The Sheep of the Shepherd

Q: What does the Bible say about eternal life?

The Bible teaches that eternal life is a gift from God through Jesus Christ, not something we earn. Eternal life, as described in Scripture, is not merely a matter of living forever but rather denotes the quality of life that comes from a relationship with God. In John 10:28, Jesus states, 'I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.' This indicates that eternal life is a gift that God bestows upon His sheep, His chosen people, based on His sovereign grace. Romans 6:23 further elucidates this by asserting that 'the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' Therefore, eternal life is fundamentally rooted in Christ Himself, as He proclaims in John 14:6, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.'

Q: How do we know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd?

The Bible confirms Jesus as the Good Shepherd through His teachings and actions that reflect His care for His sheep. In John 10:11, Jesus explicitly identifies Himself as the 'good shepherd' who lays down His life for the sheep. This sacrificial love underscores the depth of His commitment to His followers. Additionally, Jesus' miracles and teachings serve as a testament to His identity; He provides spiritual nourishment and guidance, as reflected in John 10:27: 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.' The fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah further substantiates His role as the shepherd who cares for His people. Consequently, when believers follow the voice of Jesus, they affirm that He is indeed their Shepherd.

Q: Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

The doctrine of election assures Christians of their secure place in God's plan of salvation. Election, a foundational doctrine in Reformed theology, emphasizes God's sovereign choice in salvation. Ephesians 1:4-5 states, 'He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.' This doctrine is crucial for Christians as it underscores God's initiative in salvation rather than human effort, affirming that it is by grace that we are saved. Understanding election fosters humility and gratitude, reminding us that our faith is not a result of our merit but of God's eternal purpose. Furthermore, it provides comfort and assurance, as Romans 8:30 reassures that those whom God predestined, He also called, justified, and glorified.

Let's open our Bibles today to
the book of John, chapter 10. Now, I don't do this very often,
but last week and this week, I'm bringing one message in two
parts. Last week's message was from
John, chapter 10, and the title of that message was, The Shepherd
of the Sheep, John 10, 14 through 18. Now, this morning, I want to speak to you on the
subject, the sheep of the shepherd. And this is taken from that same
10th chapter of John, verses 22 through 31. Now, our Lord
had been speaking to these people, John chapter 10, about His divine
person and His glorious redemptive work. He declared, I am the good
shepherd. I know my sheep. and have known
of mine, as the Father knoweth me, even so know I the sheep. And I lay down my life for the
sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this foal, them
also I must bring. And they shall hear my voice,
and they shall be one foal, and they shall be one shepherd."
Now, he was at Jerusalem Look at verse 22 and 23. He was at
Jerusalem, and it was during a great feast of dedication.
There were lots of people there. Many religious people there for
the feast of dedication. And our Lord was walking in Solomon's
porch, and these people had heard this message. Some of them got
very angry. Some of them said, he hath a
devil. Some of them said, he's crazy. Why do you listen to him?
But there was a great division over what he had said about being
a good shepherd and having a sheep. And so these religious Jews came
round about him. Look at verse 24. They came to
him, and as they always did, they were trying to trap him. trying to trap him. They were
trying to find a way to take him to the authorities. They
wanted Jesus of Nazareth dead. They wanted him out of the way.
And they continually tried to trap him in his speech. They
tried to find something on him that they could report to the
authorities. They tried every way. And here
they came up to him, and this is what they said in John 10,
24. They said, now, if you be the Christ, the Christ, If you
be the King of the Jews, the Christ, the Messiah, tell us
plainly, tell us in no uncertain terms, tell us in plain words,
say it with your own mouth, I am the Christ, I am the expected
Messiah of the Jews, I am the King of the Jews, say it, tell
us plainly. They wanted him to do that, not
because they wanted to know if he were the Messiah. They didn't
believe him. They didn't believe he was the Christ. They said,
can anything good come out of Nazareth? They said, oh, we know
him. He's the carpenter. We know his
mother and father and his brothers and sisters. We know all about
him. Why they were asking him this, tell us plainly, tell us
boldly in your own words, say it, I am the Christ. They wanted
to run immediately and tell the Romans and tell the authorities
that he claims to be a king. That's why they crucified him. That's what they put over his
head when they nailed him to a cross. This is Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews. That's what Pilate asked them,
shall I crucify your king? They said, we have no king but
Caesar. That's the charge they brought against him when they
brought him to Pilate. They said, he says he's a king. He says
he's a king. When the soldiers took him down
to the soldiers' hall and mistreated him and humiliated him, in what
character did they mistreat him? The king. They put a crown of
thorns on his head. They put a purple robe on his
shoulders. They put a reed for a scepter
in his hand. And they mocked him and bowed
the knee and said, Hail, King of the Jews. That's the character
in which he was rejected. That's the character in which
he was tried. That's the character in which he was crucified. And
that's exactly what he is. He is the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. He's God's King. And that's the
very character in which a man will receive him if he's ever
saved. Paul said in Romans 10, If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth Jesus to be King, Lord, and believe in thine heart that
God raised him from the dead, I shall be saved. The gateway
into the Kingdom of God is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Now
that's so. And they said, we want to hear
you say it. I am the Christ. Now tell us plainly, if you be
the Christ, how did He answer that challenge? Look at verse
25. How did the Lord answer? He says,
I told you. I did tell you. And you didn't
believe me. You didn't believe me. The works
that I do, in my Father's name. They bear witness of me. And
you didn't believe the works either. You see, what I told
you was crystal clear. And what the Scriptures tell
you is crystal clear. And you have no excuse. I told
you. And you didn't believe. You see,
my friends, the Old Testament Scriptures testify of Christ.
You want to know who He is? Read the Scriptures. To Him give
all the prophets witness. That's what the Old Testament
Scriptures are all about, Christ. And not only do the Scriptures
tell us who He is, the works that He did, the blind see, and
the lame walk, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised. The
works that He did, the works that the Father gave Him to do,
bear witness of Him. The Father Himself declared who
He is. The angel stood on the hillsides
of Judea and declared loud and clear, We bring you good tidings
of great joy which shall be to all people unto you as born this
day in the city of David, Bethlehem, a Savior who is none other than
Christ the Lord. Oh, we have plenty of witnesses.
We have plenty of testimonies. We have plenty of Scripture.
We have no reason not to know who He is. You're the Christ? I told you. I told you. And you didn't believe me. Is
this said about you? But you believe not. Why didn't
they believe? Why didn't these people believe?
Well, there's several reasons you can give for that. One is
the evil of the heart. Why don't people believe the
gospel today? It's the same gospel. We have more revelation today
than Abraham had. We have more revelation than
Moses had. more than David, the man after
God's own heart. We have more revelation than
Isaiah. Christ has come and died and risen again, ascended and
gone back to heaven, and the canon of Scripture is complete.
But men do not believe because of the evil in their hearts.
Men do not believe because of the pride of their hearts. Men
do not believe because of their blindness to spiritual things.
If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom
the God of this world hath blinded their minds. The veil is over
their eyes. Paul wrote that about the Jewish
nation. The veil is over their eyes when Moses is read. But
here, chiefly, primarily, why do men not believe? They said, tell us, are you the
Christ? Let's hear you say it. He said, I told you. I told you,
and you didn't believe me. And all the witnesses and works
and words and Scripture, my Father, all of these works that I do
bear witness of me, and you don't believe. But you believe not.
But you believe not. Verse 26, Because. Because you are not of my sheep. That's why you don't believe.
You're not of my sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and they
follow Me, and I give them eternal life. Now, that's what this message
today is all about. I'm going to pick it up right
there, right there at verse 27. The difference between those
who are sheep and those who are not sheep. I talked to you last
week about the shepherd of the sheep, the grand and glorious,
good, chief, great shepherd. I'm going to talk to you today
about the sheep of the shepherd, the sheep of his pasture. These
people He calls My sheep. These folks of whom He said,
other sheep I have, I must bring them. And He tells these folks,
He said, you don't believe Me. You won't receive Me. You won't
come to Me. Because you are not of My sheep. But now watch, eight
things He says about His sheep. Here they are right here. You
take your Bible and just underline them. Underline them. First of all, He says in verse
27, My sheep hear My voice. They hear My voice. This is two
folks. First of all, they hear his voice in regeneration. That
is, the dead live. You who hath be quickened who
are dead and trespasses in sin. As the father hath life in himself,
even so hath he given to the son to have life in himself.
The son quickeneth whom he will. Just like our Lord stood at the
grave of Lazarus, and he said, Lazarus, come forth. Lazarus
heard his voice. And He came forth. My sheep hear
My voice. And when the dead in sin hear
His voice, the voice of regeneration, the voice of quickening, the
new birth, life through the Word, they hear it. And not only that,
but they hear the Word of God when it's preached. When it's
preached. Now, there's not much preaching
going on today. A lot of singing. A lot of singing. Not much preaching. This program has 28 and a half
minutes of preaching because this generation needs to hear
the truth of God. We don't need more quartets.
We've got too many. We don't need any more trios.
We've got too many. We don't need any more gospel
music conventions. We've got too many. We need some
people to take the Scripture and stand and preach. what God
says to this generation. We're raising a generation that's
ignorant of God's Word. Only they know how to wave their
hands, and they know how to shout, and yell, and scream, and holler.
But that's not what we need. We need to hear what God says.
I heard a preacher on television recently, and they made announcements,
and then they prayed, and then they sang some songs, and then
he said, now I'm going to preach, but now don't y'all go away,
because we're going to have some more music after a while. In other
words, I know you don't want to hear me, I know you're not
going to hear me, but just hang around, we'll sing some more.
We don't need to sing anymore. We need to preach. Faith comes
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Comfort comes by
hearing. Spiritual growth comes by hearing,
by hearing the Word of God. That's how, desire the sincere
milk of the Word that you may grow thereby. Any knowledge we
have of Christ is going to come through His Word. I have manifested
Thy Word to them. My sheep hear My voice." What
is His voice? His Word. He that is of God hears
God's Word, and they love God's Word, and they're hungry for
God's Word, and they long to hear God's Word, and they love
to hear a preacher preach God's Word. Something else about these sheep,
number one, He said, they hear My voice. They hear My Word. That's the green pastures in
which we lie down. His Word. Secondly, he said,
I know them. I know them. The foundation of
God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that
it is. He knows His sheep. Calls them by name. He's always
known them. Eternally in the covenant of
mercy, He's known His sheep. And then look at this. Thirdly,
he said, and they follow me. It doesn't say they ought to
follow Him. I hear preachers say, Christians ought to follow
the Lord. They do. I hear a preacher say this, well, Christians ought
to pray. They do. Christians ought to forgive.
They ought to give. They ought to attend church.
They ought to worship. They do. Every one of them do. They follow
me, Christ said. My sheep hear my voice. They
hear my Word. They long for my Word. They desire
my Word. They feed on my Word. They grow
on my Word. They're comforted by my Word.
And they follow me. They follow me. They follow me
in paths of holiness and righteousness. Shepherds used to mark their
sheep. Robert Murray McShane said, Shepherds used to mark
their sheep. They'd mark them with tar. That's right. They'd
put a gob of tar somewhere on that woolly back. And they'd
know their sheep by the mark, brand, they'd put on them. Our Lord's sheep are marked.
Sometimes when you have an opportunity, jot this down. Write this down.
Exodus 29, 20. This is the way God's sheep are
branded, their marks. The priest of the Old Testament,
when he was consecrated a priest, they put three marks on him with
blood. Three marks. First of all, on
his right ear, they put blood. And then on his hand, on his
thumb, they put blood. And then on the big toe of his
foot, they put blood. The ear, the hand, and the foot. Marked with blood. This is how
God's sheep are marked. They're marked with the ear.
They hear His voice. They hear God's Word. Another
shepherd they'll not follow. A stranger they'll not follow.
They can discern the truth. They can hear the truth. They
know when a man's preaching the truth. They know when a man's
telling the truth. They know the truth. They hear
His voice. They discern truth. Secondly,
He marks them on the hand. They're generous. They're forgiving. They're kind. They reach out
to others. They got the mark of the blood
of Christ on their hands. Be ye kind one to another, forgiving
one another, as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. That's
right. They're marked. They're branded. And then their
feet, they're marked on the foot. They walk in His Word. They walk
in His will. They walk in His way. They walk
with Him. They follow Me. They follow Me. That's my sheep. This is the
sheep of the shepherd. I'm not talking about religious
folks. I'm not talking about all those nice folks that made
a profession of faith and put their names on the church roll
and said, goodbye God, I'll see you in heaven if you make it.
I'm talking about the sheep of the shepherd. Consecrated, dedicated,
ordained, anointed, called, redeemed in Christ, the sheep of the shepherd. My sheep. Hear my voice. They follow me. Listen. And I
give them Eternal life. I give them eternal life. They
don't earn it. They don't merit it. They don't
deserve it. I give it to them. You see, my
friends, eternal life is the gift of God. The wages of sin
is death. I earn that. But the gift of
God's eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. I'm telling
you the truth. This is the record. God has given us eternal life.
He said, Thou hast given me, when he prayed in John 17, he
said, My Father, You have given me power over all flesh. Everybody's in my hands to do
with what I will. Jesus Christ has authority over
all flesh, power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life
to as many as Thou hast given Him. Who has eternal life? Those whom the Father gave to
the Son. Where'd they get it? Where'd
they get this life? The Son gave it to them. I give
them eternal life. Give them. And He's not an Indian
giver. He gives eternal life. Eternal
life, what is it? That's not talking about the
length of it. Somebody says, what's eternal life? That means
you're going to live forever. Everybody's going to live forever. The devils
in hell will live forever, but they don't have eternal life.
They have life that will be eternal, but not eternal life. You see,
eternal life is the life of God. Eternal life is spiritual life.
Eternal life is the life of God in the soul. Eternal life is
what Adam lost in the garden. The quality, not the quantity,
the quality. Eternal life is the life of God. And he said, that's what I give
my sheep. Eternal life. And eternal life is in Christ.
He is our life. Our Lord said that to Martha,
the sister of Lazarus, when she came weeping to our Lord after
Lazarus had been dead four days. And she said, Lord, if you had
been here, he wouldn't have died. But even now, I know whatever
you ask the Father, He'll give you. And Christ said, Martha,
I'm the life. I'm the resurrection and the
life. I give them myself. Eternal life is not only in Christ,
it is Christ. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall we appear with Him and grow with Him. Do
you understand what I'm saying? Eternal life is not believing
a doctrine. It's the indwelling of a person.
Eternal life is not making a profession of religion and changing your
way of living. Eternal life is changing the
management of your soul. It's God comes in and drives
out evil and reigns Himself. He, Christ, lives in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave Himself for me. I give them eternal life. My
Father and I will come in and dwell." And listen, and they'll
never perish. Never perish. Philippians 1,
6 says, "...he that hath begun a good work in you shall complete
it in the day of Jesus Christ." Paul said, I'm convinced of this,
that if God begins a work where? In you. Eternal life in you. Christ in you. God revealed His
Son, Paul said, in me. He'll finish it in the day of
Jesus Christ. Who begins the work? He does.
Who finishes it? He does. He's the author and
finisher of our faith. And He says He'll never leave
them. They'll never perish. Listen to Jeremiah 32. Listen to this. Now here's what
I'm saying. And I know people sit around
and argue about once saved, always saved, once in grace, always
in grace. Listen to me. Quit arguing about that foolishness. Quit arguing. Quit debating those
things. Your eternal salvation depends on who saves you. If
you saved yourself, you'll perish. If your mama saved you, you'll
perish. If your preacher saved you, you'll perish. If God saved
you, you'll never perish. That's just so. He that had begun
a good work in you, you'll finish it. He says in Jeremiah 32, listen
to verse 38, They shall be my people, I'll be their God. I will give them one heart and
one way. that they may fear me forever for their good and the
good of their children. I will make a covenant with them
and I will never turn away from them to do them good and I'll
put my fear in their hearts and they'll never depart from me.
That's what I'm talking about. And that's not just coming down
the aisle, raising your hand, joining the church, and signing
a card, and getting baptized, and quitting, and coming back
later, and leaving next month. And the churches like to put
turnstiles in those places. People going out and coming in.
They're just swapping places, swapping pews. Just keep coming
out and going in. God's people, He said, I'll make
a covenant with them, and I'll never leave them. And I'll put
my love, and fear, and grace in their hearts, and they'll
never leave me. I give them eternal life, and they'll never, never
perish. That soul that on Jesus hath
leaned for repose, I'll never, never, no, never, no, never desert
to expose. That soul, though all hell should
endeavor to shake, I'll never forsake." What can separate me
from the love of God? Tribulation? Persecution? Famine? Life? Death? Enemies? I'm persuaded
that nothing. can separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ our Lord. He says this, listen, verse,
the next thing he says about his sheep, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand. Now I thought about when I looked
at that and sketching these notes down, our Lord said, my sheep
hear my voice, they follow me, every one of them. I give them
eternal life and they're not going to perish, they're my sheep.
They're my children. They're my brethren. They're
my jewels. And nobody's going to take them
away from me. Now, I'm a daddy and a granddaddy. And oh, how
I love my children and my grandchildren. And nobody's going to take them
away from me if I can help it. Nobody's going to come into my
home and take our babies. They're not going to do it. They're
going to have to kill me first. And this is what my Lord is saying,
nobody is going to take them out of my hands. Not Satan, not
evil, not demons, nothing, nothing. They'll never perish and neither
shall any man take them out of my hands. You see, He says, my
Father gave them to me. My Father gave me them. You know,
I had a preacher ask me one time, he said, well, where did the
Lord get his sheep? He says he has some sheep. Where'd he get
them? Well, threefold. I'll answer that question threefold.
We don't have much time, but let me deal with this a moment.
I'll answer it threefold. Number one, where'd he get his
sheep? The Father gave them to him.
Before the foundation of the world. Read your Bible. Before
the foundation of the world. The Father gave Christ a people. He said, all that my Father giveth
me, John 6, 37, will come to me. And him that cometh to me,
I'll in no wise cast out. I came down from heaven not to
do my will, but the will of him that sent me. Secondly, where
did he get his sheep? He bought them. He purchased
them. I lay down my life for the sheep.
He bought them. He redeemed them. Ever one. He
restores my soul. He redeems my life from destruction. He bought me from the law and
bought me from the justice of God. You're not your own. You're
bought with a price. Who bought me? My Lord bought
me. I didn't help Him pay for it either. He paid it all. All
the debt I owe. Sin left a crimson stain. He
washed it white as snow. He bought me. Thirdly, the Holy
Spirit brought me to Him. The Father gave me to Him. He
bought me. And then the Holy Spirit one
day reached down and called me. And brought me to Christ and
nobody's gonna pluck me out of his hand or you either. You see,
here's the reason. He says in verse 30, because
I and my Father are one. I and my Father are one. No man
can pluck them out of the Father's hand. Out of my hand. I and my
Father are one. One in essence, He's God. One
in purpose, a covenant. One in power, the Son quickeneth
whom He will. And one in glory. And you know
what our Lord said? He that honors the Son, the Father
will honor him. My friend, whoever honors the
Son is going to be honored as the Father. Oh, I tell you, today's
religion is a farce and a joke. We better save ourselves from
this untoward generation. Seek the Lord. Cry out for His
mercy. Oh God! I want to be one of your
sheep." A man knocked at the door one time, a wife and her
husband sitting in the living room. Someone knocked at the
door, and she went to the door, and she's gone a good while,
and in a few moments she came back and had the strangest look
on her face, strangest look. Her husband said, what's wrong
with you? She said, who was at the door? She said, well, it
was a man at the door. Her husband said, what did he say to you?
She said, he asked me if I knew the Lord Jesus Christ. And her husband said, well, you
told him you was a member of the church, didn't you? She said, he never asked
me that. Well, he said, you told him you teach Sunday school,
didn't you? You sang in the choir? She said, he didn't ask me that.
Did you tell him your daddy was a preacher? He didn't ask me
that. He didn't ask me if I was a church
member, or if I taught Sunday school, or who my daddy was.
He asked me if I knew the Lord Jesus Christ. And I told him,
no. No, I don't. Do you? He's the
shepherd. I'm the good shepherd. I lay
down my life for the sheep. Another sheep I have, which are
not of this foal, him also I must bring. They'll hear my voice,
and there'll be one foal. And my sheep follow me, and I
give them eternal life, and they'll never perish. And no man will
pluck them out of my hand. My Father gave them to me. My
Father is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of
His hand, because I and my Father are one." Then it took up stone
to stone.

The Sheep of the Shepherd

What does the Bible say about eternal life?

How do we know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd?

Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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The Sheep of the Shepherd

What does the Bible say about eternal life?

How do we know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd?

Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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