Amen. If you would take your Bibles and turn to the book of John, John chapter 10. We'll be reading verse 22 up through the end of the chapter. And after the reading of God's Holy Word, we will sing the Gloria Patri, which is in your bulletin should you need it. This is John 10, beginning at verse 22. Pay attention to the word of the Lord. At that time, the feast of dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, how long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me. But you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish. And no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one. The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me? The Jews answered him. It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, you are gods? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be broken. Do you say of him whom the father consecrated and sent into the world, you are blaspheming, because I said, I am the son of God? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.' Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. And many came to him, and they said, John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true. And many believed in him there. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Let us bow our heads once again in a moment of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for this reading of your word, and we ask that you would add your blessing to it, and that you would be with me as I preach your word, that you would not only give me the words to say, but the manner in which you would have me to say it, that your name and your word would be exalted above all things. Let us still our hearts and our minds to praise you. by the preaching and the hearing of your word. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. We're mostly going to be considering this first paragraph here, 22 through verse 30, just so you are aware. But this parenthetical statement which Jesus makes at the end of the passage, that scripture cannot be broken, It is actually a truth which undergirds this whole passage. Let us keep that in mind. Well, the story begins at the Feast of Dedication, or the Feast of Lights, or as we know it today, Hanukkah. And this is celebrating the rededication of the temple. And that's just to say this lets us know the time period. And John is anticipating not long from now the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So the Jews come to him and they tell Jesus, if you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Speak to us plainly now. And Jesus' response, he says, I've already told you these things. and the works which I have done testify as to who I am. The reason that these Jews did not understand, did not receive him was because their hearts were hard. They had maliciously rejected Christ and refused to believe in him. Because only his sheep hear his voice. He says, I already told you, but because you are not of my flock, you do not believe. Only his sheep hear his voice. All others reject him. They refuse Christ. And that is a hard word for us to hear. And yet, immediately preceding this, he says some of the most comforting words in all of Scripture. He says, my sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow Well, I've spoken on this previously in the first part of this chapter, so I'm not going to harp on this much, but just this is a reminder that there is a recognition of relation between the sheep and the shepherd. There is a belonging here. The sheep belong to the shepherd and the shepherd to the sheep as their good shepherd. And he says, I give them eternal life and they will never, perish." You see, this was the purpose of the Son of God taking on human flesh. To assume human form so that He might redeem His flock for Himself. So that the Good Shepherd would lay down His life for the sheep, as we have seen previously in this chapter. Jesus Christ became man. God became man to accomplish redemption in history, in His person and His work, and apply that redemption to all who believe in Him, to all His elect, to give them this eternal life. And He expands on this promise of eternal life. and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. Therefore, no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one. What a glorious promise which we have in Christ. I give you eternal life and no one will snatch you from my hand. And no one will snatch you from the hand of the Father. Which, of course, gives us a question. Well, which one is it? Is it the hand of Jesus, or is it the hand of the Father? And the answer is yes, it's both. This oneness, where he says, I and my Father are one, it's not so much speaking of the one substance that Jesus and the Father have, as it has historically been used, but Calvin argues, no, that's actually the agreement which Jesus is speaking of here, the agreement between Jesus and the Father. Calvin says this, he says, whatever is done by Christ will be confirmed by the power of his Father. Therefore, when Jesus says, no one will snatch them from my hand, and no one will snatch them from the hand of the Father, He is unequivocally stating that there is no power in the universe which can thwart His plan and purpose of eternal life. That is to say, if you are saved, if you are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, your life cannot be taken from the hand of God. It is secure. It is saved for Him. You cannot move from a state of salvation to return again to a state of sin and misery in expectation only of the wrath of God. It cannot be. Well, his words here, of course, regard two doctrines, the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints That is to say that the saints will persevere unto the end, unto glory, and the doctrine of assurance that a believer in Christ Jesus can be sure of his salvation. We'll get into more detail in these in a moment from various passages, but here's some more words from John Calvin. He says, this is a remarkable passage, by which we are taught that the salvation of all the elect is not less certain than the power of God is invincible. The salvation of God's elect is as sure as God is infinitely powerful. It is sure because there is no power greater than God himself. There is no power that can snatch his sheep from his hand. Such is the care of the shepherd for his sheep. But Calvin goes on, he says, besides, Christ did not intend to throw this word foolishly into the air. but to give a promise which should remain deeply fixed in their minds. And therefore we infer that the statement of Christ is intended to show that the elect are absolutely certain of their salvation. We are surrounded indeed by powerful adversaries, and so great is our weakness that we are in every moment in imminent danger of death. But as he who keeps what we have committed to him is greater or more powerful than all, we have no reason to tremble as though our life were in danger. What Calvin is contrasting here is the threat of danger and death that we have in this life. But what he is saying is we have no reason to fear because our life is hid with Christ in God. Our everlasting life is sure in Him. So whatever happens in this life, the hope that we have in Christ is greater. Regarding this wonderful hope, Paul says in Romans 8, no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Did you catch that wonderful promise? There is nothing in all creation which can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. There is nothing in all of creation. There are no powers. Satan, hell, demons, not even ourselves can remove us from the hand of God. But there's, of course, that second category. Nothing in all of creation. Well, what about outside of creation? And that which is outside of creation is only God Himself. The only power which could thwart this plan of salvation is God Himself. But God Himself has borne witness that His steadfast covenant love endures forever. And Scripture cannot be broken. It cannot be broken. If God has adopted you into His royal family, there will never be a moment where He looks at His beloved child and says, I know you no longer. There is no sin we could commit in this life where he says this is too far. There is nothing present and nothing to come which will separate us from the love of God. God isn't gonna look at his children billions of years in the future and say, you know what, we've had a good run. But I think I'm going to make for myself and other people now. Be gone from me. It will not happen. If you consider the illustration of marriage, that the marriages we have in this life are pictures of the relationship between Christ and His church. Between Christ and His bride. And this is why divorce is such a heinous thing to God. Even though it may be appropriate in certain circumstances. It is so heinous because Jesus Christ has purchased His bride at great personal cost to say, I will never divorce you. You are mine forever. It is Christ who makes pure and blameless His bride. He will never divorce His church. And it may sound like I'm a broken record here, just harping on the same doctrine over and over. This is important because many Christians at various times in our lives doubt this wonderful promise. Whether it's because of personal sin or suffering or the suffering of loved ones, the evil in the world, whatever the reason may be, many of us have heard fellow brothers and sisters in Christ saying something like this, or maybe we have said this ourselves, am I really saved? Have I lost my salvation? Surely a Christian, a true Christian would not have committed such a grievous sin. Surely God does not love me any longer. And on the one hand, there's an appropriateness to this, to test ourselves, to examine ourselves, to see, am I trusting in God? Am I believing in His promises? And is my life in accord with the new life which He has promised in Christ Jesus by the power of His Spirit? But on the other hand, and more frequently, I think, we needlessly doubt the promise of eternal life offered to us in Christ Jesus. We look at the immediacy of our circumstances around us, and we doubt God. and His promises become this distant thing behind us. And our sin, our suffering, the evil in the world, say, this is too great. Surely I have plucked myself from the hand of God. In effect, what we are saying is this. My sin is so grievous, not even God can forgive me. My sin is so powerful, so repeated, that I have removed myself from His love." And when we doubt God's power of salvation, what we're really saying is there is a power which is greater than God. And for that we must repent. How little we often think of God. How prone we are to make God weak, unable to save. We make His salvation moot because we think of some other thing that can overthrow His I think there's something more powerful than God Himself. And if that's the case, brothers and sisters, we have no hope whatsoever, because God would not be God. And so the question we ask is, what are we to do? when we have these doubts because of our weakness, because it is our weakness which causes these sinful and faulty thoughts to arise because we make God the liar. We say, you've promised that your steadfast love endures forever, but I say otherwise. What are we to do when we have these thoughts? Remember what Jesus says here, that Scripture cannot be broken. We go back to Scripture, we remember the deeds of God, and we remember His holy character. Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 77. where the psalmist here struggles with the very same problem. Psalm 77. We'll start with the first three verses and then skip down to verse 7. The psalmist says, I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and He will hear me. In the day of my trouble, I seek the Lord. In the night, my hand is stretched out without wearying. My soul refuses to be comforted. Do you hear the agony of the psalmist as he says these words, the agony of his soul? He lies awake at night refusing to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan. When I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah. He is in agony of his soul. In verse 7, he asks these questions, will the Lord spurn forever and never again be favorable? Has His steadfast love forever ceased? Are His promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His compassion? Selah. Have God's promises failed? Is His question. Can I trust in God any longer? Do I have life in God? Or has he forgotten me? And what is his answer? He says, then I said, I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High. In other words, he appeals to the unchanging character of God. I will remember the deeds of Yahweh." Notice the use of God's covenant personal name here. He begins this psalm, in the day of trouble I seek the Lord. That's Adonai, Master, but here he is remembering who God is. This personal God who has promised life. Yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What God is great like our God? What power is there that is greater than God, that can thwart God's plans? You are the God who works wonders. You have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph Silo. What does the psalmist do here when he is in the agony in the throes of his soul? He appeals to the holy character of God. He appeals to what God has done in history for his people. He says, I will remember the deeds of the Lord. And this is our response. When we doubt God, when we no longer trust in Him in those moments, we go back to the Word of God. Remember who He is and what He has done. Because Scripture cannot be broken. I would say this is why we need to be in the Word constantly. Now. Because when your day of trouble comes, you may not have the wit to go back to the Word. But when we are in it now, when we memorize it, when we know it, Spirit uses that to remind us, is the promise of God. My sinful flesh wants me to doubt, but God is true, and He has promised life. Go back to Scripture. Remember the deeds of God. Remember Jesus' words here, that no one will snatch you out of the hands of God. And notice the wonderful promise there. The hope is not that we are holding on to God by our might or by our strength, but it is God who holds on to us. Just like when I pick up my son, Jonathan, I do not trust in his strength to hold himself up. If I trusted in his strength, he surely would have had a few bumps on his head by now. but I, the Father, pick him up. Likewise, our heavenly Father holds us. Consider a few more passages very briefly here. Consider Malachi, where it says, for I, Yahweh, do not change. Therefore, you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. What is the hope of the children of Jacob? Why are they not consumed? Their hope was entirely other than themselves. Their hope is the unchanging, immutable character of God, such that when God promised to pour out His steadfast, enduring, covenant love on you, He most certainly would pour out that love, which endures forever. Remember the words of Paul which we have read from Romans 8, that there is nothing in all creation which can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And one more passage in Ephesians, when he says, in Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. You were sealed. This word is passive, and this verb means that something happened and continues on, it continues on through the future. You were sealed by the Holy Spirit so that you would receive the inheritance, and it is guaranteed His Holy Spirit will not leave you. You can be sure of your hope and of your life. Consider what freedom that offers us as saints in the Lord. to be free from the fear of sin and death, to be free of the fear of God's wrath, so that we would live in fear of God, holy, reverent fear, trusting in Him always, even as we work out our salvation. What a gracious gift we have in Christ. And I would end on this. We see how this was accomplished in the second half of our passage. After Jesus said, I and the Father are one, the Jews picked up stones to kill him because they said, you've committed blasphemy. You, a man, make yourself God. How ironic is it? It was in fact the very opposite which happened. The Son of God took on human flesh. God became man and dwelt among us. If he were merely a man, we would have no hope. If he were merely a man, the Jews would have every right to stone him for blasphemy. But God became man. He assumed human form so that he would redeem his sheep. And those works which Jesus did and scripture cannot be broken testify that he was and is God. There's security in no one else. Salvation in no one else. hope of everlasting life in no one else, only Jesus Christ. And that hope is a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. To go now with, again, these wonderful words from Calvin. In this hope that we have in Christ Jesus, the salvation of all the elect is not less certain than the power of God is invincible. Such is the love of the shepherd for his sheep. Amen. Praise God. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for so great a salvation which you have worked out for your people. We thank you for the sure and steadfast promises which you have provided for us in Christ Jesus, that as surely as he has risen from the dead, our life, everlasting life, is in him. We thank you that for all those who believe in Christ Jesus, have by your Holy Spirit been united to him by faith. and share in that very same everlasting, unbreachable life. As we go out from this place this morning, we ask that you would be with us, strengthening us for the week ahead, that our eyes would be fixed on the cross of Jesus Christ, remembering that that cross is empty and that tomb is empty. And for any of us here who doubt your promises or who have not believed in you, we ask that you would work in our hearts and minds and enlighten their minds by the power of your Spirit, that they would receive you with gracious, thankful hearts. These things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.