This is John Musgrave. Thanks for clicking on the podcast. If you like this content or like this episode, please click the like button or even subscribe. Thanks very much. John chapter 10, beginning in verse 27, this is God's word, eternally true. My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of my father's hand. I and the father are one. Again, the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, I have shown you many great miracles from the father. For which of these do you stone me? We are not stoning you for any of these replied to Jews. But for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God. Jesus answered them, is it not written in the law? I've said your gods. If he called them gods to whom the word of God came and scripture cannot be broken, what about the one whom the father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy? Because I said I am God's son. Do not believe me unless I do what my father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles that you may know and understand that the father is in me and I in the father. Again, they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed, and many people came to him. They said, though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true. And in that place, many believed in Jesus. Herein's our reading. There's a response of thankfulness is printed for you in your worship guide and up here, the word of the Lord. Thanks indeed. Let's pray. I've, Larissa, my oldest daughter gave me a book a number of years ago about physical endurance and exercise and training and all that kind of thing. It's wonderful book about just how the human body works and how it responds and what they've discovered, all kinds of things that are very interesting. But one of the things that they were amazed at for years and years is why more people do not die running marathons. It's 26.2 miles. Often it's a little too warm. They say optimal temperature for running marathons by 48 degrees. That sounds cold, doesn't it? But after running for a while, then what that enables you to do is to run without expanding any of your body energy on cooling itself down. Which is an interesting thing in that. But one of the reasons they found out that people don't die is that our bodies, lo and behold, isn't God wonderful, have what they call an internal regulator in our mind. Our bodies know what they can take. And so when someone is exhausting themselves, the body begins to even shut down non-essential organs. But it will save the lungs and the heart and the brain. And the blood will go there and because that's the center core, the other organs can survive for a little time. But that even when somebody's getting to the point of where they would run onto their death, their legs can't move forward anymore. And they just have to stop and they feel like lead. You know that feeling, right? You've had to run somewhere, you're behind. But that's why. But then they also ask the question, why is it then that people who have run 26 miles can sprint the last point one? You know, in the 26 point one miles, maybe they seat and it's because you see the finish line. And that internal regulator that God has put in our heads to say what my body can handle. Right? This is not a trained response. This is not something that would happen by evolution. Because who's running 26 point two miles? That would then get, you know, everyone would die except those that run at the right speed, right? But this is something that God has put it in our minds. In our minds see, okay, I can sprint. I can go anaerobic later, just, you know, muscle, muscle energy. I can use muscle energy for this much longer and be okay. And that same sprint couldn't be done by a person physically at the 20, at, at mile 20. But when the finish line is there, it can be done. And they're like, why is it? Well, that's, well, that's why. It helps us to see the finish line. And that's part of what Jesus is getting at here in this passage that when we see where we're going that helps us in this life. And this life is tough. Scripture is very clear about this. Yeah, Jesus says in the world in chapter 16, verse 33 coming up here, you're in the world, you'll have troubles. You will have troubles. Jesus says, but take courage. I've overcome the world. He's not saying I've overcome the world so you won't have troubles. He says, you will have troubles, but I've overcome the world. It'll sort itself out. Or Paul, he says at the end of his life and second Timothy, which was his last book, and he says, indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Or Jesus had said the same kind of thing in, in Matthew 5, blessed are you when you're persecuted. And men say all kinds of evil against you because of me. And so life is hard. It's hard because we believe in Jesus. It's hard because of physical things. Those of you who are getting older like me, you know, you just have all kinds of things that you could be praying for for my health that I don't even mention. There are too many. I'm really doing well, but there are just things that happen. And even when you're younger, I went off to college to play college soccer and third game got injured basically for the rest of the season. Life's hard. NFL guys have done all this work and they get injured in the preseason out for the season. All that worked down the drain. Life is hard. So how does seeing what's ahead of us help? Jesus talks about that here. If you like to fill up Langston and that line, we are going ahead with that and if that helps you follow along and learn or just see where we're going. Great. If you want to just listen, that's fine too. But God says to you here that you and all those who have followed Jesus, that is Christians, you have certain, certain and unchanging eternal life. You have certain and unchanging eternal life. Jesus is very clear about this. This is not a vague doctrine or teaching of scripture that your eternal life is certain if you've come to believe in Jesus, if you've come to Him. So look at verse 27 and how clear Jesus is on this. So you'll be very clear as well. Verse 27, Jesus says, my sheep, listen to my voice. We talked about that last week. The father selected you to be one of Jesus' sheep. And so at some point in your life, the reason you believe the gospel was because the father then enabled you to hear your shepherd's voice because the father said, you know, this is this is one of the sheep I've given to Jesus. And so I'm going to enable him to hear Jesus' voice so he can walk out of the kingdom of the world and become part of the kingdom of the son I love, the kingdom of Jesus, the sheep shepherd. But he says, verse 27, my sheep, listen to my voice. I know them. Jesus says, I always fill up your elf in that. Plug him out, Santa. I know him. I know them and they follow me. That's what you've done. That's why you're here. You follow Jesus. You heard his voice and you followed him so you're sitting in these seats. They follow me. Verse 28, here's what Jesus says about you. Since he knows you and you've followed him, he says, verse 28, I give them what eternal life. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. Is there a scenario in there where you will perish? No. Never. That's what never means. Some of you're looking at I don't know. No, never, never. Well, never will you perish? We could stop right there and go home. But Jesus doesn't stop right there. So we're going to respect him and understand that because he repeats this idea over and over in another part of scripture that we need it. We need to hear it over and over in different ways. But he says, I give them eternal life. Those of the fathers selected to be my sheep. He enabled them to believe. He enabled them to hear my voice. They followed me. They've come after me because the father's enabling. I knew they would. I spoke to them in the gospel through somebody who preached the gospel to them. I give them eternal life. They shall never perish. And so we could have a period there. But then he emphasizes how this is so and why we should not fear about this. He says no one can snatch them out of my hand. Okay, so how many people can snatch you out of Jesus' hand? Zero. How about yourself? Can you snatch yourself out of Jesus' hand? No, and that's where Christians struggle. And I say, stop it. Right? That'll bother new heart's gift. Stop it. Quit. You can't get yourself. You can't snatch yourself out of Jesus' hand. He gave you eternal life and no one, including yourself, can snatch you out of Jesus' hand. You can't snatch yourself out of his hand. And then if you don't get that, you think Jesus isn't very powerful, verse 29. He says my father who has given them to me these sheep, those who have come after me, is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of my father's hand. So whose hands are we in? Jesus, and the father's hands. So the father chose the sheep to be in Jesus' flock forever. We saw that in Ephesians 1-4 that Jim read for us. He predestined us to be these loved people by Jesus.
So that's Ephesians 1-4. The will of the father and the will of Jesus cannot be overcome. Or you can see it in our declaration or sorry our John 6, 37 on down through 39. It says all the father gives me will come to me. Will come to me. That's another promise. That's another certain day. So you've done that. And whoever comes to me, Jesus promises, I will never drive away. How often will Jesus drive away somebody the father has given to him who's come to him? Never. I will never drive away. Jesus is talking here in absolutes. We once had somebody come to the church for a while and the dojo and they loved the church went to social event for us and then talked to me in the parking lot. After we're down there and said, you're talking absolutes? And I said, I certainly do. Never saw them again. But Jesus talks in absolutes. So there's these kind of things. We talk in absolutes too. He says, all of the father gives me will come to me. You've come to Jesus and those who come to me, whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. 6, 38. For I have come down from heaven, Jesus says, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me. And then verse 39 and you can see that printed on your benediction there if you want to look there at the bottom. And this is the will of him who sent me. This is the father's will. That I shall lose none. How many will Jesus lose? None. Another absolute. Jesus will lose none of all that the father has given to him and all that the father gives to him come to Jesus. Jesus never drives them away and he never loses them. And so chapter 6, verse 44, Jim also read for us. Jesus says, so I will raise him up on the last day. That's a promise. That's not I'm thinking about raising him up on the last day. That's not I might raise him up on the at the last day. It's I will. This is certainty. I will raise him up on the last day. The father gave me a flock of sheep and I will raise every raise up everyone the father gave every one the father gave to me. It's not like Halloween candy where you sort it out and say, I'm not going to take not going to eat this one here you can have it. Jesus doesn't do that with us. He eats all his Halloween candy so to speak. Every every person, every sheep that Jesus has been given by the father he doesn't drive away. They can't be snatched out of his hand. He loses none of them and he raises them after the last day when it returns. So if he came to Jesus believing it means the father enabled you to come to Jesus means that the father has given you to Jesus to be one of his sheep and now your member of Christ's flock which is also called the church. You've been led out of the kingdom of the world into the church which is the kingdom of Christ the flock of Christ. So see here in this text. Now see here now and know that everyone the father gives to Jesus. Jesus promises to raise up the last day to eternal life in the new heavens and the earth. Jesus guarantees it. That's a pretty good guarantee right you know not to fight with somebody online but Jesus guarantees it. So number two number two. Not only know this but number two be firm. Be firm in knowing that your eternal life is sure. Be firm in knowing that your eternal life is sure. So A there Jesus in the father guarantee your eternal life. Jesus in the father guarantee your eternal life. So first 28 Jesus says you'll never pair I give them eternal life they'll never you'll never perish. No one can snatch you out of Jesus' hand so Jesus guarantees it. No one can snatch them out of my father's hand. So the father guarantees it. So B in other words your eternal life is not up to you or you can write in there me. Your eternal life is not up to you. It's not like Catholic doctrine says Roman Catholic doctrine says where you know your eternal life is kind of up to you. You need to believe in Jesus and then be a good little boy or girl or be a good old man or a good old good old woman and then you'll make it if you're good enough or if you don't sin a certain sin or if you don't sin a certain number of times and there are a certain number of times there's too much and Jesus says forget it. You know what I said about never I'm going back on my promise. Jesus doesn't say that. Your eternal life is not up to you. It wasn't up to you to be chosen to be one of Jesus' sheep. It's not up to you to be raised up at the last day. You haven't promised to be raised up at the last day. Jesus has promised to raise you up at the last day and that is good news.
See we promise things and forget about them. I do. Now we promise things and say oh that's going to be tough to fulfill. I hope he doesn't remember. I said that. Jesus is true to his word as Paul says in 2nd Timothy you know even when we're faithful he remains faithful. That's righteousness. He is faithful to his promises and Jesus promises to raise you up at the last day. So your eternal life is not up to you but it's up to the Father that's in your next blank there. It's up to the Father and Jesus who've sealed it as sure. Okay so again verses 28 and 29 here verses 37 through 39 of chapter 6 and 44 there. Jesus said 638. I came from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me and this is the will of him who sent me that I shall lose none of all that he has given me but raised him up at the last day. So our eternal life is not to be one and lost by us. It's one by Jesus during the will of his Father and he has done that and he will do it. So number one B1 this agrees with another biblical teaching that is Ephesians 289 your salvation is not by works. See how the doctrine of election the doctrine of eternal security and the doctrine of the gospel by grace. Salvation by grace all fit together. If you think you can lose your salvation or if you think your eternal life is up to you then you believe that salvation is up to works and that it's by works and that you can lose it by your works but these doctrines and contrasts that fit together. Why do we you know so salvation is not by works it's not by what we do it's by the Father's decree to save us. It's by his decision to include us among the sheep of Jesus that Jesus comes to save to give his life as a ransom for many Mark 10 45 and that Jesus promises to raise up at the last day. It's not that we didn't believe we did believe in our justification was by our faith but we believe because the Father enabled us to believe he gave us eyes to see ears to hear and we heard the gospel and the people sitting around us didn't hear the gospel even though those words were going against their eardrums. So like Jesus says with the parable of the soils and Matthew Mark 4 Matthew 13 he has ears to hear let him hear. Jesus wasn't saying he had a bunch of death people physically deaf people in front of him and then only some people were not deaf. He's saying everyone hears me but they don't understand they don't hear me they don't get it like when we're explaining something to somebody and we say you get it does that make sense we're saying do you hear me and so that's what's going on with our salvation. We believe but we believe because the Father chose us to believe he gave us ears to hear and we heard the shepherd come into the sheep pen of this world and call us and call us out and so that's what our salvation is based on not our works this is why we don't shy away from the Bible's doctrine of election predestination again 44 times in the New Testament that it's mentioned in regard to salvation. We'll shy away from this because this is just hand in hand with salvation is not by works but by faith we can't lose it because it's up to God not us we don't guarantee our own salvation Jesus does the Father does and it's a more certain foundation to have it founded in the eternal decree of God the Father than it is to be founded in how well we're doing right now or if I got mad at that person or if I send too many times and number two so not only does this to agree with another biblical teaching that your salvation is not by works but also number two this also means the teaching that no one or that the teaching that one can lose the salvation is false the teaching that one can lose the salvation is false as each sheep's salvation was decreed by the Father before creation and is guaranteed that's your word they're guaranteed by Jesus and no one including you you can write in there me no one including you can snatch you out of the hand of the Father nor out of the hand of the Son so number three you cannot thwart I love that word for some reason it sounds like you're squirting something out of a tooth you cannot you cannot thwart the plan of God to save you you can't it was decided before you were born and it was accomplished as you came to Jesus and Jesus says he didn't drive you away and he'll never drive you away and he has promised to raise you up at the last day so you can't thwart the plan of the Father to save you you can't thwart the work of Jesus that when he bore your sins in his body on the cross and endure the wrath of the Father against your sins you can't do anything about that it's too late not that you could have done something about it if you're around before the creation but you can't thwart the plan of God to save you the decree of the Father nor the determination and guarantee of Jesus nor can you overpower that's your next blank you can't thwart the plan nor can you overpower the power of God to escape the salvation he planned and the fathers decree to save you and accomplish and the sons coming to the earth and dying for you okay so Jesus brings on the concept not only of the Father had a plan and I knew who the Father selected it's my sheep I know my sheep and he also we read there at the end of John 6 he also knew who would betray him Jesus knew who is in front of him the newers who were sheep and who would listen to his who would listen to his voice and so we can't thwart the plan of God but we can't overpower the Father nor the Son to get ourselves unsaved we can't overpower them and that's that's in this language of snatching them snatching us snatching you out of Jesus hand you can't you know it's like Jesus has you in his hand and he says no one can take you from me I have a grip that is stronger than anyone's sin I have a grip that's stronger than anyone's influence no one can snatch you out of Jesus hand and no one can snatch you if you don't believe that's strong enough well he says no one can snatch you out of the Father's hand either so you can't overpower God can't you can't thwart his plan you can't overpower his power to save you and raise you up at the last day now as we mentioned at the front of this there are many times and many reasons it may be especially important for you to keep this idea this reality that your salvation that your future is secure that your eternal life is secure so three three remember that your eternal life is secure especially when you are persecuted remember your eternal life is secure especially when you're persecuted for believing that Jesus is the son of God but when you're persecuted for believing that Jesus son of God and and the one who brings your life forever number four remember and be comforted remember and be comforted that Jesus also was persecuted for believing and proclaiming the same truth so you see Jesus persecution here in this passage look at verse 31 there in John 10 verse 31 again the Jews picked up stones to stone him why were they stoning him because he said I and the Father are one that's what you believe that's what you declare there's one essence there's one there's one divine being and that divine being is Father's son and Holy Spirit that's what you believe that's what you proclaim Jesus said I and the Father are one and so he was persecuted and you say Jesus is God and you're persecuted so Jesus endured the same persecution you endure for the same truth verse 33 look there 10 33 they say we are you're not stoning you for the miracles we are stoning you for what reason for blasphemy that is this blasphemy claiming that he was one in essence with the Father that he was divine that he was a divine son of God so his blasphemy was claiming that he and the Father was one were one and that's your claim that Jesus and the Father are one but Jesus is divine and other people believe Jesus is just an ordinary man or one of many ways to eternal life and you say I don't believe that I believe Jesus is the only way to eternal life and no one can snatch snatch one who believes in him out of his hands he's the only way into you're persecuted you're persecuted for that some people you know even as long as you're a guy are general some lay this year nominational meeting in the coffee line he said I'm not sure he even existed that's a pretty high historical jump there there aren't many people that that believe that Jesus didn't exist upon the earth even among atheists believe they believe Jesus Jesus existed upon the earth but most people believe Jesus was just an ordinary man and not eternal God sent by the Father as Jesus set of himself in John 644 or John 638 that he had come from heaven that he didn't have his start in the womb of Mary but that he had come from heaven and that he was sent by God the Father himself so those are the things we believe and we're persecuted for them and we believe that he came to save his people from their sins Matthew 121 that's what Joseph was told and so we're persecuted for that because people will say well people aren't that bad God won't reject and you know everybody you know or we're all you know he'll let us all in and we get persecuted when we say no he won't and Jesus said he wouldn't and Jesus talked about people going to hell more than anybody in all scripture Jesus talked more about people going to hell and so I'm gonna agree with Jesus on that one we say right put it off on Jesus let Jesus take the heat on that but you'll take the heat too for believing in Jesus they'll say oh I think that's a bunch of bunk okay but we get persecuted for that for saying the same things that Jesus said but be comforted you know verse 39 there they go again verse 39 again they tried to seize him so Jesus endures this persecution for the truths that we hold dear which are just the things that he was teaching and the things that are in fact true so when you're persecuted know you're not alone other Christians are persecuted and have been persecuted for their believing and following Jesus but more importantly know that Jesus was persecuted to and worse than you or I I'm not up on a Roman cross you're not getting mocked hanging in your underwear with the religious authorities and the civil authorities both mocking you we're not being persecuted to that extent but Jesus was and so Jesus knows what it's like to be persecuted he knows what it's like to feel that he knows what it's like to be persecuted very much unjustly both in terms of truth content and just in terms of he had done nothing but good for people and he was put up on a cross for so Jesus gets that he was persecuted worse than you and me and be comforted that you know that he's alive in heaven that he sees you all the time that he sees you when people are see S-E-E-S not S-E-I-Z-E that he sees you when people are being unfair with you because of your belief in him and know that he understands what you're going through because he went through it he felt that he felt the division he felt the being despised he felt the being considered an intellectual inferior when he was the one who created the mind in the brain when he was the one who was far superior to any human mind that was there he understands what you're going through and he will reward you for your faithfulness. Part of first of this is part of what encouraged him when he was beaten and mocked and imprisoned and and shipwrecked and excluded and excoriated by the Jews for proclaiming that Jesus was the Christ the Son of God. Philippians 3 verse 10 Paul says when he's talked about all he's lost in life because of believing in Jesus all the privilege all the status all the nice things physically that he had all that he had lost at the end of recounting all that he had lost he said I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings. You see that Paul's not just saying I'm a masochist and I enjoy suffering he's saying no when I suffer I share in Christ's suffering are sufferings the same because we're suffering for the same things for the same truth for doing the same things for proclaiming the same truth and people are deriding us for the same reason now you're not the son of God you're not being derided for saying that but you're being derided for believing that Jesus is the son of God so it's the same in that way but Paul rejoiced he said in sharing in the sufferings of Christ even becoming like him in his death. Paul died for his belief that Jesus was the Christ the Son for living and Paul said he rejoiced in sharing the sufferings and he said you know I want to know Christ this is part of how we know Christ better this is an experiential way we know Christ better when we know what it's like to suffer for what we believe that's true and we know it's true we know we're seeing we know we're hearing we know the Bible makes sense and they don't and they're mocking us for it then we know what it's like to be like Jesus Jesus knew what was true and he was being mocked for it he knew it was true he was God's son he knew it was true he had been sent from the following he knew it was true that nobody would be saved but by him and he proclaimed it and he was mocked for it and so when we get mocked for believing those same things we understand Jesus better it's like my our mother church pastor Terry trailer who sold with Jesus now he he wanted to he found out we were visiting my mom up in my hometown in Ohio and then driving down to Louisville Kentucky that's how you say Louisville my roommate in college from Louisville taught me that you don't say Louisville it's Louisville what's that you say Louisville but we're driving down to Louisville for our general assembly and so our mother church pastor Terry said oh can I come and so he flew up and because he wanted to see my hometown I wanted to meet my mom and dad and and so we got up there and you know stayed overnight and we drove down together but but while he was there that afternoon came up he said show me your town drive me around so I drove around and showed him you know there's my high schoolers where I went to junior high here's this here's that and that kind of thing because he wanted to know me better and that helped explain me to him and so if you have common experience you know somebody better he has like two world war two vets getting together or two you know more recent two Vietnam vets getting together who are both on the ground army guys down on the ground in Vietnam fighting they meet each other they've never seen each other and they know each other right they've experienced the same thing they know what that was like and so this kind of thing so suffering's not all bad for us because Paul reveals here that when we suffer we know Jesus better because we've got this common experience with him of what it's like to know what's true to do what's good to consider others better than yourself and to get mocked for it and persecuted and excluded from privileges and hopefully none of us will have to die for but even if we did it would be a means to knowing him better so remember this Jesus suffered for his belief in proclamation that he was eternal God come from heaven to save his people and as you suffer for your belief in proclamation that Jesus was an as eternal God that he came from heaven sent by the father to save his people know that Jesus sees you he understands he has sorrow over how you've been treated here's a freebie all things are just and and he'll pay back you don't have to take your own vengeance but he'll he'll pay back for that mocking that was done on you because he knows what it's like to be treated that way he experienced it here it experienced it here in john tan and elsewhere and on the cross and in his remembrance be comforted your suffering's not for nothing your suffering's not out of order in your suffering you're just walking in the steps of Jesus and that's that's a pretty majestic thing we're walking in the steps of the son of god and that's encouraging to us so summary summary before before the creation of the world before the creation of the world the father named you to be one of Christ's sheep before the creation of the world the father named you to be one of Christ's sheep and Jesus promised Jesus promised to save all the father gave to him
so Jesus promised to save all the father gave to him because of this you can know that your eternal life is certain which empowers you from boldness you and comforts you to remain strong through the persecution even if you should die for it your eternal life is sure no one snatching you out of Jesus hand no one's snatching you out of the father's hand so you can remain strong through the persecution that you receive for your faith you can remain strong for through the persecution you receive for your faith it's not for naught let's pray