All right, if you would take your Bible, if you got it in John chapter 10, verse one through verse number nine is where we're going to look at and to start this morning. But John chapter 10, and we've been looking at, on the first Sunday of each month, we look at making much of Jesus, a way in which we need to make much of our Savior. And we, January's focus was making much in the home, because if it doesn't start in the home, you're not gonna get very far anywhere else. And so we make much of Jesus in the home. And then we, last Sunday morning, it's only the second Sunday of February, right? Anybody else have a hard time figuring out where we're at in the month? or the year, okay, or what year we're in. We're all there. But last Sunday, we looked at making much of Jesus and taking Christ to the world. And that is, of course, dealing with our missions, being here at the end of this month as well. But we've got to learn and be focused on making much of Jesus and taking Christ to our world. And our world is not just sending people around the world, our world is what's around us every single day. And so we have got to go, and again, it does start in the home, but it can't just stay in the home. The whole purpose of making much of Jesus in the home is to make much of Jesus outside of the four walls of the home. But we cannot instill the help we need to get the gospel out if we can't even reach our own families. And so we have to reach the family, and then we have to be focused on more than just our family. The focus of the gospel is not our four and no more. The focus of the gospel is, for God so loved the world, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord. That's the focus of the gospel. We have to get it in our homes, yes, but then we got to get it beyond and to the world that surrounds us. So we've been looking in the in-between time frames. at Jesus Christ, who is this Jesus? And just a few, you might want to call it nuggets, or even in some aspects just reminders that we need, that we can take this spiritual ammunition to go out and share who Jesus is to a lost and dying world. Now I understand and I agree that people should be able to see through our lives, we've talked about that already many times, about how people should be able to see through our lives the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ shining, not because of us, but shining through us. I think I mentioned a while back, we are a lighthouse. And the lighthouse, the only way it's going to remain effective, if you look at old-fashioned lighthouses, the only way it remains effective, you have to keep the windows clean. because if the windows get blackened with the use of the light, if the windows darken, then the light can't get out. And therefore, our job is to keep the vessel clean so that the light that is within, through salvation, the light that has been placed within, that is the light of Christ, can shine from our lives. And yes, there is a need that we allow the light to shine in our daily living, but the idea of having lifestyle evangelism as the only way of witnessing to people is a fraudulent mindset. It's a lazy mindset. I'm just gonna live good, and people will see and wanna know who Jesus is. Now, there is an aspect of truth to that, and that should be existent, but God gave you a mouth for a reason, and unfortunately, we use it for all the wrong reasons. God gave us a voice if you have a voice, and even if you don't have a voice, there are those who know sign language, going back to that with a rife, that's pretty handy. But there are multiple ways to communicate, and God gave us communication so that we can share more than just gossip. It got quiet. God gave us communication so that we can do more than get on social media and gripe about everybody and about everything. And can I say something that just eats me alive lately? Any of y'all on the heart, what's happening in heart soul groups? Anybody else get tired of hearing every single police scanner thing that's going on? Let's just share every little bitty thing that's happening. Oh, somebody crossed down the road over here. There were a couple of boys that went back in the back at night. There were a couple of young fellas went back and so we called the police to let them know they were back there. I don't know if they were up to any good. 10 minutes later, bling bling. "'Report on Bethel Road by Bethel Baptist Church. "'Two young men going into the graveyard at night.'" Really? Let them handle it, the entire world doesn't need to know. Matter of fact, here's the thing, what if they're on it and you just let them know what's going on? Be quiet, okay? But as a whole, pet peeve is over, okay, all right, I just, shut that squirrel. But here's the thing, God gave us the ability to communicate for one main purpose, communicate truth, communicate the gospel. communicate hope through Jesus Christ. And so your life should be a reflection of the light and it should kind of like flies to the, or mosquitoes to the mosquito zapper. You should be a light that draws others to want to know what it is that's within you that is shining, but at the same time, just because you might let the light shine doesn't mean that the reason for the light is gonna be known unless you speak. There has to be a declaration of who Jesus is. By the way, if your life draws people to ask, Why do you do that? Why do you live like that? Why do you not do these things? Why do you go to church so faithfully? Why do you serve in so many areas with anything that the church group or your church is doing? Why do y'all go door knocking? Why do you do these things? Well, that is just merely an opportunity for us to open up and communicate who is this Jesus. And if we're not willing to share what the light has drawn them to want to ask about, then we're gonna fail the very thing that God left us here to accomplish. So we try to give ammunition in this area of who is this Jesus. So this morning I want to, we've already looked at that Christ in two different aspects. I should have written them down because my brain had them a second ago and now it just disappeared on me. But we presented Christ as the light of the world and we presented, oh, there you go, the bread of life, thank you. Just look up and you bring it up on the screen. The bread of life. those who are hungry and thirsty. He's the light of the world, those in darkness. And today we're gonna look at Jesus Christ and very simply, He is the door. He is the door. John 10, verse one through nine, it says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. I cannot chase this squirrel very far, but this automatically deals with there is only one way. I don't care what the world wants to say. Matter of fact, I watched a clip of one of those debaters goes to the colleges and stuff and lets a whole bunch of ignorant individuals speak. and then debates their arguments. Young people who have been infused with mentalities that have nothing to do with truth. And this one young lady spoke up, and not being ugly towards her, but this is a result of what she has been raised to believe, but she spoke up and she figured she'd get this person cornered and have nothing for them to say by just saying, does God love me? Well, yeah. And that was the answer. Yes, God loves you. Okay, that's all that matters then. And she walked off. And he stopped and said, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, she didn't come back. And he said, do your parents love you? Well, your parents can love you, but if you go out and break the law and go to jail, just because your parents love you doesn't mean it's gonna stop from you having to face punishment. Your parents don't stop loving you, but it doesn't change the fact that you did wrong and you're gonna face consequence. God loves you, but it doesn't change the fact that if you reject Christ and reject truth, you're still gonna be facing the consequences of your action. He still loves you, but his love does not erase the guilt automatically. There is one way and only one way. And that is through Jesus Christ. He is the door into the sheepfold. If you try to climb up another way, you try to go another way, you try to make another path to find your way into the forgiveness that is needed, it's just not gonna happen. By the way, thieves and robbers, when it comes to glory, when it comes to heaven, thieves and robbers, when they try to get in through another door, are going to find that every avenue they take is going to be a dead end, unless they come through Christ and Christ alone. Well, that's pretty narrow-minded, yet the Bible talks about there is a narrow way and a broad way. By the way, just to remind us, the only way is the narrow way. I am the way, the truth, the life, Jesus said. But he is the door. Go on in verse number two. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Jesus always spoke in parables many times to get a point across that would be for the people a very understandable, you want to call it grassroots or you want to call it basement theology, very low-key, very understandable, easy-to-comprehend teaching. But unfortunately, even the easy-to-comprehend teaching, they still struggled with. So Jesus would then go and explain what he meant by that. And almost always when he explained what the truth of his teaching was about, it offended somebody. Now, in this particular scenario, he's dealing with the Pharisees, and he's dealing with these individuals who are always wanting to reject him. They were threatened by his teaching and his authority, and they viewed themselves as the shepherds for the people of Israel, but they viewed Christ as a charlatan and a thief when it comes to their authority versus his. And so with that in mind, Jesus is speaking about what would make sense. There were a lot of individuals that either were shepherds or they knew people who were shepherds. They understood the process of building a sheepfold. They understood the process of fencing in and protecting. And when they built and protected the sheep, what a shepherd would do is exactly what Jesus is describing here. There would be a walled area that they would keep the sheep in, especially at night during the most dangerous time frames. When they took them out to the field to eat, the shepherd would take them out to eat and then take them by to still water so they could drink and not drown. By the way, if you know anything about sheep, you take them to moving water, they will drown while they try to drink. And so it's got to be by still waters. Go back to the psalmist there. He leads me beside still waters. The Lord is my shepherd. That description is understanding that Jesus himself, as God guides us and is our shepherd, that it is an understandable thing in the Jewish culture to know what a shepherd does, but they would build that protective area, and in that protective area, there was only one way into the sheepfold. And somebody that would try to get in, whether it's an animal or an individual possibly, trying to steal away or kill, they would have to go somewhere other than the door, because it had to try to climb a wall, it had to try to break in somewhere, because what would happen, especially at night, is the shepherd would build, of course, have that sheepfold of protection with one way in, and there was not a gate there, he would be the gate, he would be the door, he would lay himself across that opening, and anything trying to get to the sheep had to go over him. Thus the picture of Christ with salvation. It's not only the message that Jesus is presenting here, not only the message that he is the door into the sheepfold. He's the only way to become a child of God. He's the only way into the family of God. He's the only way to be part of the sheepfold. But at the same time, once you're in, Anybody or anything wanting to remove you out has to go over Him. Thus, if Satan wanted to remove you from your salvation, he would have to defeat Christ. And he already tried it once and he lost. And he's not, by the way, he's gonna try it again later on in Revelation when the end times come, and he's gonna lose. Then he's gonna try again one more time at the very, very, very end, and he's gonna lose. Why? Because he's a loser. It's what he does. He just tries to act like a winner, but he's a loser. By the way, don't believe the lies of the loser. He can't win, but he can sure make you think he can. But the picture here, Jesus goes in the last couple of verses, he explains to them what he's talking about. He is targeting the mentality of these Pharisees and these religious leaders that are keeping the people captive by calling themselves shepherds when they're nothing but thieves and robbers. They're trying to remove them from the ability to be close and within the sheepfold of the Father. They're trying to make themselves the ones that the people follow. And Jesus very clearly says, I'm the door. Everyone else that tries to get in or tries to control things or tries to interfere with the sheep in the sheepfold are thieves and robbers. So if he's the door, what does that make all those that think that they're the shepherds? It makes them the thieves and robbers. By the way, no wonder they hated him. When he explains this, it does not make them happy. Verse number seven, then said Jesus unto them again, verily, verily, I say unto you. Now he's just gonna be clear about his parable and just point out the characters presented here. He said, I am the door of the sheep. All that have ever, all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers. Just picture the Pharisees and all the religious leaders standing around. I am the door of the sheep. All that came before me are thieves and robbers. I'm sure they felt a real warm and fuzzy feeling about him at that moment. But the sheep did not hear them. I am, verse number nine, I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out. and find pasture. And we're gonna examine that verse number nine for just a few moments here this morning as we look at Jesus, the door that people need to be told about. in our world today. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning. I pray that you'd help us as we look at this. Give us wisdom and understanding as only you can. We'll give you the honor and the glory for all that's accomplished in our lives and also through us because of this truth that can be shared. We ask it all in Christ's name. Amen. So let me get just three simple points. Let me give them to you as the door. Everybody's looking for a way into a place. Now here's what I wanna show you. Jesus as the door presents three things to us. Number one, he presents to us the place to belong. Through Jesus, through the door, All those looking for a way to just belong can find their way in. Now, many times, especially young people, get themselves into a lot of trouble trying to belong somewhere. They're looking for the acceptable, looking for the acceptance, looking for somewhere that they fit in. Let's be honest, even if you're a bit of a hermit, there's still something within you that wants to fit in somewhere. You wanna belong. Some will say, yeah, I belong all by myself. And some of that might be true, but as a whole, there is something within every individual that is looking for a place where they belong. I fit, this is family. By the way, there's nothing of a greater testimony for a local church and God's people than to have a place when people, whether they're visiting from out of town or they're in this area and they're visiting around, there's no better testimony than for people to walk in and say, it just feels like family. It feels like home. That is a sense of belonging, by the way. When it comes to being a child of God, there is only one way to understand a true sense of belonging, and that is through Jesus Christ. An individual can fit into a church group. can fit in to a scenario or a time frame here or there, an activity, and you can even walk into a complete area with strangers and feel like, well, this is very welcoming, but as a whole, no one can feel a genuine understanding of belonging when it comes to the family of God unless you have gone through Christ. You can look like it, you can sound like it, you could even somewhat act like it, but the only way you will have a genuine understanding and sense of true belonging in the family of God is through Jesus Christ and the blood he shed. It must be God's way. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. He is the door. He is the way, the only door that brings you to a place of true, genuine belonging. John 14, verse two through three, Jesus even said, when it comes to the future aspect of understanding that we can belong through Jesus Christ, knowing Him as our Savior, we can have a place to belong. We know that in John 14, two and three, by the promise that was given. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place For you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. There is a place to belong in eternity that is not filled with sorrow, that is not filled with pain, that is not filled with punishment. There is a place prepared to belong in God's presence for all eternity for those who will enter in by the door, Jesus Christ. you must know Christ as your Savior. There is no other way to be a genuine part of the family. By the way, there will come a day where the Lord will separate the wheat from the tares. There will come a day where those who can put on the facade and force their fitting way in but don't truly belong. Everyone can be fooled, but you and God know whether or not it's real. Everyone can be, well, I've been raised in church my entire life. Good for you. That's not a bad thing, especially if you've learned truth. The question is, have you obeyed the truth? Because the goodness of the Lord bringeth thee to repentance. If an individual has not repented, obeyed, and followed through faith in Christ and Christ alone unto salvation, then they are merely a shell of what appears to be belonging. But they don't genuinely fit in the family. And one day God will separate that which is real from that which is facade. you better make sure that you know Christ is your Savior according to God's plan and not according to what we try to make Him to be for us. It's not our way of using Christ to my benefit, it's God's way and God's way alone through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross of Calvary. I gotta move quickly with this, but in John 10 here, Christ made the application that people could easily understand And when he made this comparison with the sheep fold, and every shepherd, as I mentioned, has that fold, and every shepherd of that time easily understood what it meant, or even by people that were aware of those that had that occupation understood what it meant when he said that he was the door. What he's saying is, I am the shepherd of the sheep. No one comes through to the sheep. No one becomes part of the sheepfold and no one has access to those who are in the sheepfold unless they come by me. And I will vet those who are true and those who are thieves and robbers. Jesus Christ is that door. Verse 14, John 14, six says, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, we mentioned this before, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. There is no other way to get to that place that we call heaven, glory. There is no other way to be in the family and have a future with God in his presence outside of coming through the door of Jesus Christ. There are some people in this world that need to hear about one door and only one. Yet its sides are two, inside and outside, which side are you? There's a lot of people that want to be on the inside, but they need to hear about what door they must enter through. Secondly, We understand that through Jesus, not only we presented with the door, but if it was not for this next point, knowing the door would be useless to us. But knowing that Jesus is the door comes coupled with the understanding that he also gives the grace to enter in. In John 10, verse number nine, the middle part says, by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. It is through Christ that we receive the salvation, yes, but it is by the grace of God. It is by his mercies we are not consumed, but it is by his grace we are given opportunity to enter into a place that you and I don't deserve. Even, by the way, and here's one of the biggest things, if you're gonna share about the door that Jesus, who is this Jesus? Well, he is the door to salvation to be able to be in God's presence for all eternity, okay? He is the door into the family of God, okay? But here's the thing, everyone that finds and understands who the door is needs to also understand you and I have no right to enter. We have no right to enter. There is nothing in us that gives us a right to come and say, hey, let me in, I deserve to be here. Hey, let me in, you're supposed to give me a place to stay. Let me in, I've determined I belong. There's nothing about being in the point of salvation and forgiveness, the family of God with a hope of eternity in the presence of Christ, a place prepared for me. There is nothing about me that deserves the right to walk through that door. And there's nothing about you that deserves to walk through. Why? Because we are sinful, tainted and dirty. Do you understand that in and of ourselves, we could never belong on the inside? You say, well, that sounds like a pretty bleak and hopeless mentality. It is until you understand the grace of God. As a whole, it is by grace through faith that we are given the opportunity for the door to open. I know the door, that's wonderful, but I don't deserve to go in. That's correct. However, however, for God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Ephesians 2.8.9, For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. There is no way in outside going through the door of Jesus Christ. and there is no way for me to deserve to walk through that door just because I found it and knocked on it. No, no, the only way that I have any ability to walk through into the understanding of salvation and forgiveness and big words, imputed righteousness. I have no righteousness, but it is God's willingness to place his righteousness on my account I have no reason to say I deserve that. But for His grace. It is the grace of God that opens the door of salvation to each and every undeserving sinner like you and me. It is faith that gives us access to that grace. unto salvation. By the way, grace is available, but an individual's faith must bring them to a point where it, by the way, faith is the key. Faith is the key to access grace, to have the door opened unto salvation. Romans 5, one and two, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith unto his grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And lastly, when you know the door, it is a place to belong. It's what everybody's looking for, I just wanna belong. There is a place to belong. And there is the grace through Jesus Christ to be able to enter in. But then once you're in, we also see the last part of verse number nine, it says, and shall go in and out and find pasture. The in and out is the understanding of not being in salvation, out of salvation, in salvation, out of, no, no, no, no. It just means that even once we are in the family, that the Father will bring us from, at times, he'll bring us into safety. At times, he'll take us out to the pastures. At times, he brings us back to safety. At times, he takes us out to the still waters to drink. At times, he brings us in. At times, he gets us out there to stretch our legs a little bit. By the way, that is the whole point. I am safe within the fold, though at times he sends me out to go do something with what I've received. If you don't eat, you don't grow. If you don't drink, you'll die. You need to eat and drink on a regular basis, not to stay saved, but to stay what I'm supposed to be as a sheep in this life? How can I present to anyone else where to go or what to do or what it is to be inside the sheepfold? I mean, I've gotta be alive. I've gotta be vibrant. I mean, I can't just, what good is it if I'm a sheep but I'm on the inside and I'm dead? God wants me to be a living sacrifice. Romans 12, one and two. a living sacrifice. Therefore, I need to be alive. And if I found the door, I have found the grace provided by that very individual who is the door to be able to enter in the door. And by faith, I found the key that unlocks the grace of God. And through the grace of God, I have found the salvation I don't deserve. I now belong into the family of God, and I have a future that is provided to me by my loving Heavenly Father. But on top of that, until I reach that future, I have a race to run, and that's our third thing. Through this door, you find a place to belong. Through this door, you find the grace to access it in. But through this door, you also find a race that needs to be run. Going in and out and find pasture. There will always be something to do with the truth we have received for ourselves. Once you enter into this door, there is a race, but you no longer have to run it alone. By the way, you've been running a race from day one. but you've been running in a losing fashion. You've been running all alone, been running. If you don't know Christ as your Savior, before you came, if you're a child of God, before you came to Him, everything about life was a race. And by the way, this race is getting faster. The pace of it is getting more grueling. But this race is tiring, this race will wear you out. And here's the great part about it. Once I find the door, and once I enter in by the grace of God into the door and I belong, I now have a purpose for the race that I run. And I don't run alone. I run with the shepherd, but beyond that, I run with a whole bunch of sheep. We're bad to the bone. Okay, sorry. I had to do it, I had to do it. That's a bad joke, okay? But here's the thing, we don't run alone. Isn't it good to know you have a loving Heavenly Father that says, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee? But isn't it also good to know that we have a family, a sheepfold? I'm not just a stray out there, straggling around, but I can be within the body of Christ. And that which God has given us to do, we get to do together. I don't have to run alone. We are in a race, but it's also, you gotta keep in mind, it's a warring race, and it can be wearying. But that is why Christ said you can go in and out and find pasture. There is all the sustaining necessities within Christ. You find a place to belong, you find the grace to even enter in. And by the way, and the grace that you found that enters you in is the same pool of grace you can go back to every single day to face everything you're facing on a regular basis, going in and out and finding pasture. When we come back to the door that gave us entrance by grace through faith, He gives more grace to continue running the race. Hebrews 12, 1-3, and we're almost done. It says, Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Don't think that anything you faced in life because of being a Christian has been too hard to bear. Consider the contradiction he faced because of us. We are a complete anomaly when it comes to trying to figure out how we could be in the grace of God and the fold. Because what we were before we were coded in His righteousness, what we were was a 100% contradiction to who He is. There was nothing in us that would have any resemblance to Him in any area of righteousness, but His grace set aside the contradiction and said, if by faith you're willing to accept the one door and by faith you're willing to repent and walk through the only way and you receive Christ, then by faith I will place my grace in the way and in the place of that contradiction and now my righteousness can cover that which used to contradict me. and then he giveth more grace and he giveth more grace and he giveth more grace for every single thing we face. He went to a place of suffering called Calvary so we could go to a place of security called glory. Look to Jesus, the door of our salvation and keep running the race that is set before you by taking advantage of the going in and out and finding pasture. He giveth more grace, and he giveth more. This world is so rough, I get it, but he giveth more grace. Oh, the workplace is getting harder to deal with, I understand, but he giveth more grace. People I thought believed in the Bible are turning their back on everything that's true, I understand, but he giveth more grace. It's getting harder and harder to be an actual witness without receiving backlash. I understand, but He giveth more grace. We have the freedom to go in and out and find pasture because we found the door. And through grace, you've entered in. And by His grace, we go in and out and find pasture and accomplish the running of the race that we were left to fulfill in this life. Remember the door. Point somebody to the door. Show them the door of salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this.