What can we learn about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ from looking at the duties and character of a Shepherd?

Four ministries of the church: Reconciliation, Word, Lord, Saints. The one work of the church in the world: the furtherance of the gospel!

A Bridegroom presupposes two things. First, a person in a single capacity; and as so considered, he is a suitor. Secondly, a person in a married estate; and as so considered, he is a head or husband. In both these respects Christ may be considered, and is held forth in the word of God.

We always want goodness and life. However, if this is all we get, we miss out on the miraculous blessings of death.

Although the burnt offering is a picture of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, it is also a picture of the believer who gives himself unto the Lord. In this message, we will look at this second way of understanding the meaning of the burnt offering. We are to give ourselves entirely and without reserve to God.

The servant must understand his relationship to His Lord. The Lord is the master of the house and He rules it without challenge. The servant exists for the needs and service of the Lord. John 13:16 states, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.”

When God’s people get away from the Lord, they begin to give Him the leftovers. Their service to God becomes a weariness to them.

Bible Unmolested – During the American Civil War, one of the Baptist church buildings in northeast Tennessee, Mossy Creek, was “irreparably damaged. Troops were quartered near this church at different times during the war. A soldier in the Eleventh New Hampshire Regiment, who was at Mossy Creek during February, 1864, recorded the treatment that had been given the church’s facilities by the invading armies.

Esther had kept the identity of her people a secret from the king. Now, by Haman’s influence, the king has issued a decree to destroy the entire Jewish race. If she appears before the king without being recognized, she will be put to death. If she reveals her people and the decree stands, she will be put to death. The only solution is for her to die to herself before she acts. This she does with integrity and honor.

The work on the temple has stopped because of opposition. However, even when the opposition has died down, the people do not get back to God’s house. They are concerned about building their own houses, working their own fields, taking care of their own stomachs. But things are not going well. It seems that no one can get ahead. Now comes two prophets of God: Haggai and Zechariah. They point out the real problem: they left the work of the Lord to feed themselves. Therefore, God has not blessed them. The answer is to return to the original work to which they were called: the rebuilding of the temple. The people hear the words of the prophets and they respond. The work on the temple resumes.