John 10:27-31 (KJV)  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  [28]  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  [29]  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.  [30]  I and my Father are one.  [31]  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

I like to cook, so I like to watch cooking shows from the Food Network. One of the shows Sherry and I often watch is called “Chopped”. In that show four chefs are given four basket ingredients that they need to make into a tasty dish. Each round one chef is eliminated – he or she is “Chopped”.

On one show one of the chefs that got “Chopped” was making biscuits. When I make biscuits I sift the dry ingredients into one bowl and the wet ingredients (egg, buttermilk) into another bowl. Once you blend the dry you add it to the wet ingredients until the biscuit dough is the right consistency. The chef I was watching put his flour in one bowl, then (and I don’t know why) his baking powder, soda, and salt in another bowl with a little more flour. He went off to do something, lost his mind, then put buttermilk into the bowl that had nothing but flour in it. In other words he never added the leavening agents to his flour. He mixed these “biscuits” up and put them on a pan in the oven. They were hockey pucks. He was chopped. Flour and buttermilk doesn’t make biscuits. You need the leavening and the flavor. You need the shortening. If you don’t put that in you’re making hockey pucks.

There are a lot of nominal Christians in the world today who believe they have eternal life, but do they?

Jesus was very clear that “His Sheep” have eternal life. If you are one of His sheep then praise God, you have eternal life. But are you one of His sheep? The Bible says:

Philippians 2:12-16 (KJV)  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

[13]  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.  [14]  Do all things without murmurings and disputings: [15] That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;  [16]  Holding forth the word of life ..

We are not told …

Work FOR your own salvation

but ….

Work OUT your own salvation

After saying this the Apostle says “It is God that worketh IN YOU”. If God is IN you, then your salvation will show. You will do what JESUS says. You will actually DO what JESUS said. Yes, you will DO what Jesus said. You will not just SAY you will do it, you will DO it.

The Pharisees hated Jesus and wanted to stone Jesus because they wanted God without Jesus.
But you can’t have God without Jesus.
You can’t enter God’s Heaven without Jesus.
You cannot have eternal life without Jesus!

The Sheep Are One With Jesus

John 10:27-28 (KJV)  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  [28]  And I give unto them eternal life …

Jesus said three things about “My sheep”. He said:

• “My sheep HEAR My voice”. The word translated “HEAR” is the Greek ἀκούω akouō which means not just to hear noise, but to hear so as to attend to, to consider what has been said, to perceive the sense, to hear with understanding, to comprehend, to focus upon and listen to. Those who belong to Jesus not only hear what He says but love Him and want to hear what He says. The Pharisees would not hear Jesus, and could not hear Jesus because they were not His sheep. Jesus told them:

John 8:43-45 (KJV)  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot HEAR (akouō) my word.  [44]  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.  [45]  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

The darkness can never hear the light, and the children of this world cannot hear the Son of God. They hear only what they believe, and they do not believe Christ. Jesus calls whosoever will to His side. He came to die for the sins of all people, even the Pharisees. But they would not hear His call. They constantly sought to find fault with Jesus, to stone Jesus, to take His life though He never did any wrong. What has God said in Hebrews?

Hebrews 3:7-14 (KJV)  Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will HEAR (akouō) his voice,  [8]  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:  [9]  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.  [10]  Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.  [11]  So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)  [12]  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.  [13]  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  [14]  For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

His sheep hear His Voice. His sheep do not harden their hearts to His Voice, but love Him because He loves us. The sheep call to one another, exhorting one another to follow Him lest they be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

• “My sheep HEAR My Voice, and I KNOW them”. Jesus knows His sheep.

He knows His sheep by what they do.
He knows His sheep by what they do.
I’ll say it again, Christ knows His sheep by what they DO.

Jesus told us:

Matthew 7:17-23 (KJV) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  [18]  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  [19]  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  [20]  

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them

[21]  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but

he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

[22]  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  [23]  And

then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from me, YE THAT WORK INIQUITY.

What is “the will of the Father which is in Heaven?” Jesus was very clear on this. The entirety of the Law is summed up in two commandments that revolve around one thing. Jesus said:

Mark 12:29-31 (KJV) … The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:  [30]  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  [31]  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

God must be loved above all else. The sheep know this. God loved us by sending His Son to us. His Son died for us. Why? Because He loves us. His Spirit indwells us. Why? Because He loves us. Our salvation is based on love, not hate. We love God more than anything or anyone else. If we:

Prophesy without love to God
Cast out devils without love to God
Do wonderful works without love for God
You are a biscuit without a leavening agent
You are a biscuit without flavor
You are a hockey puck without love!

These seemingly godly things are defined by Jesus as working iniquity or evil. We love God first. We love our neighbor as ourself. If we don’t want it done to us, we don’t do it to others. If we want it done to us, we do it to others. Love thy neighbor as thyself. If you are a recipient of Grace you know that God loved you when you were unlovable. We are to love others even if they are unlovable. That’s tough. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:43-48 (KJV)  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.  [44]  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  [45]  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  [46]  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?  [47]  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?  [48]  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Love is the mark of perfection, the Will of God. Love God, love others. Do good. Bless. Pray for. The Apostles understood this and emphasized it through the Scriptures:

Romans 13:8-10 (KJV)  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for

he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law

[9]  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely,

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

[10]  Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Galatians 5:13-15 (KJV)  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.  [14]  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this;

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

[15]  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

Jesus knows His sheep for His sheep are marked by love. His sheep do not murmur and backbite. His sheep love God with all they have, and love their neighbors – those who are around you – as they love themselves. This is scripture. This is the Word of God. Hear it!

• “My sheep HEAR My voice, and I KNOW them, and THEY FOLLOW ME”. Those who are saved follow Jesus. They do what Jesus says do. Jesus said:

John 14:15 (KJV)  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:21 (KJV)  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

You cannot be saved and not be lead to keep His commandments. If you love Christ you WILL keep His commandments. If you love Christ He WILL manifest Himself to you. If you love Christ, the Father WILL love you. Obeying Jesus is not optional. Loving Jesus means to follow Him. Jesus told His Church in His Great Commission:

Matthew 28:20 (KJV)  Teaching them to

observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: …

Jesus Is One With The Father

John 10:28-30 (KJV) … they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  [29]  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.  [30]  I and my Father are one.

The sheep of Christ shall never perish – but has eternal life. When Jesus said:

They shall NEVER perish

this is a double negative in the Greek – ou me apolontai – which is,

They shall NEVER, NOT EVER perish!

Two sets of hands guard the sheep. Bible Scholar A.W. Pink said:

“The ‘hand of Christ’ is beneath us, and the ‘hand’ of the Father is above us. Thus are we secured between the clasped hands of Omnipotence!”

When Jesus affirmed out salvation, equation His power over us to the Father’s power beneath us, the Pharisees sought to stone Him for blasphemy. They said:

John 10:33 (KJV) … For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

Jesus did not deny their charge, but instead used the Scripture.

John 10:34-36 (KJV)  Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?  [35]  If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;  [36]  Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

Jesus quoted from the Psalms:

Psalms 82:6 (KJV)  I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

The children of God are called “gods” by God in that Psalm. What does this mean? When we present the Word of God as God presents it to us then we are His representatives on the earth. When God sent Moses to Pharaoh he told Moses:

Exodus 7:1 (KJV)  And the LORD said unto Moses, See,

I have made thee a god to Pharaoh

: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

Moses faithfully presented God’s Word to Pharaoh he represented “God”. Though not literally God he spoke for God. Jesus spoke for God the Father. He did not add to nor take away from God’s Word. In fact, Jesus declared:

John 10:35 (KJV) the scripture cannot be broken

Jesus is One with the Father. He is not the Father, but He, the Father, and the Spirit are all in one accord. The Scripture – written by the Spirit – cannot be broken or annulled. What God has said stands true forever.

Jesus is One with the Father.
The sheep are One with the Son.
We will all be One one day in glory!

The basis of our salvation is oneness. The Pharisees rejected this oneness and were lost forever. Jesus presented Himself to the Pharisees as God’s Son – the set apart and sanctified Representative of God from Heaven. The Pharisees rejected Christs WORKS in ..

John 5:16-17 (KJV)  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.  [17]  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

Christ did miraculous things that only God could do on the Sabbath. But they rejected Him. They would not see His works. They not only rejected His WORKS, but rejected His WORDS:

John 8:58-59 (KJV)  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.  [59]  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Jesus clearly defined Himself as equal to God. He is the great I AM in the flesh. But they would not hear. They were of their father the devil. Rejecting His WORKS and His WORD they now reject HIM as THE WORD. They called Jesus a blasphemer, and sought to stone Him to death. They did so without referring to the Scripture which is what Jesus did. So Jesus departed. The Bible tells us:

John 10:39-42 (KJV)  Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,  [40]  And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.  [41]  And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.  [42]  And many believed on him there.

Jesus will not keep calling if you will not come. Jesus left Jerusalem and headed back to Bethany in Perea on the east side of the Jordan river. Here the Pharisees had no authority. He left.

Christ will not tarry where He is not wanted. He came to save the lost but, dear One, you must want to be saved. You must hear Him. If you do not, you risk Him leaving. He calls. “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men”. Will you come? Will you submit to being one of His sheep? Will you hear Him, and be known of Him? I pray you will while it is today – for tomorrow never comes. May God touch your hearts with His Word!