Not everybody gets a copy of
the Order of Service, but it says special. Mike, that was
special. Thank you. Let's turn our Bibles back to
John chapter 10. John chapter 10. Look at verse 27. Verse 27 of
John 10. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish.
Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Now in the preceding verses,
Brother Jason read from, look at verse 24. It says the Jews came round about
him and they said, how long? How long? Dost thou make us to
doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. You know, these men had made
many accusations against our Lord. They called him a winebibber. They thought they were insulting
him when they called him a friend of publicans and sinners. And
the Lord had demonstrated time and time again that he was who
he said he was, that he was the Christ. In John chapter 8, verse
58, it says this, he said, before Abraham was, I am. In John 5, Verse 17 through 18,
he said, my father worketh hitherto and I work. And when he said
that, it says the Jews therefore sought the Moor to kill him because
he had broken the Sabbath, but also he had said that God was
his father, making himself equal with God. Jesus Christ is God. He's God in human flesh. And
when he said that, those men, they didn't rejoice in it. They
sought to kill him. He said that in John 10, John
10 30, look there. Beginning with verse 30, he said, I and my father are one. And the Jews took up stones again
to stone him, and Jesus answered them, and he said, many good
works have I showed you from my father. For which of these
do you stone me? And the Jews answered him, and
they said, for a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy. because thou, being a man, makest
thyself to be God." Oh, he was much more than a man, wasn't
he? They sought to stone him. They had no desire to know him
as the Christ. They had no desire to know him
as who he was. They only sought to accuse him. When they asked those questions,
it wasn't a desire to know more about him. It was a desire to
try to trip him up, to get him to say something that they could
use to accuse him. In Luke 4, our Lord spoke of
particular redemption. He said this in Luke 4. He said,
many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias. When the heavens
were shut up three and a half years, when great famine was
throughout all the land, but unto none of them was Elias sent
save unto one. Save unto Sarepta, a city of
Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And that whole bunch
of people the Lord was pleased to save one. And the Lord went
on to say, He said there were many lepers in Israel in the
time of Elias the prophet. Many. We don't know how many
that was, but we know this, there was one, there was one he was
pleased to heal. He was pleased to heal Naaman
the leper, Naaman the Syrian. Now did they glory in that? I
ask you, did they glory in that at all? Did they praise and give
thanks that Almighty God would be pleased to save one? That
he would be pleased to show mercy to that one widow woman? No. No, they were filled with
wrath. Not Thanksgiving. Not joy. They were filled with wrath.
Did their hearts worship a sovereign God? Praise God, he would be
pleased to save one. That he would be pleased to save
whom he will, when he will, how he will. No. No, they did not. God's word
declares that when they heard these things, When our Lord spoke
these things, they were filled with wrath. Filled with wrath. And they rose up, and they thrust
him out of the city, and they led him to a brow of the hill
on which that city was built, and their desire was to throw
him over that hill headfirst. They were angry. They were full
of wrath. They refused to hear the words
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Refused to believe Him. Why? Why is that? Well, look at John chapter 10. Look at verse 24. came round about him, and they
said, How long? How long will you make us to
doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. And the Lord Jesus Christ, look
at verse 25, He answered them, and listen to what He said. Can
you imagine hearing these words? He said, I told you. I told you. I can remember as a child doing
some foolish things on more than one occasion. And I can remember
mom or dad, either one, looking at me and saying, I told you. I told you. How many times in
our Lord's earthly ministry had he said that Almighty God was
his father? How many times did he say, I
am the light of the world? How many times did he say that
he was the good shepherd? How many miracles did he perform
demonstrating his power? Opening the eyes. Had anyone
ever opened the eyes of the blind? Anyone ever heal the sick? Open the deaf ears that a deaf
man might hear. Take a dead man, a dead man that
laid in the grave with his body stinking and raise him to life. In John chapter 3 there was a
Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews who came to Jesus
by night and he said to him, He came to him at night, he came
to him after dark, and he said this, Rabbi, we know that thou
art a teacher from God, for no man, even he had to admit, no
man could do these miracles that you do except Almighty God sent
him. These things weren't done in
a corner, were they? This was done out in the open for all
to see. Look at verse 24 of John chapter
10 again. How long, they asked, how long
dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. And listen, Jesus answered them,
and he said, I told you. I told you. Here's the problem. You believe not. You refuse to
believe. You believe not the works that
I do in my father's name. They bear witness of me. I told
you. I told you. And you believe not. Why did they not believe? Look
at verse 26. You believe not because you are
not my sheep. Can you imagine how that had
to strike their hearts? Jason, you said, no wonder they
took up rocks, right? You don't believe because you
are not my sheep. And John 8, he said this, he
said, the Lord said this, if you believe not that I am he,
what's going to happen? You will die in your sins. Who is He? If you believe not,
I am He. Who is He? He's the everlasting
I Am. He's the true God, over all,
blessed forever. He's the eternal Son of God.
He's God, manifest in the flesh. He's the only Savior of sinners. the one and only mediator between
God and man. He's the Lord Jesus Christ, the
son of the living God. Oh, if you believe not that I
am he, you'll die. You'll die in your sins. Aren't we thankful that he is
who he says he is? Turn back to John 10, 26. You believe not because you're
not my sheep. It'd be a very sad message, sad
indeed, if it just ended there, wouldn't it? If that was the
end of the message, if that was the end of what our Lord had
to say, oh, what a sad, sad message it would be. But you know he'd
be right and he'd be just in doing so. Aren't we thankful
that he's pleased to show mercy? You know, there are some, there's
many, there's many who do not believe. There's many who refuse
to believe. But there's some who do. There's some who believe. God
has a remnant. He has a people. Some, by his
grace, believe. Not as we should. Not as we desire
to, not as we will someday, but listen, some, some believe. Look at verse 27. He said, I
said unto you, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them. and they follow
me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Let's look at these words together
here this morning and what time we have left. He says, my sheep. Who are they? There he is. He says, my sheep. The Lord back in verse 14, he
said, I'm the good shepherd and I know my sheep. How's he know? Because there
he is. Where he is. Our Lord Jesus Christ, he describes
his people as sheep. That's not a real flattering
term. We get that image of just clean,
white sheep out in the pasture. But to be called a sheep is not
a flattering term. To be called his sheep is. Listen
to a few things we know about sheep. They're dumb animals. They're weak. They are helpless,
defenseless creatures. They have to have someone, they
have to have a shepherd to protect them, to guide them, to keep
them. Oh, but listen to this. He says,
these are my sheep, my sheep. I belong to the king. I'm a child
of his love. He never forsakes his own. These are my sheep. And as the great shepherd, He
is the great shepherd. He's the chief shepherd. And as such, he knows his sheep. And why wouldn't he? They're
those of his own choosing. Those who were given him by the
father, those whom he bought. What was the payment he made
them? He bought them with his own blood. He redeemed them from
among men. He laid down his life for the
redemption of his sheep. He ransomed them. How? By his
own power. And he's bought them back. Each
one of his sheep he has bought back from the hand of the enemy. And he claims them as his own. He says, they are My sheep. They're His. They're His. And He knows them, and He loves
them perfectly. He loves them eternally. Listen to this passage of Scripture.
Thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed
thee, O Israel, fear not. I have redeemed thee. I have
called thee by thy name. Thou art mine, my sheep." Well,
what do we know of his sheep? What's said of his sheep? What
does the Lord say of his sheep? What sets them apart? What are
the distinguishing marks of those sheep? There's six things written here
in God's word. Listen to these six things here
that the Lord says of his sheep. First is this. He said, they
hear my voice. In verse 4 of John 10, we read,
for they know his voice. How does he speak to them? He
speaks through his word, his gospel, which directs and encourages. And when he speaks, he speaks
in majesty. He speaks in authority. He speaks
in power. You know it was by his voice.
It was by his voice. that he spoke this world into
creation. Brady's class, when y'all been
looking at that, he spoke it. God spoke it. And it appeared. And then he looked at it and
he said, it's good. It's good. And after the end
of creation, he looked back on everything he made and what'd
he say? It is very good. by his voice
spoken into creation. There was a time when he spoke
to his people through the prophets. God spoke through the prophets.
There was a time when he walked this earth. Imagine that. Imagine that. There was a time
when God walked this earth as a man. And he himself spoke. to the
people. In the book of Luke, he spoke
in the synagogue. He said this, he picked up the
book and he said, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because
he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath
sent me to heal up the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he finished that, and he
closed the book, and he handed it back to the minister, and
he sat down, and every eye in the synagogue was on him, wasn't
it? Can you imagine what a sight
that must have been? What it was like to hear the
Son of God speak And the people, it says the people
wondered. They wondered at the gracious
words which proceeded out of his mouth. Well, today, today
he continues to speak to his people. He speaks through his
word. He speaks through the preaching
of his word. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. In Romans 14, how then shall
they call on him in whom they've not believed? How shall they
believe in him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? It's through the preaching of
his word that we hear of his grace, his grace to sinners,
his grace for the guilty, his death. His redemption. It's through the word that we
are taught of Him. Oh, that He would be pleased
to speak through His servants. That we might call on Him who
is willing and able to save. He said, my sheep hear my voice. Second, he said this, I know
them. He knows them. 2 Timothy 2.19,
this is what God's Word says, Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal. What is it? The Lord knoweth them that are
his. The Lord knows them. How could
he not know them? He chose them. He wrote their
names in his book and he will never suffer them to perish. He calls them by name. Each one
of his sheep, he calls them by name. Jason and I were back in
the study before the service talking about how like when our
children were born, how we labored over what to name our children. The Lord wrote his children,
their names were written in his book from before the foundation
of the world. He knows his sheep so intimately
that the very hairs of our head are numbered. And he loves his sheep. How much
does he love his sheep? He laid down his life for his
sheep. You see that in verse 14. In
15 of John 10, the good shepherd knows his sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know
my sheep. I've known of mine. And the father
knoweth me, even so I know the father. And I lay down my life
for the sheep. I read, quoted this earlier,
but turn back to Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43, verse 1. Isaiah 43. Just listen to these words. Isaiah 43, 1. But now thus saith
the Lord that created thee, O Jacob. He that formed thee, O Israel, fear not, fear not, for I am
with thee. I have redeemed thee. I have
called thee by thy name. Listen to those three words. Thou art mine. Thou art mine. My sheep. A chosen people, again, those
given him of the Father, purchased, bought with his blood, redeemed,
and in due time ransomed by his power. He has bought us back from the
hand of the enemy, and he claims me. Think about that. He claims me as his own. This is my sheep, my sheep. They hear my voice. I know them. And then third, they follow me. They follow me. In Luke 5, verse 27, there was
a publican named Levi. And he was sitting at the receipt
of custom. He was collecting toll. He was
collecting taxes. And the Lord approached that
man and he said two words, follow me. Follow me. In Levi, the scripture says,
he left everything he had and he rose up and he followed him. Levi, this man was a tax collector. A Jewish man employed by the
Romans to collect taxes from his own people. I know how excited
we all get about paying taxes, right? This man was, he was not
liked. He was hated. And he was collecting
from his own people. And yet the Lord speaks to him
and he says, follow me, follow me. Despite his infamous employment,
despite the fact that there was no merit found in Levi, what
do we attribute this call to? Why would the Lord call Levi?
Even so, Father, it seemed good in thy sight, huh? Why would He call Levi? Why would He call me? Why would
He call any? It's one of His sheep. It's His sheep. The free and sovereign grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ I ask you this, did the Lord tell Levi
that he set up some requirements for him to come to him? Did he say, these are some things
you must do? No, he said, follow me. And again, Levi rose up and he
followed him. My sheep, my sheep, they hear
my voice. I know them. And what? They follow me. Fourth, he said, I give unto
them eternal life. You know, he gives himself. The
Lord Jesus Christ gave himself. He gives his righteousness. We're made the very righteousness
of God in him. He gives the earnest of his spirit. He gives life, life to a dead
sinner. We sing this song. His love has
no limit. His grace has no measure. His
power has no boundary known unto men. Out of his infinite riches
in the Lord Jesus Christ, what is it? He giveth and he giveth
and he giveth. And we could just keep saying
that, couldn't we? And he giveth and he giveth again. By nature,
by nature, we are all dead in trespasses and sins. But he comes
to his sheep by his spirit in sovereign life-giving power and
he speaks. He gives us a new heart, a new
nature, a new desire. He makes us a new creation. And
he gives unto his sheep what? Eternal life. Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. By the word
of God, which liveth and abideth, how long? Forever. And this he gives to all that
the Father has given him. Eternal life. It has no end. Is a man, a woman, a young person,
eternally saved? What did the Lord Jesus Christ
say? I give unto them eternal life. John 10, 28, here's the
fifth point. They shall never perish. What a glorious promise. They
shall never perish. And I don't see any exception
to this. Promise. It's a promise to his sheep. Sheep that are sometimes fearful. Sheep that are sometimes prone
to wonder. Sheep that are prone to doubt.
That's us, isn't it? Yet, each of them shall be preserved. Spurgeon wrote this. He said,
they may be tried and troubled and broken down to the point
that they're hardly able to live, but they shall never perish. Not his sheep. And then last,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. We read that
account of the potter. Hath not the potter power over
the clay to make one a lump of honor and another dishonor? Where's that power at? It's in
his hands, isn't it? What he creates, what he does
with that clay. And there's many references in
God's word about the hand of the Lord. It's that hand that
leads his people. It's the hand that holds his
people. The hand that carries his people. In Isaiah 49, he says this, I
have engraved you in the palms of what? My hands. Written, written in his hands. No man shall pluck them out of
my hand. It's that same hand that stretched
out the heavens in creation. The very hands that those nails
were driven through as he hung on the cross, as he hung there
outstretched on the cross. These aren't just any hands,
are they? Hmm? Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. Back in 1st Samuel 25, I won't
have you turn there, you read from 1st Samuel 25 this afternoon,
but Abigail, she spoke to David. David was gonna go up that hill
for vengeance. And Abigail said this to David,
she said, the soul of my Lord shall be bound up in the bundle
of life with the Lord my God." I ask you, could the believer
be any more secure? Quickly look at verse 29 of John
10. He said in verse 28, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Verse 29, my father
which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them
out of my father's hand. secure in the hand of the Lord
Jesus Christ, double secure in the hand of Almighty God. But let's read just a few. Go
back to verse 27. I'll close. My sheep hear my
voice. I know them. They follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life. and they shall never perish.
Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which
gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck
them out of my hand. I and my Father are one." I pray
he would give us comfort, hope, rest, In him. In him. All right.