I think on the bottom of one of the pages in your bulletin this morning, looks like it's the back page, you notice there's an announcement about having lunch next Sunday after services. So, hope you can be here for that. Before we begin, I'd like us to have a moment of prayer for Marvin Stoniker. Marvin had another seizure Friday and has been in the hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia. He's there this morning. Marvin pastors the church. They were here just a few weeks ago, I think. Somebody help me out. Yeah, yeah. I forgot the name of the town where the church is that he pastors, and I can't hear anybody, so it doesn't matter. You know what the name of the town is. It doesn't matter that I say it or not.

So let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that we're able to approach the throne of grace and find help in our time of need. Lord, we pray for our brother, those that that minister to him physically right now. We ask that you would give them understanding, help them to treat him. Lord, we know that you are the great physician We pray for your hand of healing. We pray for your hand of comfort to be on him and Glenda and the brethren there in West Virginia. Lord, that you would continue the work of a gospel witness, that you would do that for for the good of our brethren and for the glory of Christ. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Let's open our Bibles to John chapter 10. John chapter 10. I've titled this message, Eternally Secure. eternally secure. We'll begin reading in verse 27 in John chapter 10.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow 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. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."

Now, before we consider what our Lord is saying concerning the salvation of his people and the eternal hope that his people have in Christ. It's important for us to define the word eternal. So oftentimes we tend to think that when the scripture speaks of eternal life, that it's a life that begins at the point of regeneration and lasts forever. But that's not really the definition of eternal in the Bible. When the Bible speaks of eternity, it's talking about something that never had a beginning and never has an end.

Now our little minds are not at all capable of comprehending what that means. When we think of a life with no ending, that's hard enough. But when we think of life that had no beginning, that's impossible. That's impossible. For me, I must confess that it's impossible for me to consider eternity past.

But I know it's true because the scriptures declare it to be. And also because reason insist that something cannot come from nothing. So that there must be something that is self existent. Something that had no beginning in order for there to be anything here now. And we believe that that something is nothing less than the triune God Almighty.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the scripture says, whose name is holy, inhabit eternity. They inhabit. eternity. The eternal God is thy refuge. God himself is called eternal in Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 27, and underneath his everlasting arms is thy salvation. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The Lord swear and will not repent.

Thou art a priest. Now the father is speaking to his son. Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Now Melchizedek was that pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to whom Abraham paid tithes and the one who blessed Abraham. And the scripture says of Melchizedek that he had no father, nor mother, nor of any natural descent. And so Melchizedek appears as the priest of the Most High an appearance of Christ who is himself eternal.

When God speaks, when the Lord Jesus Christ here speaks to his people of eternal life, he's talking about that life of God that not only has no ending, but in fact had no beginning. David speaks of the covenant, that promise that God made to save a people as everlasting or eternal. When he says, God has made with me an everlasting covenant, and that covenant was ordered in all things, and that covenant was sure. And he goes on to say, this is all my salvation and all my desire. The point that I'm trying to make is that everlasting life is not something that begins when you decide to believe. Everlasting life is the life of God secured in an eternal covenant that was ordered in God's purpose and in God's decree and in God's design before time ever was.

It never had a beginning. And David said, this is all my salvation and this is all my desire. He began those last words by saying, although my house be not so with God, I cannot look to the tabernacle of my flesh. I cannot look to any work or decision that I ever did. I cannot look to the family that I raised. What a mess that was. I cannot look to any outward evidences. for the hope of my salvation.

I must look in faith to a covenant that God established in eternity past. It is an eternal covenant. It is an everlasting covenant. It is ordered by God and made sure by the Lord Jesus Christ in all things. This is all my salvation and this is all my desire. when the Lord Jesus speaks to his people about eternal salvation, a salvation that is secure.

He's speaking of a salvation that God has accomplished. In the book of Hebrews, redemption. Now we know that redemption, The purchase that the Lord Jesus made of his own precious blood for his people was performed at Calvary 2,000 years ago. And yet when the writer of Hebrews speaks of redemption, he calls it that he has secured for us an eternal redemption, an eternal redemption.

So the redemption that the Lord Jesus accomplished in the flesh was in the purpose and decree of God. Already secure in the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. It was fulfilled in time, but it was purposed of God in eternity. Eternally secure. The covenant is an eternal covenant. God is an eternal covenant. Salvation is an eternal salvation. Redemption is an eternal redemption. We have many things to experience in this life that are temporal. And often those things are difficult. There are afflictions that the Lord has sent for his children to experience. And yet here's our hope. Here's our hope.

2 Corinthians 4, verse 17 says, and I would never, I would never say to you in the midst of an affliction that your affliction is light. And I hope you would never say that to me. that we would be so insensitive to be lighthearted about one another's troubles. We're to bear one another's burdens. We're to pray for one another. We're to grieve when one another grieves.

That having been said, this is what God says. And he's the one that sent our afflictions. This is what God says, our light afflictions, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory, an eternal weight of glory.

I need a salvation that's eternally secure, one that I can't mess up, one that is performed wholly by God Almighty. From eternity past to eternity future, If there is any condition that God places on me to secure my salvation, I'll be lost. John said, God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life.

These things I've written unto you that you might know that you have eternal life." The life of God, life eternal. You read it, Scott, in John chapter 17. This is, and I love the way the Lord reverses the order of the words in John 17. Usually when we speak of eternal life, it's in that order, eternal life. But in John chapter 17, when our Lord as our intercessor and as our priest was praying to his father for us, he says, and this is life eternal. that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

To know Christ is to have life eternal. Let's go back to our text, John chapter 10, verse 27, my sheep, I hope that we can leave here this morning, I pray we can, with a good hope, a comfort, an assurance that this life eternal that the Lord Jesus Christ came to give is for me. This is my experience, this is what I believe, this is what I know to be true, this is This is what God the Holy Spirit has confirmed to my heart, my sheep, my sheep. This eternal life is for The sheep.

I pray not for the world. Again, John chapter 17. Father, I pray not for the world, but I pray for them which thou hast given me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou hast given them unto me. I have given them thy word, and I have kept them. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't pray for the world. He didn't die for the world. He laid down his life for his sheep. They belong to him. Oh, what a faithful shepherd he is. I said, well, how do I know if I'm one of his sheep?

Well, David said in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want of anything that I need in this life nor in the life to come as long as I have him. Now I'm paraphrasing that verse, but that's what David was saying. As long as I have Christ, I've got all I need in this life and in the life to come. And when God sends afflictions my way and causes me to worry about those things that are temporal, I find my hope in my shepherd.

Oh, what a faithful shepherd he is. His rod and his staff, they comfort me. This eternal life is for those who belong to him, those who are under his care, those for whom he takes full responsibility, those in whom we find our safety, our shepherd, my sheep, my sheep. Now, in all of David's shortcomings, he was an extraordinary shepherd.

He's a very young man, teenager, not old enough yet to enter into battle, when he went to take supplies to his brothers. You remember the story? Goliath, that great giant, was coming out every day and threatening the children of Israel and all the children of Israel saw David's brothers and all the strong men of Israel were hiding, afraid of that great giant. David shows up and he says, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that is blaspheming our God? I'll go against him.

For when I was caring for the shepherd, A lion came and God gave to me the strength to deliver the sheep out of the mouth of the lion. The lion had the sheep in its mouth and David went and by his hands took that little sheep out of the mouth of the lion. And then he says to Saul, This is in the context of Saul trying to get David to put on his armor. He said, well, if you're gonna go against that giant, you're gonna have to wear some armor. And David tried to put it on and he said, I've not tried this. This doesn't fit me. I don't feel comfortable in this.

But one thing I have tried is I have tried the strength and the grace of the Lord my God. And he enabled me to deliver from the jaws of the lion sheep. And then a bear came and took one of the sheep and I delivered out of the mouth of a bear the sheep and protected his life. I laid down my life for those sheep. And God gave me the strength to do it.

And we see in that such a glorious picture. What is the lion? That's Satan himself. That's sin and all the things that it brings into this life. He's like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And the Lord Jesus delivers his sheep from the jaws of the lion himself. of judgment because the prince of this world has been judged. We look to the accomplished work of the Lord Jesus on Calvary's cross and what he did in defeating Satan and in that grace we find deliverance from the very jaws of the lion. What does the bear represent? That's the strength of the law. What animal is more strong than a bear? Yet the Lord tells us the strength of sin is the law.

Men go about trying to establish their own righteousness by their obedience to the law, not knowing, ignorant of the righteousness of God, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it. The Lord Jesus came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it, and that's what he did. and we look to his perfect obedience to the law of God to deliver us from the jaws of the bear. Satan can't defeat us. The law cannot condemn us.

We have a shepherd, my sheep, my sheep. They're mine and I provide for them and I care for them and I keep them and I'll not lose one of them. Oh, that's an eternal security that I need. I need a shepherd because apart from him, the law would condemn me. The least jot or tittle of the law would condemn me. And the least temptation of the evil one would overwhelm me. I need a shepherd, my sheep. Do you have hope that this salvation, this eternal salvation, has been made sure and steadfast, that it's secure in a shepherd who cares for his sheep.

Look at verse 27. My sheep, they hear my voice. They hear what God has to say. They hear, this is my beloved son. Hear ye Him. They're not hearing opposing voices. They're not hearing a message that declares salvation is eternal and finished. and secured by the Lord Jesus, but there's something you need to do. No, my sheep hear my voice. And they follow me. Not they ought to follow me. They do follow me. They do follow me. Not some of them, all of them, without exception. Every one of them follows me. They hear my voice and they follow me.

Why does God's sheep follow Christ? Because the spirit of God has put it into their hearts to want to follow him. We're not being drugged to follow Christ against our will. He's made us willing in the day of his power and he's giving us a desire to follow after Christ.

Paul said, I've not yet apprehended that which has apprehended me, but this one thing I do, I forget those things which are behind and I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. That I might know him. I just wanna know Christ. I wanna know the power of his resurrection. I want to know that when he rose from the dead, that God raised him. And in that resurrection, there's proof that I've been justified, that he was offered up for my offenses and raised again because of my justification. I want to know something about the fellowship of his suffering. I want to know that when Christ died, I died and that God is satisfied with what the Lord Jesus accomplished on Calvary's cross. I just need to know more of him. They follow me. They look for him in the scriptures. They delight in worshiping him with his people. They seek his guidance in their daily activities. They cry out to him in their time of need.

And they'll not follow another man. unless that man is pointing them to Christ. Unless that man can say with the apostle Paul, follow me as I follow Christ. The only way they'll follow the leadership of another man is if he's pointing them to Christ. They're following Christ. They'll not be distracted from following after him. What does this really mean to follow Christ?

Turn to me to John chapter 13. Does it mean that we never falter? Does it mean that we never look away and lose sight of Him? John chapter 13, verse 36. And before we read these verses, let me remind you that the chapter divisions were placed there by the translators. In the original text, there are no chapter divisions. So chapter 14 flows directly from what the Lord just said in chapter 13.

Verse 36, Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither thou goest? Where are you going? He just told them he was gonna leave them. Where are you going? And Jesus answered, whither I go, you cannot follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards. And Peter said to him, Lord, why can not I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Now in another place, Simon Peter said, when the Lord told him that they were going to forsake him, they were all gonna run away. Simon Peter looked at the other disciples and he said, they might, but not me. Not me, I'm gonna follow you to the bitter end. And if you're gonna die, I'm gonna die with you. Well, we know what happened. We know what happened. Verse 38, this is what happened. Jesus answered him, wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?

You gonna follow me to the bitter end, Peter? Truly, truly, barely, barely, I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow in the morning till thou hast denied me three times. But let your heart not be troubled. Brethren, the Lord is saying to me and you, As often as you might find yourself acting like Peter, denying the Lord in your thoughts, in your words, in your deeds, let not your heart be troubled.

Why? You believe in God? Believe also in me. For in my Father's house are many mansions, dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. What is it to follow Christ? It is to set your affections on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Abraham, the Bible says, believed God. and God counted it to him for righteousness. And Abraham followed Christ. When he left to the earth of the Chaldees, he didn't know where he was going. Oh, and Abraham made a lot of stumbles along the way. At one point, he denied Sarah being his wife in fear that Abimelech was going to kill him. He said, she's not my wife. She's my sister. You can have her.

Abraham believed God? And yet here's what the scripture says about Abraham's faith. He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder, architect, and maker, the one who actually constructs the building, the city, whose builder and maker is God. Now there were a lot of cities in Abraham's day that he could have settled in, but he had his heart set on that city, that eternal city where his God resided.

What is it to follow Christ? If we take these verses that we just read from John chapter 13 and John chapter 14, the Lord Jesus is saying to you and me, set your heart not on the things of this world, but set them on things above. What a difference it makes when heaven is our goal. What a difference it makes. When God sets our affections on where the Lord Jesus is and puts it in our hearts to want to be where he is, all of a sudden, everything in this world, the troubles of this world, the afflictions of this world, they take on a whole different meaning. Following Christ, brethren, is wanting to be where he is. It's wanting to be where he is. And the truth is that that day is going to come for every one of us a lot sooner than we think.

You know, we laugh at our little children because they act as if Ten minutes in the corner of time out is a lifetime. And as we get older, time does get a little shorter, but it's still stretched out pretty good. As we get closer and closer to the end of life, we realize how brief it is. What is your life?

It is but a vapor. It is but a vapor. But here's your hope. I go and prepare a place for you. Now, when the Lord Jesus took his rightful place at the right hand of the majesty on high, everything that God required for heaven to be prepared for us was settled. It was settled right then, right there. They follow after me. Go back with me to our text. John chapter 10, verse 28, and I give them eternal life. This eternal life is a gift.

Can't do anything to earn it. Can't do anything to lose it. It's not wages paid for work done. It's not merited as a prize for our performance. It's not won as a crown for our achievements. It's not the result of a decision that we make. It is the gift of God. Now, something very important I have to show you here. We've looked at it before, and you know it's true. Turn with me to John chapter 1, because some will say, well, yeah, I know it's a gift of God, but don't we need to receive it? Don't we need to do something?

God's offering the gift to all men. The Bible says in John chapter 1, that he came unto his own, verse 11, and his own received him not. But to as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Don't I have to believe on his name? Don't I have to receive Christ? in order to have this life eternal? Isn't there something I need to do to contribute to this gift? Well, look at the next verse.

Who were born? Who were born? Not of blood, nor the will of flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. They weren't born because of their descent. That's blood. They weren't born because of their decision. That's the will of the flesh. They weren't born because of their dedication. That's the will of man. They were born of God.

And the reason why they received Christ And the reason why they believed on him is because God birthed them spiritually into his kingdom. Is there any eternal life without believing on Christ? Absolutely not. But believing on Christ is not the cause of eternal life. It's the evidence of the new birth. It's the evidence of the new birth. Faith is just the evidence that God's done a work of grace in your heart. That's what it is. No child of God would ever boast in their faith. Or when they believed, or when they decided, or when they invited Jesus into their heart, they would never boast in that.

God gave me faith. He birthed me who were born. I give unto them eternal life. That eternal life is in Christ. It's eternal and it's evidenced. It's evidenced by faith. Now, one final point that I must make in John chapter 10, if you go back there with me for a moment, please. Verse 28, and they shall never perish. They shall never perish.

Now, the word never in the English language is a conjunction of two words, no and ever, or not and ever. And so we put the two words together, not ever, and we come up with the word never. Interesting thing is in the original language of the New Testament, those words are not only separated but emphasized. And so this word that we have translated never in the English language is actually in the original language, no, not, ever. With emphasis on the no, not, ever. That's glorious to me, because what do we say? What do we say? Here's what we say. Never say never. Never say never. How many times you've ever said never and something changed? Your understanding changed? Your circumstances changed? Your ability changed? I'm never going to do that. You did it anyway. I'll never not do it. Never say never. Why? Because we're so prone to change and we don't know the future. And that is not true of God. He cannot lie. He cannot change. And when he says, no, not ever, nothing can change that. Nothing can change that. Faith is rooted in trust.

When God Almighty, who cannot change and cannot lie, and has purposed everything that shall ever be, and never has a plan B, he never has a plan B. It's not, well, I'll do that. No. He is fulfilling in time what he had decreed in eternity, And he says, no, not ever. Turn with me to John chapter 6, verse 37. I just have to show you another place where this word in the original language, with great emphasis, great emphasis in the original, it's like, no, not ever. God's saying that. Look at John chapter six, verse 37.

All that the father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I will no not ever cast them out. Now for years I read that verse and I thought, well, the promise here is that if we come to Christ, he'll not turn us away. And that's true. That's true. If any man comes to Christ, it's because God's put it in his heart to come to him. But that's not what the Lord Jesus is saying. He's saying, if the Father has given you to me, you're gonna come to me and you will never, ever, ever, ever be cast away from me. Your salvation is eternally secure.

I have made it so. Oh, what a glorious salvation. What a glorious God. Our Heavenly Father, thank you for your precious promises. Thank you for your Holy Spirit. Thank you for faith that enables us to hang all the hopes of our immortal soul on thy dear son. Lord, keep us. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Number 12 in the Spiral Hymnal. Let's stand together.