Saddle Up!
John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Primary Text: Ezekiel 34
Intro: I want to preach a simple reminder to all of you on this beautiful Western Sunday – we still have a lot of work to do!
It’s not time to sit down and wait for the Rapture.
It’s not time to sit back and relax and reminisce of all the past accomplishments.
It’s not time to lay down and take a break.
Keep your boots on! Saddle up – we’ve got work to do!!
Notice our text: John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
A. The Work that is Crucial – “I must work the works…”
B. The Will that is Commissioned – “…the works of him that sent me…”
C. The Window that is Closing – “…while it is day…”
· John 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Turn to Ezekiel 34
In this chapter God is referring to the nation of Israel and the spiritual issues with the leadership.
God is addressing the shepherds of Israel (vs. 2).
I would like to use this chapter to make an application.
Many of the issues that God was addressing in Ezekiel 34 are the same exact issues we need to be concerned about.
I’d like to make some applications from this chapter for today’s Western Sunday and emphasize the importance of the tremendous amount of work that we have today in the New Testament local church.
Saddle Up! We’ve got…
I. Stock that need to be Fed
There is one thing that God was extremely concerned about and referred to it multiple times in the Scriptures.
One of the greatest desires that God has for the people of God is that they be properly fed.
Pastors need to be busy feeding their church. Church members are starving all across this nation!
Parents need to be busy feeding their children. Wholesome food; not Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network!
We’ve got a plague in this nation of shepherds that are not feeding their flock!
SEE Ezekiel 34:1-10
FEED – 8 times
· Jeremiah 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
One of our most favorite passages of Scripture is Psalm 23:
· 1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
· 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
· 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Notice what Jesus said to Peter no less than three times on the shores of Galilee after His resurrection:
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.
Paul exhorted the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:
· Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Peter encouraged us in 1 Peter 5:
· 1 Peter 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Saddle Up! We’ve got…
II. Strays that need to be Found
Notice how many times just in this chapter God referred to those that had strayed or were scattered.
Ezekiel 34
· 4 …neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
· 5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
· 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
· 8 …because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock…
· 11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
· 12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is 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.
· 16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away,
Saddle Up! We’ve got…
III. Sick that need to be Fixed
· Ezekiel 34:4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken…
There are so many around us that in desperate need of help!
They are sick, they are wounded, they are broken, they are weak and diseased.
God’s people has plenty of work to do just taking care of the ones around us that are in need.
This is a priority to God.
· Ezekiel 34:16 …I will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick:
Saddle Up! We’ve got…
IV. Stalls that need to be Fortified
I love how God worded this in Ezekiel 34:14 “…there shall they lie in a good fold…”
When I see the sheepfold in the Scriptures, it is a type and a picture of several things.
A. The House of God
Our churches are in a mess!
B. The Home
Our homes are in a mess!
If there was ever a time when we needed to be busy working, it is now.
It’s time to strengthen and fortify the Christian home.
It is not time to relax and let our guard down.
Our homes should be a place of safety and protection from the wolves of this world.
Amen