In Old Testament times, in Christ's
day, and even today in some eastern countries, familiarity with shepherding
and tending sheep was far greater than our knowledge of
it today. Most of us have never been around
sheep that much, if at all, but the people our Lord was speaking
to in this passage that he just read were well acquainted with
the occupation and all the duties of it, the concerns of it, and
the character and behavior of sheep. Verse 6, God calls all this comparison
here that Christ made, the Holy Spirit, having recorded this
scripture, calls all this a parable. That is a visible and physical
example to present a spiritual truth. And verse 6 that he read
also says that they understood not what things they were which
he spake unto them. They thought he was just discussing
the work of a shepherd and the nature of sheep, which they already
knew. They didn't think he was telling
them anything they didn't know. And with that said, suppose I
should take you out here somewhere and start pointing out things
to you that you know as well as I do. I point and say, that
is a tree. And I point down at the ground
and I say, that is grass. You'd think I'm crazy. No wonder
they thought Christ was crazy. And verse 20 said that they said
this man's mad. He's he's mentally sick He hath
a devil Why hear you him? He ain't got nothing to say They
thought he was only Repeating things that were common knowledge
to everybody They did not understand the parable that he was making
they did not grasp the spiritual truth That he was giving through
this talking about the shepherd and sheep. And of course, such
is the attitude of unregenerate humanity today. And such is the
attitude of multitudes of unregenerate church members that sit in church
every Sunday. And if you could read their minds,
they're saying, I haven't the foggiest idea of what this is
all about. I don't see anything so special
about it. I can live without it. Well,
there's a difference. There's a difference. The sheep
hear the voice of the shepherd. Sheep have an ear to hear the
shepherd. Goats do not. There's so much in this great
chapter. I want to settle into one verse.
Talk about it a little bit this morning. Verse 16. Verse 16,
John chapter 10. And before we read this verse,
I want to give you the title of the message, which consists
of three two-word phrases found in this verse. Look at verse
16. And here it is. I have, I must, they shall. Look what our Lord says. And
other sheep I have. which are not of this fold, them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall
be one fold and one shepherd. I have, I must, they shall. The Lord's audience here is primarily
Jewish, And the other sheep he makes reference to are Gentiles. The phrase, this fold, means
those of Jewish descent who were among God's elect, true Israelites. And looking at this, had you
and I lived in that day, these Jews to whom Christ is speaking
would never entertain the thought that there's any hope for the
likes of us. Gentile dogs. Alienated, as Paul said in Ephesians
2. Having no hope and without God
in the world. These Jews felt like they were
the elite. God's choice. God's special ones. When in reality, in the Old Testament
nation of Israel, it was only a type, we know that, of God's
true elect. But they held on to that. God loves us, nobody else. They saw no hope for Gentiles. But what Christ is saying here
to these Jews is that there is hope for Gentiles. Other sheep
have I which are not of this fold. That's a reference to Gentile
believers, the Lord's people, the church today. And he said,
and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. And this is certainly
made clear in Ephesians chapter 2, when Paul said the middle
wall of partition is broken down. And God hath made of twain, that
is of two, one body, the church. His body of Jew and Gentile. Now certainly that doesn't fit
in this hour with all this dispensational hoorah. about the Jews over yonder
in one position, and we're over here in another position, and
God's doing the best. He did the best He could with
the Jew back yonder. Now He's doing the best He can
with us. And one of these days, He's going to go back and go
to working on the Jew again. No, no, no. God has spoken to
this world once and for all through His Son. End of story. With that said then, we look
back here at this. Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold. I think the basic mindset of
most professing believers today consists of this. We're fighting
a losing battle. The Lord seems to be losing the
war. Our country has, to put it mildly,
gone to the devil. So few are truly interested in
the things of God and His glory. So many in this hour are bold
to declare they do not believe all this and have no fear of
God and no fear of judgment. And God's little sheep, feeble
and foolish as we are, think that it's our job to do something
to turn the tide. We must help God make a greater
impact than he seems to be making in this world. That's the general
mindset of religion. We must do something to pack
these pews and try to make God look good again in the eyes of
the world. No, that's not it. How very depressing,
how very frustrating is such a mindset. But I'm going to talk
to you about what God's Word says. And this could really help
us this morning in this verse, John 10, 16. There are three
great truths in this verse of Scripture that are so very encouraging
for all of us today to consider, to have fixed in our minds and
hearts, rather than just drowned in the erroneous mindset that
God's not doing nearly as well as He wished He could. No, no. I do realize this morning the
things I have to say, looking at this verse, are contradictory
to what most people believe about God, about His Son, about His
salvation, and about His Word. I do realize it would not please
a lot of people I know, it would not please a lot of people you
know, And I don't boast in that, that
does not make me happy, not at all. But we do have this consolation. Paul said, if I yet pleased men,
I should not be the servant of Christ. So it's in my heart this morning
to preach Christ, to represent Christ, to please Christ, rather
than men. And I don't want to preach to
you this morning as a preacher. I want to preach to you as a
sinner, needing the same Savior you need, the only one, the Lord
Jesus Christ. God's preachers are not sent
to preach what they think. God's preachers are not sent
to preach what men want to hear. God's preachers are sent to preach
what God has said. This is His Word. It's an authoritative
Word. We're in a day and hour when
it seems like it's just passed over lightly when somebody says,
well, I know what the Bible says, but... Hey, if you know what
the Bible says, that's the end of conversation. That's it. This
is the authoritative word. Nothing else really counts except
what this book says. The big thing that grabs me in
this, well, the first statement here, Christ says, other sheep
I have. This is number one. Other sheep
I have. Now in verse 14, he'd said, I
am the good shepherd and know my sheep. In verse 15 he said,
I lay down my life for the sheep. Now in verse 16 he says, other
sheep I have. The thing that really grabbed
me in this statement is this. Other sheep I have. Have. The sheep are clearly stated
to be Christ's sheep already. They are His property. They are
His possession. He doesn't say, other sheep I
shall have, other sheep I wish I had. He says, other sheep I
have. They're already mine. Now, these words were spoken
by our Lord 2,000 years ago, long before you and
I were born. And you may have the question,
how could He say, they're already mine? I already have them. Well, this was not a slip of
the tongue on Christ's part. He refers to these, His sheep,
all the way through this passage, My sheep. My sheep. Well, how
did He get them? How did they get to be His sheep? First, the Father gave them to
Him. Verse 29, My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than
all, and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand.
He gave them to Me, and nobody else is going to get them. They
are Mine. That's what Christ said. Turn back a couple of pages to
John chapter 6 and verse 37, and he said this, All that the Father giveth me,
see that? Giveth me. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And this
is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which He
hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day." In those three verses, John 6, 37, 38, and 39,
twice our Lord referred to His people as those whom the Father
hath given me. If you'll go read John chapter
17, a few pages forward, that great chapter of Christ praying
to the Father the night before He is to be crucified the next
morning. Seven times in this chapter,
He refers to His sheep, His people, as those whom the Father hath
given Me. If you want to turn with me,
look at it in John 17. Boy, this is deep country. This is holy ground, seven times,
those whom the Father hath given me. This is the great high priestly
prayer. The Son of God, with the sacrifice
of His own flesh and His own blood, He is approaching the
cross, praying for His own. And he says in verse 2, as thou
hast given him, referring to himself, power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life to how many? As many as thou
hast given him. Verse 6, I have manifested thy
name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Again in verse 6, Thine they
were, and Thou gavest them Me. Verse 9, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which Thou hast given Me, for they are Thine. Verse
11, latter part of the verse, Holy Father, keep through Thine
own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one. as we are. Verse 12, while I
was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that
thou gavest me, I have kept. Verse 24, again, Father, I will
that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am,
that they may behold my glory. So all these times, The Lord
referred to His own, to the sheep, as those whom the Father hath
given Him. Christ never spake of His people
as a potential people, a possible people that might someday be
His. Neither did He speak some of
the cheap and heretical statements we hear nowadays. Well, I hope
they get saved. I wish they'd get saved. No,
our Lord says, other sheep I have. Mine are already mine and nobody
else is going to be. They're mine. They've been mine
from before the foundation of the world. Before I ever hung
out the stars, they were mine. Before they were ever fallen
in Adam, they were mine. Before they were ever placed
in Adam, they were placed in me. The Father gave them to me. They're mine. And no man is able
to pluck them out of my hand. They're mine. I have them. Right
now. Other sheep I have. Do you get that statement? So
all who belong to Christ, including those who don't know it yet,
all who belong to Christ have belonged to Him from eternity
past. Now I understand this morning
this is not getting me any speaking engagements around the country.
But now you, I don't care, I'm not asking you to listen to me,
I'm asking you to listen to God's Word. Christ said, other sheep
I have. And he knew the difference between
past tense, present tense, and future tense. He said, I've got
them right now. They're mine right now. He died
for them. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. He made definite atonement for
their sins. Not a potential atonement for
anyone, but a definite atonement for his sheep. And not a one
for whom Christ died can possibly perish. Now, they're all, according to
Ephesians 1-6, accepted in the blood. You say, you mean I was
accepted before I was ever born? That's the deal. Accepted in
the blood. You're not accepted in yourself.
You're not accepted with God for all the good you've done
and all the bad you haven't done. Oh no. You're not accepted with
God on the basis of that sissified profession you made. No. Accepted in the beloved. This business is about Him. Other
sheep I have. So Christ has His sheep throughout
the world. In every generation, I'm thinking
of something in the book of Acts. I believe it's about the 18th
chapter. The apostle Paul was in the city of Corinth and he
was having it a little tough, as he often did. And he was ready
to pack up and leave town. He said, there's nothing here.
And the Lord stopped him. And he said, just stay put, Paul.
Keep on preaching. Keep on preaching. Let them cuss. Let them fuss. Let them lock
you up. Let them beat you. Let them throw
rocks. Just keep on preaching. Why? He said, stay right here. For I have much people in this
place. Boy, they wasn't acting like
it. But in God's time, He changes
the actions because He changes the heart. God was saying to
Paul, they may be acting like devils right now, but I've got
some people here and you stay here and preach until you find
it out. Just because God don't move when
we think He ought to and how we think He ought to, that means
nothing. So Paul stayed and preached and
in God's time and in God's ways, The church at Corinth emerged,
became a great church. Christ said, I will build my
church, not you, but I. So may I say he has his sheep
even in this hour, even in this place, even in this community,
even in this city. And I'm not here, and I've said
this through the years, I'm not here to build me a kingdom. I'm
here to try to cooperate with the Lord as He builds His. This is His business. And so,
with all this said, the next time you wonder, is there anybody
out there among my family, among my friends, among my neighbors,
among my co-workers, Is there anybody left that's ever going
to show an interest in Christ? Well, don't try to answer that
question for yourself. Don't try to answer that question
by looking around. The best thing to do is just
read this statement that Christ said, Other sheep I have. You hadn't figured out who they
all are. You hadn't figured out how many they are. You hadn't
figured out when they all got here or get here. Other sheep
I have. That's His promise. That's His
promise. And this is not hearsay. It's
the words of Christ Himself. Other sheep I have. What hope is there for our children
this morning? other sheep I have." What hope is there for us? Other
sheep I have. You say, oh, I'm going to turn
over a new leaf someday. You don't have a new leaf to
turn over. You'll go to hell with that attitude,
thinking that you can fix it or ever will fix it. No. My hope
is this and only this. other sheep I have." You can
junk all your religious pretense. I think nobody here has much
worth speaking of anyhow. The bottom line is, except God
have mercy and give you an effectual word
from the shepherd, then you'll perish in your sins. and laugh
your way all the way from here to hell. That's the end of the
story. Salvation is God's business. I want to tell you, if He ever
speaks affectionately to your heart, you'll fear. You'll fear. You will understand it better
by and by. You'll understand it right then.
If God ever speaks affectionately to your heart, I'm going to die
and I'm going to go to hell and there's nothing I can do about
it because of what I am. and understand that you're at
the mercy of God. That's the only hope. That's
the only hope. But Christ said, other sheep
I have. So this morning, don't let the
devil tell you it's over. No, it's not over. I have a son in the state of
Wyoming. Or if there's any truth around
there, I don't know it. There's a lot of hell around
there. I have family in California.
I have family in Maryland. I have family in South Carolina,
right in the middle of the Bible belt that's as ignorant of the
gospel as a hog could be. But hey, it's not over. It's
not over. Brother Robert and Sandy has
a son in Oregon, grandchildren in Florida, and others of you
all over the country, overseas, all over the world. And it looks dark from where
we're standing. But I'll tell you something,
don't look from where you're standing. Listen to the Lord
Jesus. Other sheep I have. That's the only hope. Other sheep
I have. This is not all. Other sheep
I have. It's not over. Now, secondly,
in this verse, our time's getting gone. That's almost gone. Y'all
stay with me. It is raining. About another hour, we'll be
through. Secondly in this verse, not only
this statement of possession, other sheep I have, but secondly
a statement of performance. He says, them also I must bring. I have and I must. I must bring them. This is not a feeble somebody.
who can't do what He says that's speaking. This is God incarnate, Jesus
Christ who said, Other sheep I have, them also I must bring. It's not I might bring, I hope
to bring, or I wish I could bring. It's I must. them I must bring. Bring them from where? Bring them from the wilderness
of this world. Bring them from the foes of sin
and Satan. They're my sheep. Bring them from the deep, deep
pit of their own righteousness. Bring them from the false security
of their own works. Them also I must bring. Bring
them where? Bring them unto myself. Bring
them to my Father. Bring them into green pastures.
Bring them to feed on my flesh. Bring them to drink of the water
of life. Bring them to lie down and rest
in me. bring them to love walking in
my way and doing my bidding. Them also I must bring. So that all they do, they do
it to the glory of my Father. Them also I must bring. This is another one of those
all-important musts that our Lord spake. We could scan through God's Word
and find a lot of these. We find a Saul of Tarsus wrapped
up in his religion. We find a Zacchaeus wrapped up
in politics and tax collecting. We find a Mary Magdalene wrapped
up in having seven devils. We find a wealthy Lydia wrapped
up in business. We find a runaway slave, Onesimus,
wrapped up in a prison cell. We find a harlot in John 8, wrapped
up in pleasure. A Samaritan woman in John 4,
wrapped up in shame. Can I say to you, our Lord Jesus
had all these in mind. when he said, Other sheep I have,
them also I must bring. He had you in mind. He had me
in mind when he said, Other sheep I have, them also I must bring. Oh, my friend, don't sell him
short in this hour. I know the White House has gone
crazy. I know the Muslims are ready
to cut our head off and are already cutting heads off, but don't
sell God short. You say, well, I don't know if
I'm going to make it to heaven. You're not going to make it.
Better people than you have died trying. But Christ said, other
sheep I have, them also I must bring. You can't bring yourself.
He's the bringer. He's the bringer. Don't sell
him short. See, he wasn't just talking into
the wind. He meant what he said. Then and now. Nothing's changed
from that hour to this in what he said. He's still on plan A. He don't have a plan B. This
is the Son of God talking. Other sheep I have. them also
I must bring." It's not a possibility, it's a certainty, them also I
must bring. A word of possession, other sheep
I have. A word of performance, them also
I must bring. Then thirdly, a word of power,
and they shall hear my voice. It's not they may hear my voice or might hear my voice, but they
shall hear my voice. You see, the power is not in
our ability to hear. We don't have that ability. The power is in Christ's ability
to cause us to hear. Verse 3, the sheep hear his voice,
and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. When he putteth forth his own
sheep, he goeth before them. And the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of
strangers. I've heard stories, and I've
read, and I guess you have, of a man trying to deceive a flock
of sheep and call them like they were his. It don't work. They say the sheep won't even
look up, won't even acknowledge. But they know the shepherd's
voice when he speaks, and they follow. Do you know His voice
this morning? It's a word of power. They shall
hear My voice. Verse 27, My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me. I want to say right here, I'm
leery of people who hear audible voices. and see visions and have dreams. I know these kind of things happened
in history, in the Scriptures, before Christ came and even after
Christ came, before the record of God's Word was complete. You can get mad at me if you
want to, but I believe Hebrews 1, verse 2, God has spoken unto
us by His Son, and the giving of His Son is all God has to
say to this world. And the Holy Ghost through the
Scriptures reveals God's Son. And life is in the Son. Capital
S-O-N. So I don't need your bright light
in the tunnel. I don't need any stories about
floating on a cloud. I'm listening for the Shepherd's
voice. The only place I've ever heard
it and the only place I can hear it is right here in my heart. I could give you personal experiences
of hearing His voice, but let me give you the scriptural illustration. In the book of Ruth, way down
in the country of Moab, after ten long troublesome years, Naomi
heard, the Bible says. It had been a long time since
she'd heard. She might have felt like she'd
never hear again, but in God's time she heard. She heard that the Lord had visited
His people and given them bread. And she
never just heard the report of a man or a woman. She heard God speak to her heart. Not audibly, but to her heart. And it was so effectual that
she said, I'm packing up and going home. And she did. And she never journeyed wondering
if she was right. She knew she was right. And if the shepherd ever speaks
to your heart affectionately, you'll follow him and you'll
know it's right. You will not mope around whining,
saying, well, I don't know if I'll be back next Sunday or not. Let me tell you something. I'll
be back. If God lets me live, I'll be back. This is my life. This is my Lord we're talking
about. I'm one of His sheep. I desire to worship Him and walk
with other sheep. and hear an encouraging word,
reassuring word, to my heart directly from the shepherd's
heart. And he's faithful to give that word. Oh yes, on the road
to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus heard him and addressed him for who he
was. He said, Lord, who art thou? Called him the Lord. At the well at noon, the Samaritan
woman heard him. Down by the riverside, Lydia
heard him. In a jail cell, Onesimus heard
him. In the middle of the desert,
the Ethiopian eunuch heard him. Don't sell God short. With God,
nothing shall be impossible. I can't slay that Goliath that
oppresses you and oppresses me and oppresses my loved ones.
And neither can you. But I'll tell you what we can
do. We can cheer for our Captain. And that's what we're doing here
this morning. Cheering for our Captain, the Lord Jesus Christ. He can handle Goliath. He can
handle the Goliath at your house and your house and my house. He knows the way to Wyoming.
He knows the way to Oregon. He knows the way to Florida.
He knows the way across the water. He made it. He's God. Don't waste your energy. Threaten
over your inability. Take it to the captain. Take
it to the captain. He's the one who said, without
me, You can do nothing. While the enemy mocks and scoffs
and oppresses, it's our captain who said, be of good cheer. Everything's all right. I've
overcome the world. Talk about something beautiful.
This is it. Something to rest in. In these three statements,
other sheep I have. Don't worry about the wolves
getting any of his flock. It's not going to happen. Other sheep, I have. I have them. Them also I must bring. Don't worry about his ability.
He don't need lollipops and puppet shows. He don't need man-made altar
calls. He does his own calling. He knows where you're at sitting
right here. He knows where you'll be at three days, four hours,
and 17 minutes from now. And he can be there if he wants
to, to speak that effectual word. You don't need a bunch of fleshly
entertainers with a fiddle and a banjo, making
people laugh and clap. He don't need all that junk to
fill his house. No. He can do it any time he wills
do. But I'll tell you this, when he does it, he'll do it in his
way, with his word, affectionately changing hearts. When he does
it, he'll be right. them also I must bring." Oh, we could call in a bunch
of groups, pump the diesel smoke in the air, and hoop it up, and
fill the house, but people would leave just as
full of hell as they came. And my desire is that you won't! That God will help us. Third, they shall hear my voice. Say, oh, if so and so could only
have heard what I heard. Yeah, but there's a difference.
You heard the shepherd speak. Goats don't hear him. Only sheep. And this is certain. They shall. hear my voice. Have you heard
his voice? You'll surely perish otherwise.