John 10:7-18 was our text on Sunday. From the text we learned that Jesus, the Great I Am, is the Door and the Good Shepherd.
The Great I Am is the Door
- He is a Door that SHUTS OUT!
Whether your past includes personal failures or pain that has been inflicted on you by other people or both, walking through the Great I Am’s Door gives you an opportunity to be healed of the pain of your past. Think of it this way: On one side of the door there is pain. On the other side of the door there is purpose. Pain produces sadness, cynicism, loneliness, anger, bitterness and stunts personal growth. Purpose gives us focus and strength, enabling us to go farther than we could have without the pain. Purpose puts the sting of pain to rest. Purpose moves us from asking “Why?” to helping us ask “Where?” Where can I go from here? What can I become as I allow God to transform me? Pain stunts our growth, but purpose enables us to grow and become who and what God intended. By entering a relationship with Jesus, we can move from pained to purposeful.
Also, when we enter through salvation’s door, the spiritual penalty for our sin is completely lifted from our record! Guilt, shame and condemnation no longer have a legal authority over us! God sees His children as redeemed, reconciled and righteous.” Only the Great I Am can declare someone righteous. Only the Great I Am can dismiss the case Satan thinks he has against us. Only the Great I Am can expunge our record.
Jesus called Himself the Door in this passage about sheep and shepherds. You see, in ancient times, shepherds would herd the sheep into a pen that had about a two-foot opening. It didn’t have a door for them to go through and a door to close behind them for the night. The door for the sheep pen was the shepherd, himself. He slept there. He put his body across the opening. He was the protector and defender of the sheep. He didn’t rely on any other door to keep them safe. He, alone was the door. If an animal sought to harm the sheep, it had to go through the shepherd to get to them.
As Christians, we rely solely on Jesus for protection from Satan’s accusations. When we walk through Him, Jesus locks the door, so to speak, so that the penalty of sin can’t follow us into the new life with Jesus. So, our past and our problem with sin is dealt with by entering through the door of Jesus.
What is it that you need to walk out of? What is it that you need to close the door on forever?
He is a Door that OPENS UP!Jesus says that those who enter into Him come in and go out and find pasture and a full or abundant life. Finding pasture relates to being provided for. Abundant life involves enjoying life and being satisfied.
I have come to know God as a Waymaker. Revelation 3:8 tells me He opens doors no man can shut. It may seem like you are meeting dead end after dead end after dead end in your life and circumstances. If that is the case, I have to believe God is simply closing doors that you don’t need to walk through. Keep trusting Him. Life on earth isn’t a charmed existence. It is hard, but it can be good when we maintain our trust in Him. Scripture is replete with example after example of how God provided a miracle just in the nick of time. Hold on. He is moving. He is moving mountains out of your way. He is moving people into place that can help you. He is moving in time, but He is not in a hurry. He can sustain and keep you as you wait for the right door to open.
What door do you need Him to open for you this morning? Are you fully trusting in God for provision and peace? Or are you trying to make it happen in your own power and strength? Trust the Great I Am!
The Great I Am as the Good Shepherd
What makes Jesus good at shepherding?
He knows your name, and He knows your need.
Verse 14 tells us Jesus knows His followers. We aren’t one of many to Jesus. We are one of one. His eye is always on us as individuals.
It isn’t just that He knows who we are, but He loves us in spite of what He knows because He sees our need for Him. He sees our need to be cared for. He sees our need to be rescued.
He knows us by name and by need. That makes Him a Good Shepherd! He knows what to do for us and when to do it.
He sacrifices for you and stays with you.
Jesus laid down His life for us (verse 11). Do you realize that under the Old Covenant the sheep died for the Shepherd, but under the New Covenant the Shepherd dies for the sheep? What a turn of events! What wondrous love is this? How do mercy and justice meet in such a dynamic, passionate and historic cataclysmic event? It happened because the Great I Am was willing to be slain for you and me and He didn’t try to run when the going got tough.
The soldiers who came to arrest Jesus didn’t have a very hard job. He left His place of prayer and went to meet them so He could hand Himself over. No one took Jesus against His will. He sacrificed Himself for us. What an amazing, generous, Good Shepherd!
The Great I Am wants to open and close doors in your life. You have a choice to benefit from His sacrifice and walk into His safety, into His sufficiency, and into His salvation. Will you choose to close the door on that which needs to be behind you, to open the door to all that God has for you, and to allow the Good Shepherd, to lead your soul today?
