The Characteristics of True Sheep
This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.
In this 10th chapter of the Gospel of John, we find our Lord Jesus once more, as we often do throughout the book of John, in the company of His disciples and unbelieving, hostile Jewish leaders. And the bulk of this chapter is taken up by our Lord Jesus giving a statement about Himself in the form of an analogy, a metaphor, and then one very blunt and startling assertion concerning His equality with the Father. In verse 7, verse 9 of this chapter, you remember in our studies, our Lord claims to be the true Shepherd of the sheep–the true Shepherd who is the door of His sheep.
Verse 7, "So Jesus said to them [again], 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.'" Verse 9 again, "I am the door." So here's an analogy in which Christ likens Himself to the entrance into a sheepfold, and here is the emphasis. The emphasis is upon Him, His being the Shepherd, who Himself serves as the door of the sheepfold. You remember in our studies, He would, the shepherd that is, would literally put His body down in front of the opening, and He would be the door into the sheepfold. In other words, what Jesus is communicating is that if anyone is ever to be found in that sheepfold of lost humanity, rescued and redeemed and saved by the grace and the power of Christ, they must come through Jesus Christ and through Christ alone.
He makes that explicit in verse 9, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." And then again, you remember in verse 11 and verse 14, He claims to be the good shepherd of His sheep. Verse 11, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." Verse 14, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me." And we looked at that extensively.
And we, as the under shepherds, by way of application, are to imitate the chief shepherd. There are so many hired hands around us, but true under shepherds, they imitate the chief Shepherd. I was reminded this week of something that Spurgeon said concerning this. He said, "A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats.” How true that is.
So here, in this chapter, this personal claim with respect to this analogy, Christ says, "I am the true shepherd who is the door of the sheepfold, and I am the good shepherd. I am the shepherd, the good one." And then as you see this chapter unfold, you have this astounding, this startling claim in verse 30, "I and the Father are one."
Now, the Jews understood clearly that this claim was nothing short, nothing less than being a partaker in the very stuff of deity, for we read on in the following verse. Verse 31, "The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, 'I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?' The Jews answered Him, 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself God.'"
And, so, in this chapter here, we have our Lord Jesus setting Himself forward in this analogy—the analogy, "I am the true shepherd who is the door of the sheepfold," "I am the good shepherd"—and then you have this startling claim, "I and the Father are one." Now, in the midst of expanding upon this analogy, this metaphor, in which Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd," He speaks the words of our text to which I direct our attention this morning.
Now remember, Jesus now is in the temple during the Feast of the Dedication, commemorating the Jews retaking Jerusalem in 164 BC and rededicating the temple. The Jewish leaders, we’re told in verse 24, encircled Him like sharks, like hyenas, seeking to have something to accuse Him with. Their attitude is antagonistic, and they were accusing Him, "Jesus, stop beating around the bush, tell us who You really are. The reason we're confused is because You haven't given us enough evidence." And we looked at that last Lord's Day, and we began to consider also our Lord's answer to their accusation, where our text this morning is part of His answer.
But as we look at particularly these two verses, I want us to look at them under two simple headings. First of all, note with me what I'm calling, “our Lord's words of consolation and of promise concerning a distinct class of people whom He calls His sheep,”--words of consolation and of promise with respect to a distinct class of people whom He calls His sheep.
Look at the words of consolation and of promise–verse 27, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them," and then go to the following verse, "and I give eternal life to them." Here, our Lord says that, among the natively lost, condemned, fallen, polluted, defiled, hell-deserving sons and daughters of Adam, there is a class of people called “His sheep”, and He tells us here two things about them, two things about them.
He says, number one, "I know them"—a word of consolation—and He says, "I give eternal life to them"—a word of promise, right? Now let's just spend a few minutes parking upon those statements. Jesus says with respect to the special class of people called His sheep that He what?--knows them. He knows them. Now a literal rendering of the Greek text would be this: "I Myself know them." "I Myself know them." You see, it's not the simple statement, "I know them," in which the subject is buried in the verb, but He uses a conjunction in the Greek text, ‘kai egó’, which means, "and I Myself, even I know them."
Now why do I call this a word of consolation? Well, for the simple reason that these words, "I know them," do not mean that He simply has an awareness of who and where and what we are in His divine omniscience. That's not what it means. That's not what He's saying. You remember back in the Gospel of John, chapter 2 earlier, recorded the fact that Jesus—well, let's look at it and see just by way of reminder. Look there just for a moment, verse 23, chapter 2 of John, where John already recorded the fact of His divine omniscience.
Verse 23, "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, when they saw His signs which He was doing." Now watch this: "But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man."
Here, our Lord is given this divine attribute of total omniscience, all-knowingness. The reason Jesus did not entrust Himself to these who said they believed on Him was that He knew their hearts. He knew that this faith, whatever it was, was short of true saving faith that saw Him for what He truly was and entrusted itself to Him without reservation. He knew that. And as then so now, beloved, He is here by His Holy Spirit, and He knows you. He knows me. He knows us–utterly, thoroughly, completely, totally, in and out.
What David could say in Psalm 139 of his Lord is true of our Lord Jesus Christ: "O Yahweh, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar." Before my thoughts are framed in my own brain, let alone before they may be spoken with my tongue and teeth and larynx and diaphragm, God knows my thoughts–utterly, completely, totally, from afar. He knows the thoughts that have accompanied you into this place this morning. He knows the thoughts you're thinking right now as I seek to open up the Word of God. He knows whether you're thinking in your mind, “Ah, more of this stuff. I haven't recovered from the loss yesterday. I mean, more of the stuff. I've had enough of it. I can't wait till all restraints are removed and I no longer have to be dragged to a place like this and listen to more of this stuff.” If that's what you're thinking, He knows that thought–utterly, completely, totally.
So when He says, "I know My sheep," He's not referring to this knowledge of His inherent omniscience as God–very God of very God–but it is a knowing of a special, distinguishing love and affection, issuing into a saving purpose, saving provision, saving power that results in a blessed relationship. Notice verse 14 of John 10 in the shepherd-sheep imagery. Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father." I mean, you read this and it's just mind-blowing. Who can begin to conceive of that intimate, personal relationship of love and delight and affection that exists between the Father and the Son?
Really? Listen, beloved, only Deity can encompass Deity in thought as well as in power. We have no clue. We're like a little kid trying to scoop up the ocean with a little symbol. And Jesus said that He fully knows the Father and the Father fully knows Him. And it is in that sense that He says these blessed words of consolation: that among the fallen, wretched, hell-deserving sons of men, there is a people whom Christ looks upon and He says with delight, with joy and delight, "I know them. I know them. I regard them with special, distinguishing love and affection–a love and affection that frame a purpose of salvation, a love and affection that not only frames a purpose of salvation, but that actually procures, secures, obtains that salvation.”
And He says that that shepherd who knows His sheep and His sheep know Him, He lays down His life for them—the ones whom He knows He so loved that He lays down His life to the horrific torture and shame of the cross, with all of the billows of the wrath of God upon Him. And then, because there was a saving purpose growing out of that knowing and saving procurement, there's a saving power issuing an actual relationship between the good shepherd and all of these whom He calls His sheep.
Now, to be outside of the knowledge—this knowledge of Christ—is to be outside the sphere of His saving grace and mercy. If Christ cannot say to you and to me, "I know him," in this sense, “I regard him with distinguishing love and affection, with saving purpose and procurement and saving power issuing into this intimate fellowship and relationship,” if you're not in the orbit of that knowledge of Christ, then you are outside of the sphere of salvation now. And, if you remain in that condition, it will be your portion forever and ever and ever.
You may be one who's thinking, wait a minute, that's strong language. But it does not exceed the warrant of Matthew chapter 7 and verse 23, does it? Does it? Listen to the words of our Lord. To some who professed great acquaintance with Christ—they professed faith in Christ. On that day, they say, verse 22, "’Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them”--now watch these words—"I never"--what?--"knew you”--”knew you.”
Oh yes, He knows all about them, but He never knew them in the manner of knowing in our text, John 10:27–28: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them." Now He says to the many, "I never knew you," back in Matthew 7. You see, beloved, the question this morning is not, do you know the Lord? The question is, does the Lord know you? Does He know you?
He could say of a special class of people called sheep, "I know them. I know them,"--wonderful words of consolation. But then He gives this wonderful word of promise. He gives to this class of people called ‘His sheep’ eternal life. That's what the text says, doesn't it? Look at it: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them," verse 28, "and I give eternal life to them."
You see, we read these words, and we become so familiar with them. We glance over them. What is this eternal life that He gives to this special class of people whom He knows, whom He calls His sheep? What is it? Well, again, it does not mean simply eternal existence. It doesn't. That comes with the awesome reality of being made a human being. Right?
Have you ever thought, “what an awesome, what an awesome”–let me say this–what an awesome, in the truest sense of the word, not in its present cheapened sense, when burgers and rides at Wonderland are awesome. Awesome means that which legitimately creates awe, wonder, something that is majestic and beyond our conception. Think of what it means to be conceived as a human, being in the image of God—not a dog or a cat, a lion, a robin or an eagle. From that moment of conception, eternity is stamped upon the substance of your being. Everlasting existence is the part and parcel of being a human being.
So when our Lord says, "I give eternal life to them," He is not speaking of merely giving eternal existence. But rather, it is the reversal of everything that was introduced by death—the Fall. You remember God said to Adam back in Genesis 2, in verse 17, "...from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Literally, “dying, you will die.” That's exactly what happened when he sinned, and sin entered. Separation from the life of God. Separation from communion with God, fellowship with God, intimate fellowship with the Lord. And ultimately, living out life in a cursed world. "Cursed is the ground for your sake."
Eternal life—well, what is it? It is life that reinstitutes us into a heart communion and heart fellowship with the living God Himself. Jesus said in John 17:3, "this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Beloved, eternal life is living in vital, real, intimate communion with Him here and now. And, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to begin to be fashioned into the likeness, the very likeness–the moral image of God as embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And then eventually, as we read in the book of Revelation, to dwell with Him, face to face. And all of the company of His redeemed in the new heavens and the new earth. That's to be ushered into eternal life in its consummate glory. And Jesus says, “there is a people. There is a special class of people whom I not only know, but I give as the free, gracious gift—free, gracious donation of My saving work–I Myself–again, that same word in the original ‘kai egó’—I Myself, not an institution that was established: My church, not gifts that I give to My church:its ministering servants, under shepherds, but I Myself give unto them eternal life. I Myself know them. I Myself give unto them eternal life.
And then, to make sure that we get it, He says in these two negatives—and we'll look at that more next Lord's Day—verse 28, "And they will”--‘ou mé’ in the Greek text, double negative—ou mé’--no, not never–“perish.” "They will never perish–ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." And the word used for snatch, ‘arpázo’, literally means to seize in its negative aspect. To seize with force, to rob, differing from ‘kleptō’—to steal secretly. This is a different word. It means to snatch and suddenly take them away. "They will never perish–ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand."
Think of what it means to have Christ say to you and to me, “I know you”--in this sense, “I know you. And I give you, I give to you eternal life,”--marvelous words of consolation. Marvelous words of promise. Surely, if you've been thinking at all, your thought is this, “Oh God, as I hear this, do I have a right to take that word of consolation and that word of promise to myself today? Is it mine? Is it mine?” Not by a form of spiritual thievery—taking that to which I have no claim—but as the valid expression of reality. Christ saying to me this morning, “I Myself know you. I Myself give to you eternal life. You shall never perish–ever. No one will snatch you out of My hand.”
So here's the question: How can we be certain that the word of consolation and that word of promise is ours? How? By right, not by a form of spiritual thievery, but by the grace of God. That's what I mean by right. We looked at our Lord's words of consolation and promise concerning this distinct class of people called sheep.
Now, secondly, to answer this question–our Lord's words of identification–I want us to note. Our Lord's words of identification concerning this special class of people called sheep. How can I claim these words to be mine? Well, He identifies what constitutes a sheep for us, and I want us to see this very carefully.
So from the word of consolation and promise, we now see, in our Lord's words, the identification of this group of people called sheep. Look at the text. Look at the text, verse 27, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them”--that is My sheep. “But Lord, how can I tell that I'm truly Your sheep? Lord, I read this, but how? I'm sitting here listening to this. How can I tell, Lord, that I'm truly Your sheep and I'm not just a goat with a sign around my neck that says sheep?”
"I'm a sheep. Believe it. Believe it. Believe it. In spite of what you see, in spite of what you smell, believe it. In spite of what you behold, believe I'm a sheep because I've got this sign around my neck. I had it placed on my neck when I was baptized, made public confession, belonging to Christ. Believe it because I remember my baptism. And people sitting here remember my baptism. Surely I must be a sheep." No. It would take more than the sign around our neck pointing to some external ritual by which we publicly identified ourselves as a sheep of Christ.
The text here says there are two discernible, distinguishing–and I will add–infallible characteristics of all of Christ's sheep–and I will add–without exception. Let me say that again. There are two discernible, distinguishing, infallible characteristics of all of Christ's sheep, without exception. Look at the text with me. Verse 27, "My sheep”--My sheep. Did you notice what He did not say? He didn't say some of My sheep. He didn't say a few of My sheep. He didn't say the majority of My sheep. What did He say? "My sheep." All of them. "My sheep." Every single one of them. Every single one of My sheep. Every single one that I own as My sheep, whom I know, and to whom I give eternal life.
Our Lord said these two things are true of every single one of them. And I pray to God that the Word will come with inescapable grip and power, because there may be some sitting here this morning who say that you're His sheep, but these discernible, distinguishing, infallible marks of His sheep are pathetically lacking in your life.
What are they? Look at them. Look at them. Number one. Distinguishing mark number one is this: all of Christ's sheep—true sheep—all of Christ's sheep are marked, they are characterized by a prevailing disposition and practice of hearing the voice of Christ. They are characterized by a prevailing disposition and practice of hearing the voice of Christ. And I said, “a prevailing, a prevailing disposition” because our Lord speaks in the present tense verb, which can well be translated, "My sheep are continually hearing My voice." Jesus said, the sheep whom I say I know, whom I regard with distinguishing love and affection, saving plan and purpose and power—all of them—they have as their distinguishing characteristic a prevailing disposition and practice of hearing the voice of Christ, the Shepherd. Now, will you please note, I did not say a perfect disposition and practice, but a prevailing disposition and practice. It is the overarching pattern of who and what they are and do.
Now, what is this "hearing My voice"? What does He mean, "hearing My voice"? What does that mean? Well, I want to start with a negative—what this does not mean—just to clear the debris and the confusion. Number one: it does not mean that the sheep hear an audible voice of Christ, as those did in the days of His flesh. It doesn’t mean that at all. That’s not the biblical teaching. For there were many, by the way, who heard His voice in the days of His flesh who were not hearing His voice in this biblical sense. Right? So it doesn’t mean to hear the voice of Christ as in the days of His flesh.
Nor, to hear His voice as John did on the island of Patmos. You remember in Revelation 1, John said, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice” “like the sound of many water”. “I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me.” And then he has this vision of the glorified, exalted, resurrected Christ. No, no. It is not to hear the voice of Christ as John heard it. Or as Saul of Tarsus heard it on the road to Damascus, when there was a brightness above the brightness of the noonday sun, and out of that Shekinah glory of God came a voice: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he responds to that voice.
Nor does it mean—and hear me carefully now, beloved—to hear the voice of Christ in some mystical, subjective, mental impression. I often hear people—and you probably can identify with this— say something like this: "The Lord said to me this” and “the Lord told me.” What do you mean you had the Lord speak to you? What they really mean is that they had some subjective mental impression that they interpreted as the voice of Christ? No.
The voice of Christ, simply and fundamentally, is Christ speaking through His Word. Here. So when He says, "My sheep hear My voice," He's speaking of His voice as it is found in the gospel records. The voice of Christ is not only to be found in those gospel records, however, but when we pick up the apostolic writings or the apostolically approved writing.
Paul could say in 1 Corinthians 14—he could say, "The things that I write unto you are"—what?—"the commandments of the Lord." In other words, when you pick up Ephesians, Galatians, Timothy, and Jude, that's the voice of Christ speaking. And furthermore, all of the Old Testament is the voice of Christ. Peter could say–1 Peter 1, verse 11–“It was the Spirit of Christ in the Old Testament prophets that gave us those precious words that we now call our Old Testament.”
So, when Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice," the voice of Christ is bounded by the Scriptures—Genesis to Revelation. But what does it mean to really hear the voice of Christ? What does it mean? What does it mean?
Well, it doesn't mean to simply let your eyes glance over words on the pages of Scripture. It doesn't mean to simply thread the words of Scripture through your eyeballs. You know, they get through your eyeballs, and by the optic nerve, a signal is sent to the brain, and you could say, "Oh well, that was read publicly from the pulpit: 'My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, they follow Me. I give eternal life to them.'" Threading words through the eyes is not hearing the voice of Christ.
Nor is it simply to be able to say, I was in morning service sitting, or I was in family worship with my own family, sitting with my mom and dad. And as dad read from the Scriptures, sounds came out from his larynx and teeth and tongue, and airwaves were sent to the outer vestibule of the ear. And then they were registered on my eardrum. And then you have this: the inner mechanism sent vibrations into the cochlea, and the cochlea, with its little hair, sent vibrations into the eighth cranial nerve. And the eighth cranial nerve registered in my brain. Well, dad read from John chapter 3. That's not hearing the voice of Christ.
Nor is it hearing the voice of Christ to have earlier, Elder Philip read from Ezekiel. That's not hearing the voice of Christ. And even to pay careful attention to what is read—that's not hearing the voice of Christ in terms of what Jesus says here, particularly in John 10. Or to be very attentive as I'm preaching and trying to open up the Scriptures and let the Scripture interpret Scripture—that's not hearing the voice of Christ either, in this sense.
Well, what then is it to hear the voice of Christ? Beloved, to hear the voice of Christ begins with an eager heart disposition to know and to retain the content of our Bibles. To hear the voice of Christ begins with an eager heart disposition—an eager heart disposition to know and to retain the content of our Bibles. It is to say with David, "I opened my mouth wide and I panted, for I longed for Your commandments" (Psalm 119:131).
Or to put it in the language of Jeremiah 15 and verse 16: "Your words were found”--and I set them aside? No. "I ate them." I just ate them. Couldn't help it. I had to eat them. "Your words were found, and I did not merely taste them, but I ate them." I masticated them with the teeth of my mind and with the saliva of intense desire to know the word of Christ. I ate them. And what was the outcome? "And Your words became for me"—what?—"joy and gladness in my heart."
To hear the voice of Christ is to eagerly and increasingly desire acquaintance with the content of Scripture. But it goes beyond that. It means that there is a commitment of heart, by the power of the Spirit, to believe and to obey all that the Scriptures say to us. It means that there is a commitment of heart, by the power of the Spirit—the enablement of the Spirit—to believe and to obey all that the Scriptures say to us.
Remember, again and again, in His earthly ministry Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Seven times, you remember, in those seven letters to the seven churches, which we were expounded years ago—some years ago, some time ago—every one of them closes with these words: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Our Lord, who spoke those words, knew that among the churches were many who would hear the messenger, the elders stand and read the letters, but they did not have ears to hear. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." In other words, let him receive the words of Christ with eagerness to know them, to understand them, to respond to them in faith and obedience.
Jesus said this class of people, whom I unashamedly say I know them—this class of people to whom I give this promise, the promise of eternal life—what is their first distinguishing characteristic? The first distinguishing characteristic is that they have a pattern of a disposition to hear the words of Christ.
Now I want to ask you this morning: is that a description of you? Is that a description of you? With all due allowance that we all go through periods of dullness, and backsliding of heart, and carelessness—our hearts are prone to wander. With all due allowance to all of this, I want to ask: is that the prevailing disposition and activity of your life? Do you hear the words of Christ?
How about this past week? Just this past week—have you been hearing the words of Christ? Eagerness. Eagerness. Eagerness that pushed you beyond the daily news and the sports page to find out who won and who lost and what the stats were, pushed you beyond turning to see how your stocks are doing, pushed you beyond the smartphone, where you wanted to see if there is anything posted of likes and dislikes on your Instagram page.
What real hearing of the words of Christ marked you this past week? Can angels bear witness that they have seen you subdue all of those influences that claw for our time and our attention and our mental energy and focus? And you pushed through all of that, and you got alone with your Bible, and you said, "Lord Jesus, speak to me. I want to hear Your voice." Get honest before God. What can bear witness that this past week, that was you—somebody hearing the voice of Christ?
And then when you found a command, saying "Oh Lord Jesus, I love You." And when You said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." But, "Lord Jesus, this commandment is impossible for me. I am weak and I am wrestling." But, "Lord Jesus, You said, without Me you can do nothing. But, you said as the Apostle declared, 'I can do all things through Christ.' Lord, it's not optional. I must obey the command. Lord, help me.”
When You said, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away and also its lust, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.” O Lord Jesus, this is not optional.
I must not allow the world to dictate to me what I will and will not pull off the clothes rack when I go shopping today. Lord Jesus, Your word is clear. I must not let the world dictate what is modest and what is immodest. I must not let the world dictate what I should listen to and what I shouldn't listen to. I must not allow the world to dictate who and what shall influence my soul. And so I ask you, beloved, as I had to wrestle with this myself: am I echoing words that find any resonance in your experience from last Monday to this Lord's Day morning?
What about the previous week? The previous month? The Bible is our standard to regulate our lives. Listen—either let's take our Bibles and chuck them or say, ‘when Jesus said, "My sheep are hearing My voice," either that's you or you're not one of His sheep.’ That's a distinguishing, infallible mark of one of the sheep whom He knows and to whom He gives eternal life.
Now Jesus said there's a second infallible distinguishing mark of His sheep. Look at it. Look at it with me. Verse 27: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Literally, they are following Me. They are following Me. The second discernible distinguishing trait of each and every one of His sheep is this: all of Christ's sheep are characterized by a prevailing disposition and practice of following the person and word of Christ. A prevailing disposition and practice—not a perfect one–for John says in his epistle, remember, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us"--1 John 1. But this is a prevailing disposition and practice. This is the pattern, the direction. Not perfection—direction, right? This is a prevailing disposition and practice, for Jesus said, "My sheep not only are hearing My voice, but"—another present tense verb—"they are following Me."
Now, what does that mean, "they are following Me"? Well, the word used here for "following" is that word—the Greek word ‘akolouthó’—standard word for what's involved in discipleship, ‘ akolouthó’. Remember back in Matthew 16 and verse 24, Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross." And what? Same word—‘akolouthó’—"follow Me." Mark 8, similar words. Chapter 9 of Luke, verse 23—standard word of what happens when someone commits himself to a rabbi, to a teacher, to be that teacher's disciple. He would be said to follow the rabbi and follow the master—‘akolouthó’. He would be one who follows him.
And what did that following involve? Well, it involved a radical commitment to three things. A radical commitment to three things. Number one, to follow the rabbi or the master meant you're embracing the rabbi's word to regulate all of your thinking. You're embracing the rabbi's words to regulate all of your thinking. You are convinced that the rabbi, the teacher, is the learned one. And He has gone before and wrestled with the issues of life and how one is to view every single aspect of life. And when you commit yourself to follow the teacher, the rabbi, it is a radical commitment to allow your mind to be battered in demolishing thoughts that are contrary to the thoughts of the rabbi, the master, the teacher. To undergo the trauma of having your thinking on many issues totally restructured. And to say to yourself again and again, "My thinking has been off the wall." That's what it meant to follow the rabbi, the teacher.
But it meant not only that you were committed to have the teacher's word regulate your thought, but in the second place, also it meant the teacher's word will shape your conduct. The teacher's word will shape your conduct. If you are a true disciple, a true disciple of a rabbi, teacher, people would expect that the rabbi's directives were finding expression in your sandal leather. That you would let the rabbi's word not only regulate your thinking, but also shape your conduct.
And thirdly, you would commit yourself to imitate the rabbi. You remember Jesus said in Matthew 10:25, "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher," right? Not just to think, not just embrace the teacher's teaching, but He says, "It is enough that the disciple become, that he become as his teacher, the slave as his master."
And so when Jesus said, "I have a people called My sheep, and this is the distinguishing mark of My sheep—they follow Me," what He is saying is, all of My sheep, all of them, every single one of them, are committed—radically committed—to have the totality of their thinking regulated by My word. To have the totality of their life and conduct shaped by My word, and to have My person as their example to imitate and to follow by My grace.
Beloved, listen carefully. This is Discipleship 101. This is not a discipleship master's degree program or doctor's program. What's the Great Commission? Turn with me there for a moment. What's the Great Commission in Matthew? Matthew 28—you know about it very well, I trust. I trust. "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth”--verse 18. "Go therefore,"--verse 19–"and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them"—not all the nations, but those from among the nations who profess to commit themselves to Christ as disciples through the preaching of the gospel with the great themes of sin and grace and repentance and faith. People will be brought to discipleship. They will then manifest it in the divine ordinance of baptism. So they get baptized. They believe and they be baptized. "Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Now what's the next part? Verse 20: “teaching them”--what?--“to keep all”, “to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Now, I didn't write these words. Jesus spoke them. Matthew wrote them under inspiration.
The assumption is this: that when someone has been made a disciple, the Spirit of God has so worked in them that they have a disposition, a prevailing disposition of desire to both know and to comply with whatsoever Christ has commanded. Jesus did not say, “make disciples, baptizing them and then trying to persuade them that they ought to eventually at some point take seriously everything Christ has said about every aspect of life and begin to obey it.” That's not what He said. But He said, “teaching them”--that is, all who are His disciples–”teaching them to keep all that I commanded you.”
And Jesus assumes that if they're real disciples, they are real sheep. They hear His voice and they do what? They follow Him. They follow Him. They're ready. They're ready to have their thinking disrupted, where necessary, shattered and dismantled to be aligned with Christ's will revealed in His Word. In the language of Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, they are ready to have every single structure that rises up in opposition to Christ demolished, destroyed, and have every single thought brought captive to the obedience of Christ.
And, so, when Christ talks about money and things and possessions, they don't blow it off. When Jesus says, "Don’t lay up treasure on earth," they say, "Lord Jesus, I've got to take that seriously. What does it mean with my view of money and things and laying up for this and laying up for that? What do You mean, Lord? I'm here, I'm ready, I'm willing to align my mind and my life with what You say. Lord, help me see, help me understand."
What did Jesus mean when He said, "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things"? Lord Jesus, I'm here, I'm ready to obey.
What did Jesus mean when He said, "If your right eye makes you stumble"? in Matthew 5:29– that is, if I'm led into sin by the peculiar temptation that comes through the eye gate. Then He used the radical language. He said, "tear it out," and then don't hold it with the view that you'd pop it back in again. No, no. He said, "throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." And, "if your right hand makes you stumble,"--if there's something I touch and reach for that causes me to sin, far better to cut off my hand and throw it away.
Those are the words of Jesus, dear ones. What does that mean? It doesn't mean that you're to engage in literal physical mutilation. Because if the eye is being given to covetousness or to lust, you've still got another one, right? The Lord is using a graphic figure of speech. What He's saying is, “spare no pain.” Spare no pain. Spare no pain to get rid of that which causes you to sin. And by the grace of God and the help of the Spirit, deal with it rapidly, deal with it ruthlessly, deal with it decisively. That's what it means.
Do you take the words of Jesus seriously? "My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me." My Word regulates their thinking about the danger of sin, about money and possession and life, etc. My Word regulates their thinking and their actions in male and female relationships. They don't allow the world to dictate. Christ will shape my thinking. Christ will shape my actions. Christ, His Word, will shape every facet of my life insofar as I come to understand His Word, rightly divided.
And therefore, when I come to the reading of the Scriptures, it's with that attitude: “Oh Lord Jesus, speak. And whatever You say, no matter what present thought patterns it means have to be renewed—speak to me.” To “be transformed by the renewing of your mind," Paul says, "so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect." It covers everything. I go to the Word. I hear. I follow.
Whom shall I seek for a life partner? How should I conduct myself in my singleness, in my marriage, in my relationships, in my workplace, etc.,? Lord Jesus, speak out of Your Word. And whatever You say, by Your grace, I will let it mold my thought and shape my action. And then, Lord Jesus, I take You as my pattern. When we take the Lord Jesus as our pattern, "the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked"--1 John 2:6. I challenge you, child of God, as I challenge my own heart. Look at your Savior as He was applying Himself diligently for the work to which His Father was calling Him. Remember how He did that in His life?
This is what it means: "My sheep hear My voice, and they are following Me." My Word shapes their thinking. My Word molds their conduct. And My Person is their model. And do you notice in both of these things the interpersonal element? Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me." There is attachment of person to person.
And my fear—my fear is for some who may be here this morning who have had the truth of God from your birth. You grew up in a Christian home. Do you know anything about attachment to the person of Jesus? Yes, you have the ethical standards. You grew up in a Christian home. You went to a Christian school. You attend the church every single Sunday. You perhaps even come Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You have all of the ethical standards. You've been shaped by them. You know the doctrinal framework. And you have the decent life as far as everyone looks on the outside. But where is Jesus in all of this?
Where is the passion for Him? Can you really say, "For to me, to live is"—what? Maintaining my cultural religion with good, sound Reformed doctrine standards? Doctrines of grace? No, no. "For to me, to live is Christ." To me, to live is Christ. Life means Christ to me. Knowing Him, pleasing Him, absorbing His Word, being shaped and molded by His Word. And let my life be regulated by that Word.” "I give unto them"—My sheep, those who hear My voice, those who follow Me—"I give unto them eternal life."
And so, in closing—I must close—let me make just a couple of words of, I hope, I hope, I pray, helpful application. You may ask the question: Does hearing and following make me His sheep? Does hearing and following make me His sheep? And let me tell you quickly and absolutely: no. No. Hearing and following do not constitute me one of His sheep. Hearing and following manifest the fact that I am one of His sheep.
If you're one of His sheep, your identity as sheep is rooted in God's free loving choice of you in eternity past. Jesus said in this very chapter, verse 16, "I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also." “The Father gave them to Me.” Remember John 17:2, “to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life." We are constituted part of that vast flock in eternity by the free, sovereign, electing grace of God. Our privileges as sheep are procured by the sacrificial death of the Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep"--verse 11 of chapter 10 of John. Again in verses 15, 16, and 17.
So no, we are not made sheep by our hearing, by our following. No, our identity was settled in eternity past. All the blessings of being part of His sheep were procured by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. And our possession of the characteristics of sheep are imparted in the effectual call of Christ. "I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice," verse 16, "and they will become one flock with one shepherd." They shall hear, they shall become.
When we've truly heard the voice of Christ effectually calling us through the gospel, we become. We become new creatures in Christ. We become such who are given the disposition of sheep who hear His voice and who follow Him. And, therefore, these words of our Lord should, for some of you here in this place, bring tremendous consolation, comfort, and assurance. You struggle with the question, "Am I really a Christian?" Maybe that's you this morning. "Do I have something more than what my mom and dad gave me? What the elders have given me? What my Sunday school teacher has given me? Am I real? I don’t know. I struggle. I mean, I believe these things. I've known these, but am I really real? Am I real?”
Well, ask yourself. If that's you, ask yourself this: Is the prevailing disposition of my life, is it one of hearing the voice of Christ and following Him? Simple question. If so, then stop your doubting. Stop your doubting. You're one of His sheep. You wouldn't be that way if His voice hadn't arrested you and called you and drew you in, and you need to go out of here, out of this place, absolutely elated and shouting this morning, "I'm one of His sheep! I'm one of His sheep! I can't believe this! I'm one of His sheep! He's my Shepherd! He knows me!"
If somebody asks you, "How do you know?" you simply tell them, "I hear His voice, I follow Him." That's it. And I don't know when I actually became His sheep in my own experience, and I can't sort it all out. I made so many false starts that I stopped counting them, but I know sitting here this morning, I'm one of His sheep because I have a prevailing disposition to hear His voice and follow Him. Be assured that only God could make you such a person.
But for some of you, perhaps, well, you ought to be greatly disturbed this morning. Greatly disturbed. Because you've reached a comfort zone where you've got a handle on the basic doctrines of the Christian faith, even the unique perspectives of the Reformed faith. You can recite them. And even your external life is relatively decent. Orderly. But if you're honest, if you're honest, you have to say when I press the question: Do you have a hunger to know the Word of God because it is the Word of Christ? And with that hunger, do you have a disposition that seeks to bend before the commands of Christ and embrace in faith the promises?
And do you follow Him, a person? Is it your heart's commitment, the pattern of your life, to have His words regulate your thoughts, mold and shape your conduct? And is Christ Himself the pattern after whom you seek to be patterned? I'm afraid to hear the answer.
Turn with me to Matthew chapter 25 as we close. There's a day coming when nothing will matter but this question: Am I one of His sheep? Here in the judgment of the nations—really a picture of what will happen on the day of judgment. This is prior to the ushering into the Millennial Kingdom, the judgment of the nations. But listen to what He says here in verse 31: "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left." The One who knows with divine omniscience who are His sheep and who are not will separate based on His infallible knowledge–sheep to the right, goats to the left.
Look at verse 34: "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'" Look at verse 41: "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.'" And upon those two words of Jesus—Come, you blessed. Depart, you accursed. Come, true sheep. Depart, you goats. Verse 46: "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
You may leave this morning and say, "Well, I mean, Habib got worked up once again. My conscience troubles me a little bit, but no need to panic. No need to be too disturbed or get too disturbed." If that's you, God help you to bring you near this day. And my prayer—my prayer was this morning—"Lord, help me to preach with the shadow of this day over my heart and over the pulpit."
A day is coming when He's going to separate—sheep here, goat there; sheep here, goat there; sheep here, goat there. Sheep. Goat. Sheep. Goat. Sheep. Goat. What will you be in that day? What will you be in that day? Will you hear those blessed words: "Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom"? Or will you hear those frightening, most frightening words human ears can hear: "Depart from Me, accursed ones"? Oh, seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.
Let's pray.
Verse 7, "So Jesus said to them [again], 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.'" Verse 9 again, "I am the door." So here's an analogy in which Christ likens Himself to the entrance into a sheepfold, and here is the emphasis. The emphasis is upon Him, His being the Shepherd, who Himself serves as the door of the sheepfold. You remember in our studies, He would, the shepherd that is, would literally put His body down in front of the opening, and He would be the door into the sheepfold. In other words, what Jesus is communicating is that if anyone is ever to be found in that sheepfold of lost humanity, rescued and redeemed and saved by the grace and the power of Christ, they must come through Jesus Christ and through Christ alone.
He makes that explicit in verse 9, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." And then again, you remember in verse 11 and verse 14, He claims to be the good shepherd of His sheep. Verse 11, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." Verse 14, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me." And we looked at that extensively.
And we, as the under shepherds, by way of application, are to imitate the chief shepherd. There are so many hired hands around us, but true under shepherds, they imitate the chief Shepherd. I was reminded this week of something that Spurgeon said concerning this. He said, "A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats.” How true that is.
So here, in this chapter, this personal claim with respect to this analogy, Christ says, "I am the true shepherd who is the door of the sheepfold, and I am the good shepherd. I am the shepherd, the good one." And then as you see this chapter unfold, you have this astounding, this startling claim in verse 30, "I and the Father are one."
Now, the Jews understood clearly that this claim was nothing short, nothing less than being a partaker in the very stuff of deity, for we read on in the following verse. Verse 31, "The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, 'I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?' The Jews answered Him, 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself God.'"
And, so, in this chapter here, we have our Lord Jesus setting Himself forward in this analogy—the analogy, "I am the true shepherd who is the door of the sheepfold," "I am the good shepherd"—and then you have this startling claim, "I and the Father are one." Now, in the midst of expanding upon this analogy, this metaphor, in which Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd," He speaks the words of our text to which I direct our attention this morning.
Now remember, Jesus now is in the temple during the Feast of the Dedication, commemorating the Jews retaking Jerusalem in 164 BC and rededicating the temple. The Jewish leaders, we’re told in verse 24, encircled Him like sharks, like hyenas, seeking to have something to accuse Him with. Their attitude is antagonistic, and they were accusing Him, "Jesus, stop beating around the bush, tell us who You really are. The reason we're confused is because You haven't given us enough evidence." And we looked at that last Lord's Day, and we began to consider also our Lord's answer to their accusation, where our text this morning is part of His answer.
But as we look at particularly these two verses, I want us to look at them under two simple headings. First of all, note with me what I'm calling, “our Lord's words of consolation and of promise concerning a distinct class of people whom He calls His sheep,”--words of consolation and of promise with respect to a distinct class of people whom He calls His sheep.
Look at the words of consolation and of promise–verse 27, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them," and then go to the following verse, "and I give eternal life to them." Here, our Lord says that, among the natively lost, condemned, fallen, polluted, defiled, hell-deserving sons and daughters of Adam, there is a class of people called “His sheep”, and He tells us here two things about them, two things about them.
He says, number one, "I know them"—a word of consolation—and He says, "I give eternal life to them"—a word of promise, right? Now let's just spend a few minutes parking upon those statements. Jesus says with respect to the special class of people called His sheep that He what?--knows them. He knows them. Now a literal rendering of the Greek text would be this: "I Myself know them." "I Myself know them." You see, it's not the simple statement, "I know them," in which the subject is buried in the verb, but He uses a conjunction in the Greek text, ‘kai egó’, which means, "and I Myself, even I know them."
Now why do I call this a word of consolation? Well, for the simple reason that these words, "I know them," do not mean that He simply has an awareness of who and where and what we are in His divine omniscience. That's not what it means. That's not what He's saying. You remember back in the Gospel of John, chapter 2 earlier, recorded the fact that Jesus—well, let's look at it and see just by way of reminder. Look there just for a moment, verse 23, chapter 2 of John, where John already recorded the fact of His divine omniscience.
Verse 23, "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, when they saw His signs which He was doing." Now watch this: "But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man."
Here, our Lord is given this divine attribute of total omniscience, all-knowingness. The reason Jesus did not entrust Himself to these who said they believed on Him was that He knew their hearts. He knew that this faith, whatever it was, was short of true saving faith that saw Him for what He truly was and entrusted itself to Him without reservation. He knew that. And as then so now, beloved, He is here by His Holy Spirit, and He knows you. He knows me. He knows us–utterly, thoroughly, completely, totally, in and out.
What David could say in Psalm 139 of his Lord is true of our Lord Jesus Christ: "O Yahweh, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar." Before my thoughts are framed in my own brain, let alone before they may be spoken with my tongue and teeth and larynx and diaphragm, God knows my thoughts–utterly, completely, totally, from afar. He knows the thoughts that have accompanied you into this place this morning. He knows the thoughts you're thinking right now as I seek to open up the Word of God. He knows whether you're thinking in your mind, “Ah, more of this stuff. I haven't recovered from the loss yesterday. I mean, more of the stuff. I've had enough of it. I can't wait till all restraints are removed and I no longer have to be dragged to a place like this and listen to more of this stuff.” If that's what you're thinking, He knows that thought–utterly, completely, totally.
So when He says, "I know My sheep," He's not referring to this knowledge of His inherent omniscience as God–very God of very God–but it is a knowing of a special, distinguishing love and affection, issuing into a saving purpose, saving provision, saving power that results in a blessed relationship. Notice verse 14 of John 10 in the shepherd-sheep imagery. Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father." I mean, you read this and it's just mind-blowing. Who can begin to conceive of that intimate, personal relationship of love and delight and affection that exists between the Father and the Son?
Really? Listen, beloved, only Deity can encompass Deity in thought as well as in power. We have no clue. We're like a little kid trying to scoop up the ocean with a little symbol. And Jesus said that He fully knows the Father and the Father fully knows Him. And it is in that sense that He says these blessed words of consolation: that among the fallen, wretched, hell-deserving sons of men, there is a people whom Christ looks upon and He says with delight, with joy and delight, "I know them. I know them. I regard them with special, distinguishing love and affection–a love and affection that frame a purpose of salvation, a love and affection that not only frames a purpose of salvation, but that actually procures, secures, obtains that salvation.”
And He says that that shepherd who knows His sheep and His sheep know Him, He lays down His life for them—the ones whom He knows He so loved that He lays down His life to the horrific torture and shame of the cross, with all of the billows of the wrath of God upon Him. And then, because there was a saving purpose growing out of that knowing and saving procurement, there's a saving power issuing an actual relationship between the good shepherd and all of these whom He calls His sheep.
Now, to be outside of the knowledge—this knowledge of Christ—is to be outside the sphere of His saving grace and mercy. If Christ cannot say to you and to me, "I know him," in this sense, “I regard him with distinguishing love and affection, with saving purpose and procurement and saving power issuing into this intimate fellowship and relationship,” if you're not in the orbit of that knowledge of Christ, then you are outside of the sphere of salvation now. And, if you remain in that condition, it will be your portion forever and ever and ever.
You may be one who's thinking, wait a minute, that's strong language. But it does not exceed the warrant of Matthew chapter 7 and verse 23, does it? Does it? Listen to the words of our Lord. To some who professed great acquaintance with Christ—they professed faith in Christ. On that day, they say, verse 22, "’Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them”--now watch these words—"I never"--what?--"knew you”--”knew you.”
Oh yes, He knows all about them, but He never knew them in the manner of knowing in our text, John 10:27–28: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them." Now He says to the many, "I never knew you," back in Matthew 7. You see, beloved, the question this morning is not, do you know the Lord? The question is, does the Lord know you? Does He know you?
He could say of a special class of people called sheep, "I know them. I know them,"--wonderful words of consolation. But then He gives this wonderful word of promise. He gives to this class of people called ‘His sheep’ eternal life. That's what the text says, doesn't it? Look at it: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them," verse 28, "and I give eternal life to them."
You see, we read these words, and we become so familiar with them. We glance over them. What is this eternal life that He gives to this special class of people whom He knows, whom He calls His sheep? What is it? Well, again, it does not mean simply eternal existence. It doesn't. That comes with the awesome reality of being made a human being. Right?
Have you ever thought, “what an awesome, what an awesome”–let me say this–what an awesome, in the truest sense of the word, not in its present cheapened sense, when burgers and rides at Wonderland are awesome. Awesome means that which legitimately creates awe, wonder, something that is majestic and beyond our conception. Think of what it means to be conceived as a human, being in the image of God—not a dog or a cat, a lion, a robin or an eagle. From that moment of conception, eternity is stamped upon the substance of your being. Everlasting existence is the part and parcel of being a human being.
So when our Lord says, "I give eternal life to them," He is not speaking of merely giving eternal existence. But rather, it is the reversal of everything that was introduced by death—the Fall. You remember God said to Adam back in Genesis 2, in verse 17, "...from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Literally, “dying, you will die.” That's exactly what happened when he sinned, and sin entered. Separation from the life of God. Separation from communion with God, fellowship with God, intimate fellowship with the Lord. And ultimately, living out life in a cursed world. "Cursed is the ground for your sake."
Eternal life—well, what is it? It is life that reinstitutes us into a heart communion and heart fellowship with the living God Himself. Jesus said in John 17:3, "this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Beloved, eternal life is living in vital, real, intimate communion with Him here and now. And, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to begin to be fashioned into the likeness, the very likeness–the moral image of God as embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And then eventually, as we read in the book of Revelation, to dwell with Him, face to face. And all of the company of His redeemed in the new heavens and the new earth. That's to be ushered into eternal life in its consummate glory. And Jesus says, “there is a people. There is a special class of people whom I not only know, but I give as the free, gracious gift—free, gracious donation of My saving work–I Myself–again, that same word in the original ‘kai egó’—I Myself, not an institution that was established: My church, not gifts that I give to My church:its ministering servants, under shepherds, but I Myself give unto them eternal life. I Myself know them. I Myself give unto them eternal life.
And then, to make sure that we get it, He says in these two negatives—and we'll look at that more next Lord's Day—verse 28, "And they will”--‘ou mé’ in the Greek text, double negative—ou mé’--no, not never–“perish.” "They will never perish–ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." And the word used for snatch, ‘arpázo’, literally means to seize in its negative aspect. To seize with force, to rob, differing from ‘kleptō’—to steal secretly. This is a different word. It means to snatch and suddenly take them away. "They will never perish–ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand."
Think of what it means to have Christ say to you and to me, “I know you”--in this sense, “I know you. And I give you, I give to you eternal life,”--marvelous words of consolation. Marvelous words of promise. Surely, if you've been thinking at all, your thought is this, “Oh God, as I hear this, do I have a right to take that word of consolation and that word of promise to myself today? Is it mine? Is it mine?” Not by a form of spiritual thievery—taking that to which I have no claim—but as the valid expression of reality. Christ saying to me this morning, “I Myself know you. I Myself give to you eternal life. You shall never perish–ever. No one will snatch you out of My hand.”
So here's the question: How can we be certain that the word of consolation and that word of promise is ours? How? By right, not by a form of spiritual thievery, but by the grace of God. That's what I mean by right. We looked at our Lord's words of consolation and promise concerning this distinct class of people called sheep.
Now, secondly, to answer this question–our Lord's words of identification–I want us to note. Our Lord's words of identification concerning this special class of people called sheep. How can I claim these words to be mine? Well, He identifies what constitutes a sheep for us, and I want us to see this very carefully.
So from the word of consolation and promise, we now see, in our Lord's words, the identification of this group of people called sheep. Look at the text. Look at the text, verse 27, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them”--that is My sheep. “But Lord, how can I tell that I'm truly Your sheep? Lord, I read this, but how? I'm sitting here listening to this. How can I tell, Lord, that I'm truly Your sheep and I'm not just a goat with a sign around my neck that says sheep?”
"I'm a sheep. Believe it. Believe it. Believe it. In spite of what you see, in spite of what you smell, believe it. In spite of what you behold, believe I'm a sheep because I've got this sign around my neck. I had it placed on my neck when I was baptized, made public confession, belonging to Christ. Believe it because I remember my baptism. And people sitting here remember my baptism. Surely I must be a sheep." No. It would take more than the sign around our neck pointing to some external ritual by which we publicly identified ourselves as a sheep of Christ.
The text here says there are two discernible, distinguishing–and I will add–infallible characteristics of all of Christ's sheep–and I will add–without exception. Let me say that again. There are two discernible, distinguishing, infallible characteristics of all of Christ's sheep, without exception. Look at the text with me. Verse 27, "My sheep”--My sheep. Did you notice what He did not say? He didn't say some of My sheep. He didn't say a few of My sheep. He didn't say the majority of My sheep. What did He say? "My sheep." All of them. "My sheep." Every single one of them. Every single one of My sheep. Every single one that I own as My sheep, whom I know, and to whom I give eternal life.
Our Lord said these two things are true of every single one of them. And I pray to God that the Word will come with inescapable grip and power, because there may be some sitting here this morning who say that you're His sheep, but these discernible, distinguishing, infallible marks of His sheep are pathetically lacking in your life.
What are they? Look at them. Look at them. Number one. Distinguishing mark number one is this: all of Christ's sheep—true sheep—all of Christ's sheep are marked, they are characterized by a prevailing disposition and practice of hearing the voice of Christ. They are characterized by a prevailing disposition and practice of hearing the voice of Christ. And I said, “a prevailing, a prevailing disposition” because our Lord speaks in the present tense verb, which can well be translated, "My sheep are continually hearing My voice." Jesus said, the sheep whom I say I know, whom I regard with distinguishing love and affection, saving plan and purpose and power—all of them—they have as their distinguishing characteristic a prevailing disposition and practice of hearing the voice of Christ, the Shepherd. Now, will you please note, I did not say a perfect disposition and practice, but a prevailing disposition and practice. It is the overarching pattern of who and what they are and do.
Now, what is this "hearing My voice"? What does He mean, "hearing My voice"? What does that mean? Well, I want to start with a negative—what this does not mean—just to clear the debris and the confusion. Number one: it does not mean that the sheep hear an audible voice of Christ, as those did in the days of His flesh. It doesn’t mean that at all. That’s not the biblical teaching. For there were many, by the way, who heard His voice in the days of His flesh who were not hearing His voice in this biblical sense. Right? So it doesn’t mean to hear the voice of Christ as in the days of His flesh.
Nor, to hear His voice as John did on the island of Patmos. You remember in Revelation 1, John said, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice” “like the sound of many water”. “I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me.” And then he has this vision of the glorified, exalted, resurrected Christ. No, no. It is not to hear the voice of Christ as John heard it. Or as Saul of Tarsus heard it on the road to Damascus, when there was a brightness above the brightness of the noonday sun, and out of that Shekinah glory of God came a voice: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he responds to that voice.
Nor does it mean—and hear me carefully now, beloved—to hear the voice of Christ in some mystical, subjective, mental impression. I often hear people—and you probably can identify with this— say something like this: "The Lord said to me this” and “the Lord told me.” What do you mean you had the Lord speak to you? What they really mean is that they had some subjective mental impression that they interpreted as the voice of Christ? No.
The voice of Christ, simply and fundamentally, is Christ speaking through His Word. Here. So when He says, "My sheep hear My voice," He's speaking of His voice as it is found in the gospel records. The voice of Christ is not only to be found in those gospel records, however, but when we pick up the apostolic writings or the apostolically approved writing.
Paul could say in 1 Corinthians 14—he could say, "The things that I write unto you are"—what?—"the commandments of the Lord." In other words, when you pick up Ephesians, Galatians, Timothy, and Jude, that's the voice of Christ speaking. And furthermore, all of the Old Testament is the voice of Christ. Peter could say–1 Peter 1, verse 11–“It was the Spirit of Christ in the Old Testament prophets that gave us those precious words that we now call our Old Testament.”
So, when Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice," the voice of Christ is bounded by the Scriptures—Genesis to Revelation. But what does it mean to really hear the voice of Christ? What does it mean? What does it mean?
Well, it doesn't mean to simply let your eyes glance over words on the pages of Scripture. It doesn't mean to simply thread the words of Scripture through your eyeballs. You know, they get through your eyeballs, and by the optic nerve, a signal is sent to the brain, and you could say, "Oh well, that was read publicly from the pulpit: 'My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, they follow Me. I give eternal life to them.'" Threading words through the eyes is not hearing the voice of Christ.
Nor is it simply to be able to say, I was in morning service sitting, or I was in family worship with my own family, sitting with my mom and dad. And as dad read from the Scriptures, sounds came out from his larynx and teeth and tongue, and airwaves were sent to the outer vestibule of the ear. And then they were registered on my eardrum. And then you have this: the inner mechanism sent vibrations into the cochlea, and the cochlea, with its little hair, sent vibrations into the eighth cranial nerve. And the eighth cranial nerve registered in my brain. Well, dad read from John chapter 3. That's not hearing the voice of Christ.
Nor is it hearing the voice of Christ to have earlier, Elder Philip read from Ezekiel. That's not hearing the voice of Christ. And even to pay careful attention to what is read—that's not hearing the voice of Christ in terms of what Jesus says here, particularly in John 10. Or to be very attentive as I'm preaching and trying to open up the Scriptures and let the Scripture interpret Scripture—that's not hearing the voice of Christ either, in this sense.
Well, what then is it to hear the voice of Christ? Beloved, to hear the voice of Christ begins with an eager heart disposition to know and to retain the content of our Bibles. To hear the voice of Christ begins with an eager heart disposition—an eager heart disposition to know and to retain the content of our Bibles. It is to say with David, "I opened my mouth wide and I panted, for I longed for Your commandments" (Psalm 119:131).
Or to put it in the language of Jeremiah 15 and verse 16: "Your words were found”--and I set them aside? No. "I ate them." I just ate them. Couldn't help it. I had to eat them. "Your words were found, and I did not merely taste them, but I ate them." I masticated them with the teeth of my mind and with the saliva of intense desire to know the word of Christ. I ate them. And what was the outcome? "And Your words became for me"—what?—"joy and gladness in my heart."
To hear the voice of Christ is to eagerly and increasingly desire acquaintance with the content of Scripture. But it goes beyond that. It means that there is a commitment of heart, by the power of the Spirit, to believe and to obey all that the Scriptures say to us. It means that there is a commitment of heart, by the power of the Spirit—the enablement of the Spirit—to believe and to obey all that the Scriptures say to us.
Remember, again and again, in His earthly ministry Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Seven times, you remember, in those seven letters to the seven churches, which we were expounded years ago—some years ago, some time ago—every one of them closes with these words: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Our Lord, who spoke those words, knew that among the churches were many who would hear the messenger, the elders stand and read the letters, but they did not have ears to hear. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." In other words, let him receive the words of Christ with eagerness to know them, to understand them, to respond to them in faith and obedience.
Jesus said this class of people, whom I unashamedly say I know them—this class of people to whom I give this promise, the promise of eternal life—what is their first distinguishing characteristic? The first distinguishing characteristic is that they have a pattern of a disposition to hear the words of Christ.
Now I want to ask you this morning: is that a description of you? Is that a description of you? With all due allowance that we all go through periods of dullness, and backsliding of heart, and carelessness—our hearts are prone to wander. With all due allowance to all of this, I want to ask: is that the prevailing disposition and activity of your life? Do you hear the words of Christ?
How about this past week? Just this past week—have you been hearing the words of Christ? Eagerness. Eagerness. Eagerness that pushed you beyond the daily news and the sports page to find out who won and who lost and what the stats were, pushed you beyond turning to see how your stocks are doing, pushed you beyond the smartphone, where you wanted to see if there is anything posted of likes and dislikes on your Instagram page.
What real hearing of the words of Christ marked you this past week? Can angels bear witness that they have seen you subdue all of those influences that claw for our time and our attention and our mental energy and focus? And you pushed through all of that, and you got alone with your Bible, and you said, "Lord Jesus, speak to me. I want to hear Your voice." Get honest before God. What can bear witness that this past week, that was you—somebody hearing the voice of Christ?
And then when you found a command, saying "Oh Lord Jesus, I love You." And when You said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." But, "Lord Jesus, this commandment is impossible for me. I am weak and I am wrestling." But, "Lord Jesus, You said, without Me you can do nothing. But, you said as the Apostle declared, 'I can do all things through Christ.' Lord, it's not optional. I must obey the command. Lord, help me.”
When You said, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away and also its lust, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.” O Lord Jesus, this is not optional.
I must not allow the world to dictate to me what I will and will not pull off the clothes rack when I go shopping today. Lord Jesus, Your word is clear. I must not let the world dictate what is modest and what is immodest. I must not let the world dictate what I should listen to and what I shouldn't listen to. I must not allow the world to dictate who and what shall influence my soul. And so I ask you, beloved, as I had to wrestle with this myself: am I echoing words that find any resonance in your experience from last Monday to this Lord's Day morning?
What about the previous week? The previous month? The Bible is our standard to regulate our lives. Listen—either let's take our Bibles and chuck them or say, ‘when Jesus said, "My sheep are hearing My voice," either that's you or you're not one of His sheep.’ That's a distinguishing, infallible mark of one of the sheep whom He knows and to whom He gives eternal life.
Now Jesus said there's a second infallible distinguishing mark of His sheep. Look at it. Look at it with me. Verse 27: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Literally, they are following Me. They are following Me. The second discernible distinguishing trait of each and every one of His sheep is this: all of Christ's sheep are characterized by a prevailing disposition and practice of following the person and word of Christ. A prevailing disposition and practice—not a perfect one–for John says in his epistle, remember, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us"--1 John 1. But this is a prevailing disposition and practice. This is the pattern, the direction. Not perfection—direction, right? This is a prevailing disposition and practice, for Jesus said, "My sheep not only are hearing My voice, but"—another present tense verb—"they are following Me."
Now, what does that mean, "they are following Me"? Well, the word used here for "following" is that word—the Greek word ‘akolouthó’—standard word for what's involved in discipleship, ‘ akolouthó’. Remember back in Matthew 16 and verse 24, Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross." And what? Same word—‘akolouthó’—"follow Me." Mark 8, similar words. Chapter 9 of Luke, verse 23—standard word of what happens when someone commits himself to a rabbi, to a teacher, to be that teacher's disciple. He would be said to follow the rabbi and follow the master—‘akolouthó’. He would be one who follows him.
And what did that following involve? Well, it involved a radical commitment to three things. A radical commitment to three things. Number one, to follow the rabbi or the master meant you're embracing the rabbi's word to regulate all of your thinking. You're embracing the rabbi's words to regulate all of your thinking. You are convinced that the rabbi, the teacher, is the learned one. And He has gone before and wrestled with the issues of life and how one is to view every single aspect of life. And when you commit yourself to follow the teacher, the rabbi, it is a radical commitment to allow your mind to be battered in demolishing thoughts that are contrary to the thoughts of the rabbi, the master, the teacher. To undergo the trauma of having your thinking on many issues totally restructured. And to say to yourself again and again, "My thinking has been off the wall." That's what it meant to follow the rabbi, the teacher.
But it meant not only that you were committed to have the teacher's word regulate your thought, but in the second place, also it meant the teacher's word will shape your conduct. The teacher's word will shape your conduct. If you are a true disciple, a true disciple of a rabbi, teacher, people would expect that the rabbi's directives were finding expression in your sandal leather. That you would let the rabbi's word not only regulate your thinking, but also shape your conduct.
And thirdly, you would commit yourself to imitate the rabbi. You remember Jesus said in Matthew 10:25, "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher," right? Not just to think, not just embrace the teacher's teaching, but He says, "It is enough that the disciple become, that he become as his teacher, the slave as his master."
And so when Jesus said, "I have a people called My sheep, and this is the distinguishing mark of My sheep—they follow Me," what He is saying is, all of My sheep, all of them, every single one of them, are committed—radically committed—to have the totality of their thinking regulated by My word. To have the totality of their life and conduct shaped by My word, and to have My person as their example to imitate and to follow by My grace.
Beloved, listen carefully. This is Discipleship 101. This is not a discipleship master's degree program or doctor's program. What's the Great Commission? Turn with me there for a moment. What's the Great Commission in Matthew? Matthew 28—you know about it very well, I trust. I trust. "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth”--verse 18. "Go therefore,"--verse 19–"and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them"—not all the nations, but those from among the nations who profess to commit themselves to Christ as disciples through the preaching of the gospel with the great themes of sin and grace and repentance and faith. People will be brought to discipleship. They will then manifest it in the divine ordinance of baptism. So they get baptized. They believe and they be baptized. "Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Now what's the next part? Verse 20: “teaching them”--what?--“to keep all”, “to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Now, I didn't write these words. Jesus spoke them. Matthew wrote them under inspiration.
The assumption is this: that when someone has been made a disciple, the Spirit of God has so worked in them that they have a disposition, a prevailing disposition of desire to both know and to comply with whatsoever Christ has commanded. Jesus did not say, “make disciples, baptizing them and then trying to persuade them that they ought to eventually at some point take seriously everything Christ has said about every aspect of life and begin to obey it.” That's not what He said. But He said, “teaching them”--that is, all who are His disciples–”teaching them to keep all that I commanded you.”
And Jesus assumes that if they're real disciples, they are real sheep. They hear His voice and they do what? They follow Him. They follow Him. They're ready. They're ready to have their thinking disrupted, where necessary, shattered and dismantled to be aligned with Christ's will revealed in His Word. In the language of Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, they are ready to have every single structure that rises up in opposition to Christ demolished, destroyed, and have every single thought brought captive to the obedience of Christ.
And, so, when Christ talks about money and things and possessions, they don't blow it off. When Jesus says, "Don’t lay up treasure on earth," they say, "Lord Jesus, I've got to take that seriously. What does it mean with my view of money and things and laying up for this and laying up for that? What do You mean, Lord? I'm here, I'm ready, I'm willing to align my mind and my life with what You say. Lord, help me see, help me understand."
What did Jesus mean when He said, "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things"? Lord Jesus, I'm here, I'm ready to obey.
What did Jesus mean when He said, "If your right eye makes you stumble"? in Matthew 5:29– that is, if I'm led into sin by the peculiar temptation that comes through the eye gate. Then He used the radical language. He said, "tear it out," and then don't hold it with the view that you'd pop it back in again. No, no. He said, "throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." And, "if your right hand makes you stumble,"--if there's something I touch and reach for that causes me to sin, far better to cut off my hand and throw it away.
Those are the words of Jesus, dear ones. What does that mean? It doesn't mean that you're to engage in literal physical mutilation. Because if the eye is being given to covetousness or to lust, you've still got another one, right? The Lord is using a graphic figure of speech. What He's saying is, “spare no pain.” Spare no pain. Spare no pain to get rid of that which causes you to sin. And by the grace of God and the help of the Spirit, deal with it rapidly, deal with it ruthlessly, deal with it decisively. That's what it means.
Do you take the words of Jesus seriously? "My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me." My Word regulates their thinking about the danger of sin, about money and possession and life, etc. My Word regulates their thinking and their actions in male and female relationships. They don't allow the world to dictate. Christ will shape my thinking. Christ will shape my actions. Christ, His Word, will shape every facet of my life insofar as I come to understand His Word, rightly divided.
And therefore, when I come to the reading of the Scriptures, it's with that attitude: “Oh Lord Jesus, speak. And whatever You say, no matter what present thought patterns it means have to be renewed—speak to me.” To “be transformed by the renewing of your mind," Paul says, "so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect." It covers everything. I go to the Word. I hear. I follow.
Whom shall I seek for a life partner? How should I conduct myself in my singleness, in my marriage, in my relationships, in my workplace, etc.,? Lord Jesus, speak out of Your Word. And whatever You say, by Your grace, I will let it mold my thought and shape my action. And then, Lord Jesus, I take You as my pattern. When we take the Lord Jesus as our pattern, "the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked"--1 John 2:6. I challenge you, child of God, as I challenge my own heart. Look at your Savior as He was applying Himself diligently for the work to which His Father was calling Him. Remember how He did that in His life?
This is what it means: "My sheep hear My voice, and they are following Me." My Word shapes their thinking. My Word molds their conduct. And My Person is their model. And do you notice in both of these things the interpersonal element? Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me." There is attachment of person to person.
And my fear—my fear is for some who may be here this morning who have had the truth of God from your birth. You grew up in a Christian home. Do you know anything about attachment to the person of Jesus? Yes, you have the ethical standards. You grew up in a Christian home. You went to a Christian school. You attend the church every single Sunday. You perhaps even come Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You have all of the ethical standards. You've been shaped by them. You know the doctrinal framework. And you have the decent life as far as everyone looks on the outside. But where is Jesus in all of this?
Where is the passion for Him? Can you really say, "For to me, to live is"—what? Maintaining my cultural religion with good, sound Reformed doctrine standards? Doctrines of grace? No, no. "For to me, to live is Christ." To me, to live is Christ. Life means Christ to me. Knowing Him, pleasing Him, absorbing His Word, being shaped and molded by His Word. And let my life be regulated by that Word.” "I give unto them"—My sheep, those who hear My voice, those who follow Me—"I give unto them eternal life."
And so, in closing—I must close—let me make just a couple of words of, I hope, I hope, I pray, helpful application. You may ask the question: Does hearing and following make me His sheep? Does hearing and following make me His sheep? And let me tell you quickly and absolutely: no. No. Hearing and following do not constitute me one of His sheep. Hearing and following manifest the fact that I am one of His sheep.
If you're one of His sheep, your identity as sheep is rooted in God's free loving choice of you in eternity past. Jesus said in this very chapter, verse 16, "I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also." “The Father gave them to Me.” Remember John 17:2, “to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life." We are constituted part of that vast flock in eternity by the free, sovereign, electing grace of God. Our privileges as sheep are procured by the sacrificial death of the Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep"--verse 11 of chapter 10 of John. Again in verses 15, 16, and 17.
So no, we are not made sheep by our hearing, by our following. No, our identity was settled in eternity past. All the blessings of being part of His sheep were procured by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. And our possession of the characteristics of sheep are imparted in the effectual call of Christ. "I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice," verse 16, "and they will become one flock with one shepherd." They shall hear, they shall become.
When we've truly heard the voice of Christ effectually calling us through the gospel, we become. We become new creatures in Christ. We become such who are given the disposition of sheep who hear His voice and who follow Him. And, therefore, these words of our Lord should, for some of you here in this place, bring tremendous consolation, comfort, and assurance. You struggle with the question, "Am I really a Christian?" Maybe that's you this morning. "Do I have something more than what my mom and dad gave me? What the elders have given me? What my Sunday school teacher has given me? Am I real? I don’t know. I struggle. I mean, I believe these things. I've known these, but am I really real? Am I real?”
Well, ask yourself. If that's you, ask yourself this: Is the prevailing disposition of my life, is it one of hearing the voice of Christ and following Him? Simple question. If so, then stop your doubting. Stop your doubting. You're one of His sheep. You wouldn't be that way if His voice hadn't arrested you and called you and drew you in, and you need to go out of here, out of this place, absolutely elated and shouting this morning, "I'm one of His sheep! I'm one of His sheep! I can't believe this! I'm one of His sheep! He's my Shepherd! He knows me!"
If somebody asks you, "How do you know?" you simply tell them, "I hear His voice, I follow Him." That's it. And I don't know when I actually became His sheep in my own experience, and I can't sort it all out. I made so many false starts that I stopped counting them, but I know sitting here this morning, I'm one of His sheep because I have a prevailing disposition to hear His voice and follow Him. Be assured that only God could make you such a person.
But for some of you, perhaps, well, you ought to be greatly disturbed this morning. Greatly disturbed. Because you've reached a comfort zone where you've got a handle on the basic doctrines of the Christian faith, even the unique perspectives of the Reformed faith. You can recite them. And even your external life is relatively decent. Orderly. But if you're honest, if you're honest, you have to say when I press the question: Do you have a hunger to know the Word of God because it is the Word of Christ? And with that hunger, do you have a disposition that seeks to bend before the commands of Christ and embrace in faith the promises?
And do you follow Him, a person? Is it your heart's commitment, the pattern of your life, to have His words regulate your thoughts, mold and shape your conduct? And is Christ Himself the pattern after whom you seek to be patterned? I'm afraid to hear the answer.
Turn with me to Matthew chapter 25 as we close. There's a day coming when nothing will matter but this question: Am I one of His sheep? Here in the judgment of the nations—really a picture of what will happen on the day of judgment. This is prior to the ushering into the Millennial Kingdom, the judgment of the nations. But listen to what He says here in verse 31: "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left." The One who knows with divine omniscience who are His sheep and who are not will separate based on His infallible knowledge–sheep to the right, goats to the left.
Look at verse 34: "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'" Look at verse 41: "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.'" And upon those two words of Jesus—Come, you blessed. Depart, you accursed. Come, true sheep. Depart, you goats. Verse 46: "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
You may leave this morning and say, "Well, I mean, Habib got worked up once again. My conscience troubles me a little bit, but no need to panic. No need to be too disturbed or get too disturbed." If that's you, God help you to bring you near this day. And my prayer—my prayer was this morning—"Lord, help me to preach with the shadow of this day over my heart and over the pulpit."
A day is coming when He's going to separate—sheep here, goat there; sheep here, goat there; sheep here, goat there. Sheep. Goat. Sheep. Goat. Sheep. Goat. What will you be in that day? What will you be in that day? Will you hear those blessed words: "Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom"? Or will you hear those frightening, most frightening words human ears can hear: "Depart from Me, accursed ones"? Oh, seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.
Let's pray.
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