Bible Study Lesson, "Jesus, The Good Shepherd", Ezekiel 34:11-25

JESUS, THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Ezekiel 34:11-25

In the 23 psalms, the Lord describes Himself as a shepherd
What are some of the benefits of allowing Jesus to be your
shepherd from the 23 Psalms?
      a.
      b.
      c.
      d.
What do you have to do for Jesus to be your shepherd?

In 1 Samuel 17:31-37, God shows us how a shepherd operates when HE selected David
to be King.

In the new testament, Jesus told Peter, If you love me, feed my sheep.

If the Lord is your shepherd, then you have to be His sheep.
The problem is we don’t want to be known as sheep.
Sheep are dumb.
Sheep get lost
Sheep have poor eye sight in front of themselves
Sheep are not aggressive
Sheep have a one track mind
Sheep are defenseless
Sheep are totally dependant on their owner.

No man want to be seen in that light.
With this “Me Too” movement, no woman want to be seen in that light.

The fact is, the only way Jesus can be your Shepherd, is you have to be
His sheep. You have to see yourself with a sheep mentality

Consider this, before we met Jesus we were dumb to the truth.
Before we met Jesus we were lost in a sea of sin.
Before we met Jesus we were living in the dark
    we were trying to see with eyes blinded to the truth
    The Just live by faith and not by sight.
Before we met Jesus we thought we had to make it on our own by
aggressively pursing our goals
Before we met Jesus we had a one track mind, follow the world.
Before we met Jesus we thought we could protect ourselves, but
we were defenseless against the world.
 
Now that you know what we were, you can appreciate the work Jesus has to
do continuously for us.

THE COMPASSION OF GOD
11 "'This is what the Lord God says: I, myself, will search for my sheep and take care of them. 12 As a shepherd takes care of his scattered flock when it is found, I will take care of my sheep.
I will save them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day
A. Once in Jesus, God takes ownership of you
     1. God knows where you are.
     2. You can not get lost from God.
     3. We can easily get scattered from the Lord from what we face in this world.
          a. We get scattered when we caught up in perusing  our goals and objectives
               without considering God.
          b. We can get lost when we try to keep up with the world.
          c. We can get lost when make decisions without considering how
               God gets the glory
           
B. God promises to take care of you
    1. God looks at us knowing what we need.
    2. No matter what you get into, God can get you out of it.
    3. God knows that you will have some dark or trying times
    4. You need not worry, because God is here to rescue you.
         a. If we want God’s help we have see our selves as His sheep.
         b. We must come to Him humble and honest

GOD WILL DRAW US BACK TO HIMSELF
13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries. I will bring them to their own land and pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the places where people live in the land.
A. God  has a home for His people
    1. There will be times when you get distance from God.
    2. There may be times when your hope seem to die and your joy turn to sadness.
B. God will bring you back to your right mind.
    1. You have to yield yourself to His guidance
    2. God has a way of bringing you into fellowship with other believers
    3. There are some places we should not be.

GOD IS COMMITTED TO GIVE YOU HIS BEST
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and they will eat grass on the high mountains of Israel. They will lie down on good ground where they eat grass, and they will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed my flock and lead them to rest, says the Lord God.
16 I will search for the lost, bring back those that strayed away, put bandages on those that were hurt, and make the weak strong. But I will destroy those sheep that are fat and strong. I will tend the sheep with fairness.
A. God reserves the best for those He shepherd.
    1. The best place we can be is under the protection of the Lord.
    2. He will provide for our needs and protect us.
        From the 23 Psalms, The will prepare a table before us in
        presence of our enemies.
B. The Lord promises to heal the wounded
   1. He promises to strengthen us when we are weak
   2. The Lord promises to take vengeance on our enemies.
   3. He promise treat us fairly.

GOD WILL BE THE JUDGE
17 "'This is what the Lord God says: As for you, my flock, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the male sheep and the male goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to eat grass in the good land? Must you crush the rest of the grass with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you make the rest of the water muddy with your feet? 19 Must my flock eat what you crush, and must they drink what you make muddy with your feet?
A. Not every one in the Church is acts like one of God’s sheep.
    1. God will Judge those who mistreat you
    2. He knows when you are treating other right
    3. He knows those who misuse His kindness
    4. They will not go unpunished.
GOD IS THE JUDGE.
20 "'So this is what the Lord God says to them: I, myself, will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep. 21 You push with your side and with your shoulder, and you knock down all the weak sheep with your horns until you have forced them away. 22 So I will save my flock; they will not be hurt anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 Then I will put over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and tend them and be their shepherd. 24 Then I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a ruler among them. I, the Lord, have spoken.
B. God will Judge between the true believers and the hypocrites
    1. God will allow evil to prevail for a while
    2. Sometimes it appears that those who do the most evil, prosper more.
    3. Some times it appears that those who follow Christ suffer the most.
    4. What is God’s purpose for evil?
    5.  How do we reconcile in our mind, that all things work together
        for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes?
C. Christ is our model for suffering.
    1. Israel went through 42 generations of suffering before Christ
        came on the scene    and  He suffered more for them and us.
    2. James 1:2-5

        Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because 
        you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must   
         finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
    3. The purpose of our suffering is to grow us into maturity
        a. We cannot be complete without suffering
        b. We cannot understand the glory of God without suffering.
        c. You cannot learn to persevere unless you have been through something.
        d. Your testimony want be complete without suffering.
D. One day someone God will put in your life will need your testimony
     to get through what they are going through.
    1. There is someone out there now who have not figured out that
        they can trust God.
    2. Somebody need to understand that they are just sheep in need of
        of a shepherd.
    3. The only shepherd that lead you to still waters is Jesus.
        a. The only shepherd that can lead you to green pastures is Jesus.
        b. The only shepherd that will prepare a table before you in the
            presence of your enemies is Jesus.
       c. The only shepherd that can provide joy in the mist of trials is
           Jesus.

Rev. M. Mitchell