The sermon 'Fuel for Missions & Evangelism' by Michael Templeton focuses on John 10:16, exploring Jesus' role as the Good Shepherd and the concept of 'other sheep' not of the fold, which represents the Gentiles. Templeton underscores the importance of missions and evangelism, fueled by the doctrines of election and definite atonement. He emphasizes that Jesus' atonement was designed for the elect and that believers are called to spread the Gospel, trusting in God's power to gather His sheep. The sermon encourages believers to be bold and courageous in evangelism, highlighting that God's purpose in salvation is sure and that His voice is heard through the preaching of His Word. Templeton also stresses the importance of unity among believers as one flock under one shepherd and calls for active engagement in missions both locally and globally.

Our sermon text is in John, Chapter 10. We'll be going through verse 16 alone, but we'll be going starting in verse one and reading all the way through 18. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs up some other way, The same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which he spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, Most assuredly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd, and I know my sheep, and am known by my own. As the Father knows me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. And they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore, my Father loves me, because I lay my life down, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again.

This is the command I have received from my father. Let's pray. Oh Lord God, I thank you so much Lord for this scripture, for this text. Oh Father, what a comfort it is to know Lord that those of us who are your children, that we're not doing anything you haven't already done, Lord, that you've gone before us, that we know your voice and that we trust in you. Oh God, I pray, Father, that Just like we see that you are bringing more sheep into your fold or please I pray that you would bring sheep into your fold even today Oh Lord God, I pray that you'd be with Michael Oh Lord give him strength give him the full power and authority of Scripture as he brings this text.

Oh Lord, please bless this brother as he comes and brings your word to your church. In Jesus' name, Amen. So for the past two weeks, We've soaked in the lavish and self-sacrificing care of our great shepherd, the Lord Jesus. This has been contrasted over against the self-serving lack of care from the false shepherds of Israel. What a joy it is to be a sheep in the pasture of the Lord Jesus.

Amen to that, right? What a joy It is. What a grueling enslavement the other pastors are. Last week, part of what we heard was about how our shepherd's power, I love the point in James' sermon, is far beyond the power of our shepherd, it's far beyond the lion-beard-grabbing shepherd David. Picture that in your mind.

I said that Wednesday night at prayer. It was so powerful to me. I know it's not our text, but in 17 and 18 where the Lord Jesus says, the Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. And he says, no one takes it from me. I lay it down because I have power to lay it down and power to take it again.

That is some power. And today I want you to see and I want you to savor that power. I want you to leave today so empowered, I want you to leave today so courageous, those of you that are in the Lord Jesus Christ, so full of courage and power that you can't help but speak of the glorious Savior that you are going to be taught about today. I pray that you will grow in your confidence in God's work to gather in His sheep from the four corners of the world. Those four corners include your workplace, our homes, our neighborhoods, that you'll grow in boldness and in courage to speak the Gospel.

So we go to our one verse today. Let's ask for the Lord's help again. Oh Pity the nations and And I pray that that pity would come on some of those My heart breaks for some in this room. Pity them, Lord. Constrain them.

Not Dragging them, kicking and screaming. No one comes to you kicking and screaming. We all, if we've come to you, we come running because you are glorious and beautiful. Make that happen this morning. Right now for some.

We all have them in our minds eye. Pity them, constrain them. And not just these, the nations as we've just been read to from Revelation 7. Gather in your sheep that Jesus you have spilt your blood for. It is sure.

Oh God, make us bold because of what we see today. In Jesus' name, amen. So the one verse that I have today is verse 16. Let's read it again. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

If I could get a tissue, please. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring and they will hear my voice and there will be one flock and one shepherd." So basically with one verse I'm going to just take this phrase by phrase. The first phrase that I want us to look at is, and other sheep I have which are not of this fold. And there on your handout, if you're filling in the blanks, it's Jesus has other sheep not of this fold. So has and fold.

And I'm drawing that, it's almost verbatim what Jesus says in verse 16, and other sheep I have which are not of this fold." And so within the sheep fold, if we go back to the beginning of chapter 10, within this sheep fold we see in verse 1 that We have a mixed group of sheep. I know often we are used to analogies of sheep and goats when we are talking about believers and unbelievers. But actually here in chapter 10 we actually have unbelievers being referred to as sheep. So we have a mixed group of sheep and some of these sheep belong to Jesus and some do not. Where do I get that from?

Verse 4, Jesus says and when He brings out His own sheep, meaning He is leaving some sheep in the sheepfold but He is bringing out his own. My sheep in verse 14, verse 26, you're not of my sheep, you're somebody else's sheep. Verse 27 again, laying hold of a specific identity of my sheep. This fold in the first phrase, it's speaking of Israel. And whether it's the believing Israel or just in general Israel, I don't think that's critical to our understanding of verse 16.

I'm inclined to think that it's believing Israel that he's referring to because right after he says, them also I must bring. But again, I don't think it's critical to you understanding what's Jesus talking about when he says, and other sheep I have which are not of this fold." The important part is Jesus is declaring to some of those that are not of the fold, that are outside of this fold, and that some that are actually part of that fold maybe, but are really not part of Jesus' fold, he's telling them that this wall of separation between Gentile and Jew, I'm blowing it wide open. And really and honestly, it's been this way from the beginning. It was never God's intentions to simply save Israel. And we'll see that when we get back into the Old Testament.

That from the beginning, you have to believe that if you've been chosen before the foundations of the world, that from even Before the beginning, God's intentions was for the multitude, like Josh Shred, to be so many you can't even count them, that would come in and be mixed of Jew and Gentile alike. If you haven't connected the dots, Praise God, because I don't think there's a Jew in the room. But if there is, praise God that you're in Christ, if you are as well. But I think all of us are beneficiaries that this is so, so true. Listen to Romans 9, 6-8 just to support this ideal of a mixed group within Israel.

But it is not that the Word of God has taken no effect for they are not all Israel who are of Israel. It couldn't be plainer. Nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham. But in Isaac your seed shall be called. That is, those who are the children of the flesh.

These are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. So crystal clear, God's people is broader than the fold of the nation of Israel. We need to pause here and try to feel how jolting this was to the Jewish leaders. But like I've told you, the irony is that shows you how absolutely blind they've been to their own scriptures. But this would have been jolting, this would have been shocking how God was going to be saving some outside of the nation of Israel.

But the next part of the first phrase that we're looking at in, and other sheep I have which are not of this fold, is I have. It's not I may have or I had them but I lost them, now I've got to go find them. Jesus, this is present active. I have them. It's like I've got a car.

It's sitting out there in the parking lot. I have a wife. She's in the back. That's the kind of language Jesus is using. I have them.

And it's even more glorious than that. It's more glorious in the sense of, I have them and they're not even born yet. I'm one of them. And you're one of them if you're in Christ. Jesus right here, I have them and Maybe he was thinking of Gary or Taylor.

If you're in Christ, when he says, I have them, you're in his mind's eye. The love, and I'm going to drive this home in just a second, the love of The Lord Jesus Christ is not this indiscriminate, just, I love the world. He does love the world, but I don't love you like I love my wife. I don't think that's insulting to any of you. The Lord Jesus Christ has a definite and special love for you, His child.

And I want you to feel that. Ryle puts it this way, let it be noted here that our Lord uses the present tense. The Heathen sheep were as yet heathen and not brought in, yet he says, I have them. They were already given to him in the eternal counsels and the foreknowledge from the beginning of the world." We see language very similar to this in Acts 18. So if you will, turn with me to Acts 18.

In Acts 18, Paul departs from Athens and he comes into Corinth. If you are not familiar with Corinth, this is full, full of idolatry. And Paul comes into Corinth And he stands and he preaches the gospel to the Jews and they scorn him and he shakes his garments and then he says, I'm going to go to the Gentiles. And he goes and many respond. And now in verse 9, listen to the language.

Now the Lord spoke to Paul, this is Acts 18, the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent. Why do you think Paul would be afraid here? I don't know where we are at timeline wise, but how many times did Paul get his back with the lashes? Do you not ever think that Paul maybe thought about quitting? Do you not think that maybe Paul ever said, like, I can't take another lashing?

Like one lashing and your back, it's jelly. And then it scars over And then he goes and he gets it again. And how many of us are like, I'm throwing in the towel, I can't take it anymore. It may not be that severe, but whatever the long suffering or the rejection that you have to walk through, Do you not think that the apostle Paul thought about throwing in the towel? And Jesus comes to him and he says, I am with you Paul.

No one will attack you to hurt you. And here this very similar language. For I have many people in this city. For I have many people in this city. For I have many people in this city.

So therefore I hope it's clear to you what Jesus is teaching us here is that he has people not of Jewish lineage that are not even aware that Jesus has them yet. The question should come up in your mind, in what way does Jesus have them? In what way does Jesus have these other sheep? Or from Acts 18, in What way does Jesus have these other people? I have many other people in this city.

The answer is not that he made them. Is it? Surely not. That would make no sense. He owns everybody.

He made every one of us. He owns everything. So it's not that he simply has them because he made them. That's too general. The answer lies in the doctrines of election.

And I'm going to use the word definite instead of limited, definite atonement. You may be thinking in your mind, what in the world are you doing? The title of my sermon is the fuel for missions and evangelism. Exactly. If you go back and you study These missionaries that labored on the field or these pastors that labored in cities For decades and they held the line.

I bet you money most of them. This is what kept them there Do you think for one second that you in your slick presentation or your smarts is going to be anything against the hardness of the human heart? You'll pack your bags, you'll give up at work, you'll give up in your neighborhood, you'll give up in your family quickly if you don't lay hold of these truths. Or, you'll so burn yourself out that you'll give up because you have no other choice. The answer to how does Jesus have other sheep?

How does Jesus have many other people in this city lies in the doctrines of election and definite atonement. Listen to the late R.C. Sproul. He writes on definite atonement. The doctrine focuses on the question of the design of Christ's atonement.

All non-universalists, and what's that mean? You don't believe that all are going to be ultimately saved. Everybody is going to heaven. The Bible doesn't teach that. I don't think anybody in this room believes that if you do.

You don't believe what the Bible teaches. But it's more than that. It's more than just being a non-universalist here. All non-universalists are willing to agree that the effect of Christ's work on the cross is limited to those who believe. So let's at least assume that we can all agree on that.

That the work of Jesus Christ on the cross is limited to those that believe. Let's keep going. R.C. Sproul writes, everyone also agrees that the merit of Christ's death is sufficient to pay for the sins of all human beings. So we have two truths that I think all of us can agree on.

That all who believe will be saved and that Jesus' blood has sufficient merit to save everyone on the planet. It's got the power to do that. Some put it this way, Christ's atonement is sufficient for all, but efficient only for some. Those who deny definite atonement insist that Christ's work of atonement was designed by God to atone for the sins of everyone in the world. You read that again.

Those who deny definite atonement insist that Christ's work of atonement was designed by God to atone for the sins of everyone in the world. It made possible the salvation of everyone, but made certain the salvation of no one. This is not the reformed view. This is not my view. This is not the view of the elders of this church.

This is not the view of our confession. We don't believe that the atonement made salvation certain for no one. We do believe that we indiscriminately preach the gospel. We do believe that the gospel call is presented to everyone with zero discrimination. But we don't believe that the atonement made certain no one's salvation just possible.

Let's keep reading. Its design is therefore unlimited and indefinite. Unlimited and indefinite. The Reformed view, my view, holds that Christ's atonement was designed and intended only for the elect. Christ's atonement was designed and intended only for the elect.

And I've already threw in some clarifying comments because if you have a problem with definite atonement, And we're going to get to application, but it's critical that you stay with me in understanding what I'm talking about. This is the foundation. This is fuel for missions and evangelism in your life. So please, please don't be like, this is too much theology Michael. Like, stay with me.

I'm trying to say it in a few different ways so you can stay with me and stay engaged. If you have a problem with definite atonement, most of the time, it's an ideal of this hyper-ideal, hyper-Calvinism of this, I'm going to discriminate who I'm preaching the gospel to, or actually I'm not even going to go preach the gospel because God's going to save who He will. And I say to hell with that kind of thinking. That is thinking of the devil, thinking of demons, taking a precious truth that will give you backbone to preach the gospel and side tracking you. Don't give in to that.

God's purpose in the death of Christ, it does relate to all people in some ways. We can freely and genuinely preach the gospel to all. Unleash the gospel to all." And so back to Sproul's quote, Furthermore, the atonement ensured salvation for all the elect. Like I highlighted, it made possible the salvation of everyone but made certain the salvation of no one. Listen to the counter proposal to that ideal.

The atonement was an actual, not merely potential, work of redemption. The atonement was an actual, not merely potential work of redemption. In this view, in the reformed view of definite atonement, There is no possibility that God's design and intent for atonement could be frustrated. Praise the Lord that that's true. Like, what's the alternative?

Your slick presentation, your smarts, catching them right at the right time. How's that going for you? The atonement was an actual, not merely potential work of redemption. In this view, there is no possibility that God's design and intent for atonement could be frustrated. God's purpose in salvation is sure.

Praise the Lord for that. I've got a pile of scripture references. You're like, R.C. Sproul, fine. Show me some Bible, Michael.

Write these down. I don't have time to go through all of them. I may read a couple of them. John 10, 11. John 10, 15, the second half, focusing on is Jesus' atonement, is His life laying down work for specific people, or is it just indiscriminate?

Or is it just indiscriminate? John 11, 51 and 52. John chapter 17. Romans chapter 8 verse 32, I'll read that one. He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all." And if you look at the context, they all is the elect of God in chapter 8 of Romans.

How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? And here's the one I really want to highlight. Ephesians 1 verses 4 through 6. Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he made us accepted in the beloved." And the last two references, if you want to write these down and go home and look them up, Ephesians 5.25 and Revelation 5 verse 9. So that's an other sheep I have which are not of this fold.

This fold meaning Israel, so I've got sheep, I have them, like I have a car out in the parking lot, Jesus is laying hold of them and the reason that he has them is that he atoned for them, he bought them, he doubly owns them. He made them and he owns them in that way, but he has purchased them, he has redeemed them. The second phrase that I want to look at in our verse is, ìThem also I must bring, and they will hear my voice.î ìThem also I must bring, and they will hear my voice." If you're filling in your outline, Jesus must is the first word. Jesus must bring these other sheep and they will hear his voice. So the two words are must and voice.

The ideal of, Do you get the sense of I must, like this constraining, like this has to happen? And that's going to be connected to Jesus coming into the world as The long awaited Messiah is fulfilling a pile of Old Testament promises about the Messiah gathering in a people that is much broader than the nation of Israel. Turn with me to Isaiah 56. Isaiah chapter 50-56. I'm going to read verses 3 through 8.

Through eight. Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord speak saying, The Lord has utterly separated me from his people, nor let the eunuch say, Here I am a dry tree, for thus says the Lord." Now just to pause a second, for some reason in my mind I went back to when Jason was preaching, I think it was Nehemiah or Ezra and talked about eunuchs and how the laws and how these guys couldn't come within ten feet of the temple. And have that in the back of your mind, what God is saying through the prophet Isaiah about these outcasts. To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath and choose what pleases me and hold fast my covenant, even to them I will give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

Also the son of the foreigner who joined themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love the name of the Lord to be his servants. Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and holds fast my covenant, even them I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." Verse 8, the Lord God who gathers the outcast of Israel says, Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him." How clear could it be back in Isaiah 56 of what the Messiah would come and do. What God's intentions were from the foundations of the world. Listen to Ephesians chapter 1, actually I've already read it, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.

This predates, this in-gathering, so Christ coming, this avalanche of Old Testament promises just come, just crashing off the mountain as Jesus Christ steps into history and he fulfills them all. This gathering in of other sheep. Listen to Genesis 12 just to drive it home even more. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse him who curses you.

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Two more, Listen to them, write them down. Isaiah 42, 6. I, the Lord, have called you, he's talking about the Messiah. I've called you, Jesus, in righteousness and will hold your hand.

I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles." Jesus fulfilling Isaiah 42-6 and Isaiah 49-6. Indeed, he says, is it too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel, I will also give you as a light to the Gentiles that you should be my salvation to the ends of the earth." So Christ coming into history fulfilling a mountain of Old Testament promises about the in gathering of those outside of the nation of Israel. The Next phrase in what we're looking at here, them also I must bring and they will hear my voice. So before we think about hearing Jesus' voice, let's think about why some hear his voice and some don't hear his voice. Right now, as words come out of my mouth, some are hearing the truth as God's Spirit takes my words so as much as they are true with this word, He is taking these words and applying them to some of your ears in such a way that you really hear them.

And others of you, like you have lunch on your mind. You have, what am I doing this afternoon? This is utterly boring. When is he going to stop talking? Why is that?

Is it because some of you are dumb and some of you are smart? No. There are scripture verses that say, I have opened the eyes of the dumb to shame those that think they are wise and smart. It's not that. Why do Some hear the voice of Jesus and some don't hear His voice.

Just for the sake of time, I'll be done before you get there. John 8, 47. He who is of God hears God's words. Therefore you do not hear because you are not of God. And then right in our chapter, chapter 10, verses 3 through 5, To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out and when he brings out his own sheep he goes before him and the sheep follow him for they know his voice.

Verses 25 and 27 of chapter 10 I think make it crystal clear for us. Why do you, if you've heard the voice of Jesus in a saving way, why is that? And if you haven't, why haven't you? Listen to Jesus in verse 25 of chapter 10. This is Jesus answering them.

I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep." Do you get what he is saying there? And the order of it? You don't believe because you are not of my sheep.

It's not, You are not of my sheep because you don't believe. That's true. The force and the foundation of what Jesus is telling us here is that the reason that you don't believe is because you don't belong to me. I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised that you are scorning what I'm saying.

You don't hear my voice. You don't believe because you're not of my sheep. As I said to you, my sheep hear my voice. If you were of my sheep, you would hear my voice. If you hear the voice of Jesus, it's because you're one of his sheep.

It's not the other way around. In my mind, I'm really just exchanging this believing and hearing. We all have enough sense to know I'm not talking about can you hear me right now Yeah, oh you all can hear me. I'm talking about can you really hear? Jesus in these words Believing or hearing doesn't make you one of his sheep.

You believe because you are one of his sheep. If you hear Jesus' voice, and what's that mean? Hear his voice. Like some of you may say, I hear His voice every day. My mom won't stop talking about Him.

Praise God. My dad, that's all he wants to do after dinner is devotions. I'm sick of hearing Jesus' voice. You're not hearing Him. That's not hearing Him.

When Jesus says you hear Me, you're like, oh that's beautiful. That's what I've been looking for. To give me some more. Tell me some more. I love what I'm hearing.

That's meaning, that's purpose, it's peace, it's freedom from enslavement to sin. I can have peace with God. Hallelujah. Let me have some more verses. That's the kind of hearing that I'm...

You only hear like that because God has chosen you to be one of His sheep. If you hear, even If it's faint right now, if you're like, I know these other things that are vying for my affections. I know they're bad for me. But oh, they pull on me, but oh, I hear Jesus, and I know what my dad is saying is true. Run to Jesus.

Run, like get your Bible out, get on your knees. Oh, help me want it more, Lord. Like You don't even hear the faintest of His voice if He's not at work in your life. If you can hear a faint whisper of Jesus, meaning if it is in any way attractive and beautiful, do you run to Him? And how do you run to Him?

Michael, get His Word out. Get your mom and dad. Tell me more. Like I hear His voice, but the world is yanking on me. It wants me.

Isn't that what the Bible says? The devil wants to destroy you. Those things that are vying for you saying, Oh no, don't listen to that. They just want to murder you and throw you into hell. Run to Jesus.

Throw yourself on Him if you can hear Him at all. And If you can't, if it's all just boring and blah blah blah, that's all you hear, beg that God would allow you to hear. If right now what I'm saying to you is just as boring as anything else, oh Please, we beg you, we beg you to cry out to God to have mercy upon you. Now let's think about Jesus' voice. We thought about why some hear His voice.

Let's think about His voice. How would these other sheep that are out in the future hear Jesus' voice? Sometimes when I'm preaching I have a tendency, and some of you get uncomfortable, like to point at you and refer to your name. I'll try to, I almost did it just then I'll refrain myself from that. But my question was, do you hear Jesus' voice?

Does Jesus talk to you audibly? Don't answer that out loud. Does Jesus talk to you audibly? Is He telling you new information? That's how the Mormons got started and a bunch of other crazy aberrations of false religions get started.

So this is not what I'm advocating for. You're not going to hear Jesus whispering new information into your ear. That's not the kind of hearing of Jesus' voice. Where is the only place with confidence that you can go to hear His voice? That's a non-rhetorical question.

Children, where? The Bible, that's right. The Bible, the Word of God is the only place that you will go and hear the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you think for some crazy reason you are hearing it through some other channel other than the word of God, beware. Go to somebody that you know loves the Bible and be like, Jesus is telling me this.

What do you think? And what that person should do is like, well what did he tell you? And you tell them and then the person should start flipping through the pages of the Bible and be like, I don't think Jesus is telling you that to do. We're total sidetracked. We're so subjective.

Like, that's the trump card. Well, I just know the Lord wants me to do this. Regardless of what it says in His Word, I just got this sense, this peace that the Lord really wants me to do this. So don't go that route. When we're thinking about the voice of Jesus, let's turn to John chapter 17.

John chapter 17 is a glorious place to read from the mouth of Jesus, this is Jesus' words, to read from the mouth of Jesus what he means, what he's talking about when he says, and they will hear my voice. I'm going to break this up into about four different sections. Verse one, Jesus spoke these words, lifted up his eyes to heaven, John chapter 17 and said, Father the hour has come, glorify your Son that your Son also may glorify you as you have given him authority over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him." That's one of those verses undergirding that definite atonement ideal. It's not just made up in some seminary. It's from the Bible.

And this is eternal life, verse 3, that they may know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given me to do. And now, O Father, glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world was." So here in verses 1-5, Jesus, it stands out to me like neon sign, I have finished the work which you have given me to do. This is the end.

In chapter 18, Judas comes. Like we're at the end of Jesus' life. He's preparing to leave. He says, I've finished the work that you've given me to do, but we're going to see it's not done. The work that God gave Jesus to do is done, but there's still work for you and me to get to.

Let's keep reading, verse 6. I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they have known that all things which you have given me are from you, for I have given to them." And again we're thinking of what does Jesus, what does he mean when he says they will hear my voice? For I have given to them the words which you have given me.

So God is entrusted words. Remember Jesus and John. I don't do anything on my own accord, I see what the Father is doing, He loves me, He reveals everything that He is doing to me, and I don't go off and just take on my own initiative, my own little side projects, I'm doing everything that the Father has told me to do, So all these words the Father has given to Jesus, Jesus is saying, I'm now turning and I'm giving them to these men. He's talking about His disciples. Let's skip down to verse 9, I pray for them.

I don't pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. And all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world." In verse 20, and I may skip some of 17 for the sake of time, he is talking about you. If you are a Christian and he says it explicitly, let's just jump there. There's a lot of word language between verse 10 and 11 and so on up to verse 20 of Jesus talking about the Father, all these words that God has given him and now he is turning and he is giving them to you.

And he says, I don't pray for these alone that are right here with me, but also for those who will believe in me, What? Through their word. You get this idea of people making disciples and multiplying. Like, I'm going to give my word to this group of men and they're going to go and they're going to pass my word off to some others. I am praying for those people that are going to believe in me through the word that I am giving them and expectations are what?

Expectations are that and then those will take my words and they will pass them and give them to other people. We know this, don't we? This is how other sheep hear the voice of Jesus. This is how other sheep hear the voice of Jesus through the foolishness of the message preached. Does this not blow you away?

I'm telling you, Jesus is telling us that you are the potential voice of Jesus Christ. And I say potential. That means I'm only throwing that in there so you don't misunderstand saying, every time I stand up I think I'm speaking Jesus. The Holy Spirit has to come and connect with these words and they can blow up like a piece of dynamite in your life. I can guarantee you one thing, if you don't stick to this, you can talk to your blue in the face.

Nothing will come of it. Here in Jesus' words, He is telling us that you have the potential to be His voice. You and I, like Romans 10 says, what does Romans 10 say? Romans 10 verses 13-15. How can they be saved if they don't believe?

Well, how can they believe if somebody doesn't go preach to them? I'm not saying somebody can't find a scrap of Bible verse, Somebody threw away on the side of the street and pick it up and read it and get saved. But that's the exception. The primary means of men and women coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, You're sitting, I'm looking at you. This is, you and I are the primary means of where in the Lord Jesus Christ and in as much as we're preaching His Word, are the primary means of how people will hear the voice of Jesus Christ.

So that phrase that I've just worked through, that them also I must bring and they will hear my voice. They are going to hear the voice of Jesus Christ because you open your mouth and you tell them His words. That's how they will hear the voice of Jesus. The last phrase, I'm not going to spend hardly any time on it just for time because I want to get to our applications. The last phrase in verse 16 is, And there will be one flock and one shepherd.

There, if you're filling in blanks, it's one in one. One flock and one shepherd. You look forward to the day when our brothers and sisters in Malawi were part of that multitude that you can't count. There's going to be one body of Christ, one universal church. Are you ready for that?

Have you come to terms that not all of God's blood bought people are going to dress, smell, talk, even educate like you and me? Are you ready for that? May, and this is one of our applications, I'm going to skip past two paragraphs of our confession. Go read chapter 26, the last two paragraphs of our confession. And pray with me that God would help us to build a stronger sense of being one flock under one shepherd.

I'm not saying, I love our distinctives, and I'm not saying build bridges to nowhere. Build bridges with people that love Jesus and love the gospel and love His word. And They may not do everything the way we do it, but let's be actively building bridges with those outside of our immediate vicinity here at Sovran. So to applications, again chapter 26 was part of the confession that I referenced, and it's the last two paragraphs, if you want to look those up. So I have three applications.

The first application, I basically just gave it. Let us increase our communion among other brothers and sisters. I don't say that to you because I talked to somebody about this and they were like, I barely have time to spend time with you Michael, let alone go building relationships with a bunch of other people. I understand that. Maybe a little bit.

Please don't go out and forget me and my family because you're trying to love everybody at faith. Or another gospel center church. Don't forget us. We really should be your primary responsibility. You've covenanted with us, if you're a member here, fulfill your vows towards us first.

But then as God allows. And husbands don't go home and crush your wives saying, we're booking the Templeton's this week and then we're going to have one family from another church once a month. Don't do that. But do seek out opportunities. It doesn't have to be having them in your home necessarily.

Strike up conversations at restaurants, at work. Build bridges and relationships. Let us take steps to hold communion. This is language from the Confession. Let us take steps to hold communion among other brothers and sisters for our peace, increase of love, and mutual edification.

Let us be the one that takes the first step towards and initiates getting to know other gospel, it's a critical, loving people around us. The next two are more missions and evangelism. Again, the title of the sermon is fuel for missions and evangelism. And I'm wanting to say the fuel is that theology of definite limited atonement, the theology that Jesus has paid and redeemed people that don't even know yet they belong to him. Go get them.

Go gather them in. And you're not free to gather them in however you want to. They won't respond to you. You'll be like the voice of the stranger and they'll flee from you. Gather them in with His Word.

The second application is let us be bold and courageous in our evangelism. Think of it. You could be interacting with, living beside or near, or be a blood relative with another other sheep. They don't know it yet. God knows it.

You could be interacting and relating with someone that's an other sheep. That if he or she just hears Jesus' voice, we'll come into the flock of Christ. We please, Sovereign Erdemer, we are not on a fool's errand. It may feel that way, Like the nursing homes come to my mind. We are not on a fool's errand there.

We are not on a fool's errand anywhere. We are about the business of our Savior. We are about the business of our Master. It is not a fool's errand. He says, I will, I must gather them in.

I've already paid for them. Do you think Jesus is going to waste a drop of His blood? Heaven forbid. So may this just give you a backbone of titanium to head out into the world and preach Jesus Christ to people. And I'm not saying take the Bible and just cram it down their throat.

No. We have to be wise and thoughtful and relationship building, but get to his word. And you may say, I don't know what to say, like people can see fakers, can't they? They can see second handers. Like this word's got to be woven into the fiber of your heart.

You can tell when you're talking to a faker, can't you? Like he's just spouting something else he's heard. He doesn't believe what he's saying. Maybe that's why you're not seeing anything. I don't know.

Jesus' words are true. My sheep, when they hear my voice, they will come to me. So let us be bold and courageous in our evangelism. And lastly, when we got into John, I don't remember when, but I said to James and Jason, if I can preach verse 16, I want it. And they graciously let me do it.

Because I want you to know, this verse is not just for missions. This is for you. You're in missions too. We're not going to Turkey by ourselves. Tell me now because I don't want to go.

This verse is for you too preaching the gospel in your house to your kids. Our kids are so, like, have you not hit up against the stone heart of your children? Like, I just want to choke them sometime, but I know That's not going to do any good. I just want to take them and shake them. But God, how hard that heart is of our unbelieving children.

This is for you. Keep preaching Jesus. Keep speaking the voice of Jesus Christ to your children, and God promises you if they're His. You can't shed a million tears to change that. So get over that.

Just preach it. In hopes and expectations till your dying breath that maybe they belong to him. Don't give up. But lastly, we're not on a fool's errand in Malawi, nor will we be in Turkey. Oh, may the truths of John 10, 16 give us such a backbone and stamina.

Oh, when you want to throw in the towel, when we've been in Turkey, Lord willing, for who knows how many years, and you're like, what? There's nothing happening. I hope that's not the case. The Gospel's been in Turkey for a long time, And there's not many believers. May we run to verses like 10-16 to give us stamina to keep preaching His Word.

Is God true or not? Is God's Word faithful or not? I hope the resounding affection of your heart is, oh it's true, but it's help me Lord to believe. Help my unbelief. I'm not up here preaching at you guys like, yeah, I got this whipped.

No. I'm just like, they're never going to come talking of some children and even some other children that I dearly love in this congregation that you know I talk to you, and I know your parents do. Oh, hear the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ and come to Him. Oh Father, we are So thankful. I've seen and hit against the stone heart of the unbelieving human being.

And I have nothing in my arsenal to break through that. But oh, we have the voice of our Savior that will crack that heart open. Oh as I prayed at the beginning, pity, pity those in our midst, Lord, constrain them to come to Jesus and constrain Malawians, constrain Turks to come to the Savior. Oh, that your churches would be full, that the lamb would receive the reward of his sufferings. Oh Jesus, you have purchased a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

We may be neighbors with one of them. Give us boldness. Give us more faith to go to them and to speak your words to them. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Man.