Thank you, Rebecca. Thank you, Scott, for reading that Psalm 23 and the hymn that we sang. I'd like to ask you to turn with me to John chapter 10. John chapter 10 seems that the Lord is bringing our worship together in an orderly fashion. I'm so very thankful for that.

I was thinking as Rebecca was singing, as where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. Sinners are in need of grace and how abundant His grace is. How free it is, the Lord Jesus reveals Himself in John chapter 10 as the great shepherd of the sheep. And we find in verse 6 of John chapter 10 that the Lord refers to this as a parable. A parable, a natural event that has a spiritual meaning. We often see things in parables.

We, in the previous hour, He talked about the inheritance and the prodigal receiving his inheritance. This isn't about money, it's about Christ. He is our inheritance. He is our exceeding great reward. The disciples asked the Lord one time, Lord, why do you speak to them in parables? Interesting that they ask that question because after the Lord says, because it's not for them to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, it's given unto you to know, then the disciples had to admit, Lord, we don't understand the parable. You're going to have to explain it to us.

And the Lord took them aside and explained to them the parable of the soils. We've come here this morning in hopes that the Lord would explain to us this parable of the shepherd. I think it's safe to assume that most of us had very little or no experience with sheep. A couple folks here I know have, but most of us don't. So though this parable would have been very common to the people that the Lord was speaking to, it might be a little less common to us, and yet the meaning of the parable is the same. It's the same.

In Matthew chapter 13, the scripture says, without a parable, he spake not unto them. The Lord Jesus taught only in parables. that it might be fulfilled, I will open my mouth in parables, and I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." The meaning of these parables is to reveal the secret, the secret that is in Christ, the secret that is in God's word, God's word is written to us to reveal Christ.

The Lord is going to reveal now by way of parables some things about himself. I've titled this The Marks of the Great Shepherd. Marks of the Great Shepherd. At least three of them. The first one is that he he enters the fold by the door. Yes, the Lord's going to reveal himself as the door into the sheepfold later, but in the first part of this parable, he says that the shepherd enters by the door. What does that mean?

The second point in this parable is that the porter, the one who's manning the door and verifying the The shepherds, as they come to the door, the porter opens up to him. What does that mean? And the third mark of the great shepherd is that the sheep, the sheep hear his voice and they follow him.

Sheep. We raise our children teaching them to be strong and responsible and independent. We teach them to be obedient, virtuous and smart. And we ought to do that. And we ought to be that way with one another. But before God, a sheep is just the opposite of all those things. Sheep are dumb. They're dirty. They're dependent. They've got to have the care of the shepherd. David said, the Lord is my shepherd. And I like the way you read that, Scott. I shall not be in want. He provides for me everything that I need, all that I need. is found in Him. All of my justification before God is found in Him. All of my righteousness before God is only found in Him. All of my food, all of my care, He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. Oh, how dependent we are

Men don't like to be referred to as sheep. And yet I remind you that in Psalm 23, David was at that time the most powerful man on the face of the earth. He was king of Israel who had conquered all the nations of the world. No one was more highly exalted than King David. And he said, the Lord is my shepherd. What a blessing it is when the Lord humbles us to see our need for a shepherd.

Let's read these verses together. Verse one of John chapter 10, verily, verily, truly, truly. We know that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. I don't recommend, I don't prefer for myself a red letter edition of the Bible because it seems to give, it seems to say that the words that were spoken by Christ are more important than other words in the Bible. It's all God's word. Every word of it's God's word. And when the Lord Jesus says, verily, verily, he's not saying, this is more important than other things. What he's saying is, I'm about to summarize for you what just happened.

This parable is given to define what happened in John chapter nine, the healing of the blind man, the blind beggar, the whole chapter of John chapter nine, 41 verses is given to that miracle. where the Lord, the good shepherd, takes from the sheepfold a sheep, and he makes them see. And the end of John chapter 9, the Lord reveals himself to this sheep, and the scripture says that he worshipped him. He worshipped him. Now the Lord is going to give a parable to explain what just happened. And so he's saying, barely, barely. Now, pay special attention because I'm going to summarize for you what just took place.

Our first question might be, what is the sheepfold? He that entereth not by 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 he leadeth them out." Now let's just stop right there for a moment because people have interpreted this sheepfold as the church, they've interpreted it as heaven. In the context of what our Lord is teaching here, this cannot be. He doesn't lead his sheep out of heaven. He doesn't lead his sheep out of the church. The sheepfold here is a reference to the Old Testament church. It's a reference to Israel. It's a reference to what he just did when he went and called this man out of. He was excommunicated. They put him out of the temple and the Lord Jesus took him in.

This sheep fold. And the clarity of this is made in verse 16, when the Lord said, and other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them I must bring. Most of us didn't come out of Judaism. I don't know anyone here that did. Perhaps there is someone, but. So verse 16 is a reference to us. Other sheep I have. which are not of this fold, and them I must bring. I must needs go through Samaria. Why? Because there's a lost sheep there. There are several lost sheep there. And I'm going to bring them into my sheep fold, and there shall be one fold, and there shall be one shepherd. So this sheepfold is Israel. The sheepfold, and that's important if we're to understand the door and how the Lord enters in and the porter and how it is that specific sheep hear his voice. There were those in John chapter nine who did not hear the voice of the Lord. There were the Pharisees who refused to believe that it was the Lord Jesus that had healed this blind man. And yet there was one, there was one who heard his voice and followed him.

Most of Israel were not Israel. They were circumcised by the hands of men in the flesh. They were living under the law. They were proudly trying to attain their own righteousness. They had, as Paul tells us in Romans chapter 10, a zeal for God, but that zeal was not according to knowledge. They went about trying to establish their own righteousness, not knowing that Christ, Jesus the Lord, was the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.

Most Israel was not Israel. Most of them were unbelievers. And yet the Lord always had a remnant. Within Israel, there was always a remnant, a small remnant though it be, it was always a remnant of believers that he kept. And now he's saying to Israel, I'm gonna call my remnant out of Israel. I'm not going to leave them in Israel. I'm going to, you remember the parable the Lord told about the man who had a vineyard and he lent it out to husbandmen and they were supposed to produce fruit for the owner of the vineyard and he would send his servants, which was a picture of the prophets, to gather the proceeds from the fruit and the servants beat The servants beat the ones that the owner sent. And so the owner said, I will send my son. Surely they will respect him. And they said, this is the son. Let us kill him that we might receive the inheritance. And the Lord said to those Pharisees, what shall be done to those wicked husbandmen that I left the vineyard to? And they pronounced their own judgment when they said, the vineyard should be taken from them and given to another. And the Lord Jesus said, then that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm taking the vineyard of my vine that I planted and the fruits of my righteousness, and I'm taking it from Israel, and I'm giving it to another.

We sometimes hear people mixing Judaism with Christianity. I heard a commercial the other day on TV, an appeal to Christians to help God's chosen people. And the Jewish Christian organization providing support for needy Jewish people. Provide support for whoever you will. But there's no mixture of law and grace. There's no mixture of Israel and Judaism and Christianity. The two are diametrically opposed. The Lord Jesus is telling us, I'm coming into Israel, and I'm going to call out of Israel my sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold, them I must bring. And there will be one sheep fold and there'll be one shepherd. Now that's the parable.

Yes, he's going to say in verse seven, I am the door. But here he's identifying himself as the shepherd going through the door. What is the door that's being referred to here in this parable? Well, it's the scriptures. It's the word of God. It's all the revelation that has been made to Israel through Moses and the Psalms and the prophets concerning himself. Beginning with the prophecy that was made to Adam in the garden and Eve, the seed of the woman, and that was a reference to Christ, not seeds, but seed, will, shall, shall crush the head of the serpent. And that's exactly what the Lord Jesus accomplished. And everything else that took place to the sacrifice, the blood sacrifice that had to happen there in the garden in order to clothe Adam's nakedness before God after he sinned, the fig leaves weren't sufficient. The works of the law are not sufficient. The works of our hands are not sufficient. God had to kill a lamb and shed blood

And we see that picture again with Abel bringing to God a blood sacrifice and Cain bringing to him the works of his labor and God having respect for Abel's sacrifice and having no regard for Cain's sacrifice and the hatred that Cain had for his brother.

And all through the Old Testament, it was all written in the volume of the book it is written of me. when the Lord Jesus appeared to those disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke chapter 24. And he said, all fools and slow of heart to believe. Did you not know that these things must happen? These things must be fulfilled. They were all revealed by God throughout the Old Testament to Israel. And now I have come and beginning with Moses and the Psalms and the prophets, he expounded unto them those things concerning himself."

And John writes in Revelation that Jesus is The testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy.

When the Lord Jesus came and we don't separate, why is he say, I'm the good shepherd and I've got to come through the door? And then in verse seven, he says, I am the door. Simply this, we don't separate the written word from the living word. The Lord Jesus Christ is the word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. Whenever we go to the Bible, we are looking for the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the fulfillment of all prophecy. He is the fulfillment of all the law. He's the one who justifies us before God.

when he says, I'm coming through the door. He's saying, search the scriptures, search the scriptures and you will see that they testify of me. This is the evidence. This is the faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God. So this is the means by which the Lord gives faith. It's the fulfillment of everything in scripture in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Paul left Thessalonica after being run out of town by the Jews, he went to the city of Berea and he preached the gospel there. And he said, the Bereans were more noble than those of Thessalonica. Why? Because they received the word of God with all readiness of mind and they searched the scriptures daily to see if these things were true. That's how we read the Bible. We receive the word of God with all readiness of mind and we search the scriptures to see if these things are true. And if we do, we will see that everything God promised, the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled. He is the fulfillment of everything that God promised.

When Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15 of the gospel that he preached unto them, He says, I declared unto you how that Christ died according to the scriptures. This book is the door that the Lord Jesus is talking about in John chapter 10 in this parable. and any message of salvation that does not line up with what God has said in his word, if they speak not according to the law and testimony, it's because there's no light in them. There's no light in them. We test every message by God's word. And we believe everything that God has said.

Paul made this statement. He said, this is what settles all controversy. What sayeth the scriptures? What sayeth the scriptures? The Lord Jesus Christ is saying to his disciples who understand and to these Pharisees who don't understand, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd comes in to the sheepfold by the door. Just as God prophesied, the Lord Jesus was born of a woman, born under the law, who conceived by the Holy Spirit to redeem them who were cursed by the law. Everything about his life And most importantly, everything about his death was prophesied in Scripture.

And so, if we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, it's because we believe God's Word. We should believe God's Word. And we're not here to prove that the Bible's the Word of God. The only way that you will be convinced that every word in this book is God-breathed is when God shows you the fulfillment of it in Christ. When you see the Lord Jesus Christ revealed in scripture, you will say, that's the word of God. That's the word of God. Every story reveals him. The law points to him. The prophets point to him. The Sabbath, that's Christ. The Passover lamb of the Old Testament, that was Christ. When God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass by you. The only way you're gonna have the death angel pass by you is by having the blood of that lamb put on the lentil and the doorpost of the door.

That rock that followed the children of Israel throughout the wilderness, that Moses struck with a rod and the water came forth, that's the rod of God's law striking Christ, providing for the people of God, the only water of life that will enable them to survive a dry and thirsty wilderness. That manna that came down from heaven, That manna did not come to you by, my father gave you that manna. I am the bread of life. He's the manna. He's saying to these self-righteous Pharisees, you've spent your whole life in the Bible. And here I have come through the very door of God's word. revealing to you everything that you think you know, and you don't believe. But I've got some sheep in this sheepfold, and I'm gonna call them out by name, and they're gonna believe that I am the shepherd.

Notice he says that in verse one, He that entereth not by the door. That's a reference to these Pharisees. They're not coming by the scriptures. He that entereth not by the door is a thief and a robber. Now the word thief here is a reference to one who embezzles by deceit. And the word robber is a reference to one who plunders by violence. And we see that in the Pharisees. They rest the scriptures to their own destruction. We see that today among false prophets who will take portions of God's word and they will deny the gospel of God's free grace and all the glory. They will rob Christ of his glory. They will embezzle from him. They will be a thief. taking to themselves the glory that only goes to Christ.

We know that the gospel is true because all the glory goes to the Lord Jesus Christ for having accomplished it. None of it goes to us. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be glory for thy truth, for thy mercy's sake.

But the thief and the robber, those who would embezzle by deceit, those who would twist the scriptures, those who Paul's referring to in Ephesians when he says, don't be children, don't be like little children tossed about by every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men and by the cunningness and craftiness of those who lie in wait to deceive. Those are thieves and robbers.

Men will take portions of God's word and they will shed doubt on the truth of the gospel. And if they're not successful in that way, it's interesting that the thief, the one who embezzles by deceit, the cat burglar, if you will, if he can't get what he wants, Then he will resort to violence and he'll become a robber and he'll break in by force. And that's exactly what these Pharisees did.

What they can't accomplish by lies and deceit, they will try to take by force. They did it to the Lord. They couldn't convince these sheep with all the evidence, even after the Lord raised Lazarus from the dead, after he had been in the grave for four days. And there were Jews there in Bethany that watched it happen. And they ran back to Jerusalem and they reported it to the Pharisees.

And the Pharisees called the Sanhedrin. They got all the Pharisees together and they said, what are we gonna do? If we let him alone, our thievery hasn't worked, our deceit hasn't worked. If we let him alone, the Romans are gonna come and they're gonna take away both our place and our position of power. What are we gonna do? And they determined that day to put him to death.

All that have come before me are thieves and robbers. not only in time, but all that come before me in preference. When the commandment of God says that we're to have no other gods before him, it doesn't just mean bringing a god in the presence. It means having anything prior to him, anything that precedes him. All that come before me are thieves and robbers. All the thieves and robbers of man-made religion have deceived so many. They didn't come by the door. They didn't come by the scriptures. They didn't come by what was clearly revealed in God's word about Christ. They came in some other way. And what they can't accomplish by their deceit, they will resort to violence.

We can't identify much with that. We're very thankful that our founding fathers saw fit to write into the Bill of Rights, that First Amendment. We have freedom of speech for now. We have freedom of religion. But how many over the centuries, and how many in this day, in other places of the world that don't have what we have, have refused to bow to the deceit of the thieves and become victims of the robbers? Lost their lives. The best they can do to us is call us names and cut us off. Yeah, that happens. You stand for the gospel. The thieves and the robbers that go before Christ, that want to present themselves in front of Him, well, you don't bow to their thievery. They will resort to robbery in whatever means they can find. violence.

Now, the sheep fold is Israel, the door is the Word of God, the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ that is perfectly consistent with everything that the Lord Jesus said about himself and everything that he did. Who is the porter Well, it's the Holy Spirit. Now, in this day, there would have been, at night, the shepherds would bring their various flocks together and put them into a large pinned area for protection. And it was a walled pin. They were out of the open field and brought into a walled pin. and a man would man the door. And in the morning, each shepherd would come to the porter of the door, identify himself, the porter would verify that this is, in fact, the shepherd of some of these sheep, and the porter would allow that man in, and that shepherd would call out from that mass of sheep in this large pen, his particular sheep by name, and only those sheep would come out. Only those sheep would come out. That's the picture. That's the parable. What a glorious picture. Who is it that vouches for the identity of the shepherd at the door? Is it not the Holy Spirit? Is it not the Holy Spirit that convinces us?

It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come. But when he comes, when he comes, He will convince you, I'm gonna paraphrase this just a moment. He will convince you that you're a sinner. He will convince you that all of your righteousness is only found in heaven in the person of your substitute. And he will convince you that all of your sin has been put away and that Satan has been defeated and the grave has been opened. And without him, you won't learn those things.

He's the porter. He's the porter that opens up the scriptures. He's the porter that opens up our hearts. He's the porter that opens up our understanding. He's the porter that enables us to say, yes, yes, I see. And I do believe. I believe what God has said. I cannot not believe.

How, what a glorious, Gospel, what a power. He's the one who regenerates us. He's the one who keeps us. He's the one that opens the windows of heaven and enables us to set our affections on things above. It's the Holy Spirit that works in our hearts and opens up the door for us.

But he's also the one who validated and and verified the Lord Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one. The Lord Jesus later in this same chapter is gonna say, if you can't believe me for my words, believe me for my works sake. Just like with the raising of Lazarus from the dead and the miracle of this healing of the blind man and all the other miracles that the Lord performed, when he gave that, when he told that man to take up his bed and walk, and they accused him of blasphemy when he said, no man can convince sin but God.

And the Lord Jesus said, what's easier to say? Thy sins are forgiven thee, or take up of thy bed and walk. But that you might believe that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins, I say unto you, take up your bed and walk. These miracles were done in their presence. Believe me, for my work's sake. And what did they do? They accused the Lord Jesus of being able to do these miracles in the power of the devil. He's got Beelzebub, that's why he's doing, that's how he's doing these things.

And the Lord Jesus said, you credit to God or to the devil what the Holy Spirit has done? You blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. Thy sin not be forgiven to you. You're gonna deny the clear evidence that the porter has opened the door for me? That I have come as the Christ, the anointed one in the full power of the spirit of God to accomplish the salvation of my people? And all the evidence that I've given to do that, the porter has opened for me. And I've gone in. And there's a whole bunch of sheep in that pen that won't believe. They will deny every miracle. They will twist the word of God. They're thieves and robbers.

But the porter, the one who opened up for me, the one who vouched for me, When John the Baptist was imprisoned and waiting his imminent death, he was confused. God had revealed to him that Jesus was the Christ. John had already said, behold, the Lamb of God must take away the sins of the world. But John, like the disciples, thought this was going to be an earthly kingdom, and he couldn't understand how it is. You know, I'm just ours. I'm going to be beheaded. And the disciples of John came to the Lord. And what did John want to know? Are you the one or do we expect another? And what did the Lord say to John's disciples? You go tell John what you have heard and what you have seen. What you have seen. The lame walk. The blind have received their sight. The dead have been risen. You tell John what you've seen and he will know that that is the evidence that the porter, the Holy Spirit has opened the door for the good shepherd and that he has come in and he will call out his sheep.

These are the marks of our shepherd. This is the hope that we have as dumb, dirty, dependent sheep, that we have a shepherd for our souls that causes us to not be in want of anything. It's a parable. It's a story. Lord, what's this parable mean? This is what it means. And the Lord tells us, if you be an evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children. And what parent doesn't want the best for their child? How much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

We have the Spirit of God in measure. The Lord Jesus had him in the fullness of his power. He's the anointed one. He's our Aaron who had the oil of gladness poured over his head. And we are that woman with the issue of blood who's waiting for a drop of oil to come off the hem of his garment. Oh, if I could just touch the hem of his garment. Lord, give me your spirit. Open the eyes of my understanding. Enable me to see that the shepherd has come through the door. Open up your word. And Lord, don't let me be deceived by thieves and robbers. They're so clever. They're so deceitful. They will rest the scripture to their own destruction and they will take you down with them.

But when the spirit of God enables you to see Christ in the scriptures, you know that the porter has opened the door and that there's no other way in. And then he proves himself as the good shepherd by causing the sheep to recognize him, to hear his voice, and to follow him. I said that this is a parable that is given to illustrate what was done in John chapter 9. The Pharisees didn't hear his voice. Tell us plainly, I've told you already, but you can't believe me because you're not my sheep. You can't hear my voice. The blind man heard him. Who is he, Lord, that I might believe? You both see him, and he that speaketh to you is he. And he fell at his feet and worshipped him. He heard his voice, and he bowed, and he worshipped.

God's people hear his voice. Levi, that's Matthew, wrote the gospel of Matthew. He was a tax collector. He was sitting at his table, had a lucrative business, making a good profit. Tax collectors were despised by the Jews, why? Because they were lining their pockets the wealth of their brethren. They'd sided with the Romans. Matthew, follow me. And immediately he got up, he left it all, and he followed Christ. Zacchaeus, make haste. Make haste and come down, for today I must abide in thy house." And he made haste, and he came down, and he received him joyfully into his home.

You see, if one responds to the gospel by saying, well, you know, I need to think about this. Well, you know, maybe tomorrow. You know, good point, but you know, I'm just, I'm not ready. And heard his voice. What's the evidence of hearing his voice? You make haste. You make haste, you come down. So many are like those that were with Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. They heard a voice, they heard a sound, but they saw no man. But Saul heard and he saw. And he said, Lord, what would you have me to do? And his life was turned completely around that very moment, that very moment. I don't know if I heard his voice. Lord, what would you have me to do? I didn't have a choice about this. I was made to make haste. I was made like Mary Magdalene. You remember Mary went to the open tomb. And she saw the Lord Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. She thought he was the gardener. And she said, sir, if you've taken his body, tell me where it is, then I might go get it. And the Lord Jesus said, Mary, Mary. He just spoke her name, Mary. Oh, Rabboni. And she clinged to him. She fell at his feet. Oh Lord, I thought you were dead. No, you go tell the disciples and tell Peter too.

He knows his sheep by name and they hear his voice. This call is, it's irresistible. It's effectual. It's a call that cannot be denied. It's invincible. All that he foreknew, all that he chose according to his own sovereign will and purpose in the covenant of grace, he did predestinate to be conformed to his son. And all that he did predestinate, he called. Now there's an outward call that goes to all men. Like the Lord Jesus made in John chapter 9 to these Pharisees in the temple, an outward call was given. If any man thirsts, let him come unto me. The outward call is given. Many are called. Few are chosen. The inward, effectual, irresistible, invincible call of grace happens in the heart when, like Mary, we follow at his feet. Like Lazarus, we come down with haste. Like Matthew, we follow him. Like Peter, we say, Lord, what would you have me to do? Lord, I can't deny. I can't deny what you've spoken.

This call means coming out from among them and be you separate. In the Old Testament, Moses set the tabernacle outside the camp. And the pillar of smoke representing the presence of God was at the tabernacle outside the camp. And if anyone was to worship, he had to go outside the camp. The Lord Jesus went outside, crucified on Calvary's cross to satisfy God's justice. and to accomplish the salvation of his people. And the Lord says unto us, come out. Come out of religion, come out of works, come out of free will, come out of all of that. How do I know I've heard his voice? I've come out, I can't go back. Most people, most religious people, most people who have some understanding at least, at least human understanding of the Bible, will listen to what we preach and they will not be able to discern the difference between what they heard back in free will works religion and they can easily leave this message and go back there, come back here, go back there, no difference, no difference. That is evidence that they've never heard his voice. If you've heard the voice of God, you can't go back. You don't wanna go back. The last thing you wanna do is hear someone tell lies about your savior, about your Christ, about the one whom the porter opened, the one who called you by name, the one who brought you out of religion to follow Christ.

Marks. of the shepherd. He entered the sheepfold by the door. The porter opened up to him. He called every one of his sheep by name and they followed him. They followed him. They looked to Christ alone for their life. and for all their salvation. God, Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life we know and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. How do you know that? Because the porter opened for you and the porter opened for me and I heard your voice and I've got nowhere else to go. The Lord is my shepherd.

Tom. 326 in the hard back tendon. Let's stand together, 326.