Okay. Just say for the benefit of those
listening online, particularly that this evening, our pastor
is unwell and not able to be with us. We are thankful that
our friend Mr. Marcus Funnell is with us, and
we pray that there may be, even in this change of circumstances
as we would view it, that there may be a divine appointment in
these amended arrangements. We commence our service by singing
hymn number 908, The tune is Eden, number 327. Saved is the
sinner that believes, the sacred gospel annals show. To him repentance Jesus gives
and sins complete remission too. Sin burdened soul with tempest
tossed, thy bark shall every storm outride. Grace once received
can ne'er be lost, nor hell from Christ thy soul divide. Hymn number 908. The sinner that I believe, as
every man knows the high notion, to Him repent the sins of this,
and sins of me, remission too. He is the Spirit, full of life
within. A steady break, break, break to comfort his heart. He birthed us and was the Spirit
of sin, and taken now to Jesus Christ. In earth, where gladness from
oceans is, He gives the Spirit's love, Saving
for Him. O Jesus, from this righteous
past, He comes, his weakness never ends. Jesus, thy God, Her tiptoes is rather bright
tonight. Here let my soul at home maintain,
when pressed by motions from home. ? Silver isle, so low ? ? With
tepid stars ? ? Thy law of sharing ? ? Strong and bright ? Grace once pristine can never
be lost, No help from Christ thy soul demands. May we be helped this evening
to read the 10th chapter in the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John, chapter 10. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth
up some other way, The same is a thief and a robber. But he
that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and
he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when
he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the
sheep follow him, for they know his voice, and a stranger will
they not follow. but will flee from him, for they
know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto
them, but they understood not what things they were which he
spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me
are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and
shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not
but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that
they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.
I am the good shepherd, The good shepherd giveth his life for
the sheep. But he that is an hireling, one
that wants material reward, and not the shepherd, whose own the
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 an Highling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the Good
Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down
my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which
are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice, and there shall be one fold. and one shepherd. Therefore doth my father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my father. There was a division therefore
among them, that the Jews for these sayings and many of them
said he hath a devil and is mad why hear ye him others said these
are not the words of him that hath a devil can a devil open
the eyes of the blind and it was at jerusalem the feast of
the dedication and it was winter and jesus walked in the temple
in solomon's porch Then came the Jews round about him, and
said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt, if thou
be the Christ? Tell us plainly. Jesus answered
them, I told you, and ye believe not. The works that I do in my
Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because
ye are not of my sheep. As 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, and 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 Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good
works have I showed you from my Father, for which of those
works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying,
For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because
thou being a man makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is
it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods? If ye call them
gods unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot
be broken, say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, and
sent into the world, thou blasphemest. Because I said, I am the Son
of God. If I do not the works of my Father,
believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe
not me, believe the works, that ye may know and believe that
the Father is in me, and I in him.' Therefore they sought again
to take him, but he escaped out of their hand, and went away
again beyond Jordan, into the place where John at first baptized,
and there he abode. And many resorted unto him, and
said, John did no miracle, But all things that John spake of
this man were true, and many believed on him there. May the dear Lord bless the reading
of his holy word to us each, and help us now in prayer. O
thou most kind and gracious Lord God, We do thank thee for bringing
us safely once again in our travels and through the days of another
week up till now. Lord, we have so much to be thankful
for. Oh, we pray that thou would soften
our hearts by due degrees. Lord, we do pray that there might
be those things done within us. And even this evening, that thou
would make thyself present Oh, we do long to know thy presence,
Lord. We long to be found in thy presence. And once more, as we come before
the throne of grace, we do earnestly plead his righteousness, his
blood, his merits on our behalf, the dear Lord Jesus who has gone
before us. And may we find, dear Lord, that
thou dost stand between us and the Father. Oh, may it be, as
the hymn writer said, in garments, dyed in blood, so that we might
be accepted on his ground, on mercy's ground, and Lord, that
we might be found pleading with thee, and thou wilt hear us through
Jesus' name. And so we do beg, Lord, as we
come once more into this little sanctuary, that thou wouldst
bless us. Oh, and make it a holy place
to our hearts, We do pray that the blessing might be poured
from on high, that those that are seeking Thee, those that
are thirsty, Lord, those that are hungry might receive this
night something from the Master's table, something from the bounty
of heaven, something to be given to a poor, wretched, hell-deserving
sinner, to enliven them, to strengthen them, to uphold them, to support
them, to help them. For we know and believe that
these are the only things, Lord, that will do a living soul any
good. They are the only things that
we want to feed on. They are the only things that
our soul desires. And so we do pray that as we
come this evening, there might be a letting down and a lifting
up. A letting down, dear Lord, of
those things that we need and are lifting up of thy countenance
upon us to do us good. Oh, we pray that thou wouldst
bless this people. Do remember them and help them
in all things, Lord, whatever it might be. And we especially
pray for their dear pastor, our Uncle James, that thou wouldst
help him in this affliction that thou has laid upon him. Lord,
we pray that thou wouldst bless him indeed and be with him and
may he know that precious word Come ye aside and rest a while,
while the Lord strengthens again. May he have sweet meditation. May he be drawn away, dear Lord,
from the things of the earth. May he see Jesus only. Do help
him, we pray, in his lonely pathway and in his widowhood. We do pray
that thou wouldst bless him indeed and strengthen him, Lord, and
help him to continue. May there be many prayers going
up from his flock Lord to help him and to be with him and we
pray Lord that there was bring him once again at the appointed
time in the strength of the everlasting gospel and Lord do his heart
good we pray as he rests at home this evening and may none suffer
any lack dear Lord we do beg but may the word continue may
there be a continuation of things Lord we do Oh, we pray that thy
name and thy self and thy word might be precious to us. That
it might be something, Lord, that we cannot resist. It might
be something where we respond in a gracious way. It may be
something, dear Lord, where we prove this evening that we are
living among the living. Oh, we do pray, dear Lord, and
bless us. And oh, how solemn it would be,
dear Lord, if thou wouldst say to us that thou art the dead,
living among the graves, living amongst those that are dead.
So we pray earnestly, Lord, that thou wouldst come and confirm
us in our pathways. Come and give us each a token
of good, a token of thy special grace, that we might know that
we're children of God. Oh, we do pray for each one.
Here, help them. Those, dear Lord, in old age,
be with them and bless them. We do pray, Lord, that thou wouldst
help them, and we pray for all those in old age, in their homes,
dear Lord, or wherever they reside, we pray for them, that thou wouldst
strengthen them and be with them. And Lord, as they get weaker,
may they get stronger, stronger in the new man of grace. May
they get stronger and stronger as they get towards Jordan, but
the flesh has to come down. Dear John said, he must increase,
but I must decrease. And we believe this is the pathway. And so do help them. We pray
for those in middle life, bearing the heat and burden of the day.
We pray for them with families, dear Lord, help them to make
the right decisions, lead them in the right way. And dear Lord,
may they seek thee to know what to do. Oh, what a struggle family
life is at times when there's so much going against things
and so much to lead astray. Lord, we do pray that they might
be enabled, each one of them, to hold on their way and to honour
Thee in all things. Dear Lord, we do pray for the
young. Oh, that Thou wouldst bless them
indeed. Begin with them, if Thou hast not already. Lord, make
Thyself exceedingly precious to them while they young. it
will save them so much trouble, it will save them so much from
grieving thee, and grieving themselves. Lord, we do pray for these things.
And so bless us this evening. May something rest upon our hearts. May something do us good, whether
in the reading, whether in the hymns, or under the gospel. Lord, we do pray that something
might be done by that precious name of Jesus, that we might
come in that we might go out different to how we came in.
There might be that mountain, dear Lord, and that there might
be that coming together under the banner of thy precious love. Oh, we do pray, then help us
now. Dear Lord, unfold the word before our eyes. We do pray that
thy spirit might be present, present to bless, and that we
might know and understand and feel that we are under the all-seeing
eye of God. And so we do pray, Lord, earnestly,
that thou wouldst bless us now. Help us with the rest of the
service, we do pray. And may Jesus have all the honor
from our hearts, and may we know what it is to have true worship.
For thy dear name's sake, amen. I'll continue by singing hymn
number 957. The tune is Mayford 367. Why seeks my weak, desponding
mind Why heaves my heart the anxious
sigh? Can sovereign goodness be unkind? Am I not safe since God is nigh? Infinite wisdom, boundless power,
unchanging faithfulness and love, here let me trust while I adore,
nor from my refuge e'er remove. Hymn number 957. Since my faith is broken, my
God, my peace, my God, ? Sing of love ? ? Everlasting
? ? Till all is done ? ? Because of you ? ? In His hand ? ? That gracious
hand ? ? On which I lay ? ? At Thy bedside ? ? At the end of
all ? Thee, O God, I sing in praise. This Easter post, this page we
print, All Him above, my God, declare. The wondrous glories of His day.
How I praise Him, how bright they shine. ? In finite wisdom, boundless power
? ? Unchanging faith, firmness, and power ? ? In infinite wisdom,
boundless power ? O'er the ramparts we watched
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, ? Thou art mine indeed ? ? May I ever
lose thee ? ? My God and King ? ? And blessed friend ? In times of need, Till night
to day, And strong to stay. ? O lift my voice ? ? O gracious
Lord ? ? And ease the sorrow ? ? And joy of my breast ? ?
Sing to my heart ? ? That is the end of the world
? ? I've never cried an out-of-world tear ? May the dear Lord help me to
say a few things from the chapter we read, St. John's Gospel, chapter
10, and verse 27. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me. St. John's Gospel, chapter 10,
verse 27. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me. How many a shepherd here below
has read this chapter and blushed with shame? And the same as the
sheep, how many have read this chapter? And you've blushed,
haven't you? To think that the Lord is such
a shepherd. He gives us here the life of
a shepherd. He tells us exactly what one should be, how he should
look after his sheep, how he should be, what he should be,
and he goes to the Great lengths, doesn't he? I lay down my life
for the sheep. No earthly shepherd's done that,
have they? Only this one. And so as we come to look at
this, we can see the bond between the shepherd and the sheep. There's
a real bond. And we can see, can't we, there's
a bond between the sheep and the lambs. Why? Well, firstly,
the shepherd loves the sheep. And the second thing is, because
of that, the sheep love the shepherd. And it's only because of that.
We love him because he first loved us. You wouldn't love him
otherwise, friends. You wouldn't know him. But you
love him because he loves you. Oh, this dear shepherd. And you
know this bond can never be broken between the sheep and the shepherd
spiritually but before the eyes of man this is written isn't
it as a Narrative of a shepherd leading his sheep. He's going
before them It's such a tender thing that he does here. He goes
before his sheep. He makes sure everything's alright
He makes sure everything's ready for the sheep And then he calls
them Then he calls them, my sheep. It's a wonderful thing if you
and I know something of this little text. It's a wonderful
thing, friends, if the Lord has put you in amongst the sheep.
Because you might, we tend to get the thought in our poor finite
minds that we've been born and we've got into a Christian family,
we go to chapel, puts me amongst the sheep. How can it? How can it? That doesn't put
you amongst the sheep. Many out in the world have got
the same idea, and they're not amongst the sheep. Listen to
what Jesus says. He says, my sheep, mine, nobody
else's. It's such a wonderful chapter.
It's really well known, this chapter, isn't it? But I feel
that it will affect you if you're one of these sheep and you need
the sheep. It's not just that you've been
introduced into the flock, is it? You might have been in the
flock for years. You might have been one of those
sheep that everybody seems to pass over, but you've still been
in the flock. And now what? You need the shepherd. You need the shepherd. You know,
you prove, don't you? And I know you know these things,
but it's lovely to rehearse it. You know, we don't just need
the Lord desperately when we're young. when he brings us into
conviction, and when we come through repentance, and when
he blesses us with himself, it's not just then you need him. It's
constant. It's constant. That might be
the beginning. But these sheep he's talking
about, he's talking about sheep of a flock. He knows them. They're his. They've been there
a while. You know, this is for seekers
as well, isn't it? For the lambs of the fold. For
those that are bound to the sheep and the sheep are bound to them
and you know I love that word don't you the dear old servant
said didn't he bound together in the bundle of life and what
another old servant his life is bound up in the lad his life
was bound up if something happened to the child I can't think whether
it was Jacob or Abraham but if something happened for So it
would happen to the dear old patriarch. So it would take him
down as well. They were bound together. And
that's exactly what we have here. My sheep, they're bound together.
They are. Because, really friends, sheep
are silly. They're silly. They're thoughtless,
they're careless, aren't they? They need somebody to watch over
them. You know, our poor flesh gets
so independent, doesn't it? We don't want to be dependent.
We want to do things. We want to know that it's our
doings. But once the Lord brings you
into the fold, into the flock, and you realise that you are
a sheep, a lamb, whatever it might be, you're dependent. The moment you enter that gate,
just the moment you step over that threshold of that gate,
you are dependent. And you always will be. The Lord will work on those sheep.
He'll work on you and I. if we're those sheep. And slowly
that dependence gets greater and greater and greater, doesn't
it? The lambs, you see them springing about in the field, don't you?
They've got not a care in the world. And when the love of Christ,
in your days of your espousals, that's how you felt, didn't it?
Skipping through the gospel, skipping through the fields of
pasture. You knew the shepherd was there.
You knew you were safe. You knew everything was alright.
You knew he'd be there if you fell over. But slowly as you
grow, and you realise that you're becoming now a bit older, the
sheep, it's such a beautiful thing that they're so satisfied
that they're in the field with the shepherd. They're satisfied. So it's a lovely thing here,
and the role of a shepherd wasn't chosen by you and I. He didn't
give us the option, He didn't say, what would you like me to
be called? Guardian, husband, friend, father,
he took them all on. And it wasn't man's choice what
he took on, was it? We had no say at all. But suddenly
he introduces to the Church of God, these wonderful roles, these
offices that he's taken, that we knew nothing of. We knew nothing
of them. But slowly, through the scriptures
and through your own experience and through the teachings of
the Holy Spirit, He's introduced you to the role that He holds
forever. So lovely, isn't it? A shepherd. And friend, if you and I had
a choice, we wouldn't have picked a shepherd for us, would we?
We would have picked something greater. A poor shepherd, out
on the moors, out looking cold, rugged, He chose that as an office
because he knew where we would go. He knew where we would go,
friends. He knew we would be out on the
moor. We're not all sitting in the king's palace, are we? You think how many times a dear
saviour as the shepherd in that office has gone out in rough
weather. He's gone out in the dark. He's
gone out, friends, when nobody else would go out. We'll leave
it till morning and we'll start again when it's light. He never
said it, never said it. It's got dark, I'll go out and
I'll look harder. Think of the beauty of this office.
Think of the beauty of him taking on the shepherd. Think of it,
friends. It's so wonderful that Jesus
is my shepherd. Can you say it? And feel it? And know it? And how do you know
it? He came looking for me. He came
looking for me, friends. He came looking for some of us,
didn't he? I hope and pray he looks for you all. But he came
looking for us. And it wasn't light with us,
was it? Oh, it was so dark. It was so dark. There was no
one around. No hand to hold. No one to talk
to. But the shepherd arrived. The
shepherd came right where you were. Isn't it lovely? And what
did he do? Scold you? Did he tell you you
shouldn't have gone off so far? Did he drag you back to the flock?
No. We were on holiday a while back
now, a year or two, and we saw this man carrying a sheep up
the lane. I had to talk to him. All the
others were running. And I said to him, why are you
carrying that great big sheep? It wasn't a lamb, it was a great
big sheep. And he was trying to pick it
up and put it a different position, then another position, but he
would not put it down. And I said to him, what are you
doing? He said to me, she's tired. She's tired. I'm taking her home. Think of
our shepherd. How many times has he put you
down? Never, never has he put you down. Why? Why doesn't he put us down? Because he's carrying you home.
Might be years. Might be years. Might be another
50, 60 years. But he still won't put his people
down. He carries them all the way. He does. I know, I know,
my old pastor used to say, he'd put you down, he'd let you walk
a bit. But when you get into this fold, the preciousness of
this shepherd, his heart goes after the sheep. It's not his
head. It's not his head. There are some cruel shepherds
out there. There are. That would rather leave their
sheep or drag them. We read of it, didn't we? The Highling.
But when you come to a real shepherd, it's a shepherd half through
and through. And you cannot take the shepherd out the man. You
can't. You can't, friends. If you're born into that and
you live it, you work it, it is you. Well, now you think of
Jesus. Before time began, he took on
the shepherd's name. Before time began. Before you
and I were even known. He took on that shepherd's name. Why? He knew we'd need it. Oh,
he knew, friends. My sheep hear my voice. Now, friend, this is so beautiful,
isn't it? Really, we talk about when somebody
can do something, it's a qualification. There are no qualifications here,
none at all. The thing that we must have,
my sheep hear my voice. So therefore we've got to have
hearing ears to be able to hear the voice of God. We've got to. But by nature we cannot hear
him. Our poor cloth ears, our poor stubborn ears, our dull
ears won't listen to him. They won't listen. And so he does something. Friend,
he does something. And has he done it to you and
me? He unstops the deaf ear. He unstops
it. The deaf now hear. What do they
hear? Well, I'll just go through a
few times that the dear Lord spoke because we begin right
at the beginning, don't we? You know, I was thinking on the
way over here, beautiful voice that sounded in heaven before
the world began. He was all alone, just the Trinity,
all alone. And then slowly as he, or we
don't know how fast, but he made the whole of the hosts of heaven,
they heard one voice. My sheep hear my voice. He didn't
say my angels hear my voice, they were before time. Friends
this is coming right down to you and I, we come into the world
and Adam and Eve were the first ones ever to hear God. Nobody
had ever heard him before in time because there wasn't anybody.
They were the first people to hear that most beautiful voice. And yet, friend, they spoiled
it. Just like you and I spoil everything,
they spoiled it. And the voice of God changed.
Now, instead of being that loving kind gentle voice now that sinned
against him we can't imagine how terrified they were never
to have heard his voice change at all but because sin had entered
so he changed in the fact that towards them not he changed himself
but towards sin because he hates sin And so we hear at Sinai,
the terrible voice of God, as he gives the commandments to
Moses, thou must do and live. If you don't do, you die. That's
what God says. If you do not fulfill these commands,
you die. It's a voice that even the Israelites,
they trembled and said to Moses, we don't want to hear that voice
anymore. They said, we don't want to hear him. And they said,
you speak for us. And we'll listen to you rather
than listen to God. So you can see the start of our
text is so beautiful, isn't it? Because there's a difference,
there's a change. My voice, my voice, what's changed
his voice towards us? How can he speak in a shepherd's
voice? to you and me. How can he, friends? There's only one way. And that's
through his beloved son. Oh, this wonderful word, my. You know, it's the link between
the sheep and the shepherd, my. It's the link, and I speak rightly,
I want to speak rightly, friends, but when God the Father said,
my beloved son, there was no alter in it. That was it. It
was fixed forever. It was my beloved son. Now Jesus
in the gospel says my sheep. There's nothing altering it friends.
It's sealed forever and it's sealed with blood. It is the
link between us and the shepherd because he's called us my. Wonderful things these are aren't
they? As you look at it and then you look at through the Psalms
the Lord speaks he says the Lord's voice is powerful. Mightier than
anything the Lord's voice. Do you need him to speak for
you? How many times a day do you Lord? Do you say Lord speak
for me Lord? Give me some words Lord change
the scene a Lord make that which looks so bad speak into it unlike
dear Samuel Look at the confused lad. We look at Samuel. He's
a great prophet. He's one of the greatest and
But look at him down in Shiloh. Look at him laying on the bed.
Doesn't even know the Lord's voice. Doesn't even know him.
Keeps running to Eli. The Lord's voice doesn't sound
like Eli. He's a frail old man. This is an eternal person. He
says, how did you call me? He said, I didn't. I didn't.
And then Eli discerned that it was the shepherd calling. Isn't
that lovely? He discerned that it was the
Lord calling. He said, go and lay down. Now, you look at this
old sheep talking to a lamb, and I hope that it were more
so in her day. Look at the old sheep, Eli, and
look at the lamb, David, Samuel. He said to him, go and lay down.
And he said, when he comes again and speaks, say to him, speak,
Lord. So all you've got to say, Samuel,
is speak, Lord, thy servant hearing. The Lord came as at other times,
didn't he? And he spoke. Do you know, Samuel's
heart must have been alight. Suddenly, instead of looking
down at mundane things and Eli, instead of looking at the flesh
that was crumbling and going into the earth, instead of looking
at the circumstances around, he looked a different way. He
said, speak Lord. He looked to someone eternal.
He looked to someone that would never end. He looked to somebody
that knew everything. He said, Speak, Lord, for thy
servant heareth. And the Lord told him those things,
didn't he? And poor Samuel had to go and relay. I'm just saying
this, friends, because we have a lamb and a sheep together,
and they both had the shepherd. And this is what you and I need.
Whatever age you are, or whatever circumstance you're in, the sheep
needs the shepherd. It does. Over and over again,
we need him. Look at Elijah, wasn't it in
the cave? That soft, still voice. Not a
hard voice, not commanding him, a soft, still voice. There would
have been an earthquake, there would have been thunder, there
would have been all the wind, and then a whisper. Now you and
I sometimes have the wrong thoughts of God, don't we? We sometimes
want something straight from heaven, like dear old Naaman,
he wanted a prophet to come out and strike the ground. No, no,
a soft, still voice. What did he say? Well, my sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. What did
he say to the dear old prophet in the cave? He said to him,
as he said it to you, what do we sell here? What are you doing
here? This isn't honoring me. And friend,
I say it, I draw a bow at a venture. What are you doing just sitting
here? What are you doing just sitting here? This isn't honoring
me. This isn't honoring me. You're one of my greatest prophets.
He wouldn't puff him up, but in what he anointed him for,
and he was stuck down in a dark cave. What did he say to him? You've
got some more work to do. You've got some more work to
do. Go and anoint, go and anoint, go and anoint, didn't he? Go
and anoint them. Dear old Elijah. He had to come out of there,
didn't he? And he had to go again. What made him go? What makes
you continue? My sheep hear my voice. That's
what makes us continue, friends. That's why we keep walking straight.
That's why we don't want any deviation in their life. Because
the Lord speaks, doesn't he? My sheep hear my voice. When
did you last hear him? I don't mean under the condemnation
of sin because you will hear him but it won't be like the
shepherd's voice you will hear him an angry God we've sinned
against him and every page you turn over you can see that you've
sinned against him but what about when the Lord blesses you and
you turn every page over and you can hear the voice of the
shepherd have you had it? the voice of the shepherd friends
speaking through the scriptures he's speaking to me You know,
oh, that there were many eyes, or anointed with eyes of, and
there were many who had their ears unstopped to see that when
the Lord speaks, He speaks to you. He speaks to you. He takes
you in His arms. My sheep. My sheep. You can't ask for greater, can
you? You can't. Once the Lord has spoken this,
friends, He embraces you with every single thing that He's
ever done upon the face of the earth. Everything is yours. My sheep. He's related to you. I like that where Boaz said to
Ruth, he said there's a nearer kinsman. There's someone related,
they're nearer than I am. That's what we have here. Jesus. Related to us. Related to us. Bone of my bone, flesh of my
flesh. You young people, you know there's
a lot of voices out there, and us older ones. There's a lot
of voices out there that sometimes we listen to. And it's only as
the sheep, when he starts to wander, the shepherd doesn't
like it, doesn't like it. We can be drawn into things.
And sooner or later, the shepherd will put his crook around you,
pull you back. He will. He won't let you keep
going. No shepherd wants to lose a sheep. He isn't just going
to keep one of you safe. He's not just going to keep one
safe. He's going to keep all of them safe. All of them. Not
one strays under his eye. It's a lovely thought, isn't
it? My sheep. You know, I read this
little story about this shepherd and I think it is true about
all shepherds in the far off lands that Where they lay down
on the ground, these shepherds, and the sheep can't see them
because they can only see 15 meters ahead of them. They can't
see any further than that. You think they can, but they
can't. And so the shepherd has to be quite close so that they
can see him. Isn't that you and I? We want
him close, don't we? You don't want him too far away,
do you? Keep close to me, thou silly sheep, the hymn writer
says. That's what we've got to do because
our eyesight's poor. nor entertainer thoughts, thy
worthless schemes to mix with mine, but venture to be norms."
Well, the sheep, they look out and they can't see the shepherd,
and then they all worry. They all go all over the place. So
do you know what the shepherd does? He puts his crook in the
ground, he puts his jacket on the top, and then he can have
a rest. And so can the sheep. Because
they all gather round that jacket, and they think it's the shepherd.
They can see him. 15 meters away, they can see
the shepherd. Isn't that a beautiful sight?
Well, the Lord has given us faith. And I'll tell you, friends, the
Lord never lays down. He never has to do what a natural
shepherd does. But we do have to keep close
to Him to see Him, don't we? If you're going to wander off
in sin, if you're going to wander off and do something, if you're
going to wander off and let your heart go after some pleasure
or some lust or something, Are you expecting to see the shepherd?
No. I'll tell you what you are expecting
though. And he carries it. Doesn't he? Thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me. David knew it, didn't he? When
he wandered, what happened? Yes, the hook to go round, but
what happened to him? He needed the rod to correct
him, didn't he? You know the Lord won't let you
go if he loves you. He won't let you go. You can't do what
you want. You can't do what you want. Try as you may, you won't
do what you want. You do what he wants. My sheep
hear my voice. And then what does it say? I
know them and they follow me. You know sheep want to go through
a little hole in the hedge, don't they? One goes, they all go.
Shepherd doesn't want that, does he? He doesn't want that at all. This word doesn't tell us that
his sheep do that. Why don't they? Why doesn't the
Church of God just escape? Why don't they just all run off?
And why don't they just run back into the world? Why don't they?
Because the shepherd's close, that's why. The shepherd's close,
friends. You look one way and he'll correct
you. You look another way and he'll stop you. He will. He won't
just let you do what you want, not here below. No, friend, once
you've come through that gate, like I said, you're his property.
You're his. And it's a beautiful thing if
you can say he's my portion. I don't want to go out of the
field. I don't want to go back. I don't want to go back to those
days. I don't want to go back to that torment. I don't want
to go back to the pleasures of the earth. I want to stay in
the Lord's field. I want to see the shepherd more
and more. I want him to deal with me. I want him to come because
when I'm hurt, I need him. When I'm in despair, I'm wrestling
for him. You know it, don't you? When
those times come over you that you don't know which way to turn,
where do you turn? Straight to the shepherd. Been
taught it, haven't you? Takes a long time to be taught
it, but I believe through our lives we're being taught that,
to go straight to the shepherd, with everything. It's a lovely theme, isn't it?
Because Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. Nobody else. I just ask you a question, friends.
Why are you following everybody else? Their poor hearts. If the shepherd comes in view,
I also read about a man that knew his whole flock by touching
their faces, and he said if they blindfolded him, he could touch
their face and knew which one it was. We need the Lord to come
and touch us. But friend, he doesn't need to,
does he? In this respect, he knows us. He knows what we're like. And I'll ask you another question.
I'm asking my own heart. Do you know what he's like? He
knows. They know me. They know me. Could
you go to sleep tonight without answering that honestly? They
know me. Do we? What do you know about
this shepherd? I don't mean natural things.
We can all read up on what a natural shepherd is. What do you actually
know about a shepherd? Do you know about this shepherd?
Because he's telling me that he knows me. My sheep hear my
voice. I know them. Does it frighten you sometimes
that he knows you? Are you pleased he knows you?
How many times in your prayers do you say, Lord thou knowest?
Because you know he knows. You know he knows, don't you?
They know me, I know them. Do you know another dear old lady,
she hadn't been to chapel for years, and on this certain occasion
she felt she must go. I love it how the Lord works,
don't you? In the respect of constraining
his people. We don't love the rod, do we?
We don't love chastening. And yet it's for profit. We must
remember that, friends. It's for profit, these things.
But this dear old lady, she thought at this time she must go to the
house of God. She walked through the back door
and sat down, and the minister stood up and gave out the text,
The Lost Sheep. The Lord was calling her. He
was calling her at that very particular time. And she couldn't
resist it. She didn't know. She didn't know
when she entered the house of God, that's what he was doing.
He called her. That lost sheep was found. And
the dear old lady said, I'm found, I'm found, a poor lost sheep,
I'm found. Now relate that to you and me.
Have you ever been found by Jesus? It's not what we've got a lot
to say, is it? In the respect to make ourselves
look good. What do we know of this dear
Redeemer? What do we know of his office
of shepherd? What do we know that he's found us? What do we know of it, friend?
I know them. I know them. Now, this precious
voice sounds every Sunday throughout the earth in the gospel. You may not hear it. You may
hear it. We may criticize the minister.
We may say he didn't get on very well. We may say that he didn't
come where I was. We may say all those things.
But the Lord has put the gospel in the earth so that we can hear
his voice. We cannot judge because we don't
hear his voice doesn't mean to say he wasn't speaking. That's
where we need to examine ourselves. That's where we need to be at
the throne of grace. I go back to when I was younger,
and I know that dear man, Mr. Tyler, the Lord was speaking
through him. How many times did I hear the
Lord speak? Great mercy that I heard him
once or twice, speaking straight directly to my heart, as though
he was speaking to me from heaven. And this is how the Lord does
it. So the means are blessed by God. And every single time
the gospel is spread in the earth, there's the voice of God. It
is. It's under the anointing of the
Holy Spirit that the Lord speaks. It's got to be. Because he's
promised it. This is the means by which I
will speak. But then there are those other
things that the Lord speaks through. Circumstances. My voice. They should hear my voice. It's
not all an audible voice, it's not all through the gospel, is
it? It's those circumstances that
appear, it's that walk that you walk, and that experience that
you have, and those readings that you have, quietly on your
own. The Lord speaks, doesn't he? But you know, friend, have
you heard him? My sheep, doesn't say might hear
my voice, You know, if you read this again
quietly on your own, can you really, really, really answer
before God? My sheep hear my voice. A lot would say you don't need
to. Jesus says you do. A lot would
say it doesn't matter. Jesus says it does matter. These things are vital. These
things are a reality to us. And some cannot live without
the Lord speaking. However he does it, and he's
a sovereign how he speaks, but you can't go long without him
saying something, can you? You can't go long without a soft
heart, can you? You can't go long without the
effects of grace touching you, can you? You can't, because my
sheep hear my voice. You think if the shepherd stops
feeding the sheep, What happens? If he takes them
to a car park, just tarmac, and he just leaves them there, what
happens? They all die. But this shepherd
leads them to new pastures so that they can eat the finest,
the best pasture. He doesn't feed his people on
scraggly old bits of grass, friends. He feeds the church of God on
himself. that's where they feed on a precious
Christ feeding those things those morsels those delectable things
what is the the words coming that taste and see that the Lord
is good taste if you were a sheep you're tasting taste and see
that the Lord is good friends well this precious voice sounds
aloud from Calvary You hear it many times from this pulpit,
don't you? It sounds aloud from Calvary. The blood speaks. And what does the dear Lord,
the shepherd? There's only one shepherd that's
ever been crucified. And he was still concerned with
his sheep. Still concerned. His heart was
with them as he was dying. And what did he say? He spoke
from Calvary. He said, forgive them. Father,
forgive them. They know not what they do. That's
still sounding from Calvary today. And faith is such a blessed thing
because it takes you back 2,000 years as though it was today. And you can hear that precious
voice saying the same things. Father, forgive them. I'm the
shepherd. They're my sheep. They're my
sheep. I lay down my life for these.
This is why I'm here. This is why I'm struggling with
life and death. This is why I'm in so much pain.
This is why they are making me bleed. This is why. Because I have a flock. I have
a flock, I was given a flock and I've got to look after them.
I've got to present them all sound and whole before my father
and it's brought me to this. He cried out and he said, you
think my sheep hear my voice? It is finished. Has it been finished
for you? Has it really been finished for
you? The flock know it. In time, they will know that
that was finished. The old ceremonial law and everything
of the old dispensation fulfilled in Christ, the shepherd. And now, through grace, he comes
right down to where we are. He comes right down. Just like
the shepherd, when he has to get down on his hands and knees
to tend to the sheep. I am he that healeth thee. We wouldn't bring him down, friends.
He came down himself. He came down himself. I know them. I know them. I know their afflictions. I know
their sorrows. I know how their heart feels,
I know the pains they're in, I know their temptations, I know them better than they
know themselves, but listen what they're going to do, listen what
they're going to do, because of all this, they're going to
follow me, All this that I've done, all
this that I lay bare right across my life, for the whole world
to see, my flock are going to follow me. They're going to follow
me all the way to glory. All the way, friend. What does it say? About him that
turneth back, my soul hath no pleasure in him. If you turn
back, my soul hath no pleasure. This flock and Jesus are going
to glory. They're going all the way to
glory. And he's there, our great shepherd is there. And we're
the stragglers, the remnants. But it's still a flock, and they're
still traveling. And from time to time, the dear
Lord speaks to them, doesn't he? I know them, I know exactly
where they are. know what's coming and then in that great day my
sheep hear my voice and I know them they follow me he recognizes them when they
come before him he recognizes you he's one of my flock He's
one of my flock. You think how his dear heart
goes to Calvary? He's one of my flock. As he died, he's one of my flock. It's beautiful, isn't it, friends?
Because one day, he's told us, my sheep will hear my voice,
and I know them, they follow me. These would be some of the
best words you've ever known on earth. When he says, I know
you, I know you. He says, come in, come in. You're one of those that were
found in the field. You're one of those that I looked
after. Come in now, come in. There's another field. There's
a glorious field. Come in now. I'm going to look
after you forever. I'm going to watch over you forever.
You can leave all that behind. All the trouble and trial, you
can leave it all behind. Come with me. Come with me. And that same voice will say, Can you see the beauty of the
Lord knowing us? Knowing me. Have you asked him sometimes
when he's softened your heart, made you weep before his feet,
have you asked him how he knows? Have you said, Lord, I don't
know how, how, how, how, how has all this happened? They'll
know everything about me, everything. He says, because you're one of
my sheep. You're one of my sheep, I know you. It's wonderful when the Lord
works in the heart and brings you to these things, isn't it?
So that we realize more and more the preciousness of the scripture.
And the walking it out, the walking it out, friends, of being a sheep. It's not gonna be easy. Well,
it hasn't been easy, has it? It hasn't been easy being a sheep
or a lamb, has it? He didn't promise that. He didn't
say you could walk and it's lovely. Look at the valleys, look at
the dips, look at the shadows, look at the shade, look at the
hurt, look at the stoning, look at the bruises, look at the cuts
that the shepherd went through. Did the sheep expect? Did the
sheep expect to walk on a different level? Did they expect to walk
by the side of the suffering Saviour? No. Where the shepherd goes, the
sheep go. Not in such great measure, but they still go. They do, they
follow him. Through the troughs of life,
don't they? The good shepherd. Wonderful,
isn't it? If he's good to you and me. If
this dear shepherd has done in this chapter for you and I, you'll
be a happy sheep. You will be a happy sheep if
you know what he's done for you. And they follow me. It's not just through the waters
of baptism, friends. They follow me. It's when you grow up. I don't
mean in age. It's when you grow up. into the
new man of grace as it grows, they follow me. When it's hard,
persecution, they follow me. When you don't know what to do
and what to say, they follow me, they do. When they come limping,
they're following me. When their pride's hurt, when
they're staggering, they're being humble. Following me. They follow me. Isn't it a lovely
thought? Well, I'll leave you with this,
friends. Are you following Jesus? The sheep can't speak, can they,
naturally, but how many times have you and I said, Lord, I
can't go through this. How many times have you and I
said to the Lord, don't lead us this way, Lord. Make it a
bit better. Make it easier, Lord. What's
he do? They follow me. Can't change a word, can you?
Our own nature would love to rewrite the Bible. And friends,
you know it if you know your own heart. You would rewrite
some of it, wouldn't you? To make it easier for our flesh.
But your flesh will only go so far. Remember that. Your flesh
is only going a little way. Your soul's going all the way.
It is. Recently they laid people in
the grave, haven't they? In their denomination. They've
laid the flesh in the grave because it can't go any further. It can't
follow him any further, friend. If we think our flesh is going
in, it's not. Laid in the grave. That's the
end of the flesh until it's raised up. Immortal. Immortal. Never to perish. And then what? They're still following Jesus.
You know, it's a great occupation, isn't it? You who have been called
by grace, how close are we following Him? Called out of darkness. He called us out of darkness.
When we were sinking in the mire, He called us, He spoke. We followed
Him then. What about now? You follow him at work closely,
do you? Or do you give him a rest? You know, it's so sad, our poor
minds, our poor hearts. We should be ever on the stretch
after him, not giving him a rest. Nothing gives him a rest, friends.
He is rest himself. We must keep going, rend in heaven,
for the answers. And it's following him at all
times. Isn't it? Not when we want. It's
when he wants. And I'll tell you what the standard
is. I'll tell you what the Lord really wants. His people. That's it. He wants his people. And he's jealous. He's a jealous
God. He is. That's why he doesn't
let the sheep out. He doesn't let them out of his
sight. He doesn't. He wants them. And he's gonna
have them. He's gonna have them. At the
end of the day, if you're a child of a sheep, the Lord will come
into your heart and he will work with you, and he will deal with
you, and you will become a sheep. You will. And it's really humbling, isn't
it? It's really humbling, friends. When we look back at his life,
And he was a lamb. Grown up, have you? Grown up
spiritually? We know something, do we? He
was a lamb. Still a lamb. Still a lamb. That's humbling, isn't it? When
we think we accumulate a few experiences, when we think we
can quote a few scriptures, when we think that we've got a bit
of Bible knowledge, He's still a lamb. Keep me humble, Lord. Keep me as a lamb, as thou wast
and art and will be. Just a lamb. Oh, it's such a
lovely thought, isn't it? My sheep hear my voice. And really,
all the sheep were lambs, weren't they? All of them. The most gracious.
You know, I often think about dear old Moses. Nobody really
looks at him as a lamb. He was a lamb. He was only a
lamb. One of the greatest, well, one of the greatest leaders on
earth, wasn't he? The Lord blessed him, he went
into the mount, he saw the Lord, he talked with him as a friend,
didn't he? The water was parted by dear
old Moses, he was a lamb! At one point in his life. And
I say this, I really think that some want to skip over that.
They don't want to be lambs, they want to be sheep. As long as we hear the Lord's
voice, that's the main thing, isn't it? As long as he speaks
to you and I. My Jesus, can you say it? My Jesus, my shepherd. I'll leave you with a text. My
sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And friends, before that turns
up tomorrow or the next day, And you know you've proved it,
those things that turn up. He already knew you wanted it.
He already knew you needed it. May the dear Lord forgive anything
that's been said of me, say amen. We now service by singing hymn
number 551, the Junior University College, 515. Jesus Christ, the
sinner's friend, loves his people to the end and
they that may safe abide he's the rock in which they hide sheltered
in his wounded side now no ill can me be tied from the tempest
covered or one with him forevermore hymn number 551 ? To sinners pray ? ? Loves his
people to the end ? ? And that they may be saved by God ? ?
He is the Lord of kings ? ? Which they hound ? ? As a broken-hearted
lamb ? ? From the radiant sin and death ? Such a rock it has to be, I have
saved a thousand flees. Shelter in His foolish sight,
Never will He be tired. From the temples of the Lord, and now dear lord we do thank
thee for thy word bless it to us each we do pray and oh may
we have the sweet confirmation that we are in that flock dear
lord oh we pray give us the earnest of the spirit we do beg and thou
that changest not, abide with me. And now may the grace of
the dear Lord Jesus and the love of God and the sweet fellowship
and communion of thy Holy Spirit help and be with us. For thy
dear name's sake, amen.