I Am the Door

Transcript

GR 372
9/21/1980
I Am the Door
John 10:1-10
Gil Rugh

John chapter 10 in your Bibles. John's Gospel and the tenth chapter. One of those very familiar sections in the Word of God. If we're not familiar with the details of John chapter 10, at least most of us have been acquainted with something of the highlights of the emphasis that Jesus Christ Himself is the Good Shepherd. That those who follow Him are His sheep—that His sheep have life and security and provision because they belong to Him.

Often we lose sight of the context of John chapter 10. One of the reasons I like to study the Scriptures book by book is because it puts the different chapters and sections in context. I think it's important to see John chapter 10 intimately related to John chapter 9. I really don’t see any break as far as the flow of discussion goes. Chapter 10 follows immediately on chapter 9 and flows out of chapter 9. The foundation for what Jesus wants to say about the Shepherd and His sheep is what has happened in John chapter 9. So as has been the pattern through John, Jesus does a miracle. Then that miracle forms the basis for a discourse. And the miracle of the healing of the blind man is really the basis and foundation for the discussion of the Good Shepherd. Particularly, the response of people to that miracle. The way they react to the blind man in excommunicating him from the synagogue, etc.

The chapter opens up, "Truly, truly, I say to you" which John records of Jesus when he wants to draw attention to the importance of something. But he never uses it to introduce a new subject or new material. So it’s a further indicator that chapter 10 follows immediately on chapter 9. And those who would be the object of this message would include the Pharisees because in verse 40 of chapter 9 we were told, "Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things." And they ask a question about blindness. Jesus responds and then says, "Truly, truly, I say to you" and goes into a discussion of the Shepherd and His sheep. Now keep in mind that these listeners are Jewish in background. The Pharisees are those who are saturated with the Old Testament Scriptures. They prided themselves in the knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures. And the analogy of the Shepherd and His sheep comes out of the Old Testament, so it wouldn't be new material to His listeners. It would be material they would be very familiar with.

Look at a couple of passages with me, beginning with the 23rd Psalm.
Perhaps the most familiar chapter in all the Scripture is the 23rd Psalm. Even to those who are not believers in Jesus Christ, they are familiar with the content of the 23rd Psalm. Psalm 23 begins, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Then it goes on to show the provision that this shepherd makes for his sheep in every way. You see that emphasis—the Lord is my shepherd. That the Lord is the Shepherd and the people are His sheep.

Look over in Psalm chapter 80, verse 1. "Oh give ear, Shepherd of Israel, Thou who dost lead Joseph like a flock; Thou who art enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth." That emphasis—Shepherd of Israel, the One enthroned above the cherubim. He leads Joseph like a flock, leads His people like a flock. The analogy that God is a Shepherd. Israel, His people, are His sheep.

The 100th Psalm. Psalm 100, verse 3. You note as you talk about a shepherd and his sheep that there are several ideas involved. The shepherd is the ruler. He is the sovereign with control over his sheep. He is the one responsible for the care and security of his sheep. He is the one responsible to see that his sheep are properly cared for and provided for. The sheep are responsible to respond to the call of the shepherd, to follow their shepherd, to obey their shepherd, etc.

Psalm 100, verse 3. "Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture."

Look over in Isaiah chapter 40, verse 10. "Behold, the Lord God will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes." A Messianic passage. Back in verse 3 of chapter 40, a voice calling in the wilderness which is reference to John the Baptist. When John was asked who he was he said, 'I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness.’ So it looks to the time when God, the Shepherd of Israel, will send the Messiah, the Shepherd of Israel. So when you come to John chapter 10 and Jesus claims to be the Shepherd and uses this analogy, it’s really a Messianic claim. 'I am the Shepherd of Israel. I am the One calling out the sheep of My Father.' The Jews should and are responsible to recognize that.

Now while we're in the Old Testament, the Old Testament has much to say about false shepherds—those who shepherd the sheep of God in an unfaithful way. Again, the picture is God is the Shepherd. The Lord is my Shepherd. But He has under Him those who are responsible for shepherding the flock, and there are those who are unfaithful. And that becomes a key part of John chapter 10 as well.

Look in Jeremiah 23, beginning with verse 1. "’Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!’ declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people." Note the emphasis. That they belong to Me, it is My pasture, it's My people, it's My flock. You are responsible to Me—I am the Great Shepherd. You are shepherds responsible to Me. In the middle of verse 2, "You have scattered My flock, driven them away, not attended to them. Behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declared the Lord, That I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply. I shall also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing, declares the Lord." A Messianic passage. There is coming a day when God is going to re-gather the nation Israel from all the world into which it has been scattered. And He will appoint over His people Israel shepherds who will be faithful, and the shepherd who will rule over them in that day is none other than Jesus Christ. And under Him there will be under-shepherds. David will be one of them as we’ll see in a passage in a moment.

Look in Jeremiah 25, verse 32. Verse 32 begins the context, we'll pick up with verse 34 just for time. "Wail, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, you masters of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and your dispersions have come, and you shall fall like a choice vessel. Flight shall perish from the shepherds, and escape from the masters of the flock. The sound of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the masters of the flock! For the Lord is destroying their pasture. And the peaceful folds are made silent because of the fierce anger of the Lord." You see the analogy. In verse 38, He is like a lion as He brings destruction upon the shepherds and the sheep for their unfaithfulness.

One other passage in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 34. I hope you'll take time to read the entire 34th chapter of Ezekiel sometime today or this week. It starts out with a condemnation on the unfaithful shepherds, and it concludes with a promise of a glorious restoration of the people of God, the nation Israel, shepherded by those who are faithful and shepherd them according to the will of God. The chapter opens up, "Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord God, 'Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.’’" You note, this is going to come out in John chapter 10, that the false shepherd used the sheep for selfish ends and destructive purposes. So they have a goal of serving themselves and destroying the sheep in the process.

And verse 5, Ezekiel 34, "And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd." Verse 6, "My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill, and My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth." Verse 7, "Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 'As I live,’ declares the Lord God" and He goes on to talk about it. Then verse 9, "Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ’Thus says the Lord God, ’Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I shall demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep.’" And then verse 11, "For thus says the Lord God, ’Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they have been scattered." Verse 13, "And I will bring them out from the ...other nations." Verse 14, graze them in good pasture. Verse 15, feed and lead them to rest, etc. Verse 17. "And as for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, 'Behold, I will judge between one sheep and another.”’ And while we’re here you note verse 23, "Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them." In the millennial kingdom David is going to be a under-shepherd. Jesus Christ will be King of the Earth, but David will be a prince under Him shepherding the people of God.

So we come to John chapter 10. This is the kind of background—we haven't looked at it all. You could read Isaiah 56, all of Zechariah chapter 11. The strong emphasis on the people of God as His sheep, and the responsibility of the shepherds. And the coming Shepherd, the Messiah, who will shepherd them according to the will of God. Then when Jesus embarks on this analogy, the Pharisees listening should have been prepared but they are not.

Note how He begins. And let me say one thing before we get into it and I'll repeat it as we go along, the 'fold' in view here is the nation Israel. The fold is Israel. In which the sheep are contained. That's the nation Israel. We saw that in the Old Testament passages. The sheep belong to God, they are contained in the fold of the nation Israel or Judaism.

Alright. Verse 1 of chapter 10. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber." In the first six verses, Jesus will give the analogy then the explanation of that analogy. "He who does not enter by the fold but climbs up another way, is a thief and a robber." Picture here is nearby the home there would be this large enclosure, and many flocks of sheep would be kept there overnight. Different shepherds would bring their various flocks and store them in the fold. Now anyone who is a true shepherd, verse 2, enters by the door. Anyone who is climbing over the walls and sneak in obviously is not a genuine shepherd. A genuine shepherd doesn't have to sneak in. The sheep are his, he can come and call them. But there are those who are thieves and robbers. They want to steal and kill the sheep, and they try to get in by another way. So the door here becomes crucial. It becomes a determining factor in deciding who is a genuine shepherd and who is not.
Two words He uses here—a thief and a robber. Same idea, both steal. But one has an emphasis of being cunning or sly, the other of being more violent in his step. The word 'thief', we carry it over into English. It's the word kleptase. We get the word kleptomaniac, someone who is a compulsive thief. The idea of this word is to steal in a cunning way. Maybe like a shoplifter who tries to sneak something out under his coat. In contrast to a robber—a more violent kind of stealing. Someone who would use force in an armed robbery. This word would be used here. They’re used both another time in John. The word 'thief' for the cunning thief is used of the man Judas in John chapter 12, verse 6. Remember Judas was the treasurer, he kept the bag. He was a thief, he was cunning. He was sly. He stole money in a secretive way. Later on in John chapter 18, verse 40, the man Barrabbas was called a robber, and the word that is used here, lastase. A robber, a violent man. The Gospel of Mark identifies his works as being violent in nature. And it's important because what we're going to see is that there are those who want to harm the sheep, use the sheep for their own ends, and they use different means to accomplish it. Some are sly and sneaky, others are more open and violent, but the end result is still the same. The sheep suffer. The thief or robber does it for his own gain. That will come out later in verse 8 when Jesus is going to identify those like the Pharisees as thieves and robbers.

Verse 2, "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep." So, verse 3, "To him the doorkeeper opens; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out." Now the picture is that evening has come, various shepherds have brought their sheep into this one fold. They come in the morning to take their sheep out. The doorkeeper opens to true shepherds. He recognizes them. And it says, "The sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out." Now if you've been at Indian Hills more than a week, you know that I'm not very farm oriented. And I don't know very much about the farm or about the animals. Being from the city I've never had much of a desire to know much about the farm and animals! It's a joke in our home that we have a guinea pig and I have never touched him! And Lord willing, he will go on to his reward without that ever happening! But I did try to read up on sheep and shepherds this week. And I am told that this practice was followed in Palestine where in the evening they would bring their various flocks into the one fold for security. And in the morning the various shepherds could come and each has his own particular call, and the sheep will only respond to the call of their shepherd. So as the shepherd calls, out of this mass of sheep those sheep that belong to him come to him because they know his voice. "He calls his own sheep by name" and important here in this analogy that you see the personal involvement of the shepherd with his sheep. They’re not just a flock of sheep—look at all the sheep—but each one is significant to him. And again I'm told that this still goes on in biblical lands where they would identify their sheep by name according to characteristics, coloring, etc. "They follow him because they know his voice." He leads them out. Verse 4 is repeating the same thing. "When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice." They recognize him. So there is both sides—he knows his sheep, he calls them by name; they know the shepherd and respond to his voice. So it both goes on. The shepherd knows his sheep and the sheep know their shepherd and respond. Now at the end of verse 3, he leads them out and in verse 4, "when he has put forth all his own." You note what he is doing. He is leading them out of the fold. What is the fold in chapter 10? It will be clear as we move along down into the section we'll look at in our next study. The fold is Israel. And the picture here is that you have Jesus Christ coming as the shepherd and He is leading sheep out of the fold of Israel. It's interesting. At the beginning of verse 4 it says, "When he puts forth all his own." That's a strong word. It means to cast out. It's the very word that is used over in John chapter 9, verse 34, of the excommunication of the blind man. "They answered and said, 'Are you teaching us, you were born entirely in sins? And the put him out."' They cast him out. And it seems that Jesus is making a link between that account. Now in chapter 9 it was the Jews who put the man out. But in chapter 10, Jesus said it was according to His plan to remove His sheep from that fold. So you see the purposes of God working together. The Pharisees kick him out, but Jesus the shepherd says that was all part of My plan in having him put out, to remove him from the fold to follow Me. Because you see what has happened. Jesus is calling individuals to Himself, and they have to come out of Israel to respond because the nation Israel has rejected Him and will not respond to Him.

Verse 5. "A stronger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." Again, from my reading I'm told that this is true. That the strange voice can cause just the opposite reaction—scare the sheep into running because they recognize only their shepherd's voice. It's interesting statement here as well concerning those who are truly the sheep of Christ, the elect. They respond to the voice of the true shepherd. I think this says something about those who profess to be believers but follow false shepherds. John speaks to this in his epistle in 1 John 2—they went out from us because they were really not of us, if they had been part of us they would have remained with us. And basically what we're told here is the sheep of Christ do not follow false shepherds. But what about all those who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ but go after false shepherds? Well, in light of what the New Testament says, I'd say they probably weren't His sheep at all. In spite of what they claim, because His sheep know His voice. They do not follow the voice of others. When a person comes to believe in Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God takes up residence within that person. The Spirit of God gives a supernatural discernment to that person. Now I realize that is linked with the Word of God as well, and believers who are not knowledgeable in the Scriptures can be battered around. But nonetheless, those who are true believers have that ministry of the Spirit in their lives to discern and recognize the true shepherd from the false shepherd, and many who profess to be believers and follow false shepherds are simply indicating they didn't belong to the true shepherd at all. "A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him because they do not know the voice of strangers." This is a good admonition for us as sheep. We ought to run from false shepherds. It amazes me how some professing believers will dabble with those who are false shepherds, who have no business being associated with them. I am to have no relation with them. I belong to the true shepherd and I am responsible to be identified with those who are true shepherds that He has appointed, and to flee from the others. It’s a good healthy thing to know when to run, and we ought to flee from false shepherds. And they will be pointed out to us in case we don't know how to recognize them, in just a moment.

Verse 6, "This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them." Now with that Old Testament background we just highlighted, they should have had some understanding of the point being made. But they don't, because they are blind to their own Scriptures. So, in verse 7 Jesus goes on to explain the analogy. And the explanation is in two parts down through verse 21. In verses 7-10, He identifies Himself as the door of the sheepfold. In verses 11-21, He identifies Himself as the Shepherd of the sheep. So it's important. Jesus gives the basic analogy in the first six verses and identifies Himself in two ways. You can view Me as the door; and you can also view Me as the Shepherd. I am both. So the basic analogy is applied to Christ in two ways.

Verse 7. "Jesus therefore said to them again, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door of the sheep'." And the emphasis here when put with verse 8 is that He is the door to the sheep. In other words, He is the door through which the true shepherds MUST enter to the sheep. Remember up in verse 1 and verse 2, "I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.” Verse 7, "I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers." So I am the way of access to the sheep. Those who profess to be shepherds but do not enter by Me are really thieves and robbers. So how you determine whether or not you have a true shepherd is whether or not that person has entered through the door. You see a man climbing over the back wall, you say ’Hey, what are you doing?' and he says 'Oh, I'm a shepherd. I just thought I'd climb over the wall.' No good. He's a false shepherd.

So Jesus is the door and a true shepherd comes through Him. What is He saying? Here are the Pharisees who are the shepherds of Israel, but they are demonstrated to be thieves and robbers? Why? Because they do not enter through Jesus Christ. They reject Him. They refuse to believe in Him, and they are demonstrated to be thieves and robbers. And what do we find? Jesus coming to the temple and having to clean them out of the temple because the bazaars of Anas are set up there so that Anas and his family, the high priest, could make themselves wealthy by milking the people. They are thieves. They are robbers. They are not concerned about the people, they are concerned about themselves. Using the sheep to benefit themselves. Destroying the sheep because they have no concern for the sheep. They have only concern for themselves. But the identifying mark of a true shepherd is that they have entered by the door. Jesus is the door. The principle is the same today. The New Testament develops the analogy. Jesus Christ is the Chief Shepherd. He has appointed shepherds under Him—the word 'pastor' is the word shepherd. Now how do I know if I have a true shepherd or not? Does that person believe in Jesus Christ? Has he come to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Savior, the One who died on the cross to pay the penalty for His sins, the One who was raised from the dead? Is he One who submitted himself to this Christ and His Word? If not, he's a false shepherd. You say, wait a minute, you don't know this pastor. He's a nice guy. Well, maybe he's a kleptase. He's a sneaky thief. He's cunning. I didn't say that—Jesus did! He says, "Anyone who doesn't come by way of the door is a thief and a robber. There are no exceptions." But oh, he's such a wonderful speaker. He's a thief. No, he's a wonderful speaker. He is a wonderful speaker who is a thief! The principle is clear. Now this is narrow. But we're talking about there is only one door. Anyone who is a true shepherd must come through that door.
He must believe in Jesus Christ. This becomes a synonym in verses 7-10 for believing in Christ, coming through the door, entering through Christ—is saying believing in Him in the analogy. The analogy of the door is the same idea used over in chapter 14, verse 6—I am the way, no man comes to the Father but by Me. You must come through Me to get to the Father. You must believe in Me to come to My Father. To be a true shepherd, you must believe in Me. What is He telling these Pharisees? You're false shepherds. You are thieves and robbers because you won't believe in Me.

"All who came before Me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them." They were not responsive to them. But they are responsive to the true shepherd. Now note what He says in verse 9. "I am the door." Repeated from verse 7. There He said 'I am the door of the sheep' and the idea is that I am the door to the sheep through which the shepherd comes. In verse 9, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." The emphasis here is primarily on the sheep. So I am the door through which the true shepherd must come; I am the door through which the true sheep must come. To be a true shepherd, you must come through the door, Jesus Christ. To really be one of His sheep, you must come through Him. So both are true. "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." He used this analogy in
John chapter 1 with Jacob's ladder being the way of access. In Matthew chapter 7, verse 13, Jesus talks about the broad way to destruction and the narrow way to life. Same idea in Luke chapter 13, verse 24, and he uses the same word for door there, where the door is narrow to life. He being that narrow door. Now the emphasis here is not a narrow door but on the fact that there is only one door to the sheepfold. Now the true sheep will enter through that door and the result of coming through that door is salvation. You note, "If anyone" and it's broad here. It's all inclusive. It's narrow, it's limited in that there is only one door. It's broad in that anyone who enters may experience that salvation. So it's both narrow and broad. Narrow in that there is only one; broad in that anyone who comes through experiences salvation. "If anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved." Salvation. What is He saying? He's telling these Jews that to experience God's salvation, they must come through Him. You must come to believe in Me, the Messiah, the Savior of God who has come to secure redemption. The result of that is salvation. Three things really happen here—the basic one is salvation. And then 'he shall go in and out.' That's a Hebrew expression in the Old Testament to denote security, freedom to go in and out. We use the same idea today when you say a person is free to come and go. There's a certain security. The opposite of that would be we'd say it's not safe to go out on the streets. You don't have that security to come and go. So it's an expression that denotes security. You can come and go. "...and find pasture." So the one who comes through the door—Christ— experiences salvation, security and the sustenance necessary. He provides for them the pasture that they need.

You know, some of you have farm backgrounds and you know far more about sheep than I do. But my reading has impressed me that sheep are not the smartest of animals. They really need a shepherd. And sheep without a shepherd is a hopeless case. I can't hardly believe all I read, but some day I'm going to go out when I get my courage up and examine some sheep and watch them. But they really need a shepherd. They are defenseless. They are without hope if the shepherd is not there to care for them.

Now you see what happens. The sheep that comes through the door—Jesus Christ—He becomes their shepherd, and He becomes totally responsible for them. Security is going to become a dominant emphasis before we’re done with chapter 10. You come to believe in Jesus Christ, you are secure for eternity. You know why? The security of the sheep does not depend on the sheep, it depends on the shepherd. And we are secure as those who believe in Christ, not because of ourselves but because of who our shepherd is. You know when a shepherd went back to give an accounting for his sheep, he couldn’t say ’Oh you know those dumb sheep, they got lost and I don't know where they went! Never can keep track of those sheep, every time I go to sleep they wander off.' No. The shepherd was accountable for every single sheep and they are secure in Him. They couldn’t come back and say, 'Look at all these scrawny sheep, they couldn't find anything to eat. Dumb animals!’ No. Who's responsible?
The shepherd takes them to pasture. The shepherd leads them to where they can feed. The shepherd is the one who provides for them. So those who come to believe in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, become His sheep. And you know what? I become totally His responsibility. Dumb as I am, I am secure in Him. He cares for me. He watches out for me. He provides for me. He meets my every need. Amazing.

Note how He goes on. "The thief only comes to steal, and to kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." There is a contrast here. There is the thief who doesn't come through the door. Note. That's the key. Here He draws it together. There is the thief, the one who will not come through Me. He is not a true shepherd. He comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy. To steal, to kill. That word 'kill' is used only two ways in the New Testament. To kill for sacrifice or to kill for food. Here obviously the idea is to kill for food. He comes to steal and kill it for food. In other words, the thief comes to get the sheep for his own purposes. For selfish ends, that are destructive to the sheep. Just like those who claim to be pastors, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. They come for selfish ends. It’s destructive to the sheep. They destroy them. Contrast that with Jesus Christ. "I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly. I didn't come to kill the sheep. I didn't come to destroy the sheep. I came to give the sheep life. That's a synonym, a parallel with salvation in verse 9. "He shall be saved"—He might have life. Says the same thing. A person who is saved is a person with life. A person with life is a person who has experienced salvation from Jesus Christ. And you note how he has this life. Not just so you're hanging on by your fingertips. Look at that sheep, so scrawny, so malnourished. He's got life but he's barely breathing. They have life abundantly. The word means to overflow, to overflow so you have it in abundance. It's used in Romans chapter 5, verse 20, when he talks about the law and sin but grace abounded. It overflowed. There was more than enough grace to take care of my sin. That's what he's saying. Here, the life overflows. I don't have just enough life to keep me breathing. I've got overflowing life, abundant life. Look back in John chapter 3.

Jesus brings these two concepts together. John chapter 3, verses 16 and 17. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through Him." Verse 16, have life. Verse 17, be saved. We're saying the same thing. If you experience God's salvation, you will experience life. Life, abundant life. It's an exciting transformation. This is a life that has its source and origin within me. It's not life dependent upon externals. It's not the superficial things that the world offers. This is the life so that when I'm alone by myself with me, that I have that life that flows without from within. That abundant, overflowing life that is a result of the personal relationship with the eternal God. Result of complete, total forgiveness of sins. Personal relationship with God, destined for eternity in His presence. That’s life! I am secure in that relationship. Salvation is all inclusive. God has taken responsibility for me, to care for me, to guard me, to provide for me. Isn’t it amazing that here is a shepherd offering such salvation if you will come through Me, and there are those who choose to follow thieves and robbers. That will not go through the door. They will be religious, they’ll join church, they'll be baptized. They even give their money, but they will not go through the door. They will not come to believe that they are sinners for whom Jesus Christ died. They are unwilling to trust Him as their Savior. Or, what He offers—salvation, security, sustenance, abundant life. And they would choose to follow one who is a thief and a robber, whose only purpose is to steal and kill, to destroy, to bring ruin to their lives and cannot meet their needs? Amazing how dumb sheep are. It’s a good analogy. That here all the blessings of eternity are offered to us, at no charge to us, and we are unwilling to believe.

Two questions. One, have you been following the true shepherd, Jesus Christ? Or, have you been following those who are thieves and robbers? And the shepherd that you follow, has that shepherd truly believed in Jesus Christ? Does he acknowledge that by what he does, by what he says, by what he teaches?

Second. Have you entered through that door that leads to life yourself? Have you ever come to recognize and believe that you are a sinner that Jesus Christ, God's eternal Son, died on a cross to pay the penalty for your sins? He was raised from the dead as PROOF that He had paid your penalty completely? And all you have to do is trust Him as the One who died for you personally. At that instant of time you experience what is called salvation. You become the recipient of new life, abundant life and enter into a personal, eternal relationship with Jesus Christ as your shepherd and His Father, the eternal God. Let's pray together.

Father, how we praise you for Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd, that One who came and gave His life for the sheep in order that we as sheep might have life. Lord, what a glorious position is ours to belong to you, to have abundant life, to be secure in that relationship because we are under your care. Lord, to know that you will provide, and meet and sustain us in every situation, through every need.

Lord, I pray for those who are here this morning who have yet to enter through that door, have yet to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Lord that the Spirit might do that work of calling them out as your sheep this morning that they might believe and come to life.

Lord, may we who have believed, Lord, who are following Him, be careful to give Him our attention; Lord, to respond to Him, to be sheep that are obviously following that shepherd, submissive and open, allowing Him to do that which is best in our lives in every situation, for we pray in His name