I'd like for you to first open
your Bibles to the 10th chapter of John, please. In John chapter
10, beginning with verse 14. John 10, 14. Our Lord said, I
am the good shepherd. I 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 particular designated
Jewish foal, this foal surrounding me at the present time. Other
sheep I have of other nations, of other tribes, of other generations,
of other tongues and people. Them also I must bring, and they
shall hear my voice, and there shall be one foe and one shepherd." I know that we must preach the
gospel to every creature. It is a great thrill and delight
to preach the gospel to every creature. Our Lord said, go ye
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. God commandeth all men everywhere
to repent. All men are responsible to repent
and believe. The gospel is not just an invitation,
it's a command. All men everywhere ought to repent
of sin and they ought to believe on Christ. The responsibility
and privilege of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is to preach
the gospel to every creature. But primarily, primarily, we're
on the trail of God's sheep. When I preach on television,
I'm preaching the gospel to every creature. And my message will
either be a savor, a sweet smell of life unto life or death unto
death. It will either bring men to rejoice
in God's mercy or gnash their teeth against God's justice.
But when I preach on television, I'm looking for somebody. I'm
on the trail of God's sheep. When I go down to the Yucatan
and preach in Mexico or to Canada or other countries, I'm looking
for God's sheep. When I go to Bible conferences,
I'm not trying to impress anyone with my theological knowledge.
I'm not trying to compare notes with other preachers. I'm looking
for God's sheep. When I go away in a revival meeting
or any kind of preaching mission, I've got one object, one objective,
one goal. I'm looking for God's sheep.
Here on Sunday morning, I'm glad all of you are here, but I'm
looking for God's sheep. I'm looking for somebody who
has a broken heart and a contrite spirit who's interested in the
living God. I'm not looking for Sunday morning
worshippers. I'm not looking for larger crowds
or a bigger church or more impressive building. I'm looking for somebody.
I'm looking for God's sheep. I'm on the trail of God's sheep
because my Lord said I have a sheep. My Father gave them to me. I
know them. I love them. I lay down my life
for them and they're mine and I must bring them. And He's going
to use a human estimate to bring them. He said of the sheep I
have, them I must bring, they shall hear my voice, and they
shall be one fold. There'll be a family, there'll
be a society, there'll be a kingdom, there'll be a circle, there'll
be a fellowship, there'll be my people. And somewhere out
yonder there is some of our Lord's sheep. And I want to be one of
those used by the master to bring them to himself. But as the hymn
writer says, our God moves in a mysterious way his wonders
to perform. He plants his footsteps on the
sea and rides upon the storm. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage
take. The clouds you so much dread
are big with mercy and they will break with blessings on your
head. Judge not the Lord by feeble
sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence
he hides a smiling face, and his purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower. And here's an example of those
mysterious ways of God to accomplish his purpose to find his sheep.
They're there. Christ said, other sheep I have. My Father gave them me and my
Father is greater than all. And no man can pluck them out
of my hand or out of the hand of my Father. Them I must bring. They shall hear my voice and
be one folk. And he uses human instruments to find those sheep
and to preach to them and to make known to them the gospel.
But mysterious are his ways of doing that. For example, in chapter
8 of the book of Acts, the church at Jerusalem. The church at Jerusalem
was a tremendous church. The scripture says that large
numbers were added to that church back in Acts the 6th chapter.
They had ordained deacons. The eleven apostles were there
and Matthias, whom they had elected. They had elected some deacons,
but persecution came upon that church. And the first man they
made a deacon, Stephen, he was stoned. And then Saul of Tarsus
was turned loose on that church in his hatred for Jesus Christ. And it says here that he made,
verse 3, he made havoc of the church. He came into homes of
believers and took both men and women and put them into prison.
They'd stoned Stephen, the church was persecuted, Saul made havoc
of the church, so that these deacons and believers who were
enjoying peace and happiness and fellowship and such a great
time together, they were scattered like ants that you'd stomped
on their anthill. They just went everywhere. They
went into Judea and Samaria, other places. But had not the
Lord said to them, ye shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea,
Samaria, and the other most parts of the earth. Had it not been
for this persecution would they have gone. Would Philip have stayed in Jerusalem
had not the church been persecuted? If Saul had not come down upon
that church bringing havoc into the homes and lives and church,
if they had been allowed to meet on the Lord's day together and
enjoy that fellowship and warmth and happiness, would they have
gone to these other places? By the same token, you might
ask this question, would Moses have gone to the desert had not
he killed the Egyptians? Would Joseph, would Moses have
gone to the desert had not he killed the Egyptians? Would Joseph
have been in Egypt if his brothers had not sold him? I'm afraid
not. Would Paul have gone to Berea
had he not been driven out of Thessalonica? Would he have gone
to Athens had he not been expelled from Berea? Would Christ have
gone to the cross had not the wrath of the religionist been
kindled against him? God moves in mysterious ways. There may be second and third
causes, but what I'm saying to you is this, if a person is a
child of God, a minister of the gospel, a witness of Jesus Christ,
whatever happens, God's the first cause. Or there may be second
causes and third causes and a half a dozen causes, but whether it
be loss or gain. Would Tom DeJarnett have heard
the gospel if he had not gone to prison? He would not have
gone to prison had he not killed a man. Would John Howsam have heard
the gospel if he had not been in that chair? It's doubtful. He'd probably still be in Scotland
with the Pan-American Airways. That's what I'm saying. In this
early church, there they are in their health and happiness
and comfort and joy and fellowship, and pah! Saul hits them with
all the wrath and hatred of his soul. And when he hits them bringing
havoc upon that church, they go in every direction. But it
says in verse 4, look at it, Acts 8 verse 4, they were scattered
abroad, but they went everywhere, Bob, preaching the gospel. Preaching
the gospel. Oh, I know we get all upset when
something happens that's discouraging. But maybe it will run a fellow
over there to preach the gospel. Maybe God will get you fired
so you can hear the gospel. Maybe God will put you flat on
your back so you'll listen to Him. Maybe God will strip you so you'll
cry for a robe of righteousness. Maybe God Almighty will slay
you so you'll cry to be raised with Christ. Whether loss or
gain, whether success or failure, whether persecution or promotion,
He's got some sheep And he's going to bring them to himself.
And whatever it takes to bring them, that's what he'll use.
That's what he'll use. So Philip, he was one of these
folks at that church in Jerusalem. And when they stoned Stephen,
the other deacons were scattered. And Philip, the deacon, went
down to Samaria. And he began to preach the gospel
down there in Samaria. And a whole lot of folks came
to a profession of faith, a whole lot of folks came to know Christ,
a whole lot of folks. It says here in verse 8, and
there was great joy in that city. But God in His eternal purpose
brought Philip to preach to those people in a most unusual way. We're on the trail of his sheep. Now this world has got to recognize
this, though they won't, that our God has a people whom he
gave to Christ, for whom our Lord died. And he said, I will
bring them. Other sheep I have, I must bring
them. And the gospel has got to be
taken to these folks. It says over there in Romans
Romans 10 verse 13, turn over there just a moment. Romans 10
verse 13. In other words, I'll be perfectly
honest with you, I'm not looking for volunteers for the kingdom.
I'm looking for sons. Sons. I'm not looking for aliens,
I'm looking for sons. In Romans 10, verse 13, Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how
shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how
shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And
how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? And who is going to send them?
The Father. And how are they going to know
where to go? And how are they going to leave
their feathered nest of comfort unless God puts some thorns in
it? And how are you going to get
them to go to these places if they're comfortable and satisfied
where they are? God just has to drive them out.
And that's what I'm saying here. That's what happened. Now here
let me show you another incident. But you know down there in Samaria,
Philip came down to Samaria. He was driven out of Jerusalem.
Most of them left except the apostles. And he came down here
to Samaria and he was fleeing judgment on the part of the religious
leaders, Saul and those fellows. He came down to Samaria and he
preached and the Lord just saved a lot of folks. But there was
some false professions down there in Samaria too. Old Simon Maddox,
he got in on the noise, you know, he got in on the excitement. And he wanted to be baptized.
Then he wanted to purchase with money the power to give the Holy
Ghost. And Peter said, your heart's
not right with God. You're in the gall of bitterness.
But you know, right there, and this is something you need to
think about, if it had been left up to me and you, we'd have left
that church in Jerusalem at peace. We'd have never sent Saul. We'd
have never sent Saul on those folks. But God did. and for his own glory, and to
get them to go out and preach the gospel. And then here's Philip
down here in Samaria, and thousands of people are coming to knowledge
of the gospel, and what we would do is leave Philip there. and
let him teach them, and train them, and educate them, and counsel
them, and tickle their ears, you know, and keep them happy,
and get the budget going a little more. But God came to him, look
at verse 28, and the angel of the Lord said to Philip, right
in the middle of this revival, right in the middle of all this
joy, and in the city, he said, Leave that. Leave that. Arise, Philip, and go into the
desert. Lord, what's in the desert? Now,
how big's the parsonage? What's the salary down there,
Lord? Is that an independent church or a convention church? Is it, you know, is it, what'd
they have in Sunday school last year? Are they growing? What's
the potential? Lord, what's, are they, I get
letters from preachers We're going to put a church in this
particular spot because it's the fastest growing area in the
city. Good possibility God won't be
there. I tell you, if a fellow ever wrote to me and said, I'm
going down here to preach, I don't know why, but I feel impressed
by the Holy Spirit, there's not but ten people live down there,
and most everybody else is moving out, I'd say God's probably got
some sheep down there. There was a man went down to
visit Brother Walter Gruber one time, now Walter lives in in
a city called Merida. There are 252,000 people in Merida. And from Merida, like spokes
of a wheel, these highways go out into the boondocks, out into
the pueblos, out into the villages. And Walter would get in the car
and he started driving one day and this man was visiting him.
He's an intelligent man, an educated man. He's a a very well-educated
man, and he was sitting in the truck with Walter, and they drove
through one for a blow of about 10,000 people, and they drove
through another one with about 5,000 people, and they drove
through another one with about 8,000 people, and they got off
the paved highway after two hours, and they drove on a dirt road
up a hill, around the curves, over the pastures, into a little
old village where there weren't over 500 or 600 people. And he
said, why don't you get you some preaching stations closer to
Merida? Now that's a pretty good question. That's a good question
for a natural man, but not for a believer. That's a good question
for a man that doesn't know God. Almighty God's people are where
they are. His sheep are where they are. They're out in the wilderness.
Not many mighty, not many noble, not many wise are called. Walter
says, I have to go where God sends me. I have to go where
God sends me. Here is Philip down here in Samaria. Philip, just stay in Samaria.
There are more people to preach to here than there are out in
the desert. There are more people to preach to, but God's sheep's
out in the desert. The one upon whom the Lord's
mercy has fallen, the one that's an object of God's grace, the
one that has been given to Christ, the one for whom the Lord suffered,
is out there in the desert. And that one must hear the Word.
Not the personality of the preachers, the word of God he must hear. Someone sent me an article this
week, I wish I had it up here with me in the pulpit, but it
was telling why people selected certain churches to attend on
Sunday. And there was about 20% go because
of the beauty of the building. There were about 3% that came
because some minister invited them. 46% attended a certain
church because neighbors or friends impressed them to go or invited
them to go. You know how many people said
they attended church where they attended church to hear the message,
the word of God? 11%. 11%. I hope more than one out of ten
this morning are here to hear God's Word. Do you reckon nine
out of ten people in this building are here for reasons like these? They like the building. They
like the convenience of the location of the building. They like the
people who attend there. And only 1 out of 10 are here
to hear God's Word? Well, if that be true, I know
who God's sheep are. They are those that came to hear
God's Word. That's God's sheep. They have
to hear God's Word. And so the angel of the Lord
said, Philip, leave Samaria and go out in the desert. And he
went out in the desert, verse 27, and he arose and went. He
obeyed God. I want to be where God's sheep
are. I know I have an obligation and responsibility to get on
the radio, the printed page, the television, missionaries,
and spread the gospel to every creed because I don't know who
God's sheep are. But I want to be where they are.
I want to minister the Word to them. I want to take good news.
And so he went out there and behold a man of Ethiopia, verse
27, a eunuch of great authority. He was a black man. He came from
Ethiopia. But notice this, this man had
an interest in the gospel. This man was concerned about
his soul. This man was concerned about
an interest in God, a relationship with God. How do you know that
preacher? I know it for two or three reasons. Number one, he
had gone all the way from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship. He didn't know the gospel, he
didn't know God. But he was interested like Cornelius. He was interested like Zacchaeus.
It led him to climb a tree to try to see the Lord. He had gone
all that way trying to find somebody to tell him about the Lord Jesus
Christ or about the gospel, about God. He knew nothing. And I'll tell you another reason
I know he was interested. He was coming back from Jerusalem
and he was reading the Bible. I always put a question mark
on a person's interest in Christ who doesn't hold a Bible in his
hand and read it. I won't be worried of it. Somebody
says, I sure am interested in my soul. I'm interested in knowing
God. Well, salvation is found in this
book. And if you were really interested in knowing God, you'd
be finding out what this book says. This man was interested. He was concerned. He'd made a
trip all the way to Jerusalem. That was a long way in a chariot,
riding over a desert in the hot burning sun. How many days it
took him to go from Ethiopia to Jerusalem and back again? But he hadn't found anything
in Jerusalem and he knew it. He'd gone through all the ceremonies
and holy days and feast days and all these other things and
there was nothing for him. He went back home as ignorant
as he was when he went up there. The ordinances of religion must
be applied to Christ or they mean nothing. You see, when he
went up there, he saw the bloodshed, but they didn't tell him what
it meant. He saw the tabernacle, he saw the veil in the temple,
he saw all those things, that thing had been torn apart and
I'm sure those Jews sewed it back together. And he saw the
incense, but they didn't tell him what these things meant.
And a lot of folks go to, boys and girls go to Sunday school
classes, and teachers get up and tell them about David and
the sling and slaying the giant, and they say, whoopee, David
was a good boy. and about Daniel in the lion's
den, and about Moses leading the children of Israel, about
the parting of the Red Sea, and about the blood on the door,
but none of these teachers tell them, that's Christ, that's substitution,
that's redemption, that's mercy through Christ, that's enabling
God to be just and justified. And he'd go in and sit down and
listen to a preacher, and he talks about, we had 250 last
Sunday and shooting for 300 next Sunday, and Sister Susie's in
the hospital, and Sister Betty's in the hospital, and Brother
Jones is dead, and we're going to have to do this and do that,
and we got a special number and a quartet and a trio, and we're
all having a good time, praise the Lord. And he goes through
some rigmarole, you know, and tries to get everybody to tithe
and everybody to join the church and won't you meet mother in
heaven. And when a fellow gets up and goes away from that place,
he still doesn't know the gospel. And that's the way this fellow
was, but he, thank God, he had him a Bible. He was reading from
the Old Testament. I don't know, it's probably a
scroll. He didn't have it as easy as you got it, that's for
sure, and he just had the Old Testament, he didn't even have
the New Testament. But he was reading in the book of Isaiah,
turn to Isaiah 53. It says in Isaiah, here's what
he was reading, he was sitting there He'd watched all these
ceremonies, and he'd watched all of these sacrifices, and
he'd observed the rituals and holy days and the feasts and
all these things, and he's on his way back to Ethiopia, and
he's sitting there reading this scripture. Who hath believed
our report? Isaiah 53. Now, to whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed? He shall grow up as a tender
plant, as a root out of a dry ground? Verse 3, he's despised
and rejected of men, a man of sorrows. Verse 4, he has borne
our grief, carried our sorrows, wounded for our transgressions.
Verse 6, all we like sheep have gone astray, we've turned everyone
to his own way. The Lord has laid on him the
iniquity of us all, and he must have been reading that out loud.
Reading it aloud, anyway he was reading it. And Philip, the Holy
Spirit brought Philip. Right there beside the chariot.
Philip was walking along beside the chariot, unknown to the Ethiopians. And Philip looked up at him and
said, do you understand what you're reading? You know, the natural man does
not understand. He reads that. Most preachers
don't know what that means right there. They surely don't. Isaiah in verse 1, he says, Who
hath believed thy report? To whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed? The mysteries of the gospel are revealed. The natural
man doesn't understand justification and sanctification and regeneration
and imputation and these things. He shall grow up as a tender
plant. That's Christ's humanity. A root out of dry ground. The
Jewish nation was a dry ground. Christ looked like a lifeless
root. The kingdom of David looked like it was gone, dispersed. Just one more person left who
was a rightful heir of that throne, Mary, her offspring. When we
shall see him, no beauty about him. He doesn't look like a king.
He doesn't look like a Savior, a Messiah. He's despised and
rejected of men. He's not only the sent Savior,
he's the sorryful Savior. He's the suffering Savior. He
was wounded for our transgression. His hands were pierced. His feet
were pierced, his back was lacerated, his side was plunged through
with a spear. Wounded! By his stripes we're healed,
all we like sheep have gone astray. God laid on him the iniquity
of us all. He was oppressed, he was afflicted,
he opened not his mouth. The silent Savior brought us
a lamb to the slaughter, the Lamb of God. He opened not his
mouth, says that twice. Why? Because the people whom
he represented were guilty of the charges brought against him.
Verse 10 says he is a sovereign Savior. It pleased
the Lord to bruise him. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He made his soul an offering
for sin, Christ's body and soul suffering. Verse 11, a satisfied
Savior. He sees the travail of his soul.
He is satisfied. And then verse 12 says he's a
surety. He made intercession for the
transgressors. He was numbered with the transgressors.
But this man says, I don't understand that. He said, who's Isaiah talking
about here? Himself? Or is he talking about
somebody else? And look back here to Acts chapter
8. And I'll tell you this, folks, you who are deacons and church
members and Sunday school teachers and witnesses of Christ, and
you say you know the Lord, learn to teach the Scriptures from
the Scriptures. You go forth to witness to God's
sheep. Now God's sheep is not interested
in your opinion. He's not interested in what you
think or what the Baptists teach, as opposed to what the Catholics
teach. He's interested in who is this right there that the
Bible is talking about. Who is that rock? Who is that woman's
seed? Who is that brazen serpent? Who
is that smitten rock? Who is that manna? Who is that
mercy seed? That's Christ! And that's what
Philip did. Philip didn't say, now the right
church is in Jerusalem and it's a Baptist church and all these
different things. He began at that scripture and
look at verse 35. And Philip opened his mouth and
began at the same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus Christ,
the Lord and Savior. You see, eternal life is not
to adopt a moral code, it's to know a person. Eternal life is
not to join a church, it's to be vitally united with a person. Eternal life is not to turn over
a new leaf and reform your life. It's to be regenerated and born
again and be indwelt by a person. It's to know Christ and Him crucified. Alright, then they went on their
way, verse 36, and the eunuch said, Here is water, what doth
hinder me to be baptized? This eunuch knew this. Now listen
to me. Out yonder somewhere is one of God's sheep. He may be
an Ethiopian eunuch, he may be a white lawyer. He may be a red
Indian chief. He may be a dark Mexican, Mayan
Indian. He may be an American laborer.
But God leads me to that man or that man to me as His servant.
Or maybe He leads you to Him. Maybe it's a person He's led
you. Maybe you're led to a certain
place to work and that man's in that building. Maybe you're
led to a hospital room and that person's in the next bed. Maybe
something happens to one of your children and you go down to the
emergency room and there's a lady sitting there. I don't know.
By God, this church here, he just sent this church havoc,
you know, and scattered them and they ran into these folks
out there. And he came to Phillip and said, leave the big meeting
and go down to the desert. And Phillip went down there and
there was that unit. And he began where that man was reading the
scripture. Now here's the thing about it. Here's what the average
church member does. He goes out and buttonholes a
cold strange on the street and says, are you saved? Well, that
man's not interested in being saved. He's got no concern about
being saved. He has no interest in being saved. He's not seeking God. And you
get into a religious argument with him, but here's a man here,
and here's who I'm looking for. Here's a man whose ground has
been plowed by the Holy Ghost. He's waiting to see. Here's a
man here that has a Bible in his hand. You know, folks will
call me and say, brother man, I want to come by and see you.
When are you coming? Ten o'clock Tuesday? I'll be looking for
you. Ten o'clock rolls around. They ain't there. I wish I could
tell you how many times that happens. Or somebody comes after
a service and says, I'm real concerned about my soul. I want
to talk to you. No, you're not. You're lying.
You're lying. Most of the time. That's sad. I'm not being harsh. I'm telling
you the truth. Here's a man who's genuine. He's got him a Bible,
Charlie. He's troubled. He's reading the Word. And I
go up to him and I say, you know what that's saying? No, I don't.
No, I don't. I wish somebody would show me
what that's saying. I sure do wish they would. But
I'll show you what that's saying. That's saying Christ came into
this world to save sinners. That's saying we're lost and
doomed and damned and under the judgment of God and ought to
be sent to hell for our sins and we're worthless worms and
no good and if God sent us to hell he'd be just. That's so
preacher. But that's talking about Christ loved his people
and gave himself for them. Oh, you reckon he'd be my Savior? I bet he would. I don't know,
preacher. I joined the church when I was
ten years old. Well, goodbye. Goodbye. I don't know. I don't believe
in baptism by immersion. Goodbye. Goodbye. Well, I'll tell you this, I think
the Methodists are right, I don't good-bye. This man here was a
hungry-hearted sinner. Tell me, what's he saying? And
Phillip said, he's talking about the Lord, Jesus. You reckon he'd
have me? I bet he would. You reckon? Depths of mercy can there be?
Mercy reserved for me? You reckon God would reach down
as far as I've sunk and lift me? I bet he would. Oh, really? That'd be good news. You reckon
he would? I want to hear more about that.
You reckon all the blackness and darkness of my guilt that
he'd pardon me? You reckon he'd let me be one
of his family? You reckon he would? Would y'all
have me down at the church? Folks don't talk that way. I
might join up with you. Goodbye. Y'all could use a fella like
me. I make pretty good money and I tie it good. Goodbye. Well,
I'm pretty good teaching Sunday school. Goodbye. You see what
I'm saying? Oh, but this fella here, do you
reckon, here's water, is there any reason why, you know most
folks when they join the church you got to run them down and
baptize them, but this fella here run Phillip down, he said,
would you baptize me? Would you condense sin to baptize
me? Is there any reason why I can't
be baptized? Phillip said, yeah, there is.
Baptisms for believers. Well, he said, I believe. You
see, baptism is not for infants, it's not for babies, it's not
for primaries who've been pulled down the aisle, it's not for
juniors who've been talked into a profession of faith, it's for
believers. That's who baptism's for. And
this man said, well, is there some reason why I can't follow
the Lord in baptism? Is there some reason why I can't
confess Christ? And Philip said, there's not.
If you believe, if God's done something for you. He said, He
sure has done something for me. I believe. And boy, they stopped
that chariot, and they didn't go down in a glass of water either.
That glass is not big enough to hold that eunuch and that
fellow Philip, both. They didn't go down into a fount.
They went down into a river. for a large body of water. And
old Philip baptized him. And the Lord took Philip and
just took him away somewhere else to find another one of his
sheep. And that fellow went on his way
rejoicing. He found Christ. He found this. Christ is this. On the trail of his sheep. Our
mission, you know what it is? It's to find his sheep. And you'll
recognize them. I want to give you one scripture
and I'll close. 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians 1. 1 Thessalonians 1. Verse 4. Paul said, Brethren, 1 Thessalonians
1.4. I know, brethren, your election
of God. How do you know? Because our
gospel came not unto you in word only, But it did come in word,
that's the way it has to come. It won't come in dreams and visions,
it comes in word. But also in power and the Holy
Ghost and much assurance. And you know what matter of men
we were among, and you became followers of us and the Lord.