All right, John chapter 10, the gospel of John 10. Subject this morning, I know my sheep, and the subject tonight, my sheep know me. I know my sheep. John 10, verse 11, 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. From the days of Abraham, sheep have abounded in the land, where Christ walked this earth. The Arabs depended on sheep for their living. Job had 14,000 sheep. That is quite a few sheep. We find that in Job 42, verse 12. And then King Solomon, at the temple's dedication, sacrificed 120,000 sheep. 1 Kings 8, verse 63. You may not believe that, but you have to read it in the Bible. 1 Kings 8, verse 63. That is a lot of sheep for one day. Imagine the blood that was shed. 1 Kings 8, Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. A hundred and twenty thousand sheep were killed. in one day, and the blood flowed, and that blood, of course, all that blood represents the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The relationship between sheep and their shepherd is amazing. I have done a lot of reading this week about that subject. The shepherd knows his sheep so well that he names Each one has a name. They have a certain characteristic that he names them for. He might name them black. They have a black spot or brown. One shepherd named a sheep Gray Eared. He had a gray ear, so he named him Gray Eared. And he calls them by name. always calls his sheep by name, and that's amazing to me. Now, our Lord Jesus is presented in the scripture under many titles, and this one, the Good Shepherd. I'm the Good Shepherd, he said in verse 11. That's one of the most reassuring titles that he has. the good shepherd. My shepherd is good. In the Greek it's more emphatic. It says, I am the shepherd, the good. That's the way it's presented in the Greek, the good. There are shepherds who are bad instead of good. Ezekiel 34, if you would like to turn there. Ezekiel 34. There are a lot of bad shepherds. Ezekiel 34, verse 1. The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds. Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves. Couldn't this be said today to a lot of people who are high ups in the churches? Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? That's what the shepherds are for, to feed the flocks. You eat the fat and you clothe you with the wool and you kill them that are fed, but you feed not the flock. The diseased have you not strengthened, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, and neither have you brought again that which was driven away, and neither have you sought that which was lost, but with force and with cruelty have you ruled them." What a description of a lot of preachers today that is. But when our Lord said, I am the Good Shepherd, He intimated that He was the preeminently excellent Shepherd, infinitely elevated above all who had gone before Him. All other shepherds were human. He was the Son of God. Our Good Shepherd is the Son of God. So let us enjoy our Savior as He who constantly shepherds us through this chaotic life. And it is chaotic, is it not? We do get in over our heads sometimes, but our Good Shepherd always rescues us. He is watching over us. I read about the shepherds back in the olden days when they were crossing a stream of water. The shepherds would lead the way into the water and across the stream. And those favored sheep who always are right beside the shepherd, they plunge boldly into the water and are soon across the stream. across the water. Others of the flock enter the stream with hesitation. They're not close to the shepherd, so they hesitate and they're afraid, but they do go in. Not being close to their guide, they may miss the fording place. They look for a shallow place and it's the fording place. They may miss that and be carried down the river a distance, but probably They'll be able to make their way to the other shore. And then the little lambs may be driven into the water by the dogs. And they're heard to bleat pitifully as they leap and plunge and try to make it to the other side. And some manage to get across, but if one is swept away, then the shepherd leaps quickly into the water and rescues that one and holds it to his bosom and carries it over to the other side. And when they all arrive over the stream, they do have a good time. The lambs will run around with joy and the sheep will gather around their shepherd as if to express their thankfulness to him. And the shepherd will jump in for joy with them for a little while, and they all just have a good time, that everyone got across the stream safely. And our divine shepherd has a word of encouragement for all of his sheep who must pass through streams of affliction. Isaiah 43, verse 2. A word from our Good Shepherd, Isaiah 43, verse 2. You may need this verse this morning. I do. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. So whatever water you're passing through, your water of affliction and problems and trouble, he's there with you. He has leaped into the water with you and he'll bring you safely through. I had an experience of this literally when I was five years old. We went down to the Brazos River. And my mother set me down on the bank and I was watching things, but suddenly I had an urge to go swimming. So I got up and I jumped into that Brazos River and it was on the rise. And there I went, down the river, gone forever. No, no, no. Even back then, before I knew him personally, he jumped in the water with me because I was one of his chosen ones. And my mother was running along the bank. You could hear her in the next county yelling for help. My good shepherd took me along there, and there was a trot line across the river somebody had put, and I had on some overalls. You won't believe this, I know, but I won't tell it anyway. And those overalls, the strap caught on one of those fish hooks. And I stopped right there, and she was able to get in there and get me out. Who did that? My good shepherd did that. And he's been with me all these days. And when I was 32 years of age, he revealed himself to me that he had been watching over me all those years. And I know now that he's still in the water with me. Verse 11 says, he said, I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Now truly he is the good shepherd. For who but a good shepherd would die for the sheep's sake? The word giveth here is usually translated layeth down, and it's found that way in the Amplified Bible. The good shepherd rests and lays down his own life for the sheep. That means no one took his life from him. He laid it down. And when he laid it down, it was for his sheep. So he freely and voluntarily, in the stead of his people, as a ransom for them, that they might be delivered from death and have eternal life, he died in their stead. He lay his life down in my stead. And the scriptures clearly and definitely define what he did. It defines both the nature and the extent of his atoning work. It defines the nature of the atonement. Well, what was the nature of the atonement? The Savior gave his life not as a martyr for the truth nor as a moral example of self-sacrifice as some religions teach, but he laid down his life for a people. He died that they might not die, those people, whoever they are. I'm one. And I think that some of you are some more of his people for which he laid down his life. And by nature, we are dead in sins, dead in sins. And we had not the divinely appointed and divinely provided substitute, but he came one day and died for us, and then we did have that divinely provided substitute. And if he had not done that, there would have been no spiritual life in us today. The nature of the atonement, what was it? It was vicarious. You know what vicarious has to do with? That means one dying for another. It was a vicarious sacrifice. Somebody doing something in the stead of another one doing it. So instead of me dying, he died. That's the nature of the atonement. And then the extent of the atonement is laid out in the Bible. His life was not laid down for fallen angels. The angels who fell are still being punished by God forever and will be. His life was not laid down for fallen angels but for sinful men. and not for men in general, but for his own people in particular, for the sheep and not for the goats. This world is made up of sheep and goats, and if you're not a sheep, you're a goat. And he doesn't change goats to sheep. You have been a sheep forever in his sight. When he died, he died for his sheep. You may not as of yet know that, but if he died for you, you're a sheep of God. You're one of his sheep. For the sheep, not for the goats. Isaiah 53.8. Isaiah 53.8. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people. If you write in your Bible, my people was he stricken. for the transgression of my people, those who belong to God, those who were the sheep of God. That's who he was stricken for. Matthew chapter 1 verse 21. He laid down his life for the elect of God. Matthew 1 verse 21. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save," who? His people from their sins. They are his people. There are some in this world who are not his people and some who are his people. And when he died, it was for his people that he died. Matthew chapter 26, verse 28. And he said, This is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many, not all, all many. He didn't die for the whole human race. He died for the many who were the sheep chosen out of this world. You and I ought to be awfully grateful that we were one of those. Isn't that marvelous? Can you even imagine that you are one of his chosen people? And there are millions who are not. We ought to rise up in great thanksgiving to him because we are his people. And his blood was shed for many, and I'm one of the many. So that is the extent of the atonement. He died for the sheep and no one else. He did not die for the goats. And I say again, the Lord is not in the business of turning goats into sheep. He does not do that. If you're a goat, you shall always be a goat. And if you're a sheep, you shall always be a sheep. And that's just the way it is. That's the extent of the atonement. And I can't help that. I don't want to help it. It's wonderful to me that I was included. He included me. Did he include you? If you love him, he included you. Verse 12, 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. Notice whose own the sheep are not. This hireling whose own the sheep are not. They are not his sheep, and so the hireling has no affection for the sheep. He's paid to guard and watch them. And so they mind their own things and not the things of the Lord. Back when sheep were so plentiful in that land, when a shepherd got more than 100 or so sheep, he would hire someone to help him. And he became a hireling for the sheep. John Wesley said, It's not the bare receiving of hire which shows a man to be a hireling, but it's the loving of hire more than the work. You understand what I'm saying? The working for the sake of the hire. That's what most people do now in churches. He is a hireling who would not work were it not for the hire. Give me something. That's what people are doing now. That's what preachers are promising people. You come on, you be a Christian, he'll give you a lot of things. He'll increase your revenue and give you a new house and you'll be driving new Cadillac. That's a harling that will tell people that. He's a liar. The hireling, then, is a professed servant of God who fills a position simply for how much. And I'd say about nine-tenths of the preachers today are how much preachers. And I watch them. I know what they are. Don't tell me that I'm just saying bad things about nice people. They're not nice people. He is a mercenary and has the lust for money and things, and that's what he's in it for. He's a hireling. Verse 13, the hireling fleeth. The wolf has come now, and what does he do? Because he's a hireling and careth not for the sheep. Why does the hireling flee? Because he is a hireling. And he does not love the sheep. He loves himself. He loves his money. He loves his good things. But if a wolf comes, he's not about to put himself in danger. A man does what he does because he is what he is. Character equal conduct. The liar lies because he is a liar, but he is a liar before he lies, but it just shows what he is when he tells lies. And I hear the greatest, greatest lies coming from religious charlatans, lying to people. God must have a special place in perdition for such as that. God help me not to be a hireling. And when the testing time comes, each man reveals what he is. by what he does. The hireling flees and shows he's a hireling. A Christian acts like he does because he is a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ. But a man must be a Christian before he can live a Christian life. People are faithful to worship the Lord because it's natural to them to do that. Others let everything prevent worship. Why? Because it is not in them to worship God. They try, but they find it impossible. It is deeds which make manifest the heart. Don't we know this yet? We ought to know this. If something looks like a pig and walks like a pig and roots mud like a pig and squeals like a pig, what is it? It's a pig. That's its nature. And in the realm of men only is that truth denied. In the realm of men we deny that truth. What is it that discovers the hireling? What is it that finds him out? It's the wolf. The wolf comes. How do you act when you see the wolf coming? Do you flee when danger and temptation or trial comes? Do you run? Do you flee the worship of God for the sake of the vanities of this world? Do you teach your children that other things are more important than the worship of the Lord? Don't be surprised if the wolf gets your children because you have fled before him. That hireling, that hireling, I hope you're not a hireling. Do you worship the Lord? I mean, when we have worship here, do you want to worship the Lord? Is that the height of your desire? Oh, I want to go worship the Lord. Now I'll ask this question and answer it under seven heads and then we'll be through. In verse 14, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. Why does the Lord refer to his people under the figure of sheep? I'll give you seven suggestions here why he refers to his people as sheep. Number one, under the Mosaic law, a sheep was one of the few clean animals. And this represents God's people for we are cleansed from sin. And Paul said to the church at Corinth, such were some of you. He named a lot of sin. He said, such were some of you, but ye are washed. You're washed. You're clean before God. You're washed. So we're called sheep. That was the cleanest animal known to man, a sheep. And then secondly, he calls us sheep because a sheep is a harmless animal. Even children may approach sheep without fear. And so we are called wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Matthew 10 and 16. We're harmless as doves. We're not going to hurt people. We're harmless. I don't want to hurt anybody. Do you want to hurt people? No, you're harmless. You don't want to harm anybody. Why? Because God put a new nature in you, and that new nature does not want to harm people. So you're very careful about that. You don't harm anybody. We're called sheep because sheep is a harmless animal. Why are we called sheep? Because sheep are helpless. They don't have any weapons. They have no weapons for attack or they have no weapons for defense. And equally helpless is the believer in himself. You are helpless in yourself. And the Lord Jesus said, Without me, you can do nothing. You try it sometime. You want to do something spiritual, you go on and try it without him. Without me, you can do nothing, nothing. That's the reason we worship Him, because we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. But without Him, we can do nothing. And so we are helpless. That poor sheep, when that animal comes, he just stands there and bleats until he's killed. Has no defense whatsoever. And then number four, we're called sheep because sheep are gentle. Do you know anything as gentle as a lamb? You've seen them. I've been in their presence quite a bit. Gentle as a lamb. And I'm going to tell you something. This will distinguish the followers of Christ. Look at James 3.17. I want us to read that, not just quote it to you. James 3.17. Gentle. James 3.17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, and that next word is gentle. easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy, gentle. God's people are gentle. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you are gentle. You're a gentle person. You're not rude and crude and run over everybody. Now, you'll take care of the scripture and you'll defend the glory of Christ, but you're gentle. You don't pick on people. You don't tear people up. You don't cause them to be unhappy. You're gentle. And if you're not, you're not a sheep. And then number five, this is sort of like some of the others, sheep are dependent upon the shepherd. Dependent upon the shepherd not only for protection, but the shepherd must lead them to pasture or they will starve. They don't have sense enough to go out and find the pasture themselves. Sheep are dependent upon the shepherd, and so the shepherd each day has to lead them. Come on now. Call them by name. Let's go. And here they come. And he goes before them. The Scripture says Christ goes before us and leads us to pasture. A Christian is totally cast upon God for all his needs. You're totally dependent upon God. What would I do if God didn't watch over me? What would I do if the Lord Jesus Christ was not my good shepherd? I don't know. Now I don't know. I've gotten to this age and things are happening and I don't know what I'd do without a good shepherd. totally cast upon God. And then number six, sheep are prone to wander. Prone to wander. A sheep can be fenced in. They're in a fenced pasture and they're eating and enjoying life. But you know what they're doing, some of them? They're looking for just a little bitty gap in that fence. And if they ever find a gap that's big enough for them to get through, they'll go through there and they will be totally gone from the shepherd. And the Lord Jesus said to us, Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. Watch and pray. Don't be looking for a place to do something evil. Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. Watch yourself or you'll crawl through that fence and be gone from the shepherd. And then number seven, a sheep is a useful animal. And I say that because it supplies wool every year. You've seen shepherds shearing the sheep. That wool, I don't know how thick it is. It looks like it's five or six inches thick on them. The daily attitude of the Christian is, Lord, what would you have me to do? What would you have me to do? Instead of complaining about having to do something, you get up every morning and ask the Lord, ìWhat do you want me to do today?î And if not, the hireling fleeth because he is an hireling and careth not for the sheep. He doesnít care about the sheep, and heís going to run off. I find myself, I'll just be honest, I find myself caring not on occasion. Do you ever do that? Just caring not. I decide somebody, nobody else cares, so why should I? That's wrong, isn't it? I ought not have that attitude. That's an awful attitude. I come up here on Wednesday evening. There's a little handful, and I work pretty hard from Monday up to that time on what I have to say, and there's just a few. Those same few are always here. I appreciate them. I love them. But I don't understand a lack of love for the Word of God if it's possible for you to hear it, you'll hear it if it's possible. And if it's not possible, you and God know that. And so I get to some time where I just, well, I just don't care. I hope the building burns down. I'll go there and jump in it. What an idea. That's awful, isn't it? Awful. Our good shepherd always cares for the sheep and he never has a letdown. Never has a letdown. He always cares for the sheep. And those eastern shepherds were always responsible for anything that happens to one of his flocks. He looks for a lost sheep. He'll spend hours, if necessary, in the wilderness looking for a lost sheep. You've read that in the Bible. And sometime after hours of looking for it, he finds it. There's that little old sheep out there still running around trying to figure out which way to go. Didn't know anything about anything. And his shepherd finds that little old sheep. That exhausted, frightened creature is picked up and put over his shoulder. That's what he did in Luke 15, isn't it? Put it over his shoulder. And carries that little lamb home. And when the shepherd gets home, does he get a stick and beat that little lamb? No, sir. The scripture says when he cometh home, He calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me. Rejoice with me. I have found my sheep which was lost. And he and that little sheep just danced a jig together because he's found. Oh, that's the kind of shepherd we have. Rejoice with me. I found the sheep which was lost. And our Lord Jesus is always bringing us back when we wander, always. And he rejoices that he is able to do that for us. He rejoices. Now, you be careful. You be careful, little ones, because if the sheep continues to run away, the same sheep continues to run away, that shepherd will take his staff and break that sheep's leg and carries that little sheep in his bosom until that leg heals. And then he'll put that little sheep down on that leg that's mended. And he'll watch that little sheep. But I tell you what, after that broken leg, that sheep's not near as likely to wander. Because he remembers that leg. that leg heals, and the shepherd will try him again. Let's see what he's going to do. And I wonder how many broken legs I've had. I've had a lot of broken legs. He's had to break my legs several times. But then he takes me up in his bosom and holds me until that leg heals. And he'll sit me down and say, well, let's see now what you're going to do. And he already knows what I'll do. But I don't forget the broken legs. He does that for our good. And he's made me at times where I can't hardly do anything, much less wander off. That's a broken leg. But he holds me. Thank God he does. That's what the shepherd said. I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. And he's not a hireling. May God bless you. I hope that will be a help to you. Let's stand for prayer. Lord, what can we say to thee when you have blessed us so much here this morning? You have showed us your word so clearly. I am amazed, Lord, at the clearness of what you have said here this morning. I understand it. I hope that I can abide by it. Give me grace not to wander off from thee any more, but to stay in the fold. I pray for each one here that you will bless each of your sheep here that are in this place and cause us, Lord, to follow close to thee. I pray for those here who do not know thee as their shepherd, and yet they may be a sheep without any knowledge of it. I pray you will reveal that to them. They might believe on the Lord Jesus and know that they are a sheep of Christ. Thank you, Lord, for this time together. It has been a good time. I pray you will continue to bless us in this place and add to us as you see fit. In Christ's name we pray, amen.