All right, take your Bibles and turn to John chapter 10. You know, today is obviously two minute warning day. By the way, we had a great time this morning. I loved it. Tim, praise God, buddy. They're busy now. That row right there is off on their own, in their own little world right now. But, so anyway, we've been preaching, I've been preaching through the book of John, as you know, and I thought, okay, for today, I've got to come up with something else. I need to go here, I need to go there, whatever. And it's like, the Lord said, no, no, go back, you'll see what I mean. I did, and I see what he meant. So take your Bibles, you're in John chapter 10. We're going to read the first 10 verses of John 10. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth. 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, 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. 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. Now there's something that needs to be understood here. You can only really get the full benefit of chapter 10 if you've been in chapter nine where we were recently. As you possibly have read through the book of John, you wind up going through and hearing the reading the story of the blind man who was healed and here comes the Pharisaical Keystone Cops. And they're trying to throw stones and anger and hate at Christ. And they're doing it for one reason. They want the other people in the area to know, the people around them to know, they do not see him as Christ. That's what counts. This is a false Christ. He is not of God, et cetera, et cetera. It's really sad. So I'm studying. And you go into chapter 10. And chapter 10 has a lot. I mean, it is loaded with great truths and things for us to see when it comes to our Savior. But when I studied it this time, I got a greater understanding of the mesh between chapter nine and chapter 10. And I got to thinking about it and just meditating on it as we're reading through. And I thought, you know, I wouldn't have blamed Christ if he had just simply walked away from all these people. You know, here come the Pharisees and they're seeking to, again, to destroy him, his reputation, et cetera. And instead he does Now first, read verse 41, chapter 9. Jesus said unto them, the Pharisees, if ye were blind, ye should have no sin. But now ye say, we see. Therefore your sin remaineth. Jesus was explaining something, and it's important. He's explaining to the Pharisees that they were spiritually blind and their sins were unforgiven because they saw no need for the Lord in their life. That's why they've gone after him. To them, they have a kingdom to maintain. Christ has come as the king of the kingdom. That is the problem with so many people. I titled this message, His Voice, Your Choice. His Voice, Your Choice. There are so many people that hear Christ, but they don't hear him. They hear the scripture, but they refuse it. As Christ starts launching into chapter 10, This is a progression, again, of what has been taking place. Look, first of all, verse one, this section I've entitled His Calling. And I'm not talking about the calling of Christ as much as I'm talking about the calling that Christ was giving to mankind. Look at 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 is a thief and a robber. Now, one of the ways you can tell this is a continuation is when Christ says verily, verily, or truly, truly, or listen to what I'm saying, that's never said at the beginning of a conversation. It's a continuation. It's a heightened effort to get people to listen more to what has transpired. That's what Christ is saying here. Now, he talks about the sheepfold. You've probably read about this. You've heard some things. A sheepfold was an area protected by high walls. They would also put stone or brush on top of that with thistles. Sometimes the walls were as high as 10 to 12 feet, and there was one door. That led in to the fold. There were times that the shepherd would bring the sheep in in the evening. Now, in the winter, they would look for a cave, something like that, but they would bring the sheep into this place, this sheepfold, and they could either have someone who would stay there, they would go home and they would have someone stay there at the door, or they themselves would be there. But the real focus on what Christ is saying here Is he saying, listen, there are those that they wanna get into the fold and they want to distort the truth that I'm bringing. There are those, they're thieves. They steal by stealth. There are robbers. They steal by violence. They have a pride, they desire power, and then they come along with a system of biblical interpretation, which instead of shows truth, it steals truth. And that's what's bothering me right now. You know, I praise God. By choice, I'm an independent Baptist. I believe in the fundamentals of the faith, so that means I'm an independent fundamental Baptist. However, there are those out there that are seeking to steal the sheep, to thwart, to Put a gloss over the eyes of people and say, no, no, no, no. You've gotta come here. I rejoice in this. I can take my Bible and I can give it to anybody that desires truth and I can tell them two things. Number one, you have the author. He is here. You seek him. and he will teach you. Number two, the Bible interprets itself. Not like Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons or other people who say you can only understand the Bible with our help. No, praise God, you and I have the ability to know truth. His word is truth and we can compare scripture with scripture. The Pharisees didn't see it that way. You can only understand the Word, the Scripture at that time, with our help. Otherwise, you know, you're just, you're too stupid. That is not the case. We had people back then, and I believe we've got them today. We would call them Judaizers. In Acts 15, the Bible says, and certain men, which came down from Judea, taught the brethren and said, except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. There's a plethora of people out there that keep trying to make something stick to Christ. We, okay, here's Jesus. Okay, we'll go with that. But it's Jesus plus. It's Jesus plus. It's salvation by grace plus. The answer to that is a Greek term, rongo. But the thing is, is there out there? Never, please, never find yourself thinking this. I need to find something more. I, that's why I love Psalm 87, seven. All my springs are in thee. That's it. Please don't forget it. And don't let other people who come to you seeking God's truth. Don't let them forget it. So, look at verse two. Christ continues. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth. Now, there are those that have said that the porter was John the Baptist or the porter is the Holy Spirit. The picture is, is that Christ comes in that door and the sheep hear his voice and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. We'll see a little bit more about that later on. But let's remember what Christ just said here. If there was ever a picture of the need for that intimate relationship with the shepherd, this is it. You know why you need to read your Bible? you need to learn the voice of the shepherd. Just listening to a man preach doesn't do it. When you open the word and as much, you're saying, it is written, thus saith the Lord. That's what we need. We need to learn the voice of the shepherd. The apostle Paul warned about this very thing in Acts 20 verse 28. He said this, take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church of God. This is a declaration to pastors. He's saying, guys, you know, step it up. to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood. If he purchased it with his own blood, we need to make sure how we're treating those that were purchased at such great cost. Verse 29, for this I know that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Look, there are guys on the internet, they got a podcast, they got this, they've got that. Their desire is not to help you grow in Christ. Now some are, I understand that, but there are some. Come on. Satan isn't done yet with us. Now praise God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. I don't know, this is the sense that I just got. This was me this morning. I really sensed resistance. I mean, I really felt like the wicked one was fighting what we wanted to do this morning. I don't like that. Because, I mean, not that I feel overwhelmed, no, no. Resist the devil, again, from James four, resist the devil and he will flee from you, but you've got to draw an eye to God and he will draw an eye to you. That's the key. And so my prayer this morning was this, Lord, take faith Baptist and bring them to yourself. Lord, we've got to hear you. We've got to be drawn to you. Satan doesn't want us to do a men's meeting that we've been doing for 12 years. He doesn't want that. He doesn't want people to be soul conscious. He doesn't want people to be standing in the word, listening to the word. We have got to learn to hear the voice of the shepherd. A.W. Tozer wrote this, quote, The footprint of the obedient sheep. I love this. The footprint of the obedient sheep is always found within the larger footprint of the shepherd. That's good. That's good. Go to verse four. And when he put it forth, his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him once again, 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. I have an illustration about that in just a couple of minutes. But there is something that I got to thinking about as I was studying this. You know, we read in John 10 twice in verse 11 and verse 14, Christ says of himself, I am the good shepherd. But then he goes on in Hebrews 13 verse 20, he says this, now the God of peace that brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep. Verse 21, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, amen. Then in his return for us, 1 Peter 5, and when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Folks, he's the good shepherd, he's the great shepherd, because he's the chief shepherd. There is nobody else we need. His voice, but it's our choice. True story, a man in Australia, was being charged by a neighbor that he had stolen one of his sheep. So they have him in court. But the defendant said, no, your honor, he's got it all wrong. That's my sheep. He stole it from me. No, no, no, no. It's my sheep. It's my sheep. Well, the judge, he was kind of a smart guy. So he took the two men and he sent them over to a place where they couldn't be seen. They actually brought the sheep into the court. And he told the man who was charging this other man of stealing the sheep, he said, call the sheep. So he called him and the sheep cowered. They said the sheep had a look of fear on his face. Then he said to the defendant, you call him. He called him. Guess what? The judge grabbed his gavel. Case dismissed. That was it. Why? Because the sheep knew the shepherd's voice. That is the calling of our Christ. He's calling. He leads us out. He brings us back in. But also, he begins to talk a little bit more about himself. So we go from his calling to his character. Look at verse six. This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things They were, which he spake unto them. Now, the regular word for parable is not used here, the regular Greek word. This is a word, this is paromia, paromia. It means a figure of speech, an allegory, an obscure speech which needs interpretation. So Jesus told them the story that we just read. They're not catching it. There's a reason. There's too many that still have enough of what the Pharisees have taught them in their hearts. He's trying to get them to see him. He goes from his calling, what he is seeking to do while he's there on this earth to the children of Israel, he starts talking about himself, his character. Look at verse seven. Then said Jesus unto them again. Verily, verily, there's that phrase again. When our Lord speaks that, he is yearning from within. He wants people to understand truly, truly, I say unto you. And then he says this, I am the door of the sheep. He's not saying that he's a literal door, but this is what he is. That one place, where the sheep could go in and out. At night, often it was the shepherd that stayed there. He would put himself across there with his weapons. He literally became the door. He was there protecting. If there was a prowling animal that came along, he's the one with the spear that would take care of that critter. If there was one that was hungry for a sheep, he was there to defend it. If there was a sheep that was trying to get out at the wrong time on his own, he was there to gently bring that sheep back in and close the door by stretching himself across there. So literally, he became the door. Now, the Lord continues his clarification of himself here. The true shepherd could not come until God's time. Moses and the prophets, they weren't thieves and robbers. They brought the word. Again, thus saith the Lord. Like again, Jennifer Ruth, what you were saying, John the Baptist, they pointed to the coming one. Everyone else were deceivers. That's what's going on even now. There are people that are trying to be sucked away from the Lord Jesus Christ. You need the tradition of the elders. You need something over here. You need something other than what the Christ did for you. You've got this work or that work or something like that. These people had the Talmud. They had extra writings. Now, over and above the written word of God, they had their own writings where they were getting foolish things. And we've already talked about that when we were in chapter nine. But if you have the life and times of Jesus the Messiah, you can go in by Edersheim. You can go in and read some of the foolish things that these people would do. I mean, I told you before about the bleeding Pharisee, This is what they would do. The Pharisee who was so frightened of lusting after a woman would walk with his eyes closed. Except there's a problem. Things kept shooting up in front of him. You know, trees, walls, stuff like that. He was known as the bleeding Pharisee. But that was almost like a mark of distinction. No, it's a mark of stupidity. The true shepherd, the true sheep, excuse me, did not hear these people. Folks, this is why we hear of Christ, they were astonished at his doctrine. Why? Because he taught them as one having authority. Go to verse eight. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. So he starts explaining himself a little bit more. In verse nine, he makes it clear. The true shepherd saves. Verse nine, I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, He shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. He's telling these people, you don't need what you've been taught here by these people. All you need is me. All you need is what you learn of me and trust me. Not only does the true shepherd save, look at verse 10, the true shepherd secures. The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. Now, remember, to get to you, they've got to go through him. That's why his word is so important. A liar, somebody who comes along and says it's faith plus this or faith plus that has to come through the word of God. where it tells us by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. They've got to go through there. We show that to the thief and the robber. And if they don't start saying, hamana, hamana, hamana, you know, they're trying to explain it away one way or another. Listen, when they try to distort like that, just walk away. Just walk away. The true shepherd saves, he secures, but he also satisfies. Look at the last part of verse nine. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. Listen to that. Don't listen to the person that teaches health, wealth, and prosperity. Listen to the person who teaches that yes, we will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. There's coming a time when all the teaching by the health, wealth, and prosperity people is going to crumble. Either that or they're gonna have to sell their souls to somebody. And that will be sad. Might have it, once again, more abundantly. He teaches us and leads us, bottom line, in a life lived as it should be. We hear that from Paul. I was reminded again, I just finished 2 Thessalonians. I love reading through Galatians through 2 Thessalonians. The apostle Paul says so much there. In the book of Philippians especially, here we have the epistle of joy. Wow, this is great. Written from a prison, you know, and yet he's there. 100 years ago last year, 100 years ago last year, there was a meeting, an important meeting to the world. There was a meeting that was held at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. There were nine of the world's most successful wealthy people, financiers, the president of the largest independent steel company, the president of the largest utility company, the president of the largest gas company, the greatest wheat speculator, the president of the New York Stock Exchange, a member of the president's cabinet, the greatest bear in Wall Street, head of the world's greatest monopoly, and president of the Bank of International Settlements. These were gathered around together because they had found the secret of making money. Somebody decided 25 years later, somebody decided they were going to look into seeing how these men ended in their lives. This is what they found. The president of the largest independent steel company, Charles Schwab, died bankrupt and lived on borrowed money for five years before his death. The president of the largest utility company, Samuel Insull, died a fugitive from justice and penniless outside of the United States. The president of the largest gas company, Howard Hobson, was insane. The greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cutton, died abroad, broke. The president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, was released from Sing Sing Prison. The member of the president's cabinet, Albert Fall, Suicide. The president of the Bank of International Settlements, Leon Fraser. Suicide. You know, it's kind of interesting to read that. Now we know some wealthy people today, very wealthy. They're not, all of them, they're not off into la-la land. But so many of them, you just wonder what's in their heads. I do know this, that there are those, they have sold their souls to Satan. Jesus Christ teaches us how to live and live life as it was meant to be. In that case, it is so very easy to see. He's the great shepherd. We follow him. When we come back from this, starting in verse 11, we're going to see his concern. But I'm going to stop the message right now. Heavenly Father, I pray God, that as we read our Bibles, as we seek you, Lord, through your word, may we hear your voice as we're in the prayer closet that Tim spoke so eloquently about this morning. We'll be there to hear your voice, not the voice of a stranger, but your voice. Lord, we are so thankful that in your love, the sheep are so very important. You showed your love. In the fact that you spoke of a hundred sheep and 99 were safe, but one was out and the shepherd went out looking for that one sheep. Oh, how that tells us just how important we are. Lord, I pray that this week and in the days ahead, we will hear your voice. I pray in Christ's name, amen.