I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the gospel according to John. John
chapter 10. John chapter 10. I'd like to look at two verses
of scripture. Verse 27 and 28. But I, a few
days ago, I had a precious friend that shared their
concern, their fear, whether or not they knew the
Lord or no. And I immediately tried to relate
to them that they were not alone. in their thoughts. I personally do not know any
regenerated sinner. A brand plucked from the fire. I don't know of one believer
that I've ever spoken to that did not have thoughts like that. Fear. Oh, John Newton, do I love the
Lord or no? Am I his or am I not? And with that thought in mind,
a very familiar passage of scripture was brought back to my heart. A passage that sets forth the
character of God's regenerated people, the character of Lord's
word of comfort to those that are struggling with such thoughts. And with that thought in mind,
I'd like to look at a passage of scripture that I just cited,
John chapter 10, a couple of verses, 27, 28. And I've entitled
this message comfort. when in doubt. Now you that believe,
let me ask you something. Have you ever felt that feeling
of doubt, fear? I know you have. I know you have. I just want to just share with
you. You're not by yourself. God's
people, they struggle. They struggle. The Apostle Paul
said, I see in me, that is in my flesh, there dwelleth no good
thing. The Lord had been speaking to
some Pharisees. They had asked him, you know,
how long are you gonna make us to doubt? And the Lord said to him in John
10, 25, Jesus answered them, I told you, you believed, you believe not. The works that I do in my father's
name, they bear witness of me, but verse 26, but you believe
not because you're not of my sheep, as I said unto you. The
Lord had told some that wanted to call him to task. How long are you going to keep
us in suspense? How long are you going to make
us doubt? If you're the Christ, tell us. I told you. And you don't believe. Because you're not my sheep. Now I'd like for us to look at
verse 27, 28 of John 10. And it's this very thought here. When I find myself in doubt,
wondering, struggling. Is there a place I can go in
God's Word and find some comfort, find the characteristics, find
the comfort and peace of a believer? These two verses right here.
Look at John 10, 27. My sheep. Two simple words. Two words. My sheep. You know, that has a real distinguishing,
just very, very loving, kind, sound of electing
grace. My sheep. My sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ has, according
to His word, right here. If we didn't have anything else,
we'd have it right here. The Lord Jesus Christ has some
sheep. He's got a bride. He's got a church that is His. It's His beloved. The Father chose a people. for Him. The Father chose a people for
the Lord Jesus Christ. They were chosen in Him before
the foundation of the world, before God made anything else.
And this is the reason that He chose them, that they should
be holy and without blame before Him in love. who were referred to as sheep. Sheep. Most helpless, the weakest,
the most foolish, most liable creatures to go astray. You can't trust them to do anything
consistently. They just wander around. You
gotta have a shepherd. They gotta have a guide. They
gotta have a stay. They gotta have one that'll watch
out for them. My sheep. These are the ones that the Lord
Jesus Christ has eternally stood according to God's everlasting
covenant of grace. He has stood for them to be their
surety. He came into this world and they
being sinners, fallen into sin, conceived in sin, came forth
from their mother's womb, speaking lies. And He came into this world
for them and was made what they are. Took their guilt and made it
to be His very own and answered every demand for justice and
righteousness before God's law. and they're his sheep. They're
mine. My sheep. They're his peculiar
property. They belong to me. My father
gave them to me. I bought them, purchased them.
I've given my heart that's willing in the day of my power to come
to me. They are the father's gift to
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's amazing grace, amazing
grace. God has a people. And there's
something about these sheep that's amazingly wonderful. Back in
verse 27, my sheep hear my voice. My sheep hear
my voice. They possess a distinguishing
quality, ability about them. They've got an ability that they
were not born with into this world. They've got an ability
that the Lord has given them. They hear my voice. You think
of the sweetness and the wonder of that. They hear the voice
of God. They hear my voice. The Holy Spirit in regenerating
grace gives them what the scripture reveals as ears to hear. Proverbs 20, verse 12. The hearing
ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them. And without that gift, without
the gift of a hearing ear, a seeing eye, They don't hear and they
don't see. My sheep do. He said, they do. They hear, they see. Concerning
everybody that's born into this world, naturally speaking, before
the Lord gives them this hearing ear and seeing eye, before they
have it, they don't hear either. They don't hear. They don't hear
the voice of God. They don't see the glory of God
in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. They don't. Here's what
scripture says, Psalm 135, 17. They have ears, but they hear
not. Neither is there any breath in
their mouths. Oh, but for those given an ear
to hear. The ear of God's grace. They are not deaf. to the voice
of the Lord Jesus. They hear. They hear his distinguishing
voice. They're not deaf. They hear it. Nobody can explain to somebody
else that doesn't have ears, you can't explain it to them.
But they hear, they hear the voice of the shepherd. They hear it. They hear it in
the preaching, the gospel. They hear it in the demonstration
of His power, and they see it, they just, they hear, they hear.
Don't try to tell somebody how that works, because you can't
do it. But they hear His sovereign voice. And when they hear the
description of the Lord as being the good shepherd, they hear
that. They hear it. They hear it. He calls His sheep. He calls
them by name. He calls them by name. Almighty God knows His people.
Goes before them. He never leaves them. He never
forsakes them. And they attend to His voice.
And they consider what He says. They hear what He says. They
hear His word read. They hear the preaching of the
gospel of His grace, and they perceive, and they attend to
it. They comprehend the language
of the shepherd. What language does He speak?
He speaks in the language of the Son, the Son of God, the
language of the shepherd. They hear His He bids them. He bids them come.
And they come. They hear Him. They obey. They
wait on Him. They hear His voice. That's what
the Lord said. And then He said, and I know
them. I know them. You know, isn't
that an amazing thing, the acquaintance that God's sheep have with the
Lord? I know them. They know me, I
know them. I know them. I'm acquainted with
them. He is the omniscient God that
knows his sheep mercifully. He knows them in the sense that
he has a peculiar, special, loving interest in them. He loves them. They're his, they're his sheep. Deuteronomy 7, 6 reveals the very heart of him
who knows his sheep. Listen to what the Lord said.
For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy
God has chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all
people that are upon the face of the earth. Well, we hear that, we enter
into that somewhat. We see through a glass darkly,
but we see that. I'm his, he's mine. I know him,
he knows me. I hear his voice, I hear him
speak. He's the good shepherd. And then
he says concerning these sheep, and they follow me. They follow me. I looked that
up. They abide with his party. They follow me. They abide with
his party. God's regenerated sheep. The
reason I say that is because they're sheep before they're
regenerated. They've always been sheep. But
when he calls them out of darkness, they hear his voice. He knows
them, they know Him. They follow Me. They obey. They obey, they trust, they walk after
the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. By faith. Faith that was given
to them. Faith that they received from
Him. That was a gift. It's given unto
you to believe. Old men have not faith. Truly,
we know what we are by nature. We're dust. We're frail creatures
of dust. And as I said a while ago, we
acknowledge that in us, in our flesh, there dwelleth no good
thing. But according to his word and
according to our heart, our desire, we follow him. You that know
it. You want to, don't you? I was
talking a while ago about my friend that felt the weight,
the doubts. Do I know him? Do I know him? Those that know him hear his
voice. They follow him. They follow after him. Not as
they would desire, I can tell you that. Not as they will, but
they do. They do. They follow Him. He
is their life. And He leads us. Providentially,
He leads us. He speaks to us. He calms us. He guides us. He's the shepherd. Oh, and He's in the midst of them, always.
And I'll tell you another thing about the sheep. They won't follow
a stranger. Am I his or am I not? Well, let
me ask you this. Can you just go anywhere and
just listen to anything? No, you cannot, not a sheep. Not a sheep, not a regenerated
sheep. They follow me. They follow me. They follow me. They hear my voice. I know them. Follow me. They follow me. They go through trials and tribulations. And I'll tell you this, they
don't have any other place to go. I'll tell you what they're going
to hear. They're going to hear the consistency of the Lord's
word. They're going to hear God's sovereign,
saving, electing, distinguishing grace. You try to tell them that
salvation is up to them, up to their word, up to their decision
and their choice and stuff, and you know what they're gonna say?
I don't hear that voice. That's not the voice I hear.
My sheep hear my voice. Why? Because he alone has the
words of eternal life. His word is life. And this truth of following after
Christ, it's one that sets forth the duration of all of God's
sheep. The duration. Matthew 10, 22
says, and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but
he that endureth to the end shall be saved. They abide. They stay. You cannot drive a sheep away. They feel the wandering in their
heart. But I'm telling you, they stay. They'll stay. Does
that mean that they never stumble? Oh no, that doesn't mean that
at all. Does it mean that they don't
have times of doubts and fears and struggles? They all do. Why? Because sin is still in
them. The power of sin has been taken
away. It doesn't have dominion over
them anymore. But the presence of it is there.
That's what Paul said a while ago. I see in me, I see. Well, it's no good thing. Oh, after Noah, God showed mercy
to a man named Noah. And because Noah had found grace
in the eyes of the Lord, Noah's wife, three sons, and their wives
reaped the benefits. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. That's what scripture says. He built an ark. And after he
got out of that ark, he got drunk. Noah? Yeah. A righteous man. Did he stumble? Yeah. Okay. Abraham
denied that Sarah was his wife twice. Why? Because he was scared. Oh man, surely can't be a believer
that does that. Abraham knew God, and God knew
Abraham. Moses, I want you to strike the
rock. Moses struck it the first time,
God sent water. Second time, Moses speak to the
rock. What'd he do? He struck it again. that you won't go into the promised
land. Was Moses a believer? Meekest man, God said, ever walked
this earth. Moses. Solomon in his old age, his heart
was turned by as many wives. Can that man be a believer? Peter. Peter, a man God called
to be an apostle. Told the Lord, he said, I can
tell you this, everybody else will forsake you, but buddy,
you can count on me, I'm the rock. I am a rock. Don't doubt me, I'm Peter. Before the cock crows twice,
you'll deny me three times. And he did, he did. The scripture
reveals that all men by nature are sinners. We're frail creatures
of the dust. But I can tell you this, those
that are the Lord's are his sheep. My sheep hear my voice. Do they struggle? Proverbs 24,
16 says, for a just man, a just man, a justified man, falleth
seven times and riseth up again. But the wicked shall fall into
mischief. A just man, a man loved of God, fall seven
times. And those that are said to follow
him, they know something of their own frailty. They know something
of their tendency to fall away. They know something about that
tendency to want to leave. I told you the other day about
Jeremiah, remember that? Jeremiah said, you know, I'm not going to preach anymore.
I'm not going to preach anymore in his name. and His word was
in me like fire in my bones, and I could not refrain. Men are frail creatures, but
they're God's frail creatures. They're God's sheep. And they know Him, they follow
Him, they hear His voice, and this is their conclusion, though
He slay me. yet will I trust in him. If they leave, if someone leaves
and they don't come back, the scripture says they went
out from us because they were not of us.
But if they're of the Lord, if they're of the Lord's, I'm telling
you, they will not leave. And I'll tell you why they won't
leave. because they're kept by the power of God. They don't
have the power to keep themselves, they're kept by God's power.
Kept by the power of God through faith. They'll struggle and struggle
and struggle, and this is what they'll say concerning the conclusion
of themselves. I am what I am by the grace of
God. If God would have left me to
myself, I'd have been gone. And would have justified it.
Now, I can tell you that from experience, from seeing and watching
and feeling within myself. How many times have I found myself
trying to convince myself I can justify this if I don't continue. Then the next thing you think
was, oh, foolish man, oh, foolish man, oh, wretched man that I
am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? Lord, thank you. Thank you for
not giving me what I thought I wanted. Martin Luther said
something that I thought was really good. He said the sheep,
though the most simple creature, is superior to all animals in
this, that as soon as he hears the shepherd's voice, it follows
no other. A sheep is clever enough to hang
on his voice because he knows he cannot find pasture for himself. He can't guard himself against
the wolves, and he depends totally and solely on the help of the
shepherd. As foolish as he is, when he
hears the shepherd's voice, he knows it. My sheep hear my voice. I know them. They follow me. The Lord may allow his sheep
to stumble, fall, but he will not leave them. He will not forsake
them. He will not leave them to themselves. My sheep, hear my voice, I know
them, they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. I give unto them,
I give unto them, I give unto them. I give unto them eternal
life. I said a while ago, eternal life
is a present, a gift. It's granted, it's committed
unto the sheep. It's not earned by them, it's
not kept by them, it's given unto them. It's the precious
gift of God's pardon and grace not only in this life, but in
the life to come. I'll never leave them. I'll never
leave them. They'll never perish. It's eternal life in the Lord
Jesus Christ. That gift, that gift that had
its will and purpose in Christ alone, it never began. It's always been. I give them
eternal life and they shall never Perish. Eternal life is that which no
man can fall away. Not eternal life. How can life
be cast away or lost when the Lord says they shall never perish? Doubt? Yeah. Fear? Yes. Stumble? Yes. Stray? Yes. but eternally fall away, no,
no. I give unto them eternal life
and they shall never perish. They'll never perish. They'll
never be destroyed. They'll never be ruined. They'll
never be punished. Chastised, yes. Whipped, yes. Straightened up,
yes. But cast away, no. It is not
the will of your father, which is in heaven, that one of his
little ones should perish, Matthew 18, 14. I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish, and neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hand. Eternal security, preservation
of the saints, that is a scriptural truth. God's people, God's people,
regenerated by the grace of God, are not lost. They're not lost. They're God's people. God's Word declares it. The sheep
of the Lord Jesus Christ believe Him. They believe Him. And they
walk through this earth knowing every day that they're still
here. I'm here according to His good pleasure that He's kept
me. You'll see others that will leave,
but not God's sheep. You'll see others that fall away,
but not God's sheep. No doubt. Fiery darts of Satan,
I'm gonna read this 1 Peter 1. Just turn with me and I'll close
with this. 1 Peter 1, I'm gonna read verses
1 to 5. 1 Peter 1, 5. I was gonna say the fiery darts
of Satan's temptation, his taunts and his jeers, the world, the
doubt of the old man. Brethren, we're gonna struggle
with that for the rest of our lives. It hadn't changed up to
this point, and it won't. We're going to struggle. But
listen, 1 Peter 1, 1 to 5, and I'll stop. Peter, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father through sanctification of the spirit unto obedience
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace
be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible. and undefiled,
and that fate is not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time. An inheritance is reserved for
us, kept by the power of God through
faith. ready to be revealed in the last time. Lord, help us. Lord, enliven us. Lord, renew us for your glory
and our good and peace, amen.