I don't know your spiritual condition tonight, but the Lord sure does. And if you're here tonight, and maybe you've been saved, but over the process of time, your walk with Christ isn't what it once was. You drifted. Tonight, I'm praying for you. I'm praying the Holy Spirit will convict you and convince you of your need to come back to the Lord. He's right where you left Him. I'm praying for you tonight if you're here and you've never received Christ as your personal Savior. I pray especially for you because if you die in your sin without Christ, you're going to hell. You'll be eternally separated from God for all eternity. And understand, God loves you. How much does he love me, preacher? He loved me and you so much that he literally sacrificed himself to atone and redeem us. So God loves you, sinner friend. Come to him before it's too late. I have eight steak. Amen, I had it yesterday morning and I had it last night, steak. I'm talking about the word of God, steak. And I'm looking forward to steak again tonight. I like steak. And I like cow, I do. It's one of my favorites. But I also love the word of God. And when you're able to eat the meat of the word, and that's what we have received, These last two, meat. Ugh, nothing like it. So I wish we had more here. I wonder sometimes, I don't understand. Shape of the world, we know that the Lord's coming back soon. And God has afforded us the opportunity to come to his house and be revived. He's willing to allow His Spirit to have His way in our hearts. I'm not talking about jumping pews and all that hooey-fooey stuff. I'm talking about the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of God's Word, convincing and convicting and reproving us that, hey, this is where you need to be, and encourage us to keep on. And folks seem so unconcerned and complacent. And it breaks my heart. But listen, how must the Lord feel when he's done everything for us and we forget? But you know what? We're here. God knows our hearts. And he says, we're two or three, and we got more than two or three. He's there in the midst. So he's here tonight. If you have business with him tonight, do your business. Amen. My privilege, it's my honor to introduce Brother Randy Chauvin. Everybody knows him pretty much. To our special guests, thank you for being here tonight. You're in for a treat. The man of God will bring the word of God tonight. So, Brother Randy, without any further ado, you come and I appreciate you. And I love you very much. All right, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Pastor John Richardson and Pastor Jim Smith are here and we are going back to back. This week revival in this church, next week revival in his church. You got two full weeks for the opportunity to hear the Word of God and the wonderful singing and the fellowship and all of it is just great. And so thank you for coming with us tonight. We had a wonderful day. We really did. And you sometimes wonder what we do all day. We always are busy. Through the day as well as the night. We have a lot of administration in this ministry and and and we also had a nice spice cake from our brother our singing Brother Travis there baked us a loaf a big loaf and and really brother. It's so big I boy we were thinking how are we gonna get through this this week and But we had a maintenance issue in our motel room this week. The shower wouldn't drain, and water's going all over the floor. And so we had the maintenance guy come in. His name is Joshua. His mom's a Pentecostal and named him Joshua. He's probably early 30s, mid 30s. And I said, well, what about you? Your mom's Pentecostal. What are you? He said, well, I'm really nothing. And I go to church every once in a blue moon. I was able to share with him that it's not how often you go to church, it's whether you been born again, received Christ as your Savior, not gave him a gospel tract, but I also gave him a big piece of that spice cake. And I gave him a nice big piece and he was so glad to get that. And then I was on the treadmill. I do, I walk, some of you know I walk every single day except Sunday. I've been doing it for 46 years. It's just part of my daily routine. That's my main prayer time. And so I was on the treadmill and Joshua comes into the exercise room and we got to talking some more. And he was very kind. And so praying for Joshua, I want to have a ministry with him all week long. I plan to try to see him every day and maybe even try to get him to these meetings, but the spice cake really helped. That's what I'm saying. There's nothing like that to establish rapport with some sinner, some guy that needs the Lord. And so appreciate that. And then Grace, I tell you, Brother Travis, and Grace gave a hunk of your spice cake the room cleaner lady across the hallway. She got to talking to her. And that's the wonderful thing about where we're at. We get a lot of opportunities right there. A lot of staff you can witness to there. And so praise the Lord, pray for us over there. All right, good to have our visitors. Good to have all of you here. We're gonna have a wonderful evening. Saying with the psalmist, Psalm 122, one, I was glad. I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. There's nothing on the TV that's gonna match what we do here tonight. I tell you what, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, they have nothing on us here. There's nothing in the community going on that can match what we're doing here tonight. You're in the right place. You have warmed and pleased the heart of your God because you have a spiritual appetite to come out and hear the Bible preached again. And we'll be in the right place again tomorrow night, and Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. We'll be in the right place next week at Wagon Wheel, and we've got Pastor Jim and Sandy, and they're gonna be singing, I'm sure, and we'll have other stuff going on over there, and we'll have a delightful time together. So Sister Sandy, have you worked on that song, I'm an American Christian? You got, yes, you're convicted, I know it. Because the last time I was here, I asked her, would you work on that song, I'm an American Christian, have you never heard that? It's a great song, and I heard it sung in another meeting, and I said, now Sandy's one who could do that, and she could do it well, and she's working on that for next week, I can tell you. All right, so, all right, your husband's concurring with me, so, you know, just don't forget that Ephesians 5.22 stuff, but anyway. All right, we're going to have my wife come and she's going to share with us another sacred recitation. And then we're getting right into the word. I'm glad for all who are the boys and girls, teenagers and below. Can I see your hand? Are you one? Are you a teenager? Are you below? Then raise your hand. All right, good. All right, we're glad to have the young people here tonight. I hope the message tonight will be a blessing to you and speak to your heart as well. Yes, Brother Jim. All right. He's at least a teenager, maybe more. All right, so Lord bless you. The spirit came in childhood and pleaded, let me But oh, the door was bolted with thoughtlessness and sin. I am too young, the child replied. I will not yield today. There's time enough tomorrow. The spirit went away. Again, he came and pleaded in youth's bright happy hour. He came but found no welcome. Forlorn by Satan's power, the youth lay dreaming that and saying, not today, nor till I've tried earth's pleasures. The spirit went away. Again, he called in mercy and manhood's vigorous prime, but now he heard no answer. The merchant had no time, no time for true repentance, no time to think or pray. And so repulsed and saddened, the spirit went away. Once more he came and waited. The man was old and ill. He scarce could hear the whisper. His heart was cold and still. Go, leave me. When I need thee, I'll call for thee, he cried. Then, sinking on his pillow, without a hope, he died. If you reject God's final call of grace, you'll have no chance your footsteps to retrace. All hope will then be gone, and doom you'll face. Oh, hear his call. This could be God's final call. Amen. I remember preaching in a rescue mission there in Utah, had a whole room full of these rescue mission guys and I was preaching to them a message on death. And I said, in all probability, there could be somebody here tonight. This is your last opportunity to hear the gospel and be saved because you'll be dead tomorrow. And sure enough, one of those guys went out rejecting Jesus Christ. The next day, car accident, tragically killed him. That was his last opportunity, was that night that I preached in that rescue mission. We're glad to have the wagon wheel people. All the wagon wheel people right there. One, two, three, four, five, six. Okay, very good. And this is all the Lone Mountains over here. And again, it's been a great evening already. Appreciate all the singing, this recitation. Now we come to prayer. So Father, we do bow our heads and our hearts before you, for you are God and there is none else. And we're looking at our lovely Lord Jesus this week, as we saw Him in His teaching ministry yesterday, and another facet this week, or this tomorrow night and through Friday night. We look forward to what you're going to do. You said, call upon Me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things. which thou knowest not. We pray for great and mighty things tonight and next week at Wagon Wheel, and we're looking forward to meeting those folks and just having a wonderful time of fellowship and time around the Word of God there as well. So, Lord, You know every heart here tonight. Pray for young people. I pray for middle-aged and older people, and I just pray that You just have Your way In hearts and lives, Lord God, that's all we can do is trust you to do the work that we cannot do. I cannot persuade anyone. I don't have the ability. to bring people to yourself. I just want to preach your word and let the Spirit of God do the rest, so you bring the conviction, you do the persuading, you do the drawing, you do the saving, and we'll thank you for what you do in the hearts of believers as well. In Christ's name, amen and amen. I am taking you now to John chapter 10. I haven't preached this message in years. This is amazing how the Lord leads you to certain messages. Now yesterday we looked at the teaching ministry of Christ. Tonight we want to look at the shepherding ministry of Christ. And each night we'll look at a different facet of that beautiful cut diamond called the Lord Jesus as the light and the facets of his ministry are coming out to us this week. So John chapter 10, if you are able to stand and Let me read the Word of God to you in respect out of the inerrant, infallible words of the living God that are preserved to every generation. Some of us believe that's the King James Version, and I'm not here to start any debate, but listen. John chapter 10, I'm going to read verses 1 through 14, you follow along as I read. Verily, verily, I say unto you, who's speaking? All right, the Lord Jesus is speaking to us. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, that climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and a 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. And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. And a stranger will they not follow, that will flee from Him, for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not which things which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door, the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not before to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, 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. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. and know my sheep, and have known of mine." Thank you for standing and following along. You may be seated. We have this message concerning the shepherding ministry of the Lord Jesus, one of the beautiful facets of His great earthly ministry. And we find this passage familiar to some of you, maybe not to others, but we find the Lord Jesus saying, I am the good shepherd. He is the good shepherd, and he has a ministry to all of us as the good shepherd. I want to talk first about the seeking shepherd. The seeking shepherd, the Lord Jesus said it in Luke 19.10, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost." Now, why is he the seeking shepherd? Because we are the straying sheep. We are the straying sheep. Isaiah 53, 6, all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone into his own way. And the Lord had laid on him, on Christ, the iniquity of us all. We were born lost. Straying sheep Psalm 51 5 the psalmist said behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin Did my mother conceive me the psalmist went on in Psalm 58 3 they go astray as soon as they be born My, isn't that amazing? You hold a newborn infant in your arms and you can say, you are the sweetest little sinner I've ever seen. And you'd be so biblically accurate. We are born with a depraved, corrupt, sinful human nature that is bent on sinning, that is bent on straying, and that is bent on resisting and rebelling against God's authority. All we like sheep have gone astray and we've turned everyone to his own way. Every human heart that has ever walked this planet was born straying and lost and rebellious against the authority of God. We don't want God telling us what to do. We don't want our parents Telling us what to do. We don't want a teacher telling us what to do I tell you what I was 18 years old and I graduated high school. I'm gonna get away from authority I'm gonna get away from my parents. I'm gonna go away from teachers. So I joined the military Boy, what a rude awakening I had that first morning in basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. And I got this drill instructor's face right there, and I said, I guess you're never going to escape authority. So you young people might as well get it down. You're always going to be under somebody's authority. And so the fact of the matter is that we are the straying sheep. Every human heart strays from God. Every human heart rebels against God and His authority, and that's why we need to let the Lord Jesus conquer our sinful hearts. We need to let Him seek us and find us. Strange sheep! That's what we are. I'll never forget my first visit to the island of St. Vincent. There in the Caribbean, the eastern Caribbean, the island of St. Vincent is nestled between Grenada and St. Lucia, and I was up preaching in a village called Owia, O-W-I-A. Pastor Oral Lewis pastored Hope Baptist Church there in that St. Vincent village of about a thousand people, and Pastor Lewis had a parsonage that was right next to the church. Smallest little parsonage I think I've ever been in, and I was staying with him in that parsonage for the week. But Oral Lewis had sheep. He had sheep, and he would tie them up. in the front yard, and those sheep would eat all the grass in the front yard, and then tomorrow, he's gonna put them in the backyard, and they eat all the grass in the backyard, and then the next day, he puts them on the side yard, and they eat all the grass there. Where do you think they're going the next day? Yeah, the other side. And so, gotta eat all the grass there, and I remember we were having dinner before the meeting, and a frantic church member came running in, all excited. Pastor Lewis, Pastor Lewis, your sheep are gone again. True story. Pastor Lewis just put his head in his own. No, not again. My sheep are always going astray. And now I'm a pretty nice guy. You believe that? I'm a pretty nice guy. So I said, Pastor Lewis, would you like me to help you get your sheep back? He said, oh, he said, Brother Chauvin, you don't understand. When my sheep go astray, I got to get about 20 or 30 church members together. And first we got to find them. And then when we find them, we make a big circle around them and then just close in on them. It's the only way to get them. Sounds like a new evangelistic technique we might want to use in our local churches. 20, 30 church members together around some sinner and close in on him. Well, I tell you what, well, we found him and we got him. But what straying sheep, you know, it was probably the lead sheep who figured out how to wiggle out of his leash, his rope that he was tied in, and then he taught the other sheep how to do it. Now here's the, you just wiggle just right and that thing will come off, and they all went running off. We're all straying sheep, we're all born in sin, straying from God, and that's why the seeking shepherd is looking for you tonight! looking for you, because we are born in sin and we naturally choose to sin astray against God. You know, wouldn't it be something, young people, how many of you are going to school tomorrow? Anybody? Young people, you going to school tomorrow? All right, wouldn't it be something, some of you are homeschooled, some of you go to a public school or a school that has a teacher there, and the teacher gets up tomorrow, you're going to school tomorrow, and the teacher stands up and says, class, today we're gonna learn how to sin. We're going to learn how to sin today. In the first period, we're going to teach you how to disobey your parents. The second period, we're going to teach you how to tell a lie. The third period, we're going to teach you how to steal your classmates' belongings. And the fourth period, we're going to teach you how to cheat on all your exams. The fifth period, we're going to teach you how to kick and scratch your brothers and sisters. Now, do we need to send children to school to learn how to do those things? Not at all. In fact, we have to teach children to do what's right because they naturally do what is wrong. Does anybody get any of these? Do you know what that is? Anybody know what that is? All right. Man, I sure got them. You don't have to send children to school to learn how to sin. They are born in sin and they're naturally doing those things. And so that's why we have a seeking shepherd, because we are the straying sheep. The Lord's looking for you if you're straying tonight. We're not only the straying sheep, we're the scattered sheep. Scattered sheep. The Bible says in Matthew 9.36, and when he, the Lord Jesus, when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. The Lord has great compassion on those that he created. but those who are sinful and those who are straying from him. He has great compassion on your soul tonight, and he sees you as a scattered sheep, a sheep having no shepherd. You know, a sheep without a shepherd is in great danger. You know why? Because of the predators. You know that word? A predator. We have it there in verse 12. And he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd whose own sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. A wolf is a predator. A lion is a predator. There are many animals who eat other animals. And you know, it's interesting that lions or wolves, they go after straying sheep. They go after sheep that have been scattered from the flock. And you know what else they go after? Our young sheep. You ever watch Wild Kingdom, Mutual of Omaha? I mean, boy, that dates me, doesn't it? And so, boy, the predators, they look, they're looking, the wolf is looking for a sheep that is not part of the flock. They're looking for young sheep, young prey that are vulnerable to attack. And that's where they're going to. You know, it's a very dangerous, dangerous, dangerous thing to be a sheep without a shepherd. You know, sheep are one of the only animals that God did not create them with any defensive part of their body. What do they got? Little nibbly teeth that nibble in the grass? Little hooves that prance around the meadow, a soft woolly back that's easy to bite into. What do you think of all the other animals God created? Maybe you can help me out. Somebody help me out. What's an animal God created and gave them something to defend themselves? All right, a lion has great claws and teeth. A what? A porcupine. Boy, you ever watch a dog mess with a porcupine? I've seen they come back and these quills are all in their face, you know, and just, yeah, the porcupine, boy, God sure gave that critter something to protect itself. What else do you think about? A rhino? Are those Republicans or whatever? Anyway. A rhino! Think about that thick hide that a rhino has, and then of course that big ol' horn on the front of his face. Man, I tell you, if a rhino's running after you, have you seen those kind of videos of a rhino coming, you got the safari vehicle there, and that rhino's coming in with his horn, he's trying to tip over that Jeep or whatever. Man, they got a big defense, don't they? What else do you know about? The devil? Oh, gazelle! Wow, I know gazelles. What do they got there, Bill? All right, they got long horns, and they're the ones that can jump about 25 feet, yeah. Yeah, so the deer have antlers. The bull moose, boy, he's got some antlers. I pastured out west in Washington state for a lot of years, and man, the elk out there. Huge racks on those elk. And man, I tell you what, they knew how to use them. Those deer and antler people, they'll cut you up, man. Well, you know, there's a lot of illustrations. A frog has a hopper. An octopus has an anchor. A skunk has a stinker. You think of almost every single animal God created, he gave them some means to protect themselves. You know, birds can fly away. certain animals and climb up trees. Some of them have big teeth, some have big claws, some have hides that you can't get into. What about that elephant? What does he got? You know, what's that thing? Woo! Woo! Boy, you get whacked by that trunk, you're done. Man, I tell you, every animal, God has given them some means to protect themselves except the sheep. God created the sheep defenseless. The sheep has nothing in its body to protect itself. What is the only thing that God gave the sheep to protect it? The shepherd. The shepherd is the protection for the sheep because he has no other means. And if Jesus Christ is not your shepherd, You are a straying, scattered sheep, and you are in great danger. You have nothing to protect yourself from the greatest predator that has ever walked this planet, and that is the devil. 1 Peter 5, 8, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. The devil is looking for straying, scattered human souls. The devil is seeking to destroy you and devour you. The devil's going to hell. He's going to be cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20, verse 10. Remember the devil's first name? Lou, what's his last name? Sir. Lou, sir! The devil's going to the lake of fire, and the devil knows the Word of God and what it says. He likes to misquote it and take verses out of it and add things to it, but he knows Revelation 20.10. Whether he believes it or not, I'm not sure, but he knows his fate is he's going to the lake of fire, and he's going to try to drag as many people there with him as he can. See that the Lord Jesus is a seeking shepherd, but I tell you what, the devil is a seeking predator. He's seeking to destroy you young people, older people. The seeking shepherd, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost because we're straying sheep, we're scattered sheep. And to what degree does the Lord seek us? I appreciate Pastor's words at the beginning, and he just gave a wonderful preface to this message, because he mentioned this as well, that the Lord Jesus loved you so much, although you were sinful, depraved, corrupt, and deserving of judgment. And every one of us are. We're born on the broad road, heading for destruction. And God in His mercy, His grace, His love, His compassion, His pity, His long-suffering reaches down on that broad road heading for destruction and plucks us up off of that road and puts us on His narrow road that leads to life. And few there be that find it. I tell you what, if you're some of the born-again, blood-bound, heaven-bound children of God tonight, you're some of the few that Jesus said would be genuinely born again and on the narrow road that leads to life. You know, I marvel at that, I do. Twenty years as a Roman Catholic and darkness and death, ritual, work, system of salvation. A billion Roman Catholics in this world and I was one of them. And again, I'm not a Calvinist, but I think about the sovereignty of God, and I think about how he brings people into our lives, and brings circumstances into our lives so that we actually look up. Because I love this world, and I love sin, and I planned all my weekends around sin, and here's this airman in the U.S. Air Force Station in Okinawa, Japan, and along comes these people that God led into my life. My drinking buddy Bo Nelson gets saved and begs me to come watch his believer's baptism. And so I went that night to Maranatha Baptist Church in Okinawa, a church established to reach the military. And for the first time in my life, I heard the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus. And the Lord Jesus was seeking me. I wasn't looking for him. I was spiritually dead. I wasn't seeking him. But he was seeking me. I marvel at that. God made a divine appointment with me that night, just like he did with the woman at the well in John 4, just like he did in Acts 9 with Saul of Tarsus. And there he was seeking me, but I wasn't seeking him. And so the Lord conquered my sinful heart. set my foot upon a rock, and what has he done for me now? Ah, he's the one who's given me life that I might have it more abundantly. To what degree does the shepherd seek the sheep that he gave his life for the sheep? Again, verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Verse 15, as the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Verse 17, therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. He said, I have power to lay it down. I've got power to raise it up again from the dead. The Lord Jesus died for you. He died in your place. You should be on that cross. I should be on that cross. I'm the one who sinned. I should be on that cross dying. I should be suffering in hell today, and I deserve that. If God sent me to hell, I fully deserve it. Praise God, I'm not going to hell because I'm saved. But listen, Jesus died in your place and every sin that you've ever committed, every sin you will ever commit in your entire lifetime was taken from you and placed on Christ. Can you imagine that? every one of you, all of your sin, and he placed it on himself. And he died with the weight of the sins of the world on his shoulders. And he died in your place. He knew all about you that day he died. You say, well, how could Jesus know all about me 2,000 years ago? Because of Isaiah 57, 15, that's why. Thus saith the High and Lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity, God is totally outside the realm of time. He created you, He created me in time and space, but He's not limited by time or space. He saw you 2,000 years ago just as He sees you today. Because He's totally outside of time, do you know God sees all of history all at once? Boggles our finite mind, doesn't it? Right now God is looking at 3,000 BC. as it's actually happening, 3000 B.C. God is also looking at 3000 A.D. So if you're saved, He already sees you seated in the heavenlies. Ephesians 2.6. And the wonderful thing is He's not going to unseat you. One of my favorite themes is eternal security, because it's so biblical. You are seated in the heavenlies. Why? Because God sees all. He already sees you in heaven. You're already there in his mind, totally outside the realm of time. And so 2,000 years ago, God fully knew all about you. He knew all about your sin. He knew all about your straying. He knew you were scattered. He knew you were a sinner, rebellious against him, rebellious against your parents, rebellious against teachers, rebellious against all authority. And he loved you. He's seeking you. He gave His life for the sheep. So He died in your place, shed His blood to wash away all your sin and forgive you and pardon you. And He gave His life and had power to lay it down. No man took His life. It wasn't the Romans. It wasn't the Jews. Christ willingly gave Himself. that cross, he dismissed his own spirit. Can you do that? Brother Gerald, how about right now, just die for us, would you? Just show us how that is. Just dismiss your spirit. See, you can't do that, can you? But God the Son could do that. He could dismiss his spirit. He could die at his own will. And so Christ bore the Penalty of your sin he died in your place He had power to lay his life down he had power to take it up again To destroy this temple in three days. I'll raise it up The Lord Jesus is alive He said in Revelation 118 behold I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive forevermore and this crucified, bleeding, battered, and bashed, and tortured Savior, rose again triumphant from the grave and is alive forevermore, and the one who gave his life for the sheep now gives his life to the sheep. Do you understand that he gave his life for you as a sheep? that he might give his life to you." John 10, 28, Jesus said this, and I, I give. Now that's interesting. You mean Jesus Christ is God with the authority and the power to give you eternal life? Now, praise God for our Father in heaven, but it doesn't say, my Father gives them eternal life. He said, I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. The word perish is only used of those who reject Christ, who resist Christ, who refuse Christ, and who die in their sins. You'll never see perish used of a believer. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish. What is the word used for saved, born-again people who die in Christ? Their body goes into the ground awaiting the resurrection. They immediately go into the presence of God. What word is used for them? We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. We not all are going to have the taste of physical death because the Lord's coming again, but the word sleep is the word for the death of a believer. The word perish is the word for the death of someone who's not saved or born again. And so what about you? Are you going to sleep or are you going to perish? If you died right now, would you perish or would you be sleeping? not soul sleep. Seventh-day Adventists teach that. Do you know according to Seventh-day Adventists, Paul the Apostle has never been to heaven? His soul is sleeping in the grave. Is that biblical? Second Corinthians 5.8, absent from the body, be present with the Lord. Luke 16, the beggar died and was carried immediately by the angels into Abraham's bosom. Paul said in Philippians 1 23 I'm in a straight betwixt to having a desire to depart and be with Christ Which is far better that makes no sense of Paul just going into a grave for 2,000 years So the Lord Jesus gave his life for the sheep that he might give his life to the sheep He I give unto them eternal life. I 1 John 5, 11, this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life. The grammar there is that we already are possessors of it. You don't wait till you die to get eternal life. You have eternal life the moment you call on the Lord Jesus to save your poor, wicked, straying, scattered, hell-bound soul. Immediately when you're saved, Jesus, that I give to you eternal life. And this is the record that God has given to us, eternal life. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. How simple is that? I was preaching that one time, or witnessing that to somebody, and they said, well, yeah, but that's just the way you interpret it. Excuse me? How else can you interpret that? He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. What do you mean it's just the way you interpret it? That's what it is! These things have been written unto you that believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know, K-N-O-W, that you may know that you have eternal life. What joy, what peace to know that you have eternal life and you have assurance that your sins are forgiven, assurance that God has reserved a place for you in heaven, 1 Peter 1.4. And he already has you seated in heaven in his eternal mind. He gave his life for the sheep. died in your place, shed his blood, rose again from the dead, is alive forevermore and offers freely by his grace the gift of eternal life. But you must come by faith and receive it. Promise is whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved Not might be not maybe not hopefully not find out someday when you die the moment you call on the Lord Jesus And invite him into your heart and life That moment you have eternal life so the Lord Jesus is the seeking shepherd who gave his life and for the sheep, that he might give his life to the sheep. Now do you want this life? Say, how do I get this life? Look at verse 9, Jesus said it, I am the door. He's not a door among many doors. He is the, the, definite article. I am the door by me. not by some religious system, not by sacraments, laws, traditions, or rules, not by my self-betterment, not by the good religious things I do. Know, the Lord Jesus, that I am the door, and by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, born again, converted, passing from death unto life and blindness to sight, from darkness to light. All wrought by the power of God, nothing you do or I do. All of it is produced by the Savior, so He gets all the glory for it. I am the door, by me if any man enter, and he shall be saved, and go in and out and find pasture. He is the door, and you must come through Christ and Him alone to have this eternal life. Now, there are many people who don't want to use the door. Look at verse 1. John 10.1, 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 a robber. Somebody's breaking into your house at midnight tonight, trying to get into your house, and they don't want to use the door. What is your first thought? It's a thief and a robber! Now let's say we come to this meeting tonight at 6.30. We're all sitting here assembled waiting for Brother Custer to come start the song service and all of a sudden we hear all this crashing and we see people breaking the glass and coming in through these windows. And then all of a sudden the ceiling begins to break apart and there's a hole now in the ceiling and a rope comes down and you got people sliding down the rope. to get into this room. They're coming in through the windows. They're coming in through the ceiling. And what are the rest of us thinking? Why don't you just use the door? Why are you coming in through the windows? Why are you coming in through the ceiling? Why don't you just use the door? The door's wide open. It's right back there. And the Lord Jesus said, you don't want to come through the door? You want to get into heaven some other way? You're a thief and a robber. Many want to come to God's heaven through the windows of infant baptism. The windows of confirmation. The windows of first communion. The windows of good works. The ceilings of religion. The ceilings of sacraments. Some other way. Instead of coming through the door. You've got to come through the door. And the only door is the Lord Jesus Christ who died in your place, shed His blood and rose again from the dead for you. He did it for you because you're a straying, scattered, lost, hell-bound sheep. He gave His life for the sheep that He might give His life to the sheep. And once we come to Him, once He finds us, we become the serving sheep. There's a seeking shepherd and the serving sheep. If you're a true child of God, you're a servant of the Most High God. If you're a true child of God, as we preached yesterday in John 3, 7, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, is spiritual. And you have a resultant lifestyle that is produced by the Spirit of God in your life. It's not a life you produce. It is the life He produces in you, and He produces fruit through you that is acceptable to God. Do you remember that yesterday? Romans 8, 8, So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that's all it can ever be. And you remain in the flesh until you have this radical, dramatic experience wrought by the power of God called the new birth. And so until then, God can receive nothing out of the heart you were born with. That's why you must be born again, Jesus said. Because you were born with a corrupt, depraved, sinful heart that is not able to produce anything that God can be pleased with or accept. I don't care how religious you are, how moral you are, what good works you have, what community service you have, it doesn't matter. No matter what you do, religiously or morally or everything, God will not receive it. out of the heart you were born with. You must have a heart transplant. And so we become the serving sheep, and we hear His voice, and we follow Him. The Lord said it in John 10, 27, My sheep, is that you? All right, Brother Jim, you're the only one. My sheep, is that you? All right, there's another 15. You didn't know evangelists have this register going on in our brain? You say it, I can tell how many of you said it. You believe that? My sheep, my sheep. What a blessing. Two words, my sheep. I'm glad to be his sheep. My sheep hear my voice. Do you love the voice of your shepherd? Do you love his voice every single day as you read his word every day because you love his voice? Don't tell me you love his voice and you don't have a daily, consistent, disciplined, devotional life. I'm not talking about legalism. There are some good spiritual regiments I learned about regimentation in the military. There's some good regiments that we were brought through in the military. I've been affected by them the rest of my life. And spending time every day in the Word of God that's part of our following. My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. They follow me in the Bible reading and prayer. They follow me into the scheduled services of a local church. You know the local church is God's plan? Do you understand no human mind conjured up this idea about local church? God designed your faith to need the local church. Yes, feed on the Word of God every day. Hear His voice every day. You can have a little revival meeting in your soul every day. You don't have to wait for the evangelist to come. Every day you can have a revival meeting in your soul as you feast upon the Word of God. I love His voice. I love it when I'm reading at home. I love it here at church. Do you love the voice of your shepherd at the local church? You hear the voice of an under-shepherd, but it's really the voice of the shepherd. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. What a thought. My sheep, I know them. That's very important, because when we get to Matthew 7, 21 and 22, many, many shall say unto me that day, what day? The great white throne judgment. Many shall say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name, and in your name we cast out devils, and in your name we did many wonderful works. And the Lord Jesus said, Then I will say unto them, Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, I never knew you. Yes, you were religious. Yes, you were good people, zealous people, great neighbors, good husband, good wife, good mother, good father. Yes, you were good workers. But I never knew you. You were never born into my family. You had no spiritual birth. I never knew you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. I know them. Does he know you? Does he know you? My sheep hear my voice. They love my voice. And I know them and they follow me. We become followers, followers of our shepherd. And our shepherd leads us. And we as pastors need to lead the flock. There are some pastors who drive the flock. That's how you handle cattle. You drive cattle. The person stands behind the herd of cattle. And with a great big old stick, he drives them. That's not how you do sheep. The shepherd leads the sheep. And you under shepherds, you're leading the sheep of God in your flocks. And the Lord Jesus said, my sheep, hear my voice, I know them and they follow me, they follow me. Bible reading and prayer, they follow me. to schedule services of a local church. They follow me into the tithe and offering place. They follow me into witnessing and soul winning. They follow me in holy, separated living from this world. They follow me! The serving sheep who follow the shepherd's voice. Notice chapter 10, verse 5. And a stranger will they not follow? but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers." Young people, can I talk to you? Middle-aged people, older people, there are a lot of strange voices out there. A lot of false shepherds. A lot of worldly shepherds who are calling to you. And these voices will come to you every day. These voices from the world, these voices from the predators, these voices are going to come to you and say, smoke this, drink this, look at these internet sites. Come on now. Read these romance novels. Look at these television programs. Listen to this music of the world. Strange shepherds, strange voices will come to you. But what does the Lord Jesus say? He says, My sheep, they're not going to follow those strange voices. A stranger will they not follow, but will flee. from those strange voices. For they know not the voice of strangers. Listen, my Christian friend, my born-again friend, you're a sheep of God. And you're not to be listening to the voices that come to you from the world. But if you're here today and you say, I know I'm a sheep of God, I know I am a believer sheep, but even you as a believer sheep can start straying from the Lord. And even you as a saved sheep of God can begin listening to the voices that are bombarding you from this world. And you can easily get backslidden. You can easily lose or leave your first love of the shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I've always loved Psalm 119, 176, the very last verse of the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119. Psalm 119, 176, I have gone astray like a lost sheep. I'm not a lost sheep. I'm a saved sheep, but I've gone astray like a lost sheep. I've been listening to the voices of the strangers in this world. And I've been thinking the way and speaking the way and doing the things that the lost sheep do. I've gone astray like a lost sheep. Does that describe anybody here tonight? I know I'm saved, but I've been going astray like a lost sheep. A lot of part of my life looks just like the lost sheep in the world. And then he goes on to say, Seek thy servant. I am a straying sheep even as a believer. I've gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek thy servant. I am your servant. Seek me. He seeks the lost sheep, but he's also seeking the saved sheep who've gone astray, who are backslidden, who are involving themselves in the things of this world just like Law sheek do, seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments. I know what the Word says. I've been a Christian long enough to know what God would expect of me in separation from the world, but I've been going with the wrong crowd, I've been looking at the wrong things, listening to the wrong things. have gone astray like a lost sheep. And maybe you need 1 Peter chapter 2, we'll start concluding here, but 1 Peter chapter 2, I love this. 1 Peter 2.25, for ye were as sheep going astray. but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. That may be somebody's verse tonight, and that may be your testimony tonight. For ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. If you're not saved, you're still a lost, sinful, straying, scattered sheep, and you're in danger. Just like a sheep is in danger without the shepherd, you're in danger. You have nothing, nothing to protect yourself against that great evil predator called Satan. Unless you come to the shepherd, the devil is going to devour you. He is going to pounce on you. Young people, the devil is going after the young. Teenagers, young adults, older adults, the devil's going after anyone that strays or scatters from Christ. You're in danger. And I pray that God, by His Spirit, will convict you of that and bring you back to Himself or bring you to Himself if you need to be saved tonight. If you need Jesus Christ as your shepherd, will you come through the door? He's the door. Don't come through the windows or the ceiling. Just come right through the door. The Lord Jesus said, I am the door. By me, if any man enter, any shall be saved. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me. Let me close with a true story. This actually happened some years ago down in South America. There was a lady missionary, and I thank God for lady missionaries. I've preached in 30 different countries around this world, and many of those countries have lady missionaries. They're not pastoring churches. They're not preaching. They support a church planter. They do children's meetings. They do women's meetings. They do things in the community. They actually are tremendous assets to that church planning missionary. I could start talking about some of those. They're amazing young women who are called of God to go to the mission field and be in a supportive role. My wife was 11 years old when God called her to be a lady missionary. I got out of the Air Force, I was heading for Tennessee Temple University for Bible College, and we met in that six weeks, and we met, and when we began to talk about our calling of God in our lives, we knew that God wanted us together. And we were heading for Argentina as permanent missionaries. God closed that door and opened the door to full-time evangelism. And so now we would not just be missionaries to one particular country, we actually preach all over the world. But my wife was 11 years old when God called her to be a full-time servant of the Lord. I see some 11-year-old girls. Maybe you'd like to be a lady missionary. I see some men, some young men, God would call you to rise up and go to the mission fields of the world. So this was a lady missionary down in South America. And she was away from her mission station, and she's taking the train. Back in those days and in South America, they called it the diesel, the diesel, which is the train, the choo-choo train that's heading for her mission station. And the train stopped at a different village to take on passengers and leave off some passengers. And there was a time that they'll be at that station. And this missionary lady, because she's a missionary, she looked out the window and saw an eight-year-old girl named Maria, Mary. True story, that missionary said, I wonder if I have enough time to get off this train and tell Maria, she didn't know the name yet, but I wonder if I have time to tell that young girl there about the shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so she got off the train, she struck up a conversation with this eight-year-old girl. started to give her the gospel plan of salvation. And then the conductor cried out, all aboard, everybody back on the train, we're leaving. And she said, oh, Maria, I've gotta go. Maria, just remember this, hold up your hand. And so Maria held up her hand. Remember this, Psalm 23, one, the Lord is my shepherd. Maria, the Lord Jesus died in your place, shed His blood, rose again for you, and He wants to be your shepherd, not just a shepherd, not even just the shepherd. He must be my shepherd! The Lord is my shepherd, Maria! You've got to make Him your shepherd, your personal Savior, Lord! And the missionary lady gets back on the train. The missionary lady looks out the window and sees Maria. walking the pathway to the home where she lived. And you know what she was doing? The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. Some months later, the missionary lady was back in Maria's village. I've got to find Maria. I've got to finish telling her about the Lord Jesus and how she can be saved to make Christ her shepherd. directions to Maria's house. And she knocked on the door and the mother, Maria's mother answered. And the missionary lady said, I'm here to see Maria. Can I see Maria? And the mother began weeping. Said a couple weeks ago, Maria was very, very sick and she died. But somehow Maria knew you'd be coming back. And Maria said, when the missionary lady comes back, tell her this. What was the message Maria wanted me to have? What was it? Maria wanted you to know that she died holding her fourth finger. The Lord is good. Tell the missionary lady that I received Jesus Christ as my savior, and he's now my shepherd, and Maria is in heaven this very day, because it's a true story. And Mary understood, Maria understood that Jesus must be your shepherd, who died, shed his blood, and rose again. Well, let's pray together. Lord God in heaven, I thank you for the listening ear and the understanding heart tonight. Lord, I'm just wondering as your Spirit moves around this room, would you put your finger on some boy or girl, maybe 8 years old like Maria, maybe 9, 10, 11, maybe a teenage girl or boy, that's here tonight, but they have not yet been saved. They've not yet received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. They've not yet come by faith. to place their trust and their dependency for eternal life in Jesus Christ and Him alone. Help them tonight to understand the Lord Jesus is the only door. They must come through Him to get into the great heavenly sheepfold, heaven. Is there any boy or girl that's here tonight that would say, I'm not sure if I die tonight I'd go to heaven. I'm not sure I've ever made Jesus Christ my Lord, my Savior, my Shepherd. And right now he said, I am a straying scattered sheep, and I'm unprotected, and I want the Lord Jesus as my shepherd. I want him to save my soul tonight. Anyone like that, you just slip up your hand and let me see who you are. We're going to get the help you need. Give you the help you need in just a few minutes. Anyone like that? Is there any adult like that? Any adult, even tonight? So I know you were telling that story mostly for boys and girls, God spoke to my heart tonight that I need to get saved. I want to be born again. I want to make the Lord Jesus my shepherd. Anyone like that? Anyone at all? Not only do we have a seeking shepherd, we have the serving sheep. Are there sheep of God? Save people here tonight, and you know you're straying. You actually came into this Monday night meeting. I believe you love the Lord. wanted to sit under the preaching. But you know there are voices out in this world, there are false shepherds that are calling to you, and to be honest, you've been listening to them. And you know that you should be a pure, holy sheep of God, listening only to your shepherd's voice. But you would confess tonight, I've gotten away from the Lord, and I know it, and I'm straying from the Lord, I'm looking at things I know I shouldn't be looking at, and I'm listening to things I know I shouldn't be listening. I'm going with people that I know that I shouldn't be going with, because they drag me down spiritually. I've been making choices that I know are not pleasing to the Lord, and I needed this message tonight. Would you pray for me, preacher? Could I see your hand tonight, if God has spoken to your heart tonight? There's some things I'm listening to, some voices that I know I shouldn't be listening to. The Lord Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them. And they follow me. Let's all be serving sheep. If you need to return to the shepherd and bishop of your soul, would you do that tonight? If you're like that psalmist, I've gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments. If that's you, would you let God do a work in your heart tonight? I said at the beginning of the week we have two-pronged ministry. We have salvation and we have sanctification. We have regeneration and we have restoration. You need either of those tonight. Father in heaven, I pray your will would be done in every heart and life as we think about the shepherding ministry of the Lord Jesus. So as we sing this final hymn, we give this invitation, if there's anyone that would need to just slip out of their seat, you'd give them the courage, you'd give them the faith to believe and come, would you bring them to yourself? If they would like to come and just let us pray with them, let us sit down and show them how to be saved, or they're a believer and they're straying and they need a restoration, they need revival, they need recalibration, they need refreshing, oh, I pray they'd come. They can do it in their pew, that's true, but sometimes coming is like pounding a tent peg into the ground, and it's a more lasting, and it's all under your direction. So we pray your will would be done as we sing and as we respond, in Christ's name, amen.