I'm speaking to you this morning
on this subject, on the trail of his sheep. I'm saying that
the Good Shepherd is on the trail of his sheep. I'm saying that
the Holy Spirit is on the trail of his sheep. I'm saying that
the man who knows the gospel and his scent of God to preach
the gospel is on the trail of his sheep for the glory of God
Almighty. I want to read a scripture from
John chapter 10. I wish that you'd read the whole
10th chapter of John today. It'd be for your good, for your
benefit if you would. And it would edify you and instruct
you in some very important things. John the 10th chapter. Read it
prayerfully, carefully, slowly. But let me give you two verses.
John 10, 14. and fifteen. He said, Christ
said, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known
of mine. As the Father knoweth 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 foe, this particular group, or even this Jewish nation,
Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there
shall be one foal and one shepherd." Now, my friends, I realize that
what I believe the Bible teaches and what I preach to you on this
television program and have preached to you for the past eight, nine,
or ten years, number one, is in direct conflict with most
of today's religion. I know that. What I believe the
Bible teaches and what I've been preaching to you and what I'm
preaching to you this morning is in direct conflict with most
of today's religion. I realize, secondly, that what
I'm preaching to you is not preached by most preachers. They either
do not know it or, if they know it, dare not preach it. And then,
thirdly, what I'm preaching to you today contradicts directly
contradicts what most religionists believe about God, about man,
about sin, about Christ, about the cross, about salvation, and
about eternal life. But I'm saying this. God's preacher,
his true servant, must not seek to please men, nor to build for
himself a name or a following or a kingdom. We are sent of
God to preach what the Word of God teaches, whatever the cost. The Apostle Paul said, if I please
men, if that's my objective and motive, to please men, I'm not
the servant of Christ. Paul said this to the elders
at Ephesus. He said, I've kept back nothing
profitable unto you. He said, I have not shunned to
declare unto you all the counsel of God. And I have coveted no
man's silver or gold. I haven't asked you for any."
He said, in fact, I've worked with my own hands to support
myself and those who are with me, building tents to keep from
being a burden to you and to keep from giving you the wrong
impression that God needs you. You know, the Lord said through
David, He said, if I was hungry, I wouldn't ask you. He said,
the cattle on a thousand hills are mine. The gold and silver
that has been mine and hadn't been mine is mine. And I'll tell
you this, the older I get, the more wary I am of today's religious
games and religious pretension and hypocrisy and showmanship
and today's religious con men. I tell you, it's so easy to get
swept up today in the games of religion. You're swept up in
the games of religion. I've watched some of these television
preachers start out with some so-called good principles. They're
going to do this and do that. But as they get a little notoriety
and a little success and build a few more buildings, they get
away from their original purposes and principles and get swept
up in this showmanship. Somebody said not long ago, religion
is showmanship, and when your competitor gets a bigger bloom,
you just get a bigger bloom than his, and offer it to the public,
and it's going to blow up in everybody's face when it's over
anyway. But I'm wary of that. Totally wary. And I'm standing
by the same principles that I stood by when I started on this station
many years ago, preaching the same message. Not begging, our
God's not a beggar. Not acting as a religious huckster
and merchandiser of souls, because our God will meet the need of
his true prophets. But I'll tell you, it's easy
to get swept up in these games, because the hearts of men are
deceitful and desperately wicked, and because we're covetous and
self-centered creatures, because we lack the praise of men, we
seek the honor of men and not the honor of Jesus Christ. But
God's true preacher, He's going to stay by the gospel, and he's
going to preach it for the glory of God, whatever it costs him
and whatever it costs those who hear him. Or that we might do
what we do for the glory of God, or that we might be concerned
for the glory of God, not for tomorrow, not for our buildings
and our name and our schools and our programs and all of these
things, but just concerned for the glory of God. I'll tell you
this. I said this to the congregation
just last night. All the great events of life,
the great events are performed but one time. I was born one
time in the flesh. I'm not talking about the new
birth now. I'm not talking about regeneration. I'm talking about
coming into this world. I came into this world one time.
I was born one time. August the 19th, 1926, 56 years
ago, I was born into this world. I'm going to live one time on
this earth. No more. No reincarnation. No coming back
into this world. I'm going to live one time. One
time. And then I'm going to die one
time. It's appointed unto men once to die. And that day is
approaching. It's a whole lot nearer now than
it's ever been. My life is about six-eighths
or three-fourths gone. And then I'm going to stand in
the judgment one time. Stand before Almighty God. I'm
going to hear him say, depart from me, I never knew you, bind
him hand and foot, cast him into outer darkness, and a lot of
religious folks are going to hear that. Those who said we
preached in your name and prophesied in your name and did many wonderful
works in your name, they're going to hear him say, I never knew
you. Some folks are going to hear him say, come ye blessed,
enter into the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation
of this world. I want to hear that. Desperately,
I want to hear that. My friend, after that, we're
going to enter one time into a long, long eternity from whence
there is no return and in which there's no change. He that's
filthy, let him be filthy still. He that's ungodly, let him be
ungodly still. He that's righteous, let him
be righteous still. Life is real. Death is real. Judgment is real. Eternity is
real. And so it's time we got serious
and quit playing games and entertaining men on the road to hell and building
our great selfish, self-centered monuments to our own names. Most
preachers or people know more about them than they do about
God. They know more about them than they do about the Christ
they claim to preach. They know their name and they
don't know the names of the apostles. It's time to get serious about
our relationship with God. Not to present the preacher,
but to present Christ. Not to leave anything to whim
and fancy, but to turn men's eyes to Calvary. Because our
God says over and over again, don't boast of tomorrow. You
don't know what a day is going to bring forth. Teach us to number
our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. James the Apostle
said, what is your life? It is but a vapor. It's here
for a moment and then it's gone. What is your life? It's appointed
unto me and wants to die. So I'm saying for those of you
who have some wisdom, those of you who have some perception,
those of you to whom God has given some understanding of the
reality of this critical situation of life and death and judgment
and eternity, To those of you who know the seriousness of the
issues of life and the certainty of death and judgment, I'm going
to set forth some solemn truths today, and I want you to think
on them. We're going to go to school today.
We hear preachers holler, believe, believe, believe. They never
tell people what to believe, what to believe about God, what
to believe about man, what to believe about the gospel, what
to believe about Christ, what to believe about the mysteries
of the grace of God, the kingdom of God. Just believe, believe,
believe. Keep the faith and sing another song. Keep the faith
and pass the offering plate. Keep the faith and send us a
dollar. Keep the faith and keep us on the air. They have programs
to raise money. They have more programs. to have
more programs, to raise money to have more programs, you know.
And I hear them all the time saying, send us an offering so
we can preach the gospel, and I never hear any of them preaching
the gospel. I just hear them raising more money to have more
programs, you know. But we're going to school today,
and I want you to listen. Will you get serious? You may
stand before God tomorrow, but I'm going to give you about six
things that you need to think about. Think on these things.
Number one, man. That's us I'm talking about,
me and you. I'm not talking down to you,
I'm talking about us. Man, and I'm one of them, is a fallen
sinful creature. The scripture says in Romans
5, 12, Wherefore by one man sin entered this world, and death
by sin, and so death passed upon all men. The death of sin, for
all sin, Romans 10, Romans 3, 10 says, it is written, there
is none righteous, no not one, not one, there is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God, There's none that doeth
good, no not one. The scripture says God looked
down from heaven to see if any did do good. And he found there's
none righteous, no not one. That every imagination of man's
heart continually was evil. Romans 3.23 says, all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. John said in 1 John 1.8,
if you say you have no sin, you deceive yourself. If you say
you have not sinned, you make God a liar, and the truth's not
in you. Paul said, In my flesh dwelleth
no good thing. In this flesh no man can please
God. Isaiah said, We all do fade as
the leaf. Our righteousness is a filthy
rag. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified. Now, this understanding of this
state of man, this condition of man since the fall, this principle
of evil, this nature of sin, this body of death, this body
of sin that dwells within us, that state of guilt led the prophets
to ask some questions. I'm amazed that people today
don't ask any questions, any sensible, intelligent Bible questions. Oh, they ask, will America fight
Russia? That's a profound question to most people. Where'd King
get his wife? Brother, with all the questions
you need answered, that's the last one. Or will we know each
other in heaven? My friend, if you never get there,
it won't make any difference, will it? So you need to ask some
questions. And these prophets found out
the condition of man by nature, and they asked this question,
how can man be just with God? Now that's a question for you
to contemplate a little while. How can he be clean that's born
of a woman? That's a pretty good question.
Here's another one, how can God be just and justify the ungodly? Here's another one, who shall
stand in his presence? And the answer comes back, he
that hath clean hands and a pure heart. And that's nobody, absolutely
nobody. And here another question is
asked, if a man sins against a man, an advocate, a lawyer
will plead for him, a judge will plead for him, but if a man sins
against God, Who's going to stand for it? So I'm saying to you,
we need to consider our condition. Can the Ethiopian change his
skin? Can the leper change his spot? Jeremiah said, neither
can you do good that are accustomed to doing evil. Here's another statement. I said
this, man, by the fall, by his nature, is a sinful creature
of no spiritual ability, no spiritual desire, no spiritual understanding.
But the Lord God, secondly, according to the Bible, the Lord God, in
his infinite, eternal mercy and grace, has purposed to save out
of Adam's fallen race and redeem a people to populate his heaven
and to populate glory, and every one of them he has determined,
predetermined, will be just like his son Jesus Christ. Now, he
didn't purpose to save the angels. The angels fell before man, did
you know that? Most of you do, some of you do.
And the scripture says he didn't take on himself to see the nature
of angels. He left them reserved, chained
in everlasting darkness awaiting judgment. But he, according to
his own wisdom and his own will, took on him the seed of Abraham,
that is to say, the angels which fell were not redeemed and will
not be redeemed, but God Almighty has been pleased to save a people
out of Adam's race, out of every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue
unto heaven. Now, the Scriptures teach that
before man fell, that God ordained that salvation and ordained Christ
to be the surety of that salvation, the guarantor of that salvation,
for it says He's the surety of an eternal covenant. His blood
is the blood of an eternal covenant. He's the Lamb slain before the
foundation of the world. I'm saying that God didn't wait
till man fell and then decide how to save him. God didn't wait
till man fell and then decide who he'd save. God had purposed
in an everlasting covenant of grace before the foundation of
the world to have a people redeemed by Christ and conformed to his
image. That's what the Word of God teaches.
You can call that high doctrine or deep doctrine or anything
you want to, it's just truth, that's all. Nothing deep about
it, it's just so. And the Scriptures teach that
because of sin, And because of darkness and spiritual death,
no man by nature will come to God. No man desires God. Men desire darkness. They love
darkness. They love evil. We do, by nature,
by birth. If any man comes to God, God
will draw him. If any man calls on God, God
will call on him first. If any man loves God, it's because
God loved him first. That's so. That's so. Here in His love, not that we
love God, He loved us. We love Him because He first
loved us. That's the Word of God. So from the beginning, Almighty
God, out of Adam's race, according to the good pleasure of His own
will, chose a people and called them His sheep. That's right.
In 2 Thessalonians 2.13, it says, We're bound to give thanks for
you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. Ephesians 1, 3, and 4 says, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ,
according as he hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Christ said to his disciples,
You didn't choose me. You wouldn't choose me. You had
no desire to choose me. You had no understanding whereby
you could choose me. You have fallen me, and I chose
you. That's what the Word of God teaches.
Romans 8, 28 says, we know that all things work together for
good to them who love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate, predetermined to be conformed to the image
of his Son. And whom he did predestinate, he called. And whom he called,
he justified. And whom he justified, he glorified.
What shall we say to these things? If God be for us an eternal If
God be for us in eternal wisdom, if God be for us in eternal grace,
who can be against us? Who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? Election doesn't shut people
out. It is a door by which men enter. Election's not the sinner's
enemy, sinner's friend. If he had not chosen me, I wouldn't
have chosen him. If he had not loved me, I'd have
never loved him. If he did not call me, if he
had not called me, I'd have never called him. That's so. Man is
a fallen creature, but God's determined to save fallen creatures.
And then thirdly, our Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven.
Now throughout the Old Testament, in every dispensation, God promised
his coming and pictured his coming. and prophesied His coming, and
told of His coming, and typified His coming, and finally in the
fullness of time, God sent forth His Son made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them born under the law. God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Christ came, sent
by the Father to save those whom the Father in His eternal purpose
and plan decreed and determined to have the gift of life. Matthew
1.21, the angel said to Joseph, call his name Jesus, call his
name Jesus, because he's going to save his people from their
sins. Paul said, Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners
of whom I'm chief. Christ said himself, I've come
to seek and to save the lost. John 10.11, he said, I'm the
good shepherd, and the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
John 10.15, he said, I lay down my life for the sheep. I'll tell
you, in his life, in his life, He is our representative. By
Adam's transgression, many were made sinners. By Christ's obedience,
we were made righteous. In His death, He's our substitute.
By His stripes, we're healed. In His resurrection, He's our
hope. He said, because I live, you'll live. In glory, He's our
forerunner who has already entered within the veil and staked a
claim for us. Already entered in. At the right
hand of God, He's our mediator and our high priest. And in all
things, we're complete in Him. For He is made unto us wisdom,
all we need, righteousness, all we need, redemption, all we need,
sanctification, all we need. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and we are complete in Him. And no word
in the English language describes the blessings that the believer
has in Christ better than the word C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E. Complete. Complete. All the law requires, all that
justice demands, all that God commands, all that heaven expects
is met in Jesus Christ. That's so. That's so. Man's a
fallen creature. God from eternity says, I'm going
to have a people out of that fallen race. And he sent his
son down here to provide a remedy. to provide a ransom, to provide
a redemption for those people. Now, fourthly, his sheep will
hear his voice, and they'll believe on him, and they'll come to him.
He said that. You read John 10. There came
some religious people to him that day while he was speaking,
and they said to him, in John 10, 24, same chapter you got
open there, they said, if you be the Christ, tell us plainly,
if you be the Christ. if you be the Christ. He replied,
I told you. See it there in verse 26? He
said, I told you, but you didn't believe me. I told you who I
am. I told you whence I came. But
you didn't believe me. And you believe not because you're
not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I'm on
the trail of his sheep. He's purposed their salvation.
He's purchased their salvation. He's promised their salvation.
And they're going to hear. He said, they, my sheep, will
hear my voice. Not an audible voice from heaven.
They're going to hear Him speak through His Word. They're going
to hear Him speak through His Spirit. They're going to hear
Him speak through His Messenger. They're going to hear Him speak
through His Gospel. They'll hear my voice. Watch it. They'll hear
my voice. I know them. They follow me.
I give them eternal life. They'll never perish. No man
will ever pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them
to me is greater than all, and nobody's going to pluck them
out of His hand. Go back to John 6, 37. What are you saying, preacher? I'm saying that His sheep, will
hear his voice. He'll cross their path. He'll
confront them with the truth, and they'll hear it. They'll
be given ears to hear. They'll be given hearts to understand.
They'll be given eyes to see. What other men don't see, hear,
nor understand. Our Lord said, John 6, 37, look
at this. All that my Father giveth me
shall come to me. They shall come. And him that
cometh I'll in no wise cast out. No wise cast out. The shepherd
is on the trail of these sheep. And the Holy Spirit is on the
trail of these sheep. And the church is on the trail
of this sheep. And the preacher of God is on
the trail of his sheep. And the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians
chapter 1 says, I know your election of God, brethren, beloved. How
do you know, Paul? Because our gospel came to you,
not in word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, in much assurance.
That's evidence that you're one of God's elect because you heard
the gospel. You heard it. You received it. You believed
it. And not only that, but you walked in it. You became followers
of us and the Lord. Not only that, but you became
an example in your lives to all men. You became new creatures.
God changed your habits, your ways, your conversation and conduct.
You became witnesses. You told other people about Christ.
You turned from your idols to serve the living God, and right
now you're waiting for His Son from Heaven. You're one of His
elect. All the evidences point to the fact that you're one of
his sheep. You've got his brand on your ear, you heard his voice. You've got his brand on your
foot, you're following him. Now watch this. Alchondor, number
five, in every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue under heaven,
there's some sheep of Christ. I don't know who they are, but
I'm looking for them. I'm preaching this gospel every
Sunday. I'm not preaching about it. I'm not saying I'm going
to preach it if you send me a dollar. I'm preaching it. I'm telling
you who Christ is, and what He did, and where He came from,
and where He came to, and what He accomplished, and how He died,
and where He is now, and that's your foundation, and that's your
hope, and that's your refuge, and that's your peace in Him.
And I'm pressing upon you the claims of Jesus Christ, the royal
claims, the crown rights of Jesus Christ, and calling upon men
to bow to Him. bow to Christ, not to an ordinance,
not to a law, not to a denomination, not to a person on this earth,
but to Christ. And I know out yonder there's
an Abraham buried in idolatry, one of God's sheep. There's a
Saul of Tarsus buried in religion, one of God's sheep. There's a
Zacchaeus sitting up a tree somewhere. He'd been up a tree a long time,
in position, power, and possession, but he's one of God's sheep.
And out yonder is a Mary Magdalene, a possessor of seven devils,
and an Onesimus running from the law, and a harlot dedicated
to the flesh, and a jailer, and a Lydia, and a thief, and a woman
at the well. And a lot of you religious people
go missing, because you're not his sheep. But these people are. These are my sheep. He said,
I pray for them. I don't pray for the world. I
pray for them which thou hast given me. They'll hear my voice,
and they'll come to me. They'll come to me. And I'll
tell you something else about them. Once they come, You couldn't
run them away with a ten-foot pole. They will persevere. They will continue in the faith.
That's what he said. That's what he said. My sheep
will hear my voice, and they'll follow me, and I give them eternal
life, and they'll never perish. Never perish. Those whom the
Father has purposed to save, He said, I'll raise them at the
last day. Those who see the Son and believe on Him, I'll raise
them at the last day. Those whom the Holy Spirit quickens,
those whom the Holy Spirit regenerates, those whom the Holy Spirit begets
and awakens, they will continue in the faith. The just shall
live by faith. They shall continue in the faith. Man's a sinner. God's purpose
is to have a people. He gave His Son to redeem them.
He gave His Spirit to call them. He's going to confront them with
the Gospel. And you know how you can tell His sheep? They'll
hear his voice. They'll hear his gospel. They'll
bow down. They'll follow the shepherd. Other sheep I have
which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. They won't
follow another shepherd. They won't hear another voice.
They'll follow me. Not me. Not any other preacher. They'll follow Christ. And they'll
never perish. I give them eternal life.