I AM THE GATE
JOHN 10:1-10
INTRODUCTION:
TODAY WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN OUR STUDY OF THE “I AM” STATEMENTS THAT JESUS MAKES IN THE BOOK OF JOHN. NOW THERE IS NO CHRONOLOIGICAL ORDER TO FOLLOW IN THESE STATEMENTS, AND THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO EACH OTHER. WHAT I’VE TRIED TO DO IS TO ARRANGE THINGS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO FLOW WITH THE PARTICULAR SERVICE.
LAST WEEK I TRIED TO IMPRESS ON YOU THE IMPORTANCE OF THE USE OF THE TERM “I AM.” ALL OF THESE STATEMENTS HAPPEN DURING THE LAST YEAR OF JESUS’ LIFE. IT WAS A TIME WHEN HE MET STRONG OPPOSITION BY THE PHARISEES, AND OTHER RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THE TIME. THEY HAD MADE UP THEIR MINDS THAT JESUS HAD TO BE DEALT WITH AND SO TIME AND TIME AGAIN THEY WOULD CHALLENGE HIS TEACHING. EACH TIME THOUGH JESUS WOULD PROVE TO BE GREATER THAN THEY, AND THEY SOON REALIZED THAT JUST DISCREDITING JESUS WOULD NOT WORK, AND THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO KILL HIM.
JESUS “I AM” STATEMENTS WERE DIRECT STATEMENTS OF DIETY. HE USES THE SAME LANGUAGE THAT GOD USED IN EXODUS 3:14.
EXODUS 3:14: God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
THERE IS A SENSE OF SECURITY, A SENSE OF AUTHORITY, IN THE “I AM” STATEMENTS. WE ARE NOT DEALING WITH SOMEONE WHO SAID JESUS SAID. WE ARE DEALING WITH JESUS DIRECTLY.
LET ME ILLUSTRATE. IN THE MOVIE “THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT” RICHARD DRYFUS PLAYS A CHARACTER THAT IS RUNNING FOR THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. HE IS OPPOSING THE PRESIDENT PLAYED BY MICHAEL DOUGLAS. AFTER MANY OF HIS SPEECHES DRYFUS WOULD MAKE THIS STATEMENT “ MY NAME IS, WHATEVER IT WAS, AND I’M RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. NOW AT THE END OF THE MOVIE MICHAEL DOUGLAS IS AT A PRESS CONFERENCE AND HE SAYS “MY NAME IS , SO AND SO, AND “I AM” THE PRESIDENT.
YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE. ALL DRYFUS COULD SAY IS THAT HE WANTED TO BE PRESIDENT. HE HAD NO AUTHORITY TO SPEAK AS THE PRESIDENT, HE HAD NO PRESIDENTAL POWER BECAUSE HE WASN’T THE PRESIDENT. WHEN MICHAEL DOUGLAS SAID “I AM” THE PRESIDENT, HE WAS SAYING I HAVE THE POWER, I HAVE THE AUTHORITY, NOONE SPEAKS FOR ME BECAUSE “I AM” THE PRESIDENT.
NOW JESUS IS GOING TO USE THAT FOUNDATION AS AUTHORITY IN A SERIES OF STATEMENTS THAT THE PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND, AND THUS PLACE EVEN MORE PRESSURE ON THE PHARISEES AND OTHER RELIGIOUS LEADERS.
IN THE PASSAGE THAT WE’RE LOOKING AT TODAY JESUS IS APPEALING TO AN IMAGE THAT THE PEOPLE CAN RELATE TO QUITE WELL. THE GATE OF THE SHEEP PEN. THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THIS IS THAT SHEEP PENS IN JESUS’ TIME DIDN’T HAVE GATES OR DOORS. THE SHEPHERD WAS THE DOOR.
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND:
THE CONTEXT FOR THIS PASSAGE BEGINS IN CHAPTER 9. THE OPENING VERSES OF CHAPTER NINE INTRODUCE US TO A MAN WHO IS BORN BLIND. THE DISCIPLES MAKE THE CONCLUSION THAT THE PHARISEES WOULD LATER MAKE AND ASK JESUS WHO SINNED THE MAN OR HIS PARENTS THAT HE WAN BORN BLIND.
IT WAS A COMMON BELIEF AT THAT TIME THAT IF MISFORTUNE BEFELL YOU, IT WAS BECAUSE OF SOME UNCONFESSED SIN AND GOD WAS PUNISHING YOU. I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE I HAVE RUN INTO WHO BELIEVE THIS VERY SAME THING. IF YOU LOOK AT THIS SITUATION LOGICALLY, THE DISCIPLES WOULD HAVE TO CONCLUDE THAT IT WAS THE PARENTS WHO HAD SINNED. THE MAN WAS BLIND FROM BIRTH. WHAT SIN COULD HE COMMIT IN THE WOMB OR AS A BABY?
I WANT YOU TO NOTICE ONE THING ABOUT CHAPTER NINE. THE DISCIPLES ASKED THE QUESTION IN INNOCENSE. IT WAS ALL THEY KNEW. JESUS USED THIS AS A TIME OF TEACHING ABOUT SOME OF THE REASONS WHY GOD ALLOWS SICKNESS. IN THIS CASE IT IS TO DISPLAY HIS HEALING POWER.
THE PHARISEES ALSO INVESTIGATE THIS HEALING WITH THE SAME QUESTION IN MIND. THEY INVESTIGATED THE HEALING AND IN FRUSTRATION THREW HIM OUT OF THEIR PRESENCE. THEY WERE NOT PLEASED THAT A MAN WHO WAS BLIND COULD SEE. THEY WERE LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE TO DISCREDIT JESUS AND THEY FOUND IT. LOOK WHAT JESUS SAYS AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER ABOUT SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS.
JOHN 9:39-41:
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
JESUS WAS TELLING THEM THAT THOSE WHO WERE SPIRITUALLY BLIND WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE, AND THOSE WHO THOUGHT THAT THEY KNEW IT ALL WOULD REALIZE THAT THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY BLIND. BECAUSE THEY WERE SPIRITUAL LEADERS AND CLAIMED TO SEE THEY WERE GUILTY AND WOULD FACE JUDGEMENT. WE ALL CAN SEE THOUGH THROUGH WHAT IS CALLED GENERAL REVELATION THAT MEANS THAT WE ARE ALL GUILTY, AND WILL NEED THE BLOOD OF CHRIST WHEN WE FACE THE JUDGEMENT.
JESUS THEN TEACHES PEOPLE USING THE COMMON ANALOGY OF THE SHEEP PEN. NOW THERE WERE IN FACT TWO CORRALS THAT A SHEPHERD WOULD USE FOR HIS SHEEP DURING JESUS’ TIME. THERE WAS ONE IN THE CITY. IT WAS A CORPORATE CORRAL WITH MANY SHEPHERDS ALL KEEPING THEIR SHEEP IN IT. THE WALLS OF THE CORPORATE CORRAL WOULD BE VERY HIGH, SOMETIMES 10FT IN HEIGHT. THERE WOULD BE ONE OPENING, AND STANDING GUARD AT THE OPENING WOULD BE A PROFESSIONAL GATEKEEPER.
THE SHEPHERD WOULD BRING HIS SHEEP TO THE GATE AND INTO THE CORRAL FOR THE NIGHT. HE WOULD GO AND CALL THEM THE NEXT DAY AND THEY WOULD FOLLOW HIM, FOR THEY WOULD KNOW HIS VOICE, AND HE WOULD KNOW THEM AND HAVE A NAME FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.
THE PASSAGE AT VERSE 7 MAKES A SWITCH AND JESUS BEGINS TO TALK ABOUT A SECOND TYPE OF SHEEP PEN. THIS IS ABOUT THE SHEPHERD WHO IS TENDING HIS SHEEP IN THE COUNTRY. TWICE FROM VERSE 7 TO VERSE 10 JESUS MAKES THE STATEMENT “I AM THE GATE”. THIS TELLS US THAT NOW IT IS THE SHEPHERD THAT IS WATCHING HIS SHEEP, AN INDICATION THAT THEY ARE OUT IN THE COUNTRY.
COUNTRY SHEEP PENS WERE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN CITY ONES. THEY WERE CRUDE AFFAIRS, OFTEN BUILT OF BUSHES OR BRANCHES, OR AT BEST A LOW ROW OF STONES. THEY WERE JUST ENOUGH TO KEEP THE SHEEP IN AND MAKE SURE THEY DIDN’T WANDER AWAY. AS WITH THE CITY PENS THOUGH THE SHEPHERD BECAME THE DOOR FOR THE SHEEP.
ONE ARAB SHEPHERD, WHO WAS NOT EVEN A CHRISTIAN SAID THIS ABOUT BEING THE DOOR. “WHEN THE LIGHT HAS GONE, AND ALL THE SHEEP ARE INSIDE, I LIE IN THE OPEN SPACE, AND NO SHEEP EVER GOES OUT BUT ACROSS MY BODY, AND NO WOLF COMES IN UNLESS HE CROSSES MY BODY; I AM THE DOOR.”
APPLICATION:
DOORS OR GATES ARE VERY SIGNIFICANT IN SCRIPTURE. IN GENESIS 6:16 WE FIND GOD CLOSING THE DOOR ON THE ARC. THIS WAS A TIME OF DECISION. THOSE INSIDE WOULD BE SAVED AND THOSE OUTSIDE WOULD BE LOST FOR ETERNITY.
THE DOOR WAS A SYMBOL OF DELIVERANCE IN EXODUS CHAPTER 12. GOD TOLD THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL TO PUT THE BLOOD OF THEIR SACRIFICE OVER THE DOORFRAME ON THEIR HOUSES AND THEY WOULD BE SAFE DURING THE PASSOVER. IT WAS AFTER THIS THEY WOULD BE DELIVERED FROM THE EGYPTIANS.
THE DOOR OR GATE WAS A PLACE OF MEETING. IT WAS COMMON PRACTICE TO DO BUSINESS, TO GAQTHER AND TALK, EVEN TO SOLVE DISPUTES ALL AT THE CITY GATE. EXODUS 29:32 TELLS US ABOUT THE DOOR AT THE TENT OF MEETING BEING A COMMON PLACE TO MEET. IN FACT OVER HALF THE OCCURANCES OF THE WORD DOOR IN THE OLD TESTAMENT HAVE TO DO WITH MEETING AT THE TABERNACLE.
THE PSALMIST ASKS GOD TO WATCH HIS SPEECH IN PSALM 141:3 HE SAYUS “KEEP WATCH OVER THE DOOR OF MY LIPS. IN OTHER WORDS BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT IS GOING IN AS WELL AS WHAT IS COMING OUT.
HOSEA SPEAKS OF A DOOR OF HOPE.
HOSEA 2:15: There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
HOSEA’S LIFE WAS A DRAMA FOR THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL. JUST AS HIS WIFE WAS A PROSTITUTE WHO LEFT HOSEA TIME AND TIME AGAIN, HE WAS NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP ON HER AND ALWAYS HELD ONTO THE DOOR OF HOPE.
AND THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE DOORS MENTIONED IN SCRIPTURE. TODAY I WANT TO FOCUS FOR THE REST OF MY TIME ON THREE DOORS. JESUS SAID HE WAS THE DOOR AND I BELIEVE THAT THESE DOORS PERSONIFY WHO JESUS IS, AND WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
I WANT YOU TO THINK BACK A FEW YEARS TO A TELEVISION GAME SHOW CALLED LET’S MAKE A DEAL. MONTY HALL WAS THE HOST, AND WHILE THE MOTIVATION OF THE SHOW WAS BASED ON SELFISHNESS, THE METHOD IS QUITE USEFUL TO US.
ON THE STAGE WOULD BE THREE DOORS. MONTY HALL WOULD GET SOME CONTESTANTS FROM THE AUDIENCE AND HE WOJULD GIVE THEM A PRIZE. THEN HE WOULD OFFER THEM THE CHANCE TO KEEP THEIR PRIZE OR TRADE IT FOR WHAT WAS BEHIND DOOR NUMBER ONE. SOMETIMES IT WAS A GREAT PRIZE OTHER TIMES IT WAS NOT.
I WANT YOU TO PICTURE THREE DOORS HERE ON THE PLATFORM, AND I’M GOING TO ASK YOU TO MAKE A CHOICE. AND SINCE I’M SUCH A NICE GUY, UNLIKE MONTY HALL I’M GOING TO LET YOU SEE BEHIND EACH OF THEM BEFORE ASKING YOU TO DECIDE.
BEHIND DOOR NO. 1 THE DOOR TO THE SEPULCHRE.
TURN WITH ME TO MATTHEW 27:57 -28:5. JESUS HAS JUST BEEN CRUCIFIED AND PLACED IN THE TOMB. A GREAT STONE IS ROLLED IN FRONT OF THE ENTRANCE AS A DOOR. IT IS SEALED, AND ROMAN GUARDS ARE PLACED AT THE TOMB. NOONE COULD GET IN, AND THE DEAD CAN’T GET OUT.
THAT ROCK WAS KEEPING US FROM THE LORD. REMEMBER WHEN THE WOMEN CAME TO THE TOMB THEY WERE WONDERING WHO THEY COULD GET TO ROLL THE ROCK AWAY FOR THEM. IT WAS STRONG AND SOLID, AND WHEN ROLLED IN PLACE WAS PLACED IN A SMALL GULLEY AND SO TO MOVE IT EITHER WAY IT WOULD HAVE TO BE ROLLED UPHILL. THIS DOOR WAS A MAJOR STUMBLING BLOCK BETWEEN JESUS AND THE PEOPLE, AND THE WOMEN COULD NOT MOVE IT.
BUT GOD DID SOMETHING THE WOMEN COULDN’T DO. WHEN THEY CAME TO THE TOMB THE DOOR WAS ALREADY OPENED, NOT BY MAN, BUT BY GOD. THAT OPENED DOOR OF THE SEPULCHRE SYMBOLIZED THE OPEN DOOR TO HOPE, AND LIFE. THAT TOMB WAS EMPTY, IT DOES NOT HOLD THE DEAD. AND NOW MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE THING THAT BLOCKED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JESUS AND THE PEOPLE WAS GONE. THERE WAS NO STONE BLOCKING THEIR WAY. IT TELLS US THAT THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP US NOW FROM HAVING A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
BEHIND DOOR NO 2: AN OPEN DOOR.:
TURN WITH ME TO REVELATION 3:8. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
JESUS IS SPEAKING TO THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA. THE CHURCH AT PHILDELPHIA WAS A FAITHFUL CHURCH, AND ALTHOUGHT THEY DIDN’T HAVE MUCH IN TALENT, THEY USED WHAT THEY HAD FOR THE LORD.
THIS IS THE TYPE OF DOOR THAT WE NEED IN CAMPBELLTON. THE DOOR THAT IS SPIRITUALLY OPENED FOR REVIVAL, THAT, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF GOD, NO MAN CAN SHUT. THIS DOOR OPENS THE FLOODGATES OF SALVATION, FOR YOUNG OR OLD, RICH OR POOR, ALL ARE EQUAL AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS.
THE IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER WITH THIS GATE IS THAT THE CHURCH HAS TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE LORD, IN ORDER FOR THIS DOOR TO BE OPENED. OUR WILL MUST BE SECONDARY TO HIS. THE QUESTION WE MUST ASK IS HOW CAN WE BUILD GOD’S KINGDOM, LEAD PEOPLE TO THE LORD. HOW CAN WE HELP CHRISTIAN BROTHERS TO MATURE IN CHRIST? HOW CAN WE MAKE CHRIST INCREASE, AND OURSELVES DISAPPEAR INTO A SEA OF OTHERS? HELP US TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR MINISTRY ISN’T GOING TO BE GOVERNED BY MONEY, BUT OUR MONEY BY OUR MINISTRY.
BEHIND DOOR NO. 3: THE DOOR TO HEAVEN:
TURN WITH ME TO REVELATION 4:1: After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
THIS IS THE DOOR THAT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING. WHEN THIS WORLD IS LONG BEHIND ME, AND I TAKE MY LAST BREATH, I KNOW, BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, THAT I’LL SEE THE DOOR TO HEAVEN. THE CONTEXT OF THIS PASSAGE SEES GOD SPEAKING TO JOHN AND TELLING HIM THAT HE WOULD SHOW HIM THE TERRIBLE TIME OF THE TRIBULATION AND THE GLORIOUS SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. WHILE I DON’T LIKE THE IDEA OF THE TRIBULATION I DON’T FEAR IT, FOR I WON’T BE PART OF IT. I KNOW THAT WHEN I BREATHE MY LAST BREATH ON THIS EARTH THAT I’LL GO THROUGH THAT DOOR INTO THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST FOREVERMORE. OH I HOPE THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT DAY.
CONCLUSION: DOOR NO. 4: THE DOOR TO YOUR HEART:
TURN WITH ME TO REVELATION 20:3: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR YOU TO MAKE YOUR DECISION. IT IS NOT TO CHOOSE BETWEEN DOOR 1, 2 , OR 3. YOUR CHOICE ONLY CONCERNS DOOR FOUR. THIS IS THE DOOR TO YOUR HEART. JESUS STANDS READY TO COME INTO YOUR LIFE AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR. HE WANTS AN ETERNAL RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. IF YOU SAY YES TO THE KNOCK AT THE DOOR OF YOUR HEART THEN YOU WILL INHERIT ALL THE DOORS MENTIONED IN SCRIPTURE; THE DOOR TO SAFETY
DOOR OF THE PASSOVER
THE DOOR TO MEET WITH CHRIST
HE WILL GUARD YOUR LIPS
YOU WILL NOT FEAR THE DOOR TO
THE SEPULCHRE FOR NOTHING WILL BLOCK
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST
AGAIN
THE DOOR TO HEAVEN WILL BE OPENED
TO YOU.
OH HOW I HOPE YOU CHOOSE DOOR NO. 4.
