Book of John, chapter 10. I'm going to do more talking
tonight than preaching. I've had several things this
week to promote this message that I'm
bringing tonight. I'm trying to, in these days,
speak to the issues. I'm trying to meet people where
they are with the message as it is. glorifying to God in His
true character. I've had some high points and
some low points this week, but these high points have brought
me a great deal of joy. I'm going to share with you tonight
two letters. One, you know it's a shame that,
not a shame either, I submit to the words of the Apostle Paul
it's not permitted for a woman to speak. I started to say it's
a shame these women couldn't testify, But I tell you, they've got some
things to say. And I've got two letters here.
One I'm not going to identify because I didn't mention it to
the lady. I keep things in confidence that
people tell me and write to me. But I'm going to share this letter
without telling you who it's from. The other one I'm going
to identify. This especially lifted my spirits. Here's a letter I received this
week after Sunday's messages. I was especially grateful to
sit in on last Sunday's sermons. They taught me so much and reinforced
my assurance in Christ, my foundation and solid rock. The Word of God
preached enables me to discern and probe once more to see whether
I am of the true faith from God. Have I repented? My hope can
only be in the Lord who made repentance possible through His
mercy. I am thankful that I can see
some inward work being made known in me through Christ And also,
I'm thankful that I have an appetite to hear God's Word. Surely, He,
capital H-E, is the one who gives me that desire to get to know
Him better. His name is wonderful." Now,
you can keep preaching when you get a letter like that, you know.
It's ready to go again. If it was all like that, I'd
preach better, I believe. But I have to look into some
faces I'd rather not look into. This one here, Denita, I'm going
to identify you because I called you and asked you if I could.
And when I received this letter, I called her and I said, Mrs. Elliott, that's a masterpiece.
It's a masterpiece. And I want to share it with you.
It begins, Dear Henry, it is much easier for me to write this
letter than to tell you in person. And I find this is true. I can
think of more things to say in the study. I get up here and
you tighten up. You experience that? Oh, I think everybody does. If somebody were to call on you
tonight to give your testimony, you can think of a hundred things
after you get home you should have said, you know. It's difficult. I know it's difficult. Somehow,
face to face, the words just don't come out right. First,
I want to thank you for your message on repentance tonight.
I left the service feeling very encouraged and uplifted. That
message seemed meant for me. You know, Joe and Terrell and
all the preachers in here, Bruce, Charlie, this is something we
can learn. Even a message on repentance gives assurance to
God's sheep. You would think, a lot of, a
preacher told me one time, he was talking to me on the telephone,
and he said, I said, how many folks you got out there? He said,
I did have about a hundred. I said, well, how many you got
now? He said, about 30. I said, what happened? He said, I preached
three sermons on repentance and they all quit. Well, now, wait
a minute. Hold on. I know what he did.
I know exactly what he did. He whipped them to death with
the law. Repentance toward God and faith in Christ. He missed
Christ. Our sermon on repentance gave
strength and confidence and hope to God's children. There's a
difference. You know, this is a sower. This is a sword, and it has to
be handled with care. It has to be handled with care.
It can do a lot of good. It can do a lot of harm. If you're
not careful how you handle this, this sword, it's dangerous. It's
got two edges. It's supposed to kill and make
alive. It's supposed to wound and heal. It's not just supposed
to wound and kill and destroy. I read on. Secondly, I'd like
for you to know how much I love and appreciate you and your message.
By preaching Christ and Him crucified at every service, you helped
me realize that for a long time I had trusted in a false profession,
in an emotional experience that happened to me when I was just
13 years old. I grew up in a very religious
home. My life revolved around the church. And for many years
I heard and trusted what I thought was the gospel. I grew up believing
that I could accept Christ or reject him, that he could be
your buddy, friend, and pal, that Jesus, I believed in then,
was my Savior, but he was not my Lord. I had been taught that
your works could not save you, but looking back, I realize that
the theme of almost every sermon I heard was works, works, works.
When I first came to church here at 13th Street, I spent all my
time finding fault with your sermons, arguing with your message,
and trying to justify myself and my beliefs. If the Lord in
His grace had not brought me to Terry, I probably never would
have come back. I didn't realize how the Lord
was working in my heart until I talked with a friend one day
about what I believed. Surprisingly, I found myself
quoting some of the things you had said in your sermons about
God's sovereignty, man's, for instance, my sinfulness, the
atonement, and truly believing in Christ. Election took a little
longer. That's a good statement. It was
very hard for me to accept that I was a sinner, when for years
I had believed I was right with God. It was also very hard for
me to accept that the things my family, whom I loved dearly,
had taught me were not altogether true. And it's not their fault.
They're held in the same bondage and tradition that all of our
families were held in so many years, religious tradition. God,
through your message, showed me a different gospel, one I
could not deny no matter how hard I tried. I heard more Scripture
in three years than I'd heard in 20. I thank God so that he
opened my eyes and revealed his Word to me. From that time on,
I finally quit arguing and began to truly trust Christ and trust
his Word. It was then I came to you about
a transfer of my membership, and I asked to be baptized. I
wanted to tell you all this then, but I didn't. Since then, since
she was baptized some time ago, God has continued to work in
my heart and open my eyes more and more. And the more He reveals
to me, the more I rejoice, and the more I realize how blind
I was. Would you remember me in prayer?
Isn't that a masterpiece? But you just described the experience
just about everybody here. Starting up here, right on out. Religion. Sounds like the Apostle
Paul's experience. And I just wouldn't take, you
wouldn't take anything for those with you. Treasures and both
a masterpiece. And then Jackie, lift up your
hand back there a minute, would you? Jackie Simpson came over
and said the Lord had done a work of grace in her heart and saved
her and she's going to be baptized Sunday week. So we've had a good
week. God's moving and blessing. And
it was a good day last Sunday. And I realize, now if you look
at John 10, I realize that what we preach here, I realize what's
being preached here, and what we believe the Bible teaches.
I realize, and I've known it even before you said these things,
Danita, that it's in direct conflict with 99% of today's religion. It's in direct contradiction.
It's not only in direct contradiction to 99% of today's religion, but
it's in direct contradiction to what the average person believes
about God, what the average person believes about man, what the
average person believes about sin, what the average person
believes about salvation and the work of Christ. What we preach
here on the Lord's Day is in direct contradiction to what
you hear in most pulpits. And I'll tell you this, what
makes it difficult is not only contradictory to what you hear
in the average pulpit, it contradicts what your own heart tells you. Now that's just so. Every man
by nature is an Armenian. We are born Armenians. We are
born self-righteous Pharisees. And the things we're preaching
here just contradicts all those things. But my friends, I'm learning
this more and more. The purpose of God's church and
the purpose of God's preacher is not to please men. The purpose
of God's church and the purpose of God's preacher is to glorify
God Almighty. Let me show you a verse I was
looking at today in 2 Corinthians 5. Now, we've got to remember
this, and this is a battle that we have to constantly fight.
The purpose of God's church and the purpose of God's preacher
is not to pacify the flesh. It's not to please men. It's
to glorify God. Paul says here in 2 Corinthians
5.16, Wherefore, henceforth, know we no man after the flesh. Know we no man after the flesh.
We will not be persuaded. We will not be intimidated. We
will not be cowed by men. We know no man after the flesh.
Though we've known Christ after the flesh, there was a time when
the disciples followed Christ in the flesh here on this earth,
yet henceforth know we Him that way no more. We know no man after
the flesh. A minister who stands in the
pulpit and preaches ought to stand there and preach as if
he, and I used to hear Brother Shelton say this all the time,
he said, when my wife sits in the congregation, she's no longer
my wife, she's a member of the church. And she's not to influence
your message. And your dearest friend, and
sometimes this is tough. This is what Paul is saying here,
we know no man after the flesh, no matter his prominence or his
poverty. No matter his influence and power
or his weakness. No matter if he's our enemy or
our friend, no matter if he's a relative of what, we know no
man after the flesh. This is so or it's not so. And it should not be influenced
by votes or influence of power or by smiles or frowns. You see
what I'm saying? We don't know any man after the
flesh. Now, this is not easy. You say, well, that's just natural.
Any preacher feels that way. Oh, wait a minute. Now, so is it. Not so. And this is what I'm saying,
and I tell you this, the older I get, the more weary I become
of what we call religion, and religious people and religious
games. Brother Jack Shanks got up in
a conference in Houston, and he said first words out of his
mouth in preaching his message. You remember, James, he said,
I'm tired of religion. I'm tired of religion. I'm tired
of religious people, and I'm tired of religious games. Oh,
what I'd give if God Almighty would manifest His presence and
power in this congregation tonight. Wouldn't that be something? Somebody said one time, all the
world is a stage, and everybody's an actor. You ever heard that? So play your part well. Well,
now, my friends, that may be true in the natural realm. But
that's not true among those who know Christ. We are not playing
games. Now, we're not actors. I'm not
acting out of part here tonight. If I am, God help me, because
he hates hypocrisy. God hates pretension. If you're
playing a game, it'd be better if you'd play somewhere else.
This is not a stage, and I'm not an actor, and we're not playing
a game. This is life and death. This is life and death. Do you
realize that? I know it's easy to get swept
up in the game. It's easy to get swept up because
we're self-centered creatures. We like to play. We like to pretend. The heart is deceitful. It's
desperately wicked. Who can know it? But my friends,
life is real. Life is real. I don't care for
that little plaque people have on their wall, only one life
will soon be passed, and what's done for Christ will last. I
like half of it. I like that part that says, only
one life, it'll soon be passed. I'll tell you, we're living people
with one precious treasure in our possession. And I'm not talking
about your homes, and I'm not talking about your health. I'm
talking about your life. your life. I'm telling you, life
is real. If you don't believe it's real,
let me take you tonight up to the Veterans Administration Hospital
and let you sit by the bedside of our friend George Brown, 56
years old. They called me last night and
said that he may not live through the night. He was here just a
month ago in the services, counting money with the finance committee. And now, just a matter of hours
or a matter of days, one of our ladies, I received word before
I came to church tonight, 51, 52 years of age, has cancer of
the uterus, faces serious surgery, didn't know it until just two
or three days ago. Let me tell you something, this
thing's real. Now, this thing is real. Some
of you ladies have faced this. You've faced death, you've faced
surgery, you've faced death, you've faced not knowing whether
the next hour was your last hour or the next day was your last
day. You know, David said, teach me, O Lord, to number my days,
not my years, my months, my days, that I may apply my heart to
wisdom. Death is real. Death is real. This is no game. One day we're coming to the end
of this road. One day we're coming to the end
of this road we're walking. I know we walk like we're going
to walk here from now on. We live like we're going to live
here from now on. We're building things that we
plan to use in 20 years, like that old man Woody used to tell
me about. He was about 85, wasn't he? He
went to try to buy some land, and he planted a bunch of trees,
little old pine trees, weren't they? You remember that? Woody
wanted to buy some property off of him. About 85, wasn't he?
And Willie wanted to buy the property. He said, no, I planted
them trees, they're going to be ready in about 20 years and
I'm going to make some money off of it. He was 85 then, wasn't
he? Isn't that true? Now, if anybody
else had done that, he'd have called him a fool, wouldn't he?
But he's planning on being here. And you and I are the same way. I tell you, life is real, and
death is real, and let me tell you, judgment's real. Old John wrote, he said, I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God. I saw. I saw they stood before God. I'll tell you something else,
my friend. Eternity is long. Life is real, death is real,
judgment is real, and eternity is long, long, long. And God
says to us, He says, don't boast of tomorrow. Will you quit talking
about tomorrow? Well, you quit saying, and he
says this to us all the time, and we just keep on doing it.
He said, don't say tomorrow we're going into the city and we're
going to abide there for a week or a month or a year and we're
going to do this, that, and the other. No, quit saying that.
Say, the Lord willing, I'll go do this, that, and the other. Well, you say, that seems to
be a little religious, it seems to be a little pious. I don't
care what it seems, it's so anyway. The Lord willing. The Lord willing,
today, He said, today's the day of salvation, now's the accepted
time. Harden not your heart. Today. Today, let my relationship with
God be what I want it to be in the day of my death. Right? That make sense to you? Does it? What are you going to
do about it? Today, let my relationship with
God Almighty be what I want it to be in the day of my death. This may be the day of my death. That's what I'm saying. Also,
let my faith in Christ, because I tell you, as death finds you,
judgment will try you and eternity will keep you. There's no time
to cry for mercy when Almighty God shuts the door. He said,
when I've risen to and shut the door, they shall stand without
and cry, Lord, open to us. Today, let my faith in Christ
be what I want it to be in the day of my death. Let my claim
right now, this hour, 815. On December 8, 1982, right now,
this hour, let my faith in Christ be what I want it to be when
God shuts the door. He may shut it any time. The
instrument of death may be in your stomach right now. And I'll tell you this, he that
being often reproved and hardeneth his neck. And you say, well,
I'm not hardening my neck. Any resistance against God is
a hardening of the neck. Any unwillingness to submit to
Christ, any unwillingness to confess Christ, any unwillingness
to walk with Christ, any unwillingness to submit to Christ is a stiffening
of the neck. And he that being often reproved
and hardened is his heart and stiffened is his neck shall certainly
be destroyed, shall certainly be cut off, and that without
remedy. I'm saying today, let my relationship
with everybody else, other people, be what I want it to be in the
day of my death. Let my relationship, my attitude
toward you, toward you and you, oh, God, let it be right now
what I want it to be when I stand before you. Oh, I don't know,
but I do know, too. That's exactly what I'm saying.
That's the seriousness of this thing. Today, let my love and
my affection and my conversation be what I want it to be in the
day that God Almighty says, the Master's come and calling for
you. Oh, I've got some things to do.
I've got some things to straighten out. I've got some apologies
to make. I've got some fences to mend.
I've got some bridges to build. The Master says he's calling
for you. Oh, but you go tell him. No,
you tell him. You tell him. This is your encounter, not mine.
You tell him. He's calling for you. I don't
know why we want to keep playing these religious games. I don't
know why we want to keep... We're not deceiving God. We're
not mocking God. We're deceiving ourselves. We're
deceiving ourselves. We're playing at the most serious
business in the world. We've developed into a mechanical,
theological, doctrinal, orthodox profession of faith, and the
grace of God is so far into our hearts as much as a heathen hot-and-tot
in Africa. That's so. Today, let my attitude
and my spirit toward God's providence and toward God's purpose and
toward God's Word be what I want it to be when God Almighty calls
me home. Brethren, that's what I'm saying.
I think it's the most serious thing that we can consider I
know we're sermon tasters and we're church samplers. We go
around to see if this fits our opinion or fits our approval
or this over here is maybe what we want to hear, we don't like
this preacher, that preacher, that preacher ain't got nothing
to do with it. The truth is the truth no matter
where it comes from. God Almighty has chosen to put
this treasure in earthen vessels so people won't rejoice in the
vessel. That's exactly right. Almighty God has chosen to put
this treasure in an earthen vessel so people won't exalt the vessel,
but they'll rejoice in the treasure. Suppose somebody gave you a diamond
ring, and he put it in a box that was worth more than a ring.
You know what you do? You keep the box and throw away
the ring. And that's exactly what What these fancy preachers
of today are, they've come and presented themselves and their
programs and the boxes, and the gospel is completely obscured. It's obscured by the intellectualism,
it's obscured by their enticing words, it's obscured by their
programs and their schools and their promotions and all these
things, and people sit around playing with the boxes. But I'm
telling you this, it's the stone I'm talking about. I'm talking
about the jewel, I'm talking about the diamond, I'm talking
about the triad stone, I'm talking about the precious cornerstone,
I'm talking about Jesus Christ, and I'm saying the box ain't
worth ten cents. But I'll tell you that precious
stone is God Almighty's treasure, and it's worth selling everything
you've got to secure it. That's exactly right. So for
those who have some wisdom and understanding, of the reality
of our situation, I want to declare four things that are true from
that scripture that Joe read a moment ago. You'll listen to
four things, and I'll give them to you briefly. Number one is
this. I know this, and let me shout
it loud and clear. According to this scripture from
John 10, our blessed Redeemer has an elect people. He calls
them, my sheep, my sheep, possessively. my sheep. Look at verse 11, I
am the good shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for
the sheep. Verse 14, I am the good shepherd,
I know my sheep, and have known of mine. Verse 16, verse 15,
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, I lay down
my life for the sheep, and other sheep I have, which are not of
this foe, them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice,
and they shall be one foe and one shepherd." Our Lord as an
elect people. Where did he get his sheep? Well,
look over here in verse 28. He said in verse 27, My sheep
hear my voice, I know them that follow me, and I give unto them
eternal life, and they'll never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand. My Father, watch it now, which
gave them me. Where did Christ get his sheep?
Well, he just walked through the woods one day calling indiscriminately,
and those that came, he just made them his sheep. No, sir.
No, sir. You see, men will not come to
him that they might have life. They won't come. Even his people
won't come unless they're made willing. Even they won't come. You see, his father gave him
those sheep. That's what he said in verse
29. My father which gave them me. He not only gave Christ the
sheep, he gave the sheep Christ. God so loved the world, he gave
his only Son. Turn back to John 6. Can you
read that somewhere else, preacher? Yes, sir. I can read it in John
6, 37. He said in John 6, 37, All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. In verse 39, he said, This is
the Father's will which hath sent me, of all which he hath
given me, I lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last
day. And in John 17, in his high priestly prayer, six times he
talks about those the Father gave him. The Father gave him
a people out of Adam's race. And you know what kind of people
they are? They're sinners. He said, I've come to seek and
to save the lost. Paul said, this is a true saying,
it's worthy of acceptation by all men, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners of whom I'm cheap. And then our
Lord said in Matthew 9, if you want to look at this, in Matthew
chapter 9, one time he was seated in a certain place and a bunch
of publicans and sinners were seated around him, and the Pharisees
began to complain and murmur. And verse 11 of Matthew 9 said
to the disciples, why does your pastor associate with people
like that? Why does he eat with publicans and sinners? And our
Lord knew what they said. He heard them. And he said, they
that behold do not need a physician, but they that are sick, go learn
what that means. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. I'm not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repent. Sinners, Jesus will receive. Sound this word of grace to all. who the heavenly pathway lead,
all who linger, all who fall, come ye sinners, poor and needy,
weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands to save you,
full of pity, love, and power." Here's the second thing. Turn
back to John 10. Our Lord has a people. The Father
gave them to him. The Father chose them out of
Adam's sinful race. He took not on him the nature
of angels, but the seed of Abraham. And secondly, our Lord died for
those sheep. Look at John 10, 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, I lay down my life for the sheep. My friends,
listen to me a moment. I won't be long. But our Lord's
obedience, his life and his death, in a sense, is an example. Now, in a sense, Joe, it's an
example. He said, Let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took
on him the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. Let this mind be in you, this spirit of humility. Our
Lord's life, humility, love, grace, death was an example in
a sense. But in the main and true sense
of the word, his death was not an example, it was a sin offering. It was a substitutionary work,
it was a sacrifice. And any time you fail to preach
the death of Christ as a sacrifice, as a sin offering, as a substitute,
you're not preaching it in its true sense of the word. He said,
I laid down my life for the sheep. And Isaiah made it stronger than
that. He said he was wounded for our transgressions. He was
bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him by his stripes, were he. He alone is our redemption. He alone is our satisfaction. He alone is our sin offering.
By one sacrifice, he perfected forever them that are sanctified. Here's the third thing. According
to this Scripture, look at verse 16. According to this Scripture,
our Lord will bring those sheep to Himself. Now, He has a sheep. The Father gave them to Him.
The Father gave them to Him out of Adam's race. And He died for
those sheep. He came down here and secured
their redemption. He came down here and purchased
their redemption. He came down here and established
their ransom. He did it. Christ did it all.
He paid it all. And thirdly, they are coming
to him. They are coming to him. He said in verse 16, Other sheep
I have which are not of this fold, them I must bring. I will bring them. Our Lord has
assumed the responsibility and surety of his sheep. And he will
bring them home. He will bring them home. He will bring every one of them
home. When old Moses went down there to Egypt to deliver the
Israelites out of Egypt, Pharaoh kept saying, well, leave and
just leave the children here. No, sir, Moses said, not going
to leave the children. Well, why don't you go out and
leave the old folks here? No, we're not going out and leave
the old folks. Well, won't you go out and leave
your cattle? No, won't leave my cattle. Well, what will you
leave? Moses, in a sense, said this. Not a hook nor a hair. Not a
hook nor a hair. We're all going out. And I'm
telling you this, when our Lord Jesus Christ ransomed his people,
Satan is not going to have a hook nor a hair. He's going to take
every one of them out. His sheep will hear. Look at
John 10, 27. My sheep hear my voice. I know
them and they follow me. His sheep will hear the voice
of conviction. They will be broken. Any man
that's never broken is not his sheep. They will hear the voice
of conviction. They will hear the voice of sovereignty.
Bob and I were talking about this downtown just yesterday.
I'm not saying a man has to believe in God's sovereignty to be saved.
But I'm saying this, if he is saved, Joe, when he's confronted
with God's sovereignty, he'll take it. He'll say, that's my
Father. You just described my Father.
I believe that. I don't say a man has to believe
in election to be saved. No, you can be saved not believing
in election, not knowing anything about it, not encountering it.
The thief on the cross, I doubt, knew too much about election.
But I'm telling you this, if you want his sheep and you come
across his character and his purpose, you're going to bow
to it. And His word, that's right, I
believe that. His sheep will hear the voice of conviction,
they'll hear the voice of sovereignty, they'll hear the voice of Calvary.
Substitution. That's what Calvary says, substitution.
And His sheep will hear the voice of grace. His sheep will hear
the voice of grace. Out yonder, in every tribe, kindred,
nation, and tongue, the Lord has some sheep. Out yonder there's
an Abraham buried in idolatry. He's going to hear the Lord's
voice. Out yonder there's a Saul of
Tarsus, like ye were, Denita, wrapped in religion, secure in
a refuge of religion, so proud of our self-righteousness and
our religion. But that Saul of Tarsus is going
to hear God's voice. Alchondor is a Zacchaeus, exalted
in position and power and fame and wealth and prestige. He's
going to hear his voice. Alchondor is a Mary Magdalene,
possessed of seven devils. She's going to hear his voice.
Alchondor is an Onesimus, running from men and running from God,
but he's going to hear his voice. Alchondor is a harlot, dedicated
only to the flesh, but she'll hear his voice. Out yonder there's
a jailer, there's a thief, there's a woman at the well, there's
a Lydia. They're my sheep, he says. And you know what the Apostle
Paul said? He said, I'm on the trail of
God's sheep. He said, why did he say that?
Turn to 2 Timothy 2, let me show you where he said that. I'm on
the trail of God's sheep. And I'll tell you this, I am
on the trail of God's sheep. Our Lord said of the Pharisees
one day, the disciples got pretty upset by what the Pharisees said,
and the Lord Jesus said to them, Well, leave them alone. Leave
them alone. Don't spend your time concerned
about them. Get out there in the highways
and the hedges and call the hawk and the lame and the blind. Come
in, the feast is ready. Let these blind leaders of the
blind alone. They'll lead the blind and they'll
both fall into the ditch. Paul said down here in verse
10, of 2 Timothy 2, verse 9, he said, I suffer trouble as
an evildoer. Paul wasn't an evildoer, but
that's what they called him. Even unto bonds and fetters and
chains and imprisonment, but the Word of God can't be bound
by men. Therefore I endure all these
things for the elect's sake. That's what he said, I'm on the
trail of God's elect. I'm on the trail of God's sheep.
The Lord Jesus Christ is on the trail of his sheep. He said,
I leave the night and night and go out in the wilderness and
look till I find him. The Holy Spirit is on the trail
of God's sheep. The Spirit and the bride say,
Come. And the Church is on the trail of God's sheep. Let him
that heareth say, Come. And the sheep let him that is
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. Yes, sir? We're on the trail
of God's sheep. Listen to what Paul says in chapter
2 of II Timothy 10. He said, I endure all these things
for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation
which is in Christ Jesus with eternal joy. That's what makes me so happy
when somebody comes to me and says, the Lord's been pleased
to reveal himself to me. In my heart I say, we found another
one of his sheep. We found another one of his sheep.
I know you'll encounter a Judas that'll hold a high office and
then sell out. You'll encounter a Simon Magus
who'll try to buy his way. You'll run into a Demas who'll
walk for a while with the greatest of them all and then walk out
with the world. You'll run into an Alexander the Coppersmith
who'll do great evil to the church and to those who preach the gospel.
But to find one sheep is worth it all, one sheep. Because you
know, brother, that sheep could be your son, could be your daughter,
could be your dearest loved one. But I'll tell you what makes
it most important. It's his son. It's his son and his daughter. And then last of all, these sheep
will all be saved. None of them are going to be
lost. Turn back to John 10, that's what he said over and over again.
He said in John 10, he said, verse 28, he said, I give them
eternal life and they'll never perish. Never, no never, no never,
no never. I know people argue about once
saved, always saved, once in grace, always in grace, all this
sort of foolishness. I don't waste my time arguing
about that, but I will take you to task on this. will be saved and not a one of
them will be lost. I'm talking about his sheep.
He said that right here. My sheep, verse 27, hear my voice,
I know them, they follow me, I give them eternal life and
they'll never perish and nobody's going to take them out of my
hand. My Father which gave them to me is greater than all, nobody's
going to take them out of my Father's hand. That's so. That's so. But here's the problem,
back here in verse 24, here's what we're running into. There's
some folks who claim to belong to him that don't belong to him.
Verse 24, these religious fellows came around in verse 24, and
they said to Christ, how long do you make us to doubt? How
long do you hold us in suspense? Like Joe said, they were blaming
their condition on him. You've got us in suspense. You're
keeping something from us. Why don't you tell us if you're
the Christ? He said, I told you. I told you. You didn't believe
me. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. I told you, my Father told you,
John the Baptist told you, and the works that I do tell you,
and the Word tells you. Let every word be established
by the mouth of two or three witnesses. But, verse 26, you
believe not, because you're not of my sheep. Didn't I tell you,
my sheep will hear my voice? They'll hear my voice. Now, here's
the other side of that, verse 14. I know his sheep are kept,
his sheep are secure, his sheep are preserved, but his sheep
also persevere. Look at verse 14 carefully. I
am the good shepherd, I know my sheep, the other side of the
coin, and they know me. And they know me. It's not a
one-sided relationship. I know them, and they know me.
Paul said, I know whom I have believed. Job said, I know my
Redeemer living. He's no stranger to me. He's
no stranger. He didn't say, I know his doctrine,
or I know somebody that knows him. He said, I know him. I know him. That's where the
issue is, my friend. Not just information, it's intimate
union. I know him. And then verse 16,
they hear my voice. They shall hear my voice. They
hear my voice. The lady wrote me today and wants
me to write her and tell her what I think about a dream she
had. She had a dream. I feel so sorry for preachers
who promote that stuff, you know. She saw that woman in the book
of Revelation, you know, the one out of the description. I forget what it's about, but
she drew me a picture of her crown and all, you know. And
I hate to tell her she just, you know, ate too much watermelon
or something before she went to bed. God's sheep hear His voice. Isn't
that right? His Word. That's right. Don't
you trust any dream. That's right, isn't it, Charlie? You've been in that background.
Don't you trust any vision. You trust His Word. If it's not
His Word, don't you believe it. If they speak not according to
the law and the prophets, there's no light. There's no dawn. There's
no morning. I don't care how you say, well,
I've had some dreams. Well, I have too, and I wouldn't
tell you all of them. Would you tell me all yours? Well, why
do you pick on that one? Huh? Maybe that other one you
had was one God's hand. That's right. But you discriminate on these
dreams, you know. You just pick out that best in
them there folks. It's so foolish. They hear my
voice, and verse 27, here's the key, they follow me. I want to give you an old hymn.
In Christ I have all my soul's desire. His presence doth my
heart inspire. With boundless treasures, large
and high, my Lord doth all my needs supply. Christ is my hope,
my strength, and my guide. For me He bled and groaned and
died. He's my Son to give me light.
He's my soul's supreme delight. Christ is the source of all my
bliss. He's my wisdom and He's my righteousness. He's my Savior, my brother, my
friend. On Him alone my soul depends.
Christ is my King to rule and to bless and all my troubles
to suppress. He's my salvation and my all,
whatever on earth shall be before. Christ is my strength and my
portion too. My soul through Him can all things
do. Through him I'll triumph over
the grave, He from death my soul shall save. Oh, that the months
would roll away And bring to me that glorious day, When my
Lord and King shall fill the throne With all his Father's
glories on. But until that hour, when time
shall cease, I'll trust in him, the Prince of Peace. But with
my Lord to guide my way, It'll be a joy to me to go or stay."
You say amen to that? That's it. That's the key. It's
all in Him. Our Father, bless the Word tonight. You've spoken to us. We know
when you speak to us. We know when your Word is preached
in liberty and power, in unction and the Holy Ghost. We know when
men are confronted with truth. We know, O Lord, that your word
will not return unto your boy. It will accomplish that whereunto
you have sent it. It will break hearts, but it will harden hearts.
It will be a savor of sweet fragrance, a sweet smell of life unto life,
but it will be the awful stench, adding condemnation to condemnation,
death upon death. O Lord, who is sufficient for
these things? But it's your word that's important.
It's your truth. You've magnified your word. You've
magnified your word above all things. O Lord, give us an ear
to hear it, and a heart to believe it, and feet to walk therein. Give us the courage to confess
Christ.