Jesus is the Door - John 10.1-10 Cody Harlow

For [Music] e card you got we need to hurry no w e spe you're for said e started here oh well good morning church good morning it's good seeing you guys here it's it's good to see so any of y'all I missed y'all last week and the week before and so I got to go down and spend a couple of weeks just visiting family for some vacation and just rested up and renewed and ready to get back at it Lydia it's good seeing you when do you guys leave de December hey Ellie how are you so you guys are leaving here pretty soon and before before they leave and as you guys know we have ethnos 360's Miss Missionary Training campus not too far away from us and one of the great things that we get to do is we get to invest in these in these students for about two years maybe if they're in aviation it's one if they're just doing the basic cross-cultural studies it's two if they do Linguistics it's three and then they leave and that's the most heartbreaking part of having so many wonderful young adults here and so we'll let you guys share in a couple of weeks before yall leave because we love y'all we support yall and the many others that are in that course as well we're we are praying for you and so much

Appreciate all the things that you guys do and we want to just support you guys in prayer and hey we do have a couple of announcements real quick I'm going to invite PJ to come up and share a little bit from loveing our world team about some Mission stuff good morning it's so good to be with you guys I represent the loving our world team our team if you're here on the loving our world team if you'd raise your hand we've been prayerfully since this past summer prayerfully considering an amazing opportunity that I would like to share with you this morning I forget when but at sometime during this past summer we met at Diana scogan Scoggin house and we met with Josh and Christy wut and with Vernon Denny Johnson both are Church supported missionaries from here at FBC and they both serve with two different organizations Josh and Christie with World Venture and Vernon Denny with ethnos 360 but they're also part of Global Partners but the cool thing is for many years Vern and Denny have been working with the pelica people of I Coast in West Africa and very soon their new testament translation is going to be complete we cannot ex yeah praise God but the idea that the Lord planted it started with Diana she brought it to our team and we've all been praying about it since she shared it with us we believe that God is moving us forward to pursuing this idea even more earnestly and it's not a small Endeavor when you take a team to Ivory Coast West Africa and we take this is all based on one of the values of our church loving our world we take the Great Commission very seriously we believe it's a commission a command given by God to us to take the Gospel the good news of Jesus Christ to the everywhere

And we are not excluded from that command and we are we as a loving our world team are seeing this as an amazing opportunity not just to take a trip an international trip not just put a team out there but to take a portion of our church to them to encourage them to support them and to come back and bring that enthusiasm back to the church we have been prayerfully as I've said over and over again we've prayerfully considered this it's a huge Endeavor when you're taking a trip that far internationally there's great cost as well with airfare with passports with IM immunizations all kinds of things it's a bigger task than the loving our world team can handle we need you the church to join us and hence there's an insert in your bulletin that we would ask that you not just dismiss or take lightly but that you would take it home prayerfully consider how God might have you partner with us to see this opportunity happen now you might ask PJ what are the dates what's the details the answer to that question is we don't know like I've said we've been praying we believe God is moving us forward and we're inviting you to prayer y consider just raw estimates it's going to be in excess of about three grand somewhere around there per person to go the cool thing is the translation will also have a dedication where they will dedicate the Bible translation and it'll be people from all over the world there and we thought it would be awesome to have a portion of FBC camon there in attendance as well celebrating with them we also Envision this team being split we would share our time part with Johnson's centered around that dedication maybe even helping them with some needs that they have in their Village and with the pelica church and then also a portion of that time given to Josh and Christie at their

Location there's not that great a distance between the two so all that to say we need a lot of prayer and we need a whole lot of support and if you would fill this if you want more information fill this out and we will get it and we will contact you and see how the Lord continues to direct this forward thank you so [Applause] much do you want them to put the that form in the offering plate as it goes by and we can get it to you yes awesome okay so that's what the plan is that's just to get some information on an upcoming mission trip for next year Pat I think that you got something that you want to say to us as well and so it's prob probably about some good food and stuff right hello I'm Pat Mitchell I'm head of the joy group and I know you're one wondering what Joy stands for just older youth so anybody 55 and older is welcome to come we have several things that we do throughout the year we have our Christmas party coming up the 12th at 6 o'clock it is a catering Angela's catering will be providing the food so we need to have everybody sign up by tomorrow and paid by tomorrow Jubilation will be providing the entertainment in March we'll be able we are going to do a brunch and then a service program where we go out and visit all the Shins so if you're over 55 please come and join us we'd love to have [Applause] you yeah there's there's a lot that's going on and you know kind of coming in after this whole vacation it's kind of like wow there is a lot going on during this season be sure to check out the bulletin there's a ton of information in there we put that out every week for you to stay informed and involved and 12 bucks is a steal for a dinner even nowadays you cannot get a dinner for less than

Less than 15 bucks it seems so come enjoy that time and it's going to be great hey why don't you just take a take a moment find a neighbor that's around you look at in the eye and say welcome to First Baptist Church love nothing good [Music] Gra e to Eternal separation from the Father the world's greatest problem is lostness and it's growing every day 8 billion people living in 195 countries speaking over 7,000 languages today more than half have yet to hear the good news of the Gospel the vision God gives us in Revelation 79 a multitude from every nation all tribes peoples and languages fuels our desire to take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth but we must be willing to go further than we've ever gone before to the very edges of lostness when more than 3,000 people groups have no missionary presence and likely no access to the Gospel no one is engaging them together we can change that we know the love and hope and peace of the Gospel we know the way the truth and the life we know the power of true Redemption we will not ignore lostness we will not be silent we will not stand still from the Great Commission until the great multitude we must unite in this great pursuit to reach Every Nation no matter the cost and that is why we take up the L Moon Christmas offering every year and that is coming up for our church on December the 17th so that's your reminder to prayerfully consider what God might have you give on December the 17th toward the lmon Christmas offering to reach the reached with the Gospel this is the part of our

Service where we like to take a moment to ask God to prepare us for worship so if you are here with your kids I'd invite you to pray with and over your children right now if you're here with friends or other family members pray together or even just pray by yourself and ask God to prepare your hearts and your minds for worship Lord we know that this time of year gets really busy really fast Lord help us to just slow down and to focus on you to remember that what we're doing this season is celebrating the Gospel God help us help us to throw off the distractions to stop things about those Christmas gifts we still have to buy those various parties and Gatherings that we have to prepare for Lord help us to focus on the great gift of Christ of that baby in a Manger who came to take on the punishment for our sins who came to live the perfect life that we couldn't live Lord help us to worship this morning because you're worthy and you've proved it over and again it's in Jesus name we pray amen I'd invite you to stand and join us as we sing together about the coming [Music] Messiah Come Thou Long expected Jesus born to set thy people free from our fear and SS release us let us find our rest in Israel strength and consol hope above all the Earth Thou Art dear desire of every nation Joy of every longing [Applause] [Music] heart born by people to deliv born a child and yet a King born to R in us forever now thy gracious kingom bring by thy know eternal spirit rule in all our hearts

Alone by thine Al sufficient Merit raise us to thy glorious Throne we celebrate that he is come that he was born that day in the manger in Bethlehem and that he is coming again amen [Music] amen Joy has Dawn upon the world prois from creation God salvation now un hope for every nation not with bears from not with SE of Glory but a humble gift of love Jesus born of [Music] Mary sounds of Wonder fill the sky with the songs of angels as the mighty Prince of Life shels in Us St hands that set each star in place shav the Earth in darkness bring now to a mother's breast vulnerable and [Music] H sheers bow before the lamb gazing at the glory GI of men from dist land prophesy the a king is born today since God is with us his death will make Way by his blood [Music] us son of Adam son [Music] ofen has a r reconciling God and Christ Our Mighty ch

What aior what a friend what a glorious myy once [Music] a love now the Lord of [Music] his you can be seated as our ushers come forward to take up the offering let's pray father God thank you for this day that you've given us God thank you for each and every person here in the sanctuary pray that you'll use this offering mightily to the advancement of your kingdom father thank you that we get to come along and partner with you in it we ask this all in your name amen It Came Upon the midnight that Glorious song of Angels bending near the Earth to touch their heart of on the earth Good Will to men from all gracious be the world in still L to near the Angel yet with the war of sin and stri the world has suffered long the [Music] Angels r years and men that war for with men he not the love they bring oh the men and the [Music] angel and life crushing Lo whose forms are [Music] to along the cling way with painful steps and look now for and golden Hours come

Swiftly on the wing rest beside the wey Ro and here the angel sing for the days are Hing on by Propet for when with the [Music] evering comes round the age [Music] of when shall all the Earth CH and the whole world the song The Angels you can be seated as we prepare to light the Advent candles this morning we light the first candle of the Advent wreath that's your C you're supposed to light it this is the candle of Hope with Christians around the world we look to this light as a sign to help us prepare our hearts and our minds for our celebration of the coming of God's son Our Savior Jesus Christ today we recognize the hope of Salvation that we have in him and the hope we have in his return when he will gather us unto himself that we may dwell with him eternally may we rejoice in God's light as we hear the words of the prophet Isaiah the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light those who dwell in a land of deep Darkness on them has light Shone Isaiah 9:2 all right let's pray Lord as we look to the birth of Jesus grant that light of your love for us that will help us to become lights in the lives of those around us prepare our hearts for the joy and gladness of your coming remind us always and help us to rejoice in the truth that Jesus Is Our Hope amen it's the hope that was heralded by the Angels song it's the hope that we see in the stable in Bethlehem it's the hope

That we see some 30 years later on the cross as well the hope that God is with us and that he has made a way for us I'd invite you to join us in this not last song yet because it's Family Worship time so on the screens you'll see some instructions and usually we do a little devotional this week I just I thought that it would be appropriate if we just prayed together prayed to thank God for that hope that he's given us in Jesus Christ and to pray for those who have not yet received the blessings that he's brought so at this time I'd invite you if you are with your children to gather together and discuss and pray through these things if you are not with children today I' invite you to gather with each other because we are a family because of the great work of Christ amen so I invite you to gather together and pray came because all I e I'd invite you to join us in singing this last song Oh Come Oh Come Emanuel declaring our Reliance on the Christ Oh Come Oh [Music] comeu and Ransom cap Isel that morning in Lely Ile here until the sun of God appear re [Music] reuel shall come to thee is Isel Oh Come l Spring come and Che our spirit by Advent dispers the gloy

Clouds of night and death Dark Shadows BL to fight rejo [Music] uel shall come to the ho [Music] Israel Oh Come th wisdom from on high and order all things for and to us the path of know show and cause Us in her way to go rejo [Music] reuel shall come to thee oh [Music] Israel oh desire of Nations bind all in one heart and mind eny strife and cor fill the whole world with Heaven peace REO re uel shall come to thee Oh Isel rejo Manuel shall come to the [Music] Isel dear Lord we thank you for this season of Advent where we symbolically wait for the first coming of Christ that baby in the stable who would take on your wrath for our sake and Lord we also await during this time the second

Coming Lord where we will be raised up into true life to dwell with you eternally Lord as we wait I pray that you would remind us of this hope constantly because Lord we forget so easily it's in Jesus name we pray amen all right good morning everyone well today yeah so this is the children's story time so if all the kids would like to come up oh it's the sound of an aging man oh wow lots of kids yeah well I hope I got enough stuff for you guys all right well guys welcome here and I gotta say I am so excited to be here with you guys as your family and children's director and especially to do this time you know I have very fond memories growing up cuz in my church my pastor would do this with us every Sunday and we'd come up and I have very fond memories and it was it was always such a good time so I hope you will have fond memories of this as well but I got a question for you what is today today is a special day what is it yes Sunday it is Sunday okay yes it's a double special day because today's Sunday what else Family Worship Sunday okay triple special day one more thing yeah first day of Advent the first day of Advent that's right what is advent I think nobody nobody knows it is the time the specifically the four weeks before Christmas where we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ so there's two advents that we prepare for during this time first one he's already coming right he's come the first time and the second time he's yet to come we don't know when he's going to come but it is a time where we prepare our hearts now preparation is very important right how many of you guys

Think preparation is important for almost anything yeah right if you have a Thanksgiving dinner okay you don't just call people last minute and throw some hot dogs and some rice krispy cereal on the on the table and say Happy Thanksgiving you might if that's all you have but what we love to do during those seasons is to really take time to prepare okay because it is a joyous and wonderful time and we are there's a bount bounty of goodness that God has given us and we want to celebrate in that okay and so Christmas is one of the most joyful and merry times of the year and so we set aside four weeks to prepare now in our house we really love Christmas okay we when on the first day of Advent we bring out all the decorations the Christmas trees we light candles we sing all the songs we watch all the movies we do all of the Christmas stuff it is so much fun yes but one of our favorite things to do during Christmas time is the Advent reading now what we do and I' I'd like to share this with you is every night before the kids go to bed we turn off all the lights in the house so it's totally dark we sit on the couch all the kids come around and I read an advent story under the light of a single candle okay I know it's light in here this isn't very bright but we have a single candle and that's where we read the story and what that does is it brings everybody in close there's a cozy feeling and warmth to the cuddle and the and the reading under the single light because you have to be close you have to draw near to the light okay in Advent what do we do we talk about Jesus we read the prophecies he's coming there's an expecting of a Messiah of a Savior to come okay and so what this does is as we continue through the Advent we light more and more candles and so what does that do when you light more candles it makes more light it makes more light

That's right the light comes and comes and comes and the Darkness fleas okay it is a tremendous illustration of what the truth of God's word does in our hearts okay and that's what the preparation time for Christmas is all about prepar in your hearts for the celebration of Jesus Christ okay now how can we celebrate Advent this Christmas time well at church pastor Cody is going to be talking about the I am statements of Jesus these are very specific and unique statements that only Jesus can make okay so I want you guys to pay very close attention to Pastor Cody's message today because he's going to tell you about how Jesus is a door now you're going to have to listen carefully to know what that means okay but as he preaches throughout the coming weeks I want you guys to remember that when you before you guys go to bed and I'm going to give you guys one of these candles okay that you can set beside your bed you can turn it on and ask your mom and dad mom and dad can you tell me something special about Jesus before I go to bed and that way you'll prepare your hearts for this Christmas all right let's pray dear heavenly father Lord we thank you for these wonderful children they are such a blessing and Lord we thank you for this Advent season Lord would you do a work in our hearts would you prepare our hearts to hear and to receive the Gospel this Christmas so that it may change our lives and that we may know you help us now as we listen to the sermon change us as we eat your word and we pray these things in Jesus name amen before you guys leave I have a have some instructions I want the young ones to grab first because I don't know if I have enough for everybody I'm sorry so we'll let the young ones grab first and you older ones if there's extra then you come and grab okay I don't if it doesn't light you have to

Pull a little tab [Music] there's some little over here sweee once you get your candle go ahead and make your way back to your mom and dad praise the Lord for a lot of little ones amen it's like Monica they just came coming out of the bag you know [Applause] hey well church if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please turn with me to John chapter 10 John chapter 10 is where we are going to be today we are learning this Advent season all about the I am statements that Christ made Austin thank you so much for preaching last week and so did a knockout job the I am statements that Christ makes in the Book of John are definitive statements he is saying that this is a truth and it is pointing to the truth of who Jesus Christ is if you've ever wondered who is Jesus look at what he says about himself look at what he testifies about himself and when Jesus uses the phrase I am he is publicly identifying himself with the Eternal God of the ages he is doing that and he is he is saying that he is the same God who delivered the people out of Egypt he is the same God who sent the prophets to the people of Israel he's the same God who called the Kings he's the same God who did all those things because he is the only one and true God and he was making himself equal with God in Divinity and in Authority which is why many of the Jews sought to kill him on several occasions after he makes these I am statements today we're going to learn about how Jesus is a door and we're going to look at that today we're also going to learn about shepherding and we're going to learn about the fact that there are enemies that want to steal from the

Shepherd so stand with me in honor of God's word as we read John 10 verses 1-10 God's word says this 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 but he who enters by the door is The Shepherd of the sheep to him the gatekeeper opens the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own Sheep by name and leads them out when he has gone when he has brought out all his own he goes before them and the Sheep follow him for they know his voice a stranger they will not follow but they will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers this figure of speech Jesus used with them but they did not understand what he was saying to them so Jesus again said to them 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 listen to them I am the door if anyone enters by me he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy I came that they may have life and have it abundantly let's pray and so God we do pray for the preaching of your word today we pray that you would as we have been very intentionally preparing our hearts Lord our hearts are open and receptive to what you have to say today we pray that those who need Mercy would find Mercy today that those who need love would find love today that those who need Grace would find Grace and that we would see all of these things fully realized in the person and work of Jesus Christ and we pray that today that you would just open up e even more so our minds to give us understanding especially with these difficult things that you've included in your word Lord help us to gain not just a head knowledge of it but a full-on heart knowledge that we may walk

In your truth God help us God to know you and to love you more and more each day in Jesus name amen well Jesus he starts out this teaching with that phrase truly truly and that means that this word that we read today is truth what Christ is saying to you and I today is truth and there's 25 times in the Book of John where Jesus uses this phrase truly truly I say to you and he repeats that phrase over and over and over again so what does that phrase mean well in the Greek that word is literally amen and when we read these words truly truly we don't think amen we read it as this is truth this is truth but perhaps it's because our definition of Amen is maybe a little skewed for amen it means sit down right or it means start to eat yeah and it could be all sorts of different things that we mean by that what we when we say Amen it means that there is truth behind what was said and so when someone is praying and someone shares their heart and they share their their mind and their desires before God and then they conclude with saying amen that means what I just prayed was the truth Lord what I just poured out to you is my desires my wants my needs my affections all of these things they that we say and we conclude an amen we say it as I entrust it to you I agree with what I just said or what someone else has just said sometimes if I make a point you know someone will say Amen that means I agree that is truth and Jesus uses this same phrase here to emphasize the importance of this truth statement to prompt our agreement to prompt our belief and he does th so through the use of imagery and so he's we're going to talk about three groups today we're going to look at them the first group that we're going to look at is the Sheep

That's what we're going to look at because Jesus is talking about sheep and this is kind of a I should I should preface this whole sermon by saying this is like a part A of next week's sermon okay because it's all it's all intertwined so if you're here this week and you're like I want more come back next week and we'll we'll kind of conclude it all up because Jesus will continue preaching but Jesus he is concerned here about the sheep that God the father has entrusted to him specifically Jesus he has in mind a blind man who had recently been healed by Christ this man he was born blind in Christ he came he found him he healed him on a Sabbath and that's just a no in that among the religious people and the religious people got really really angry with Jesus and so they started hunting him down to kill Christ but it wasn't his time yet they even put out a warrant for his arrest well the man who was healed of his blindness he's brought before the Pharisees for questioning and you know what happens is he winds up questioning the Pharisees Authority and instead of interacting with this with this man's testimony who was born blind never saw anything and instead of them asking good questions and seeing the truth of what God had done they wind up excommunicating him out of the fellowship of Jewish people and that's a devastating act because as a Jewish person your whole identity is wrapped around your jewishness and your belonging to the people of God and so he's he this blind man is sitting around and Christ goes and he finds him at his lowest point even after healing him this man had never been brought so low but Jesus finds him and reveals himself to be the one who healed his sight the very God of very

God and what happens is that man who was once born blind but could now see worshiped Jesus and what Jesus says in chapter N9 at the end there the Pharisees they come across Jesus and they say are we also blind Jesus says no you're not blind actually the whole purpose is to help the blind see and for the those who see to become blind and what a terrifying condemnation that is but I think that we should familiarize oursel with sheep for a moment because sheep are some of the dumbest an animals that you will ever find in this in this world they are just dumb look at verse three it says let me tell you a little bit about sheep real quick they can't they can't swim right they have every animal has a sense of navigational Direction meaning that they are born with an innan U innate I should say inate I don't know what you would call it maybe nature to find their way back home except for these guys right here okay they can't find their way home if they're lost they're lost if they wander they wander forever if they go if they fall into a pit they don't have anything to crawl out with they if even their wool tries to kill them everything that they have around them is really only useful for humans all right or Predators or something like that they don't have ways to defend themselves from danger U there there is nothing that a sheep can do they're defenseless and they will wander away but there are some things that sheep can do and we learn them from this passage here the first thing is that they hear the voice of the Shepherd that is one thing that sheep can do look at verse three it says the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own Sheep by name and leads them out this is what happens in modern and in ancient Middle East

That Shepherds they would often times make Unique Sounds or even calls in order to bring in the flock often times they would name specifically hory sheep that have a tendency to wander off they will name those sheep so that way they're being called out by name oh it's time for me to come back have you ever heard the voice of Shepherd have you ever heard the voice of the shepherd sometimes it's as though God yells at our hearts and sometimes it's in the still small voice but every believer has heard the voice of God at some point in time because the sheep hear his voice it happens when the Gospel is proclaimed do you remember that in your life do you remember that moment when God called you out I've heard stories of people white knuckling the backs of chairs or pews because they really just they knew they wanted to but they also knew that they didn't want to and there was this internal struggle between them and the Lord and they're just holding on for dear life but God by his grace makes the unwilling heart willing and they say I will believe in Jesus Christ the son of God because of his marvelous Grace secondly they know the voice of the shepherd so they hear the voice but they also know the voice of the shepherd this isn't just head knowledge when we when we use that word no I mean a Discerning kind of kind of knowledge John he uses this word several times in the Book of John if we look at John 10 verse4 John 4:10 excuse me Jesus answered her talking about the woman at the well if you knew if you could discern if you could understand the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you give me a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you Living Water he uses the same word again in John 20:9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture they knew

It they had sat with the Living Word of God for three and a half years and the disciples still did not understand the Scripture they couldn't discern it that he must rise from the dead and then the disciples went back to their homes do you know the voice of the shepherd because it's an unmistakable voice the voice of the Shepherd in this context is about recognizing the Savior not about ongoing Revelation Jesus he is teaching the Pharisees he's teaching the Sadducees who are in the process of rejecting the Messiah the sent one of God the Redeemer of Israel and they are rejecting Jesus and the fact is that there are sheep and there are goats and goats are people that reject Christ and so what do Christians do we pray for them we share the Gospel with them we love them but Jesus's focus on this passage is about sheep and it is through the preaching of the Gospel and through evangelism that those who respond are God's sheep anyone can come anyone can drink deeply from the promises of God by faith Faith because they have come to Christ The Joy the hope the peace the security that is in Christ is for all who come to him and that goes for you thirdly sheep follow the shepherd that's what sheep do it's kind of their whole business that's what they do the vast majority of the time they eat near the shepherd they drink near the shepherd they walk near the shepherd they sleep near the shepherd they just follow the shepherd around it's it's what you and I are called to do as Believers that we are called to continually follow the Lord Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd in Mark the first thing that Jesus said to his disciples was what follow me and as he continued on throughout his ministry as he approached each one of

The disciples he commanded them what follow me and that's exactly what he called each and every single Christian to do is to follow him and we are called to follow the path of Christ This Means loving this means having Mercy this means teaching this means admonishing this means praying this means ministering and evangelizing but sometimes sheep wander though don't they you ever have you ever been lost before that's a that's a devastating feeling it's kind of scary in Ireland there's an area that's used for a lot of a lot of shepherds but the problem is that there's all sorts of these craggy rocks and some of the crevices of these rocks are really hard to get into and get behind but the problem is that the Sheep love the grass there I mean they that they say that the grass is just a lot sweeter in this whole area and so sheep they just start wandering off and before you know it they're 71 ft down in this crevice and can't get out and unless a Shepherd is very watchful they will wander off and get stuck and unless the Shepherd intervenes that sheep will die but I want you to know that we serve the Good Shepherd he watches over us and stewards us and he will not let you be lost he holds you securely in spite of your wandering did you know that he knew that you would Wander from him from time to time I mean it's not like it's not like your playing with sin ever caught God off guard or your lack of I don't know Bible reading or church attendance or whatever it is whatever you define wandering as it's not like that catches God off guard he knew all of it and yet he still chose to die on the cross for you he still chose to call you by name he still chose to adopt you into his family in spite of all of your wanderings that's how much God loves

You that's a great place to say amen I heard that if a pastor has to sit ask for an amen it doesn't count so but you may be a Wandering sheep but I want you to hear the voice of the shepherd I want you to know his voice and follow him and return to him to come to him because Jesus he loves you and he will take care of you and fourthly here we learn that Shepherds or that sheep will not follow strangers try as someone might sheep will simply ignore strangers trying to get their attention strangers might clap they might yell they might stomp they might do everything that they can in order to get a sheep to try and come to it but a sheep just simply will not follow sometimes a sheep may even run away and so we covered sheep but let's talk about the second group here enemies the enemies we don't like to think that there are people that want the flock of God for their own selfish desires but there are and Jesus puts them into two categories and there are two categories that are repeated all throughout the New Testament and they come up two ways firstly it's through thieves you know it's just it's right there thieves what they do is they create plans to infiltrate and to attack a Sheepfold they try to get in and get out undetected to pick off the flock of God and I recently received a book it's called while Shepherds watch their flock by Dr Timothy lania and he writes this he spent a sabatical about a year in Israel just interviewing Shepherds okay it's a really fascinating book and he writes this he I asked Moshe the shepherd about the challenges of shepherding here in the Hill Country of Israel and he immediately laments his biggest difficulty thieves three times he has found his pen emptied by shrewd thieves who poisoned his dogs and quietly loaded dozens of

His sheep into trucks once he had 250 taken now how heartbreaking is it that thieves that do that kind of stuff also tried to take from the flock of God beware of Thieves because they are around and the second group is robbers robbers it's the same word that we might use to describe a Mugger they Ed violence intimidation threats bullying in order to make their way into the flock and we have to ask the question why is Jesus talking about robbers and thieves why would he use that kind of phraseology well we have to remember the context a blind man was recently excommunicated for speaking out about Jesus and so Jesus he is comparing some people that are in the audience to robbers and thieves because they're doing something they are exploting in the Sheep of Israel you see what happened is that this blind man he needed to celebrate he had never seen anything before in his life ever and now he could see very clearly he this man needed Ministry and instead he gets raked over the coals for his faith in the Messiah and Jesus he says the thieves and the robbers are there to steal and to kill and to destroy and so who is he talking about he's talking about two groups firstly the bad and wicked Kings and ancient leaders of Israel the false prophets the ones who didn't tear down the ungodly altars in the high places the one who didn't o obey the law of Moses those who didn't show Mercy to those who needed it and God gives this threat way back in Jeremiah chapter 23: 1-3 it says woe to the Shepherds who destroy and Scatter the Sheep of my pasture declares the Lord therefore thus says the Lord the God of Israel concerning the Shepherds who care for my people you have scattered my flock and have driven them away and you

Have not attended to them behold I will attend to you for your evil Deeds declares the Lord that's not a threat that's a promise right I mean how terrifying is that what a warning this is for even church leaders in the modern age to maybe instead of feeding the flock of God drive them away from churches and don't care shepherds are called to bind up shepherds are called to heal to protect to feed and instead sometimes Shepherds do the opposite of that and God gives that terrifying sentence I will deal with you later or I will attend to you for your evil Deeds but in this passage Jesus isn't just talking about the false prophets of the or the bad kings or things like that he's also talking directly to the Sanhedrin these were the Pharisees these were the Sadducees who had just excommunicated this man these were educated men who knew the word of God who were in positions of spiritual influence and Leadership and instead of ministering to the people of Israel what did they do they locked themselves into their offices their Ivory Towers they didn't go out among the people they didn't do good works of Ministry they didn't do anything like that they lived such separated lives that people thought I can't ever be close to God not like that person not ever and they didn't get it Jesus is publicly humiliating them calling them out and he speaks with authority and with a bluntness and if we look at verse seven he uses that same phrase truly truly and he continues to say I am the door I am the door I am the way and that's the last point that Jesus is the door and this eye catching statement really isn't that eye-catching when we think about it I mean we can look around the room and we see all sorts of different doors and none of them are

Extraordinary like not like you ever get called over to a house to go check out a new door I mean maybe you do I don't know never happened to me I mean they're so common and the door that Jesus is talking about we look it's it's singular there's a definite article there that's why it's the it's singular there is one way there aren't many doors to enter into God's Sheepfold there's just one and his name Jesus and this was this was actually common even in the modern world and in the ancient world look at this illustration that's up here okay excuse me we got this is what's called a sheep fold if you've never seen a sheep fold this is that it there the walls are about 7 to 8 feet tall and up along the edge there's typically brambles and thorns and loose rock that are all around the top Edge and the reason why that's there is to keep robbers and thieves and people like that out of the sheep fold okay they're going to climb over ow my thorn in my hand or whatever you know that they get dissuaded by that but also if they come across loose rock it alerts the Shepherds and they're able to get up with their with their sling and their staff and you know go to war I guess and so there's also this covering that's right here where sheep can go and hide from the elements as well as Shepherds if there's many of them but Jesus is this area right here that's what he's talking about notice there's not a door there there not designed to have doors on them there's not anything that opens or closes there except for the shepherd it is the Shepherd that functions as the door he is the one that says who can go in and who can go out which sheep can come in to be a part of the Sheepfold and which ones can't and so we can learn here about

The function of the door think about what the what that Shepherd would do if he laid across that doorway that's what he would do he would lay down across that doorway so if a sheep's coming you know what it's going to have to do it's going to have to step over the Sheep it's going to have to walk right past them but we have a good shepherd who is alert and always available and he sees when a sheep is trying to get its way out he also sheep they don't wander out of the sheep fold to be exposed or devoured because Jesus is the one who lovingly keeps us no one can snatch us out of the father's hand and no one can snatch us out of Christ hand every single believer can endure in Christ by being in Christ by being close to Christ as a door Christ he also protects us when we think of a door that protects our mind should automatically go way back to the Book of Genesis 7: 16 in that we have the chosen family of Noah who enter into the ark and God shuts them in and they are shut in for days without a drop of rain and people are mocking they are scoffing and then the rain comes and the entire world literally millions or billions at that point perish in the flood I think that they started to believe that message of repentance when that first drop fell I believe that with all of my heart but it was too late because the door was shut there was no Deliverance judgment had come in God he prevented the wicked from entering the ark but he also prevented the water from coming in and in much the same way Christ is the one who protects us because we've entered into Christ that's the only way that we can be safe we should also note the exclusivity of the door I've already touched on this a

Little bit but I think that goes without saying that we have to tackle this because there is only one way to be secure in your eternity and that's by coming to God through Christ you can't be good enough you can't know enough even if you have all the right answers that's not enough you can give everything that you want to ch it doesn't matter in Acts the religious philosophers would get together and they had all of these altars set up to hundreds of gods and there was even this one altar that was labeled as to the unknown God they wanted to have all their bases covered if we're in good with all of these different gods then maybe we will be good for eternity but the problem is that by doing that they offended the one true God in his name is Jesus Christ but God he beckons you even with that one way he beckons you he calls you he says to come to him to enter into salvation through him and the invitation is for you but there is only one way to be saved and that's by trusting in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ listen to what the psalmist writes in Psalm 118 veres 19-20 open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord this is the Gate of the Lord there is one gate of the Lord and the righteous shall enter through it there is only one way for you to be saved and so why should you come to Christ today why should you consider Jesus and the last point that I want you to consider is the promise of the door oh I think I skipped one there the promise of the door there's three promises for all who come to Christ Christ and I want you to remember that he invites you to come because Jesus said if anyone enters by me he will be saved that's the first promise you will be saved you will have salvation William mome he wrote chief of Sinners though I be Jesus shed his blood

For me died that I might live on high lives that I may never die you can be saved eternally by coming to Christ and Jesus himself testifies this in Matthew chapter 7 he says enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way easy that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few and today you are here and you have been told about this narrow gate that you may enter in and have eternal life Jesus also promises In this passage that you can go in and out that means that you have Liberty ultimate freedom is found in Christ and the freedom that we have is not freedom to live our lives the way that we desire the Liberty that Christ offers is freedom from sin in a better way which continues in Christ in the protection in the freedom that he offers is guaranteed not by the walls to keep out the danger but in the very presence of being with Christ Jesus also promises that you will find pasture that is nourishment you ever feel empty you ever feel dry do you ever feel exhausted that's what sheep feel when they're not abiding with the shepherd so come to Christ and he will provide for you will be saved you will find Liberty you will find all the nourishment he is the bread of life he is the Living Water that's why we're talking about all this during the Christmas season he doesn't invite us in like some sort of distant uncle you know like at our wedding we were trying to figure out our guest list and you know we're trying to figure out well who is this person that we have to invite and where are we going to put him that's not the kind of

Invitation that Jesus extends to us he died for you and he offers you to come to him to find rest for your souls and this offer of Salvation is for today and perhaps you know that you need Jesus but maybe you think well you know I'm just going to I'm just going to wait on that I've got a lot of things I want to do I got a lot of a lot of plans for my life so I'm just going to do what I want to do I want to share with you a story real quick there was a Christian Doctor Who had witnessed to a patient on many times and this patient fell very sick and so the doctor goes to his home and he has yeah you know I know what is you need to take this medicine and you'll get better and man says well when should I start taking it he goes H you should take it maybe next year he goes I'll be dead by then he goes H that very well could be the case why don't you to try next month we'll do it next month instead and he goes doc what are you talking about man I'm I'm feeling bad now I really need to take this medicine he goes okay well when do you think that you should take the medicine he goes well I need to take it right now if I want to get better he goes you're exactly right why do you keep on pushing off the cure for your sin why do you keep pushing away Christ when the offer is for now today is the day of salvation today is the day for you to be saved and you might be here and you might say Cody I know that I need I need Christ oh then come up when we're when we're singing shake my hand say Pastor I want to be saved or maybe you're just like I don't want to walk up in front of people okay catch me after service get it right before you leave today it's we don't we're not guaranteed tomorrow so do it today today is the day of salvation Christ is the door and he

Invites you to come to him head heart hand head I want you to know that salvation is found only by faith alone in Jesus Christ he is the only way to enter into eternal life and man the promises of God are good for those who come to Christ heart I want you to believe that none of your none of your works are good enough to save you like there's some great people out there that don't know Jesus but none of them are good enough to save us you can't you can't hop the fence to get into the Sheepfold if you think that you can be good enough for salvation you're at best an impostor or at worst a robber you must come to Christ and receive him as Lord and Savior and hand I want you to trust in Christ today let's pray and so God we do thank you just for your mercy and your grace and your kindness and your love we thank you that you have provided away and Lord especially during this Advent series as we prepare our hearts and in our minds Lord for your second coming Lord I pray that there would be people here that are prepared that not just through the decorations or watching the movies and the baking of cookies and all those fun things Lord but also by just having a relationship with you and I pray that today would be that day for someone that they would trust in you if that be your will we give them over to you we ask that you would just push upon them and impress upon them the importance of getting that right even right now that they would repent of their sins and Trust in Christ we ask that you would bless us Lord and watch over us we are your sheep and you are Our Shepherd and so we just thank you that you're a good shepherd keep us Lord and protect us in Jesus name amen let's stand and let's

Worship [Music] who has held the oans in his hands who has numbered every grain of sand kings and Nations tremble at his voice all creation Rises to Rejoice Behold our God Seated on his throne come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us adore him who has GI counsel to the Lord who can question many of his words who can teach the one who knows all things who can fathom all his wondrous Deeds Behold our God Seated on his throne come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us [Music] adore him who has felt the nails upon on his hands bearing all the guilt of sinful man God Eternal humble to the Grave Jesus Savior risen now to rain Behold

Our God Seated on his throne he's worthy come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us adore him amen all right let's pray us out of here father God thank you for giving us this day thank you that you are the Good Shepherd thank you how you lead us and guide us God thank you for the grace and the mercy that you show us it's a gift that we do not deserve and did nothing to earn God please go before my friends here that this Advent season please reveal to yourself to us in new and wonderful ways God we ask this all in your name amen [Music] for