Well, it's good to see all of
you. I thank the Lord for this time
to be able to be with you again. According to my daughter, last
May was a year ago. Boy, time flies, doesn't it? I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the gospel according to John
chapter 10. I'd like to read verses 1 through
5, John chapter 10, verses 1 to 5. 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, 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. where they know not
the voice of strangers. Let's pray together. Our Father, how thankful we are
this morning for this blessed time to be able to call upon
You. Lord, we are needy people, and
how desperately do we desire Your comfort, Your peace, Your
presence. Lord, would You bless this service?
Would You help us to worship? Help us to see You? Oh, how we
thank You for these things for Christ's sake. Amen. Our Lord had healed the eyes
of a blind man. He took and spit on the ground,
and he took that spittle and he put it on the eyes of one
that had been born blind. And he told him to go and wash
in the pool of Siloam, and he did. And he came seeing. Now, you know, we could stop
right there and take that event right there. That's found in
John 9, verses 1 to 7. We could take that one point
right there. What a beautiful picture of the
gospel. That which is by nature offensive. Can you imagine if somebody spit
on the ground and put it on you? You'd think, that's repulsive. That's the way this world sees
the gospel of God's grace. But when that blessed gospel,
that which is offensive to men, is applied to men, to their eyes,
by the Spirit of God. That's beautiful, isn't it? That's not offensive to God's
people. That's wonderful. What a picture of the gospel
of God's grace. But our Lord had healed the eyes
of this blind man. And that offended the Jews. And they asked him, they said,
how did he make you see? How did he do that? And two or
three times he spoke with them about it. He said, look, he took
spittle and he put it on my eyes and told me to wash, and I did,
and I saw. That's how. And they kept asking
him over and over, Did he do that? Well, our Lord, in John
chapter 10, verses 1 to 5, is going to tell them. He's going
to use a very familiar incident, something that they
were very, very accustomed to seeing. And He was going to teach
them through this illustration of a sheepfold. How? He did that. How did He make
you see? You see, these Jews, these Pharisees,
they saw themselves as being qualified leaders, qualified
shepherds to teach and to give instruction. to the Jews that
were around them. They saw themselves as being
sent of God and able, knowledgeable, fit leaders of those that needed
instruction. Whenever our Lord, who was speaking
in the latter part of John chapter 9, He was speaking to that formerly
blind man. And he told the formerly blind
man, verse 39 of John 9, he said, for judgment I am come into this
world, that they which see not might see, that they which see
or think they see might be made blind. And then while these Pharisees
were listening on, they were listening to this conversation
that the Lord was having with this healed blind man, kind of
interjected what they were thinking. They said to the Lord, some of
the Pharisees which were with Him heard these words and said
unto Him, Are we blind also? Is that what you're saying? And
our Lord said unto them, If you were blind, if you knew yourselves
to be by nature blind, you should have no sin. But now you say,
we see. Therefore, your sin remaineth."
And then our Lord continued in chapter 10, speaking to those
Pharisees. This chapter 10 is a continuation
of chapter 9. And He began by using this illustration
about this sheepfold. and this door. Using that illustration,
they knew, at least naturally speaking, they knew what he was
talking about. You see, in every village, there
was a common area. There was a sheepfold. There
was a place where the various shepherds could come in at the
end of the day, and they would bring their sheep, bring their
flock, And they would come to this common area, a sheepfold. And they would come to the door.
They'd come to the porter. There was one way in, one way
out. One door. One porter. One that was overseer of that
sheepfold. And that porter guarded that
door. He guarded that opening. He protected. the sheep against whatever, animals,
thieves, robbers, or even to keep the sheep from escaping. They couldn't get out. They'd
come past the porter, had to come past that door. Well, in
the morning, the various shepherds would come. And they would come
to the porter. They had to come to the porter.
And whenever the porter was satisfied that they were the ones that
had been there the night before, they were the legitimate shepherds
of the different flocks that were in there, he would allow
them to go in and call out their respective flocks. So those porters would go in
and get their flocks and take them on out To the fields, to the pastures.
Well, to understand what our Lord was saying to these Pharisees. Because remember, the question
that they had was, how? How did this man see? How did you make this man see?
How did this man have sight? We have to understand, because
our Lord is telling them. He's going to give them the answer.
This is how. We have to understand to what
our Lord referred when He spoke of the sheepfold. Verily, verily, verse 1, chapter
10, 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, I know this. I know that the sheepfold to
which he referred, I know it wasn't heaven, because thieves
and robbers don't climb into heaven. I know that the sheepfold
to which he referred was not the church, because the Lord
doesn't lead His sheep. Out of the church in verse 3,
it's going to speak of him leading them out. So what does this sheepfold
refer? When he was talking to these
Pharisees and telling them, how? How did you give this man sight? Now let me ask you this. Here's
the question. How does the Lord give His people
sight? Spiritual sight? True sight? How is it that you, you that
know Him, how is it that you see? How did you come to see,
Luke? How? Well, this sheepfold that
our Lord is referring to, and the understanding of the meaning
of that word right there, gives great insight to what He was
talking about. This sheepfold, the word here
means the yard. the yard. And this sheepfold
that he's talking about on how he made this man to see, and
truly not just physically, but spiritually, because this man
right here believed him. Chapter 9, when the Lord revealed
himself to him, this man said, I believe. I believe you. I believe
you. This sheepfold To which our Lord
is referring in teaching these Pharisees is actually this world. Here we are. We're in this world. We're in this yard. And our Lord
is referring to this sheepfold. He that entereth not by the door
into the sheepfold. This world. This sheepfold. Physically speaking, in every
village had all different kinds of flocks, different manners,
different shepherds. And is it not that way in this
world today? There's all different kinds of
flocks. There's this flock, that flock. But our Lord has His flock. But they're all in this world,
all mixed in this yard. The Lord is teaching, He said,
He that entereth not in, by the door, into the sheepfold, into
this yard, same as a thief and a robber. What is He going to
have to do to rescue the sheep that He's everlastingly loved
and known? What's it going to take for Him
to give them sight To save them, to call them out. Well, He's
going to have to come. He's going to have to come into
this yard. He that entereth not by the door,
for the purpose of being the deliverer. 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, we know what the sheepfold
is that He's referring to. This yard, the yard of this world,
and all of its various mixes, flocks, to what then does the door refer? He that entereth not by the door
into the sheepfold, Climbeth up some of the way the same as
a thief and a robber." What does that door, that porter, refer? There has to be a legitimate
way to come into this sheepfold. There's got to be a legitimate
way in and a legitimate way out. That door, that porter that keeps
and guards the sheepfold of this world is God's law. Galatians 3.23, now listen to
this, knowing that this sheepfold that he's talking about entering
into, on how do you get God's sheep out? How do you get in
to this sheepfold? He had to come in legitimately. Everybody else that came in to
this place and didn't come in by the door legitimately is a
thief and a robber. So I know this. Everybody else
that's in this place are thieves and robbers. Not him. Listen to Galatians 3.23, but
before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up under
the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Until the Lord Jesus
Christ came to fulfill this law, we were kept under this law. which served as our tutor, instructor,
to show us what we are by nature. Sinners, it's what you are. You're not going to get out of
this sheepfold until that porter is satisfied. We were born in
this sheepfold, born in this yard, and the only way out is
for that porter that guards the exit of this yard, he's going
to have to be satisfied. But he, verse 2, that entereth
in by the door, is the shepherd of the sheep. He that was made
of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under
the law, we might receive the adoption of sons. The Lord of
glory, entered into the sheepfold of this world by divine commission
and authority as God's prophet and priest, King, made Himself
answerable for all that were His in electing grace in this
sheepfold, in this yard, made himself answerable to the porter,
to the law of God, and came to fulfill all righteousness in
obedience to that law for his people. He came into this world
for those within this yard, within this sheepfold, To redeem them. We were born here. Born in captivity. Born dead. Born we couldn't see. Those Pharisees would ask him,
how? How did you make this man? How did he make you see? How did you see? What's it going
to take to be rescued From the bondage of sin in this sheepfold,
in this yard, what's it going to take? We're not getting out by ourselves. You're not going to exercise
your free will. You're dead. You're in this sheepfold,
in this yard, and you're dead. How are you going to get out? Without Him, you're not. Because
you're not going to get past that porter. That porter is going
to have to be satisfied. Our precious Savior set forth
in answer to these Pharisees on how did you make this man
see. More importantly, how did you
make him spiritually see? I'll tell you how He did it.
He came into this sheepfold. through the honorable door of
God's law, made Himself answerable. And by His perfect life, He came
into this yard, made Himself in this yard of
no reputation, humbled Himself in this yard, this world, this
sheepfold, where all of the different flocks were. And they're all
over the place. They're everywhere. And they've
got their respective shepherds. I understand that. But spiritually,
all of those that didn't come in honorably, by God's law, obediently,
faithfully, made answerable, To that law, all of them that
did not come in with that law satisfied. They're thieves. They've got one desire. They
desire God's honor. They're robbers, hucksters, liars,
all others that climbed in some other way. Oh, they make themselves out
to be. Shepherds, false shepherds, lying
shepherds, deceiving shepherds, born in this sheepfold themselves,
dead in trespasses and sins, and ignorantly set forth that
they're the guides. Oh, I can tell you how to get
out, they'll say. All you've got to do, and then
here, the list just almost never ends on how to get out. You can be baptized. You can
walk down an aisle. You can exercise your faith.
You can speak in tongues. You can do it on and on and on. And they are thieves and robbers. Robbers. Promising salvation
by their own deeds and telling men that are hopelessly lost,
they can lead them out. Verse 3, to Him, to the true shepherd of the sheep. He that came into this world,
into this sheepfold, into this yard, into this place where all
manner of men were. He that came in for the purpose
of delivering, redeeming, saving, delivering out His sheep, His
flock, to Him, verse 3, the porter openeth. And the sheep hear His voice,
and He calleth His own sheep by name and leadeth them out
only to Him who has pleased God, satisfied God's demand for righteousness
and put away the guilt of sin by being made sin for His people. To Him the porter openeth. To Him the porter is satisfied. To Him who lawfully came into
this sheepfold, knowing His sheep, He knew them before He ever came
here. He always knew. Chosen in Him
from before the foundation of the world. In Him the surety. He saw them fall. He who was
ever before the Father was one who came up with Him. Their delights were with the
sons of men. In every nation, and kindred,
and tribe, and tongue, and Almighty God who knew them, and all that
the Father had given Him, they're going to come to Him. How are
they going to come? He's going to come in this sheepfold.
He's going to come in this yard. He's going to come into this
world lawfully, faithfully. Answerable to God's law. And when He calls, to Him the
porter opened at the sheep, hear His voice. Came in this yard
and answered God's demands. And when it pleases Him, He calls
them effectually. Just like He called Lazarus.
He said with a loud voice, a powerful voice, Lazarus, come forth. And that one that had left this
world, Scripture says, absent from the body present with the
Lord. I don't understand everything that I do know by faith that
this Scripture says forth. But I know this, I know this,
that the soul of that man, Lazarus, was in the bosom of Abraham,
present with Almighty God in Paradise, in that very place
that that thief was told by our Lord. That thief was getting
ready to die. And before our Lord died, before
that thief did, that thief looked at him and said, Lord, when You enter into Your Kingdom,
would You remember me? Boy, what a request. And the
Lord said, Verily, verily, I say unto you today, you're going
to be with Me in paradise. I know this. When our Lord called
Lazarus, who had died, died in the faith, the Lord loved him. He loved Martha and Mary. He
loved Lazarus. And our Lord called that man's
soul back. into that body. And that man
that had been dead four years got up. How did he make you see? I'll
tell you how he did it. He came in here and fulfilled
all the demands that the porter had. He put away by the shedding of
his own blood Their sin, their guilt. And He who rightfully,
rightfully redeemed them, who had the right and the power to
call them, the one that the porter opened to, He called us His own
sheep by name. And He leads them out. How did he do it? I'll tell you
how he did it. He did it by himself. He did
it by power. How were thine eyes opened? How? He came as the representative
of God's sheep. His. His body. And now having
satisfied everything that the law demanded, the porter has
no hold on him. No hold. No condemnation. Free. And when he putteth forth,
verse 4 and verse 5, his own sheep, when he putteth forth
his own sheep, he goeth before them The sheep follow Him. They know His voice. And a stranger
will they not follow, who will flee from Him, for they know
not the voice of strangers. I'm telling you, in regenerating
grace, the sheep, they hear the Shepherd's voice. They have ears to hear. They
have eyes to see. When they hear the voice of a
stranger, they know it. I'll tell you right now, you
that have ears to hear and eyes to see, you know whether or not
this report right now, who has believed our report, you know
whether or not this is the report. of a God of all grace, God of
all power, all mercy. You know whether or not this
is the report of Him who is able. The one that does not need, does
not even look for the help of His helpless creatures. He doesn't
put His faith and His hope in His creatures. I mean, the stars
are not pure in His sight. How much less a man drinks iniquity
like water. Helpless creatures. This is who
it's going to take. For a helpless sinner to have
any hope of getting out of this yard. Out of the dregs of bondage
of sin, Satan's self in this world. Verse 9 says, I am the
door. He had a door. He had a door
to get into this sheepfold, into this yard. He had to satisfy
God's law. That's the door in. But do you
know the door of the sheep? He's the door. We go out by Him. He came in in obedience to God's
law. One. One man. One man. could satisfy that porter. One
man could come into this yard and satisfy the law of God. One man. And he came in and all
that was demanded of his sheep, he satisfied. And now, when he
leads them out, they go out by him. He is their door. He is their freedom. He is their
liberty. And he told those Pharisees,
verse 16, of the sheep I have. They're not of this fold. That
word fold right there is sheepfold. Same word, verse 1. They're not
of this yard. The yard of Judaism. They're
not in this yard. And them also I must bring, and
they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold, one
pasture, and one shepherd." It's not going to be a world like
this is, a yard. For God's people, there's going
to be one pasture. There's not going to be thieves
and robbers in the pasture of His making. of His earning, of
His establishing. There's going to be one pastor
and there's going to be one shepherd. How did He make you see? I'll
tell you how He made me see. He came into this yard, this
world, this sheepfold, and had all manner of men and women lost. But within this sheepfold, within
this yard, were some that was His. And He loved them. And He's going to have them.
They're His by gift from His Father. They're His by redemption. And I tell you this, they're
His by them coming to Him willfully in the day of His power. They
come to Him and they love Him. And He loves them. And He leads
them out of unbelief, out of bondage, They hear His voice. And when they hear His voice,
they rejoice. That's the voice of my Savior.
That's the voice of my Lord. And they follow Him out. They
go in, go out. They go through a door. You're
going into something and out of something. He calls them into
light, into life, and out of darkness, out of unbelief. And
they know Him, and He knows them. And you know what? He's never
going to lose them. He's going to keep them by power.
Lord, bless these words to our heart. For Christ's sake, Amen.