The Great Shepherd
Brian Kocourek
This
weekend is called Memorial days weekend, and it is a tradition in this country
to honor those who have died while on active duty in the military. Most of the celebrations
on Memorial Day this Monday, will honor those who have given their lives in
warfare to protect this country from it's enemies without. This morning I would
like to dedicate this service to our fallen brothers in combat, those brave
soldiers of the cross who also were soldiers that went into harms way to keep
this nation free from tyranny. These brothers have given double duty, to their
country aand to their God. I would like for us to take a moment in silent
prayer, to honor our own war veterans.
First,
those who have gone on to that other dimension. Our own Brother, Howard Davis,
who fought to protect this nation from the tyranny of Nazi Germany in WWII and who later fought the
good fight and believed this message, and fought the enemy right up to the end,
but alas he was wounded in battle and gave his life for the testimony of a
vindicated Word. After he was wounded I talked to him and he personally was
ready to go home, but he did't want top go until his own sons and grandchildren
had embraced this same light that he so loved, and we wanted so much for his
own Grandkids to give their hearts totally to the same cause in which he had
surrendered his heart to years before. Therefore, we salute our brother Howard
Davis on this Memorial Days Sunday.
Another
Veteran of the Two Wars, WWII and the Greatest Battle ever fought was our
beloved brother Oliver Kash. He fought in two kinds of wars. One with bullets
that can kill and the other with words which did kill. His first battles were
in the Pacific against a strange heathen people. His last warfare was from the
enemy that was within, but He fought a good fight, he finished his course, and
just as he was getting ready for his homecoming, an enemy sniper found his
mark, and alas our precious brother died for the kingdom which He held so
dear. I salute you brother Kash.
Now, there are several in here that have spent
time in the military, and I salute you brethren, brother Steve, and brother
Mikal. Another brother Brother, Brother
Don also has witnessed two forms of warfare in his life. The first in Vietnam,
and in recent years the battles that have taken their toll in this message.
Brother Don, I salute you and I give you your roses while you are still among
the living.
For
the Apostle Paul said,
II CORINTHIANS 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are]
not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against
the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience,
when your obedience is fulfilled.
ROMANS 13:11
¶ And that, knowing the time, that now
[it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than
when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of
light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and
drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to
[fulfil] the lusts [thereof].
II CORINTHIANS 6:4 But in all [things] approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in
much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,5 In stripes, in
imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 6 By
pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by
love unfeigned, 7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour
of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
ROMANS 6:12 Let
not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts
thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness
unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead,
and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.
Now,
in honor of our fallen brethren, let's bow our heads and our hearts in prayer,
as we thank God for men like these brethren who gave of themselves to fight the
good fight, and let's pray also for one another for we are all on the
battlefield for our Lord, in this Greatest Battle that is ever fought. (Prayer) …
Ø
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now,
this morning I will take a short text for our message. I want to focus on
another occupation that is so missunderstood. I would like to examine the Great
Shepherd. For not only is he our Chief Shepherd, but he is also the chief
Captain of the Army of God.
JOSHUA 5:13 ¶ And it came to pass, when Joshua was by
Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man
over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him,
and said unto him, [Art] thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14 And he said,
Nay; but [as] captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on
his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord
unto his servant? 15 And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose
thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy. And
Joshua did so.
I PETER 5:4
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory
that fadeth not away.
Now.
In order to understand the role of a shepherd, there are two very famous
scriptural references which we must intreat. They are the 23rd Psalm and John Chapter 10. Let's begin by reading
what one shepherd had to say about the Great Shepherd Psalm 23.
Ø
PSALMS
23:1¶ A Psalm of David. Here, David begins by saying, The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want. Now,
in examining this attribute about a shepherd, it tells me several things about
the relationship betweent he shepherd an his sheep.
#10
In order for the sheep to have no wants, his needs must be met, and if his
needs are being met, then this tells me that this shepherd ( which is the Lord
God) not only knows the needs of His Sheep, but is able to meet those needs,
and knows just what it takes to satisfy them.
Ø
2 He
maketh me to lie down in green pastures: (Now, what des it mean He maketh Me to lie down. No matter which
translation you might have, they all say, He maketh me. Now, when you say, he
made me, you are saying, that whether I wanted to or not is not the issue, he
maketh me suggests to us that whether we want it or not, God knows what is best
for us, and He maketh us to lie down, to rest. He makes me to rest. And the
green pasture is spoken of in contrast to burnt over pasture. In other words,
where I come to rest with my shepherd is where he leads me, and that is where
there is plenty of food.
Ø
Notice, that
right after He speaks of Food, and rest, he also speaks of water and rest as we
see in this same verse. "he leadeth me beside
the still waters. Notice who
is doing the leading here. The shepherd. And notice the waters are spoken of as
being still, or restful. Then it is at
this restful place of watering that we see further thoughts of care coming
froth from this shepherd.
Ø
3 He
restoreth my soul: And how does he
restore my soul? The word restore means what? It measn to bring back to the
correct condition. The original condition. And what is that condition?
Ø
he
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Righteousness, right-wise-ness. In other words, I
wouldn't ever get there unless I am led there.
Ø
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: Now, why can David say this. though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: Why? This tells us there is something, or some
reason why he would not fear even death
itself.
Ø
for
thou [art] with me; Now, that is a very important thing to
remember. For though art with me. I am in thy Presence. And if his presence is
with me, then it is not of my doing but his. But notice, it is not just a matter of Presence, but what that Presence
can do.
Ø
thy
rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thy
Rod and thy Staff? They comfort me? Now, this is the point I want you to see.
This is not Gentle Shepherd, come and lead us, but big tough protector, stay
close to me. You know, this is the area that I see most people have no clue as
to the role of a shpherd. I hear people all the time criticize pastors for
being too tough, but then what do they want? This man, David was a man after
God's Own Heart, an He didn't wat some mamby-pamby whimpy little shepherd boy
to watch out for him…uh, uh, uh! No, no, no! He wanted the biggest, roughest,
toughest, shepherdf he could get a hold of. And this shepherdf carried a big
stick.
Now, David was glad His shepherd had a big stick. A big, big stick. Now
the Hebrew word for rod is shebet and it means a club, for it is the weapon of
the shepherd. Cecil B demille depicted this shepherd's rod as a very handy
weapon when he showed Moses using his rod as a club to drive off the midianites
at the well. The same weapon is also called mishenah or staff and that is
because it is also used for support when ther shepherd is tired. Therefore the
rod is the weapon part and the staff is the support part.
Ø
5
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Now, I want you to think about this statement. Thou
preparest a table, a meal, food for my nurishment, right in the presence of my
enemies. Now, it is not easy to eat when you are in the midst of danger, or
when you are in the midst of trouble. And yet these sheep have so much
confidence in their shepherd, knowing that his main concern for these sheep is
to feed them, feed them, feed them. And
they know that he is the toughest shepherd of all and they know that He would
not be feeding them if he couldn't fight off the enemy right within the gates.
You know, I hear it all the time from people. The say, that Brian
kocourek isn't much of a pastor, but boy can he teach. Others say, I don't like
his personality, he's too hard. Well, let's take a look at the Great Shepherd
of the Flock, the Chief Shepherd. In the Book of John we find several
references as to Jesus instructions for the shepherds to act.
The main role of the shepherd, the true shepherd is to feed the sheep,
and to be tough enough that no one is going to try any funny stuff while they
are eating. That's thye role of the Good shepherd anyhow. I mean, that is
exactly what Jesus told Peter to do.
JOHN 21:15 ¶ So
when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest
thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love
thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second
time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou
knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto
him the third time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved
because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him,
Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto
him, Feed my sheep.
Notice, that Jesus
tells Peter this same thing both time Peter answers Him. He says Peter do you
Love me, and notice the tone is one of
relaxation and connotes a soft tone, and a gentle mood. And with this mood or
atmosphere established by Jesus, he says, Feed My sheep. Then when Jesus
purposely asks Peter a second time, the tention begins to mount, and Peter is
getting upset, and becomes somewhat anxious and in this setting, with this same
atmosphere permeating the scene, Jesus tells Him to feed My sheep. Both times
whether the atmosphere is one that is gentle and intimate, o whether that
atmosphere turns sour and rocky, the order from the Chief Shepherd is
"feed My Sheep, period."
Therefore, I believe
Jesus placed this test upon Peter to show him that no matter what the situation
is, the main objective of the shepherd is one of feeding.
EZEKIEL
34:1 ¶ And the word of
the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of
Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the
shepherds; Woe [be] to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves!
should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
JEREMIAH
23:4 And I will set
up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more,
nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
Even God likens
Himself to the good Shepherd that feeds and protects his flock. ISAIAH 40:10 Behold,
the Lord GOD will come with strong [hand], and his arm shall rule for him:
behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him. 11 He shall feed
his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry
[them] in his bosom, [and] shall gently lead those that are with young. 12
¶ Who hath measured the waters in the
hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the
dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the
hills in a balance? 13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his
counsellor hath taught him?14 With whom took he counsel, and [who] instructed
him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and
shewed to him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations [are] as a drop of
a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh
up the isles as a very little thing.
Ø Psalm 23: continued' "thou anointest my head with oil; we find that in
Scripture the oil represents the holy Spirit. John said in I JOHN 2:20 ¶ But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and
ye know all things.
And in I PETER 1:13 we hear Peter speak of preparing our
minds to move out fast.
¶ Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be
sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ;
Ø
David continues with His Psalm about the
Great Shepherd by saying, my cup runneth over.In other words,
The Great Shepherd meets every needs he has and even more than he needs.
Ø
6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: Now
David is not speaking of two women here. Shirley Goodness and Mercy. But he is
speaking as a sheep of that Great Shepherd of the flock who watches over him
And protects him even when he might begin to stray. We find the same thing
spoken of in PSALMS
1:6
6 For the LORD knoweth the way
of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Ø
Finally
David sums up his thoughts on the Good shepherd by saying, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. In
other words, I will stick with the good shepherd forever, and where he goes I
will go. David knows that as long as the Good shepherd is present, he will
receive all these wonderful things. He can eat to his hearts delight, and know
that no enemy will pounce on him. He knows there is healing oil that the
shepherd uses to heal all his diseases. In fact the shepherd would put honey on
the rock when the sheep was sick, to get it to lick the salt in the rock for
it's strength and healing.
In
MATTHEW 25:31 We see how the Good
shepherd uses his rod and his strong arm to keep the goats away from the sheep.
¶ When the
Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered
all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth [his] sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right
hand, but the goats on the left.
What is the first
thing that comes to your mind that shows a difference between the sheep and the goats? The goats
have horns, right? And what are those horns for? For butting, right? But this,
and but that, but I didn't know, but I had to work, but I couldn’t make it,
butt, butt, butt, butt, butt.
That's the big
difference between the sheep and the goats. The goats are always butting, they
always have an excuse ffor why they didn't place god first. The Sheep, have no
excuses, they just follow. That is their whole purpose in life is to follow the
shepherd.
In John chapter 10, Jesus Himself tells us how the Good Shepherd plays
out His Role, and how the sheep are supposed to respond.
JOHN 10:1
¶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth
not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is
a thief and a robber. 2 But he that
entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. And the Door is the Word. Therefore we see the
importance of the Word to the Sheep for identifying the good shepherd. He is
the One that always leads them through the Word. He comes in through the Word
and He goes out through the Word. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep
hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. (Notice
here we see several points. #1 He knows them and he knows them by name, and he
is there to lead them But the rest of these things describes the sheep. They
know His Voice, They recognize that b\voice, and they follow that voice. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before
them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will
they not follow, but will flee from him: I think that is the problem
with sick sheep. They don't follow. Sometimes they will wander off, but the
Good shepherd will break their leg if he has to and then he carries that sheep
in his bosom until it is healed. Meanwhile it develops a closeness to him and
when it's leg is healed it will no longer wander far from him.
BEGINNING
ENDING GENTILE DISPENSATION 55-0109E
E-14 The old shepherd story
that was told there in Jerusalem in the Holy Lands of the shepherds packing
a--a sheep, and he said, "What you packing it for?" Said, "It's
got a broken leg." Said, "How did it do that? Fall over a
cliff?" Said, "No, I broke its leg." He said, "Why, you're
a cruel shepherd to break that sheep's leg." Said, "No, I loved
it." And said, "It was going astray and I couldn't make it mind me, so
I broke its leg so I could give it some extra attention. So then it would love
me and follow me." E-15 Sometimes God has to let us break down just
a little bit in health to give us a little extra attention, to get us up on His
lap, to woo us up in His bosom when the doctor said nothing can be done, then
He take us into His bosom, say, "See, I love you. I'm going to let you get
well." See? Oh, doesn't that just make life a little better?
Oh, He's
so great. He's a marvelous Shepherd, isn't He? No wonder David said, "The
Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." How He leads us beside the still
waters and restores our soul and runs our cups over and--and anoints us in the
presence of the enemy. Did you ever get anointed in the presence of your enemy,
just to testify till your cup just boiled over, you know? Just how marvelous it
is to be anointed in the presence of your enemy.
Ø
for
they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but
they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. 7 Then said
Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the
sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep
did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be
saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but
for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have [it] more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the
good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and
not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and
leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the
sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the
sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my [sheep], and am known of mine. 15
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for
the sheep. 16 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.
HEBREWS
13:20 Now the God of
peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect
in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in
his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.
BE NOT
AFRAID 63-0607 E-57
And today, when we got away from that, we become loose. We become like
the rest of the world. It's too bad. And today the most of the people don't
want a man that'll stand and tell the truth about it. They want some little
Ricky with a Hollywood haircut, and perfume all over, and walk right up here,
and talk about some theology that he learned off of some cemetery, or--or
seminary... But now, excuse me. It's all the same place, the home of corpses.
So then, we--we find that everywhere. They want something like that. They don't
want the old fashion Gospel handed out in the power and demonstration of the
Holy Ghost anymore.
SPIRITUAL
INSPIRATION 56-0128 E-18
Elijah, I always thought of him as a great, big man, tall, maybe skinny,
and we see that he was a fearless man when the Spirit of God was upon him. He
did not worry about what anyone thought about him or what the world had to say
as long as the Spirit of God was on him.
GOD
CALLED MAN 58-1005E 7-4
God doesn't call, very seldom, the smart man, the educated, the
intellectual. They play their part, and they're great men, but usually, when
God wants the job done, He gets somebody who hardly knows his abc's. Search the
Scriptures; look through the histories. Men that amounted to something with God
were not men who had great educations, but men who had no education, only a
desire in their heart to serve God. He got the plowman, the shepherd, the
fisherman, the hunter, those who lived in nature, in that stillness and
quietness of nature. There God could speak to them, and that's who He called. 7-5
And if they find that when He gives a call to a great intellectual, that
person finally goes back to his intellectual conceptions, and after while when
it comes to working the phenomenal, he's too mixed up with the peoples of the
world to accept such. Therefore, he finally results to a denomination, and goes
on off, and makes a minister. And that's all right. And I have nothing against
that person that would do that. But when God gets ready to do something in the
supernatural realms, He usually gets a man that He can put His trust in, and
anoints him, and sends him out, and he's fearless at the job. That's the kind
of men we need today--not polished scholars, but men who know God in the power
of His resurrection.