Well, it's good to see you. Now, next Sunday evening we'll have a sort of a special service. We haven't had any deacons in a long while in the church. God impressed me it's about time, so we'll have some deacon ordination next Sunday evening. according to what God told me to do. Now look at John chapter 10, if you will, please. John 10. I believe we'll look at two verses. We looked at 14 this morning. However, we'll read it again. Read verse 15 with it, 14 and 15. I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and have known of mine. The message this morning was from the Lord that he knows his sheep and tonight we'll consider that his sheep know him. So we know each other, you see. And then 15, As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Christ Jesus, no doubt about it, is the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd. We can't even say that strong enough. He is the pre-eminently excellent shepherd. And what more can we say than that? He is preeminently excellent as our shepherd. I don't know what adjectives we could use to describe this majestic one who came from the Father's glory into this world of sin and darkness. There are no words to describe him. We don't have words in human language to describe the Lord Jesus Christ. And we stand in awe as just mute sinners when we think of this good shepherd, good shepherd. How anyone could not bow before him and own him as their shepherd is beyond comprehension. Some of you folks here tonight, have you given Him everything and asked Him to be your Savior and your Lord? Some of you young people. What a wonder that you and I are permitted to come and hear His glorious name. You know what a privilege that is just to hear His name? What a wonder that is. And what a greater wonder is the fact that some even here do not see the goodness of this shepherd who allows such worms as we to hear his word read in our presence. Bow in wonder. The good shepherd speaks to us. Tonight, he spoke to us this morning, the good shepherd will speak to us tonight. So he says in 14, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep. Now the word know is an interesting word. We say we know something or we know someone, but what do we mean by the word know? This is not just knowing of someone or about someone, but this is a special knowledge of approval and affection and intimacy. A very, very strong, deep word. I'm the good shepherd and know my sheep. Now the shepherds in the East in olden time were deeply interested in every single one of his flock. And as I said this morning, some of them were given pet names because of a marking or maybe an incident that happened and connected with that particular sheep. And they got a name from it. Now these sheep are usually counted each evening. They go out in the morning, and they go to the pasture, and they graze, and they eat. They do that during the day, then in the evening the shepherd brings them back to the fold, the sheep fold. And usually they're counted, each one is counted, but sometimes the shepherd does not count Why not? Because he can feel the absence of any one of his sheep. And he knows immediately if a sheep is missing. With one sheep gone, something is felt to be missing from the appearance of the whole flock. It doesn't look right. So he knows that a sheep is missing. One shepherd was asked if he always counted his sheep each evening, and he said, no, I don't always do that, and then was asked how then he knew if all his sheep were present. And he said, if you were to put a cloth over my eyes, and bring me any sheep and let me put my hands on its face, I could tell you immediately if it was mine or not. That's how intimate the sheep and the shepherd are. And you and I are much more intimate than that with our great shepherd. Only Christ knows all His sheep. Now, we sometimes think that we know who the sheep are, but we do not. We don't know who His sheep are. For instance, would you have considered Lot to be one of the Lord's sheep after he went up into the mountains? and committed incest with his two daughters, would you have considered him to be one of the Lord's sheep? No. No, no. But look at 2 Peter chapter 2. What I'm saying here is be careful about judging people, whether they're sheep of Christ or not. 2 Peter chapter 2, verse 7. and delivered just lot. He's just. Vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. He was vexed with the way they talked. For that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. He's called a righteous Man, I would not have thought that Lot was one of the Lord's sheep. I wouldn't have thought that at all if we didn't have the testimony here that he is a righteous man and that he's with the Lord right now and all these hundreds of years he's been with the Lord after what he did. Who would have thought—would you have thought Judas was a devil if you walked with the apostles? No, he was widely respected. He was made the treasurer. I wouldn't have thought Judas was a devil, and yet he was. The Lord said he was. So the lesson is this, my friends, don't set yourself up as God, for only Christ knows his sheep, but he knows every one of them. And then he said in verse 14, I'm the good shepherd, know my sheep, and am known of mine. He is known personally. as the savior of the soul by his own people. They have a heart knowledge of him as the friend that sticketh closer than a brother and as the good shepherd who ministers to his own. We have a heart, an intimate heart knowledge of our good shepherd. And when we sing these songs about friend of sinners and things like that, he is the friend of sinners. Thank God he's my friend as well as my Lord. Friend of sinners. If he wasn't a friend of sinners, where would you be? The world thinks he's the friend of good people. They're showing an expose on TV now great men of faith, or great people of faith, and I believe Mother Teresa was the first one, and then they have the Pope, and they have Billy Graham, and I'm not gonna say Billy Graham is not a sheep of the Lord, but I tell you what, if I'd be allowed to, I'd say it couldn't happen. There's too many things wrong He tells too many things that are not right. Verse 15, As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. Now the word knoweth here is the equivalent of loveth. The mutual knowledge of Christ and His sheep is like unto that which exists between the Father and the Son. Now that's strong language. It's an affection so profound and so spiritual and so intimate and so blessed that we cannot compare it to anything else that we have knowledge of. Now what did I say? I say the mutual knowledge of Christ and his sheep is likened to that which exists between the Father and the Son. Strong. Knoweth, as the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. It is an affection so profound that we cannot really tell it forth. As the father knoweth the son, and as the son knoweth the father, so Christ knows his sheep, and so his sheep know him. Strong love. It's something we cannot explain. We cannot illustrate this closeness. How would we illustrate it? Well, here's an attempt. A man went over to the eastern countries and he wrote a witnessing and event in a sheepfold. One evening shortly after dark, an Arab shepherd began to call out one by one the names of his 51 mother sheep. And then he was able to pick out each one's lamb and restore it to its mother to suckle. Now to do this in the light is incredible, but this was done in complete darkness. And in the midst of the noise coming from the ewes crying for their lambs and the little ones crying for their mamas, The shepherd did this in the midst of all of that noise and in absolute dark, and he mated them up perfectly. Now, that's knowing someone. But no earthly shepherd ever had a more intimate knowledge of his sheep than Christ, our good shepherd, has of those who belong to his flock. And so he can truly say, I know my sheep. And he'll never leave us nor forsake us because he loves us in that fashion. I read something of the shepherd. Sometime the shepherd, he has Sometimes he'd get bored, same thing all day long, every day. And so he'll take off running sometime. And those sheep will see him go and they'd take off after him. And they'd catch him. And then they'd play around there. They'd jump and run and play with that shepherd. And he'll run again, they'll run, catch him. It's a game that they play. They know he won't leave them, and so they have a good time in the game, and they'll always run after him. Sometimes his people get a little concerned that he'll leave us. Look at Isaiah chapter 49, would you please? Isaiah 49. And verse 14, But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. And we get to worryin' about that sometime, but he said in Hebrews 13, 5, what did he say over there? Let's see, Hebrews 13, 5, here's his word. Hebrews 13, verse 5, let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have. For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." And that is a triple negative. I will never, no never, no never leave thee, nor forsake thee. If you read it in the language, I understand that's a triple negative. Never, never, never leave thee, nor forsake thee. And he says, I know my sheep. And that's how he knows his sheep, in such an intimate, wonderful way. I can't express it as it ought to be. But how much does he love us? How much does he care for us? Look at what he says here in the last part of verse 15. I lay down my life. for the sheep. You mean that he loves us that much? Yes, he does. I lay down my life for the sheep. This is what this service tonight is all about. When we come to worship our blessed Savior, we remember that he said, I lay down my life for the sheep, for the sheep. Let's follow that word a little bit. Romans chapter 5, Romans 5, the word for, Romans 5 verse 6, For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. that you and I, for the ungodly. Verse 7, For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. The Greek word H-U-P-E-R is translated far here. And the word far means not only on the behalf of, but in the stead of. And that's much stronger. You should die, but he dies in the stead of. And when the Greeks mentioned dying for anyone, they always meant rescuing the life of another at the expense of one's own life. And that's what our Lord says. I lay down my life for the sheep, for, in the stead of. You don't have to die. He died. There's no other truth that is eternal life but this, I lay down my life for the sheep. Do you know him and his sacrificial death? Do you know him and his sacrificial death? If your answer is yes, then you will live forever. John 17 verse 3, here's what it means. if you know Him in His sacrificial death. John 17 verse 3, And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. This is life eternal. To know Him is life. to know him in his life and in his death and in his resurrection and in his ascension to glory. Forget about everything else. Nothing else makes any difference in this world or in the world to come except this, that they might know thee. That's what the Lord said to his father there in John 17, that they might know thee, the only one who knows the Father, and the only one who can reveal the Father, and the only one in whom we can see the Father, and the only one from whom we can get any information at all about the mind, and the mercy, and the grace, and the wisdom, and the righteousness, And the glory of God Almighty is this Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. You won't know anything about God till you know that truth. God cannot be known apart from the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Great Shepherd, our Good Shepherd. He's so good to us. You can join all the churches. Go through all the ordinances. You can have all the hands laid on you and get the baptism of some kind of spirit and speak in tongues and go to mass and confession and get into baptistry and preach. and teach Sunday school, and help the poor, and not go to the movies, and wear long dresses, and chant prayers, and read the Bible, and do everything else you want to do, but you'll never know God until you see Him. In this great truth, I lay down my life for the sheep. Therein is life. Christ died. He died. He literally died. And when those experienced Roman soldiers who had crucified many men came to the body of Christ hanging on that cross, They'd already been to the other two and broke their legs in order to speed up their dying. That was the only mercy they had. They wanted to speed up their dying. But they said there's no use breaking his legs because he's already dead. And he was. He had given up the ghost. And one of those Roman soldiers took a spear and thrust it into his side and out gushed blood and water. And he was dead. I lay down my life for the sheep. When he died, it was for you and for me. Can you get a hold of that? We remember his birth, don't we? We remember his holy life. But above all, we remember his death because this is why he came to die. That was the purpose of his coming. Mark 10, 45. The Son of Man came. Why'd you come, Lord? The Son of Man came to give his life for ransom. for many, many, not all, but many. And I'm telling you tonight of a Christ who died, and he died not for the good that's in you and I, but for the bad that's in us. We have a gospel here that's not for people who are trying, but who have tried and broken down. Just can't get there. I can't make it. Somebody help me. I can't make it. I'm not going to be able to make it. And somebody is handy and close by to help you. And somebody might be like that tonight. To you, Christ is preached. You come to him without any righteousness. You come to him empty. And don't come to get a little help from him in your family life or personal life. That's what most preachers are doing now, giving a little help in the family life. Or making someone feel better about themselves. I don't want you to feel good about yourself. I want you to see him who died that you might have life and see the hopeless condition you're in. And come to him to receive life from him who said, I lay down my life for the sheep. Lay down my life for the sheep. the sheep. And when you come to him, you die. Are you willing to die? Then die. Die to self. You come to him, you die. Don't try to come and make a deal. He doesn't make deals. You die. You're gone. You're finished. Just bow before him and cry as that leper in Matthew 8 did, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean, if you will, if you will. Do you see that language, if you will? That's not like religion today. You come up here to the front and God has to save you. He can't do anything. Oh, no, if you will. if you will. You come to him as that woman that he spoke so harshly to. He called her a dog, a dog. And she knew what he was talking about, and she said, yes, Lord, that's right. I'm a dog, but I'm your dog. And your dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table, and I'm coming to you for some of the crumbs that fall from the master's table." So he laid down his life for me. This softens my heart more than I can ever tell. I can't even tell how that softens my heart. laid down his life for me. The Savior, the Good Shepherd. There was a boy in a church a long time ago, his name was Billy, and he was a little slow in his thinking. And Billy came to know the Lord, and he came and told the men of the church that he'd been saved, and they said, well, Billy, you'll have to come before the church. Let us ask you some questions. All right, I'll do that. And Billy came before the church, and these astute men of knowledge asked Billy some questions. They said, Billy, can you tell us anything about the two natures of Christ? He said, I don't know how that could be. I just know that Christ died for me. Well, okay, let's try another one. Billy, can you tell us anything about the doctrine of justification, how that you have to be justified before God? And Billy looked at him and he said, I don't know how that could be. I just know that Christ died for me. And they asked him several more questions, always the same answer. And finally, they said, I guess we're going to have to let him in the church. He had the right answer. I don't know how many things could be, but I know that Christ died for me, that he laid down his life for the sheep, and I'm one of them. And that's all I know. That blind man that was healed, they said, who was it that healed you? He said, I don't know. They said, how did he do it? He said, I don't know, but I know this. Once I was blind, now I see. That's all I know. And that's all I know. I was blind, now I see. And I found out what happened to me, that someone laid down his life for me. one of the sheep of God, and he's still saving people. I'd love to see someone come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, young person, older person, anyone, to know the shepherd, this good shepherd, He's good. He's so good, I can't even tell you how good he is. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. All right, let's bow in prayer, please. Our Lord, we thank Thee for the great privilege to be here and to hear the great Good Shepherd speak to our hearts. Thank You for Him who laid down His life for the sheep. We love Thee. We love the Savior. We love God the Spirit and God the Father. The Great Three-in-One is our God. We pray, Lord, that you will bring someone into this congregation that is a seeker of the Lord and that we might be used to tell them of this good shepherd that laid down his life and that you might open their hearts and show them the great truth of a Savior. Lord, add to our number. Give us sinners, Lord, that want to hear the gospel, and then make the gospel powerful to everyone that hears. Thank you, blessed, blessed Good Shepherd, for dying in our stead. We love you. We praise thee. And we pray for our people, Lord, who are ill. Give Pat grace for the hard thing that she'll endure this week, and for Belle, Lord, healer of the shingles and anyone else that has illness. Lord, I pray you'll help me and help the doctors to know what to do in my stead. Thank you, Lord, for all blessings. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for his sake. Amen. God bless you. It's good to see you.