I want to talk to you this morning
about the purpose of the gospel ministry, the purpose of this
local church, the reason why we exist, the reason we do what
we do, the basic purpose of everything we do as a church. The title
of my message is Seeking the Lord's Sheep. Now this is why
we do what we do. This is the reason why I go somewhere
almost every week, up and down the length and breadth of this
country, preaching the gospel of God's grace. This is the reason
we give our money and our efforts to support the preaching of the
gospel with missionaries, evangelists, pastors, other churches literally
around the world. This is why we send out thousands
upon thousands of tapes, and tracks, and books, and literature
every year, books, other things. are seeking the Lord's sheep.
It's just that simple. We're seeking his sheep. I know
that the things we believe and preach place us in direct conflict
with, and in direct opposition to, the religious world around
us. We are, by virtue of what we believe and preach, constantly
in conflict with family and friends who are so engrossed in the religious
world around us. But that shouldn't surprise us.
When our Lord Jesus preached plainly those things that I am
about to preach to you this morning, after he got done, in fact, before
he got done, the Jews started grabbing up rocks. And they weren't
fixing to grab up rocks and skip them across the lake. They were
fixing to kill him. They were fixing to stone him to death.
They were mad. They were enraged. They saw red and became violent. and blurt their shit, because
he preached the gospel of God's free grace. Now here are four
things which place us in direct opposition to, and in conflict
with, the whole religious world. They are not deep, profound things,
not at all. Just plain, simple, revealed
facts in the gospel. What we believe about God is
totally foreign to this world. Totally foreign to this world.
We believe according to the scriptures that our God is in the heavens
and he really has, he always has, he always does, he always
will do whatsoever he pleases. Now we really believe that, we
really do. Our God's in the heavens. He
has done whatsoever He has willed. In heaven, in earth, in the sea,
and in all deep places, God has His way. Always. Always. I get a little concerned
when I think about what's going on over in Yugoslavia and in
Washington. I wonder what's going to happen,
but I know exactly what's going to happen. Exactly what our God
has in accordance with his holy character and his gracious intent
for his people. That's exactly what's going on
everywhere. What we believe about man places
us in direct conflict with the whole world around us, particularly
the religious world. Because we believe, as the scriptures
assert, that man is essentially evil, not good. Man is spiritually
dead, not weak. Man is utterly depraved and deprived
of all spiritual life, good, righteousness, and uprightness
at his very core being in his heart. The heart of man is deceitful
and desperately wicked. Man without Christ is an abomination. Man without Christ always acts
on principles of self-interest and selfishness in rebellion
to God Almighty. Always. Not occasionally, not
daily. Always. Always. It's impossible for him
to do otherwise. So vile, so depraved, so dead,
so helpless, our lost sinners, that you who are without Christ,
cannot change your nature. Can't do it. You can't do it.
When a, when the Ethiopian can change his skin, or a leopard
can change his spots, you can change your heart, but otherwise
you can't. That's what the book says. Well, but psychologists
don't believe that. I know psychologists are nuts.
Never saw one, didn't look new, like he belonged in a loony bin.
I mean none. None of them. But the educators, educators
don't know God. But the philosophers, try reading
a little bit of history behind the fellows who wrote philosophy. You think that something's wrong
with, I think, my soul, most perverse human beings that ever
lived. But what does the scripture say?
Man's dead. Man's dead. You can change your
habits. A drunk can go to Alcoholics Anonymous and quit drinking.
You don't have to get religious to do that. If you're a dope head
and you want to get off dope, just find somebody who's got
the right stuff and they can get you off of it. Find somebody that'll
lock you up and put you through what it's got to go through,
they'd get you off of it. A man who has spent his life as an
adulterer and a fornicator, he can quit that. He realizes, man,
it's costing me too much. inquire. He doesn't need Christ
to get up. Well, but what about his nature?
That's another story. You can't change your nature.
Your mom and daddy can't change your nature. This church can't
change your nature. This preacher can't change your
nature. The only person who can change your nature, the only
person who gives you a new heart, the only person who makes you
love righteousness The only one who can make you willing to bow
to the Son of God, the only person who can hold you to turn to Christ
in faith is God Almighty. A preacher, if what you're saying
is so, then I'm shut up to God. Oh, I hope you hear that. You
are shut up to God. Shut up to His grace. Shut up
to His Son. shut up to his spirit. If God
has mercy, you will live. If God doesn't have mercy on
you, you'll perish just like you are. I recognize in constant opposition
to the religious world around us, because we believe and teach
what the scriptures teach and reveal concerning the person
and work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is God incarnate. He came here on a mission. He
didn't come here hoping the Jews would let him prettily sit on
their little throne over that little peanut kingdom. That's
not why he came. He didn't come here hoping to
establish a millennial kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ came here
on an errand of mercy to redeem his people by satisfying the
justice of God and thus to secure forever their everlasting salvation. And yet he did. Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, has redeemed the people to himself. He has
put away somebody's sins. He has secured somebody's salvation. He has once and for all accomplished
eternal redemption and obtained it by the merit of his blood
for somebody. That's what he came here to do.
And he did what he came to do. And we are in opposition constantly
to the religious world around us. Because we believe exactly
what the scriptures teach about salvation. In its entirety, salvation
is of the Lord. It's all together by God's grace.
It's all together the work of Jesus Christ, God's Son, God
the Father, our Heavenly Father, and God the Holy Spirit. God
planned it, God purchased it, God performs it, God preserves
it, God protects it, God will have the praise of it. Salvation
is God's work. Well, but you mean, Pastor, that
he makes the first step? No, he takes all the steps. But
you mean, if we'll turn to him, then he'll turn to us? No, if
he turns to you, you'll turn to him. That's language of Scripture. But Pastor, you mean the Lord,
he puts us in grace, but we have to preserve ourselves, and keep
ourselves, and sanctify ourselves, and make ourselves more and more
acceptable to Him, and at last, if we get to Heaven, we will
inherit Heaven's glory measured on our goodness and obedience
here. No, no, I'm not talking about the foolishness of that.
No, no. The Lord God puts you in His
grace, and puts His grace in you, and keeps it that way, and
brings you to glory on the merit of his Son, and only on the merit
of his Son, and gives you everlasting glory because of his free grace
and love toward you. That's God's salvation. Now,
I know that men object to these things. I know preachers everywhere
deny them. I know that proud men are offended
by them. But you see, I'm not running
for political office. I can tell you the truth. I'm
not trying to get elected or anything. I don't have to lie
to you. I'm here to tell you, with the authority of God's Word,
you are eternity-bound men and women for the glory of God, that
which I have heard and learned of the Father. And I'm going
to declare it to you. I must be true to God, true to
Scripture, and true to your souls. And I'm here seeking the Lordship. But we're trying to get everybody
safe. We love everybody. That ain't so. That ain't so. Folks who tell it are lying.
We've talked about it here. Oh, I just love everybody so
much. That's not so. That's just not
so. But there are some people for
whom I am concerned. There are some people whose souls
I seek. There are some people for whose
eternal welfare I am devoted. I am committed. to all things
for the elect's sake. I'm seeking the Lord's sheep.
Those false preachers whom our Lord describes in this chapter
as hirelings and thieves and robbers, those aren't my words,
they're His. They're just hirelings, they
work for what they can get. They're thieves, they're robbers. You think you can trust one?
Trust Him. They're wolves who come in sheep's clothing, not
to seek the sheep, but to devour and destroy the sheep. That's
the intent of the religious leaders of our age. Either it is Merle Hart, or the
Son of God is a liar. For it says right here, exactly
what it says. We read it earlier, John chapter
10. These religious leaders of the world have told three religious
lies, fables, so often so persistently, so unanimously, that the whole
world universally receives them, and says this is the truth of
God, and just presumes it is. Just presumes it is. I get, I
get letters every week. I get one almost every day at
least. When somebody read something
I wrote, or heard something I preached, and they, these are the things
I said, but how can you say that? God loved everybody. Christ died
for everybody. God wants to save everybody.
And you know everybody believes that? Just ask them. Just ask
them. Everybody believes that. From the littlest, littlest kids
we're taught that Jesus loved the little children, all the
children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they're
precious in his eyes. Ain't so. Just ain't so. Just ain't so. That's not in the book of God.
The scriptures do not teach that God loves everybody. He doesn't.
He said, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. There's
somebody in this world, some class of people, some group of
people who are the objects of God's love, and another class
of people of whom God gives no consideration. Jacob have I loved. But Esau hath I hated. God's
angry with the wicked every day. You've got no reason to presume
that God looks your way graciously until you believe on his side.
Until that the wrath of God abides on you. But Jesus died for everybody. No, Jesus Christ did not die
for everybody. He did not lay down his life
for everybody. If Jesus Christ died for everybody,
then that awful, absurd necessity must be following that Jesus
Christ died in vain for somebody. Either that, or all men are saved.
Now, there's just no alternative. There's just no alternative.
If Christ died for all men, either all men must be saved, or Jesus
Christ died in vain for somebody. And that's utter blasphemy. More
than that, the scriptures don't teach it. The word of God nowhere
suggests it. But God, the Holy Spirit, he
wants to save everybody. I wish folks would just stop
and think what to say. Just stop and think about it.
You know, I'm getting to the age where I'm beginning to have
to acknowledge that there are some things that I would like
to do that I just can't do. Now I'm going to tell you what when I
was 20 years old you couldn't have paid enough money to get
those words out of my mouth because I wanted everybody to think I
could do anything and whatever I wanted to do. I was ashamed
to admit weakness ashamed to admit frustration ashamed to
admit failure and I'm going to tell you what I would be ashamed
to call anything God that must admit weakness, frustration,
and failure. God wants to do what God does. And He doesn't want to do anything
else. God tries to do what He does. He doesn't try to do anything
He does. God wills what He brings to pass. He doesn't will anything
else. all my pleasure. So that's Bible language, isn't
it, Rod? That's Bible language. God says, I will do all my pleasure. This is what I'm saying. The
triune God is concerned for, seeks and accomplishes the salvation
of his sheep, only his sheep. To say otherwise is to make the
Holy God a pathetic, frustrated failure. Now let's look here
at John 10 and see if this is not the language of our Savior.
Look in verse 11. Folks tell me all the time, well,
but you know there's a sense in which God loves everybody.
Doesn't make any sense to me. If God loves everybody, he's
got a strange way of showing it. Noah's out on the ark, looking
across the horizon, folks sinking for the last time, gurgling,
getting their last breath, and he says, puts a banner out on
the buffer of his ship, he says, now, God loves you, has a wonderful
plan for your life. Isn't that absurd? Yet the religion of this world
is absurd! It's beyond absurd, it's blasphemous!
It's beyond blasphemy, it's an abomination to God! No sir, the
Lord Jesus says here in verse I'm the good shepherd. The good
shepherd giveth his life. Look at it. Underscore it. Put a star beside it. For the
sheep. Look at verse 14. I'm the good
shepherd and know my sheep. Must be something special about
that. He knows everything doesn't he? Yeah, but not like he knows
his sheep. And them don't and mine. As the Father knows me,
even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. 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."
You know, I'm getting suspicious. I'm getting suspicious. Looks
to me like he's concerned for the sheep. But is he? Looks to me like his interest
is for the sheep. Looks to me like his heart is set on the
sheep. Looks to me like he came here to save his sheep. All right,
look at verse 27. In verse 26, the
Jew said, we don't like what you're saying, we're gonna kill
you, bud. He said, you believe not, because you're not of my
sheep, just like I told you. Now look at verse 27, but my
sheep, my sheep, hear my voice. I know them, they follow me,
and I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Now, in preaching
the gospel, we're not trying to convert the world. We're not
trying to get everybody to say, that's not our purpose, that's
not our aim, that's not our goal. We're seeking the Lord's sheep.
I don't know who they are, neither does anyone else. So we preach
to everybody, just like the Lord commanded us. We preach the gospel
to every creature. Some, I know, will not believe. Some of you, perhaps, who have been the objects
of my love, concern, prayer, and labor for nineteen years, may perish under the wrath of
God and not believe. I know that. but blessed be God,
some will believe. And I know who they are. They're
his sheep. They're his sheep. Let me show
you five things in this tenth chapter of John, and I'll wrap
this up. First, we see in this passage that the Lord Jesus has
a people in this world called his sheep. God has chosen for
himself a people. He calls them his sheep. Again,
according to the election of grace, whom he's determined to
save. I was saying a little bit ago
that him, John, very properly changed the words, the Lord Jesus
bled and died for Adam's helpless race. That's not so. If he did
Adam's helpless race, then glory. He bled and died for his chosen
race, for his sheep. But the Bible talks about All
being justified. Yeah, all within the all. The
Bible talks about God loving the world. Yeah, the world within
the world. But the Bible talks about, the Bible talks about
the whole race of mankind. Yeah, the race within the race.
You see, when the Scripture talks about God so loved the world,
it's not talking about everybody in the world. You say, well,
if language means anything, it means world. In Luke chapter
2, Augustus Caesar sent out a decree saying all the world should be
taxed. Let's see. Yeah. By Wednesday, everybody
better pay their taxes. Everybody. The whole world. No,
no, no, no, no. Only a five U.S. citizens. That's
all. And when Caesar Augustus sent
out a decree that all the world should be taxed, it didn't have
a blooming thing to do with me. I wasn't included in that world.
That was a very limited world. It was the world under the realm
and reign of Caesar Augustus. And when the Lord God declares
to us that God so loved the world, He's not talking about the whole
world indiscriminately, but rather He's talking about His elect
scattered throughout all the world. He loved the world of
His elect. Christ Jesus shall make many
righteous, the many who are in Him. He shall make all whom He
represents to be just before God. And that's exactly the language
of Scripture. The Lord God has His sheep here
in the midst of goats. Some of Adam's fallen race is
sheep, and some are goats. The sheep are chosen, the sheep
are redeemed, the sheep must be called the goats. He just
leaves them alone. Somebody says, well, you believe
in election and necessity follows, that you must believe that God
refuses to save the reprobate. No, no, no, no. What necessarily
follows in your keen-up brain doesn't necessarily follow in
this book. Our Lord says you believe not because you're not
of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice. You don't
believe? Because I didn't give you faith.
I just left you alone. I just left you alone. Oh, I
pray God won't leave you alone. Oh, I pray God won't leave you
alone. If God leaves you alone, you're
gone. You'll never believe. But my
sheep, they hear my voice. I know them. They follow me and
I give them eternal life. God's elect were given to Christ
as his sheep before the world began. My Father which gave them
me, he said, is greater than all. No man can pluck them out
of my Father's hand. God's elect in this world are
compared to silly, helpless, dirty, lost, straying, fallen
sheep. But the Lord Jesus says, I know
my sheep. That means, Bobby, he knows you
like he doesn't know family, neighbors, friends. He knows
you. But he knows everything. Yeah,
but he knows you, Bob Robinson. He knows you. He knows everything
about his sheep. He knows what they need. He knows
what God requires of them. He knows what he's given them.
He knows what he'll do for them. He knows where they are. He knows
what they've been. He knows what they've done. He
knows what he'll make of them. He knows how they'll look when
he presents them thoughtless before the presence of God's
glory. He knows when you have called on Him. I know my sheep."
All right, here's the second thing. The Good Shepherd, our
Lord Jesus Christ, laid down His life for the sheep. Verse 11, I am the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. Verse 15,
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay
down my life Now I want you to get this, and
I want you to get it, and I want you to understand it, and I want
you to correct me if you find any place where the Word of God
speaks contrary to this. Men, women, or children, you
correct me. You find any place where the Word of God speaks
contrary to this, and I will renounce what I've said publicly,
right here, just as soon as you show me. Alright? Nowhere in
this book, when the Word of God talks about and explains and
teaches the regretted work of Jesus Christ, or describes the
intent and purpose of God Almighty in the sacrifice of his son,
nowhere in this book is there the slightest implication that
Jesus Christ laid down his life for anybody except his sheep.
Not the slightest implication, but it's that he died to save
anybody except his elect. Some years ago I had a young
missionary, been raised on a mission field, his father was a missionary,
sitting in our living room, and you know, he's a nice enough
fellow, I reckon, but he'd been around for a couple of days,
and we'd been talking, talking some scriptures, talking particularly
about particular redemption. And before breakfast one morning,
he was sitting in the living room, we lived over in Junction
City, shovels in the kitchen, scurrying around getting stuff
ready, he and his wife sitting on the couch, He said to me, he
said, you know, Brother Fortner, he said, I would believe in limited
atonement if it wasn't for just one or two scriptures giving
me trouble. He should have waited until after breakfast. I said,
that's why I called him by name, I won't do that now. I said,
you're lying. He said, what? I said, you're
lying. Lying to me, lying to yourself,
lying to God. Now tell me something, can you find one or two verses
in the scripture somewhere that gives you any trouble with the
doctrines of the trinity? If you can't, I can throw a key
your way. But the preponderance of scripture, in the universal
testimony of scripture, declaring the person of God, states the
doctrines of the trinity so plainly, so clearly, that it's impossible
for a man to be honest with his book and deny it. Is that right?
Absolutely that's right, and I'm telling you that the universal
testimony of Scripture, the preponderance of Scripture, the Scriptures
everywhere in explaining the redemptive work of Christ, declare
that Jesus Christ died specifically for His elect, and accomplished
the redemption of His elect, and there's no possibility otherwise. That's what the book teaches.
I lay down my life for the sheep. All right, third lesson. the
Good Shepherd will save all his sheep. Look at verse 27. My sheep hear my voice, I know
them, they follow me, I give unto them eternal life, and they
shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand. Up in chapter 10, verse 3, the Good Shepherd calls his
sheep one by one. with an almighty, irresistible
effectual cause. In verse 2, he enters in by the
door. That is, if you want to know who Christ is, just find
the one that fits this book. He that enters in by the door
of this book, that's the shepherd. Anyone who doesn't fit everything
required of the shepherd in this book, he's not the shepherd.
He's a false Christ, he's a thief and a robber. To him, the port
of the Holy Spirit opens. The gospel preached And the Holy
Spirit opens your heart and opens the book and that's it. He's
the one. The sheep hear his voice. He
calls his own sheep. And you know what happens when
he calls them? He calls them by name. That doesn't
mean he says, Larry, come to me. That means he speaks directly
to Larry. And when he does, Larry, How will I know if the Lord speaks
to me? Oh, you'll know. You won't need some ten cent
preacher to tell you the Lord's giving you salvation. Oh no,
you'll know. You'll know. And he leads them out. Out of
darkness into light. Out of bondage into liberty.
Out of the religion of this world into the religion of free grace.
And his sheep follow him. They just, they follow him. Follow
his word. Follow his spirit. Follow his
will. They follow him. glad to follow him. And he says,
I'll give them eternal life. And they'll never perish. They'll
never perish. More than that, he says a stranger
will they not follow? They'll flee from the stranger.
Because the sheep, they like sheep's food. And they hear the
shepherd's voice. They're sheep. We're not the
smartest things in the world. We're not the most brilliant,
most well-educated, most refined, most cultured things in the world.
But we know the shepherd's voice. And you can't pull a free wheel
over on one of them. You can't pull works over on
one of them. They know my voice. They won't follow strangers.
So I know some of the sheep who follow strangers. No, you don't. Those folks are goats. They just
look like sheep. And they try to act like sheep. But every
time you mention free grace, they start barking like goats.
I just, the streets won't follow a stranger. Look at this fourth
statement. The good shepherd says they shall never perish. He gives them eternal life and
he keeps them in eternal life. He stays and he stays forever.
And one last thing, when he gets done with all that
he came here to do, He's going to bring all of His sheep into
His heavenly fold in the perfection of salvation and eternal glory,
because He's the Good Shepherd. I'm just seeking His sheep. Some of you are not His sheep,
probably. Some of you are. I wonder if
you are. Do you hear His voice? Has He called you? Has He given
you eternal life? Do you follow Him? Those are
His sheep. Those are His sheep. They're
not me! Well, I've got no reason to suspect you're His sheep.
Oh, but if you hear His voice, if He gives you eternal life,
if you follow Him, that's called you're His sheep. All right,
son, you come live with your grandpa.