Okay, if you'd like to follow
along, I'm gonna be in John chapter 10. John chapter 10. And I wanna begin reading in
verse 24. John chapter 10 in verse 24.
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, and 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,
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, I'm gonna stop right there My title is this What does eternal
life mean? What does eternal life mean?
And you kind of have to read the whole thing because it's
all one big section It's actually what two or three sentences,
but it's all one section This is how this came about, Christ
telling these Jews. They came round about and said,
how long do you make us to doubt? If thou be to Christ, tell us
plainly. And he answered them and he said,
I told you and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. Now, in those scriptures right
there are seven words you don't wanna hear, guaranteed. Seven words of heart-rending
meaning, and I'm gonna tell you this, these are seven words of
supreme import here. I told you and you don't believe. That's the seven words, and you
believe not. You don't wanna hear those words,
I don't wanna hear those words. Let's be clear. Now, these words were spoken
directly to these Jews. Jesus Christ always knew who
he was talking to. Bad English, I know, ending with
a preposition, but I don't care. He knew to whom he spoke every
time he spoke. And when he said this, he was
talking to those particular gentlemen, those Jews that asked him this
question. Several times, matter of fact,
I looked it up, eight times. Eight times. Six times in Matthew
and two times in Luke, Jesus Christ used this phrase or a
variation on it. Let him that hath ears to hear,
hear. Hear. What's that mean? Well, I told
you and you believe not. That's what that means. that
those who have ears to hear, let him hear. If you wanna glance
back at Matthew 13, just for a moment. Matthew 13, verse 13,
he says this, therefore speak I to them in parables, because
they seeing, see not. What? And hearing, they hear
not. Neither do they understand. And
in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, by hearing
you shall hear and shall not understand, and by seeing you
shall see and shall not perceive. For this people's heart is waxed
gross and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they
have closed lest at any time they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears and should understand with their
heart and should be converted and I should heal them. But he didn't stop there. Blessed,
but blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they
hear. Oh my. He told him one time,
I speak to people in parables. And I've heard that, I know you
have too, I'm sure everybody has. He spoke to them in parables
so that everybody could understand his simple country gospel. No, I speak to them in parables
so they don't understand, so they don't hear, and they don't
see, and they don't get it. And this is what he's saying.
This is what he's saying. I told you and you believe not. Hearing with the physical ears
is not the point, and it never has been. Matter of fact, if you want to,
you can compare John 10, 25, where he said, I told you, and
you believe not, with John 5, 25. Well, I'll start in verse 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me,
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but
is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, truly, truly,
I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall
live. For as the Father has life in
himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. I told you and you believe not. What's that mean? They had not
heard the voice of the Son of God. They might have heard the
voice of Jesus speaking to them. Oh, what is it? John six, verse
28 and 29. Then they said unto him, what
shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered
and said, unto them, he said it unto them,
this is the work of God. This is the work of God, that
ye believe on him whom he has sent. Now, if you wanna take
that, that it's your job to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that's
true. You should believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. But I'm gonna
tell you this, it takes the work of God for you to believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Because these Jews heard him.
They heard him speak with their own ears. And they believed not,
they did not believe. They did not have eyes to see,
ears to hear, or a heart to understand. As Stephen said before he was
stoned, they were uncircumcised in heart and ears, and they did
always resist the Holy Ghost. But then Jesus went on. but ye
believe not because ye are not of my sheep. And yes, I read
that correctly. You believe not because you're
not of my sheep. That's what Jesus Christ said.
I know people will twist it and say, you're not my sheep because
you don't believe. That's not what he said. You
can look at it in the Greek. I've got a New Testament at home
where it has the Greek translation of the received text and right
underneath it, it has the English word under the Greek word and
you can read it and it makes sense. That's what he said. You
believe not because you're not of my sheep. It doesn't matter
what anyone says. It doesn't matter what anyone
thinks. This is what it says. It means exactly what it says. It doesn't matter what you think.
It doesn't matter what I think. These particular Jews that Jesus
Christ was speaking, those are the ones he was telling
us. Whoever they were, they were not his sheep. That's what he
said, and that's what he meant. Now, you can think it's hard. You may think that's too hard
of a saying, but don't think that it's not so, because it
is so. It is so. He said it. Here it
is. This foundation stands sure,
sure, sure as God himself, the Lord knoweth them that are his. There are sheep and there are
not sheep. And that's just the facts. And
if you want to be honest and if you want to tell me, well,
that verse kind of scares me. I'll say good. I'll say good. It's supposed to. It should. It should concern you. But then
Christ went on. and explained, as I said unto
you, ye believe not because you're not of my sheep, as I said unto
you, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. You understand there's no question
in that statement. There's no qualifiers in that
statement. There's no wavering. What'd he
say? I know them. I know them. You wanna hear something really
cool? I think so. You wanna hear something glorious?
I know so. I know them. That's a glorious
statement. They are my sheep and I know
them. Those are the words of God manifest
in the flesh. And here's the thing, before
he ever speaks to them, He knew them. I know them. Oh, I like
that. Jesus Christ never increased
in knowledge. He knew his sheep. He's God.
Before he spoke to them, he knew them. Before they hear my voice,
the voice of the Son of God, I know them. I know them. Before
they follow me, I know them. Oh, I like that. Also, They see,
they hear, and they understand. How can I say that? They follow
me. They follow me. They're not following
anybody else, they're following me. And I give unto them eternal
life. Eternal life. And they shall
never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. So, what is eternal life, really
quickly? John 17, verse three. I love
the book of John, I do. There are several instances in
the book of John where you, well, I just read one. This is the
work of God. Well, here in John 17, verse
three, we have this. And this is life eternal. This
is it. You wanna know, these are the
words of Christ. He says this is life eternal.
That they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent. Oh my. What's that? They hear, they see, and they
understand. And they believe. Oh, I like
that. Matter of fact, they hear, they
see, and they understand his words, my words. He told some,
where was it? Just back, John 8. These are
another seven words you don't wanna hear. I'll tell you that
right now. John 8 in verse 37, Christ speaking
to some of these Jews again. He says, I know that ye are Abraham's
seed, but, Ye seek to kill me because, because why? My word hath no place in you. My word hath no place in you. That's seven words you don't
wanna hear either. But he spoke it to those Jews. Our Lord knew
exactly who he was talking to when he was talking to them.
Oh my, what is it? As a matter of fact, back up
here, this is better news. John chapter 10, verse 14. I
am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and am known of mine. Oh, I like that. As the Father
knoweth me, even so I know I the Father, and I lay down my life
for the sheep. And here it is. And other sheep
I have. I already have them. I have them. Jesus Christ said, I have them. Them also I must bring. And they shall hear my voice.
They're gonna hear. Why? Because he's gonna give
them ears to hear. They're gonna hear. They shall hear my voice
and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. He knew them before
they knew him. He knew them before he brings
them in. Oh my. Oh, I like that. Only those with eternal life
know the father and the son. It's John 17 and three. Only
those with eternal life know, truly know, God. God. There's a lot of pretenders
out there. There's a lot of people faking
it. There's a lot of people may have book learning, because this
is written in black and white. And if you've got the words of
Christ in red, it's written in red and white. Doesn't matter,
but it's written down in English so that we can have it. But only
those with eternal life truly know God and Christ. Now, don't get cocky about that. Don't be puffed up. I started
to say, I started to write it down. Matter of fact, I erased
it. It said, don't be too puffed up. No, don't be puffed up at
all, okay? Don't think highly of yourself
because eternal life is the gift of Jesus Christ. What did he
say? I, I, I give unto them eternal life. Eternal life is the gift
of Jesus Christ to his sheep, his sheep. Romans 6, 23, Paul put it this
way. For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our
Lord, our Lord. I give unto them eternal life,
the gift through Jesus Christ, our Lord. I like that. The Lord Jesus Christ gives,
gives everlasting life. to those that the Father gave
to him. What does it say? He has power
over all flesh to give eternal life to everyone given to him
by the Father, to as many as thou hast given me. And when
he gives eternal life, I want to tell you something. You've
got eternal life. You have eternal life. When he
gives, you have. And this is another thing. Eternal
life is directly tied to his eternal redemption. I like that. That's in Hebrews
chapter nine. Verse 11, that's what I wrote
down here. Hebrews chapter nine, verse 11. But Christ being come
a high priest of good things to come by a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not
of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us. Now look at the next
verse. for if the blood of bulls and
goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctify
it to the purifying of the flesh. Verse 14, how much more shall
the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself
without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to
serve, what? The living God. Oh, I like that. Now, And for this cause, verse
15, he is the mediator of the New Testament that by means of
death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the First Testament, they which are called might receive
what? The promise of eternal inheritance. Eternal, everlasting inheritance. And I'm gonna tell you one of
the things about that eternal everlasting inheritance is eternal
life. Eternal life. It's tied to his
redemption directly. You understand? There is no eternal life without
eternal redemption. None. None. Not without his blood. If there's no redemption, there's
no eternal life. But here's the thing. If there
is redemption, if there is redemption, what? If He redeemed you, He's
gonna give you eternal life. Oh my, there is an eternal inheritance
which certainly includes eternal life. And now we come to the deep,
profound meaning of what is eternal life. What does eternal life
mean? Well, here it is in the words
of Jesus Christ. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. That's it, that's the deep meaning
right there. So what he told us, you understand? They shall
never perish. They shall never perish. They shall never perish. And they shall never perish.
You can accent whatever word you want to. It's still glorious. Matter of fact, you can accent
them all. They shall never perish. I hope I didn't hurt nobody's
speakers with that. That's what eternal life means.
They shall never perish. They being my sheep. Now, I'm gonna tell you, that
means even the sheep he hadn't brought in yet, they don't know
it, but he does. They don't know him, but he knows
them. And when he speaks, they're gonna
hear his voice, and they're gonna follow him, and I'm gonna give
him to them eternal life, and they shall never perish, all
of my sheep. Oh, he's the good shepherd. He's
the good shepherd. I believe Christ also mentioned
to a certain rich young ruler, he called me good, there's none
good but God. But he calls himself the good
shepherd. Take that. What's that mean? To have eternal
life means to never perish. To never perish. Wait a minute. What if I sin? They shall never
perish. As a matter of fact, you're going
to sin. What if I stumble and fall? They, the sheep, my sheep,
shall never perish. What if I eat pork? I just throw
that in for some reason. I got some ribs, we're getting
ready to cook is what it is. They shall never perish. What if I doubt? They shall never
perish. Understand? He's faithful, he
cannot deny himself. Whether you believe or not at
the time. We don't ever believe perfectly. Within us is still
unbelief. But here's the promise. My sheep
will never perish. Oh, I like that. My sheep will
never perish. Now the question is, do you know
the Good Shepherd? Do you want to know Christ Jesus?
Do you want to follow him? Christ said it, if ye continue
in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. I like that. And they shall never perish.
I like that, I do, I can't help it. That's some good stuff, that's
good news. They shall never perish is good news to the sheep of
God. And I also, have you ever thanked
God for what he didn't say? Because understand this, Jesus
Christ did not say, if ye continue in my word, Perfectly. No, no, no, just if you continue
in my word. We're gonna stumble, we're gonna
fall, we're gonna, we're gonna not only, don't worry about disappointing
yourself, you're gonna disappoint God. I mean, you know, he knows. It says it in the Old Testament,
I preached on it. He remembers. Not that we were dust, we are
dust. He knows, he knows, oh my. But they shall never perish.
Those that he has given the garments of salvation and the robe of
righteousness, they shall never perish. They shall never perish.
And he didn't stop there even though. What did he say? No man,
no man, shall pluck them out of my hand. Oh, it don't get
no better than that. Well, maybe the next verse. My
father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man
is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. What's that
mean? Put it this way. No man can take
away eternal life from the sheep of God. I'll be even bolder,
if you want. No man can lose eternal life. Because it's obvious, people.
I mean, this is not, you know. If you can lose it, it wasn't
eternal. By definition. And what Christ
said. Nobody's plucking them out of
his hand. We are in his hand. You understand? We are to cling
to Christ, to hold to Christ, to trust in Christ. But here's
the point, he's got us. It's not we got him. We do have
him, thank God, because he gave himself to us. The Father gave
us to him and gave us him. But the fact is, ain't nobody
taking us out of God's hand. Ain't nobody taking us out of
Christ's hand. Oh, I like that. You understand, there's a statement
about the gifts. The gifts and calling of God
are what? Without repentance. Without turning. You understand? God doesn't give you eternal
life and then take it away because you disappointed. Because you
wouldn't last the day. You wouldn't last an hour. I'd
already been gone. The gifts and calling of God
are without repentance. He gives just the way he saves,
perfectly. Oh, I like that. That's good
news. The gifts and calling of God
are without repentance and they shall never perish. You know
what that is? That's a promise from God manifest
in the flesh to his sheep. They shall never perish. And
that's what eternal life means. Remember what I said a couple weeks ago
about a preacher? A preacher is nobody who tells everybody
about the somebody who can save anybody. Well, this is the somebody
who can save anybody. And more, here's the thing. This
is the somebody who keeps every anybody that he saves. I like
that, I do. I give unto them eternal life
and they shall never perish. They shall never perish. Eternal
life is everlasting life. Eternal life is never-ending
life. and the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Lord. You understand,
there was a time when Jesus Christ preached and what was it, four
or 5,000 people left, went back and walked no more with him,
went back and followed him no more. Matter of fact, they went
back to what they were doing before they ever heard it. Why was that? Well, they didn't
have ears to hear. And then when they heard what
they did hear, they didn't like it. But here's the thing, Jesus
turned and looked at his disciples and said, will you also go away?
And that's something. Will you also go away? Why? Because
of something Christ said. Don't worry about what I say,
worry about what the book says. There are people who leave because
of what Christ said, because they won't have it. But he looked
at his disciples, the 12, and he said, will you also go away? Simon Peter answered, Lord. Good start right there, I'm gonna
take some. You start talking to Jesus Christ, start talking
Lord. Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou has the words of eternal
life. Yes, he does. Ah, and he has
eternal life, the power to give it to what? Every one of his
people. Every one the father gave to
him. Every sheep of the good shepherd. Oh, I like that. He has the words
of eternal life and the gift of eternal life to give. And,
here it is, they shall never perish. That's what eternal life
means. They shall never perish. Heavenly
Father, thank you, Lord, for your Son, our Good Shepherd. the good shepherd of his sheep,
and the good shepherd, oh my, he will never lose one of his
sheep. He will always bring them home. There'll be one flock, and there
is one shepherd, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank
you for the eternal life you have given to us. We may not
feel it, We may doubt it, but we do not, by your grace, don't
doubt your word. You have said it. Your son has
said it. I give unto them eternal life
and they shall never perish. Thank you, Lord. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.