I Am The Door

Questions:

What statements have we covered?

“bread of life”

“light of the world”

What does “I Am” mean?

Before Jesus gets to his big statement he starts off with a figure of speech.

John 10:1–6 (ESV)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

They don’t get. Completely lost. So Jesus speaks plainly...

John 10:7–10 (ESV)

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

So now we come to the third “I Am” statement that Jesus makes.

“I am the door.”

Who are the sheep?

The sheep would be those who believe. In the first six verses of the chapter, Jesus talks about a shepherd and sheep. Jesus is referring to himself as the shepherd. And the sheep would be his followers. Only children of God will recognize and respond to His voice and direction.

if you are a believer, you’re the sheep in this passage.

Jesus then speaks of people who came before him that were just thieves and robbers. These were pretenders. People claiming to be something they’re not, leading people away from God.

That’s true today. There are people and things that grab a hold of people’s lives. Deceiving them. Making them think that they’ve found truth.

Maybe today you’re following something else other than Jesus. Jesus is saying he is the only way to truth and life. It’s only through Him.

Jesus is the only way to be made right with God.

These other people and things posing as god in your life won’t cut it. All of that will fail you one day. But what does he say about the sheep? they didn’t listen to the thieves and robbers.

the sheep respond to God’s voice, like he said in verse 3.

Who or what do you respond to today? Are you listening to the voice of God?

Or are you listening to the voice of your friends, convincing you to do things you shouldn’t be doing? Are you listening to the voice of lust, telling you it’s okay to give into your desires and do whatever you want with that girl or guy? Are you listening to the voice of insecurity, telling you you’ll never amount to anything and you should stop trying? Are you listening to the voice of self? Just acting on what YOU think is best and tuning out what God has to say.

and the list can go on...

2. What voice are you listening to?

All other voices lead to failure, hurt, confusion, and spiritual death. Sometimes even physical death. Don’t listen to the lies.

If you know Christ, you also have the Holy Spirit that convicts you. Pulling you away from sin and towards God. Listen to that conviction. Surrender to His guidance.

The people would have connected deeply with the imagery Jesus provides here. And maybe you know a bit about sheep.

Sheep are dumb. Without a shepherd they wouldn’t know what do with themselves.

Jesus mentions a sheepfold in verse 1.

This would’ve been the bordered area that a family would’ve kept their sheep in. theses sheepfolds sometimes had a door and other times didn’t. But there was usually a hired gatekeeper or the shepherd himself standing guard, making sure they were safe from predators.

Why was all that necessary? Well sheep don’t have the ability to fend for themselves. They’re helpless and if they get out of that boundary, they’re lost.

This where we really have to humble ourselves. We like to think that we’re capable of pushing through life through our own strength. But that’s far from the truth. Without the shepherd’s guidance, we’re lost sheep vulnerable to thieves and robbers looking to harm us and pull us away from our home.

Naturally we like to push our boundaries… “let me see what I can get away with.”

And we get upset and restless when restrictions are put on our life. But if we could just stop for a second and trust what God is doing. We’d see that many times he is shielding us from harm. We want to go outside of the boundaries He’s set, not realizing that right on the other side there’s a 100 ft drop into pain and suffering.

Following God’s ways will always be better for your life.

Just like what the popular passage says in Proverbs.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

HIS ways. Not ours.

His door. Not the countless doors that world likes to offer.

3. Which door are you walking through today?

We want to open up multiple doors. We want our options. Let me stick my foot in this one and have this door over here open, and maybe crack this one open. Oh and yeah I guess it would be good to see what Jesus has to offer.

That’s chaotic and messy. And it leads to nothing good. We need to stop playing around with sin.

What does Jesus say in the last verse for tonight?

John 10:10 ESV

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Sin leads to destruction and death. I think if we really took a step back and thought about that reality we’d hurry to shut all the doors in our life that offer that possibility.

What does Jesus’ door offer? Life. And life that is abundant.

A life that’s thrilling, joyful, even excitingly unpredictable at times.

We all have the choice of which door to walk through. Scripture makes it clear that there’s one door and only one. That is worth opening and stepping into.