Truth For Life

Alistair Begg: When you were a child, I'm sure you could recognize your mom or your dad's voice even from across a crowded room. I know that was true for me, wherever I was, I could single out those two voices.

Alistair Begg: Today on Truth For Life, we'll learn why believers can similarly recognize Jesus' voice. Alistair Begg is teaching from the opening verses in John chapter 10.

Alistair Begg: What in the world is Jesus saying here? For judgment I came into the world, but I didn't come as a judge. Well, it's straightforward, I think. He says, my coming inevitably creates division. My words create a distinction, a distinction that is obvious already in the response of the Pharisees.

Alistair Begg: We are the disciples of Moses. You are his disciple. Their judgment is that Jesus is not what he claims to be, and the judgment of the man is that clearly whoever he is, he has the power to change. Jesus by his word and by his works, exposes the hearts of these religious leaders.

Alistair Begg: These are the ones who are looking for the one who is to come, and he stands before them and they reject him. And it's not a matter of speculation, it's a matter of eternal significance. At the end of chapter 9, he says, you know, if you were blind, if you had no, if you didn't even have the Old Testament, if you were just completely blind, you wouldn't be guiltless, but you wouldn't be as guilty as you are now, because you are the beneficiaries of all these things.

Alistair Begg: Think of what Paul says in Romans chapter 2, and he says, but now that you say, we see, and you don't actually see, your guilt remains. Your guilt remains.

Alistair Begg: Well, he can't pause here, but let's just acknowledge that there's a lot of talk about guilt. People say, well, you shouldn't have any guilt, psychiatrists are dealing with guilt all the time, mental health, guilt is the problem, guilt is the issue, and so on. There are all kinds of notions concerning that. 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.

Alistair Begg: 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, and he says your guilt remains. Unless, of course, you would understand who came in order to deal with your guilt.

Alistair Begg: The shepherd. There's nobody that's in a worse predicament this morning than the person who is self-confident in their own sight. The children of the Enlightenment, some of my intellectual friends, you know, we're the ones who see, we feel sorry for you, Begg, that you've got into that obscurantist religion of yours, that Jesus thing. I mean, by and large, it's really reprehensible.

Alistair Begg: We're glad that we don't have to face that. 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.

Alistair Begg: And Jesus says, well, your guilt remains. No one's case is more hopeless than the person who is blind, believing they can see. No one's case is more hopeless than the Pharisee in Luke chapter 18, who says, I thank you that I am not like other men.

Alistair Begg: The response of religion to the intervention of the shepherd. So, context 1 was historically. Context number 2 was in relationship to chapter 9. And now, let's go to the content, says somebody. All right, let's do that.

Alistair Begg: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door. 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.

Alistair Begg: There's a sheepfold. Jesus is the way into the sheepfold. If you don't go into the sheepfold, you're left outside, your guilt remains, you're in deep trouble, you need Jesus. Thank you, says the grandmother, I wish Alistair had just been as clear as that this morning.

Alistair Begg: The sheepfold, the sheepfold is a sheepfold. If it was just a family affair, we'd attached to a house, adjacent to a building, a bit like something we might add to to our home to put things in. Or it would be a community courtyard. In other words, it would be in a in a central place where a number of flocks could be placed for a period of time for the night.

Alistair Begg: I suppose a bit like when you drive out 87, there's a place you can put your dog down there, I see that. It's irrelevant to me because I don't have a dog, but I always think, well, that's got to be a nightmare living in there. But anyway, if you have a dog, you just have the dog yourself, but if you want to put it in there, then it goes with all all the other dogs and.

Alistair Begg: And so, if you're a shepherd, you bring your sheep and you and you deposit them in the sheepfold. There's one point of entry and it's 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.

Alistair Begg: That would that would never be that wouldn't be the shepherd. Why would the shepherd ever do that? He would never need to do that. 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.

Alistair Begg: Right? Where 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. The one who enters, verse 2, by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

Alistair Begg: Now, another bell goes off in somebody's head. Somebody says, wait a minute, I read the rest of the chapter. Jesus is also the door of the sheep. How can he be the shepherd of the sheep and the door of the sheep? Listen, let's go back to English literature. This is a figure of speech.

Alistair Begg: Therefore, you cannot press all the metaphorical details tightly if you're going to stand back from it enough to say, oh, I get the picture. Because in actual fact, this is true all the way through John. Jesus is the he is the bread of life, and he gives the bread of life.

Alistair Begg: He is the one who tells the truth, and he is the one who is the truth. He is the one who is the shepherd, and he is also the door. Don't stumble over that. Verse 3, to him the gatekeeper opens. Who's the gatekeeper? We're not told, it's a picture.

Alistair Begg: 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 other sheep or whatever it might be.

Alistair Begg: But the sheep actually hear his voice. I sat at my desk and I said, fantastic. Voice recognition, huh? I said, what is voice recognition? So I looked it up. I was delighted to discover that it is an interdisciplinary subfield of computer science and computational linguistics that develops methodologies and technologies that enable recognition.

Alistair Begg: So you imagine the sheep saying to the other sheep, did you hear his voice? And the sheep said, yeah. VR is fantastic, isn't it? It's amazing. No, but notice, you see what it says. To him the gatekeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep.

Alistair Begg: He isn't just called sheep. He's not calling, hey, sheepy, sheepy. No, no, he's calling them by name. Martin, who wrote a book about the Holy Land in way back in 1931, records in this book, which is a quite wonderful book, early one morning, I saw an extraordinary sight, not far from Bethlehem.

Alistair Begg: Two shepherds had evidently spent the night with their flocks in a cave. The sheep were all mixed together, and the time had come for the shepherds to go in different directions. One of the shepherds stood some distance from the sheep and began to call, first one, then another, then four or five ran toward him, and so on until he had counted his own flock.

Alistair Begg: He calls his own sheep by name. I have a father. He called my name. Who are his own sheep? We know them from John chapter 6, 37. All the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never turn away.

Alistair Begg: So who are these sheep? They're the sheep who have heard the voice. I heard the voice of Jesus say, come to me. I came to Jesus. That's the sheep. That's why it's a tragedy when people in positions such as mine are not actually themselves sheep of the true shepherd.

Alistair Begg: They fulfill the role of a shepherd while never actually having come to meet the shepherd himself. He doesn't drive them from behind, he leads them from the front. They follow him because they know his voice. This is even better than the nursery.

Alistair Begg: I mean, there's a couple of times I can't get my grandchildren out of there because I don't have a ticket. Now I understand, I understand that. I'm not I'm not dissing that at all. The thing has to work, and it has to work for me as well. But you know, if you don't recognize my face, do you recognize my voice?

Alistair Begg: They followed him because they heard his voice. 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. The heavens declare his glory. We saw that in Romans chapter 1. These invisible qualities and so on are are apparent to people.

Alistair Begg: There's no there is no actual voice, but his speech goes throughout the entire earth, because everybody in the entire unplanet Earth can look up and see the rising of the moon, can wake in in the morning and see the rising of the sun. He's spoken in creation, he's spoken in conscience.

Alistair Begg: Our consciences are distorted by sin, 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?

Alistair Begg: Because God has stamped eternity in our hearts, conscience. And of course, in Christ. So, 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.

Alistair Begg: And Jesus' words are then witnessed to by the apostles who, filled with the Holy Spirit, have given to us the legacy of his words, written down for our teaching. If we had time, which we don't, we could turn to the 19th Psalm, where you've got the wonderful movement in that dramatic poem, which begins, you know, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork day unto day, other truth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge, no speech, no language, and so on.

Alistair Begg: And then without even, just like, just like poetry at school, just all of a sudden from that context, the psalmist then goes, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testament, said, wait a minute, I thought you were talking about God speaks in creation.

Alistair Begg: Yeah, but this is how he speaks. The hymn writer has it quite wonderfully when he says, and I'm looking for it in my notes, um, that in the in the act of creation, God's voice is heard. Here it is. The heavens declare thy glory, Lord.

Alistair Begg: In every star, thy wisdom shines. But when our eyes behold your word, we read your name in fairer lines. Because think about it. Throughout history, people have looked up at the sun and they've worshiped it. What is it that makes a person worship the Lord Jesus Christ?

Alistair Begg: Because they understand that he is the radiance of the Father's glory. Now, let me end in in in two ways. 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.

Alistair Begg: 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 communicating to us in this book.

Alistair Begg: Packer says, the Bible is God preaching. So the indication of how much the Bible means to me is, first of all, displayed in, 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?

Alistair Begg: Am I prepared to put my own opinions over against the truth of God's word? Am I just toying with a 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.

Alistair Begg: Obey it completely. People get a little churned up about this, you know, obeying, we're not so sure we like obeying. Listen, the reason we obey the Bible is because it is a logical outcome of our submission to Jesus.

Alistair Begg: Why do we believe the Bible? Jesus believed the Bible, and Jesus told us to. Now, the heart of the true shepherd, which we're going to go on and see in the in our study next time, the heart of the true shepherd is revealed in his voice. And the heart of the true sheep recognizes the voice of the true shepherd.

Alistair Begg: How do I know that I'm one of his sheep? I recognize his voice. He walks with me, and he talks with me. How? In his word. And he tells me I am his own. The true sheep. You see, because Mr. Jones's sheep, when Mr. Levi was calling his sheep, did not have to worry that his sheep, Mr. Jones's crew, would go off with Mr. Levi.

Alistair Begg: Because his sheep know his voice. Conversely, a stranger they will not follow. Why do you read so many stupid books, some of you? Why do you spend the fleeting moments of your time considering the voice of strangers?

Alistair Begg: Now, this is not a blanket statement regarding all of our reading. You can come back to me on this if you choose. But what I'm telling you, people come to say, did you read what Mr. So-and-so had to say about that? No, I didn't. Oh, don't you care? No, actually, I don't care.

Alistair Begg: Why? It's the voice of a stranger. Why why would I listen to the voice of a stranger? I've only got so many days left in my life. There's only so many books I can now read. So, the true sheep is known when the true shepherd walks out front by those who are actually walking behind him.

Alistair Begg: And if some other thief 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.

Alistair Begg: You flee. Well, Jesus was a stranger to the Pharisees and to the crowd. He says a stranger, you won't follow if you follow the true shepherd, but they weren't following the true shepherd. They were strangers. Now, let me end in this way.

Alistair Begg: Because when when Jesus looked looked out at at the people, remember, um, it's in the gospels all over the place. When he when he looked out on the crowd, it's said that his heart was broken, because when he looked at them, they didn't know what to do, and they didn't know where to go.

Alistair Begg: When he looked at them, they were aimless and they were confused. The crowd. Have you looked at crowds lately? Wouldn't be a good talk if I didn't finish with at least two quotes from songs. First from Paul Simon.

Alistair Begg: So he and his girlfriend take a bus to go and look for America. It's a funny thought, isn't it? How do you look for America? We're in America. And as they take their journey, he writes these words, Cathy, I'm lost, I said, though I knew she was sleeping.

Alistair Begg: I'm empty and aching and I don't know why. Just counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike. They've all come to look for America. And they look out the window and the dream of this country is fading before their eyes.

Alistair Begg: And so they say, well, we could just count the cars. And in that same era, Lennon and McCartney introduce us to Father McKenzie, who's writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear, because no one comes near. Look at him working, darning his socks in the night, when there's nobody there.

Alistair Begg: What does he care? Look at all those lonely people. Where do they all come from? Our responsibility, church, is not to go out and share our opinions with the world. If some of us shared the gospel as much as we share our opinions, yeah.

Alistair Begg: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.

Bob Lapine: You're listening to Bible teacher Alistair Begg on Truth For Life. He'll be back in just a minute to close today's program. As we continue working our way through the truly, truly I say to you series, I hope you're finding assurance from Jesus' straightforward teaching about eternal life and God's character.

Bob Lapine: To go along with this series, we are recommending to you a book that will help you lean into Jesus' words and trust his promises. It's a new book from Michael Reeves, titled, Come You Weary, enjoy Christ's comfort. This is a brief 60-page booklet that reminds us of the eternal truth that Jesus waits for us with open arms.

Bob Lapine: As we go about the events of our life, it can be easy to forget this, to become worn down by the daily demands and self-reliance. Whether we hit small bumps in the road or face major struggles, this book, Come You Weary, reminds us that Jesus is with us, and he's willing and able to comfort us and carry our burdens.

Bob Lapine: The booklet is pocket-sized, perfect to keep on hand for when you need some encouragement or you want to comfort others who are in the midst of trials. Ask for your copy of the book, Come You Weary, when you donate to Truth For Life today. You can give online at truthforlife.org/donate or call us at 888-588-7884.

Bob Lapine: Now, here's Alistair with a closing prayer.

Alistair Begg: Our God and our King, we thank you that you are the great shepherd, that in Jesus, you have come to us. He doesn't shout aloud in the streets, he doesn't cry, he doesn't draw attention to himself. He comes to bind up the brokenhearted, to heal the wounds, to grant sight to the blind and freedom to the captives.

Alistair Begg: What a wonderful shepherd. Thank you that when you draw us to yourself, we are then led out by you. You lead us from the front. Our every day, in all the way, we might look to you. Help us then to do so, we pray, for Jesus sake. Amen.

Bob Lapine: I'm Bob Lapine. There are some who believe that all religions worship the same God, we just have different names for him. But is that true? Tomorrow, we'll hear what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth For Life, where the learning is for living.