Let's open our Bibles together to John chapter 10. John chapter 10, the gospel of John, 10th chapter. The Lord is likening the gospel to a parable of sheep and a shepherd and a sheepfold. And he reveals himself as the door. into the sheepfold. And I remind you of the verse that we looked at last Sunday, verse nine.

I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved and go in and out and find pasture. The door to heaven is right now wide open. It is wide open. People accuse us because we believe that God is sovereign in salvation and that he has chosen a particular people. They accuse us of closing the door to heaven. The truth is that election and predestination is the only open door to get us to heaven. Had God not chosen a particular people, no one would go through the door. I am the door if by me, if by me.

The reason why men won't come to Christ is because they want to present something before him. They that, all that come before me are thieves and robbers. They want to bring their faith. They want to bring their repentance. They want to bring their understanding. They want to bring something before Christ.

And so the Lord says, okay, symbolically, yeah, the door's closed to you, but it's open. It's wide open to anyone that will come by him. giving him all the glory, putting nothing before him, confessing that he has done everything that God requires to save you.

He's your surety. He's your sin bearer. He's all of your satisfaction and all of your justification, all of your sanctification, all of your redemption. Everything that God requires for you to stand in the presence of a holy God is all found in Him, and He gets all the glory. And if any man will come by me, he shall. He shall enter in. Doors open. Now, the ones who have, by God's grace, entered by Him know that had he left them to themselves, they would not have entered either.

They wouldn't have come. Who make it thee to differ? What do you have that you have not received? And if you've received it, why do you boast as if you didn't receive it? We have nothing to boast in. Had the Lord not made us willing in the day of his power, had he not unstopped our ears, had he not given us faith to believe the gospel, we would not have come in. Not by him. We'd have tried some other way, and we'd have been a thief and a robber, robbing him of his glory and robbing ourselves of our own hope of salvation. Look at verse 11.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is a hireling and not the shepherd whose own sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he is a hireling and careth not for the sheep. Now in this parable, the Lord's likening these law-mongering Pharisees, these self-righteous works Pharisees, these who would make salvation dependent upon something that man does, He's calling them thieves and robbers. He's saying they're hirelings. And when death comes, that's the wolf. When death comes, they're going to run. They can't help you. They can't save you. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and I have known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.

I've titled this message, For Whom Did Christ Die? For Whom Did Christ Die? And a follow-up to that question is, Anyone who has a God-given concern for their immortal soul, the follow-up question to that is, is there any evidence that he died for me? Now, some would take this question, for whom did Christ die, and make a theological debate out of it.

And they would categorize all, quote, Christians into two camps, the Armenians and the Calvinists. Those who believe in a general atonement that Christ laid down his life on the cross for everyone, and those who believe in a particular atonement or a limited atonement, a Christ who died specifically and effectually and successfully only for the sheep. And those who would hold to a general atonement saying that Christ died for everybody would support their argument by saying, well, God wants us to love him.

He wants us to willingly submit to him. The only way that we will love him. And the only way that we will willingly submit to him is if he does elect us and make us willing. We wouldn't come. We wouldn't believe. I would say to that person who wants to argue, God wants everyone to love him freely. I would say to that person, and the only way that you will ever love him freely is if he saves you freely. Yes, yes, he will have his people love him willingly and freely. and he will make them to love him, giving them a new heart in the new birth.

No, this isn't a question to be debated. It's not a theological difference that well-meaning, sincere Christians have to debate over. If the Lord Jesus Christ is the door, then this truth is the hinge to the door. The door cannot be opened without believing that the Lord Jesus Christ actually laid down his life, as he said, for the sheep. For the sheep.

In the Old Testament, when the children of Israel came back from Babylonian captivity, Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall and rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and the temple that they might begin worship. And there was two men, Samballot and Tobiah, who were threatened by what Nehemiah was doing. and wanted him to come down and meet them in the Valley of Ono that they might discuss what Nehemiah had in mind. And Nehemiah said this, he said, I am doing a great work and I cannot come down to you. Essentially what DMI was saying, you want me to meet you in the valley of oh no?

Oh no. I cannot. I will not. We're not going to stop this great work. We're not going to come to you and try to find some common ground on which we can compromise the truth of the gospel. And that is our response to those who would suggest that, well, you know, there is a sense in which Christ died for everybody. No, there is no sense in which Christ died for everybody.

The hope of my salvation is laid on this. The hope of His glory is laid on this. If there's a sense in which Christ died for everybody, then at the end of the day, God's not in control of our salvation. It's the decision that man makes. God's done everything he can do, now it's left up to you. That's a works gospel. It's a works gospel. It's bringing the works of my hands.

God says, you touch the altar with your hands and you will defile it. And it will not be acceptable to God. You come to God with a free will or a decision to be made. The Lord Jesus said, you did not choose me, I chose you. I chose you. But preacher, don't we come willingly? Yes, we come willingly because he makes us willing. He makes us willing. We run to Christ. We flee to the city of refuge. We desire him. It's all because he did a work of grace in our hearts.

And it's not a choice. Anytime you make a choice about anything, you are suggesting by the word choice, you are implying, you are declaring by the word choice that there are two or more options. Coming to Christ is not an option for the child of God, it's not a choice.

You go to a restaurant and they've got one thing on the menu, one thing only. And you say to the waiter at your table, you know, I'd like to try something a little different than what this one thing. Well, I'm sorry. You eat this or you leave. There's nothing else on the menu. There's no choice to be made. We come to Christ because the Lord has shut us up to Christ. He has taken away all of our choices. Will you leave me also? The Lord said to the disciples, to whom shall we go? Lord, we don't have a choice about this thing. You alone have the words of eternal life. There's no one else that we can go to.

We believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. Coming to Christ isn't a decision, it's not a choice. It's a work of grace in the heart when the Lord reveals to you who he is. and who you are. And we come, we do come, willingly, lovingly, quickly, but it's only because of that work of grace that he gave. Otherwise, we wouldn't go through the door. We'd be just like everybody else. We wouldn't have anything to do with it.

No, the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to save his people from their sins, and that's exactly what he did. He made himself an offering for sin, and he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself once and for all. All the sins of all of his people, of every generation, he covered them by his blood. That's why he came, and that's what he accomplished. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and I am known of mine. I lay down my life for the sheep.

And we often say there's two kinds of people in the world. There's lost people and saved people, and that's true. We could say there's the elect and the reprobate, that's true. But in one sense, there's three kinds of people in the world. There's found sheep, those who are rejoicing in Christ and believing on him for all the hope of their salvation. There are lost sheep who have not yet been brought to the knowledge of Christ. When the last of them comes to believe on Christ, all will be finished. There'll be no need for this world anymore after that. And then there are the goats. Then there are the goats. We preach the gospel for the found sheep, and we preach the same gospel for the lost sheep. Same truth, same message applies to all God's sheep. I lay down my life for the sheep.

Daniel chapter nine says that when the Lord Jesus comes, when the anointed one of the most holy comes, he will seal up the vision. He will finish the transgression. He will make an end of sin. He will make reconciliation for iniquity and he will bring in everlasting righteousness. And that's exactly what the Lord Jesus did. He accomplished everything that Daniel prophesied he would do. If Christ died for one person that ends up in hell, then God is not just. He's not just.

There's a great little article in your bulletin this morning written by a dear lady, I think of the 18th century or 19th century. She was on her deathbed and she told her pastor that she wanted justice. All she wanted was justice. And the pastor said, oh sister, he thought she was being, she was delusional because she was dying. And he said, oh no sister, don't you mean you want grace? And she said, no, I want justice. She said, if God's penalty for my sin was satisfied by the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross, then I want justice. I want to be found in him.

If God punishes me for what the Lord Jesus already paid for, that would not be justice. It would not be justice. If one person for whom Christ died goes to hell, God is not a just God. And if one person goes to hell that the Lord Jesus tried to save, but was unable to save, then God is not omnipotent. He's not all-powerful. He's not sovereign.

We have set ourselves up on the throne of God, if that be the case. God is God. He does all the saving. And His people rejoice. They're so thankful for that, that every part of their salvation he accomplished, that means I can't mess it up. I can't mess it up. Notice in verse 14, we get to the second question. Christ died for his elect. He laid down his life for his sheep. He died to redeem his bride. Do we know who they are? No. No. No, we just keep preaching the gospel because he knows who they are.

And he said, I will not lose one of my sheep. I will leave the 99. I will go out into the wilderness. I will find every one of them. I will get them to the gospel. I will get to the gospel to them. But every one that my father chose in the covenant of grace, everyone that I died for will be with me in glory. That is who I died for. Now, in this passage that we just read, the Lord says this. Verse 14, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and am known of mine.

Now I mentioned at the beginning that the second question I wanted to try to answer is, is there any hope that he died for me? As soon as I start looking in my life for evidences of salvation, if I'm one of God's, I'm going to become very discouraged. I'm going to see all the inconsistencies and all the failures and all the sin and all the unrighteousness and all the self-righteousness and all the pride that remains in me and I'm gonna lose sight of Christ if I do that. And when I look in my heart, I'm reminded how insincere and selfish it is in so many ways.

That having been said, child of God, there is evidence of salvation. There is reason for you to take hope that the Lord Jesus Christ died for you. In short, it is faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. What is faith? Faith is looking outside of yourself. Faith is looking to the Lord Jesus Christ for all the hope of your salvation.

And if you are able to do that, then you will know what it means. I am known of mine. I am known of mine. The Lord Jesus said in John chapter 17, this is life eternal that they might know me. Turn with me to that verse. I didn't quote that properly. Verse three. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.

Paul said that his passion for life, for his life, was to know God. He said, I've not yet apprehended that which has apprehended me, but this one thing I do, this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus, that I might know him, the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering, that in knowing Christ, I have the hope of knowing that when he raised from the dead, his resurrection is the proof positive that I need that what he accomplished on Calvary's cross pleased the Father.

The Father raised him. The scripture says that God could not allow his Holy One to see corruption. We could say that God was obligated, God rewarded, God raised Christ from the dead, because God was pleased with what he had done. What did he do? He saved his people. He saved them. Every one of them. Every single one of them, he saved them. And the father was pleased and raised him from the dead. Oh, Paul said that I might know the power of his resurrection. I'll look to the resurrection.

You look for a sign. You look for a sign to know if you're one for whom Christ died. Is there any evidence in my life? Is there a sign here and there? And God show me a sign. A wicked and perverse generation seeketh after a sign. No sign will be given except for the sign of Jonah, who spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale and then was vomited out onto dry ground. That's the sign. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the sign.

It is the evidence. That's what Paul was looking to. That was faith. Faith is the evidence. If I'm looking to the successful, accomplished work of Christ on Calvary's cross, proven to be successful by his resurrection, that's the sign. We have a resurrected Lord. who has ascended back into glory, who the Father has received unto himself, and the fellowship of his suffering. Now, Paul wasn't asking to suffer more. Paul suffered greatly, more than most believers ever suffered, stoned and shipwrecked and left for dead and starving and cold and naked and ultimately, more than likely, martyred. We don't have a record of that in scripture. That's the reason I say that. He wasn't looking to suffer more. I'm sure he spent his life trying to figure out how to get around as much of that as he could.

When he said that I might know the fellowship of his suffering, he was talking about him being in Christ when Christ died on Calvary's cross. He said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, not I, but Christ liveth in me. The life that I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Is there any evidence that I'm one for whom Christ died? Do you believe that when Christ died, you died?

You're looking to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ for all the hope of your salvation, for all the sacrifice that God requires, that you can't add anything to that. Your will and your works, your decision, your choices, nothing that you can do, no act of kindness or Work, good work that you can perform can add an ounce to what he did. He did it all.

I'm looking to his death on Calvary's cross as my sacrifice for sin. And I'm looking to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as the evidence that God was pleased with what Christ did. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. Now, quickly, turn with me to Psalm 23, please, Psalm 23.

David was a man after God's own heart. David was a man who failed miserably in so many ways, just like every child of God does. And yet, David believed God. He was one for whom Christ died. You took a survey of David's life, you'd find many, many failures in his life that would say, how could a Christian do such a thing? How could a believer act such a way?

And yet David knew something about shepherding. He was a shepherd. And more importantly, David knew something, knew a lot about sheep. He knew a lot about sheep. And David gives a testimony of his faith in Psalm 23. Now I know this Psalm is read at funerals and probably one of the most familiar passages scriptures in the Bible, but this is David's testimony of his faith.

And if we are able to identify with the testimony of David and say, yes, this is my testimony, This is what I believe. This is who I believe. And in spite of all the failures and all the inconsistencies, all the sin and the darkness of our hearts, there is in the new nature, there is in the new man, a work of grace that enables us to say, Lord, this I believe. This I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. Got a lot of unbelief, Lord, but I do believe this. So David's confession, I trust, will be our confession.

Psalm 23. The Lord. The Lord. It's Yahweh, it's Jehovah. It's the same name the Lord Jesus took for himself when he said, I am the good shepherd. Why do you stone me? Because you, being a man, make yourself out to be God. You're taking the name of God to yourself. And now David says, the Lord. It's the name that God gave to Moses at the burning bush. Tell them I am that I am sent you.

I'm in need of nothing. I give everything. Your worship and your praise adds nothing to me. You can't increase my being. I am that I am. I'm self-existent. I'm self-sufficient. I'm self-contained. I can't be added to. I can't be taken away from. Everything that lives and moves and has its being is in me. All things are created by me. And without me, nothing that is created has been made. I am. the Lord. I'm not worshiping a God who needs me to do something in order for him to be able to save me. I'm worshiping a God who is omnipotent. He's all powerful. He's sovereign.

It's the same confession that Thomas made after shamefully doubting the testimony of all the other apostles and saying, I'll not believe until I put my hand in his side and stick my finger in the wounds of his hands. And then the Lord Jesus appears. No evidence that Thomas ever followed through with what he said he was going to do. But what he did do was he fell on his face in the presence of the risen Christ and said, my Lord and my God.

This is David's confession. Is this your confession? A God that holds everything in his hand, your life, your soul, your salvation, a God that you are dependent upon for everything, a God to whom you are able to give nothing? That thief, on the cross after hearing the words that the Lord Jesus spoke from the cross. That thief had no outward evidence that the man dying next to him was none other than Almighty God. There was no outward evidence of that. This man is fixing to take his last breath the same way I am. How could God How could God be hanging there on a cross like me, this thief?

I'm getting what I deserve. And in spite of what he looked at, in spite of everything he heard, in spite of all that he saw, he said this, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. There's no doubt in my mind, in spite of all the evidence contrary to you being God, that you are God and that you are establishing your kingdom. Lord, I just want to be a part of your kingdom.

This is David's confession. The Lord, the Lord. Saul of Tarsus, breathing out threatenings, arresting Christians, having put them in prison and put to death. And then the Lord reveals himself from heaven. Others heard a voice, but they saw no man. Saul of Tarsus saw the man. And the first words out of his mouth, who art thou, Lord? I know your God, who exactly are you? I am Jesus, whom thou persecuteth. Lord, what would you have me to do? You see, those for whom Christ did not die would not make such a confession. They would not. They wouldn't. Oh, they might honor him with their lips. but they wouldn't. This is what John said, no man can say unto him, Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

You say, well, there's a lot of religious people that say Jesus is Lord. Ask them to define their terms. And you'll find out that they got a different definition for Lord than the one given to us in the Bible. Their Lord is not sovereign. Their Lord is not omnipotent. Their Lord is not God. He's not God. They've denied him of the very essence of deity, which is what Lord means. Here's the first confession of those for whom Christ died. He's God, and I'm not. This is David's confession, the Lord. The Lord. The Lord is my shepherd. He's my shepherd. He's not just some other man's shepherd. Yes, sheep are dumb and dirty, but they're also defenseless. Sheep have been given by God no natural defense against the enemy, the beast that would eat them. They have no way to defend themselves against the wolf. They are defenseless. That wolf, as we saw in John chapter 10, represents death.

What defense do we have? How can we defend ourselves against death? How can we conquer death? How can we stand in the presence of God after having drawn our last breath in this world? I gotta have a shepherd. The shepherd's the only one that can protect the sheep from death. The Lord is my shepherd. He isn't just the shepherd, he's my shepherd.

Now, what's David confessing? A verse that we looked at Wednesday night. Turn with me, if you will, to Micah, Micah chapter one. Verse six, Micah chapter one, verse six. Therefore, I will make Samaria a heap of the field and has plantings of the vineyards and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley and I will discover the foundations thereof.

I will discover the foundations thereof. Now you and I live in a culture of of therapy and therapist. And everybody's trying to figure out what's wrong with them and why they do what they do. Perhaps there's some benefit that comes from some of that, I don't know.

But I know this, just like we saw in that passage that talked about the root of our sin, the sin that does so easily beset us in Hebrews. What is the sin that does so easily beset us? It's unbelief. What is the sin that causes all other sins? It's unbelief. What does God say here? I will discover the foundations thereof. I will reveal to you what your real root problem is.

It doesn't have to do with how you were potty trained. It doesn't have to do with what your parents did to you or whatever happened here or there. It has to do with your own sin nature. And I'm gonna put it all on you. I'm going to discover the foundations of it. I'm going to reveal to you what your real problem is and you're gonna own it. It's expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come. But when he comes, he will convince you of your sinfulness because of your unbelief. Isn't that the cause of our sin? It's the cause of every problem we have. What's David saying?

I'm defenseless. Go back with me to Psalm 23. I'm defenseless. I can't defend myself. You've discovered the foundations thereof. You've revealed me for who I am. Standing in the presence of a holy God, all I can say is woe is me. I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. Lord, you're gonna have to save me. I can't save myself. Is there any evidence, any evidence at all that I'm one for whom Christ died? Is he Lord to you? Is he God? Are you a sinner? Would nothing Nothing to offer him for the hope of your salvation. Completely dependent upon him.

And that's what the rest of this work. I was gonna walk us through this whole psalm. We'll not do that this morning for the sake of time. Perhaps we'll go back to it next Sunday. But let's just look at this last phrase before we close. I shall not want. Now, if you're like me, your wanter works pretty good.

You go through life wanting things that you don't have. What does David mean when he says, I shall not want? He means this, I shall not be in want of anything that I need to stand in the presence of God with the Lord Jesus Christ as my shepherd. I shall not be in want of anything that I need to stand in the presence of God with the Lord Jesus Christ as my shepherd. Is there any greater evidence that I, the one that would make such a confession, would be one for whom Christ died. He died for his sheep. Everything David says in here is a confession of his faith. And it's every believer's confession.

We're not looking for evidence of our salvation in a pure thought, pure heart, oh, you go there. You look inside for something that gives evidence of your salvation, and it's gonna get real dark real quick if you're a believer. If you're not a believer, you're gonna find something there that'll give you hope that you're saved. And you're gonna be the hypocrite of hypocrites. But if you're a child of God, if you're one for whom Christ died, you go down like going down a well.

The deeper you go, the darker it gets. All the therapy in the world is not gonna uncover the foundations thereof. The foundation is unbelief, only God can show you that. We look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we say, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want of anything that God would require of me for me to be saved. He did it all, and he gets all the glory. Amen? All right. Tom?

26. 26 in the scroll of heaven. Now, let's stand together. Number 26. Thank you.