The Sheep Hear His Voice (Part 2 of 2)
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But you will never ever meet a person who doesn't understand the sense of oughtness. I don't think I ought to have said that. I don't think I ought to have done that. I wish I hadn't done that. Why does anybody ever say that? Because God has stamped eternity in our hearts, conscience, and of course in Christ. So he's his voice is heard in creation, in conscience, although distorted by sin, and in Jesus himself. God has spoken actively, objectively, historically in the person of his son. [00:12:19]
So the true sheep is known when the true shepherd walks out front by those who are actually walking behind him. And if some other thieve or robber says, "Hey, come with me." And a group of those people divert from the true shepherd, it becomes apparent that they didn't hear his voice. They've never understood him and they're just interested in wandering wherever they want to go. You will know if you're in Christ, not only because of who you're following, but also because of those from whom you flee. You flee. [00:18:39]
But the real guilt, the real guilt which every single person on the face of the earth faces is that we are guilty before God. That we have offended against God. That by our lives and our lips and so on, we've decided that we will deal without him. We're alienated. We're under condemnation. We face his wrath. We're guilty. [00:02:45]
So the indication of how much the Bible means to me is first of all displayed and do I respond to it reverently? Secondly, do I trust it wholeheartedly? Do I trust it wholeheartedly or do I take it as a few suggestions for various ways of approaching life? Am I prepared to put my own opinions over against the truth of God's word? Am I just uh toying with the thing? My traditions and so on, all of my opinions, all of our traditions, all of our feelings must be brought under the jurisdiction of his word. If we're going to approach it reverently, if we're going to trust it wholeheartedly, and if we're going to obey it completely, obey it completely. [00:15:32]
All your talk about the need for freedom. We don't need freedom. All that talk about being made to see, we don't need to see. We've seen everything. We're rational people. And so on. And Jesus says, "Well, your guilt remains." No one's case is more hopeless than the person who is blind, believing they can see. [00:03:55]
There's one point of entry and is guarded by a watchman. That's what Jesus says in the picture. And he points out that anyone who's seeking to enter the sheepfold by climbing over the wall or trying to cut his way through the fence is up to no good at all. That would that would never be that wouldn't be the shepherd. [00:06:11]
It's straightforward, isn't it? In fact, it's so straightforward that a child listening to me now would be able to draw a picture in her notebook and would be able to explain it to her mother or her grandmother over lunch. There's a sheepfold. Jesus is the way into the sheepfold. If you don't go into the sheepfold, you're left outside. [00:04:50]
And people say, "Well, I can get into the sheepfold of God by my own mechanism. I can climb over the wall. I can find different ways." Think pilgrims progress, right? Well, we can go over the wall. We're good people. We can do this. We can do that. Thieves and robbers. Only one point of entry. [00:06:33]
To him, the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep. He doesn't just call sheep. He's not calling, "Hey, sheepy sheepy." No, no. He's calling them by name. [00:09:00]
That's why it's a tragedy when people in positions such as mine are not actually themselves. sheep of the true shepherd. They fulfill the role of a shepherd while never actually having come to meet the shepherd himself. [00:10:32]
Now, let's just acknowledge that the wonder of our dealings in terms of these things is that God has made himself known. He's revealed himself in creation. Uh the heavens declare his glory. We saw that in Romans chapter 1. These his invisible qualities and so on are are apparent to people. There's no he there is no actual voice but his speech goes throughout the entire earth because everybody in the entire on planet earth can look up and see the rising of the moon can wake in the morning and see the rising of the sun. He's spoken in creation. He's spoken in conscience. [00:11:32]
First of all, by saying this, the practical purpose of God giving us his word, the practical purpose of God giving us his word is in order, of course, that we might meet Jesus. But at the same time it is in order that we might respond to it if you like with an intelligent sense of reverence that God's word is to be approached best if you like on our knees that God has actually communicated to us uh in this book. [00:14:47]
There's nobody that's in a worse predicament this morning than the person who is self-confident in their own sight. Uh the children of the enlightenment. Some of my intellectual friends. You know, we are the ones who see. We feel sorry for you beg that you've got into that obscurantist religion of yours, that Jesus thing. [00:03:31]
Listen, let's go back to English literature. This is a figure of speech. Therefore, you cannot press all the metaphorical details tidily if you're going to stand back from it enough to say, "Oh, I get the picture." Because in actual fact uh this is true all the way through John. Jesus is the he is the bread of life and he gives the bread of life. [00:07:06]
It's a picture. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice. The sheep hear his voice. Now, my grandfather was a shepherd. I never met him. I have his crook and uh it's a precious thing to me. And I imagine him using it with a hook on the end so that he could reach in and pull lambs to safety and with a point on the other end so that he could do as necessary to stop some naughty sheep annoying another sheep or whatever it might be. [00:07:41]
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So the true sheep is known when the true shepherd walks out front by those who are actually walking behind him. And if some other thieve or robber says, "Hey, come with me." And a group of those people divert from the true shepherd, it becomes apparent that they didn't hear his voice. They've never understood him and they're just interested in wandering wherever they want to go. You will know if you're in Christ, not only because of who you're following, but also because of those from whom you flee. You flee. [00:18:39]
But the real guilt, the real guilt which every single person on the face of the earth faces is that we are guilty before God. That we have offended against God. That by our lives and our lips and so on, we've decided that we will deal without him. We're alienated. We're under condemnation. We face his wrath. We're guilty. [00:02:45]
So the indication of how much the Bible means to me is first of all displayed and do I respond to it reverently? Secondly, do I trust it wholeheartedly? Do I trust it wholeheartedly or do I take it as a few suggestions for various ways of approaching life? Am I prepared to put my own opinions over against the truth of God's word? Am I just uh toying with the thing? My traditions and so on, all of my opinions, all of our traditions, all of our feelings must be brought under the jurisdiction of his word. If we're going to approach it reverently, if we're going to trust it wholeheartedly, and if we're going to obey it completely, obey it completely. [00:15:32]
All your talk about the need for freedom. We don't need freedom. All that talk about being made to see, we don't need to see. We've seen everything. We're rational people. And so on. And Jesus says, "Well, your guilt remains." No one's case is more hopeless than the person who is blind, believing they can see. [00:03:55]
There's one point of entry and is guarded by a watchman. That's what Jesus says in the picture. And he points out that anyone who's seeking to enter the sheepfold by climbing over the wall or trying to cut his way through the fence is up to no good at all. That would that would never be that wouldn't be the shepherd. [00:06:11]
It's straightforward, isn't it? In fact, it's so straightforward that a child listening to me now would be able to draw a picture in her notebook and would be able to explain it to her mother or her grandmother over lunch. There's a sheepfold. Jesus is the way into the sheepfold. If you don't go into the sheepfold, you're left outside. [00:04:50]
And people say, "Well, I can get into the sheepfold of God by my own mechanism. I can climb over the wall. I can find different ways." Think pilgrims progress, right? Well, we can go over the wall. We're good people. We can do this. We can do that. Thieves and robbers. Only one point of entry. [00:06:33]
To him, the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep. He doesn't just call sheep. He's not calling, "Hey, sheepy sheepy." No, no. He's calling them by name. [00:09:00]
That's why it's a tragedy when people in positions such as mine are not actually themselves. sheep of the true shepherd. They fulfill the role of a shepherd while never actually having come to meet the shepherd himself. [00:10:32]
Now, let's just acknowledge that the wonder of our dealings in terms of these things is that God has made himself known. He's revealed himself in creation. Uh the heavens declare his glory. We saw that in Romans chapter 1. These his invisible qualities and so on are are apparent to people. There's no he there is no actual voice but his speech goes throughout the entire earth because everybody in the entire on planet earth can look up and see the rising of the moon can wake in the morning and see the rising of the sun. He's spoken in creation. He's spoken in conscience. [00:11:32]
First of all, by saying this, the practical purpose of God giving us his word, the practical purpose of God giving us his word is in order, of course, that we might meet Jesus. But at the same time it is in order that we might respond to it if you like with an intelligent sense of reverence that God's word is to be approached best if you like on our knees that God has actually communicated to us uh in this book. [00:14:47]
There's nobody that's in a worse predicament this morning than the person who is self-confident in their own sight. Uh the children of the enlightenment. Some of my intellectual friends. You know, we are the ones who see. We feel sorry for you beg that you've got into that obscurantist religion of yours, that Jesus thing. [00:03:31]
Listen, let's go back to English literature. This is a figure of speech. Therefore, you cannot press all the metaphorical details tidily if you're going to stand back from it enough to say, "Oh, I get the picture." Because in actual fact uh this is true all the way through John. Jesus is the he is the bread of life and he gives the bread of life. [00:07:06]
It's a picture. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice. The sheep hear his voice. Now, my grandfather was a shepherd. I never met him. I have his crook and uh it's a precious thing to me. And I imagine him using it with a hook on the end so that he could reach in and pull lambs to safety and with a point on the other end so that he could do as necessary to stop some naughty sheep annoying another sheep or whatever it might be. [00:07:41]
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