Turn with me now, if you would, to John chapter 10. John chapter 10. Last week I was talking with a brother And he mentioned this portion of scripture. And when he did, I thought about it and I entered in to how plain and how simple, just how wonderful, how beautiful this passage really is. So I would like for us to just enjoy these verses tonight. That's all I want us to do. I remember hearing brother Henry said one time, he said the meat and potatoes of the gospel is critical. It's critical, but he said a little salad and ice cream is nice too. And that's what I pray we have tonight. I pray we just enjoy what's written here. John 10, look at verse 27. Our Lord said, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my father are one." Isn't there something just so sweet and so calming and so peaceful about the matter-of-fact relationship between Christ and His people. It's just so matter-of-fact. It's just so definite. It's so set in stone, ordered, sure. When He says, this is who I am, And this is who they are. And this is what I'm gonna do for them. And this is the result that it will bring to them. And nobody can do anything to stop it or change it, alter it in any way. It is set in stone. I have all power over it. All power. I have all say in the matter. I have ordered it. I have secured it. When you hear that, doesn't it just bring a relaxing smile to your heart? When you hear him say that to his people, doesn't that just Bring a relaxing smile to your heart, and then it comes to your face. Out of the heart, it comes to your face. So relaxing. When you hear him say, they shall never perish. They'll never perish. You know, when something perishes, you throw it out. They'll never perish. When you hear him say, no man can pluck them out of my hand. When you hear him say that, doesn't that bring peace to you? Absolute peace. Look with me at John 11, one page over John 11 verse 26. and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Do you believe it? Do you believe it? Never die. Yea, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. But I believe, I do believe, and I rest in what you're saying. I believe you, I do. By His grace, I believe Him. I believe when this body lays down, that's not the end of me. I believe you. I rest in it. Totally rest in it. Back in John 10, our Lord called His people His sheep. He said, they belong to me. They're mine. They are my sheep. And he said, they know me. They know me. I know them and they know me. And he said, this is how you can tell who they are. This is how you can tell who my sheep are and this is how you can tell that they know me. Verse 27, he said, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. They follow me. He said, that's how you can tell who my sheep are. They love me. And they live to hear my voice. They love to hear my voice. And they live to hear my voice and follow me. Follow me. If my voice moves, they move. They follow me. They know my voice. They know it when it's not my voice. They most definitely know when it's not my voice, look at verse one, John 10, verse one says, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheep fold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber back back when for Jen, you know, for all years, shepherds have sheep. and they watch them all day, and at night the shepherds go sleep. So they all bring their sheep to a sheepfold. It's a big walled, fenced sheepfold. And a man stays up all night and watches all those sheep while the shepherds sleep, and he's called a porter. And he only lets the shepherds come in the door. It's a locked door. And if some other man tries to climb over the wall, it's clear that's not a shepherd, that's a thief. He said in verse one, 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, 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. I would love to see that. One shepherd, they have sheep in there from all these different shepherds. And one shepherd comes in and gives his call, whatever it is. And all of his sheep come running to him. Those that are not his don't come running. They don't know his call, they don't know his voice. And then the next shepherd will come in and give his call, and all of his sheep come running. Verse four, and when he put 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, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were, which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. I'm the shepherd, I'm the door. 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 but for 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 have come that they might have more abundant life. That more abundant life cannot be described. I can't help but think about the brethren who have gone before us. We just recently had a dear brother Live. He just lived. And he's now living life more abundant. And this life more abundant cannot be described, and here's the reason why. It's the very life of Christ himself. I have a life that I live. So does he. It's the very life of Christ Himself. In verse 11, when He said, I am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. He gave His life for the sheep by giving His life to the sheep. He literally gave His life to the sheep. And he took their life to himself. Now you talk about life more abundant. Think about this physically. Here's an illustration, all right? And this illustration does not do anything justice. This does not even compare. But here's a physical illustration of this. What if an actual shepherd, right now, a physical, actual shepherd could trade lives with one of his sheep? and become the sheep. Can we enter into what condescension that would be even for a mortal man? To make himself to be a sheep. What condescension? What giving that would be? For a mortal man to leave his state and place in life as he has it. To become A sheep to take the life of a sheep. And then can we enter into what a life of more abundance it would be for the sheep to leave his place in existence, to take the life of a man and physically live as a man. You just think about this, that sheep's mouth. Have you ever seen a sheep's mouth? That sheep's mouth would be able to say things that are not possible for a sheep's mouth to say. That's what the Apostle Paul said when he was carried up to the third heaven. He said, I heard things. You see how these jaws work? It's not possible for these jaws to say the things that I heard. That sheep would be able to know as he has been known. That sheep would know, he would experience knowledge, wisdom, intellect. Intellect. His mind would think in ways it never thought before. That sheep would eat something other than grass. He'd say, oh, this is good. All I ever ate before this was grass. That sheep would sleep in a warm bed at night as opposed to the mud, the hard ground. As drastic as that change would be, that doesn't come close to entering in, to the life of Christ that he has given to his people. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 9 says, I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man. Never seen anything like it, never heard anything like it, never imagined anything like it. And the amazing thing is, in order for Christ to give us his life, he had to give his life not only to us, but for us. To give His life to us, He had to give His life for us. He had to make a payment with His own life, with His own blood. He had to make that payment for His sheep to receive this eternal life of Christ. This life that He mentioned in verse 28, in order for His sheep to never perish, He had to perish for them. He had to take that perishing for them. So that's what he did. That's what the great shepherd of the sheep did. Verse 11, he said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth. And the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep." He saw the wolf coming. He saw the adversary coming, all the way to the cross of Calvary. He did not flee. He laid down His life for the sheep. He said, for my sheep, specifically for my sheep. Christ did not die for the world who He calls goats. He died for His sheep. He died for His sheep. This is what He said in Matthew 25, verses 31 and 32. He said, when the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats. And to the goats he's gonna say, depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire. But to the sheep, he's gonna say, come you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. You come prepare the kingdom, come into the kingdom that was prepared for you before the foundation of the world. That's amazing. That is amazing. What made the difference? What made the difference? What spared the sheep from receiving the same destructions the goats did? The end of verse 15, our Lord said, I laid down my life for the sheep. I gave myself to their destruction. They won't bear it because I bore it for them. Verse 15, He said, As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold." He said, they're out of every tribe, nation, kindred, tongue, and people. And the more I think about that, the more it makes me want to preach the gospel. It really does. God has sheep out there. And the only reason this world will make one more revolution is because He has sheep out there, and they're all gonna be called. And He said, all of them are gonna be brought into this fold. Verse 16, the other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice. And I'm so thankful for that. I'm so glad it's not dependent on this voice. It's not by might. It's not by man's strength, it's by his spirit. And he will speak through his word. They're gonna hear my voice and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my father. Verse 19 says, there was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, he hath the devil and is mad. Why hear ye him? Others said, these are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And what a statement that is. God is going to use the truth of his word. Can the devil, can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And it was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews, round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believed not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But you believe not, because you're not of my sheep. As I said unto you, only God's sheep can believe on him. Only God's sheep can believe on him. I've told you this before, but when I first started preaching, one of my greatest fears was giving those who were not God's elect a false hope. And then the Lord finally convinced me through the word Only God's sheep can believe on him. Preach the word, preach the gospel, go into all the world and preach the good news. You go tell the good news of what Christ has done for his people. He that believes it will be saved. He that doesn't believe it, shake the dust from your feet and move on to the next one. Preach it again. Preach it again. Only God's sheep can believe on Him and what that truly means. If you believe on Him, if you truly do, if you see His death, He said, I'm the good shepherd and I laid down my life for the sheep. If you see His death to be your only hope, that work of the shepherd to be the only work, If you desire and need Him, I remember a time in my life when I desired Him. I do. I remember a time when I needed Him, and He was my only hope, and I wanted to be with Him, and I wanted to be under His blood. I just didn't know if I was one of His people. I didn't know if I was one of the elect. He only died for the sheep. How can I know if I'm one of them? If He is your all, and His blood is your all, and you realize that's my only plea before God, the blood of Christ, the work of Christ, I need Him, I need Christ, He's my only hope. If you believe that, and you're wondering whether or not you're a sheep, you are. And that's not me talking, that's God talking. You are. If you need Christ and He is made to be all you need, all you need, you are. Only God's sheep can believe on Him. Only God's sheep can cast their all on Him. Not what He's done plus some things that I want to add to it. Only God's sheep can totally, completely cast it all on Him. Totally need Him alone. Truly need Him alone. Only His sheep can hear His voice and follow Him. Only his sheep will hear his voice and follow him. Verse 25, Jesus answered them, I told you and you believe not. The works that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not because you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice and I know them. He said, I know them and they follow me. They hear my voice. They hear my voice. How does he speak to his sheep? How does he speak to his sheep? He speaks through his word. What does he say to his sheep? What does he say to his sheep? This is what he says. He says, you're all a bunch of sinners. That's what he says. All flesh is grass. That's what he says. All nations are nothing before me. I am the sovereign God and I can do whatever I want with whoever I want. You have never done anything right. You've never done any righteousness, no good. You don't deserve one kindness from me. Your works are filthy rags in my eyes." After hearing that, all of God's sheep say, amen. That's right, I believe you. I believe you. And then he says, I'm a holy God who punishes sinners. And I will punish all, I will judge all for their sins. And then all of God's sheep say, amen. That's right, I believe you. And then he says, fear not, come unto me. I'm a God of mercy. I'm a God who delights to show mercy to sinners like you. And I've settled your debt by sacrificing myself for your sins. And then all of God's people say, amen, that's right, I believe you. Verse 27, he said, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. I give them eternal life." Life forevermore. Life forevermore. Death has been put away. For God's sheep, death is over. It's over. And none shall perish, they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. I love that declaration. No man can pluck them out of my hand. I love that so much because it includes this man. It includes this man. I can't even pluck myself out of his hand. Verse 29, he said, my father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. My father chose them and he put them in my hand. And then he put my hand in his hand, and no man can pluck him out of my father's hand. Verse 30, he said, I and my father are one. And he said in John 17, that his sheep are one with them. Us in him, him in his father, one. Verse 31, then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, many good works have I showed you from my father, for which of those works do you stone me? The Jews answered him saying, for a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy and because that thou being a man make us thyself God. Nope, they didn't see him. They didn't hear him. They didn't believe him. They didn't follow him. They didn't know him. Him being God made himself to be a man. the substitute of his people. Verse 34, Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, I said you are gods. He's quoting Psalm 82 right there. If he called them gods unto whom the word of God came and the scripture cannot be broken, say ye of him whom the father had sanctified and sent into the world, thou blasphemous because I said I'm the son of God. If I do not the works of my father, believe me not. But if I do, though you believe not me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hand, and went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized, and there he abode. And many resorted unto him and said, John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true." And every believer is going to say that when they see the king, like that Queen of Sheba. The half wasn't told me, but those men that He raised up to preach Him and preach His Word, everything they said about Him was true. Verse 42 says, and many believed on Him there. How about us? Do we believe on Him? Do we hear His voice in His Word? Do we hear this Word speaking of Him? All about Him. Do we need Him? Do we follow Him? If so, we're His sheep. We're His sheep, and that's a good thing to be. The sheep of the shepherd. The sheep of the shepherd, what a good thing to be. They'll all hear His voice, know Him, follow Him, have eternal life, never perish. Wonderful. All right, let's all stand together.