am known of mine. As the Father
knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life
for the sheep. Other sheep I have, I already
have. They were given to me by the Father. They're not of this
foal. Them also I must bring, I will
bring. And they shall, no question about
it, hear my voice. And there shall be one fold and
one shepherd, one church, one body, one bride, one kingdom. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me." The death of Christ was not ordered by
men, it was ordered by God. It was not their will that was
done, it was God's will that was done. No man takes it from
me. I lay it down of myself. I have
the power to lay it down. I have the power to take it again.
He did. He raised himself from the grave.
This commandment have I received of my Father. There was a division,
therefore, again, among these Jews, these religious Jews, for
these savings. The real cause of division between
those who are sheep followers, disciples of Christ, who love
Christ. The real cause of division today
between those who love Christ and the vast religious world
is not the particular days we observe. That's not the issue. It's not the form or traditions
of religion or the manner or mode of worship. It's not the
ordinances, sacraments, some call them, or how we observe
them. It's not the government or discipline
or order of churches and congregations. The real dividing issue was then,
is now, is for these sayings, these doctrines. This has always
been the issue. Turn back to Luke 4. Listen to
this. You read this so many times.
Look at it again. When he came to Nazareth, surrounded
by all the religion, laws, ordinances, morality, all these things, he
told them who he is, a sovereign savior. I'll have mercy on whom
I'll have mercy. Be gracious to whom I'll be gracious.
the grace of God and salvation. Verse 28, Luke 4, And all they
in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with
wrath. And they rose up and thrust him
out of the city, led him to the brow of the hill whereon their
city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. Why? What he did? His morality, his good works?
No. What he said. His message, the
gospel. Turn with me to John 8, just
back a page or two from our text. John 8, verse 56. In John chapter 8, verse 56,
your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it. Abraham saw Christ, saw the day
of Christ, saw the sacrifice of Christ. saw the redemption
that he would effect, and he was glad. And these Jews said
to him, You're not fifty years old. Have you seen Abraham? And Jesus said unto them, Truly,
truly, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. They knew who he said he was
there. They knew what he was saying.
I am. Moses said, Whom shall I say has sent me? What is thy
name? God spoke out of the bush and
said, I am that I am. And here he said, before Abraham
ever existed, I am. Then took they up stones to cast
at him. That's what he said. Who he is? Who is Jesus of Nazareth? What did he do? Where is he now? That's the issue. That is the
division. Look, if you will, at John 10,
my text. John 10, verse 28, 27. John 10, 27. My sheep, hear my
voice, I know them. They follow me. I give them to
them eternal life. They'll never perish. Neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father gave them
to me. My Father gave me to them and them to me. He's greater
than all. No man can pluck them out of
my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. How
do they react to that? Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him. The real dividing issue is the
gospel. The gospel of the grace of God.
Salvation is the work of God, not the works of men. Redemption is by the will of
God. not by the will of men. He said, I come to do the will
of him that sent me. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone which he had given me, I lose nothing,
but raise it up at the last day. Salvation is not an offer. It's
a gift. Please. Salvation is not an offer. It's the gift of God. Is it not?
The gift of God is eternal life. For by grace are you saved through
faith, that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast with his workmanship. That's
the division. Redemption, faith, obedience.
That's not an invitation, that's a command. Does the Bible say
God invites men to repent? The Bible doesn't say that, the
Bible says God commanded all men everywhere to repent." That's
a command of God. That's not an invitation. We
don't have a prerogative. To love one another, is that
an invitation? That's a command. This is my commandment, he said,
that you love one another. This is a commandment. The law
of God is that you love God with all your heart and your neighbor
as yourself. I don't do it. Somebody says, that's still his
law. That's a commandment. That's not an invitation. We
go forth commanding men to believe the gospel. It's God's word,
they ought to believe it. The righteousness of God is not
ours, it's Christ's righteousness. His blood atonement is not an
offering. His blood atonement is an effectual
work. I finish the work you gave me
to do. I lay down my life for my sheep.
He said that over and over again. I lay down my life for the sheep.
I love my sheep. I know my sheep. I call them
by name. Isn't that what he said? I call them by name. His atonement
is particular. His atonement is effectual. His
atonement is not conditional on the acts of men. It is not
conditional. His atonement will not work if
you let it. His atonement works. His blood
does not cleanse you if you let it. His blood cleanses. The blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth. It's not in my hand to use it
like I would use a bar of soap or a cleansing powder. The blood
of Christ cleanseth us from all sin. God's covenant people. He calls them his elect, he calls
them his sheep, he calls them Israel, he calls them sons of
Jacob. He says they're chosen, they're
called, they're justified, they're glorified in Christ Jesus. And
they shall come, they shall come. He said, my sheep hear my voice
and they follow me. And I give them eternal life
and they'll never perish. They will lovingly, willingly,
perseveringly come to me. and never leave me, and I'll
never leave them. That's as sure as a God in heaven
who reigns on the throne. Well, verse 20, then he said,
he has a devil. You've heard that before, haven't
you? A fellow said to Brother Barnard after I heard him preach
one time, a very religious fellow, he said, your sovereign God's
my devil. And here they said of the master, he has a devil.
He's crazy. Why do you people hear him? They're
talking about Christ. They're talking about the Son
of God. He has a devil. He's crazy. He's mad. He's insane. Why do you hear him? Well, I'll
have you remember one thing. Turn to Matthew 10. Remember the words of our Lord
here now. Matthew 10, verse 24. Matthew 10, 24. When you express these beliefs
among your circle of family, friends, or whomever, religious
friends and family, everybody's family is religious. Everybody
I know is religious. But when you express your confidence
and and hope and faith in these words of our Lord, and they call
you a devil, call you insane, you've lost your mind. Remember
these words here, Matthew 10, verse 24. Remember that the disciple
is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord. It
is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the
servant as his Lord. If they had called the master
of the house Beelzebub a devil, How much more shall they call
them of his household? Now if they think he's crazy,
they know I am. If they think he's a devil, if
they call him a devil, I shouldn't object to anything they call
me. I should be thankful that I'm accorded the privilege of
being in the same company with such an awesome master and teacher. So if they call the master of
the house Beelzebub, How much more shall they call those servants
of the house? The attack is upon the message. But look at verse 21. Some of
these people didn't blindly follow these religious leaders. Some
of these people didn't pay any attention to these so-called
doctors and scribes and Pharisees and religious leaders who said,
don't listen. Why do you people hear him? He
is a devil, he's crazy. Some of them fought for themselves.
Some of them didn't follow the tradition, forms, and works.
They considered the words of Christ themselves, and this is
what they said. Others said, these are not the
words of him that hath a devil. I may not be very smart, they were
saying, but I know better than that. I don't have to blindly
follow some religious tradition or some religious authority just
because somebody said he's an authority. I can think for myself,
and these are not the words of a devil. These are not the words
of a devil. A devil doesn't glorify God.
A devil doesn't glorify God and
give him all the praise and the glory like Jesus Christ did.
A devil doesn't glorify God, a devil glorifies himself. Can a devil open the eyes of
the blind? These are not the words of a
madman. A madman does not speak words of grace and mercy and
love and wisdom. These are not the words of a
devil. These are not the words of a madman. These are the words
of God. And then in verse 22 through
24, listen to this. It was at Jerusalem, right here in the
capital of religion, right in the... This is like standing
in front of the thing in Rome, you know, religion, the Feast
of the Dedication. It's winter. Oh, they've gathered
there for their religious feast. And Jesus walked in the temple
in Solomon's porch. And then here they came again,
these religious leaders. They said to him, they came round
about him, they said, How long do you make us doubt? If thou
be the Christ, The Christ, the Messiah, tell us plainly. Now
the disciples believed Christ to be, or the Jesus of Nazareth,
they believed Jesus of Nazareth to be the Christ. The Old Testament,
from Genesis 3.15 to Malachi, talks about the woman's seed,
the Passover, the messenger of the covenant, the desire of all
nations, the Christ, the one of whom Moses wrote, to whom
Abraham looked, of whom David spoke, the Christ, the Christ,
the Christ. And the disciples believe Jesus of Nazareth is
the Christ. And secondly, they believe Jesus
of Nazareth to be the Son of God. Now listen carefully to
me here. The Christ, God. Now let's follow that. Turn to
John 6. This is what they believed and this is what our Lord commended,
commanded and commended. But he commended them for their
faith in him. In fact, they believe he's the
Christ and he's the Son of God. Listen to John 6, verse 6 to
9, or 6 to 7. John 6, 6 to 7. Then said Jesus
unto the twelve, Will you leave me? Will you go away from me?
Then Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast
the words of eternal life, and we believe, and we believe, and
assure two things. Thou art that Christ, the Son
of the living God. That is a summary of our faith. Jesus of Nazareth, you are the
Christ. You are God. Now that's the testimony
and foundation of the Church. Back in Matthew, Listen to what
our Lord said here in Matthew 16, how he commended that testimony,
Matthew 16, 15. Do you have it? Matthew 16, 15. I want you to
look at it. He said to them, whom do you
say that I am? Peter said, Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said,
Blessed art thou, Simon, Bar-Jonah, son of Jonah, flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee." Revealed what to thee? I am the
Christ, I am God. My Father in heaven revealed
it to you. And I say that thou art Peter,
not Simon anymore. You're Peter, a stone, a rock.
And upon this rock, this testimony, not upon Peter. Christ didn't
build his church on Peter. He's the chief cornerstone. He's
the head of the church. But he built his church on this
testimony. And the gates of hell will not
prevail against him. What testimony? The church is
built on this testimony. I have no doubt, I believe, I'm
sure, Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. He's God. And this is the first confession
of every believer. Turn to the book of Acts. This
is the very first confession. This is where it all starts.
This is the first confession of every believer. Before he's
baptized, before he confesses before men. In Acts 8, verse
36, Acts 8, verse 36, and as they went on their way, Acts
8, verse 36, as they went on their way, they came to a certain
water. And the eunuch said, Here is water. What do you think of
me to be baptized? Philip had been preaching the
gospel to him. And Philip said, Well, if you believe with all
your heart, if you believe, if you believe what? Well, what
I've been preaching to you, they've had a long conversation. You
may, and he answered, he knew what Peter was asking, or what
Philip was asking. He said, I believe that, I believe that Jesus Christ,
Jesus the Christ, is God. He's the Son of God. And Philip
commanded the chariot to stand still, and Philip baptized him. On that confession, I believe
that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God. And I'll
tell you, turn to Revelation 1. This is a testimony, sum and substance of those in
glory. Revelation 1, verse 4. Jesus, the Christ, the Son of
God. Revelation 1, verse 4. John to
the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace be unto you, peace
from him which is, which was, which is to come, from the Holy
Spirit, the seven spirits which are before the throne, and from
Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of
the dead, the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved
us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us
kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory,
dominion forever and ever." There it is. Sum it all up. He's the Christ. He's the faithful
witness. He's the first begotten of the
dead. He's the prince of the king. He's the son of God. And these Pharisees, this is
what they're asking him, John 10. Are you the Christ? See that
in verse 24? How long do you make us doubt?
Are you the Christ? Talking to Jesus of Nazareth.
Well, they weren't serious. They weren't serious. They weren't
inquiring like I am and you are who he is. They didn't have an
open heart, a sincere heart, an honest heart. They weren't
asking for information or instruction. They were asking in order that
they might take his words to heaven and say, this man says
he's the king. These men didn't have an honest
heart. These men, they didn't have a sincere They had, he would
have revealed himself to them, but they were hypocrites. But
John 7 verse 14, listen. Now in the middle of the feast,
Jesus went up to the temple and taught, and the Jews marveled. They said, how knoweth this man
letters? How does this man know learning, having never, he didn't
go to their schools. He didn't go to their seminaries
and school. Jesus answered them and said,
my doctrine's not mine. It's his that sent me. Now if
any man, that's broad, isn't it? If any man will do his will,
do the will of God, know the will of God, love the will of
God, bow to the will of God, receive the will of God, any
man will do the will of God. He'll know the doctrine, whether
it's of God or whether it's of the flesh. He that speaks of himself seeks
his own glory. But he that seeks his glory that
sent him, the same is true. No unrighteousness in him. That
has been spoken not only by our Lord talking about himself, but
any preacher. He's seeking his own glory. His
doctrine is not true, or the glory of his denomination, or
the glory of his organization, or the glory of his own program.
But he that seeks the glory of God, no unrighteousness in him. If you may will to know, You
know. Verse 25, let's see how he answered
these fellas with the insincere hearts, with the unbelieving
hearts, with the hypocritical hearts, with the diabolical purpose
not to bow to him but to destroy him. Verse 25, Jesus answered
them. They said, if thou be to Christ,
tell us plainly. He answered them. I told you. I told you. You didn't believe. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. Our Lord has a lot of witnesses.
Over in John 5, he said John the Baptist was a witness. He
was the forerunner of the Messiah. You rejoice for a season in his
words. The works that I do, they bear
witness of me. The Father bears witness of me.
He said from heaven, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well
pleased. The scriptures. Let's look at
that in John 5. The scriptures, he talks about
the scriptures. These men were so proud of their
knowledge of the scriptures. They were so diligent in searching
the scriptures. They argued the scriptures. In
John 5 verse 39, our Lord said, search the scriptures, or you
do search the scriptures, for in them you think you have life.
You think you have life in the scriptures, in the form, in the
ceremony, in the ritual, in the laws, in the scriptures. There
they which testify of me, the scriptures, they witness of me. Now I'm going to say something
here, I want you to listen to it and weigh it heavily and think
about it. This is where the difference
lies. He said, look back at my text, John 10, verse 25. They said, are you the Christ?
Tell us plainly. He said, I told you. The Father
told you. John the Baptist told you. The
works tell you. The scriptures tell you. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But you believe not, because
you're not of my sheep. I said to you, you're my sheep,
hear my word. And they follow me. The difference, what Brother Muse used to say,
don't move a hand nor a hair. The difference. between a sheep
and a non-sheep. Saved man, lost man is the sheep. The saved man believes the Word
of God. He hears the Word of God, he
believes it. He receives it, he loves it,
he bows to it. You believe not because you're
not of my sheep. I'm not a sheep because I believe
the Word of God. I believe the word of God because
I'm a sheep. Think about it now. I'm not a sheep because I believe
the word of God. I believe the word of God because
I'm a sheep. And that man doesn't believe
it because he's not a sheep. If he were a sheep, if he were
one of God's children, he said, if you were my sheep, you'd hear
my word. That's just so. This is the test. That's what Christ said to those
Pharisees. My words will judge you. The words Moses wrote will
judge you, he said, because you don't believe them. The sheep of Christ hear his
voice. Listen, he says, my sheep hear
my voice. I know them. I know them. They
know me. I love them. They follow me.
You see, the sheep of Christ hear his word. They hear it not
only externally, they hear it internally. These people who are here this
morning who are sheep of Christ, they're not just hearing these
words externally, they're hearing them in their hearts. You used to say when you sat
back there, an unbeliever, why are these people nodding their
head? They can't help it. There's a lot of strain in their
hearts. You know, a puppet is one that has a string up here.
It pulls his head. Somebody else pulls it. But a
believer, in his heart, when the Word of God is preached and
he loves it and believes it, his heart pulls his head. He
has it in his heart. That's soul. That's soul. That's a blessing. That's why,
you know now, because there you go, you didn't just get it. Oh,
that's a little private understanding between us. He said one time
when he used to come to church here before he heard the gospel,
Brother Ron, Elder Ron, he said, I wonder why those folks down
there, he said, now I know, now I know. You hear the word not
only externally but internally. The Lord gives them ears in the
heart. The Lord gives them understanding
in the heart. The Lord gives them faith in
the heart. The Lord gives them eyes to behold
and see the wisdom and the grace and the beauty of the Word of
God. My sheep, you be the Christ,
tell us plainly. I told you. I told you. If you will to do God's will,
you'd know the doctrine whether I speak of myself or whether
I speak of God. But I tell you, my sheep hear
my voice. You don't believe because you're not of my sheep. If you
were my sheep, you'd believe. But my sheep hear my voice, and
I know them, and I give them, listen, I give them eternal life. What is this eternal life? Well,
I give them spiritual life, divine life, born again, life from above,
the life of God. I give them myself. Christ in
you, that's the hope of glory. He revealed his Son in me. My
Father and I take up our abode within the believer. He gives
them the knowledge of himself. The Son of God has come and given
us an understanding that we may know him, the true God. Believers
understand. They know God. They hear certain words that
some folks think really are honoring to God. They know they're not
honoring to God. They know they're blaspheming because they know
God. See, the difference is they know God and these people don't
know God. These people talk religiously. They think everything they say
that's religious, you know, God ought to appreciate it, but he
doesn't. And a true believer who knows God, he knows when
a word is spoken that gives God the glory and one that doesn't.
One that's spoken in praise, real, honest, Glorifying God. He recognizes. You know your
wife and you know what pleases her and what doesn't. You wives
know your husband. You know what pleases him and
what doesn't. And he may be out somewhere and somebody says something
and he may smile, but you know he didn't. He's just being nice. That didn't please him. And you
who have an understanding of the life of God in you, you know
what pleases God and what's offensive. You do. He gives us righteousness
which entitles us to glory. He gives us a foretaste of heaven
right here on this earth. I heard a preacher this morning
on television describing the life of faith. He said, this
is a tough road. This is a hard road. This is
a hard endeavor. It takes a man to be a Christian. Listen, I turned to Doris and
I said, his yoke is easy. It burdens life. Faith is not
a hard road. The way of the transgressor is
hard. That man didn't know the way
of the transgressor is hard. The way of faith is easy. The
way of faith is the road of peace. It's when you get out of that
road you have it hard. Isn't that right? When we walk
in our own pride, that's when we have it hard. But loving Christ
ain't hard. Being a believer is a joy. But I tell you, trying to live
the Christian life without Christ would be pretty difficult. He said, I give them eternal
life. I give them the earnest and pledge of life, the Holy
Spirit. Now one other thing, I'll let you go. And they'll
never perish. I give them eternal life, they'll
never perish. I'm going to ask you some questions, and you think
about them. You think about this. They'll never perish. We have
this life in Christ, our representative is hid with Christ in God, and
the sheep will never, it's secure, it's sure, it's certain, they'll
never perish. What kind of head is Jesus Christ
if the body perishes? What kind of shepherd is Jesus
Christ if the sheep perish? Come on now. What kind of husband is Jesus
Christ if he loses his bride? One of them, any of them. What
kind of priest is Jesus Christ if his sacrifice fails? What kind of physician is Jesus
Christ if a patient dies? Not much, you see. What kind of king is Jesus Christ
when he steps up to his throne and his subjects are not there? The next time anybody talks to
you about the possibility of a believer losing his salvation,
just walk away from that fool. Don't even, don't even honor
his statement with a reply. What kind of shepherd would Christ
be if he lost his sheep? What kind of husband if he lost
his bride? Come on now. What kind of high
priest if he puts his blood on the mercy seat and somebody for
whom he placed it there didn't make it to glory? The demons
of hell would laugh throughout eternity. You said, They'll never
perish, but I've got them. That's stupidity. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. Whose hand? My hand. My Father
which gave them are as great as me, and no man shall pluck
them out of my Father's hands. In his hands. Listen to me. I was in his hands. before I
was ever in Adam's loins." Isn't that right, Cecil? That right
line. As in his hands, before I was
ever in Adam's loins, before I ever fell, as in his hands. Chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world. As in his hand, as his possession,
my sheep. As in his hand, under his care,
they'll never perish. I was in his hand to be protected
and delivered by him, and no man can pluck them out of my
hand. My Father gave them to me, and
no man can pluck them out of his hand. Firm as his throne,
this gospel stands. My Lord, my hope, my trust, if
I am one in his great hands, my soul will never be lost. His
honor is engaged to save the weakest of his sheep. All that
the Heavenly Father gave, his hands will eternally keep. Nor
death nor hell shall ever remove his chosen from his breast. In that great bosom of his love,
they all forever rest." What a gospel! What a Savior! What good news!