And the title of our message
this morning is a most precious claim, a most precious claim. Our Lord made some claims in
this chapter. And when we, you and I use in
our conversation, when we use the word I too much, it's usually
not a good thing. Because when speaking of ourselves,
there is the natural tendency to make I look better than I
really is. But when Christ our Lord speaks
of himself, such is not the case. He never implies more or less
of himself. than he really is. His claims
are true claims. In this chapter alone, John chapter
10, Christ used the personal pronoun I 30 times. Now, I know I lost some of you
right there. You're going to quit listening to me and start
counting. Well, don't bother. They're in there. 30 I's, okay? But Christ does this to make
numerous claims of himself. For example, verse 1, I say,
my word is worth something. I say. Then I am, he makes that claim
repeatedly. Verse 9, I am the door. Verse
11, I am the good shepherd. Verse 36, I am the son of God. And then in verse 15, I lay down
my life. Verse 16, I have other sheep. Also in verse 16, I must bring
those sheep. Verse 25, I told you. Also verse 25, the works I do.
Verse 27, I know. Verse 28, I give. Verse 30, I and my Father are
one. And verse 32, I showed you. All these are claims, claims,
true claims of the Lord Jesus. We don't have to wonder whether
these things are true. They most certainly are. Oh,
that God would loose the chains of our blindness
bondage and unbelief to embrace the claims of the Son of God
as the claims of one who would never make a claim that is not
so. We can afford to believe Him, but by nature, so locked into unbelief, so many have the mindset
the concept of a struggling Christ who would like to do as much
as He can, as soon as He can, for as many as He can. Well,
I don't worship a God with any such handicap as that. No. Modern religious thought is not
the least bit encouraging to needy sinners. Very discouraging. Very discouraging. I'll tell
you this before we get into it. I heard a story about a fella,
and this is kind of true to life, religious life. Heard about a
fella climbed out on the ledge of a tall building and he was
just about ready to jump, take his life, had so many problems,
things wrong, and a policeman climbed up there, went out on
the roof of the building, climbed out on that ledge where the fellow
was to plead with him. And the policeman said to him,
please don't do it. He said, listen to me. He said, just give
me five minutes. Listen to me for five minutes.
And the fellow said, I'll listen to you for five minutes if you
listen to me for five minutes. And the policeman said, OK. So
the policeman, for five minutes, pleaded with the fellow. Don't
jump. Don't do it. When his five minutes
was up, the other fellow started. And for five minutes told him,
well, when his five minutes was up, they both jumped. Now that's kind of the hope there
is. in most religious mindset nowadays. But I'm glad to say our Lord
made some claims, very true claims. I'm going to speak about just
one of them in verse 16, which we're calling a most precious
claim, where Christ speaks these four words, You see that in verse 16 and
other sheep I have Which are not of this fold So I want us
to study this statement for a few minutes this morning other sheep
I have And I want to consider four things three quickly and
then a fourth one. We'll talk about a few minutes
First consider with me the symbolic character of those Christ has
claimed here He calls them sheep, sheep, other sheep. Of course, you know, this thought
runs all through the Bible, the Lord as the shepherd and his
people as sheep and the character of sheep studying that and knowing
that then when we read this statement, On the surface, it doesn't seem
altogether to be a compliment. Other sheep. Sheep are not smart in many ways. Stupid
in many ways. So if you wanted to take this
on the negative side, our Lord is saying other stupid children
I have besides you. Other sheep. I have. The character of sheep implies
helplessness in so many ways. Their eyesight is not good. They
can't see very far. They can't look very far ahead. Sounds a little familiar, doesn't
it? They get turned around. They
get confused at the slightest distraction and don't know which
way to go. That sounds a little familiar,
don't it? Sheep are defenseless. They have
many enemies, but they have no weapons to fight with. They're
no match for all they have to face on a daily basis, the thorns
and the thickets. They're no match for the swift
flowing streams. They're no match for the wolves
and all the wild beasts that would devour them. They're no
match for the fears of all kind that overwhelm them, the little
sounds in the distance and little sounds in the woods that would
frighten them. Don't know what that is, where
it's coming from, but it's frightening. Sheep are no match for any obstacle
in the world. And God's sheep are no match
for the obstacles in this world and for the devil himself. That truth is so familiar. All
Christ's sheep are feeble. Christ our Lord has no know it
all, I can do it all sheep. If you don't really need him,
You don't really know him. None of his sheep live with their
nose turned up, self-sufficient attitude. I've got all the bases
covered. I can do as I please. No sheep
don't have that character about them. So the character of those
Christ has claimed are very needy and helpless souls. I'm glad to be in that class. Secondly, note with me, not only
the character of those claimed sheep, but the circle of this
claim Christ makes. He reaches outside the ranks
of Judaism. And we see this in the word other,
other sheep I have. God could have sent His Son into
the world and changed the hearts of the Jewish world, the Hebrew
nation, and left us Gentiles where we were and gotten Him
glory in all of history and forever. God could have done that, but
He didn't. Paul said in Ephesians, Gentiles were without Christ. We were aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel. We are strangers from the covenants
of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. God
didn't leave us there. The apostle continued Ephesians
2.13, but now in Christ Jesus, you who sometimes were far off
are made nigh by the blood of Christ. He said, I have other
sheep, other sheep. Note also with me in verse 24,
he is speaking to Jews who came around about him. In verse 25,
Jesus answered them. It's to these Jews Jesus is speaking. And he says, other sheep I have
which are not of this fold. This fold is not just the Jewish
nation in general, the nation of Israel in general. No, they're
not sheep. They're not sheep. And he tells
them so on down in the 26th verse, ye are not of my sheep. So being
a natural Jew is not the deal here. That's not the fold he's
talking about. The phrase, this fold means true believers among
the Jews. So when Christ says other sheep
I have which are not of this fold, he's saying I'm reaching
beyond you, making reference to Gentile believers. The Jews
thought that the circle of God's people was drawn around them
only. But Christ profoundly states
here, the picture is far bigger than you guys Imagine it is. The circle of this claim, it
reaches not only outside national Israel, but even within national
Israel to those who had not yet believed when he spake these
words. He said, there's others that
belong to this flock that don't even know it yet. He's saying,
I know it, but they don't know it. And also this other sheep,
The time Christ speaks, the circle reaches the unborn every generation
from then till now to the end of the world, including you and
I. All God's people in every generation,
regardless of nationality, are part of this other sheep, other
than the feeble followers I have now, he's saying. There's plenty
more on their way. into the fold. Oh, I'm glad he
said this. I'm glad he said this, and I'm
glad to be one of them. Then a third thought here, not
only the character of these claimed, he calls them sheep, and the
circle of those claimed, other sheep, but there's in this statement
the certainty of those claimed. And we see this in the words,
I have. Other sheep I have. It's not I'd like to have, or
I wish I could have, or I hope to have. It is not our Lord saying I'm
trusting in the year 2014 I'll be able to convince a few more
to believe on me. No, it's not that. It's not any
maybe so, hope so, wishing, could be, might be. No, he says, I
have. Other sheep, I have, right when
he spoke the words. It's present tense. They're already
mine. I already have them. They don't
know it yet, but it's a certainty. Other sheep. I have. They don't have me yet, but I
have them. He said to David in the Old Testament,
I took you from the sheep coat. You were just a little boy out
there taking care of your father's sheep. You were mine. And I knew where you were. I
knew what you were doing. I knew all about you. before
I ever came for you. And later David testified to
that truth. Psalm 139, he said, Thou has
possessed my reins. Thou has covered me in my mother's
womb. My substance was not hid from
thee. When I was made in secret and
curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth, Thine eyes
did see my substance, yet being unperfect. And in thy book all
my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned,
when as yet there was none of them." David is saying, Lord,
you knew all about me before there was anything about me to
know. The Lord told Jeremiah the prophet
the same thing. Jeremiah 1 5 before I formed
thee in the belly. I knew thee Not while you were being formed
but before I Formed thee in the belly. I knew thee and ordained
thee a prophet Jeremiah was God's prophet Before he was born I was God's preacher before I
was born. You were God's child before you
hung out the stars. You just didn't know it. But
He did. He did. How blessed this is. How blessed this is. God was in on everything before
there was anything. Paul said in Galatians 1.5 concerning
himself, But when it pleased God, who separated me from my
mother's womb and called me by His grace to
reveal His Son in me, Paul said, God knew what He was doing way
back there. And I had, I didn't know anything about it, had no
idea. And Paul said, I never found
it out until just a while back, but God had decreed it. He'd
settled it before he made the world. And here in John 10, 16,
understand this is deity talking. This is the eternal sovereign
son of God making a claim. And what does he says? Other
sheep I have. Don't you wonder about it? Don't
you question it? It's a fact. Other sheep. I have. It's a certainty. They're
mine. And then the fourth thing I'd
talk about for a few minutes, the claim itself. What is the
basis of it? How could Christ say and say
with all certainty, other sheep I have? Now, if you listen to
the religious world today, he can't really know because He
don't know how many he's going to decide to choose and to decide
to believe on him, you know. No, no. How can he make this
statement with a certainty? Other sheep I have. Well, the
basis of it is twofold. First, Christ makes such a claim
on the basis of the father's gift. The father's gift. Turn with me back to the sixth
chapter, two or three pages, John chapter six. Christ can say other sheep I
have because my father gave them to me. John chapter six, verse
37. Now these are Christ's words.
Now listen to what he says, all that the father giveth me shall
come to me." Now this is not Adam's race. They're not coming. He doesn't say, and he does not
say, all that the Father giveth me can come to me. He says all, everyone that the
Father giveth me shall of a certainty. come to me." Oh my, same chapter,
John 6, verse 44. No man can come to me. This is Christ speaking now.
No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me
draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. Same chapter,
verse 65, John 6. And he said, therefore said unto
you that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto
him of my father. And the next verse, John 6, 66,
from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more
with him. They said, we don't want a God
that chooses his own family. We want a God that just puts
up a sign, children wanted. Not knowing if you'll ever have
any or not. Hoping somebody will be smart
enough to choose to be God's child. That's not what these
verses are saying. Men say we want a God that's
at our mercy. And he has to wait on us to decide
and choose if we want to be part of his family. No, Christ said, here's who my sheep are. All
that the father gave me. All those come to me because
all those he draws to me. Turn with me on over to the 17th
chapter of John, 17th chapter. And if you're, if you're not
familiar with this great chapter, this is just before the crucifixion.
And it's a, it's a, it's a prayer. It's the most blessed high priestly
prayer of our Lord. And seven times in this prayer,
talking to the father, He refers to them which thou hast given
me. I want you to look at it with
me. John 17 verse 2. As thou hast given him, Christ
talking about himself, the Son, power over all flesh, that he
should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. That's how many he came to save. Verse 6, I have manifested thy
name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. That's twice he said it. In the
very same verse, thine they were and thou gavest them me. That's three times. Verse 9, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me. That's four times. Verse 11, latter part of the
verse, Holy Father, keep to thine own name those whom thou hast
given me. That's five times he said it.
Verse 12, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in
thy name. Those that thou gavest me have
I kept. That's six times. Verse 24, Father,
I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where
I am. That's seven times Christ has
said, I am praying for those whom thou hast given me. So that's the first basis of
this claim, other sheep I have. I have them because my Father
gave them to me. He has my heart this morning,
not because I gave it to Him, but because He won it. He won
my heart. He loved me when I didn't love
Him, and He made His love known to me. He won my heart. He won my heart. Now I don't
want to sin against His love. I don't want to sin against Him
who loved me and died for me. We're His by gift of the Father. The second basis on which Christ
made this claim, other sheep I have, is His own purchase of the sheep,
the Son's purchase of the sheep. They're not only mine because
the Father gave them to me, But they fell in Adam. I must buy them back. I must
redeem them. How has he done this? Not with
silver and gold. Oh no. Back to John 10 now. Verse 11 says, here's how. I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd giveth his life. for the sheep verse 15 latter part of the verse
I lay down my life for the sheep verse 17 therefore does my father
love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again
no man taketh it from me but I lay it down on myself I have
power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father. Christ is saying that's
what I'm in this world to do. To give my life. To lay down
my life. To redeem my people. That's why
I came. Let me show you a verse in Matthew
1. Matthew 1. I guess you're all familiar with
this. If you're not, you should be. Matthew 1. This is part of
the Christmas story. You may hear this read the next
few days. Matthew 1 verse 21, the Lord is speaking to Joseph
about Mary and about the Christ child. And look carefully at
what he says, Matthew 1 21, and she shall bring forth a son and
thou shall call his name Jesus. Why on earth would he name him
Jesus? Because it means Savior. Savior. And that's what he's born to
be, is our Savior. And that's what he'll die to
do, is save. So the Lord said, call him this,
Jesus, Savior. Now watch the rest of this verse.
For, meaning because. Here's why you're to call him
Jesus, Savior. For he shall, without any doubt,
and that's what the word shall means, out of certainty, without
any doubt, he shall save. who shall he save? He shall save his people from
their sins. God does not say call his name
Jesus so he can try to save. Don't call his name Jesus so
anybody who decides to be one of his No, he says call his name
Jesus for he shall save those who are already and have been
from eternity, his people. He shall save his people. This verse does not say Christ
came to try to get him a people. No, it says he came for a people. They're his people before he's
ever born. That's what this is saying. You
say, well, that's too strong for me. Well, it's right in the
book, the Bible. You say, well, what's my part?
What's my part? He asked you this question. What was your part a hundred
years ago? in instructing a man that you
later called dad and a woman that you later called
mother? What was your part in instructing
them to get together and produce what you look at in the mirror
every morning? What was your part in that birth?
None. No part. So what's your part
in spiritual birth? None. Romans chapter 9. Turn there with me for a minute.
Romans chapter 9. Verse 10. Now Romans chapter 9 is a chapter
that a lot of so-called Baptists would just go ahead and tear
out of their Bible, because it don't say what they want it to
say. But I promise you this, it says
what it says, and it'll say it the next time you turn to it
too. Romans chapter 9 verse 10. When Rebecca had conceived by
Isaac, twins were in her womb. And Paul says here in verse 11,
For the children being not yet born, and you remember that story
if you go back to Genesis and read, that's Esau and Jacob is
who it is. The children being not yet born, neither having done either good
or evil. In other words, they hadn't grown
up to be cute little boys and everybody in the community talked
about which one's the good one and which one's the bad one.
which one I like and which one I don't like, and which one's
worth having and which one's not. No, no, no. God Almighty,
the children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, hadn't done anything right, hadn't done anything wrong,
that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand. that God's choice be the key, not of works, but of him that
calleth. Talking about who God is. It
was said unto her, that is, it was said unto Rebekah, before
there is ever born, the elder shall serve the younger. You say, now what right did God
have to give one the superiority over the other one before either
one of them had ever been born? Well, see, God don't bestow his
blessings according to our so-called deserving it. Before they're
born, look at the next verse, verse 13. Don't quit on me. As
it is written, God said, Jacob have I loved. And Esau have I
hated. When you look at Adam's race,
that God hated Esau is not the mystery. It's that God loved
Jacob. That's the mystery. And if you'd really be honest
about yourself and look in that mirror, it's not that God should
hate you. That's not the big mystery. but
that he should love you. That's the mystery. Other sheep
I have. Christ came, died for his people. For his people. To save his people
from their sins. I cannot conceive of one person
being in heaven that Christ never died for. Neither can you. Neither
can I conceive of one person being in hell that he did die
for. But according to modern thought,
it goes something like this. Somebody in heaven says, I'm
here because God loved me. And the fellow in hell says,
well, he loved me too. Now this is what's being taught
in our country. The fellow in heaven says, Christ
died for me. And the fellow in hell says,
well, he died for me too. The fellow in heaven says, I'm here
because he redeemed me. He changed my heart. He changed
my life. He brought me to love him. The fellow in hell has to say,
well, I'm here because I wouldn't let him do that for me. That's what's being taught now.
And then the fellow in heaven says, I wouldn't let him either,
but he did it anyway. He redeemed me when I couldn't
redeem myself. He birthed me when I couldn't
birth myself. He changed my heart when I couldn't
change it myself. This precious claim of Christ. Other sheep I have. He's still
saying it today. Of all his people he's called
and changed and converted through the generations, throughout the world. He's not
through. He's still saying this today.
Other sheep I have. Someone this morning, you may
be longing in your heart to know. Oh, if only I knew that I'm one
of his sheep. Well, here's how you can know
two things. Goats never really want to be
sheep. Now, some of them want to be
religious. They want to be in the limelight. They want to run the church.
But they never really want to be sheep. They're goats. And secondly, you can know sheep
never really want to be goats. They don't fight and cuss and
bully to get to the ragweeds. and the
kudzu, and the tin cans. That's not sheep. That's goats. Sheep exert all their energy
to be near the shepherd. That's what they live to do every
day that they live, is to be near the shepherd. Because he's
leading them out shondering country that they're not familiar with.
He'll be doing the same thing for you in the morning When you
head out, you think, oh no, I got the bull by the horns. I know
all about my job. I know how to drive safely. It's other people I'm worried
about. I know all about it. I can handle it. I can handle
it. God's sheep can't handle it. I can't handle it. I'll need him as much in the
morning as I've ever needed him. The sheep say, dim as my sight
is, I want to be close enough to see Him. If I can be close enough to hear
Him speak, I'll struggle to get close enough
to smell the Shepherd. How wonderful would it be if
I could get close enough Brush up against his leg sometime today. The sheep in pursuit of their
shepherd. Which is in your heart this morning,
goat-like characteristics or sheep-like characteristics?
A most precious claim, other sheep. I'm so glad for this claim. that he's laid on me this morning,
aren't you? And he's not going to change his mind. The old songwriter
said, I am so glad that our Father in heaven tells of his love in
the book he has given. Wonderful things in the Bible
I see, lots of them. But this is the dearest, that
Jesus loves me. other sheep I have which are
not of this foal. Bless his holy name. Stand with
us.