The last time I was here, we were talking in John 10 and we went over the first three verses in John 10. Just to give a small overview of what we had talked about, in verse 1 God gave us a warning about climbing up “some other way.” If you try to get to Heaven any other kind of way except going through the Door, He calls you a “thief and a robber.” Then He says in John 10:2:
But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
So the Lord Jesus is the Door and He is the shepherd of the sheep. Then we talked about John 10:3:
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
We did not really have the chance to get into the part where it says that He “leadeth them out.” Well, where does He lead us out of? He leads us out of prison. That is where He finds us. We are in darkness and we are in the “prison house” of sin. So that is where the Lord Jesus finds us and that is where He leads us out from.
Now we are going to start looking at verse 4. In John 10:4, it says:
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Now we already established that His voice is the Word of God. You cannot separate the Lord Jesus from His Word. They are one and the same, as we had looked at in John 1:1-3, where it says:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Then we looked over at John 1:14, and it says:
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
And so there; we see that the Lord Jesus is the Word and the Word is the Lord Jesus. You cannot really separate the two. They are one and the same.
When we read His Bible, when we read His Word, we are reading the living Word of God. This is God speaking to us, and we talk to Him through prayer. So this is the communication process that God has established in our day.
In sundry times, He would bring voices and He would have the prophets declare His Word. Well, that is basically what we do. We declare His Word. There are no voices. This is the voice of the Lord, right now, right here, today, for us. So do not let someone come to you and say, “The Lord told me to tell you.” No! That is not going to fly, not according to what He is telling us right here in His Word. You may not be around people like that, but those kinds of things happen. It is a snare that Satan sets for the unsuspecting, but God tells us in His Word what to do.
So we are going to take a look at John 10:4:
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
This word “putteth” is not a word like, “Okay, now you just come over here and I will place you over here or over there.” It is not a timid word like that. It is much more forceful. It is only translated as “putteth” in the New Testament right here, but we do find it in other places.
Let us take a look at Matthew 10:1, where it says:
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
The word for “cast them out” is the same word as “putteth.” This word is a lot more forceful than what you might think it might be. It is not as timid as what it may sound like in John 10.
So let us take another look. Let us look at Mark 1:34, where it says:
And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
When He did this, He did not say, “You come on out now.” It was not like that. He forcefully cast them out “because they knew Him.” They knew who He was.
So this is how He puts us forth. This is how He gets us. He takes us out of that “prison house” of sin. We are going to take a look at Isaiah 42 so we can see exactly where He gets us from, what kind of situation this is. In Isaiah 42 and I’ll start reading at verse 5. It says in Isaiah 42:5-7:
Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
You see, this is where the Lord finds us. He finds us, as we mentioned a little earlier, in prison and in darkness, in the “prison house” of sin where we are in darkness. As a matter of fact, in 1 John 1, this is someone who believes that they are saved. God gives a test here, so we can be honest with ourselves to see if we really, really know who the Lord is, if we really are saved. He puts these tests there for us, too, so that we can examine ourselves to make sure that we are in the faith. In 1 John 1:6-7, He says:
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
You see, this is a test that we can test ourselves with as a Christian, as a believer, to see whether or not we line up with what God has in His Word here. If we are not doing these things, then we have to ask ourselves if we are truly saved, because, here, God is saying that we are not saved if we want to walk in darkness. The darkness is where He got us out from. I am not saying that we are going to change all of a sudden, just like that, but there are certain places we are not going to feel comfortable in, places that we used to go and things that we used to do. It is just not going to feel comfortable. We are not going to be comfortable, and this is the way it should be because now we have this conflict in our members, inside of us, that is tugging us. It is a war that is going on inside of us, but the more you feed on the Word of God, the more you feed your new spirit and the stronger you become.
If we do not eat regular food, our bodies will become weak. Well, this is the same thing. Spiritually, if we do not eat the Word of God—and this is what your spirit eats, the Word of God—then you are going to be weak. So when that moment comes where you want to do what the flesh wants you to do or you want to do what the Lord would have you to do, you are more apt to do what the flesh wants you to do if you are not reading His Word. If you are not reading His Word, you are not strong.
You see, this is what happens. We have to be built up. This does not all come all of a sudden. We have to keep reading His Word. Even if we do not understand it, keep reading it because we are still eating. It is like the bowl of oatmeal your parents used to give you all the time. It did not look all that good and it did not taste all that good. But let me tell you, now that I am older and I see what my parents used to give me, I know that that was good for me, but I did not know it then.
The Word of God is the “bread” that our spirit eats, and so we want to constantly be in His Word. We constantly need to know that every time we get into His Word, we are feeding our inner man. We are feeding our spirit, and it will get stronger and stronger so that when we come against temptations, we can resist those things. It makes it easier to turn away and we will begin to think more about the love of God and what He has done for us and where He got us from. How could we go back to where He got us from? It is very, very difficult. It is that tug-of-war that we read about in Romans 7.
Let us look at Romans 7. Let us read that. In Romans 7, we will start reading in verse 14. It says in Romans 7:14-25:
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Paul lays out, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that we do have this struggle within ourselves.
Let us go back to John 10:4:
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
If we are God’s sheep, we are going to follow the Lord Jesus. We are going to follow His Word. It is something that is just going to happen. It is like an apple tree. You do not have to make it bring forth apples. All you have to do is to wait. When the season is right, it is going to bring forth apples on the tree.
So if you are one of God’s children, you will follow Him. And by following Him, you are following His Word because you cannot separate Him from His Word. Now we may not follow it perfectly but God gives us that want to, to follow His Word. We follow Him because we know His voice. His voice, as we said before, is His Word. His Word is His voice. We are going to do this, and we are not going to follow anyone else, as He tells us here in John 10:5:
And a stranger will they not follow,…
“A stranger will they not follow.” A stranger is someone whom you do not know. When you are a little child, your parents will tell you, “Now Max, do not talk to strangers because you do not know them.”
So what God is doing is that is He is setting this situation up where the sheep, and we are sheep, are going to shy away from this stranger because we do not know him. We do not know his voice. We do not know the person, so we are not going to follow a stranger.
What is this “stranger” that He is talking about? A stranger will say things that are not familiar to you. A stranger, spiritually, is strange doctrine. That is what it is. It is doctrine that will lead you away from Christ and away from the truth that is in His Word.
This stranger is another warning that God gives us. He is letting us know that we are not going to follow this stranger. He is not saying that He does not want us to follow this stranger. He says that we are not going to do it because the Holy Spirit holds us fast.
Let us look at Ephesians 1 and I will start reading from verse 1. We read in Ephesians 1:1-14:
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Do you see where it says, “Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise”? I used to be a letter carrier and I used to carry mail. The way it works is when you start writing the letter, you put on the envelope the address of where it goes. Then you put the return address on in case something happens to it, and then you seal the letter up. Well what happens here is like that letter. The Lord puts us in the letter and then before He seals it up, He gets in the letter with us and then seals the letter—do not open until Heaven; that is our eternal security.
This is an example of how we are eternally secure in Christ. The Holy Spirit stays with us until we get home to be with the Lord. He is part of us. He lives in us. How He lives in us, I really could not tell you. But I know that the Bible says that we are “sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” That is a promise that God gives us.
So with this promise that He gives us and the fact that we are sealed, when a stranger comes and we hear strange doctrine and when we hear this stranger telling us strange things about our Lord, it causes us to become uneasy. We will become uneasy with this. It will not hurt us because the Bible says that if we “drink any deadly thing,” it will not hurt us—and it is not talking about drinking cyanide either; it is talking about drinking a deadly thing which is another gospel; it is deadly; it is very deadly.
There are gospels that tell you that all you have to do is accept Christ. It is so subtle. If you were in a gospel like that, such as I was, it is called a “free-will gospel.” It is so very subtle and it is very deadly because it can make you feel or think that all is well when really all is not well. It is only by God’s grace; it is only by His grace.
You can go back to talk to your friends and you say to them but this is what the Bible says and they will just look at you. “Yes, okay, I see what you say, but look at this over here and look at this over there.” To be able to come out of this, that is the snare that Satan sets for us. You see, we do not really know that we are in it until God brings us out of it. That is the thing that causes you to rejoice, as you look back on where He brought you from. So those kinds of things are what the strangers bring, and we have to be very, very aware of those kinds of things and of things like that.
I want to give you some verses for this stranger. Let us look at Proverbs 27:2:
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
On the surface, He is talking about not praising ourselves. If someone has anything to say about you, then just let them say it. So not talk about yourself.
Let us go to Luke 16:12:
And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
Now this word for “another man’s” is the same word for “stranger.” So this “stranger” is “another man’s” what? It is another gospel. That is what it is. It is another man’s gospel. It is not the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Let us go on with this and let us look in Romans 14:4:
Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?…
There is that same word again. It continues:
…to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Here God uses this word, “another man’s.” It is someone else. This is the stranger. It is another man; it is other men.
Turn over to Romans 15:20:
Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:
There is the same word again.
Now let us take a look at 2 Corinthians 10:15-16. He says:
Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s line of things made ready to our hand.
You see how God is using this word “stranger” as being “another man’s,” and this translates into doctrines of men.
Let us take a look at Galatians 1:6-9, where our Lord says:
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
God wants to make sure that we hear what He is saying. He is saying the same thing twice, so this thing is a warning that God does not want us to miss.
So this gospel, this other gospel that He is talking about here, is a gospel that is close to the gospel that they preach, but it is not the same thing. They added something to it and that is what perverted it.
Does God tell us how close this gospel is to the Gospel that they preach? Let us turn to Matthew 24:24, where He says:
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
That is very close, but it is not possible. You see how He says, “If it were possible.” But it is not possible that we can be deceived like that because we are sealed with the “Holy Spirit of promise.”
There are so many gospels that are out there now. Some of them you can recognize right away. But there are others that are so very, very subtle, like the gospel of free will—very subtle and very deadly, just like a snake.
So the only thing we can do is praise the Lord that He has brought us out of those gospels that are not the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And we cannot take any credit for coming out of these gospels because the Bible says, “But by the grace of God, I am what I am.” It is only by His grace and His mercy that He took us out of that.
We all have loved ones and friends that are still there, but that does not mean that God cannot get them out of there. It does not mean that. We just do not know what His whole plan is. But we have to praise the Lord for what He has done for us, if you know who the Lord is.
This is a scenario that I use a lot and God gives it in His Word. He said to His disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?” And they said, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” He said, “But whom say ye that I am?” And Peter stepped forward and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And the Lord Jesus, the King of Glory, says to Peter, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
So if you know who the Lord Jesus Christ, really, it is only because the Father has revealed Himself to you.