Okay, let's go back to John chapter
10. John chapter 10, whenever we
read passages of scripture, it is so important. It is so, so
important. that we understand the context
of what we're reading. You know that? The context. It makes the message so much
clearer when we understand who is talking, and who he's talking
to, and what he's saying. Well, here in John chapter 10,
our Lord is talking. He's talking to the Pharisees. That's who he's talking to, the
ones who just interrogated and they excommunicated, they kicked
out of their assembly, out of their church, a blind man that
the Lord healed. He made him see. And if you notice
in chapter 9, verse 39, there's a paragraph symbol, that backwards
P. And then the next time you see
one is down at chapter 10, verse 19. So every bit of that is one
paragraph. And the translators are the ones
who put the chapter division where they did. Alright, one
paragraph. But our Lord is talking to the
ones who said back in chapter 9, verse 24, He said, they said,
give God the praise. Give God the praise. This blind
man was healed. He sees. They're interrogating
him, and they said, give God the praise. We know that this
man, and they're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, we know
he's a sinner. That's something, isn't it? We
know he's a sinner. He's talking to the ones that
said in verse 28, thou art his disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses,
as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. We don't know
who this is. No idea. 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
were blind, you should have no sin. But now you say, We see,
therefore your sin remaineth. And in the same breath of air,
he says, Verily, verily, I say unto you. So our Lord is talking
to these Pharisees and He's going to tell them a story. He's going to tell them a parable.
And in verse 6, John 10 verse 6, it says, This parable spake
Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which
He spake unto them. It was the leaders of religion.
The leaders of these churches everywhere and they had no idea
what he was talking about. No idea whatsoever. You know they still don't? They
still don't. The only way that a sinner can
understand the Word of God. Hannah was talking to a man one
time and in the course of conversation
found out that I was a preacher and he asked her, what version
of the scripture do you use? And she said, the King James.
And he said, no, you mean the new King James. She said, no,
I mean the King James. And he said, no, you mean the,
and he listed off a bunch of them. And she said, no, I mean
the original King James. And he said, no, you got it wrong.
He said, nobody uses that. Nobody can understand that. And
he's right. He's right. The only way that
a sinner can understand the Word of God is if it is revealed to
that sinner by God Himself. That's the only way. A man can
preach and the Word can go out and God can reveal it to one
and close the eyes of another. You know that? It's got to be
the work of the Holy Spirit of God. 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. He's
speaking to religion. And this is what he has to say.
Verse one says, 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." Now, our
Lord has given them this parable. He's given them something that
they can relate to, an illustration. A parable is an earthly story
with a heavenly meaning. And this is the story that he
is telling them. Back in those days, in that time,
every village had a sheepfold, okay? And what it was is it was a holding
area that had high walls, 10 or 12 foot high walls. And all
the shepherds, they had their sheep out to pasture all day,
and then the shepherds needed some sleep. So they would take
their sheep to the sheepfold. At the end of the day, all the
shepherds, all the sheep, And they would go up to the one door,
it only had one door, and the man who was there at that one
door, he was called the porter. And the reason they did this
and the reason it had one door is for thieves. He guarded this one door. Thieves
and robbers and wild animals. He was to protect the sheep.
And then the shepherds would come back and get their sheep
the next morning. And the porter would only open the door for
the shepherds of the sheep, nobody else, for the cause of thieves
and robbers. So everybody's sheep was in there,
Brandon's sheep, he'd lead his sheep in there, and Tony's sheep,
and Caleb's sheep, everybody's sheep was in this one pen at
night, okay? And then he'd come back and get
them in the morning, redeem them in the morning, that's what they
would do. Spiritually speaking, this sheepfold is not heaven. Thieves and robbers can't break
into heaven. This sheepfold is this earth, right? It's this world where every sheep
is by night in darkness. Every sheep is in darkness. God
is the porter. God is the one who says who comes
in. And God is the one who says who
goes out. He keeps the one door. And God has said that there's
only one way to redeem your sheep. If you're going to come and pick
up your sheep. There's only one way that I'm
going to allow these sheep to leave the sheep fold. You got
to come right through the door. You have to walk directly through
the door. You've got to come right through
the door of holiness, righteousness, justice, truth, the law. It's got to be honorable. If
you're the one who dropped off the sheep, then you're the one
who can come pick up the sheep. But if you have to start explaining,
no, it wasn't me. Something's not right here. It
has to be by the law. It has to be totally according
to the law. Anyone who tries to climb up
some other way will not redeem one sheep. Not one sheep's coming
out. Okay? These Pharisees we just read,
they told that blind man, we're Moses' disciples. We don't know
who this is. So our Lord is telling them here
in 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 as a thief and a robber,
but he that entereth in by the door, he that fulfills righteousness,
he that fulfills justice and truth, the law, that fulfills
the law perfectly, Verse 2 says, is the shepherd of the sheep. Now who is that? That's the Lord
Jesus Christ. And he came here to fulfill the
law. Every jot, every tittle, perfectly. Nothing swept under
the rug. He walked directly through the
door of justice and holiness and righteousness, the law. 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. 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's saying. Now here is the question of the
evening. Okay? Here's what I need to know. Here's what I need to know. Do
I? Do I understand what he's saying? The title of this is, Am I His
Sheep? Am I His Sheep? He just said
what His sheep do, didn't He? He said the porter is going to
open that door and the sheep are going to do something. Am
I His Sheep? Do I hear His Word? Has God caused
me to understand His Word? Do I believe His Word? Because
John 10 verse 25 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 ye believed not because you're
not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My question is not just
am I a sheep. It's not just am I a sheep. Being
a sheep is nothing to be proud of. Sheep are not too bright.
They can't defend themselves. They're dumb, ignorant animals. All we like sheep have gone astray. That's what sheep do. They go
astray. What I want to know is, am I
His sheep? Am I His sheep? Verse 1, John 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 as a
thief and a robber, but he that entereth in by the door is the
shepherd of the sheep. Spiritually speaking, do I know
the difference? Do I know the difference? We just said sheep were dumb
and ignorant. One came in climbing over the wall. One came in right
through the door. I had my head down eating grass. 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?
Between my Savior and a thief? How can I know the difference?
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 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. The sheep hear his voice. Not just a voice. The sheep hear
his voice. Is he speaking to me? I asked
that in the most sincere sincerity. I'm asking myself this. I need
a blessing just like everybody else. I can preach these notes
and if God doesn't bless them to my heart, it's a miserable experience. Have I heard His voice? Not just a voice, His voice. Is He speaking to me? Do I hear
Him speaking to me? When He starts talking about
sinners, when we open this word and He starts saying all these
things about sinners, is He talking to me? You know what I'm saying? When He talks about those who
are in great need of forgiveness and great need of mercy, is He
talking to me? Am I the sinner in great need? If I am, I might be one of His
sheep. I might be one of His sheep.
Am I His sheep? All of the sheep in that sheepfold
heard a voice. Brandon went back the next morning
to get a sheep, right? All of the sheep heard him say,
Come. Many are called. But only his sheep believed He's
talking to me. You know that? Tony's sheep didn't
think that. Caleb's sheep didn't think that.
All of his sheep said, he's talking to me. I think I better come. Do I hear his voice? Am I his sheep? How can I know
if I've heard his voice? How can I know? What will I hear? Specifically, what will I hear?
Look at verse 3. It says, To him the porter openeth,
and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep
by name. By name. Our Lord walked up to
a boat one time and he said, Simon, Andrew, follow me. And then he went down a little
farther and he came up to another boat and he said, James, John,
follow me. What'd they do? They left their
stuff and they followed him. They all said, I need to follow
him. Not just mankind, not just sinners,
me. Me needs to follow him. Has he said to my heart, follow
me? Must Gabe Stoniker follow him? Must I? Must I leave all and
follow him? If I must, 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 the money. He left all his prestige, if
there was any, with that job. 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 going to your house. Every single time, every single
sheep, He calleth his own sheep individually by name. Turn with
me over to John chapter 20. John chapter 20 verse 1 says, The first day of the week cometh
Mary Magdalene early when it was yet dark unto the sepulchre,
and seeing the stone taken away from the sepulchre, 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 sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid
him. Peter therefore went forth and that other disciple and came
to the sepulchre, So they ran both together, and the other
disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher.
I can't help as we read this, but acknowledge John's humility.
This other disciple is the one penning the chapter. Precious
man. Verse 5. 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,
and 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. You think they
were holding to the word of God? They didn't know that scripture
yet. There's a reference to Acts chapter 2. Verse 10. Then the disciples went away
again unto their own home. But Mary stood without the sepulcher
weeping. And as she went, 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 seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the
gardener, saith unto him, Sir, If thou hath borne him thence,
tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith
unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master. As soon as he called her by name,
she was sitting there talking to him and she thought this is
the gardener. And all he had to do was say, Mary. Master. He calls his own by name,
Jacob, what is your name? It's Jacob, and I have seen God
and not died. Moses, take your shoes off. Saul, why persecutest thou me? Lazarus, come forth. Ask any of those men, how did
that happen to you? Every single one of them would
answer, God did it. 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 of
your proud horse and blinded your eyes to your own self-righteousness?
God did it. He called me by name. Lazarus,
how on this earth were you raised from death 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. Every single one. 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 even know He was teaching
me. I thought I already knew it all. He redeemed me. I had no idea. My eyes were just
opened one day and then I realized God did it. God did it. I did not decide to reject everything
I ever knew. I didn't decide to open my eyes
to the truth. I didn't decide to hear his voice. God did it. He just whispered
into my ear, I did it. And then my heart and my mouth
said, God did it. David said over in Psalm 27,
he said, When thou seest, seek ye my face. That's when my heart
said, Thy face will I seek. You know what David was saying
right there? God did it. 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? The
answer is no. Here's how His sheep know they've
been called by His 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. Out of what? The sheep fold. Out of the way of man. Out of the darkness that I was
in. Out of the bondage that I was
in, I love this song. Listen to these words. Out of my bondage, sorrow, and
night, Lord Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come. Into thy freedom,
gladness, and light. Jesus, I come to Thee. Out of
my sickness, into Thy health. Out of my want, and into Thy
wealth. Out of my sin, and into Thyself. Lord Jesus, I come to
Thee. Out of my shameful failure and
loss. Lord Jesus, I come. Jesus, I
come. Into the glorious gain of Thy
cross. Lord Jesus, I come to Thee. Out
of earth's sorrows, into Thy balm. Out of life's storms and
into thy calm. Out of distress to jubilant psalm. Lord Jesus, I come to thee. I
come to thee. Out of religion into Christ.
There's a big difference. A big difference. 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 went before them
in death. He went before them in resurrection. He is the firstborn among many
brethren. He went before them to God and
made intercession on their behalf. I want to be one of his sheep
so badly. I really do. Verse 4, When he putteth forth
his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him. Do I follow him? Do I follow him? Him. I believe that God has put in
my heart. I believe God did it. I believe
God has put in my heart to say, yes, I do. I follow Him. I am not following family. I'm not. I am not following morality. Why are we here on Sunday? Morality.
I'm not following tradition. I am not following a doctrine. I don't have a doctrinal outline. We're following the Word of God,
aren't we? Which is a doctrinal outline, but I'm following Christ
and not a doctrinal outline. I'm not following a mortal man. By God's grace, by Him drawing
me, by God doing it, I follow Him. And you do too, don't you?
You do too. We want Him. We need Him. And according to the Word of
God, that makes us His sheep. We follow Him. 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. 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? If I don't, there's no glory
to me in that, no glory to my zeal or my decision or my courage. The question is, has God tuned
my ear? Has He tuned my ear? Who is that? I don't know, but
it's not Christ. What are they preaching over
there? I don't know, but it's not Christ, I can tell you that.
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. If we love this word, if we see
and hear Christ in it, if that's all we want to follow, we're
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 that is. How sad that
is. But for the grace of God, there
go all of us. You know that? Our Lord said,
Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear. That's a blessing. It's a gift. And we beg for it. Lord, open
our eyes. Open our ears. Give us an understanding.
Speak to us. That's what we beg when we come
here. Lord, speak to us. Speak to us. Let us hear your
voice. I just want to hear your voice.
All right, let's stand together.