good shepherd, Using his under shepherd, To speak to them,
[56:40] That was speaking, Personally to them, I wonder, Have you had that experience, Have you had that experience, Of, Of, Thinking to yourself, You know, How could this person, Know, What he's just said, And, How could that person, Speak, So, Pointedly, About, What my thinking is, And the truth of the matter is, He couldn't, But God can, Because his knowledge is, Is a perfect knowledge, And, This is what Jesus is saying, I am the good shepherd, And, I know my sheep, And I am known of mine, And because I know them, Then, They will know, That it is me, That is speaking to them, But not instantly, Not always anyway, Very rarely in fact,
[57:42] Very rarely, Do they, Immediately, Put two and two together, And say, You know, What, What this word, Is saying to me now, Is a word that, That comes from God, From Christ, But the third thing, And probably the most important thing, Is this, The sheep, Are his, In a very special way, He tells us, In verse 15, As the father, Knoweth me, Even so, Know I the father, And I lay down, My life for the sheep, The hireling flees, He says, The wolves in sheep, Clothing, They seek, To devour the flock, But, I am a good shepherd, And I give my life, To the sheep, But this is the gospel, That is preached, This is the gospel, That tells you, Who the good shepherd is, And what the good shepherd does, And why he does it,
[58:44] He gives his life, For the sheep, The late John MacAver, Carlyway, In one of his sermons, Said that, The good shepherd, Gives his life, For the sheep, Not every flock, Requires, The death of the shepherd, But this one does, That is in so doing, That he shows, That he really is, The good shepherd, These sheep, Are God given, And because God, Gave them to him, They are precious to him, They are his, They belong to him, And because they belong to him, Nothing less, Than what he does, Could be done, By any other, And what he does, Needed to be done, He died for them,
[59:45] He did, He deliberately, He deliberately, Gave his life for them, It's worth your while, Studying the death of Christ, As God, He had no right to die, As the son of God, Death had nothing, To do with him, But as the good shepherd, Giving his life, For the sheep, He gave his soul, A ransom, For sin, He gave his life, For them, And, He yielded up his spirit, We read, For his sheep, There are many other things, We could say, He cares for them, I came across this, Account, And, It made me wonder, Because, We need to understand, That the flock, Of God, Are made up, Of the sheep, Of the good shepherd, There is one flock,
[60:48] And one shepherd, And he, Is responsible, For the care, Of the flock, And he delivers, That care, Perfectly, He, He cares for them, He feeds them, He leads them, He heals them, He knows, Where they are, At any given moment, Now I believe, There are sheep, Here today, God's sheep, Christ's sheep, Shepherded by Christ, In this place, You could say, They're in the fold, They're in, The flock, They're with the flock, I don't know who said it, But he said something, Very important, When you look at the sheep, There are few animals, In this world, That are so designed, To be together, You'll see these sheep, More often than not, That flock is together,
[61:50] They're marked out, By their togetherness, And when they're not together, If they're stragglers, There's a reason for it, They've wandered off, Because they're separate, From the flock, Their wanderings, Take them away, From the flock, And so on, Sickness, At times, But somebody, Said this, And I was thinking, When he said it, I don't know, How relevant, It is, But at the same time, It is, Most relevant, Because of the care, That Christ has, For his flock, That he delivers, Sometimes, Directly, Sometimes, Indirectly, The flock, Are interested, Have you ever seen, Sheep, Looking, After other sheep, If there's anything, Wrong with them, Sometimes they do it,
[62:51] In, In, Ways that we don't, Quite understand, But within the flock, Of God, It's natural, That the, Members of the flock, Look after each other, And this minister, Was saying, And he was talking about, Something, I think it's very relevant, To our generation, He said, Have you ever been to church, And I said, Well, We've all been to church, Well he says, The most lies are told, At ten past twelve, On a Sunday, The most lies are told, At ten past twelve, On a Sunday, I said to myself, That's quite, Quite a statement, And, The way he explained it, Was like this, You'll meet, Your fellow sheep, You'll meet them, After the service, And you'll ask them, How are you?
[63:48] And, They'll say, Oh I'm well, I'm well, I'm fine, How are you? And you answer, Oh I'm well, I'm fine, And he says, Nine times out of ten, They're not really, Nine times out of ten, They may be, Broken, They may be, Weeping inside, They may be lonely, They may be afraid, They may be concerned, For themselves, Or for others, And yet, We don't, Share that information, Now I got really, Thinking about this, And, It does belong, Within the realms, Of the care, Of the good shepherd, He has given, Rol,
[64:49] The role, Of caring, Over to, Those who are part, Of his flock, Not all of it, Because he has a special, Peculiar, Personal interest, In every one of us, But we can't, Just say, I'll leave it to him, In the sense that, What he has given us to do, That we don't do it, Jesus, The good shepherd knows, But he wants us, To, Take the burden, Of, Shepherding the flock, As part of the flock, And, I think that's something, We overlook, And we're guilty of, Of not fully understanding, But thankfully, The good shepherd, Does not allow,
[65:50] Our shortcomings, Our failings, Our, Our, Inability to tell, Others, I mean, It's not easy, I have to say, This is not something, That any one of us, Can, We can't, Share what's intimate, To ourselves, With anybody, With just anybody, There has to be, The right errand, To do that, There has to be, The right errand, To, To trust, And to be trusted, Before we can share, Our fears, But it's got to the stage, Where we don't speak of it, To, To anyone, And when that happens, It affects, Of relationship, With one another, But also with him, Who has given us, This vehicle, Who has given us, This medium, Who has given us, This channel, Of care, That is open, To every one of us, Where we to use it,
[66:51] I am the good shepherd, He says, Well we know, That he is, We know that, Wherever we are, That he'll go to us, I was just thinking, Before I came out, To the morning, You know the words, And they were, They were used, Many years ago, Where, Where, It doesn't matter where, But the words that, When Elijah was afraid, Do you remember, When Jezebel, Was threatening his life, And he was somebody, Who knew God, And who knew, The power of God, And who knew, The might of God, And who had made, Elijah himself, A vehicle, For, For, For, Miracle, And yet he flees, From Jezebel, And he goes to hide, In a cave, And God speaks, To him, Where he was, And he asks him, Where, What doest thou, Here, Elijah, And sometimes,
[67:52] That's what God does, Sometimes he uses, He uses individuals, To speak to us, And ask us, Well, Where are you, There's Christ, But where are you, Sometimes, We need that, We need that, To be that, To others, We need others, To be that, To us, But Christ, Will always, Be the one, Who comes to us, When we stay, If we stay, Where we stay, Because he's, The good shepherd, There are many things, We could say, About this Christ, And I pray that, We would encourage, Every one of you, To know this Christ, For yourself, As the shepherd, Of your soul, May bless these words, Let us pray, Lord God in heaven, Your word tells us, That you are the good shepherd, You are the shepherd of Israel, You are the shepherd, Who, Who went into the wilderness,
[68:54] To gather in your, Sheep, When they, When they strayed, You fed them, You led them, You healed them, You spoke to them, Words of comfort, You deterred their enemies, And you drove them away, We pray that you would do, That very thing, Even today, Here in this place, Cleanse from sin, In Jesus name, Amen, We're going to sing, What is called, The shepherd's psalm, Psalm of David, Psalm 23, The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want, He makes me down, To lie in pasture screen, He leadeth me, The quiet waters by, My soul he doth restore again, And me to walk doth make, Within the paths, Of righteousness, Even for, His own name's sake, The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want, He makes me down, To lie in pasture, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, The Lord's my shepherd,
[69:58] I'll not want, He breaks me down, And my shepherd's psalm, And my shepherd's psalm, He's living in me, The quiet waters mine, My soul he doth restore again, And me to all come in, Within the paths,
[71:01] Of righteousness, In part of the holy name, Yet, though I'm open, And I will, Yet, when I hear nothing, For thou who art with me, Be thou thy Lord, And thou be come, Or till my kingdom,
[72:03] And thou hast nourished, And precious, O my Lord, My heaven, God, With all thy glory, And might, Thou who art with me, And might, And might, Thou who art with me, God, God, And might, In the glory and in the house forevermore
[73:14] My dwelling place shall be I may grace, mercy and peace from God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit Rest and abide with you all, now and always Amen