Welcome to the River Mountain Church Preaching Library. It is our prayer and indeed our hope that this message might inspire your life. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the preaching of God's Word. In John 10, 7, Jesus said again, I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever come before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters me through their gate will be saved. So that's the theme today is God's gates and God's doors. A couple weeks ago when Rusty spoke, Rusty kind of inspired me what to speak about this week. I had a bunch of notes and what I was going to do from previous times. Rusty had said, well, he's going to use the art trip as a theme for his message, which he was summoned for me that week. And so I said, that's a good idea. So there's a lot of material there. So anyway, I took Rusty's idea. So it's his idea. But I went on a trip. So anyway, two months ago already, a gang of us were on the trip down at the Ark. There's some of us standing there. The Ark in the background, the next slide. And there it is. There's the full Ark. And you can see at the Ark, you see the gangplank going up there? And the door to the Ark is right there. And I didn't realize when I gave them that slide that that picture would be that clear of the Ark door. So next slide, please. Okay, so we go to Genesis. So that's the inside, right? That's the inside of the ark. I don't know who that is standing there, but. So Genesis 6.13, God said to Noah, I'm gonna put an end to all the people, for the earth is filled with violence, and because of them, I'm surely gonna destroy both them and the earth. And kind of seems like familiar times we're into now, right now. But God was so frustrated as, you know, everybody knows the story of Noah. But, you know, again, there was that one door when he instructed Noah to build the ark, at least had mentioned earlier. And it was a door, right? And only Noah and his family went through that door. Of course, all the animals that they took to save. There was a lot of choices out there in the world. People could have, when the floods started coming, they could have gone to that door, but it was too late. The door had already closed. And of course, we know mankind was perished. Next slide, please. You know what that door is? Passover, right? And again, You know, it's another door, but that God opened. So, and I'll read Exodus 12, 13. The blood will be a sign for you on your houses where you, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. Another warning sign from God, right? For the Israelites that, God's people, I'm going to destroy, time for you to get out, right? Here's my sign on the door. And again, it was another God sign, you know, that he's given man. Okay, next slide. There is, that's the, that's the, right, that's the sheepscape. And I had some, I had something on that one too, the sheepscape, why am I back? But anyway, all the sheeps. Oh, I know what it is, I'm out of, you know what, go to the temple door. Yeah, that's the next, no, she's back. Is the door of the temple there? We missed that slide? Anyway, I did want to show the inner temple. We're missing that one. So we go from Passover. And then when we go to the door of the inner temple, which is not up there, but again, you know, the day of atonement, right? That was the one day a year the Jewish people could go to the temple, right? Get all their sins accounted for, right? Or forgiven for through sacrifice. But God's word in Hebrews 10.4 says, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away our sin, to take away sin, okay? That was the one thing that was missing, right? In the Old Testament, right? With the Jewish people, right? It's all, you know, been foretold of Jesus's coming, but there still were, they thought the only way to take away your sin was the sacrifice of the blood and the goats to take away your sins. And of course, we know there's the sheep. So now we can go to the next one. That's the sheep's door. And in John 10, seven, kind of going back to where I was here. Therefore, Jesus said again, very truly, I will tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate, whoever enters me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. And, you know, I have a little article here on the sheep. And, you know, I'll kind of go a little bit about the sheep in the scripture. But sheep are totally dependent upon the shepherd who tends them in care and compassion. Shepherds were providers, guides, protectors, and constant companions of the sheep. So close was the bond between the shepherd and the sheep that to this day, Middle Eastern shepherds can divide flocks that have mingled well during the night and simply by calling their sheep who know and follow the shepherd's voice. Shepherds were inseparable with their flocks. The shepherd could lead the sheep to safe places and to graze and make them lie down for several hours in a shady place. As night fell, the shepherd would lead the sheep to protection of the sheepfold. And of course, we all know about sheep. They're domesticated animals. They're pretty helpless. Not the bright, not very bright, they tend to follow. They even follow into their own dangers, right? Kind of of mankind, right? We have a tendency to follow, wonder, end up in the wrong places. But the way out is our shepherd, right? Our Lord and Savior. Okay. Next one. Okay. Second Corinthians, you know, I mean, this is the final, you know, Christ died for our sins, right? Here we are in Christmas season, Christ coming, born of the Virgin Mary, but really the whole story of Christmas is right there, that why God sent his son, why sent his son into flesh to save our sins, our lost sheep, us lost sheep, right? Many ways, God, leading up to this, whether it was destroy mankind and put Noah and his sons and family in the ark to regenerate mankind, man still fall back to sin. And there was no way out of the sin, whether it was sacrifice of animals. And we needed a shepherd. And our lost people, we need a shepherd. God sent him, born in the stable. So go to 2 Corinthians 5, 21. And God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. So in him, we might become righteousness in God. Okay. And lastly, no, then we have the tomb. And then finally, that's another God's door. And then this is Matthew 28, two. There was a violent earthquake and for the angel of the Lord came down from heaven, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. And again, it's his resurrection, right? And there's the story. He died on the cross and came out of that tomb for us. and anybody who go through the door to accept that. Next slide. This is, you know, this is the narrow door. And many times it talked to, you know, later in the New Testament, but I have Matthew 7, 7, 8. Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, you will find. Knock on the door, it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. The one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks, the door will be opened." So the door's open, right, for everybody, but it's a very narrow door. Jesus said it'll be very many, very few will follow me. But we talk about while we can, you know, we can say the sinner's prayer. And does that get you through the door? I'm not sure. But it gets you to the opening. But you know, once a person says a sinner's prayer, I've been witness to that. I've even prayed with people in my life. But they'll walk through that door, but many times do not walk through the door. And walking through the door is total surrender. Rusty and I in our elders retreat have talked about that. And total surrender just doesn't mean I'm gonna show up for church every Sunday. That means total surrender, your finances. Right? Do you believe that your finances belongs to God, or is it yours that you just give a little bit when you need it, when you have extra? Whether it's our life, you know, our life, do we surrender it all to Him? You know, or we continue prayer, as Rusty talked about earlier. These are just a few things that I just wanted to share this morning, but think about that door, that narrow door, and are we walking through that door, or have we walked through the door, or are we still struggling to walk through the door? 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