John chapter 10. The Lord commanded the prophet
Isaiah to comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Comfort my people. I believe,
I believe that God's given me a message, if he will allow me
to preach it, will be a means of comfort to your hearts. a
means of comfort to your hearts. I want to speak to you on this
subject, the security. We read about it just now, throughout
this chapter. The security of Christ's sheep. Christ's sheep. He said it over
and over. The sheep of Christ shall never
perish. Not his true sheep. Not, no,
not one. No, not one. They'll never perish. Oh, Larry, how can that be? Because
of their shepherd. Because of the shepherd. He's
the one that says so, isn't he? Look again, this will be our
text, verses 27 and 28. These are the words of the great
shepherd of his sheep. He says this, he's speaking of
every one of his sheep. Every one of those that God Almighty
is holding him responsible for. every one of his sheep, God the
Father, put into his hands before the world was ever created. Salvation
is on purpose. Salvation is not an afterthought. The fall of Adam did not take
God by surprise. Before Adam fell, Jesus Christ
stood as the surety of his sheep and he agreed in that Wonderful,
everlasting covenant of grace to do everything God Almighty
required for his sheep. Now people don't like it. Usually
those who don't want to give man credit for his own salvation,
but salvation is of the Lord. I love free grace, don't you?
Nothing less than that will help me. Christ makes this promise
to his sheep. Verse 27, here in John 10, my
sheep, hear my voice, and I know them. Now that's not true of
everybody. Of course, the Lord Jesus Christ
is omniscient. He has knowledge of everything
and everyone, but he's speaking here of an intimate way, a way
of love. I know them, and they follow
me, and I give them eternal life. And here it is. I don't know
how words could be any plainer. And they shall never perish. They shall never perish. I'll
tell you what, those words, before I've ever opened my Bible, I
knew where they were, but before I ever actually looked at my
Bible and read them, the Lord spoke these words to my heart.
Larry, they shall never perish. Man, that's encouraging, isn't
it? No matter what, they shall never perish. No matter what
they go through, they shall never perish. Neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand. First of all, notice. The security
of his sheep, the sheep that Christ speaks of here, it's the
security of the sheep, his people, not every church member, not
everyone that's made a profession. By the way, there's an excellent
article in your bulletin about Scott Richardson, about where
are you, where are you? There are more people, there
are more people. I know people hear that and they
say, oh, Larry, you're just narrow-minded. Well, so be it. But there are
more people hiding from God in churches, I think, in religion
than anywhere else. It's not to those that the promise
is given. It's not to everyone that's made
a decision. It's not everyone that's trotted up an island when
they were six years old and got scared because they watched some
silly movie called The Burning Hell and didn't want to go to
hell and got pumped into a decision and now they can't hardly have
a memory of it. It's not everyone who's done something religious.
No, it's the sheep. Christ says, my sheep, and they
have some identifying marks. We'll talk about that in a minute.
It's the security of his sheep that he speaks of. Let me give
you a word here from my pastor. My pastor. I still refer to him
probably more than I do anyone else, Bobby, in my studies and
so forth. But Brother Don, it was three
years ago yesterday that God called him home. Three years
ago. But he wrote this, he says, when
God's saints are at their very worst condition in this world.
In the world, our great shepherd said, you'll have tribulation.
Don't think otherwise. But Don said, when God's saints
are in their very worst condition in this world, having no sweet
tokens and evidences of grace, believing Christ they have every
reason, their only reason for assurance. Christ is still, I
like this, Christ is still our beloved, and we are still beloved
of him. And Don gives scriptures, the
Song of Solomon, John's Gospel, in several places, and he says,
read these and see this for yourself. And how much would that apply
to our text? In the Song of Solomon, Don referred
to some verses, but they said this, the bride said of the Lord
Jesus Christ, Her bridegroom, he's altogether lovely. He's
altogether lovely. That means there's no spot or
blemish in him. There's no defect in him whatsoever. And she said, this is my beloved.
that one who's altogether lovely, that one who has no fault, that
one who perfectly obeyed God in his life and in his death,
that one who right now appears in the presence of God for us,
he is perfect. That's my beloved. That's my
beloved. And he is my friend, she said. Oh, what a friend. What a friend,
he sticks closer than a brother. The psalmist said, when mother
and father forsake me, yet the Lord shall take me up. Another
place, he said, I once was young. Just about all of us can say
that here, can't we? I once was young, but now I'm
old. And David said, but I'll tell you this, I've never in
one time in my life, I've never seen God's people forsaken or
his seed begging bread. Why? Because they have a good
shout. They have a faithful shepherd. I know my sheep. That is, I've
loved them. I've always loved them. I laid
down my life for them because I love them. I came into this
world sent by the Father because I love them. He loved them until
the end. I love this song. I am his and
he is mine. Bobby used to sing it. That one
in the Be thou my vision, I would ask Bobby probably more than
the others to sing. But a couple of verses of I am
his and he is mine goes like this. Loved with an everlasting
love. Well, this just kind of makes
sense, doesn't it? If God doesn't change and he
loves me today, he must have loved me before today. I mean,
he didn't just decide to begin loving me. There's never been
a time he didn't love his people. Loved with an everlasting love.
Led by grace that loved to know. Led by grace that loved to know. Oh, that's sweet, isn't it? That's
sweet, to know that He loves me. He loves me. Oh, I may not
understand all of His dealings with me in providence, but I
know He loves me. I may not understand dark providences,
May not understand the reason for much of what happens in our
lives, but I know this, it's not because he doesn't love me.
Oh, the very opposite. Spirit breathing from above,
thou has taught me it is so. Oh, this full and perfect peace.
Oh, this transport all divine. In a love which cannot cease,
I am his and he is mine. Where is she? His forever, only
his. who the Lord in me shall part,
who shall pluck them out of my hand. Oh, with what a rest of
bliss Christ can fill the longing heart. Heaven and earth may fade
and flee, firstborn light in gloom decline, but while God
and I shall be, I am his and he is mine. Now that will float
your boat. Child of God, that should float
your boat. But while God and I shall be,
I am his and he is mine. The prophet said, The Lord hath
appeared of old unto me. This is in Jeremiah 31 and verse
3. The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. So what? So what? What's that worth? Huh? If he loved Judas, it didn't
help him keep him out of hell, did it? No, no, it didn't help
Esau, did it? I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore, therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn
thee, therefore. Oh, don't you like that? If God
loves his people, and he does, there's therefore, and therefore,
and therefore, infinite, infinite. Therefore, he does everything
for his people. Therefore, he chose them in Christ.
I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, he sent his
son to redeem us. I have loved thee. Therefore,
he called us by his grace. Therefore, he will keep us and
preserve us. And therefore, because he has
loved us, will present us without fault before the throne of a
holy God himself. Therefore, we shall hear him
say, enter into the joy prepared for you before the foundation
of the world. Why, therefore, I have loved
thee. And with loving kindness I have drawn thee. Therefore,
people tell us, those who think God loved everyone, they hear
someone say that, oh, I can't stand that. Oh, I just can't
stand, I can't abide that kind of preaching. You mean to tell
me God doesn't love everybody? You mean Jesus didn't die for
everybody? You mean to tell me God's not giving everybody a
chance to be saved? That's exactly what I'm saying.
That is dishonoring to God. If God Almighty's purpose was
to save every man, and Jesus Christ died for every man, they're
both miserable failures. Because all are not saved, are
they? No, Christ laid down his life for the sheep. Like it or
not, get mad about it or not, that's what he said. I came to
give my life for the sheep. Therefore, I've loved them. I've always loved them. Therefore,
I won't interfere with their free will. Oh, no, no. I love them, therefore, I do
have the power to save, but I just can't do anything if they won't
allow me to do it. Oh, no, what kind of love is
that? What kind of love is that? And what difference would such
a love as that make? No, thank God, Jesus Christ loved
me. He loved me and proved it. He gave himself for me. Thank
God that nothing shall separate me from the love of God, Where
is it? It's in Christ Jesus. God would
have to cease to love his son before he can cease loving me.
You see how impossible even such a notion sounds? Oh, in 1 John
chapter 3, the apostle said, Now behold, behold, O child of
God, I was going to say we, me. I'll behold my trials. I want to just stop and stare
at the waves. And the only thing that can do
is just sink me down, discourage me, make me low. Oh, but John
says, no, no, no, behold this. Don't behold the storm. Behold
him who walks upon the storm. Behold, behold. Remember this,
child of God. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed, not just teased you with, but actually
bestowed upon you, that we should be called the sons of God." Wow! Now, would you rather be called
the son of the wealthiest man? I don't know who it might be. The son of a Celebrity? The son of a billionaire? No,
no, no. Oh, my soul, that fades into
nothing compared to this. God's people are called sons
of God. Oh, behold that. Isn't that a
wonder? Now, if you can get over that,
you can go ahead and try to something else. But have you gotten over
that? Is that not still a wonder to
you? Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon
me? On me? I could more understand bestowing
it upon someone else, but me? God loved me? He put me into
Christ's hands? Jesus Christ loved me and gave
himself for me? Jesus Christ intercedes for me?
God Almighty, the Son of God, wants me with Him in glory? Man,
that's worth beholdin'. Behold what manner of love. Beloved,
now are we the sons of God. Right now. God's sons. His children. Every believer, every one that's
his sheep. And it doth not yet appear what we shall be, oh no,
far from it, but we know when he, Christ, shall appear, that
one that was made like unto his brethren, that one that God is
pleased to make his church like, when he shall appear, we shall
be like him. Oh, there's heaven. There's heaven. But we shall see him as he is. Yes, Jesus Christ loved the church. He laid down his life, as we
read here, for his sheep. In John 13, not long after this,
John 13 in one, now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus
knew, oh, how he knew, that his hour was come, that he should
depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his
own, which were in the world, He loved them until the end. Man, that just seems like a blanket
promise, doesn't it? I mean, I don't see any buts
in there. He'll love them if they obey.
Oh, He'll cease to love them if they fall. He'll cease to
love them if they deny Him like Peter did shortly after our Lord
said, no, no, no, no. He loved them until the end.
There is nothing Billy Cobb, there is nothing you can ever
do that will make God quit loving you. Now, how about that? Now, a mere religionist, a professor,
not a possessor of grace, but just a professor of knowing the
shepherd, they'll take that and just, oh, you're giving people
a license to sin. Oh, no. Johnson, everyone that
has this hope in him, what does he do? He purifies himself. even
as he that is Christ is pure. Before the feast of the Passover,
knowing that all things that should come upon him, having
loved his own which were in the world, he loved them until the
end. Verse 14, here in John 10, I
am the good shepherd. I know my sheep. I know my sheep. I know everything about my sheep.
I know their needs. I know their thoughts. I know
everything about him. True sheep, here in verse 27,
he says, my sheep hear my voice. My sheep hear my voice. Now that's
a distinguishing mark of his sheep. That makes them different
from the mere religionists, the mere professor. My sheep hear
my voice. Not everyone does, do they? His
sheep do. Look at what he said in verse
26 of John 10. I know we read it, but he's speaking
to those Jews, Pharisees. And he said, you believe not
because you're not my sheep. Wow. Well, my soul. You believe not because you're
not my sheep, as I said unto you. For Christ's sheep, he said,
they hear his voice. And when he calls them by name,
they follow him. Christ's sheep will never perish. When that great shepherd calls,
they hear. What happened when the great
shepherd of the sheep, when the good shepherd who laid down his
life for his sheep, what happened that day when he stood before
the tomb of Lazarus? He'd been dead for four days. And yet the Lord stood there
and said, Lazarus, come forth. What happened? Lazarus heard
his voice. And he came forth. We read that
in the very next verse. He that was dead, he's not dead
anymore. Because with that command went
power. And Lazarus became willing in
the day of that power. And he that was dead came forth.
And that's a picture of what sinners are by nature. Paul said
in Ephesians 2, you have He quickened. He's given life to you. You're
not saved because you took the first step. You're not saved
because you made a decision. You're not saved because you
reached in and tried to pull faith out. No, you're saved because
the Son of God came to where you were, saw you as you were,
and said, live. That's exactly why we have faith. It's a gift of God's precious
grace. I'm so thankful that salvation
is of the Lord, aren't you? Aren't you? That's another blessed
truth of God's word that this religious world grits their teeth
at. Well, just let them grit. I'm thankful for it, aren't you?
Salvation is of the Lord. I'm thankful. I'm thankful that
it's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth. I'd
never be saved if that was so, but it's of God that showeth
mercy. Thank God that though salvation
is impossible with men, it's not impossible with God. That's
what Jesus Christ said, isn't it? The other day, as we often
do, Robin and I were speaking about our children, our loved
ones. They don't know God. They just
don't know God. Some of them are religious, but
they don't know God. They went through religious traditions
and so forth, but they don't know God. And naturally, she
expressed her concern for her son, grandchildren, and so forth. And so do I. But I reminded Robin,
and I needed reminded of it too, don't you? They can ignore her voice, and
they can ignore my voice. Oh, but if the great shepherd
speaks to them, they're not going to ignore his voice. They can
turn a deaf ear to me. Oh, but when Jesus Christ says
live, when he speaks to them, they shall live. Look what he
said in verse 16. Oh, I love this, don't you? All through
this chapter, and of course this is true of every time the Lord
spoke, every record we have of whatever he said, it's always
certain. There's no chance involved. There's
no doubts about this. Look what he says in verse 16
again. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them
also I must bring, I must bring, and they shall hear my voice. Oh yes, they shall hear my voice,
and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Remember that time
when our Lord, the great shepherd of the sheep, was on the trail
of one of his sheep? found him up a tree, didn't he?
Jesus passed through Jericho on purpose. There was a multitude
of people. That's why that little short
fellow climbed up that tree, Zacchaeus, so he could get a
view of Christ. Oh, but Christ saw him way before
he saw Christ. And he came to that very spot.
Well, I declare it was Zacchaeus' lucky day, wasn't it? Oh, no.
This was the great shepherd. And he came to that very spot.
He stopped right there and looked up. Not at everyone. He looked
up at Zacchaeus and said, Zacchaeus, today I must abide in your house. And afterwards, he said, the
Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. That was another demonstration
of Christ's power to save. He must seek His sheep because
they'll never seek Him. If left to themselves and glory
to His name, Everyone he seeks, he finds. He'll never fail. He'll never fail. And everyone
he finds, he saves. And everyone he saves, he keeps. And everyone he keeps, he will
present before God Almighty without fault. Everyone he brings to
grace, he's going to bring to glory. Everyone that tastes his
grace are going to taste glory. There's no possibility. that
it should be otherwise. Each time he seeks and saves
one of his redeemed ones, we read that he shall see him to
develop his soul and be satisfied. In Luke 15, again it was these
self-righteous folks looking down their nose. Can you picture
that? Our Lord is mixing, mingling
with publicans and sinners, the riffraff. And the Pharisees,
if they brushed against them on the street, they'd go home
and burn their clothes. And they're looking at that.
Oh, they just look down their nose and they say, hey, hey,
psst, psst, come here. Your master, he's eating with publicans and
sinners. Now what's that tell you? And Christ said, let me
tell you something. I not only eat with them, I search
for them. And I keep searching until I
find them. And when I find them, I'm happy about it. I rejoice. I find my sheep and I put them
on my shoulders and I bring them all the way home and I'm happy
to do it. I rejoice all the way. Every time Jesus Christ calls
one of his own to himself by his mighty grace and gives them
life and faith in him, he rejoices because once again he's seeing
of the travail of his soul what he suffered for and he's satisfied. He's satisfied. That's what the
prophet said in Isaiah 53. He shall see of the travail of
his soul, his suffering, the wrath of God he endured,
and he'll be satisfied for the reason of it. Hebrews 12, isn't
it? For the joy that was set before
him, he endured the cross, the joy of bringing many sons to
glory. All that the Father giveth me,
he said, shall come to me. And him that cometh unto me I
will in no wise cast out. Look again at this clause in
verse 27. And I know them. I know them. He's loved them from eternity
and he will love them for eternity. What a comforting thought. Jesus
loves me. And they follow me, it says. I know them and they follow me. The sheep prove that they've
heard the voice of their great shepherd by following him. And
those who don't follow Christ prove that they've never heard
his voice. I won't back up on that, and
I won't apologize. That's what the Word of God says.
It makes no difference how loudly someone professes to know God.
If they don't follow him, if they don't worship him, if they
don't bow to the Son of God, I don't want to hear what they
claim, what they've experienced, what they know or don't know.
If they don't follow the Lord Jesus Christ, they've never heard
his voice. They've never heard his voice.
They don't know God. They're lost. They're lost. There's
just no question about that. I don't read that any other way.
Do you? My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
me. Yes, we may stumble often. And
we may follow afar off. and will suffer for doing so,
as Peter did, but they still follow their shepherd. Verse
28, here in John 10, And I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
The sheep's security, you see, depends on the shepherd. Their
safety is not dependent upon them, it's the shepherd. They're
not responsible to keep themselves, the shepherd is. They can't keep
themselves from falling, but the shepherd does. The shepherd
does everything for his sheep. The shepherd's responsibility
is to provide for their sheep. Oh, that's why the true sheep
shall never perish. The shepherd just won't allow
that to happen. We read it, didn't we? No one can pluck them out
of my hand. Let me share this with you. It's
getting a little warm in here. This is from the biography of
Charles Spurgeon. If I'm not mistaken, he wrote
this when he was a young man. or looking back when he was first
converted. He said, I can't comprehend a
gospel which lets saints fall away after their calling, and
suffer the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation
after having once believed in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor. If ever it should come to pass
that sheep of Christ might fall away, my fickle, feeble soul
at last would fall a thousand times a day. Spurgeon said, if
one dear saint of God had perished, so might I. If one of the covenant
ones be lost, so may all. And then there is no gospel promise
true, but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth
my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once
when I can believe that a saint of God can fall away finally. If God had loved me once, then
he will love me forever. God has a master mind. He has
arranged everything in his gigantic intellect long before he did
it. And once having settled on it, he never alters it. This
shall be done, he said, and the iron hand of destiny marks it
down and is brought to pass. This is my purpose, and it stands.
Nor earth nor hell can change it. Has he told me that his purpose
is to save me? If so, I am forever safe. My name, from the palms of his
hands, eternity will not erase. Impressed on his heart, it remains
and marks of indelible grace. Yes, his sheep shall sorrow."
There's not a promise contrary to that. Oh, no. He promised
that they would. His sheep will sorrow, but they'll
never perish. His sheep will weep many a tear,
but they'll never perish. Christ's sheep will be tried,
tried severely, but they'll never perish. Every one of his sheep
knows what it is to cry out with Paul, O wretched man that I am,
but they'll never perish. Is that not so? My sheep hear
my voice, and they follow me. I know them, and I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand." I read a brief quote by Brother
Don. Let me share. share another one
with you by another one of my favorite brethren that are now
with the Lord and yours, Brother Henry Mayhem. Henry is referring
to this verse, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. The
Lord is my shepherd. Henry said, what a promise. What
a glorious inheritance. What a blessed comfort. Walk
in it, believer. Lie down upon it. Trust in it. Rest upon it. It will do for
all the days of your life and be a soft pillow for your death. The Lord is my shepherd. When
the news is not good, when your body is tired, when disappointment
and doubts fill your mind, when the flesh is weary and weak and
you lie up on your bed staring into the sleepless darkness asking
yourself, what shall I do? What shall I do? Henry said,
hum to yourself these blessed words, the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. Those words will be like a lullaby
to your soul and you shall find rest. Let me close by quoting
another old hymn, Fanny Crosby. Someday this silver cord will
break and I no more as now shall sing. but all the joy when I
shall wake within the palace of the king. And I shall see
him face to face and tell the story saved by grace. And I shall
see him face to face and tell the story saved by grace. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead the Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd
of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant make
you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you
that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. May God enable us
to remember our great shepherd as we observe the Lord's Supper.
God bless you. Thank you for your attention.