The Heart of the King - Part 2

Bryan Chapell: My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. The mark of hearing the voice of Jesus is that you believe. That is accurate. That is true. I believe that I am a sinner in need of a Savior and Jesus is the true door. My relationship with God is through Him and that door is made open, not because of what I do, not my doings, it is my hearing. I am believing He is the way.
Guest (Male): Glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's lesson, Pastor Bryan continues his message from John chapter 10. Just as Jesus declares Himself the good shepherd, He also indicates the mark of His flock: they know His voice. You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. While you are there, look for Pastor Bryan's book, *Unlimited Grace*. Dr. Chapell reminds us of the power and mercy of God's grace that motivates and inspires us to serve our Heavenly Father. Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the second half of the lesson, "The Heart of the King."
Bryan Chapell: Ed Watts is a writer who once went to the Holy Land and talks about being on the crest of a hill that some of us have been on where you look out over the shepherds' fields toward Jerusalem. She talked about being on that crest of the hill and then going with her guide down into the shepherd's field and they came to a sheepfold. They went in to look around a little bit and while they were there, the shepherd came, looking like Moses, she said. I do not know how she knew what Moses looked like, but she said, "Here comes the shepherd, looking like Moses." As he got there, the people asked, "Where is the door for your sheepfold? There are rocks against a rock bank, but there is no door at the opening." She said the shepherd just thought, "Oh, these crazy Americans." He just lay down with his feet at one end of the opening and his head at the other to make clear: I am the door. Jesus, when He says, "I am the door for the sheep," is saying precisely that. He cares as He should. He calls people, but He is actually providing what they need. He is the true door for the sheep in verse seven. And in verse eight: "All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door." In verse nine: "If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and go in and out and find pasture." What does it mean that Jesus is the door? He is providing pasture and He is providing protection. If He opens the door, the sheep can go to green pastures. When they go in at night, He is the protector. So that in verse 10, the thief who comes only to steal and kill and destroy is taken care of. How? "I came that my sheep may have life and have it abundantly." I am providing for my sheep. How does He do that? This side of the cross, we understand verses 12 through 15 so much more clearly. Jesus describes there are people who say they are shepherds, but they are just hirelings. So when danger comes, when there is difficulty, the hireling runs away. Why should I sacrifice myself for this little bit of pay? But verse 15, Jesus summarizes His role: "Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, I lay down my life for the sheep." We know what He is talking about. He is the door. He is making provision more than all the sacrifices that have happened before. He is the one who will lay down His life for the sheep. He will do it to claim the penalty for our sin, that our guilt and shame might be put on Him because He went ahead of us and took on Himself the penalty we deserved. It is a wonderful thought, but we wonder, does it apply to us? Jesus answers in verse 16. It is beautiful. "I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice, so there will be one flock, one shepherd." Jesus said He is the true door and not only is He the true door, He is the only door. We do not make a path by what we do. We are not our redeemer. That has been the message as we started from Genesis and moved forward in our through the Bible studies. Over and over God is saying, "You are not your redeemer. You are not your redeemer. You are not the door to a relationship with God. Jesus is the door." When you are saying He is the true door and He is the only door, you begin to say, "Can I go through that door?" Jesus is saying to the Jews who are gathered around, "I have other sheep and I am opening the door for them as well." You and I need to hear that. Jesus is saying, "I am not just the true door, I am not just the only door, I am the open door." I will open my heart, my love. There will be a place for you. When Jesus is saying that, it brings joy to our soul, but a huge question as well. Jesus will open the door for His sheep. Will He open the door for me? Am I really His sheep? I am glad to know that He is real. Am I His sheep for real? Jesus answers that as well. Two times He describes what it means to be His sheep. Verse three, right in the middle: "The sheep hear his voice." Not just the first group of sheep, but verse 16 will say it again: "I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice." You must remember that even the people who were listening did not get it. What do you mean that your sheep are those who hear your voice? A voice from heaven? We rejoice that so much of what is happening in the Muslim world right now with the conversions. Over and over we hear the dream stories, that Jesus appeared in a dream, He appeared in a vision. A culture of people who need that kind of confirmation have wonderful messages of conversion like has not happened for centuries in Muslim ranks happening right now in our lifetime. But is that what Jesus is talking about? No, remember He said, "You hear my voice," and they did not get it. So He said, "All right, I will take another run at it." What does it mean you hear my voice? I am the true door. I am the only door, not you. And I am the open door. Do you hear me? It is that message that Jesus is calling for these people to understand. It is so clear in verses 26 and 27. As the Jewish authorities do not want people to honor Jesus, Jesus says, "You do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me." The mark of hearing the voice of Jesus is that you believe. That is accurate. That is true. I believe that I am a sinner in need of a Savior and Jesus is the true door. My relationship with God is through Him and that door is made open, not because of what I do, not my doings, it is my hearing. I am believing He is the way. It is not that I have qualified, not that I give enough, pray enough, read my Bible enough, know the facts enough. That is not the point. Do you hear what He is saying? "I am the door." If you will accept that, if you believe that as He was urging people to do, then all of life becomes different. If we were at a church dinner and I were saying to you, "Now listen, if you want dessert, you have to go through that door. That is the only door and it is open to anyone who wants dessert." What is the mark that you heard my voice? If you want dessert, what do you do? You go through that door. Jesus is saying, "If you hear my voice, you are my sheep." You in your own heart are saying, "I know that I am a sinner in need of a Savior and I am not trusting anything I bring to the table. I am trusting Him. He is the only way that things will be made right and I believe that. I believe He has opened the door for me because I believe that, not because of what I do. He is the door." What are your takeaways from such a message? What was Jesus wanting you to take away? It means the real mark of your sheepliness. Are you really a sheep of Christ? What is the mark of your sheepness? You hear His voice. I am not talking about the mystical sound in the night. I am saying you deep in your heart believe that He is the true door, not you. He is the only door, not what you bring. And He is the open door. He will receive you as you seek Him, ask His forgiveness, come before Him. That is not natural. The apostle Paul reminds us, "The natural person does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness to him because they are spiritually discerned." Here is the hard talk we have to say: if you are that person who says, "I am really struggling to know if I am a believer or not, I do believe I am a sinner in need of a Savior, I do believe that Jesus is the door, I do believe it is not what I bring to the table but what He has done," then you have to say, "Praise God, you heard His voice." But if what you are saying is, "That sounds kind of silly to me. These people in this church, they go through the motions for things like this, but it is not really my heart," then I would have to say you haven't heard His voice. But if it is true to you, if it is real to you, that is the evidence of Him working in you.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. Change, real change is hard. In fact, some people would claim that no change is really possible. But the truth is it is possible. You can be different. You can overcome your struggle with sin or that addiction, but it won't be happening simply by turning over a new leaf or trying a little harder. The real power of change is ignited when we take hold of God's amazing grace. In the book *Unlimited Grace* by Pastor Bryan Chapell, He shows you how. *Unlimited Grace* takes you on a journey to discover how grace not only frees you from the guilt and shame of a sinful life, but also provides the daily fuel needed for joy and strength in your Christian life. Take hold of God's grace and it is the key to finding true life change. Request your copy of *Unlimited Grace*, that's the title of the book, when you go online to unlimitedgrace.com. The web address again: unlimitedgrace.com. And now more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.
Bryan Chapell: I love the story of John Wesley. John Wesley was on His way to the Americas as a missionary to the Indians to prove that he is a really good Christian. But on the boat as they are coming across the Atlantic, there is a tremendous storm and Wesley cowers in a corner fearing he will lose his life. There is a group of Moravian brothers who are praying and they seem just at peace despite the storm. One of the Moravian brothers sees Wesley cowering and he goes to him and says, "Don't you trust God for eternity?" Wesley says, "Well, I think I do." The Moravian brother, large and impressive, said, "I'm not asking what you think. Does the Spirit of God testify with your spirit that you are a child of God? I'm not talking about up here. I'm talking about the 18 inches to here. Does your heart affirm that Christ died for you and that you need Him to do that?" Wesley, while he said to the Moravian brother at that time, "Well, I think that's so," later said it was vain words. It was not until much later that he was at a conference back in England where he heard somebody reading Luther's preface to the commentary on Galatians where it says over and over again, "You are not your redeemer. It is not what you do. It is not your purchase. It is not your doing." Ultimately Wesley said, "My heart was strangely warmed." It finally got through, the penny dropped, it registered. It is not what I do, it is what He does and I believe that. It is not just for older times. I think of a Christian artist like Travis Reed who talks about wondering which person he was until the penny finally dropped. "I know now who I am," this is what he wrote. "At 13, I was baptized by my first stepfather. I believed having my stepfather baptize me might make him stick around. But three days later he beat up my mom and never came back." "The well-meaning people in churches that my mama and I cycled through didn't mention my unusual life circumstance including the four different dads that I had had. I continued searching in my young life for the father who would not go away." Church experiences did not reach his heart. What did? Years later he said, "I went to a U2 concert, yacked out on coke and tequila. The last song of the night was '40'. I had no idea the lyrics are based on Psalm 40: 'I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined his ear and heard my cry.'" Travis writes, "Out of nowhere the wind of grace blew over me. I was drenched in love and immediately sobered. The voice carried me toward the arms of God. The moment was profound." The next morning he was listening to the U2 song "Hawkmoon 269". The words are like a desert needs rain, like a town needs a name, I need your love. He writes, "I pull the car over and start weeping. I did not just hear a song. I felt it with my being. It called me to strength and gave me hope." It is that type of hearing that Jesus is talking about. Not just that we have the mental understanding that Jesus did something that church people think about. It has descended to our hearts. I believe I have need of a Savior. He will pay the penalty for my sin and I will be okay with Him for eternity. God is saying, "Do you understand that?" The proof of that sheepiness, that we have heard the voice, is that we are not paying attention to other voices. Verse five is a little hard to read: "A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers." If you are really my sheep, you are listening to Christ's voice and not other voices in the world. Here is the hard truth: it means if you are living in consistent unrepentant sin, you may say I am a believer, but you are listening to other voices and they will be drowning out your confidence that you are a child of God because so many other voices are competing. I think of the testimony right now because of the World Series of Anthony Rendon, the third baseman for the Nationals. He has been so strong as a player in what has been a tortuous year for the Nationals, despite where they are now. So he is getting lots of attention, maybe the MVP this year. In an interview with the *Washington Post*, he says, "I don't want it to seem like it's all about me, me, me. That takes away from what I do for the Lord. I want to be known as a Christian baseball player and I'm still trying to grow into that. But in the end, I want to be more Christian than baseball player." You may know on the web that got him in a lot of trouble for saying that. But what does it mean? What voice is he listening to? "I want to follow Christ. I want His priorities more than the priorities of the world. I don't want it to all be about me. I want it to be about Him. I'm listening to that voice." Ultimately it is that voice that we need when we face our weakness and our failure and our difficulty. We want to know, "Am I still a child of God?" I do believe that He is the door, but I wonder if the door is for me. I have listened to other voices. Ultimately our confidence, you must know, is in this reality. It is what Jesus says right at the end of this talk. Verse 27, He says it again: "My sheep hear my voice. I know them. They follow me." Then these beautiful words in verses 28 through 30: "I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." Father, am I really yours? I know I am struggling to be what I ought to be. But if you have heard the voice that says He is the door and that is your belief, you must know He holds on to you even when you are questioning if you can hold on to Him. When my kids were little, we always went to Colorado for our vacations at a lodge that had the bunks stacked against a wall for a big family like ours. I found that I could be in the very top bunk and play helicopter with my kids. I would reach down and I would say, "Grab a hold," and I would start to lift them heavenward. Always what would happen is as they were holding on to me they would say, "Oh daddy, I can't hold on to you. Hold on to me." What Jesus is saying is if you've heard my voice, you know you need me. This you need to know: even when you cannot hold on to me, I will hold on to you. We sing about it: "When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast. When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast. I could never keep my hold through life's fearful path, for my love is often cold, He must hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast, for my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast." It is the great blessing. The mark of the Christian: we've heard the truth and the penny dropped. We believe that He is the door. We know the proof of that is that we're walking with Him. We're listening to His voice and we're not listening to other voices. Where there is question in us if we have done all we should, we remember He said, "Here is your confidence: not your hold on me, my hold on you." We celebrate that here. We say Jesus, blood and righteousness. I don't trust me. I trust Him. He has made a way and I celebrate it for my own heart and those who witness it and those who will witness it for years to come. We believe Jesus is the door and we could not do it had His Spirit not worked in our hearts. Hi friend, this is Pastor Bryan. I'm glad you decided to tune in and listen and I would consider it a privilege to pray over you today. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, what a privilege we have to come to you in prayer. Your word says that we can come to you about anything, not just the big things and not just the things that we think we have figured out. Instead, you love us so much that you say, "Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving for your certain care, we can offer our requests to you." Because we know that the God who controls all the outcomes of things on earth and for eternity cares this much for us, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds for whatever we face with Jesus. We do not expect our prayers to end all our trials before Jesus comes, but we know that you will use our prayers, Father, to make all things work together for good until Jesus returns. Thank you for this promise and assurance. Give us the peace and the strength we need through these promises and assurances. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Guest (Male): That's Pastor Bryan Chapell and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If you've missed anything that you'd like to hear once again, just visit unlimitedgrace.com. When you do so, you can sign up for Pastor Bryan's daily devotional sent right to your inbox. While you're there, also be sure to request a copy of the book from Dr. Bryan Chapell called *Unlimited Grace*. We'll send you a copy right away as our way of saying thank you for your most generous financial support. Once again, go to unlimitedgrace.com or you can give by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by His unlimited grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.