Alright. See you tonight. Let's turn to Zechariah chapter number 10. Zechariah chapter number 10. Finally got done with chapter 9. We're not going to take as long on number 10, Lord willing. I hope to finish it up tonight here as we look at what the Bible says here about the need for the good shepherd. You know, the Bible says that we are like sheep who need a shepherd. When David began one of the most beloved Psalms, the 23rd Psalm, saying, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, what he was saying is, you know, we need to look at ourselves like sheep. We, we, we, he was saying something about God and he was saying something about us. The Lord is my shepherd. And that, that ought to be the case with us as believers. The Lord ought to be our shepherd. David was saying, you know, we're all like sheep, and we are all like sheep, aren't we? We can't find our own way. We can't find our way on our own. I don't know about you, but I need the Lord's help each and every day. We're prone to wander, stray into areas of danger, and we need the Lord to help us with that, and we're an easy target for the predators without someone to protect us. The prophet Isaiah put it this way, he said in Isaiah 53, 6, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Now, David was also telling us something about how we like sheep are in that we need things. We need someone to direct our path and help us find our way. Someone for our daily provisions. Even the Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray, pray to the Heavenly Father, you know, give us this day our daily bread. And look to the Lord for the daily provisions. Need someone, as I said, to protect us and someone just to care for us. Amen. Thank God that we have the good shepherd, Jesus Christ, who is also the great shepherd. And when the Lord Jesus came into the world the first time, he is recorded as having said in John 10, 11, he says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Amen. He is the good shepherd. Unfortunately, we are also like sheep in another way. A lot of times we don't have sense enough to realize how desperately we need the shepherd. Our human nature tends to want to be self-sufficient. I don't need nobody. I do it myself. We get that way sometimes, don't we? But the truth is, we're like sheep. We desperately need the shepherd. That's the position that the prophet Zechariah says that Israel was in in this chapter. In fact, that's the message of Zechariah 10, a message which is summarized as we'll see in verses number 2 and 3 here in just a minute. Tonight I want us to see Israel's need for the Good Shepherd and think about the ways that we should be depending on the Lord as our Good Shepherd as well. First of all, I want us to see in verses one and two, rather than read, read this all at one time, I'm going to read it as we go, to keep the redundancy out, and so, we'll pick up in verse number one and two, and we see here, Israel needed the good shepherd to supply their needs. There in verse number one, it said, Ashke of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain, so the Lord shall make bright clouds. and give them showers of rain to every one grass in the field. For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore they went their way as a flock, and they were troubled because there was no shepherd. You know, people who have lived in a great time of need, such as the Great Depression, I have found are more prone to stock up on things when it may appear to the casual observer that they have more than enough. The society we live in doesn't know very much about hard times, not really. We haven't had a Great Depression. Many folks in our nation have so much that they don't think they need to depend on anyone else for their needs. Then there are other folks who have grown so accustomed to depending on the government or some other handout for their daily needs, they don't know how to depend on the Lord. Both of those positions are wrong. The first position of thinking that we don't need anyone else, and the second position of depending on the wrong someone else. By and large, Israel had depended on someone or something other than the Good Shepherd for their needs. Now, as I said, the Lord taught His disciples and us in Matthew 6-11 to ask God, our Heavenly Father, to give us this day our daily bread. Israel was the Lord's sheepfold who needed the Good Shepherd to provide for her needs. There in verses 1 and 2 that we just read, Zechariah urges the Lord's people to ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain. That's in the spring. That's what he was talking about. Why in the world would they need to pray for rain, especially in the spring? Why would they involve the Lord in all of that? The answer is as obvious as the nose on our face. It says there in the latter part of verse number one, so the Lord shall make bright clouds and give them showers of rain to every one grass in the field. A lot of times we just take for granted something is going to take place. It will rain when we need it rather than going to the Lord. We sure could use some rain and pray for it, ask for it. Why should they involve the Lord in all of that? Because it's the God who brings the bright clouds, who brings the showers of rain, who brings forth the grass and the fields. And only God gives the rain that waters the crops, that gives us the food to keep us alive. Zechariah was saying that the nation of Israel needed to depend on God to supply her needs. On the other hand, Zechariah says there in verse number two that the idol worshippers, in other words, those who depend on anything or anyone else but the Lord, they were holding on to false hopes. A lot of them would go to fortune tellers or diviners to try to see if they could get anything stirred up. They were denying the truth that the Lord supplies their needs. Some were approaching gods that were no gods to supply their needs. Some, as I said, were going to fortune tellers to find their way, only to be led astray. And that's the problem. They said they went their way as a flock. They were troubled because there was no shepherd. You're not going to find any shepherd in anything else but the Lord. Not the right kind of shepherd, anyway. They were believing the lies when truth was available. Lies which brought no comfort or assurance that their needs would be met. Now, they were denying their need of the good shepherd because they were relying on false shepherds. They believed that everybody was on their own to meet their own needs the best way they knew how, and therefore the people went their way like sheep. They were in trouble. They were afflicted because there was no shepherd among them. And remember here that Zechariah was speaking primarily to Jewish refugees who were back in Jerusalem, rebuilding the temple. They needed to know that they could depend upon their good shepherd to meet their needs because they did have needs. They were few in number. Yes, they needed work and cultivate the land, but it was God they needed to depend upon so they could be sure that they would have what they needed. If they were just depending on themselves, God may withhold because they didn't have the dependence in the right way. And so Zechariah was saying to them, depend on your shepherd for he alone will supply your needs. What about us? You know, do we depend on the good shepherd to supply our needs or do we sometimes get like the people of Israel? Sadly, too many who name the name of Christ tend to either be self-sufficient to depend on what they can do or they tend to be dependent on someone or something else other than the good shepherd. As I said, They'll depend upon the government. I get phone calls all the time. People want to depend on the church. They want to depend on us, not depend on the Lord. If they were to depend on the Lord, they would seek the Lord. The Lord would provide. They want to take a shortened route. They won't even bother coming to church anymore. When I first got in the ministry, we used to have folks come. They'd come into service, and you'd see them. They'd be first-time visitors, and they'd sit in the back, and they'd listen to the message, and then they'd talk to you afterward about a need they had. I didn't have any problem helping somebody like that. Now, you don't have that. People don't do that anymore. What they do is they'll speed dial every church in the phone book, or every church they can find, everything they can find on the internet, and try to get something without giving of themselves anything. Our pipeline of supply has flowed pretty good here in the U.S. We're blessed. As compared to other places, we've been blessed for a long period of time. But we best not forget that it's the Lord who keeps the supply line flowing. He is the source of all our blessing and all of our supply. There was a young boy at supper one night, asked his dad why he thanked God before eating food that had come from the grocery store. The father picked up a roll and asked, boy, where did this come from? He said, from the store, the boy said. Where did they get it? I don't know, from the bakery? Where did they get it? They made it. From what? Asked the father. From flour. Where did they get that from? From wheat. And where did the wheat come from? The farmers. And where did the farmer get it? He grew it. From what? Seed. Who made the seed? God, I guess. said the boy, and that, the father said, is why we thank him. Amen. We need to remember, we get what we have because of God's good blessings. It's not just because Walmart's got it all. It's not that at all. Let me tell you, there may come a time very soon, and I'm expecting this to happen, and hopefully the Lord will take us out of here soon. But there may come a time very soon when the supply in our land doesn't flow like it once did. We remember back to the pandemic how the supply was kind of spotty with some things at certain times, exposed. If you were paying attention there, it should have told you our dependents ought not to be on the grocery store, it ought to be on the Lord. We shouldn't worry about what might come or any other need that we have right now, but rather we should just make sure now that we're truly depending on our Good Shepherd. You depend upon the Good Shepherd. He's going to take care of you. Amen. 1 Peter 5, verse 6 and 7. The Lord, Peter said there, Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. One of my favorite verses. Philippians 4, 19, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. We must depend on our good shepherd to supply our needs. Second thing we see in verses 3 through 7, we see Israel needed a good shepherd to strengthen them. The Lord was upset with the shepherds, the people that he had placed in charge of his people. He says in verse number three, my anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats, for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock, the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. Israel's plight was due to their dependence on the wrong kind of shepherds who previously governed them. What did that bring them? Well, they led them in the wrong direction. It brought captivity. That's why they wound up in Babylon to begin with. They were following the wrong kind of shepherds rather than following the Lord. Verse 3 describes how the good shepherd can transform his flock into royal horses for battle from weak sheep into powerful war horses. Israel's blessing and her inner and outer transformation that is to come when the Lord comes back will be on account of the returning Messiah and Israel's trust and confidence in Him. All that we see that the Lord will do with Israel in the millennial reign, it will be because they will be trusting in the Messiah. He will provide for them as their shepherd. Verse 4, when it says, out of him, it's talking about the shepherds that should come, out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. Now, we see there the verse says, out of Judah, God will bring someone who is the corner, the nail, and the battle bow. The corner, speaking of the cornerstone, and we know who the cornerstone is, don't we? The cornerstone is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the essential one who makes everything fit together. Look at 1 Peter chapter number 2. hold your place there in Zechariah, we'll be right back, 1 Peter chapter number 2, and look at verse number 6 through 10 here. 1 Peter 2 verse 6, It is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient, stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, the cornerstone. and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. He says there, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. He was a stone of stumbling at his first coming. People stumbled at him. Romans 9.32 says, wherefore, why did they stumble? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works of the law, for they stumbled at that stumbling stone. But all that will change when Christ comes again, when Messiah comes back again, at his return, he will be the culmination and the fulfillment of all the promises God made to Israel's fathers. A lot, there's a lot of promises involved in that, amen, there just really are, and they, they were promises that were reiterated and, and promises that Israel used to hope for, and And they will find those fulfilled in the cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ. The second thing there was the nail. The nail, speaking of a tent peg. He's the one who provides security, stabilizes the whole tent. You put up a tent, and the picture here is of the tabernacle. The tabernacle needed those tent pegs to keep it stabilized. and it refers to, the nail refers to the tabernacle and the cornerstone to the temple. The glory of both the tabernacle and the temple were the glory of Messiah Himself. He alone is the true stability for the house of Israel. In Him is the fulfillment of all the promises of God. Isaiah, in chapter number 22, Isaiah 22, look at verse number 22 and 23 here. Isaiah 22, it says in verse 22, it's talking of the coming Messiah, talking about when he, when he comes and the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder, Messiah's shoulder. So, so he shall open and none shall shut, He shall shut, and none shall open, and I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place, and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house." What a blessing. Well, the third thing mentioned was the battle bow. The battle bow, it pictures there that he's the ultimate conqueror. And we know that Jesus Christ will be the ultimate conqueror. He will overcome all of Israel's enemies at his return. Boy, Israel has her hands full right now. so many enemies in so many different directions, basically surrounded. Well, in that day, he's going to overcome all of Israel's enemies at his return according to Revelation 19 verses 11 through 16. I'm not going to turn there tonight, but it talks about when Christ comes again in all of his glory there at the battle of Armageddon. He is the ruler of all rulers, the king of kings, and Messiah is the ultimate conquering strength and the true shepherd of God's people. Notice the change when Messiah is in the mix. Back in our text there, look at verse number 5 there. Zechariah 10 verse number 5 says, And they shall, they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in, in the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. Talking about when the Lord comes back, you know, he's, he is with the Messiah in the mix. I mean, they may look powerless many times today, but they're going to look unbeatable in that day. And look at verse number six and seven. Zechariah goes on to say here that God's, what God's going to do. Look at verse six. It says, And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them, for I have mercy upon them, and they shall be as though I had not cast them off. We know right now the Lord cast them off for a spell while he's dealing with the Gentiles. But the Lord's going to have mercy on them, and they're going to be as though they had not been cast off. He says, for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them. Verse number 7, and they of Ephraim, which is talking about Ephraim refers to the northern ten tribes. Ephraim shall be like a mighty man. Their hearts shall rejoice as through wine. Yea, their children shall see it and be glad. Their hearts shall rejoice. the Lord. Zechariah says here that God will strengthen the house of Judah and those of Ephraim and shall be like a mighty man and their heart shall rejoice through wine. God's strength in them will make them drunk with joy. I mean, what a blessing. Again, it's important to remember the context here. Zechariah is speaking to people who have little or no political power. They've barely got enough weapons to fend off their enemies. They're trying to work and they're trying to deal with the enemies at the same time. They barely have enough people to fill the walls of the city to warn of incoming problem. By every worldly standard, these people that he was talking to were weak. They were weak. And yet, Zechariah says, with God on your side, you're mighty. And we need to remember that, too. You know, we may feel weak, and we are weak without the Lord. But we can depend on our shepherd for our strength. It's easy for us to overestimate our own strength. It just is. We may understand that we're not Superman or Superwoman, but we may think that we're strong enough to handle most things, and we'll try to do that when most of what life throws at us. We don't like to think about our weaknesses, and when something happens that shows up one of our weaknesses, it can become traumatic. You just really can't. We can think that we're pretty strong and healthy and all of a sudden a sickness or an accident puts us on our back, where we have to look up to the Lord. and we think that we have a good grip on life and then life begins to start unraveling. The Lord wants us to be in constant contact with him, in constant reliance upon him as our shepherd. It's on the days when things get out of control that we discover how weak we truly are and how desperately we need strength from our good shepherd. Where does your strength come from? Few in number see themselves as completely helpless or without strength, but listen, apart from God, that's exactly what we are when it really counts. Warren Wearsby, man of God, he said this, he says, if we trust people, we get what people can do. If we trust money, we get what money can do. If we trust ourselves, we get what we can do. If we trust God, we get what God can do. What is the best of those scenarios? Trusting in God. Isaiah 41.10 says, Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. Yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. I wonder tonight, are you at a place where you need God's strength in your life? When we are at our weakest, if we depend on Him, He is at His strongest for us. Their need was the need to depend on the Good Shepherd to provide for their needs and to give them strength. And finally here, we see in verses 8 through 12, Israel needed to depend on the Good Shepherd to lead them. In Lewis Carroll's classic, Alice in Wonderland, there was an area in that book where Alice comes to a junction in the road. She asked the Cheshire cat, she said, would you tell me please which way I ought to go from here? And the cat said, well, that depends a good deal on where you want to go. And she said, I don't much care where. He said, then it doesn't much matter which way you go. Let me ask, where do you want to go? Where do you want to go? Does it really matter? To most of us, it does matter. And if it doesn't matter to you, then you'd be the definition of fool, because taking the wrong road, making the wrong choices can be very costly and painful. Go the wrong way and you may end up at a dead end. How do you know which choice is best, which road is right, which direction to head out in? Well, you follow the Good Shepherd. Look at verse number eight. He says, I will hiss for them and gather them, for I have redeemed them, and they shall increase as they have increased. The word translated hiss there means to be shrilled. Think of it as a whistle, like whistling for a dog. calling someone, calling somebody, it's the same way you'd whistle for a dog to come to you, so the Lord will whistle for His sheep and they will follow Him. Verse 9 and 10, look at verse 9 and 10, He says, And I will sow them among the people, and they shall remember Me in far countries. They shall live with their children and turn again. We know that happened. They got the dispersion that happened in 70 A.D. They were dispersed by the Lord all across the land. But he says, I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt and gather them out of Assyria, and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, and place shall not be found for them. In other words, there's not going to be enough room for them. And that's happening right now. They're being regathered back into the land. Israel was pretty barren at one time as far as Jews were concerned. But now I think, I forget where I saw it at, but about half of all Jews now live in Israel. Eventually they all will. The Lord is going to be bringing them back. But verse 9 and 10 there says He gathers them together to redeem them, to bring them back from where He scatters them, calling them back from Egypt and Assyria, back through the waters of affliction and trouble. according to verse number 11, just as He once brought them through the Red Sea. I mean, yes, they're going through times of affliction right now. Verse number 11 says, He shall pass through the sea with affliction and shall smite the waves in the sea and all the deeps of the river shall dry up and the pride of Assyria be brought down and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away. You know, it's all in the hands of the Lord. Amen. Verse, verse 12 says that God will strengthen them. He says, I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord. So, God will strengthen them in the Lord. It says that they shall walk up and down in his name. In other words, they will walk in the will and way of the shepherd. From beginning to end, they hear their shepherd's whistle for them. They follow his voice and his footsteps wherever he leads them. Zechariah tells the Jewish exiles here and us who read these words in this 21st century we live in, follow your shepherd. Depend on him to lead you. Jesus said in John 10, 27, He said, My sheep hear My voice, I know them, they follow Me. Yes, we need guidance. Our ability to choose the right road is hindered by our ability to see the future. Our human wisdom can take us only so far, but no further. Making the right choices, choosing the right way, It's no better than flipping a coin unless you depend on the good shepherd to lead us. Some might ask, well, how does God lead? I have found in Scripture and through life's experience, God's leading can come in a variety of different ways and means. But if you want one absolutely reliable means of guidance, it comes through his word. The Word of God. The Bible. That's the primary way. Now, He also leads us through His Holy Spirit that lives within. Those of us that are believers, He lives within. And sometimes he might lead us through circumstances or even through other people, but we need to be cautious and ask for his discernment because whatever means he uses, it must always line up with his word. Understand that the Lord is not going to lead you in a direction that's contrary to His Word. I've had people say, I just feel like this is the way the Lord would have me to go. The way they were talking about going didn't have anything to do with the Word of God, and the Word of God strictly prohibited it. I can tell you it's not of God when it's that. You may be hearing a voice, but you're not hearing the voice of the Lord if it's contrary to His Word. The word of God is the Lord's voice speaking to us, telling us which way to go. And by whatever means that He uses, it must always line up with His word. I want you to remember that. Just like Israel so desperately needed to depend on their shepherd, we too must depend on the good shepherd for guidance. In the coming days, the days ahead, Make a practice of listening to His voice and walking in His ways. For when the troublesome times come, you can listen for Him. Amen. And you will know where He's going. He'll not steer us wrong. A.T. Pearson said these words, he said, to go as I am led, to go when I am led, to go where I am led, it is that which has been for twenty years the one prayer of my life. And that ought to be the prayer of our lives. We want the Lord, we want to walk in the way that we're led, when we're led, and where we're led by the Lord. Is that the prayer of your life tonight? It will be when you depend upon the shepherd to lead you. May we make this the prayer of our lives also. Mark 6, verse 34, Jesus, when he came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them. because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. The Lord still looks at us as sheep. Amen. Just like Israel, we all need to depend upon the Good Shepherd to supply our needs, to strengthen us, and to lead us. Let's pray. Father, we just thank you tonight for