Thank you again for this time
we have together. We lift up these prayer requests
to you. We pray that you would be with each person that was
mentioned. Be with David and Suzanne, O
Lord. Comfort them during this time of loss. And the family,
give them grace and strength, we pray. And also be with Brother
Drew as he's recovering in the hospital. Oh Lord, we pray that
you would encourage him through your word and through your saints
as they visit him. Oh, that you would just be his
strength and his rest. And Melinda's too, as she goes
through the chemotherapy and the whole... process of battle
on battle and cancer it's so hard but we have so many trials
in this world and tribulations but we know that you are our
strength and our our rest and so we pray that you would just
be glorified in those situations and magnified in those situations
we pray you bless the services today that our hearts and minds
would be drawn to thee lord jesus and all that we would leave here
in wonder and awe of who you are and what you've done for
your people. And we love you and praise you
in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay. Today we'll continue our
study in the Christ is series. And I was thinking about this.
We've been actually doing a theology study upon Christ, but in a very
weekly way of just examining different aspects of who Christ
is. And it's a real blessing because we see Him in different
pictures of Him, but the same person being God incarnate in
the flesh and our Savior and our Redeemer. And today we'll
be in John chapter 10 and we'll look at the fact that Christ
is the door. He's the door. John 10 verses
1 to 11. Scripture declares, verily, verily,
I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold,
but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber.
So he makes a statement here about if you enter in any other way
other than Christ into the sheepfold, you're a thief and a robber.
So there's no other way into the sheepfold but through Christ.
But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and
he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out." Now, a
little interesting little thing here. When shepherds would bring
their sheep into the sheepfold, you could get three or four different
shepherds putting their sheep into the sheepfold. But when
a specific shepherd, say, Brother John, you had 20 in there and
I had 30, And Brother Noel, you had 40. You'd go in and you'd
call your sheep and they'd only hear your voice and they'd only
follow you. And I'd call my sheep and they'd only follow me. They
wouldn't follow anyone else's voice. So the sheep only follow
the shepherd's voice. And the Lord's people only follow
his voice. And how do they hear his voice?
Through the preaching of the gospel. Through the preaching
of his word. And he calleth his own sheep
by name and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his
own sheep, He goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of
strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood
not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said
Jesus unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door
of the sheep. I am the door of the sheep. All
that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the
sheep did not hear them. I am the door. By me, if any
man, and this is our text, I am the door. By me, if any man enter
in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not but for
to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have
life. and that they might have it more
abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." Oh, what a wonderful
statement. Now, our Lord here uses a metaphor
which we can easily understand, both young and old. He uses a
metaphor, a picture here before us. And think of this, in our
lives, we daily use doors. And even in the times The biblical times, they use
doors all the time. We use doors in our lives, whether
it be in our home or work, or when we go from one place to
another. How many doors in one day do we go through? And there's
a picture of Christ right before us, and we just simply wander
through the doors. But every day the gospel is set
for us, beloved. It's incredible. It's absolutely
incredible. A door is something which we
must pass through to enter into various buildings, which we visit
in our lives again every day. In our homes, in order to go
from one room to another, we go through doors, which we either
keep open or must be open for us to enter into certain rooms. Every day. And a door during biblical times
was a point of entry. And here, the door in the sheepfold
is also a gate. It's an entry into the sheepfold. So a door during biblical times
was a point of entry, especially to a house. And the doorframe
was given special significance within the Law of Moses, and
temple keepers had a special status. They even had doorkeepers during biblical times. They had
men who would sit at the gates of the city, the doors of the
city. Watchmen. And used figuratively in our
text, it was used of the Lord Jesus Christ here to show that
he alone is the door. He alone is the door, which gives
sinners which is what we are. We who believe are safe sinners,
right? It gives sinners access to God
and to the fold of God. Now the function of doors then
was the same as today. It was gaining, now think of
this, it was gaining or barring entry. A door does two things. It either gives you access or
it bars you from access. Two functions, right? And here before us, we have our
great God saying, and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, saying,
I am the way. He either gives access or He
borrows access. And He says, I'm the way. I'm
the door. And he uses a specific metaphor
here in saying that he is the door to God and he alone. There's
no other way. So what does that mean about
all the other religions of the world? It means they're false
religions. Plain and simple. I had somebody
I was talking to one time and I said, hey, look, Christ is
the only way to heaven. He said, well, I can't believe
that. And I said, no, you can't. Unless God enables you to believe
that He's the door, you'll never believe it. And he despised the
fact that I had said Christ was the only way. He says, well,
what about all these other religions? I said, they're all false. They
all lead to destruction. There's only one way. I am the
door. The door, and that's our Master's
words. Aren't you thankful he revealed
himself to you as the door? Oh my, isn't it wonderful? Isn't
it wonderful, beloved? Oh my, I didn't know he was the
door before he saved me. I thought I knew about him, but
oh my. My, he says, and so he says in our text, look at this.
I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. Wonderful words. And shall go
in and out and find pasture. And here again is one of the
other, one of the I am statements. Brother John, I know you tell
people you serve the great I am. And here's one of the statements.
He says, I am. And think of these I am statements. They proclaim who he is. They
proclaim who he is. And note the singularity in the
statement. He proclaims that he is the door. Not many doors,
right? The door. The entrance to salvation. And
so we can, by his own words, come to the conclusion that there
is only one way to heaven. Christ. The door. And remember who's saying this.
This is God incarnate in the flesh. And remember the times
that he's in. There's worship of multiple deities. False gods abound. False idols
abound. And so he comes to Israel, which
is, they believe in the one God, right? But they don't have saving
knowledge, right? But they become a people of traditions
now. And he says, I am the door. But
all around them, in Egypt, and in India, and in the various
nations, they're worshiping multiple gods. And even Abraham was called out
of idol worship. My goodness. And so what a statement
when you think of the time when he says, I am the door. I'm the
door. Now a door, again, may be a door
to a sheepfold, to a house, to a palace, to a fortress, to a
dungeon, to a church. One commentator said to a church
torture chamber, right? or to our world treasury. There's
doors for everything, isn't there? There's doors to enter in various
rooms. And a door may be made of various
material. It may be wicker, as in the days
of old, just a wicker door. It may be a strong oak door,
strong wooden door. It may be made of iron. It may
be made of brass. And the door may be opened by
a latch, which a child may lift. I remember going up to my Aunt
Ola's on a farm, and she had these little latch doors. I was
a little tight. I could just lift those things
up and go. I was so proud of myself to be able to go into
another room. And I didn't have to ask somebody to help me in.
I could do it myself, just lift them little latches. It was wonderful.
But some doors are opened by a mere latch. Some doors are
secured by bolts and by bars. And some doors may even resist
battering ramps. They're so strong. A door may stand open so that
every passerby may enter in, or it may be locked. So that
only those who have the key, or in the old days, they used
to use a password sometimes in order to enter into cities and
stuff. If you didn't have it, you didn't
come in. So again, a door could be opened or a door can be barred. They can be barred. Picture yourself
outside in the midst of danger. Picture ourselves, say if it's
so peaceful here, but say there was danger outside in a war or
battle. Where would you want to find
refuge? You'd find a place to go into, wouldn't you? I know
I would. I'd be looking for a building
to go into or something to enter in, a place of refuge, a place
to seek safety. Well, beloved, we who are in
Christ are safe in Him. no matter what roars around us. We're like Noah and his family
in the ark. We're safe in Christ. He's the
city of refuge. Remember the manslayer would
flee to the city of refuge, and when he got inside the gate,
the avenger of blood couldn't follow him. I imagine they shut
the doors, and the avenger of blood couldn't come in, couldn't
touch them. Couldn't touch the manslayer, as long as he was
within that city. And think of that, we who believe
are in the sheepfold of God, we're safe in Him, safe in Christ. So a door presumes a within,
and a door presumes a without. a within and a without. So the
only way to God is through Christ, and He alone is the door, and
He alone is the one mediator between God and man. So Christ
is speaking of Himself as the door in our text, picturing Himself
as the door of the sheepfold, and only through Him will the
sheep of God be admitted into God's divine presence. Only through
Christ. One door. In order for you all
to come in here, you went through two doors. But in order to be
in here, you had to come through them doors. So did I. Well, the
only way for us to have access with the Father is through Christ
and Him alone. And the way to these blessings
that's pointed out in our text is only through Christ. Only
through Christ. And in Christ, All our spiritual
bounty, the body needs food. All the spiritual food we need
is found in Christ. We're in his sheepfold, in his
pasture. We don't eat the chaff of the
world, in the husks of the world. We feast on clover, beloved,
the clover of his worm. And the door of the fold admits
the sheep to divine security. What security we have in Christ,
beloved. We're in his fold. Just as we would be protected
from danger inside a building, we're protected in Christ. He's
our refuge. And let us think of this, the
fold of God is a place of separation. It's a place of separation. Only
the sheep of God are in the fold. They're separated from the goats
of this world. This is a place where we're separated.
And the fold of God is a place of supervision. God watches over
his sheep. He watches their steps. Do you
know that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord? Do you ever think of how That brings
it right down to our lives. It's not by chance that we who
believe came to hear the gospel where we heard the gospel. Our
steps were ordered by the Lord. Isn't that wonderful? What security, what safety, what
supervision the Lord has over his people. And then he cares
for us all through our journey through this world. leading us
to lie down in green pastures and find rest in his word, to
find rest in the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. So the fold of God is a place of safety also. And God
himself is the great shepherd. God himself is the great shepherd
who watches over the souls of his people. And he protects us
and ever is watchful upon us. If the sheep are wandering about
outside the fold, They're left unprotected in the wilderness. But who comes
and gets us? Christ. He comes and gets his
lost sheep who are wandering around and brings them into the
fold through the one door which is Him. Oh my goodness. What a great God we have. And
we have many enemies that seek to devour us. Paul warned us
about that over in Colossians. Turn if you would to Colossians.
These enemies, they seek to spoil men and women through philosophy
and vain deceit, after the traditions of man and the rudiments of the
world, and not after Christ. They seek to yoke God's people
with all kinds of traditions, and all kinds of things that
you have to do. But our rest is in Christ, in
Him alone. Look at Colossians 2, verses
6-8, "...as ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk ye in Him." Walk in Christ. Walk in the freedom and the liberty
you have in Christ. "...rooted up and built up in
Him, established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving." Remember, He's the vine. We're the branches. Rest in the One who we're rooted
in. Rest in the One who we're established
in. And then he gives a warning, beware lest any man spoil you.
And that spoil is like a pirate taking a bounty. Spoil you through what? Philosophy
and vain deceit after the tradition of men. All men like to keep
traditions on people. And we who come out of religion,
we know that. We came out of that, didn't we?
We know what that's like. To be bound up by the traditions
of man, you gotta do this and you can't do that. And the list
is endless, so I'm not even gonna start, all right? Let's do this one, cuz Brother
Donnie and I were talking this week on the phone about the Campbellites,
Church of Christ. And they believe you have to
be baptized to be saved, okay? So from one verse, they build
a whole doctrine of baptismal regeneration. and they heap upon men and women
and children. You must be baptized to be saved.
That's a tradition of men, beloved. That's a tradition of men. Salvation
is only in Christ and baptism is an outward expression of an
inward conversion. We profess what Christ has done
for us and believers baptize. We publicly are proclaiming our
faith in Christ. So beware lest any man spoil
you through philosophy and vain deceit. After the tradition of
man, after the rudiments of the world, do this and don't do that.
In order to be saved. And you all know where I came
from. I was one of those guys. And praise God, the Lord set
me free. And not after Christ. Now notice that last, and not
after Christ. So these are traditions of man
and rudiments of man, and it's not up to Christ. It's not up
to Christ. It's traditions. So beware lest
any man spoil you. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made you free. We're free, beloved. My goodness. So we have temptations
and spiritual enemies all around us, all around us. But we're safe in the beloved's
arms, safe in Christ, under his protection, safe in his fold.
And Christ himself secures his flock, watching over us as a
good shepherd. Let us note from verses 1 and
2 that there's a lawful way to enter into this door and an unlawful
way to enter, which the lawful way is Christ. This is who the
preacher proclaims, and this is what he proclaims, that he's
the only door. Look at verses 1 and 2. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold,
but climbeth up another way, the same as a thief and a robber.
But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
So here in our text, then look at John chapter 10 verse 9. Here
in our text 9, it's very plainly stated, a great biblical truth. It's very plainly stated, right
before us. That Christ and Christ alone
is the door into the sheepfold. Christ alone is the way of salvation.
Christ alone is the entrance into heaven. Christ alone is
the only one we have access with the Father in and through. And
what a foundation is to a house, what the heart is to a human
body, what the roots are to trees, what the sun is to the circling
planets. And this is from a comment here, I had to put this in. So
this great truth is set before us. Christ alone is the only
way, only door to the Father, the only access to the Father.
Look at our text again. I am the door. By me if any man
enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find
pasture. Now in the world many cry out that they are the door
to heaven. False religions cry that out
all the time, right? But that is not the heaven spoken
of in our text. Not the heaven where God dwells.
It's a false, false heaven. It's not true. It's a false religion. But here in our text, oh, Christ
himself proclaims he is the only access. And if you notice, the
people who promote these false ways want nothing to do with
the Bible. Absolutely nothing to do with
scriptures. Now think of this. There is one who cries out called
morality. Morality, and it's been crying
out and saying, I am the door. People say, well, I'm a good
person. I'm a good person. And her creed is every man is
his own door to the fold. That's her creed. Live well,
do good, and be kind and charitable. And we should do these things.
We should do these things as believers, but in no way can
they lead to our salvation. In no way. We're to be moral
people. Yeah, but in no way can they lead to our salvation. But
beloved, there is millions of people out there who believe
their morality is their salvation. Their morality is their way to
Christ, their way to God, and it's a false refuge. It's nothing
but window dressing for man's self-righteousness. Man's trying
to save himself when all along they're dead in trespasses and
sins. And think on this, if a man could save himself, then there's
no need for Christ to come down from glory. But our Lord came down and died
upon Calvary's cross because there's no other way. Man can't save himself. Man can't
save himself. Ceremonialism and tradition both
cry, I am the door. They appeared in our Savior's
days in the wasted forms of Judaism, pointing to ancestral privileges,
the old covenant promises, lifting Moses up and trusting in him.
Trusting in Moses, not trusting in the Messiah. And their priests
wore fancy clothing and robes and such to show that they were
holy men. You know, I had someone tell
me this week, I carry my tablet around. You all see me carry
that all the time. Well, I carry it because I have my Bible on
there. I had some guy tell me this week, well, you should be
carrying your Bible around. I said, why? So I can show people
how holy I am? I have everything I need right
here. I don't have to advertise who
I am. If someone asks me a question, I'm going to preach and proclaim
Christ. But I don't have to wear no collar and carry something
around to show people how holy I am because I'm a sinner saved
by grace. And I know y'all are too. And
I'm not ashamed of Christ. I love my savior and I will proclaim
him whenever I get the opportunity to do that. But I don't have
to advertise to people. You see, this is what religion
does. Oh my. So they wear fancy clothing and
robes. It still happens today. You see folks walking around
with collars and all done up. And they're supposedly holy men.
And these men in the old days followed ritual observance and
legal washings and outward purification and supposing all the time to
gain merit and favor with God. And yet heaping condemnation
upon themselves and upon their followers the whole time. They
uttered long prayers. They cried, we have Abraham for
our father. But none of the children of Abraham
with the seal of circumcision can pass here. She's appeared
in modern times, and she still cries. Tradition and ceremonialism
still cries today, all the time leading to her eternal doom and
those who follow her. Look at our text again. I am
the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. and shall
go in and out and find pasture. These are the words of the divine
Savior, beloved, our great God and King. And his statement here
proclaims that all other doors are false and counterfeit. Men
may think that many doors are right, but scripture says the
end thereof are the ways of death. The end thereof are the ways
of death. And tie those words in with our Master who says,
I am the door. And we see here that there's only one door into
the sheepfold. We must surrender all efforts
and labors to establish our own righteousness to get to heaven. And we must trust in Christ and
Christ alone, who is the only door, as our text proclaims.
Now, it says here, by me, if any man enter in, he shall be
saved. Oh, what comforting words. And
notice who we enter in by. the one door, and notice who
it is who says, we shall be saved. By me. There goes our works. By me. By his works. By what
he's done, beloved. By me. If any man enter in. Now think of this, and notice
the verbiage again, very singular. And think of this, man cannot
of himself enter in. For by nature, We're all dead
in trespasses and sins. We are perfectly helpless in
our natural state. It is only by divine aid. It's
only by divine aid. And we see it right here. By
the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Our master even said,
ye must be born again. Wednesday night we looked at
the dead man's bones. They couldn't do anything until
he breathed life into them. They even rattled around for
a while. Until he breathed life. Oh my. So without Christ we can
do nothing. And Paul, when writing to the
Philippians, he told them this by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ not only to believe
on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Oh my. And none can come to Christ except
the Father draw him. We know that from John 6.44.
And none can come to Christ except the Father empowers them. And
this is evident, and look at verses 15 and 16 in our text,
or in the same chapter here, look at this. No man can come
to Christ except the Father empowers them. As the Father knoweth me,
even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Look at verse 16. And other sheep I have which
are not of this fold, them also I must bring. Notice who's doing
the bringing? Notice who's doing the empowering?
It's Christ. If he don't bring us, we'll never
come to him. But oh, praise God. He brings
his lost sheep to himself. They shall hear my voice. And look at how much comfort
we can glean. He says in our text, he shall
be saved. He says here, and they shall
hear my voice in verse 15. And there shall be one fold and
one shepherd, Jew and Gentile, all the elect of God. And the
sheep enter through the door into God's presence because Christ
brings us. Turn if you would to Luke 15.
It's beautifully portrayed over there. Luke 15. Luke 15. Let's look at verse. Then drew near unto him all the
publicans and sinners, verse 1, for to hear him. And the Pharisees
and the scribes murmured, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth
with them. When he spake this parable unto
them, saying, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if you
lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness,
and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he
had found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, Rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth
together his friends and neighbors, say unto them, rejoice with me,
for I have found my sheep which was lost. Now remember John 10, John 10, 16. Also I must bring. Beloved, he brings us. It's all
his work. He brings us, He seeks us out. We would never seek Him. Again, our text says this, I
am the door by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and
shall go in and out and find pasture. It says, and shall go
in and out and find pasture. Now, to go in and out is a figurative
way to express freedom. Freedom, what freedom we have. See, in religion, we were yoked
down so much. But the believer has freedom
to go in and out. Under the law of Moses, one of
the chief designs of the ceremonial law was to hedge Israelites around
with ordinances, which kept them separate from all other nations.
But this was made an end of by Christ. He made an end of the
law for righteousness. And through His death, the middle
wall of partition was broken down. Thus, Jew and Gentile are
one in Christ. His sheep are perfectly free
to go in and out. And we find rest in who? None
but Christ. None but Christ. Both Jew and
Gentile. One in Christ, find our rest
in Him. I am the door. By me, if any
man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find
pasture. And so let us close considering
seven truths found in our text here. First, I am the door. Only
one access to the Father. Second, by me, if any man enter. Christ is the imparter of power
to enter in. Man has no ability. Christ gives
us the ability to come to Him. Thy people shall be made well.
See how Scripture just ties right in together. Beloved, it's wonderful.
The third truth set forth. If any man enter, Christ is both
the Savior of Jew and Gentile. Jew and Gentile. Fourth truth
set forth. If any man enter in, man enter
in by faith, which is a gift of God. We're granted faith and
repentance. when the Holy Spirit regenerates
us, when we're born again. The fifth truth, he shall be
saved. I could sit right there, I love
that. Christ the great deliverer. He's the great deliverer of blood.
He's the great deliverer from the penalty of sin, from the
power of sin, from the guilt of sin, and praise God, one day
from the presence. One day, we will have no more
sin. The sixth truth set forth, he shall go in and out. Christ
the great emancipator. all bondage we are set free in
him and what freedom the believer has in the Lord Jesus Christ
in the seventh truth that set forth and find pasture rest rest
Christ is the rest and the sustainer of his people glory to his name
Heavenly Father, we come before Thee, just rejoicing in the wonderful
truth set forth before us in this verse of You, Lord Jesus,
who are, we can see in this verse that as Paul said, our dear brother,
You are our all in all. You are our all and all. We are
nothing without Thee. Oh, we who believe, we rejoice
in the precious truth set forth before us in these verses that
we shall be saved in Thee, that You are a great emancipator and
deliverer. And what freedom we have in Thee,
O Lord. What freedom. We love You and
praise You and give You all the glory. In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.