If you would join me for our reading this morning, John chapter 10, and one verse, verse 11. Christ is directly speaking here. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. You may be seated. Well, it's always a joy for me to... look into your faces and have the opportunity to minister in your midst. And just a couple of things. I'm gonna be coming back and not staying for the afternoon. I'll be coming back for the evening service. So I'm gonna leave afterwards. So if you don't see me, it's nothing personal, okay? So just keep that in mind and give me an opportunity to get home and then back here for the evening service. This evening, I'm going to preach on my final sermon for this series on limited atonement, and I'm going to preach on the most difficult verse in defending limited atonement. So this is the verse that I find to be the most difficult, and I think that all of the other verses that are used against limited atonement Some of them are very easily answered, some of them require a little more effort, but they are very answerable. This is the only verse that I find to be a major challenge. Also, if you have an informed Arminian, somebody that has done at least some study, or perhaps they've done a lot of study, when it comes to the third point of the five points, they will be armed with this verse that I will preach on tonight. And so we'll seek to look to the Lord to understand that verse in the light of the Bible's overall teaching on limited atonement. So we're down to our last two messages on limited atonement. As I said last month, you that thought we would never get here, see, just don't give up. See, all things are possible from that end. And then next month, Lord willing, when I'm here, we'll start on the fourth point. The third point, what a point it is, it is on the design of the atonement. And remember that that is what we are talking about. We're not talking about the sufficiency of the atonement. It is sufficient to save a million worlds. So it's not the sufficiency. It is what God's purpose and actual design of the atonement is about. To put it another way, as our forefathers would put it, for whom did Christ die? specifically for whom did he die. So we have friends on the other side, and some who are not so friendly, who believe that Christ's death was for everyone without exception. That is known in church history as Arminianism. following Jacob Arminius, and so that it was a universal atonement, meaning that from start to finish, everybody that's ever lived or ever will live to the last person who is born, that person, those persons were atoned for at the cross. They view it as a potential atonement. because they know that not everybody's saved. They also know that people were already in hell by the time Christ got to the cross. Numerous numbers of people had already lost their soul and were in perdition. And so they are evangelical Arminians, and that is that they know that there are those who, without faith, will perish in their sins. Nevertheless, their view is that the atonement is universal. and that Christ was potentially dying to save everyone, and that it is a universal atonement. The Calvinistic or Augustinian view is that, simply put, is that Christ died for the elect, which is simply another way of saying that Christ died for those that he actually saves. Or to put it another way, that Christ died for those who believe, and only for those who believe. Now again, let me stress to take some pressure off, I've said this in numerous sermons regarding limited atonement, but let me just repeat it again. Remember that if we are wrong, if Christ died for more than the elect, If that is true, that it's a universal atonement and not an atonement limited to the elect, not limited in power, but limited in design. If that is true, not one single person more will be in heaven as a result of that. Because the evangelical Arminian believes like we do. Only those that believe go to heaven. No unbelievers will be in heaven. Not one single unbeliever. And so not one single person more will be in heaven because only believers go to heaven. So if it is a universal atonement, it does not benefit one single sinner more. And so what we're talking about is the extent of the atonement, the purpose of God in the atonement, the purpose in sending Christ. What was the purpose, the design? For whom did he die? That's what we're talking about. If you do not limit the scope of the atonement, you unintentionally will limit the power of the atonement, because you have Christ dying for those who ultimately perish. And we believe, and we've seen in text after text after text, is that the Bible presents no such thing. That at Calvary, he saved his people. At Calvary, he redeemed his church. At Calvary, he atoned for all the sins of all of the elect. It is effectual. They will be brought in. They will trust him. They will believe. And his atonement, not one drop of his blood was wasted. Apart from that, you have Christ failing at the cross. I don't see how it could be any other way. You have him failing at the cross. He is attempting to save those whom ultimately He does not have the, in their view, our interpretation of their view, the ability to save because they refuse to believe. They must believe. Point being is that He is attempting and He does not succeed. In fact, He has already failed before He got to the cross. because there are untold large numbers of people already in hell. Pharaoh is already in hell. Esau is already in hell. Judas is already in hell. And so Christ is attempting to remove the wrath, propitiation, to remove the wrath, bear the wrath for their sins, they're already under the penalty. With more to come at the second coming, they're already under the penalty. And so there's no real benefit. It seems like that God is more generous, the Arminian view, more loving, more generous, in a universal atonement. We've seen that that is not so. Now, here in John chapter 10 is a remarkable passage also that tells us about the design of the atonement. Obviously, there's more in this passage that I'm going to deal with. It is full, and it is overflowing, and there's much that I will not deal with in the passage, and so my focus is very narrowed in this sermon, and that is to identify who the sheep are. You'll note in our text it says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. What does the good shepherd do? The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. The good shepherd goes to the cross for the sheep. If I can identify who the sheep are, then I will know the design, the purpose, the extent, and the scope of the atoning work of Christ at the cross. he very clearly says that he dies for the sheep. And so in this context, the identification of who the sheep are will tell us how wide the scope of the atonement actually is. Let me begin by stressing that Christ sets himself forth here as the good shepherd. Verse 14, he also says, I'm the good shepherd. He is the good shepherd. Oh, how good this shepherd is. Not all shepherds are good. Some are very evil. This is the good shepherd. And the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Now, this is about a shepherd who is going to give his life for the sheep. That little word for there is important. It is about substitutionary atonement. It's about an atonement that is a substitutionary atonement. Christ is going to go in the place of certain ones that he calls sheep. He's going to die for the sheep. Whoever the sheep are, He is going to give himself, give his life for the sheep. And so that is a word of substitution. He is there in the place of sheep. He is there dying for sheep. And so if we know who those sheep are, it'll tell us the extent of the atonement. He's the good shepherd who does that. You'll note also that he identifies with laying down his life for the sheep. Look at verse 15, as the Father knows me, even so I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. And so this is a substitute, a great shepherd. He's called in Hebrews 13.20 the great shepherd of the sheep. He's identified in Messianic prophecies that a great shepherd is going to come. Here's the fulfillment of that in chapter 10 in particular of John. And this great shepherd of the sheep, he's going to shed his blood and seal the everlasting covenant. He's going to shed his blood for the sheep, but he's coming as a great shepherd, and he's coming to be a substitute for the sheep. He's going to die in their place. One of the things to keep in mind that is sometimes missed by us urban city dwellers, and that is, is that when it talks about sheep and shepherds, let's begin with shepherd. In the Bible, when it's a reference to shepherds, that is evil shepherds, good shepherds, or the ultimate shepherd who is the Messiah himself, shepherds are kings. And so in the ancient world, kings were viewed as being shepherds. It's very important to remember that. And so when you see shepherd, you should think about a shepherd king. So the famous Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. What the psalmist is saying there is that the Lord is my king, a shepherd king that has come. Matthew 25, 31, 32, it speaks there in verse 31, when the son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him. And then it goes on and says, as a shepherd, he shall divide. And so at the second coming, he's coming as a shepherd. He's coming as a shepherd king. And he's coming to judge the world in righteousness, ready or not, saved or lost. He's coming as a shepherd, and he'll be the shepherd king, seated upon the throne, surrounded by the holy angels of God. The late outstanding theologian, Ruses John Rushdeny, in his book, Revolt Against Maturity, says this about shepherds. The divine kings of the ancient world declared themselves to be the shepherds of their people, their guardians who controlled and determined their destinies. As shepherds, they assumed the right of total control over the people, and they expected and required total subservience. It was assumed that the people were helpless apart from their shepherd king. and that to be stateless and ungoverned by their shepherd king was the same as being dead or in hell, end of quote. And so Rustony captures, you're talking about a shepherd king. So Christ is not only announcing himself as a suffering savior for sheep, but he's also announcing himself that he's a king that has come. He's the shepherd king. And he dies not only as a priest, but he dies in that sense that he's a king who's come. He's the priest upon the throne, Zechariah chapter six. A priest upon the throne, a king, a shepherd king upon the throne who is also a priest for his people. Many years ago, I preached a series of meetings at a church in Ohio. And the pastor there was a young man, well, you know, I was young then, a young man who had come from Colorado and his family ran a huge sheep farm in Colorado. And I had begun through studies, I had become alert to how many in the West, and particularly Americans, have perceptions and conceptions about shepherds and sheep that are really not accurate and also not biblical. So we misunderstand Psalm 23, passages of scripture like this. It's easy to draw conclusions that are not accurate. So I ask him about that. I ask him about what sheep are like. And he affirmed that many Christians in the United States, they do not understand what these passages are talking about because they've never been around sheep. I haven't. Have you spent a lot of time around sheep? No, no. So most of us, if not, I'm sure. There might be some here that have, but we're, you know, we're mostly orientated sort of a romantic view of when they're first born and they're those fluffy little things, right, and so on. So that's sort of our conception. Well, what my friends in Ohio explained is that that's not how sheep are like, and how quickly they can get into trouble, and how stupid they are, and how everything clings to them under the sun. If there's anything in the air, it'll cling to them, and how they need a shepherd. So they need somebody to watch over them and to take care of them. Rush Dunny again. He says, some years ago in the inner mountain area, when I spoke one Sunday and cited Psalm 23, one rancher remarked after the service that among cattlemen, Psalm 23 and other biblical references to men as sheep were very unpopular. Sheep, after all, are dirty, stupid animals, and for a cattleman, sheep are the lowest of animals. The cattleman's opinion of sheep has real merit to it to a considerable degree. Sheep are dirty animals. The common image of sheep comes from pictures of newly born lambs. The wool of lambs becomes quickly matted with dirt, burrs, and dust, and it smells strongly. Sheep, moreover, are helpless animals and need constant watching to protect them from their enemies. Wolves, coyotes, bears, and many other animals will readily prey on sheep unless the sheep herder or the shepherd and his dogs are constantly alert." Well, my friend in Ohio, my pastor friend in Ohio, That's what he grew up with, and he abundantly confirms that. The point is, when the Lord calls us sheep, it is not a compliment, okay? That is not the point that is being made. It is identifying us as sinners, and the different aspects of what I've just read to you, that we are in great need, and we're especially in need of a shepherd. Now, the Bible does not teach that every sinner is a sheep, all right? It does not teach that. The Bible does teach that all sinners are sheep-like. We'll draw that distinction, okay? The sheep are a very select and special group in Scripture, that is, those sheep for whom Christ died. But all are sheep-like. In the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53, It says that all we like sheep have gone astray, and everyone has turned to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. All we like sheep have gone astray. Sheep easily stray, easily get in trouble, easily follow one another. to destruction, just following each other to destruction. And so there is this general sense in which the Bible teaches that all men as sinners are sheep-like to that degree. On one occasion, one of a number of occasions, when Messiah was deeply moved as he looked over people, Matthew 9, 36 says, but when he saw the multitudes, large numbers of people, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep with no shepherd. And so sinners are sheep-like in that sense, very destructive. Also, there is a tendency for sheep to follow human sheep as a symbol, to follow false shepherds. And so this chapter speaks about thieves. Those are false prophets, false teachers, and probably even Satan himself. He's the ultimate thief, verse 10 of this passage of scripture. He's the ultimate thief, and he has his thieves who steal that which is most precious from our souls, that which means the most in this life, and at death, and in the world to come. But Christ said, they are like sheep without a shepherd. They will follow false shepherds, false shepherds. And you can say, well, I can point to, we know that there are these cultists, and they took people and deceived them, took their money, were immoral with the women and girls that were around them, and all of that, and so on and so forth. All that is true, but do not miss this. If you make the state your savior, and you look to the state to be your savior, then you are following thieves, you are following false shepherds. The state is not our savior. Cradle to grave security? What nonsense. Our security is in the great shepherd of the sheep, the good shepherd, amen? And so we're to look to Him. Why is America like it is at this particular hour? Because you have sheep-like sinners listening to voices that are not the voice of the great shepherd of the sheep, Christ Jesus, the Messiah. And so men will seek out a shepherd. They need protection. They will follow. listening to these voices that are dominated by fallen principalities and powers, and looking for their security there, that is destroying this nation. There is only one shepherd king. He's the king. There's no one else. He's the king. A few days ago I happened to be in a store and there was not hardly anybody in there so I got what I was after and so I go to check out and so the lady that was behind the plastic barrier and so on. She was there to help me and to check out. And she's African American background. I would say she's probably about 30 years of age. And so anyways, just she was dealing with somebody just before me. I could tell she was just a very sweet person and just kind of was marked all over. You could tell and so on and so forth. So anyways, I paid for what I'd brought up to her and she said something about how difficult the days are. and there was nobody around, so obviously she wanted to talk. I did have uncasual clothes. What that means for you that know, sometimes I wear a collar and a cross so that people know that I'm clergy, okay, and that. So anyways, I looked quite ordinary. I'll put it that way. So she did not know that I was a preacher of the gospel, et cetera. And so anyways, and I said, well, this has just been an incredible year, hasn't it? She says, it has been. It's just an incredible year. And I said, well, you know what this nation needs is that this nation needs Jesus. She looks at me through the plate glass. She said, you are so right. And I said, Jesus? I said, he's our king, isn't he? And she said, Jesus is our King. And I said, the reason that these things are going on in our nation is because we have leaders who are not bowed to King Jesus. And I said, the Bible is the word of God, and they will not submit to the word of God. She said, you are so right. And so I set forth Christ in those few moments. Again, there was nobody around. Usually, I don't have the luxury. Usually, I'm in a hurry because I got people behind me when a witness happens, when I'm checking out somewhere here or there. And so in this case, there was no hurry. And so I talked to her about Christ. And I told her, I said, where there are wrongs, they should be righted. But my pointer is that it has to be based upon the word of God. And so I gathered my stuff up and was walking out. And she said something like this. She said, thank you, brother. And I said, well, you are my sister, aren't you? She said, I'm your sister. And she said, I'm going to see you in the new heavens and the new earth. A young woman there with a regenerate heart who's been reconciled in the blood of Christ. She left me with that impression. There was something about her from that end. She said, I'm going to see you again in the new heavens and the new earth. And so as I walked away, I said, I love you in Christ. She said, I love you too. Doesn't sound like much of what's going on in our nation at this very hour, does it? Hatred, bitterness, sinful rivalries. My point is, is that I set before her that Jesus is a great king. He's the great shepherd king. That's what this passage is also about. The great shepherd king. That brings us then to the sheep. Who are these sheep? Remember what our text is telling us. Our text is telling us that Christ died for the sheep. In the context here and throughout the rest of scripture, the sheep are the elect of God. They are sinners like all the non-elect. They are not better than the non-sheep. But sheep is a special term for those who have been chosen before the foundation of the world for salvation. And the Father sent the Son to make propitiation for their sins, to actually, not potentially, but actually redeem, to actually propitiate, to actually reconcile at the cross. And so Christ is standing in the place of the sheep at the cross to bear their penalty to redeem them. to save the sheep, or in this context, to give them life. Without his death, he cannot impart life to them. But in his death and resurrection, this passage of scripture, he voluntarily gives his life. No one ultimately takes it. He lays it down. He voluntarily lays it down. For who? For the sheep. In order that we might have life. And remember, life is not simply physical life. It's a quality of existence. It's called eternal life that begins in this dimension, that begins in this epoch, this era, this age, if you will. and continues beyond this life as well. I am come, verse 10, that you may have life. And so without that death, no life can be imparted to the sheep. The sheep are sinners who have been chosen by the Lord. The sheep are no better than others, but the sheep are the elect of God. And so in this context, he dies for the elect, he dies for the sheep. Now in other portions of scripture, sinners are not, they're not called sheep. Now again, we're sheep-like, all right? Go astray, won't follow a shepherd. There were like sheep without a shepherd. But narrowly, the Bible teaches that the sheep are the elect of God. They're the chosen of God before the foundation of the world. And Christ comes to lay down his life for those sheep. And so it's the elect of God. The elect of God must be brought to faith. No one's saved apart from faith. The elect of God will be brought to faith. Point here, though, is it's all because of what happened at Calvary, what happened at the place of punishment, the Golgotha, the place of the skull where our Savior suffered. Let me give an example of how not all sinners are called sheep, but only the elect, ultimately. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it happened to them according to the true proverb. A dog returns to his own vomit, a sow, after having washed, to wallowing in the mire. 2 Peter 2, verse 22. A dog returns to its own vomit. That is a picture of apostasy. Not called sheep, called dogs. Now in the ancient world, you can't picture our dogs, like your little dog Fluffy, you know, who will lick your face till it hurts if you let her, right? Okay, that's not what's being talked about in the Bible. Dogs were scary critters. and went in packs, and they were not domesticated at that particular point. So our dogs are domesticated, and so on and so forth. A dog returns to his own wallet. So why does a dog do that? It's the nature of a dog to do that. It's the very thing that made you sick. The dog returns to it. and laps it up. It's a sign of apostasy. Not a sheep who lost it all, who had it all and lost it all, a dog who never was changed. And then there's the sow, which is a pig, am I right, Paul? Those are pigs. All right, a sow having washed to her wallering in the mire. So why does a pig always go back and in, doesn't matter how you clean him or her up, they always go back and find their way to the mud, do they not? So you gotta watch them in that sense, because it's a pig's nature to do that. Sinners in this particular context are described as sows or pigs because they return to that filth which they cleaned up temporarily, never were regenerated by the Holy Spirit, but cleaned up temporarily and then returned to the same mire that they got cleaned up from externally but remained a pig. And so sinners are not called sheep in that sense. I mentioned Matthew chapter 25. One other reference on dogs, 2215, but outside, outside the city, the heavenly city, with the redeemed are connected to in this life and the life to come, but outside are dogs, sorcerers, sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, whoever loves and practices a lie. What are outside? Are dogs, it's referring to certain centers. Not called sheep, called dogs. They're outside the city, because they're outside of God's grace. Christ returns in Matthew 25. He says, when the Son of Man comes, referring to himself, in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, he shall sit on the throne of his glory, and all the nations shall be gathered before him." So when he comes, all the nations are going to be gathered before him. He will separate them one from another as a shepherd. See, the king is coming back. The king has been here, the king is ruling now, and the king is going to return on the final day at the end of the age. And he's coming as a shepherd king to judge. And so he will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left, then the king. The shepherd king will say to those on his right hand, come, you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Those on the other hand, verse 41, Then he will say to those on the left hand, depart from me, you cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And then later on in the passage he says, and these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. And so when he has the nations before him, he will separate the sheep from the goats. And all of the sheep on the final day, are regenerated, reconciled to him. He came and died for those sheep, every last one of those sheep. He saved them at Calvary. And he brings them home to himself because he died for them. And he separates them. And those who ultimately perish, they're not called sheep. They're called goats. And so this is symbolic, figurative imagery to teach us that the sheep of God, the true sheep of God, are those that are the elect of God. And so he did not die for dogs. He did not die for the sows. He did not die for these goats. He did not die for those sinners. He died for his sheep. And so he says, I lay down my life for the sheep. He gives life to the sheep through his death and, of course, ultimately his resurrection in overcoming it all. And so the term sheep is more narrowly a technical term, if you will, biblical technical term for the elect of God. I died for them. When you get saved, You're a dog and you become a sheep. No, that's not what the Bible teaches. You're a sheep all the way along. The Bible doesn't say you're a sow, then you get saved and you're no longer a sow, now you become one of the sheep. The Bible doesn't present it that way at all. You're a dog, a sinner dog, and you get saved, then you become one of the sheep. It doesn't say that at all. The non-elect, are not called sheep. They act like sheep, but they're not sheep. Christ says, I lay down my life for them. I love them. I care for them. I make sure that they're brought in. So the Bible makes such a distinction in its figurative use of various animals that picture our nature, our situation, our condition, and so on. Now, these sheep do something that the non-sheep won't do. Would you look at verse 26, John 10, 26. Jesus says, but you do not believe. Why do they not believe? Because you are not of my sheep, as I said to you. There it is. You do not believe because you're not of my sheep. Why? Because if he died for those sheep, they're gonna come home. Now, many of us planned on going to hell just as sure as we're breathing God's air. Am I not right? We were determined, weren't we, to perish in our sins. And so on and so forth. And then this good shepherd shows up. This good shepherd shows up and touches us. And we recognize that this good shepherd died for us, that I had sins that need to be atoned for, and he gave himself up for my sins and pays the price. You do not believe because you're not of my sheep, because here's what the sheep do. The sheep believe. The sheep will come. The sheep are going to hear the voice of God, and they're going to come. Look at verse 16. Other sheep I have which are not of this fold. Primarily a reference to Gentiles that are going to come in large numbers. Them also I must bring. These are the sheep now that he dies for. I have other sheep. If you're a Gentile, you're included in this. Save Gentile, you're included in this. I must bring. They will hear my voice. There will be one flock and one shepherd. Look at verse 27. My sheep hear my voice. That voice produces faith. My sheep hear my voice. I know them. They follow me. I give them eternal life. They shall never perish. No one shall snatch them out of my hand. And so the sheep are the elect of God. Very clearly, Christ says, I die for the sheep. There is no verse that says that he dies for the dogs. There is no verse that says that he dies for the goats. There is no verse that says that he dies for the pigs. I die for the sheep, and he says they're gonna come. I'm gonna make sure I have paid the penalty for their sins. I have won the Holy Spirit for them, and those sheep are going to hear my voice. Those sheep are going to hear my voice, and they're going to come. And they're going to come, and they're going to bow to me, the Shepherd King, and the only Savior of sinners. And they're going to receive me as Savior, for I died for them. I stood in their place, and they're going to receive me as the shepherd king. They're going to bow to my kingship, my lordship in this life. And they're going to follow me. They're going to follow my voice. And note what it says. They hear my voice, verse 27, and they follow me. They're going to follow me all the way to their last breath. They're going to persevere to the end. The fifth point, they're going to persevere all the way to the end. They're going to trust me. They're going to show themselves to be bowed to me, their savior, and me, their shepherd king. And they're going to be received by me into glory. And on the final day, when I come with all the holy angels, And when I sit upon that throne to call all the world to righteousness, when I make the great separation, they will be on my right hand. and they will show themselves to be my sheep." They will have shown themselves to be my sheep. And I will say, come into the final, the greatest dimension of the kingdom of heaven. Its fullest manifestation, come and enter into it. But those on the left hand, depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire that is prepared for the devil and his angels. This is a passage that dramatically, that profoundly, that succinctly sets forth that Christ died only for the elect and saves every single one of them before he came and after he came, first coming, and after he came. And they're going to be one flock, New Covenant Church, one flock in that sense. That one flock, I'm the shepherd king over, and I died and I gave myself for them. And so this passage is teaching in powerful imagery that Christ died for the elect and for the elect only. For whom did Christ die? He died for his sheep, and he saved his sheep. And they have been saved, and sheep are coming. They're coming. They're wandering out there. Were we not lost in the wilderness of sin, open to all sorts of dangers and even hellfire from the shepherd himself, the great shepherd himself? And then we heard that arresting voice. We heard that compelling voice. Then something happened in the depths of our being, and that voice caused us to see him as he is. and we cast ourself upon him. We threw ourselves into the arms of that great shepherd. Let me say in closing that we need to set Christ forth as the shepherd king who gives life to wandering sheep, perishing sheep. Especially in these days, it's always true, but especially in these days, we need to be setting forth him in such a way. The thief, verse 10, does not come except to steal, to kill, and destroy. The enemy of our soul is out to steal. He'll steal everything that's precious from you. Keep following him. Satan is a thief. And he has thieves that are operating, pointing to some other way than the door, verse 9, who alone is Christ. I am. I am the door, not doors. I'm the door to the sheepfold, door into that place of safety and peace. He will steal all that is precious in your life. He's a killer. John 8, 44, he was a murderer from the beginning. He's out to murder you. Stay apart from Christ, you cooperate with him, being dead in trespasses and sins, and he's out to kill you. He wants you to lose your soul. He wants you to die and go to hell. He's a killer. And to destroy, he's destructive. He's a person of chaos and destruction. He's out to destroy you. But oh, the great shepherd of the sheep. Have you heard his voice? Has his voice brought you in? He says, I have come. that they might have life, unlike the thief. I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. In verse 10, when it talks about abundant life, the idea there in our Greek New Testament is that it is this abundant, overflowing life. It is more than existence. It is this condition of this overflowing life, the life of God himself invading the sheep. going into the sheep, and you're alive, and you realize you once were dead, wandering out there. But now, the great shepherd has given you life and protection. He does not steal from you. He has not come to kill, to murder. He has not come to destroy, for the Son of Man came not to condemn the world, John 3, 17. But to save the world, the world, the sheep are part of that world that he saves. I've come, you might have life and have it more abundantly. Death stalks our land because all those who hate me, all those who hate the Lord, love death. And so when you turn from the fountain of life, when you turn from the shepherd of life, the great shepherd of the sheep who shed his blood to seal the everlasting covenant, When you turn from Him, there's nothing but death. But in Him, there's everything, life. And it's more than you can even measure. And it begins now and will go on for billions and billions of years without end. I'm come that you might have life. The shepherd has come to overcome death, to destroy death, spiritual death, physical death, cultural death. All of that is overcome because of the great shepherd of the sheep. And so when you set him forth, you set him forth as that one who has come that you might have life. Death stalks Western civilization because of our decadence. Death stalks our young people because of no background in knowing the great shepherd, suicide, high, no purpose in living, no meaning. So insane is it that they're communicating, the thieves are communicating that a boy doesn't know he's a boy and a girl doesn't know he's a girl. That's the judgment of God on this nation. It's the judgment of God on those that promote that as well. But he's calm that you might have life. In other words, life brings you back to peace and to sanity. to a quality of existence. And it's all because of this. He laid down his life for the sheep. Every barrier was removed in that atonement. And he atoned for the sheep. Again, make sure that you're one of them. But you do not believe because you're not of my sheep. The sheep believe. There's no reason not to believe. If you're without Christ, come to him now. Come to him this morning. There's no reason to delay. Believing doesn't make you a sheep. Believing reveals that you are one of the sheep. Do you understand that? It is your business to believe, to cast yourself upon this great shepherd-priest sacrifice. Shepherd-king-priest sacrifice. Cast yourself upon him. And we can assure people if they will, they will not want Our shepherd king will make sure if he died for us, he'll make sure everything else is supplied, will he not? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He'll make you to lie down in green pastures. He'll bring you besides waters of rest, peace and tranquility to your soul, no matter what is going on around you. The great shepherd of the sheep will make sure that that happens. He shed his blood for that purpose. He'll prepare a table for you in the presence of your enemies. Right in the presence of them. Won't necessarily remove your enemies, but he'll prepare a table for you right in the presence of your enemies. You'll banquet in the presence of your enemies. You tell them that this shepherd will so work upon you that you'll fear no evil. And even death itself, that when you enter into the valley of the shadow of death, when you enter into that valley, you'll fear no evil. You'll come out on the other side of that valley. All will be well because he said he laid down his life for the sheep. He'll make sure that you go through that valley and you survive it. He'll anoint your head with oil. He'll anoint your head with blessings and his special presence, which is life itself. It's hard to describe, but the glory presence of Christ will be upon you. Set forth that in the midst of much death and destruction, set forth the prince of life, this great shepherd king, who is also the great sacrifice for his people. Oh no, no, no, no. John 10 is not saying that Christ died for those that he does not save and ultimately loses them. He says every last one of these sheep, he says, I died for them. They'll hear my voice. They're coming home to me. I'm going to bring them in and I'm going to save them. They're going to come through me the door, me alone. They're going to come through me and they're going to be part of my flock. I'm going to rule over them in grace and love and peace and with life. like they have never known before. That will be their experience now and forevermore at the second coming, at the final judgment, and beyond for the eons and eons of eternity, the unending of eternity. And I will love them. I have loved them before the foundation of the world. I loved them before they ever loved me. I love them. They are my sheep, and they're going to be part of my saved flock. They're going to come. Christ died for the sheep. He died for those that he actually saves. Not one drop of that blood was somehow not effectual. Every drop of that blood that was shed by the great shepherd of the sheep, every drop of that blood was efficacious. Every drop of that blood saved every last sinner who will ever be saved. Every last one of the sheep. He has so loved them that he bends this universe to make sure that they come through him for eternal life. But even in this life, oh, the blessings, oh, the blessings. All is not necessarily evil. I'm sorry, easy. But all is is in his hands and has his purpose, even that which is difficult, we have a great shepherd and we're gonna follow him. And that's what the elect are going to do. Those that are brought in to union with him, they're gonna follow him. They're gonna follow him. They're gonna follow the voice of the great shepherd all the way through, follow the word, the written word. They're gonna follow him all the way through. His work is effectual. He dies for his people. He dies for his church. He dies for his sheep. He saves his people. He saves his church. And he saves his sheep. And he saves a world made up of various sorts of people, not everyone, but various sorts of people, Jews and Gentiles, men, women, boys and girls, kings and princes, paupers, A whole world of sinners, he says. It is an effectual atonement. Tell sinners that. If they're confused, unconfuse them. I don't know if Christ died for me. The answer is, what do you tell them? Everyone who does what, Christ died for. Everyone who believes. I can't figure out whether I'm one of these sheep that was chosen before the foundation of the world. It's not your business. It's not my business. It's ours to face our sons. It's ours to cast ourselves upon him. Now, there may be some of you who'll say, Pastor, listen, I've tried, but I can't seem to get home. I have good news for you. Go to the shepherd. Go to him. He will not disappoint you. Know that it's sin that is keeping you from him. It is sin that is holding you in unbelief. Unbelief itself is sin. but know that he is able. Multitudes of sinners have come and said, great shepherd of the sheep, oh, great Christ, Messiah, oh, come to me. Break the chains. Destroy the power of the thief in my life. Come and liberate me. Come and bring me home. Go to him. As our forefathers, some of them would say, that if I'm going to perish, then I'm going to perish clinging to the feet of Jesus. Go to Christ. If you shake it off by two o'clock this afternoon, this means nothing to you. You're not serious anyways. But if you can't get him out of your mind, if you can't get him off your hands, If you seem to be confronted everywhere you go, and even special things seem to be closing you in to Him. If you want Christ, you may have Christ. If you want to be saved, you can be saved. Because there is one who died to make sure that everything that is necessary to bring you to Him is in effect. And that's because of that shed blood. He has won the Holy Spirit for sinners. Just go to Christ. Cry out to the great shepherd of the sheep. Cry out. Go to Him. He will not disappoint you. And may we as believers, in the midst of chaos, anarchy, death, destruction, moral and spiritual insanity, may we be announcing about King Jesus, the one who said, I have come. Why has he come? Why has he come as a great shepherd? I have come. I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. Set that before young people. No meaningfulness in life? No hope, confusion. There is one who says, I've come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly. Set that before disillusioned older adults. I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. And that life comes because of what happened at Calvary. Set that before them. Let's pray.