Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I invite you to open your Bible
with me this morning to John chapter 10. Whenever we read
passages of Scripture, It's so important that we understand
the context of what we're reading. It makes the message so much
clearer when we understand, number one, who is talking, and number
two, who he is talking to, and number three, what he's saying. Well, here in John chapter 10,
our Lord is the one who is talking. And he's talking to the Pharisees. And these Pharisees, they just
interrogated and they kicked out a man who was blind, but
the Lord healed him, made him see. And if you notice at chapter
nine, verse 39, if you have your Bible open, you see a little
paragraph symbol. And the next time you see one
is in chapter 10, verse 19. That's all one paragraph. The
translators put in the chapter divisions. But our Lord is talking
to the ones who said back in chapter 9, verse 24, give God
the praise. That's what they said. Give God
the praise. We know that this man, Jesus
Christ, they said we know that this man is a sinner. Our Lord is talking to the ones
right here who said in chapter 9 verse 28, thou art His disciple,
but we are Moses' disciples. Verse 29, we know that God spake
unto Moses. As for this fella, we know not
from whence he is. We don't know who that is. Now in chapter 9 verse 39 says,
And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that
they which see not might see, and that they which see might
be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which
were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind
also? Jesus said unto them, If you
are blind, you should have no sin. But now you say, we see,
therefore your sin remaineth. Verily, verily, I say unto you."
That's how we started chapter 10. Our Lord is talking to these
Pharisees. That's who He's talking to. In
chapter 10 verse 6 says, this parable spake Jesus unto them,
these Pharisees. but they understood not what
things they were which He spake unto them." It was the leaders
of religion, the leaders of churches everywhere, who had no idea what
He was talking about. Did you know that they still
don't? The only way a sinner can understand
the Word of God is if it is revealed to that sinner by God Himself.
Matthew 11, He said, no man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither
knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal Him. So our Lord is speaking right
here. He's speaking to religion. And here is what he has to say.
Verse 1, chapter 10, verse 1. 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. Our Lord is giving them a parable.
Something they can relate to. A parable is an earthly story
with a heavenly meaning. And here's the story. Back in
those days, back in that time, every village had a sheepfold.
And it was a place where all the shepherds could bring their
sheep for the night. All the shepherds, they'd been
working all day and they needed some rest. They needed to sleep. But out of concern for the sheep,
wanting to protect the sheep, they needed to put them in a
place that was safe. So they would all bring their
sheep, many different flocks to this one sheep fold that was
in the middle of that village. And then they would come back
in the morning after they had rested to call out their own
sheep, redeem their sheep. And there was a man who kept
the door of this sheepfold. Every sheepfold had very high
walls to keep wild beasts out and to keep thieves from stealing
the sheep. And there was one door, one way
in, one way out. And the man who kept that door
was called the porter. And that porter would not let
anyone in but the shepherds who dropped the sheep off the night
before. Nobody else. If you dropped the
sheep off, then you could come pick the sheep up the next morning.
So verse one, our Lord said, verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth
up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. Now spiritually speaking, this
sheepfold is not heaven. Thieves and robbers can't break
into heaven. This sheepfold is this earth. It's this world where
every sheep is by night, in darkness. God is the porter. He says who
comes in and who goes out. He keeps the one door. And God has said, there's only
one way to redeem your sheep. You've got to come right through
the door. It's by the door of righteousness,
the door of justice, the door of truth, the door of the law. Anyone who tries to climb up
some other way will not redeem one sheep. These Pharisees just
said, we're disciples of Moses. We're disciples of the law. Well,
our Lord says in verse one, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that
entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up
some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. but he that entereth
in by the door, he that fulfills righteousness, he that fulfills
justice and truth and the law, he that comes in lawfully is
the shepherd of the sheep. Verse three says, 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. They had no idea what he was
saying. Now here's the question that
I want to know this morning. They had no idea what he was
saying. Here's my question. Do I? Do I understand what he's saying? The title of this message is,
Am I His Sheep? Am I His Sheep? Do I hear His
Word? Has God caused me to understand
His Word? Do I believe His Word? Because
verse 25 right here in John 10 says, Jesus answered them, I
told you and you believed not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But you believe not because you
are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. Am I His sheep? My question is not just am I
a sheep. Being a sheep is nothing to be
proud of. Sheep are very ignorant animals. All we like sheep have
gone astray. What I want to know is, am I
His sheep? Am I His sheep? He said in verse one, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into
the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a
thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the
door is the shepherd of the sheep. One is gonna come in by the door.
One tries to climb over another way. Now spiritually speaking,
I'm speaking in spiritual terms here. Do I know the difference? Sheep are ignorant. One came in over the wall, one
came in by the door. You know what I did? I had my
head down eating grass. That's what I was doing. Do I
know the difference? One came in truth, one came in
a lie. Do I know the difference? How
can I know the difference? How can I know the difference
between the truth and a lie? How can I know the difference
between my Savior and a thief? How can I know the difference?
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door
into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as
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. Have I heard His voice? Not just
a voice, but His voice. Is He speaking to me? That's what I need to know. You
see, I wanna be His sheep. How can I know if I'm His sheep? Verse three says, His sheep hear
His voice. Is He speaking to me? Do I hear
Him speaking to me? When He talks about sinners,
now this is the Word of God, this is His Word. And when He
talks about sinners in His Word, is He talking to me? When He talks about sinners,
is He talking to me? When He talks about those who
are in great need of forgiveness and mercy, is He talking to me? Am I that man who needs forgiveness? and mercy because of my sin. Am I that sinner in great need? If I am, I might be one of his
sheep. I might be. All of the sheep in that sheep
fold, all those shepherds brought their sheep. And all of the sheep
in that sheep fold, they heard a voice. One shepherd would come
in and all of them heard his voice. All of the sheep heard
one shepherd say, come. Many are called, but only his
sheep believed he's talking to me. Five or six different shepherds
might have dropped off their sheep the night before. And one
by one, they come back in and get the sheep. And one by one,
they say, come, but only his sheep came and all the rest stayed. Only his sheep truly believed. He's talking to me, I better
come. Do I hear his voice? Am I his
sheep? How can I know if I've heard
his voice? What will I hear? Well, look
at verse three. It says, to him the porter openeth,
and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep
by name. Our Lord walked up to a boat
one time and he said, Simon, Andrew, follow me. And then he walked over to another
boat and he said, James, John, follow me. What did they do? They left their boats and they
followed him. They all said, I need to follow
Him. Not just mankind. We're not just
saying mankind needs to follow Him. You know, sinners need to
follow Him. No, we're not just saying that.
I need to follow Him, me. Has He said to my heart, follow
me? Must Gabe Stoniker follow Him? If I must, I might be one of
his sheep. One time he walked up to a man
who was sitting at the receipt of custom and he said, Matthew,
follow me. What did Matthew do? He left
all that money on the table and he arose and he followed him. One time he walked under a tree
and he looked up and he said, Zacchaeus, make haste, come down. I'm coming to your house. Every
single time, every single sheep, he calleth his own sheep by name. Every single time. Go with me
over to John chapter 20. John 20. I'm going to read this account
of after our Lord arose from the grave. John 20 verse 1 says,
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it
was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away
from the sepulcher. Then she runneth and cometh to
Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and
said unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher,
and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went
forth and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher. So
they ran both together, and the other disciple did outrun Peter,
and came first to the sepulcher. And he stooping down and looking
in saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. Then cometh
Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and
seeth the linen clothes lie in the napkin that was about his
head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together
in a place by itself. Then went in also that other
disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw and
believed. For as yet they knew not the
scripture that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples
went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without
the sepulcher weeping. And as she wept, she stooped
down and looked into the sepulcher. and seeth two angels in white
sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet, where
the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because
they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have
laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back
and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus
saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seek thou? She, supposing him to be the
gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence,
tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself and said unto
him, Rabboni, which is to say, master, master. As soon as he called her by name,
she knew him. Jacob, what is your name? He said, it's Jacob, and I have
seen God face to face. Moses, take your shoes off. Saul, why persecutest thou me? Lazarus, come forth. Come forth. Ask any one of those
men, how did that happen to you? Every single one of them would
answer, God did it. Jacob, did you go wrestle with
God or did God come wrestle with you? God did it. He called me by name. Moses,
how did you meet God face to face? God did it. He called me by name. Saul, who
knocked you off your high horse, your proud horse? Who blinded
your eyes? God did it. He called me by name. Lazarus, how on earth were you
raised from the dead? How on this earth were you raised
to life? God did it. He called me by name. Every single sheep that hears
His voice call them by name says, God did it. God did it. He called
me. I didn't even know He was calling
me. He drew me. I didn't even know He was drawing
me. He sat me down. I didn't even
know He was sitting me down. He taught me. I didn't know He
was teaching me. He redeemed me. I had no idea. My eyes were just opened one
day and I realized God did it. God did it. I didn't decide to
reject everything I'd ever known. I didn't decide to open my eyes
to the truth. I didn't decide to hear His voice. God did it. He said to me, I
did this. And my heart and my mouth said
in return, God did it. David said over in Psalm 27,
when thou saidst, seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee,
thy face, Lord, will I seek. You know what David was saying?
God did it. Well, if God does this for every
one of His sheep, and if I am one of His sheep, how will I
know when He calls my name? Will He say it out loud? Am I
saying that God calls people out loud? No, no. Here's how His sheep know they've
been called by name. Back over in John chapter 10,
Verse 3 says, to him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his
voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them
out. He leadeth them out. Out of what? The sheepfold. The way of man, the darkness
they were in, the bondage they were in. Out of my bondage, sorrow,
and night, into thy freedom, gladness, and light. Out of my
sickness, into thy health. Out of my want, into thy wealth. Out of my sin, and into thyself. Lord Jesus, I come to thee. Why?
Because he led me out. He led me out. Out of my shameful
failure and loss, into the glorious gain of Thy cross, out of earth's
sorrows into Thy balm, out of life's storm into Thy calm, out
of distress to jubilant psalm, Lord Jesus, I come, out of religion
into Christ, out of self-righteousness into His righteousness, out of
my works into His blood, Lord Jesus, I come to Thee, I come
to Thee, Verse 4 says, and when he putteth forth his own sheep,
he goeth before them. He goes before them. He went
before them in death. He went before them in resurrection. He's the firstborn among many
brethren. He went before them to God, making
intercession for all of his sheep. Oh, am I one of his sheep. Lord,
please make me one of your sheep. Verse four says, when he putteth
forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow
him. Do I follow him? Do I follow
him? I believe God has put in my heart
to say, yes, I do. I follow him. God did it. I follow
him. I'm not following family. Why
do you go to church over there? Oh, my whole family goes over
there. I'm not following morality. Why do you go to church over
there? Well, it's so I can be a good moral upstanding citizen,
go to heaven. I'm not following tradition.
Why do you do it that way? Well, we've always done it that
way. I'm not following a doctrine. I'm not following a mortal man.
By God's grace and by His drawing me, by God doing it, I'm following
Him. I'm following Him. We want Him,
don't we? We need Him, don't we? But according to the Word of
God, if we need Him and want Him and desire Him and follow
Him, that makes us His sheep. That makes Him our shepherd.
Verse 4 says, "'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.'" Will I not follow
a stranger? Now if I don't, there's no glory
to me. I don't get any glory for it. There's no glory to my
zeal. The question is, has God tuned
my ear to Him? As I hear a man preach, as I listen to a message asking
myself, do I hear Christ in this? Who is that? I don't know, but
that's not Christ. Has God tuned my ear? If so,
the Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want. If God has
tuned our ear to His Word, then based on the Word of God, we
are His sheep. Verse 6 says, This parable spake
Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which
He spake unto them. How sad. Our Lord said, blessed
are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear. And
it's a blessing from God that He gives to all of His sheep.
Eyes to see, ears to hear. Lord, open our eyes. Open our
ears. Give us an understanding. Lord,
speak to us. Let us hear Your voice for Christ's
sake. Until next Sunday morning, may
the Lord bless His Word. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m. and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.