I invite you to open your Bibles with me this evening. I'm returning to John's Gospel. John's Gospel, I'm returning to chapter 10 this evening. And when you find John's Gospel, chapter 10, I want us to commence reading at verse number 22. And we're going to read down to verse number 30. John's Gospel, chapter 10, commencing to read at verse number 22. This is the Word of God. And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, And ye believe not? The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Amen. We will end our reading at verse 30, and we trust and pray the Lord will bless this public reading of his precious word to our hearts for his own name's sake and glory. Amen. Bow again in prayer before we come to God's precious word. Father in heaven, we continue on in thy presence and we, Lord, just humbly and reverently ask for thy help, Lord, this evening as we come to thy precious word. Lord, I acknowledge again my utter inability, my total helplessness, Lord, And Lord, I am not sufficient for these things. But Lord, I bless thee and praise thee that, Lord, my sufficiency is of God. And we just pray, dear God, that thou would fill me with thy Holy Spirit. Give me the very words, Lord, which, Lord, you want me to say. And Lord, keep me from saying those things which you don't want me to say. And Lord, may the words that are said, Lord, bring glory and honor to thy great name. Lord, again, we pray for every distracting thought to be removed from our hearts and from our minds. and Lord, bless thy word as it goes forth to every heart. Lord, save those who are not saved, restore those who have fallen, and Lord, bless thine own dear people, we pray, and take them all with thyself. For it's in the Savior's precious name I humbly ask and pray these things. Amen. Amen. Brethren and sisters, this evening, it's very easy to Look out onto our world tonight and to become discouraged and downcast. As believers this evening, our hearts ought to be grieved at the state of our beloved land. There is something which isn't new or foreign to the child of God, is to be grieved at the sins of its people. For if we are seeking to walk with our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Hearts will be grieved when we see the coldness to the things of God, when we see the rejection that society has for God and for his truth, and how society wants to go its own way down that road of self and sin, and ultimately to eternal destruction and ruin. As I said in my prayer that Northern Ireland, our beloved province, is a blessed land indeed. You can look back to many years of revivals and times where the Lord moved by his spirit and souls were swept into the kingdom of God and his own dear son. There are many instances where the child of God even in scripture questions and wonders why the ungodly seem to prosper and the wicked seem to be getting the upper hand as it were. And it does seem like that in our land tonight. It does seem that these lobby groups and ideologists seems to have the ear of the government and that they are able to influence and able to get things turned in their favor and to get things which once were ashamed to have mentioned in society and in public to be promoted and to be ushered in as the norm. And yet what has been the truth and what has been understood to be the truth for centuries is cast aside as being old-fashioned and fuddy-duddy and being even backward. When we come to the Word of God, we see that there was many believers even who asked the Lord why. Why do the ungodly seem to prosper? For example, Job asked in Job 21, verse 17, or verse 7, sorry, wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? The psalmist also said that, something similar in Psalm 73, verse three, he says, for I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Jeremiah, the one who was the weeping prophet, he said in Jeremiah 12, verses one and two, wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Those are just three instances in scripture where we see that the children of God were grieved at the prosperity of the wicked and asked the question, why? Why do the ungodly seem to prosper? Why does the Christian seem to be the one who suffers, and yet the ungodly, the wicked, seem to prosper in their way? I'm sure that's something which has even crossed your own hearts and minds in recent days in your own personal walk with the Lord. Maybe you haven't expressed that sentiment to other people, but you've thought it in your heart and your mind. Perhaps even in your own quiet times with the Lord, you've asked, Lord, why? Why is this going on? And yet we want to see you move, or we want to see you save souls, but yet, oh God, it seems to be that the devil is having his field day. And the people of God, the witness for Christ in this day and generation seems to be fading. There seems to be no commitment amongst thy people for the things of God. There's no real bold stand for the truth as there was in past days. Perhaps that's been your thoughts and meditations even in recent days. Well, what is the answer for the hearts of the people of God that are grieved? What is the answer to the problems of our land? Is it religion? No. Is it politics? No. Is it money? No. It's the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In our scripture reading this evening, we've read some of the most tremendous words to read. And particularly if you're a Christian this evening, words which bring such comfort and solace and hope for the future Dear child of God, the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who was speaking here. And we think of what he was saying here. Now we're told that he was in Jerusalem, and he was in Jerusalem for what was known as the Feast of Dedication. And that simply was a ceremony which commemorated the rededication of the temple and the renewing of the altar by a man called Judas, Maccabeus after there was a man called Antiochus Epiphanes who had sought to destroy the worship of God and sought to pollute the worship of God at that time. And so the Lord Jesus Christ was in Jerusalem for this dedication, this memorial to this event. And we've read here how that he had become surrounded by a multitude of Jews. And so they came and asked the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, or they asked him, how long dost thou make us to doubt? Verse 24 of John 10. If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. And notice there what the Savior said to these individuals. He said, I told you, and you believed not the works that I do in my Father's name. They bear witness of me. And he had told them, he had demonstrated to them, in times past, by his miracles, by even the very words that he said, because it was recorded of Christ that never man spake like this man. And we're told in John's gospel, chapter 20, that the books could not contain everything which the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished, everything that he did during his three years of earthly ministry on this earth. And while he was here, He spoke and he did many wonderful things, but yet for these Jews, for the vast majority of them, it wasn't enough. They had seen many things to prove to them that Jesus was the very Christ. He was the promised Messiah, but yet they did not believe. Their hearts were hardened against him. They rejected him, like many in our province tonight and further afield. Perhaps they have seen the testimony of an individual who was once a wicked and vile sinner. But yet the Lord in his grace and mercy saved that individual and changed their life. And that person being a new creature in Christ is living for Christ. And they have witnessed and seen this Christian living in their midst. But yet they still won't believe. They hear the gospel. They perhaps drive past a text of scripture on a lamppost. or whatever the case may be. And yet they look at that and they think about that word, that verse of scripture that they have read, and they just reject it. They just reject it. They want nothing to do with the Savior. But I want to try and encourage you this evening, brethren and sisters. And if you're not saved in the meeting tonight, I pray that these words that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke about the Christians' hope will be a challenge to you. Because they are not speaking, they are not true of you tonight if you're a sinner, if you're still in your sin. Because the Lord speaks here of his sheep. And we're going to find out in our message this evening who he was speaking of. But in my message tonight, I want us to consider Christ's three wonderful promises about his sheep. Christ's three wonderful promises about his sheep. And first of all, I want you to notice with me tonight the promise of eternal life. The promise of eternal life. Verse number 28 of John's Gospel, chapter number 10. Now, when the Savior responded to these questions of the Jews, he reminded them that they had already been told who he was, but they didn't believe him. And throughout this chapter of John's gospel, chapter 10, the Savior had spoken about those whom he said were his sheep. He said that a shepherd knows his sheep, and that his sheep know him. Verses 3 and 4 of John 10. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them. And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." Notice there the relationship between the shepherd and his sheep. He says here that the sheep hear his voice. You see, the sheep were listening for their shepherd's voice to lead them and to guide them. And notice there, the shepherd, he calleth his own sheep by name. and he leadeth them out. He putteth them forth. He goeth before them, and the sheep follow him. Why? For they know his voice. That's what the difference is. In Israel, in Bible times, there would have been, the role of a shepherd was somewhat different than it is here, in our side of the world, in this side, the Western Hemisphere. The sheep in Israel, they would have had to follow their shepherd to be taken to the pasture, whereas sheep over here, they have to be driven by the shepherd. But these sheep, as he says here, they were listening to the shepherd's voice because they needed to be led and guided by their shepherd. They knew the voice of their shepherd, the voice of a stranger they did not listen to or know, but it was only to the voice of the shepherd. There's a lesson for us as Christians here already this evening. Whose voice are we listening to? Are we listening to the Lord's voice through his word? Are we being led and guided by God and his word? If we're not, we ought to be, as Christians, because the Bible is our only rule of faith and practice, and God has given to us his word, which will stand forever. But notice here this promise of eternal life. It's not for everybody in this world, but it is specifically for his sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ's sheep. If you turn back with me to John chapter six, please. And in John chapter six, we're going to read verses 36 and 39. Again, similar words and a similar thought. And the Savior said there in John 6, verse 36, But I said unto you, that ye also have seen me, and believed not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." You see, the sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ's fold have been given to him by his Father in eternity past. In other words, if you're a Christian here tonight, the Lord Jesus Christ died to save your soul. Why? Because you were given by the Father to him in eternity past. We see here God's sovereignty over salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ said that the Father had given him, the Son, a people. And in other words, a people chosen to be the recipients of his mercy and his grace in salvation. The Father gave his Son a people out of all the multitudes of the human race, from every tribe and tongue and generation. And so that's why the Savior came. to die for their sins upon the tree. That is why he came to accomplish that eternal redemption for their souls. He came and he lived, and he died, and he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Why? To purchase this salvation which you and I, those sinners given to him by the Father in eternity past, which we need. If you turn with me over to the book of Ephesians, please, Ephesians 1. And in Ephesians 1, I want to read the first... Sorry, from verses 3 to 5. Ephesians 1, verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace." Notice there how Paul, in writing to the church at Ephesus and speaking to them of how they were blessed spiritually by the Lord, for they were chosen in Christ before creation. They were chosen to be holy and to be blameless, being predestinated to be adopted into the family and fold of God. And what a wonderful truth that is for our hearts this evening, brethren and sisters. What a wonderful doctrine we have here, mentioned in the Bible, that God, out of his mercy and his grace, he chose to save sinners. And let me say, not one of us is worthy. Not one of us could ever merit God's salvation. You wonder why you're saved sometimes. You wonder why God would even save you when you look at your own heart and you see the lack of faith, you see the lack of love that you have for the Lord. But yet remind yourself of this, that he has saved you because he loves you, because he purposed to set his love upon you. He purposed through his son to redeem you, to bring you onto himself, to make you a child of God, to make you an heir of grace, and one day an heir and a recipient of a home in heaven. There is a contrast here because those who came to him and questioned him, these Jews, And they said, if thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. You see, they didn't believe. Why? Because they were not his sheep. And if you're in here tonight and you're not a Christian, you ought not to be asking the question, well, I don't know if I'm a sheep or I don't know if I'm a goat or not. You're hearing the gospel tonight. You're hearing that you are a sinner, just as I am a sinner, saved by grace. And I am no more worthy to be saved than anybody else here. But yet, my friend, tonight, if you're not a Christian, come to Christ tonight. Come and look to the one who is able and willing to save you tonight, and to make you a child of God, to make you a sheep of his fold, because he has purpose to save sinners. Now, the preacher doesn't know who that is, but that's not my business. All my business is to preach the gospel, is to invite every one of you who know not the Lord as your own and personal savior to come to him and he will save you because he's able and he's willing to save you tonight. That word believe there in verse number 26, the Lord says, but ye believe not. That word there speaks to place confidence in, to rest in, to be fully persuaded of, to think to be true. You see, these people didn't think Christ to be true. They didn't put their confidence in what he said and what he did. And yet everything he said and everything he did was more than sufficient for them to realize, was more than sufficient for them to see clearly that he was who he said he was. He was who the Scripture had revealed him to be, the Messiah. You know that verse of Scripture in Acts chapter 16 and verse 31 where Paul said to the Philippian jailer, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. That's the exact same word here that we have here in verse number 26 in the original. And that's what Paul said to the Philippian jailer. He said to believe, put your confidence and put your faith and trust in Christ. And thou shalt be saved. That's the simplicity of the gospel. It's not you have to do this or have to do that, but simply believe on him. And there's that guarantee and promise that thou shalt be saved. Salvation is so simple tonight. Sadly, many seek to complicate it, but it's so simple that even a little child can understand. And here the Lord Jesus Christ told them, but ye believe not, because you're not my sheep, as I said unto you. But notice there he says in verse 27, but my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them, eternal life, and they shall never perish." Think of this promise of eternal life. Dear Christian, this is a promise which the Savior has given to you, that he will give unto you eternal life. because you're one of his sheep, because there was a moment in your life's experience, perhaps you can't remember the specific day or the date where they are, but that doesn't matter, as long as you can look back to a moment in your life's experience where you came as a sinner and trusted in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and you know that you're saved. Oh, I know at times, dear child of God, we are prone to doubts. but simply take God at his word. As he said here, I give unto my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish. Who are you going to believe tonight? Are you going to believe the lies of the devil, or are you going to believe the word of the Son of God, who has granted unto you eternal life, out of his mercy and his grace and his love for you? This is what they receive. Eternal life. In other words, they will never perish in hell for all eternity. Praise God. Eternal life, to spend the countless ages of eternity in the presence of our Lord and Savior, worshiping Him, praising Him, thanking Him, adoring Him for all that He has done for us. Eternity. has often been described as a seagull coming and taking a grain of sand off the seashore every year. And even after all those billions and perhaps trillions of grains of sand has been taken away, eternity has only begun. And that speaks to us, brethren and sisters, of the hope and the assurance that we have because Christ has said he will give unto us, his people, his sheep, eternal life. Notice here how he says, in these verses here, he says, I know them, I give unto them. I and my Father are one." Notice here, he is speaking using this pronoun I. He is identifying himself here with his sheep. He says, I know them. And that word know there, it signifies to have an understanding of, to have a knowledge of, in other words, to become acquainted with. And Christ is acquainted with us. Are you acquainted with him tonight? Do you know him as your own and personal savior? Oh, if you don't, come to him tonight. Come and trust in him tonight. What's interesting is that that word no there is the same original word that's translated for us in Matthew 7, 23. If you turn with me to Matthew 7, 23, And this is a very solemn word to those who think they're right with God. You know, religion won't get you to heaven. Good works won't get you to heaven. And here we read in Matthew 7, verse 23, there were those who came to the Lord. Verse 22 there, and it says, many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. That word knew there in verse 23 of Matthew 7, that's the same word in the original that we have here in John 10 and the verse number 27. Notice the contrast here. For in Matthew's gospel, we have people that appear before the Lord and they said, Lord, we've done this, we've done that. And one of the saviors said to them, I knew you not. I never knew you. And here he speaks on John's gospel, chapter 10, of those whom he knows as his own sheep. They knew him as their own and personal savior. They knew him as their Lord and shepherd. And that's the difference. The child of God knows the savior, whereas those who think they know, those who even believe not, they don't know him. Which verse describes you tonight? Are you a sheep of the Savior tonight? Are you still a stranger to him? That's a very solemn verse we read there. I will profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. What very solemn Words we have read, solemn words which ought to sink deep into your heart tonight if you're not a Christian. Imagine hearing those awful words, people who thought they were living life right and they were right in the sight of God. Think of all the Pharisees and how they thought they were right with God, and yet they hated Christ. They wouldn't have him to be their savior. They rejected him. They sought to kill him. They plotted against him. and yet they ended up in hell because of their rejection of Christ. You see, brothers and sisters, tonight Christ gives on to us his sheep, his people, eternal life, which is not what we would have naturally, because left to ourselves, we wouldn't be saved. Left to ourselves, we wouldn't seek after God. Left to ourselves, we would die in our sins and go to hell. But yet God, in his grace and mercy, sent his son to live and to die. for his sheep, those sheep which the father had given unto his son, and eternity passed. And praise God, death is not the end for the believer. Death is simply the passing from this scene of time into God's eternity, to his eternal presence in heaven. And an eternal life, that is what we will receive as Christians. But those who don't believe, those who reject Christ, will die in their sins and shall suffer eternal punishment in hell for all eternity. That word perish there, it simply means to be lost, lost forever. You think you go to a department store or a shopping mall and perhaps as a as a parent you get separated from your little child and there is that fear that comes upon your your heart your child is lost and you don't know where they have been or where they've gone. I remember that happening to me many years ago and I didn't I didn't know what to do so I went and seen somebody at the customer services desk to get help and and the fear and the panic that had come upon my mom's heart when she didn't know when her dear boy had went to, where he had went to, where he was in this great shopping mall. And yet that sums up how those who reject Christ are lost. Think of the many multitudes in our land tonight and our nation. And you perhaps rub shoulders with them in your workplace, or you see them walking down the street, and you wonder, or they see it, you wonder, where are they going? Where are they headed for? Do they know Christ? Do they have that hope of eternal life? So many are going down the valley tonight, tramping that broad road to a lost sinner's hell, and they're lost. Have we a burden to reach them? Have we a burden to see them one? Have we a burden to pray for them? That the Lord in his mercy would step into their lives and save them as he saved us? Know at times, brethren and sisters, we fall into sin. At times our faith is so lacking. Yet, praise God, we will never be condemned. We will never be cast out into hell for all eternity. And this promise is true in spite of the fact of our failures at times as Christians. You see, God is faithful. God knows our many faults and our many failures, but we are his blood-bought people. We are his sheep. And yet this promise is true tonight. It always has been, and it always will be true, this promise of eternal life. Oh, brethren and sisters, let that encourage your heart tonight, that Christ gives unto us his sheep eternal life. and will never perish. Quickly, there is the promise of protection. And he says there, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. So not only does the Lord Jesus Christ promise unto us his sheep eternal life, but there is a promise of protection hereto. You know that the shepherd, he is one who is interested and cared for and concerned for the safety and the welfare of his flock of sheep. It is his job to protect them from every threat and to keep them as safe as possible as he can. Now, shepherds in our part of the world have to protect their sheep from parasites and diseases, and perhaps even from those dogs that would seek to worry sheep in the field at this time. And anything else which would seek to cause them poor health, he has to check their feet, he has to check their teeth, and to check their body condition, that they're doing all right. If they're going to be in good condition for lambing season, well, they need to have good teeth to eat the grass, to sustain themselves. They need to have good feet to keep them on their toes, as it were, in the grass, to keep them fresh and to keep them looking in good condition. He has to get their fleeces clipped for welfare reasons and to keep them cool as well. But in Bible times, the shepherd would have closed his flock into a sheepfold or a stone enclosure. Something like a round, stone-walled enclosure. And there in that sheepfold, the shepherd would have put his sheep in there at night to keep them safe. If you look back there with me to John 10, verse 1, verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and the robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. You see, the sheepfold was a place of safety. It was a place of refuge for the sheep and the shepherd at night, so they would not be at the whim of any animals that would seek to attack them during the night. And this is what the Savior does for us. He protects us as his sheep. Why? Because he has a vested interest in us. And what a picture that paints for us is Christ being our shepherd, how he protects us as his sheep. As Christians, we are united to him. And just so as we have been united to him through adoption, we too are likened. or we too are like to the Father through the Son. To be in the Father's hands, he says here, to be safe. And it speaks of the esteem which we have, or sorry, which the Father views us by, that we are his purchased possession through redemption, reconciled unto God, our heavenly Father, adopted into his family as children of God. We are his purchased possession. And he will keep us, for we cannot keep ourselves. And yet he says here, neither shall any man pluck the mouth of my hand. See, there's another promise. The promise of protection. And he will protect us, for we are his sheep. Notice there he says, neither shall any man pluck the mouth of my hand. That word pluck there speaks of seizing. which is translated, if you look back there at verse number 12, that word is translated as wolf. It says here, but he that is in hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth. And the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. There the wolf, he sought to snatch away the sheep out of the fold. He sought to snatch away the sheep out of the care and the attention of the shepherd. And here we think of how none can pluck us or snatch us out of the Father's hand. What protection there is in the hands of the Savior for his people. Sadly, some teach today that you can be saved and lost. But that's something which is foreign to Scripture. Because if we could be saved and lost, then what value would the precious blood and death of Christ have? Oh, but my friend, let me tell you, once we're saved, we're saved for time and for eternity. We cannot be saved and lost. Let me read to you the words of Hebrews 7, 25. Wherefore, he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, saying he ever liveth to make intercession for them. And what protection, what safety there is in the hands of God for the child of God. And by Christ referencing here my hand, it is an expression of the power that he has, which preserves believers so that in turn they will persevere. If you look back there to chapter 6, verse 39, And it says here in chapter six, verse 39 of John's gospel, and this is the father's will which has sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. You see, every soul that has been given by the father to the son will be saved and will be brought safely home to heaven someday soon. And praise God, dear child of God, not only is there this promise of eternal life, but there is this promise of protection. And lastly, there is this promise of security. For he says there in verse 29, my father which gaveth them me is greater than all. And no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. You think of a little child growing up with an earthly father. And that little child looks up to their daddy considers him as their hero, as their idol, as it were. They look up and they have such respect for their daddy, for their earthly father, because to them he is big, he is strong, someone who is able to watch over them and keep them safe, someone who is able to meet them at every point of their need. And what's interesting in this portion of scripture is that in the original Greek, there is a double negative here. And it's used for emphasis that the child of God will certainly never be damned. They will never be removed out of the hands of God. And what a truth is driven home here by the use of these double negatives. It speaks of the security of the people of God, lying in the hand of God. John Gill said, first of all, in the character of the life they received, eternal life, and in the glorious character of the one who says, I give them. You see, the dangers, here they are averted. They are in his hand, that they are his possession. He grasps them as a man holds a thing and says, it is mine. No one can take them away from his protection. And dear child of God, you can say tonight with the hymn writer, I am his, and he is mine. Isn't that wonderful? That as children of God, we are his. We are safe and secure in his hands. Despite whatever storms or trials we may be going through, no matter what you may be going through as a child of God this evening, you're safe in the hands of Christ. As I conclude my message this evening, I trust that you have noted that the child of God alone has this hope, that we have that hope and assurance of eternal life. And dear child of God, remember that Luke 21, 28 tells us, our redemption draweth nigh. Things seems to be difficult and hard now, but praise God, we're going higher someday soon. Praise God, we will leave this old sin-cursed world behind, all the sin, all the shame, and all the misery, and we will be in the Lord's presence for all eternity. We will look upon him with a perfect body, never to sin against him anymore, to love him with a perfect love as he ought to be loved. And that's the hope that we have this evening, dear child of God. That's the hope we have for eternity. But as I conclude this evening, and you're not a Christian, can I urge again upon you your need to be saved, your need to trust in Christ alone for salvation, and that you too can claim this promise for yourself, that you have that hope of eternal life. not found in religion, not found in church, not found in good works, but found in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless his word to each and every one of our hearts this evening for his own name's sake. We'll just close our meeting in a word of prayer. Our heavenly Father and eternal God, we thank thee, Lord, for thy precious word. We thank you, Lord, for the very words of our Savior, which we have been considering tonight, that he gives on to his sheep eternal life. and they shall never perish. Lord, thank you for this promise. Thank you, Lord, for this hope and assurance that we have as Christians here tonight. And, Lord, I do pray that thou would speak to those who still are strangers to thee and to thy grace, and that, Lord, they would come and trust in the Savior, whom to know is life eternal. Lord, encourage us as thine own dear people tonight. Take us on with thee in these days in which we live, we humbly ask and pray. And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, rest and remain with us this day until Jesus calls or comes again. And we pray, dear God, that thou wouldst take us each and every one of us home to our homes in safety, and give us, during mercies, we pray, upon the roads. Amen. Amen.