The Door!

The Door!

Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, 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 enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:7‭-‬9 KJV

The Inspiration:

Jesus was speaking to the crowd who usually followed Him everywhere He went. The crowd included the scribes and Pharisees, as well as his disciples, and he had lessons for everyone in the crowd after healing a man that had been born blind. Like all times, Jesus seeks to reach out to everyone with the message of hope and life. It doesn't matter what the past or present looks like; Jesus seeks to give me a new, clean and fresh start if I will just come to Him, and accept the free gift of life that has been provided for me in Christ. It is this free gift that is the focus of the verses before us today. Jesus seems to use sheep a lot in His parables to identify those who are under His command and authority. He does not force Himself on anyone, but as many as would come will be accepted by Him. He calls Himself the door of the sheep. Anyone who seeks to identify with Jesus must come to Him; anyone who wil approach the Father must come in through Jesus. No other key of access has been provided. 

The Contention:

As long as you do not identify with Jesus as the door, you do not have access to His Father. As long as it is God you seek to find, He has made it clear who holds access to Him. If you have tried other options and you still don't have the peace only God can give, why not come through Jesus? If you have tried other options and they have demonstrably failed, it is time to seek God as  is laid down in the verses above. All who came before and all who have come after Jesus are called thieves and robbers, as long as they are not the door of the sheep. It may look relevant, or it may be popular with the crowd, but as long as it is not Jesus, it will not give you access to God. The world may praise, honour and celebrate it, but if it does not point to Jesus alone, it is not the door. True sheep know the door; they have come to know Him by experience and relationship, not just by word of mouth. Do I know the door, or am I seeking the fake alternatives to the door? 

The Conclusion:

The Door provides access to all the provisions God has made for life and Godliness. The first thing the sheep get when they come in is salvation. That is the assurance that they are eternally safe. Then the sheep csn go in and out through the door to find pasture. They go into the world to make impact, and then return to the sheepfold. They do business in the world, but they are conscious of who they are and what is expected of them. They are not greedy for the gain of this world, because they already have divine provision of pasture. Even when the sheep makes mistakes, the fact that they remember who they are and run back to the sheepfold for the protection of the Shepherd means that they know where they belong. As long as I remain a sheep under the watchful care of the Shepherd, daily seeking Him, I am eternally safe. Am I such a sheep? Does the Shepherd know me as His? God's time of favour is here.