That River Flows

“Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden…now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates” (Genesis 2:9-14; the four place names give us the same sense as our phrase, “the four corners of the earth”).

“By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing” (Ezekiel 47:12).

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations [τῶν ἐθνῶν]” (Revelation 22:1,2).

There’s a River Flood Warning for a town about ten miles north of where I live. I don’t know whether it’s that or the fact that I’ve been thinking about the Holy Spirit a lot lately, but I woke up with this biblical river on my mind.

I have lived in the desert; I know that sometimes fruit-bearing takes time, and that you celebrate the harvest no matter what.

Still, I long for the harvest from the shores of this biblical river. I desire “they will bear every month” and “yielding its fruit every month.” I pray for “the healing of the nations” – and not the counterfeit that comes through the intentions, devices, and efforts of humanity.

I earnestly hope to see “the healing of the nations.” I wish our English translations would render τῶν ἐθνῶν as “peoples.”

The lower levels of the auditorium in my congregation’s building are below ground level. When it rains like this we are concerned with flooding. I’ve been told that the creek which runs by the front of the building used to run through the auditorium. The man who built it moved the creek to its present location, but it used to run right through where the stage is now. God put it where it was originally, and it ran there for millennia. I guess it still hasn’t fully accepted the new arrangement.

I have a vision for a river, not in our auditorium (please, Lord!), but for this biblical river that heals the souls of all sorts of peoples from all sorts of backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures.

Ezekiel said the fruit of those trees was continual and healing “because their water flows from the sanctuary” (it comes after the sacrifice of the Prince in Ezekiel 46, but that’s a different post!). The “sanctuary” that provides this river isn’t an earthly building. I know this because Jesus gives us the understanding of Ezekiel’s “visions of God” (40:2).

Jesus, at that well in Samaria so long ago, told the outcast woman, “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:14). It wasn’t about an earthly sanctuary (“Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father,” 4:21). It was about a gift from Jesus that turns the recipient into a sanctuary.

Jesus says the same later in Jerusalem: “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.”’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, Whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39). What we receive from Jesus causes us to be the sanctuary (compare with Isaiah 8:11-14; Ezekiel 11:16) from which flows the river that gives life, that is instrumental in continual, healing fruit. I want this. Not just for me, but for Jesus’ disciples. I want us to be the means by which the Spirit brings eternal healing to all sorts of people.

It will come when we become a people (by His grace) who are passionate about His Word more than worldliness (Psalm 1:1-3). It will flow when we, by the power and authority of that indwelling Spirit, call on the world to “come, and drink” (Revelation 22:17).

Beloved Church, bear this desire with me. Let us desperately beg the Father to do this, through His Son, by His Spirit, drowning our self-centeredness, fear, pride, worldliness, and neglect of His Word in continual, healing, eternal life for many, many peoples.

Three Practices of False Prophets

A few days ago I had a brief moment of stillness in the middle of this time of transition in our lives, so I picked up my wife’s reading Bible and opened it to Ezekiel.

“Then this message came to me from the LORD: ‘Son of man, prophesy against the false prophets of Israel who are inventing their own prophecies. Say to them, “Listen to the word of the LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!” O people of Israel, these prophets of yours are like jackals digging in the ruins. They have done nothing to repair the breaks in the walls around the nation. They have not helped it to stand firm in battle on the day of the LORD. Instead, they have told lies and made false predictions. They say, “This message is from the LORD,” even though the LORD never sent them. And yet they expect Him to fulfill their prophecies! Can your visions be anything but false if you claim, “This message is from the LORD,” when I have not even spoken to you?’” (Ezekiel 13:1-6, New Living Translation).

As a preacher, passages like this grab my attention. What are some warnings concerning false prophets in this Word?

They Follow Their Imaginations

We don’t need a new word tailored for this particular moment. The Bible remains all-sufficient and relevant. Let it speak. We don’t need messages crafted to political or personal circumstances. God’s covenant people live in a world of innumerable false messages, and sit under the preaching/teaching of the Word for just a moment in the week. Just do the math: how much time do you spend hearing and reading the Word in comparison to watching the television, being on the internet, listening to the radio, hearing unbelievers speak, etc. The little time we have together in the Word needs to be a time of devotion to a Jesus-centered, Gospel-faith message to keep us grounded in the truth. We live in a world of vain imaginations; and I do not believe we are discerning enough to tell the difference between “sanctified” imagination and the much more common vanity. Let’s just let God’s Word speak and leave the “new words” to those outside the covenant community. I grieve, because so many faithful Bible expositors waste time with imaginations.

They Don’t Stand in the Gap

Drawing comparisons/applications from the Old Testament to the New Testament requires more than just word-to-word comparison. 13:5, for example, speaks of “the nation.” One of my hermeneutical/theological pet peeves is when modern American believers take O.T. references to “nation” or “land” and apply it to the U.S.A. Examples are legion. The N.T. (and therefore contemporary) equivalent to O.T. Israel is not the U.S.A. (or even the modern State of Israel); it is the Church, the new covenant people of God in Christ. In 1 Peter, “God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1:1) are called “a holy nation” (2:9). I would make the same assertion concerning the O.T. concept of “land.” Since even the O.T. patriarchs were looking by faith to a “heavenly homeland” (Hebrews 11:16), even while living in the earthly Promised Land, we who live in the new covenant in Christ should have the same perspective. When Ezekiel condemns false prophets, for “they have done nothing to repair the breaks in the walls around the nation,” it’s about the covenant people for us. It was even this way in the O.T.; sometimes this language of “standing in the gap” refers to literal walls in a city (1 Kings 11:27; Nehemiah 6:1), but other times it reflects intercession (Psalm 106:23; Ezekiel 22:30). Isaiah 30:13; 58:12 are probably referring to both at the same time (physical and spiritual walls being breached and repaired). Amos 9:11 is important to our right new covenant application of this O.T. principle because it is quoted in Acts 15:13-18. The “repair” of “damaged walls” is not the restoration of a literal nation Israel, or any kind of wall-building (figurative or literal) in the U.S.A. The apostle James applies Amos’ prophecy to a spiritual building up of the covenant people of God, fulfilled in the “conversion of Gentiles” by the Seed of David (Jesus Christ).

False prophets don’t stand in the broken-down boundaries of the covenant people. One application: true men of God point out those boundaries between truth and lie (in confession and practice), lead the people to rebuild them, and intercede for the failure/judgment those gaps represent. Another application: (re)building means evangelism/missions, church planting, and continual discipleships.

They Don’t Help God’s People Stand

False prophets don’t help God’s people stand in the day. They give feel-good messages of worldly peace “by saying, ‘All is peaceful’ when there is no peace at all!” (Ezekiel 13:10). You just need preferable circumstances in this life to have peace (again, this could be political or personal). In contrast, the apostle Paul admonishes the people to “make the most of every opportunity in these evil days” (Ephesians 5:16). He warns them of spiritual enemies: “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil…put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm” (Ephesians 6:11,13). By faith we stand in Christ, a place of true peace – peace with God (Romans 5:1,2). It is a standing in the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Believers need to hear this today, for they are constantly tempted to stand in lesser things against worldly/fleshly/temporary enemies. They do not stand in spiritual, eternal reality against spiritual enemies. True prophets help them stand by revealing God’s truth, not their own carnal imaginations. I become more and more convinced that most believers are fighting with all they have in battles that take them far from the simplicity of faithfulness to Christ and proclamation of the Gospel. We need true prophets to lift up a scriptural reality.

That’s what I’ve been meditating upon for the last few days. We need these warnings, saints. Paul gives us a helpful principle for applying O.T. Scripture in 1 Corinthians 10. He’s speaking of the Exodus and book of Numbers, but the concept is the same: “These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols” (1 Corinthians 10:11-14).

True prophets (I understand new covenant prophecy to be ordinary prophecy, that is, preaching the Bible) proclaim an Old Testament rightly contextualized for the New Testament people, and keep the focus on Jesus and His Gospel. This is the prophecy we must have today as the Church, beloved.

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

“It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.’ And He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed [αγιασθητω, “let it be made holy”] be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation”...if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?’” (Luke 11:1-4,13).

I’ve always been fascinated by the Gospel of Luke. The divinely-inspired compiler (1:1-3) is often “moved [φερομενοι, lit., “carried”] by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21) to record his material in a way that requires some careful consideration. That’s why I love this Gospel. It’s easy to read for all who come to it, but also invites us to meditate on the theme-relationships of the larger structure.

This week I was reading Jesus’ teaching on prayer in chapter 11 (which contains Luke’s recording of the “Lord’s Prayer”). In addition to the model prayer, the Lord also gives two illustrations highlighting the importance of perseverance in prayer and the willingness of the Lord to give to us through the means of prayer. Matthew records these elements separately from each other. This doesn’t confound me like it seems to confound others. I have no problem believing that Jesus taught similarly-worded material at different times and in varied contexts. Anyway, Matthew tells us that the Father gives “what is good to those who asked Him” (Matthew 7:11). Why does Jesus change the wording in His teaching recorded in Luke 11 from “what is good” to “the Holy Spirit”?

I think the answer to this question, and the key to a larger coherence in Luke 11:1-13, is found in the new covenant promise recorded by the prophet Ezekiel:

“Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, ‘Son of man...say to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘...I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God’”’” (Ezekiel 36:16,17,22-28).

Just as Jesus begins His teaching on prayer with a concern for the holiness of the Father’s name and ended it with the giving of the Holy Spirit, Ezekiel does the same (“hallowed [αγιασθητω, “let it be made holy”]...Holy [αγιον] Spirit”). Jesus’ teaching on prayer is built upon the foundation of the Scriptures. He teaches us to pray the promises of the Word. I know that’s not a unique statement. There are a lot of teachers out there urging us to pray the promises of Scripture, and that’s good. I can appreciate anyone motivating us to get into the Word. However, there’s a nuance here that’s usually overlooked when we’re told to “pray the promises of the Word.” The promise of the Lord in Ezekiel is not individualistic, focused on the desires of the individual in their private life – their own self-centered world. The prophet records God’s Self-centered (capital “S”) plan to be glorified in the salvation of His people before the witness of the all the nations. It’s a world-wide Gospel plan about Him.

Is Jesus’ teaching on prayer any different than Ezekiel’s revelation of the Gospel?

“Your [not “our” or “my”] kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:2-4).

We (second-person plural pronouns, never first-person singular) pray for ourselves (again, as the Church) as a subset of praying for God’s coming Kingdom. This coming Kingdom is also the message preached by the Church (9:2; 10:9,11).

The Lord Jesus teaches us to pray the Gospel plan for the gathering of God’s people (the Church) from among the nations, the forgiveness of their sins, and their filling with the Holy Spirit – all for the making-holy of His name and the magnifying of His great glory. Even “our daily bread” falls under this heading. It’s all about His glory through His Son, the Savior-King.

“Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). May we be willing to hear His teaching, drawn from the Prophets, and make our regular petition the glory of the Father through the Gospel of His Son among all the nations by the power of the Holy Spirit.

"Praying at Gethsemane," by He Qi (1999)

Gog and the Lord's Prayer

I was going to read out 1 Chronicles this morning, and didn’t get very far.

“The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras” (1 Chronicles 1:5//Genesis 10:2, N.K.J.V.).

Having just finished spending most of the year preaching Genesis 1-12, these names were fresh on my mind. I knew a hung-over Noah had blessed Japheth not only with great numbers, but also a place in the tents of the covenant people of Yahweh (Genesis 9:26,27). But what about the rest of the family of Japheth, the ones who were not brought into the camp of the saints by faith? I know their story.

Ezekiel 38-39.

Revelation 20:7-10.

The peoples who do not enter the camp of the saints by faith will seek to destroy it by force. They will fail.

While reading the Ezekiel chapters again, I noticed a promise of God in the midst of it all. The Lord Yahweh promises to bring the unbelievers against His people (Satan and the nations only think they’re calling the shots) and then explains why He is doing it: “...so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes” (38:16).

The gathering of the nations against the people of Messiah, the Christ, is God’s providential answer to two things: a question and a prayer.

It is the answer to the question of the second song of the Psalter:

“Why do the nations rage,

And the people plot a vain thing?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

And the rulers take counsel together,

Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,

‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces

And cast away Their cords from us.’

He Who sits in the heavens shall laugh;

The LORD shall hold them in derision.

Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,

And distress  them in His deep displeasure:

‘Yet I have set My King

On My holy hill of Zion’” (Psalm 2:1-6).

They “rage” and “plot” so that they will come to know God (not savingly, but know Him as absolute Sovereign and Judge) and "so that" He will be made holy before them.

This antichrist(ian) gathering is the answer to the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9//Luke 11:2).

The citizens of the camp of the saints have prayed from the very beginning that God’s name be made holy. The answer from heaven to that fundamental and timeless prayer is the gathering of the nations to surround the camp of the saints, seeking their destruction. “...so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes” (38:16). The rallying of the nations against the camp is the granting of the First Petition, and the prayer of the First Petition results in the besieging of the camp.

It is God’s plan for the display of His glorious holiness before all the nations. Do not despair, but praise His holy name!

Ezekiel, Glory, and Advent

We’re in the midst of a survey of the books of the Bible in our Wednesday evening service. Last night we looked at Ezekiel. I was struck by a powerful theme that runs through Ezekiel which is very appropriate to the Advent season.

Ezekiel records the glory of the Lord departing from Solomon’s Temple, which had in that day become a haven for idolatry.

“Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them...say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My rules and obey them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads,” declares the Lord GOD.’ Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city” (10:18,19; 11:16-23).

Have you ever noticed in your reading of Ezra-Nehemiah that, in the rebuilding of the Temple following the Babylonian Exile, there was no theophany as there was at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple? We have no glory, no cloud, no divine voice, nothing.

The glory of the Lord left the Temple in Ezekiel’s day, the days of the destruction of that Temple. The prophets of the Restoration promise a return of glory (Haggai 2:1-9; Zechariah 2:1-5), but we don’t see it happen in their day. We read Haggai commanding them to build God’s house instead of their own (showing us where their hearts were), and we read Malachi already indicting them for neglecting the worship of God. The Babylonian Exile had taught them little, and certainly hadn’t changed their hearts. The seeds are planted in the Restoration that, over four centuries, become the false religion, the twisting of old covenant Scripture, that Jesus confronts in His ministry.

The Restoration sees the rebuilding of a much smaller Temple, devoid of the glory of God, filled soon with heartless worship. It does not see what Ezekiel promised, a God-given new heart to the people that enables them to obey and love Him from the core of their being.

What about Ezekiel’s Temple in chapters 40-48?

First, let me point out that this Temple is described “in visions of God” (40:2), just like Ezekiel’s eating of the scroll (3:1-3) and the angelic destruction of the idolaters in Jerusalem (9:1-11). We understand both the latter to be spiritual depictions of earthly realities (God’s speaking His Word through Ezekiel and the destruction of Jerusalem at the hand of the Babylonians). Why would the Ezekiel Temple, also given in vision, be any different? Why would we expect this to be a physical Temple, when Ezekiel didn’t physically eat a scroll and angels didn't physically slaughtered the ungodly in 586 B.C.? No, this is a picture of a spiritual reality. What is the earthly manifestation?

Second, notice that the entire Temple vision is conditional upon repentance: “As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out” (43:10,11).

“If.”

The command to “repent” is the first word of the Gospel in the dawning of the new covenant era (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15; 6:12; Luke 13:1-5; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 26:20). With God’s granting of the gift of repentance to both Jews (Acts 5:31) and Gentiles (Acts 11:18) in the Gospel age, we should expect the building of the true, eternal, spiritual Temple, from which the river of life flows to bring life to the world.

This is exactly what we see. The Church is the Spirit-built Temple of God, and is the only true Temple of God described in the New Testament (Ephesians 2:11-22; 2 Corinthians 6:16).

This is Advent. As we read of the departure of the glory of God from Solomon’s Temple in Ezekiel last night, I couldn’t help but think of the return of God’s glory.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

At the marriage in Cana, after He turned water to really good wine: “This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11).

At the resurrection of Lazarus: “Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’” (John 11:40).

“Though He had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in Him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.’ Isaiah said these things because He saw His glory and spoke of Him” (John 12:37-41).

In His high-priestly prayer: “And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed” (John 17:5).

This Advent season, celebrate the presence of the glory of God through Christ by the Holy Spirit in the Church.

Let’s end with the final phrase of Ezekiel, “the LORD is there” (48:35). The covenant presence of God is fully and finally realized in Christ alone, Who is “God with us” (Matthew 1:23; cf. 28:20; Revelation 21:3).

God bless us this Advent with a clearer knowledge and understanding of the presence of His glory through a deeper illumination of His Word in our gatherings.

Fed by the Shepherd

“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments” (Psalm 119:176).

“For thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries...I will feed them...I will feed them in a good pasture...I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,’ declares the Lord GOD...‘Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ declares the Lord GOD. ‘As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 34:11-15,30-31).

Who is the Shepherd of the sheep promised through the prophet Ezekiel? He is Jesus, Son of God (Hebrews 1:1-13), Son of David (Ezekiel 34:24-26; Luke 1:32,33,69; Romans 1:3), Prince of life (Acts 3:15): “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice...truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture...I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep...I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd...My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one’” (John 10:1-4,7,9-11,14-16,27-30).

The Psalmist tells us the desired food of true sheep: “...I do not forget your commandments” (119:176). The Lord tells us the mark of true sheep: “...the sheep hear His voice...they know His voice...My own know Me...they will hear My voice...My sheep hear My voice” (John 10:3,4,14,16,27).

Hear the Word of God and hear the voice of the Shepherd-King as He gathers us together and leads us home.

Jesus the Shepherd

“The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1, Geneva Bible).

“For thus saith the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will search My sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd searcheth out his flock, when he hath been among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out My sheep and will deliver them out of all places, where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day, and I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed My sheep, and bring them to their rest,’ saith the Lord God. ‘I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen the weak...and I will set up a shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My servant David [the Shepherd is both God, 34:11-15, and David, 14:23 – this can only be Christ, Son of God and Son of David], He shall feed them, and He shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David shall be the Prince among them, I the Lord have spoken it’” (Ezekiel 34:11-16,23,24). Jesus is that ruling Son of David (Matthew 1:1; 9:27; 15:22; 20:30,31; 21:9,15; 22:41-45; Mark 10:47,48; 12:35-37; Luke 1:32,69; 18:38,39; 20:41-44; Revelation 3:7; 5:5; 22:16).

“...I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God. And David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them” (Ezekiel 37:23,24).

“But he that goeth in by the door [of the sheepfold], 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 hath sent forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice...I am that good shepherd: that good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep...I am that good shepherd, and know mine, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth Me, so know I the Father: and I lay down My life for My sheep. Other sheep I have also, which are not of this fold: them also must I bring, and they shall hear My voice: and there shall be one sheepfold, and one shepherd” (John 10:2-4,11,14-16, Geneva Bible).

“The God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in all good works, to do His will, working in you that which is pleasant in His sight through Jesus Christ, to Whom be praise forever and ever, Amen” (Hebrews 13:20,21).

“For hereunto ye are called: for Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that ye should follow His steps, Who did no sin, neither was there guile found in His mouth. Who when He was reviled, reviled not again: when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed it to Him that judgeth righteously. Who His own self bare our sins in His body on the tree, that we being dead to sin, should live in righteousness: by Whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray: but are now returned unto the Shepherd...of your souls” (1 Peter 2:21-25).

Psalm 23 is not a song to a nameless Shepherd, but to Jesus, the only Shepherd to the sheep. Confess Him to be your Lord, Savior, and Shepherd this day.

Teaching and Learning Discernment

“And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezekiel 44:23, Geneva Bible).

This is still a vital responsibility (for teachers and disciples): “Of whom we have many things to say, which are hard to be uttered, because ye are dull of hearing. For when as concerning the time ye ought to be teachers, yet have ye need again that we teach you what are the first principles of the Word of God: and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk [“the first principles of the Word of God”], is inexpert in the Word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat [“the Word of righteousness”] belongeth to them that are of age, which through long custom have their wits exercised, to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14).

When the teachers don’t teach and the disciples don’t learn: “Woe unto them that speak good of evil, and evil of good, which put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for sour. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight...they have cast off the Law of the Lord of hosts, and contemned the Word of the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 5:20,21,24).

He is on the Move

The headlines in the 7^th century B.C. – nothing but doom from the North:

• “...out of the North shall a plague be spread upon all the inhabitants of the land” (Jeremiah 1:14, Geneva Bible).
• “...I will bring a plague from the North, and a great destruction” (Jeremiah 4:6).
• “Behold, waters rise up out of the North, and shall be as a swelling flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein, and the cities with them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl” (Jeremiah 47:2).

The reality in the 7^th century B.C. – the Lord was coming from the North for His glory and the purification of His people:

• “It came to pass in the thirtieth year in the fourth month, and in the fifth day of the month (as I was among the captives by the river Chebar) that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God...the Word of the Lord came unto Ezekiel the Priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of Chaldeans, by the river Chebar, where the hand of the Lord was upon him. And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out of the North, a great cloud and a fire wrapped about it, and a brightness was about it...” (Ezekiel 1:1-4).

Lord, help us to keep our eyes on You as we read the headlines today. “...He governs all things to the good of His Church” (Baptist Confession of Faith 1689, 5.7).

Don't Forget the Power of the Sermon

Church, as you gather today, don’t forget the command and power of God in the proclamation of His Word.

God commands a first sermon through His servant: “Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones and say to them, “O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.” Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, “Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.”’ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them” (Ezekiel 37:4-8).

God commands a second sermon through His servant: “Then He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.’”’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army” (37:9,10).

The result when God speaks His people to life through His servant: “‘Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life...then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it,’ declares the LORD” (37:14).

“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones” (37:1). LORD, command Your servants to speak today with Your hand upon them, moving them by Your Spirit – through Your spoken Word, create a people Who know You as the Life!