The Heavenly Calling - Part 11 — T. Austin-Sparks

We are coming to the tenth chapter of the Gospel by John, John's Gospel, chapter 10. We are seeing that behind everything in the Gospel by John is a Jewish background. And we are seeing that in this Gospel there is the movement from the Jewish background to the new Israel foreground.

That is from the old dispensation of Israel to the new dispensation of the new and heavenly Israel. In this Gospel there is a movement going on. On the one side it is the closing down of the history of the old Israel.

And on the other side the opening up of the history of the newest Israel. So that there is a background and a foreground in this Gospel. Now we are following 16 points in that transition. And tonight we come to point number 13.

Which means that there are not many left for us. And point number 13 is marked in chapter 10 of the Gospel by John. Everybody knows what is in this chapter. It is the chapter of the good shepherd and his sheep.

The Good Shepherd in John 10

We are not going to read the chapter because it is so well known. The heart of the chapter is the word, I am the good shepherd. And I want to put alongside of that one or two other passages of scripture.

And go back to the book of the Psalms. We go back to the Psalms. You have led your people like a flock through the hands of Moses and Aaron. But he led for his own people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

And he led his people like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness. And now in the Acts. Chapter 20. And verse 28. Take heed unto yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers to feed the church of God which he purchased with his own blood.

I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.

And now over to the letter to the Hebrews. And this letter is the basis of all our meditation this week. The letter to the Hebrews chapter 13. And verse 20. Now the God of peace who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of the eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus, make you perfect in every good thing to do his will.

So here we have the flock spoken of both in the Old Testament and the New. It does not need that there should be very much argument that the Lord looked upon Israel of old as his sheep. The books of the prophets are just full of this idea.

Prophets were continually speaking about Israel as God's sheep. The nations were judged by God because of their treatment of God's sheep. They destroyed and they scattered God's sheep. With the false shepherds in Israel God was very angry.

They failed to fulfill their trust to the sheep. Well there is a very great deal more as we have seen in the Psalms about Israel as the Lord's sheep. We begin our meditation on this matter by speaking about the Lord who is the owner of the sheep.

God’s Ownership and Care of His Flock

That is the great point which governs this whole matter. The sheep belong to the Lord. They are the Lord's sheep. The Lord's ownership of the flock is everywhere emphasized. The sheep exist for the shepherd.

And the shepherd exists for the sheep. The love of God for Israel as his sheep is everywhere to be noticed. They were the sheep of his pasture. The love of God for Israel of old is a very wonderful thing.

What care he showed for the sheep in the wilderness. How as a shepherd he provided pasture and water for them even in the desert. How angry he was when anyone touched his sheep. He was very jealous about his sheep.

Touch one of the Lord's sheep when you touch the Lord. The Lord claimed the ownership of his sheep. And because he owned them they were his sheep. Everything that he did was on that ground. And we in these days are seeing how on the one side God had to forsake Israel.

The God who had so loved Israel. The God who had been so jealous for Israel. The God who had done everything that he could do for Israel. Had at last to hand over his sheep. And break his relationship with them.

Why was that? That is not like God. It seems to be such a contradiction of God. God would never never do that if he could possibly avoid it. He said I have loved thee with an everlasting love. It was a terrible thing for God to have to forsake Israel.

And he had to do that. And today Israel is in that condition. Israel is no longer God's flock as it was in old times. Those sheep are scattered over all the earth. They are without a shepherd. Why did that come about?

Israel’s Rejection of God as Shepherd

Simply for this one reason. Israel's fatal sin was their repudiation of God as their one shepherd. They turned to other gods. They made other gods their shepherds. They followed the voice of other gods.

They repudiated the sole ownership of the Lord. That great chapter Isaiah 53 shows their attitude towards the shepherds. The Word rises out of that chapter and all we like sheep have gone astray. And that chapter shows how they treated God's provided shepherds.

And that chapter shows how they treated God's provided shepherds. It is impressive to see that the Apostle Paul excuses this chapter in Romans. In Romans 10 verse 16. For Isaiah said, Lord who hath believed our report?

They refused to believe the message of the prophets. And the message of the prophets was all about God as the shepherd and Israel as the sheep. And the message of the prophets was all about God as the shepherd and Israel as the sheep.

And the prophet says this is why they turned away from Jehovah. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. Away from the way of the Lord to their own way. And their own way was to choose other shepherds than the Lord.

And their own way was to choose other shepherds than the Lord. It is interesting in this context to see that in Psalm 95 where this matter of the sheep comes up. For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

Now do you notice the verse does not finish there. The rest of the verse is this strange word. Today all that you would hear his voice, harden not your heart. We are the sheep of his pasture. But the sheep can have very hard hearts.

And refuse to hear the shepherd's voice. So to his sheep of old he says, oh today that you would not harden your heart. So to his sheep of old he says, oh today that you would not harden your heart. Do you know dear friends that this word is quoted at least three times in the Hebrew.

Do you know dear friends that this word is quoted at least three times in the Hebrew. Three times in that letter it is quoted, today if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart. So it was hardness of heart that lost Israel their shepherd.

The refusal to hear his voice. Paul said in that letter to the Romans, I would have you know that a hardening of heart had happened to Israel. You have only got to read this one chapter John 10 to see the hard heart of Israel.

Israel’s Hardness of Heart in John 10

It is a terrible thing. Just look at this. Jesus has been speaking about himself as the good shepherd who giveth his life to the sheep. He has said I give unto my sheep eternal life. And they shall never perish.

And all these wonderful things about himself as the shepherd and his sheep. Do you notice what happens at verse 19? There arose a division among the Jews because of these words. And many of them, the Jews, said he hath a devil.

I am the good shepherd. I give my life for the sheep. I have come that they might have life. I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish. All these wonderful and beautiful things. And the Jews said he hath a devil.

And the Jews said he hath a devil. Do you understand now why God had to cast them off? We have hardened our hearts. We have turned everyone to our own ways. All we like sheep have gone astray. They have gone away from the shepherd because of self will.

In other words we have said we will not have this man to reign over us. That is the Jewish background to John 10. Into that situation Jesus came as the good shepherd. And what a situation to come into.

You can feel the very atmosphere of antagonism. You could feel how they hated him. Presently they will take counsel that they may kill him. He was right when he called them wolves. Who would destroy the sheep.

Right into that atmosphere Jesus came. He said I am the good shepherd. And I am going to lead my sheep out of all this. I am going to take my flock out of this city. Out of this false flock. He leads the nucleus of his new flock.

And he gives unto them eternal life. He begins with a nucleus out of the old. A dividing work takes place. I didn't read the whole of that statement. Just for this purpose I wanted to keep it until now.

There arose a division among the Jews. Many of them said he has a devil. He is mad. Why hear him? Others said these are not the things of one man. One possessed with a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?

The New Flock and the Heavenly Israel

He is evidently getting some other sheep. There are those out of the old flock who are inclined toward him. They are the new beginning. The newest rile. And he said I will lead them out. Right out of that whole city.

And we see that nucleus on the day of Pentecost. Beginning with twelve. And then one hundred and twenty. And then more than five hundred brethren at once. And then three thousand. And then five thousand.

The new flock. Well here you see. Jesus is building upon the Old Testament principles. If he cannot take the Old Testament sheep. He will take up the principle of shepherd and sheep. And he will carry it over into his new Israel dispensation.

Well the position is perfectly clear isn't it? There you have it quite plainly. One Israel is being put aside. And another Israel is being put in its place. The earthly is going. The heavenly is coming in to take its place.

And the heavenly Israel becomes the new flock under the new shepherd. Now we have to note some of the marks of these true sheep. Jesus says here I know my sheep. And there are certain things by which he knows his own sheep.

If you have any doubt as to whether you are one of the Lord's sheep. Here it is. You can prove it. And the Lord knows himself by these marks. And the Lord knows himself by these marks. You know the shepherds put a mark on their own sheep.

It may be a red mark. Or it may be a blue mark. But on their sheep they put their own mark. And in our country it is just wonderful to see how that works. Many flocks of sheep are sent out on to the mountains.

And they all get mixed up. And they wander far far over the mountains. But the day comes when the shepherds want to bring in their own sheep. Well how are they going to get their own sheep out of all this mix up?

Now here is a very wonderful thing. The shepherd has a sheep dog. Der Hirte hat einen Hirtenhund. And how it is I don't know. But those dogs know the sheep that belong to their shepherd. The sheep dog knows the sheep that belong to his master.

And the shepherd simply gives the word to the dog. And off he goes over the mountains. He is picking up all the sheep that have a certain mark on it. And the dog brings back just those sheep. The point is that the sheep have a mark on them.

And by that mark they are known. Now Jesus is saying here I know my sheep. Because there are marks on my sheep. And what are these marks? The first one is this. My sheep hear my voice. And they know me.

Hearing the Shepherd’s Voice

My sheep hear my voice. And they know me. You know this is illustration of great truth. The gospels are but the illustrations of great truth. The gospels are but the illustrations of great truth. If you go on into the rest of the new testament you will read a great deal about spiritual intelligence.

Spiritual understanding. And you will read about having an ear to hear what the spirit says. Seven times at the beginning of the book of the revelation you have that. He that hath an ear to hear let him hear what the spirit says.

Because that is not our outward ear. The sheep of the Lord have an inward ear given to them. The sheep of the Lord have an inward ear given to them. That is a faculty of spiritual intelligence. An ability to hear what no one else can hear.

It was to that that the Lord was referring. My sheep know when I speak. My sheep have an ear for me. My sheep are always listening for my voice. My sheep hear my voice. Every truly born again child of God is given a faculty of spiritual hearing.

Every truly born again child of God has this ability to hear. That is why you say in the early days of your Christian life the Lord seems to be saying something to me. The Lord seems to be saying I ought not to talk as I do talk.

The Lord seems to be saying to me that I ought not to dress as I have been dressed. The Lord seems to be saying to me that I should not go to the places that I used to go. And a thousand and other things like this.

The Lord seems to be saying something. He is speaking in the heart. And as we go on in the Christian life that becomes the governing thing in our lives. We seek to hear what the Lord has to say to us.

We seek to hear what the Lord has to say to us. And when we hear his voice there arises a crisis. Are we going back to the way of the old Israel? Going our own way? Or are we going to be listened to by this voice?

The message of the Hebrew letters does not go back to those who were lying on the cross. Today when you hear my voice do not harden your hearts like those who were lying. Listen to his voice. It is not because other people have to tell them these things.

They are a poor kind of Christian who have to be told all the time what they should do and what they should not do. It is a poor kind of Christian who have to be told all the time what they should do and what they should not do.

The true sheep hear his voice and they follow him. It is something that comes out of their hearts. They have heard him speak in their hearts. That is the whole of that New Testament subject of spiritual understanding.

And you and I as Christians are supposed to have that faculty of spiritual understanding. We were speaking about Nicodemus earlier. He was a ruler of the Jews. A great man in Israel. He had a high position.

And a great education. And yet he had not the first idea of spiritual things. Jesus had to say to him, if I had spoken to you earthly things and you have not understood, well, what will happen if I begin to speak heavenly things?

Nicodemus could not see beyond the natural to the spiritual. When Jesus said, you must be born again, he could not see beyond the natural. He said, how can a man be born when he is old? He had not any spiritual intelligence.

He was like a little child. Although a great teacher in Israel. I have a little granddaughter. About four years of age. She went to Sunday school. And she came home from Sunday school. She said to her mother, Mother, will you get me out all my baby toys?

The baby toys that we put away. Mother said, why do you want your baby toys out again? Oh, she said, my teacher says I must be born again. Well, that's a little child. You might expect that of a little child.

But here is the great big grown up Nicodemus. And he is no better than that. You might expect more of him. But you don't get it. Spiritual intelligence belongs to the born again ones. And you and I are given that gift with our birth.

We have a whole new set of faculties. To hear, to see, to feel, and so on. And I repeat, it is about that very thing that the New Testament speaks when it speaks of spiritual understanding. That is what Jesus meant when he said, my sheep, hear my voice.

And they know me. The next mark about these sheep is, my sheep follow me. Now that is very simple in the words. But it has a very deep meaning. It means that his sheep never have to be driven. His sheep never have to be compelled to go his way.

Following the Shepherd Voluntarily

His sheep follow him in a voluntary and spontaneous way. The Lord never has to say or ought never to say to his sheep, you must come this way. The Lord is going a certain way and his sheep see which way he is going and they follow him.

Of course in this part of the world it is just the other way round where sheep are conserved. I have a son who is a farmer. And he has one of these wonderful sheep dogs. And how often we have heard him give the dog a word of command.

And how often the dog has gone. But the dog has never stood in front of the sheep and said, follow me. He has got round behind the sheep. And he has driven them on. He is running from side to side all the time.

He is not letting one of those sheep get away. He is driving them on. And if a sheep should stop, the dog quietly creeps up and then suddenly lets his presence be known and that sheep goes on. Well these sheep have to be driven.

Never like that in the east. Jesus takes the principle of government from the east. He says, I don't drive my sheep. I never have to get behind them and force them to go on. I never have to send a dog after them to bite their heels to keep them going.

My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. It's a spontaneous movement of the heart to go after the law. Now let us apply the law. These are the marks of his sheep. Are you one of his sheep? Do you really hear the Lord speaking in your heart?

Do you listen for his voice? Do you seek to have your life guided by that voice of the spirit within? Speaking to you through the word of God? Speaking to you through the circumstances of your life? Speaking to you through your sorrows?

The Lord always having something to say to us? There are very few things that happen to the Lord's sheep that have some meaning. It is for us to seek to know what it is the Lord is saying to us. The government of the life of the Lord's sheep is by hearing his voice.

Do you know anything about that? And what about this spontaneous response to the Lord? Just a heart that readily goes after the Lord. We have only to know that the Lord wants something and we respond with a heart against the Lord.

The Seal of the Shepherd’s Ownership

Now I must close. Time has gone extra quickly tonight somehow. What is the bond between us, his sheep, and him, the shepherd? It is the same bond as existed between oldest Ryle and the least Ryle. It is the same bond as existed between oldest Ryle and the least Ryle.

The same principle is taken over. It is the principle of his ownership. That which unites us with the Lord is the realization that we belong to him. That he is the absolute owner of our lives. Or to quote another scripture.

You are not your own. You were bought with a price. And we have the mark of the Lord put upon us which is the seal of his ownership. And Paul tells us that the seal is the Holy Spirit. Sealed with the Holy Spirit.

When you look at a seal you know who the box belongs to. That says that this is the property of a certain people, a person. And he gives us his spirit as the seal that we belong to him. What a sheep the apostle Paul was.

He said let no man trouble me. That is try to draw me away. For I bear branded in my body the marks of Jesus. The marks of Jesus mean that I belong to him. He said to the centurion on the ship when he was traveling to Rome.

The angel of the Lord stood by me this night. Whose I am and whom I serve. The true sheep of the Lord are never ashamed to say I belong to the Lord Jesus. He owns my life and everything that I have. I am completely committed to him.

That is a true sheep. Well these are the marks of his new Israel. And you can now understand why we have these words which have been the key to all our meditation. Wherefore holy brethren companions of a heavenly calling companions of Christ there is a kind of companionship between this shepherd and his sheep.

They are not just animals. They are friends. Wonderful friendship between the Lord Jesus and his own. Companions of a heavenly calling. We pray.