Jesus Is The Door - Delbert Birky

Greetings to each one this morning in the name of Jesus.

Glad to be here with you. Trust that the Lord

will bless our time together, the opportunities that we have,

the appointments that we have. What led up to the

appointments that you met in the last day, in the

last week, What leads up to that you say, Oh,

life is so full of things? Yeah, I know. So

Gerald has touched some of those things. How we look

at him, how we feel this morning as we come

together again. It's a thing that I'm not sure what

you're in need of, and I don't intend to fill that,

but I intend that God will fill it the need

of our hearts. And so this morning I'd like to

simply in thoughts, lead you to some thoughts, and I'd

like you to go on with God and find what

God wants for you. One of my favorite things to

do with the congregation is stand together and sing victory

in Jesus, Would you stand with me? We'll sing one verse.

I heard an.

Old old story. I heard an old old story.

How to say you're gay?

Loory Ah, victory engines are smart, say your.

For ever he soved me and bought.

Me with his reading.

He loved me and iew him, and all my love

is to him. He plunged me to victory. Be me,

thank you may be seated.

She would turn with me to John chapter ten, a

very familiar account that we have in scripture. And I'd

like to read John ten one through eighteen. Barely, barely,

I say unto you, he that entereth not by the

door into the sheep fold, but climbeth up some other way,

the same as a thief and a robber. 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. But 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. Then said Jesus unto them again, verily, barely,

I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep,

All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers,

But the sheep did not hear them. I am the

door by me. If any man enter in, he shall

be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.

The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill,

and to destroy. And I am come that they might

have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his

life for the sheep. But he that is in Hireling,

and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not

seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth,

and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The

hireling fleeth because he is in Hireling, and careth not

for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know

my sheep, and am known of mine, and the Father

knoweth me. Even so I know the know I the Father,

And I lay down my life for the sheep. And

other sheep I have which are not of this fold.

Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice,

and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore

doth my father love me because I laid down my

life that I might take it again. No man taketh

it from me, but I lay it down of myself.

I have power to lay it down of myself. I'm sorry.

I have power to lay it down, and I have

power to take it again. This commandment have I received

of my father. Generally, this passage we consider the account

of the good shepherd Jesus, the good shepherd and the sheep,

and very true that is what else is in the

sheep fold? What is the concern of Jesus as he

talks about the shepherd, the sheep, and the sheep folk.

What is he concerned about? Let's look at how he

starts in. He says, barely bare to ask 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. But he that is threatened by

the door is the shepherd the sheep. Thieves and robbers

go over the wall and are where. This passage does

not deal with keeping thieves and robbers out of the

sheep fold. Jesus was more concerned about me being inside.

He wants me to be in the sheep fold and

Jesus said, I am the door. I'd like to focus

this morning on verses seven and nine especially, and the

thought of Jesus being the door. Barely rarely I say

unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All

that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but

the sheep did not hear them. I am the door

by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved,

and shall go in and out and find pasture in

your vision, in your mind as you think of these scriptures,

you consider that Jesus is the door. What does he

look like? What does that mean to you? What does

it mean to me? I'd like to look at a

little bit of the how to sometimes and say, well,

how does that work? That's what I'd like to talk about.

How does that work? Jesus is the door. It's interesting

to me to notice about the door and where it

is in scripture and how it's used. There are three

things that I want to look at this passage, and

I'll just give them to you right now. We'll look

at them as we go along later this morning. In

verse seven, now verse nine, I'm sorry, I am the

door by me. If any man enter in, he shall

be saved, saved through the door, and shall go in

and out the in and out of the sheep bolt

in relation to the door, and find pasture. Those three

things we'd like to look at. When you think about

the door and scripture. What are some verses that come

to your mind? We could take time and give you time,

but I think I'm just going to hurry on through

and give some of them. He that openeth and no

man shutteth, and shuteth and no man openeth. What does

it mean? We find that in the Revelation. Where do

you find the verses that say the gates will be

open day and night. I thought it was in the

Book of Revelation. I looked it up and whoops, it's

in the Book of Isaiah. In the Book of Revelation

it also makes reference to that the gates will not

be closed during the day, and then it says there

is no night, so don't worry that gate's going to

stand open. We have a verse in the Book of Genesis,

and it has become a serious verse to us. You know,

the arc God said, get all the animals in. The

animals all went in, okay, Noah, come on in, and

the door was shut. And then what the door was

so important? We go to Matthew chapter twenty five. The

virgins five went in, and there were five that weren't

ready to go in, and they got their things together,

and they came back and the door was shut. You

know what doors have I looked at this one gave doors.

We go to the Book of Judges. You remember the

story of the strong man Samson. You know what happened

when he got to the gates of the city. The

Bible specifically tells us that there was a bar, So

there must have been maybe two doors, or maybe the

bar went from this side of the door down to

this side of the door. On each side of the

door were posts. You know how to take a door off.

You can't take that one off because you can't get

to the hinges. Right. Samson didn't have a problem. He

pulled up the posts and he took the posts and

the doors and the bar. You know what he did.

He climbed up on top of the hill and set

it on the hill pointing toward Hebren so everybody could

see that the gates weren't on the city. Doors were

very important, Paul said. He told the people of Corinth.

He said, there's a door that is opened. What was

that door? Do you know where the first mention of

the word door is in the Bible? I didn't know

if they knew a door was. Then Cain was out

in the field and he came back in and he

was angry. He was frustrated because his offering wasn't accepted.

Abels was accepted and his wasn't. And he was angry,

and his countenance was following. And God said to Cain, Cain,

what's the matter? Why has that countenance fallen? Then he

said this, He said, if you do well, you will

be accepted. And if not, can you finish it for me?

Sin laugh at the door. How did Kane know what

a door was? I'm not sure, but I'll tell you

one thing he found out what a door was. Jesus

is the door, my friend. This morning, You have a door.

I have a door. The only way that we can

come to a good understanding of how to handle our

own door is to know the door, Jesus Christ. If

you don't know Jesus, then the doors are going to

be a big frustration to you. And Sin laugh at

the door. But if Jesus is the door. Then he'll

help you with a door, so you can open the

door and go in and out. I'd like to look

at salvation through the door. Now, Jesus said, I am

the door. Now, some people, as they interpret this, or

they give a description to it, they say that in

the time of the Bible was written, and these stories

came from the door of the sheep fold. He was

the door. And they said that the shepherd would lay

down in the doorway, and there wasn't an actual door

that moved in and out, but the shepherd he would

lay down, and he became the actual door. He became

the one, and if you wanted in, you had to

go by him, or if you wanted out, you had

to come out by him. Very true salvation through the

door Jesus Christ. Remember John fourteen six. You know what

I am the way, the truth of the life. No

man cometh to the Father but by me. Salvation is

only through Jesus Christ. And so when Jesus says I

am the door, he is saying there's only one way

to get to the Father, and it is through the

door of Jesus Christ. Enter through the door, don't go

try to get in some other way. As I mentioned before,

there are others I think in the sheepfold, enter through

the door into the sheep fold? Well, what is the sheepfold?

All due respect to ministers who preach and they make

statements and it's great. Are you a part of the

sheep poll today? Well? Yeah, Well let me ask you.

Are you one of the sheep or are you a

thief or a robber? Well, I'm in the fold. You see,

I go to church. I am a church member. That's

not the question. The question is have you entered into

the sheep poll by way of Jesus Christ. All due

respect and blessings to the hot right people, but this

is a favorite saying that they will have. Now some

of those men they understand the way of salvation, and

I'm happy they do. Bless their hearts. There are some

others that they will say, are you in the ark?

If you're not in the colony, you're not in the ark.

Are you in the sheephold? I'd like us to understand

this morning that it's not a matter of being in

the ark, and it's not a matter of being in

the sheep fold. It's a matter of being in Jesus Christ. Okay,

we need to be a part of Jesus. We need

to give our hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ and

not just be a part of the community. Recently, someone

asked me, are you part of the Mennonite community? What

was I supposed to say? Can you tell me where

the Mennonite community is here? I think I knew what

he understood what he was saying, and then he later

on he said, see which church do you go to? Well, okay,

I'm a part of the Mennonite community. I take that

as somewhat the cultural thing. No, I'm a part of

the family of God in but not of There are

some people that are in but are not of the fault.

How can we find the door? Do we understand this

morning the grace of Jesus Christ, and that he has

called us to be his How can we find the door?

God is gracious, He's very merciful. In the Book of Genesis,

chapter nineteen, you know the men that came to talk

with Lot, and these men were smitten with blindness. They're

outside of the house and all of a sudden they

become blind. Do you know what happened next to the

blind man? The scripture tells us that they tried to

find the door, and they were wearied in finding the door.

They tried so hard but couldn't find the door. Finding

the doors is as simple as going to revival meetings,

isn't it. Because if you go to revival meetings, they

give an invitation and you'll know where the door is.

My friend, you won't And unless God touches your heart,

if God doesn't touch your heart, you won't find the door.

It won't be there. I'll give you a picture of

the in the Old Testament. One of the saddest pictures

that I think thinkers in the Bible. This when you

find in the Book of Judges, there was a man

in the house, and there were some people came and

talked to him, and finally he said, look, I'll give

you my concubine. And he took his concubine, opened the

door and sent her out. And those men, wicked men,

took that woman and abused her and hurt her until

she was so tired. The next morning, mister Mann goes

to the door. He opens the door, and there she

is with her hands on the threshold. No strength knock.

She was collapsed with her hands on the threshold. My friend,

this morning. If you're in search.

Of God, don't you worry you won't be found on

the threshold with your heads there, because God will come

looking for you.

God comes looking for us. A little book that I

brought with me just because I'll show it to you,

maybe know it because I love You's a book written

by Max Lucato, and he made up a story. Mister

should I, old man, Mister should I loves children and

he interacts with the children. But he is in his

workshop and he's working, he's talking and he's thinking, and

outside is a very wicked and dangerous forest. So he

goes out and he takes rocks and he builds the wall,

and he leaves a hole in it, and he tells

the children, don't go through the wall. It's dangerous out there.

And little Paladdin he comes in and he talks to Shoulda.

So what's on the other side of the wall. Don't

go there, Well, there's a hole in the wall. Yeah,

I know, don't go there. Little Paladin goes out and

he looks through the wall and he sees something and

looks nice. So little Paladin goes out, wanders around, and

he goes deeper and deeper and this is more interesting

and more interesting. And he turns around and he goes

back and he wants to find the hole in the

wall to get back to Shouldai. And there is no

hole in the wall. There's no door. But mister should I,

when Paladdin went out, he said, I need to get

ready because little Paladdin, this is his nature. He'll go

and crawl through there. So he got his stick ready

as soon as he left. Should I went and he

went out, and he looked. Little Paladdin sat down beside

the wall and he cried, and he said, should I

said that he loved me. I wonder if he would

come find me. I can't find the way. There's no

door anymore. All of a sudden, should I shows up,

and little Peladdin is so happy, come back. I told

you don't go through the wall. But should I had

made a place. He made a door to come in.

Like I say, Max Luccato made up a story. But

my friend, if you are lost and you can't find

the door, Jesus will come and find you. Revelation three twenty.

What does it say, behold I stand at the door,

and do what knock? Matthew? Chapter seven? What does it say? Ask?

And it shall be given. You see, can ye shall

find knock on? What knock on the door? You have

a door in your house? Have you ever experienced that?

And they say somebody's here, Well, where are they? And

all of this of a sudden, as he say, was

that the front door was at the back door. When

Jesus knocks, you'll know where the door is. When the

Holy Spirit speaks to you, you'll know where the door is. Friend,

don't worry Sunday school teacher. He's starting to talk about

have we committed the unpardonable sin? Have we blasphed the

Holy Spirit? And there are those that say, maybe I

don't know. Listen, just listen. If he knocks, you know

that you haven't blasphemed the Holy Spirit. If you blaspheming

the Holy Spirit and he leaves, didn't mean to take

away your Sunday school. But if the Holy Spirit leaves,

he won't be back. So, friend, this morning, if you

hear a knock on the door, just go answer it.

The work of the Holy Spirit in calling us to

the entrance of the sheepfold, the condition of the heart

is the sheep fold. The heart are life, and God

calls us into his kingdom that's the sheepfold. Being a

part of the church and being a part of the

community is all a part of the sheep fold. And

it has little doors in it. The lordship of Jesus Christ.

This is the fold, the lordship of Jesus Christ. And

if you go knock on the door, he says, I

will in no wise cast out, he said, I won't.

If you come and knock, I want to throw you out.

I'll lead you. I'll help you. Do you know the

song where the gates swing outward? Never, what does that mean?

You can walk up to that door right there and

knock on it. If that door opens up, you won't

get hit. If it swings the other way, you will.

I think that song was simply an inspiration and someone

had I don't think the Bible tells us necessarily whether

the door swings in or out. But when the door

goes open, you invite them in. You open the door.

Jesus opens the door, and he'll receive you. We can

find the door. It's not too difficult. I'd like to

move on. We've got two more points. What does it mean?

The coming out and the going in? The going in

and the coming out out of what so today I'm

a Christian. Tomorrow I'm not. I just kind of go

in and out in the favor of God, out of

the favor of God, in the sheep fold, out of

the sheep fold. That's not what it's talking about. I'd

like you to read Psalm twenty one one, twenty one one,

and twenty one. Just take time to read it as

we read through it. It's no I didn't get this

before either, to a new one for me. I will

lift up mine eyes into the hills. From once cometh

my help. My help cometh from the Lord which made

heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to

be moved. He that keepeth Thee will not slumber. Behold,

he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The

Lord is thy keeper, The Lord is thy shade upon

thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day,

nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve THEE

from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord

shall preserve thy going out and coming in from this

time forth even forevermore. That's what you call freedom in Christ.

Do you know how to do? The Bible says ask seek,

knock the Bible says, and you, when you pray, shut

the door. You shut the door. Don't ask God Lord

shut the door for me. No, you shut the door.

You see, it's our opportunity. Yeah, but but where does

this lead if you open the door? What's going to happen?

There was a man He went into his little room.

You know, when you go into the bathroom, you probably

always shut the door and lock it, just as normal

as could be. Not a problem went in there. You

shut the door. You stayed in there too long? It

got longer and longer and longer. Well, how long is

he going to stay in there? Is something wrong? Nothing? Hey? Nothing?

So now what do you do? You wait? How long

should we wait? And finally they call someone announced, and

they said, we got to get this door open. So

they pull the pins out of the hinges and open

the door. And what do they find? You don't know what.

You'll find the man sitting there unconscious. We call him. Hey.

Finally he comes to he goes to the doctor. He

spends time in the hospital. Real life. Right in the

Book of Judges is a story about a man who

his king was King Eglon, you know him. Ehood was

the prophet of God. He goes to see Egglon. He said,

I got a message for you. He said, it's a

real private message from God. And Egglon says, everybody out,

everybody out. They go in the room, they shut the door.

E Hood has a message from God. He walks up

to him. He was a left handed man, and so

he carried his sword on the right hand and he

reaches over across like this and walks out with a

knife and gets him and he killed Eglon. He was

a big man. There's a lot of detail to that one.

If you want to read it. You know what e

Hood does. He goes out and he locks the door,

and the people outside they were walking around. Here, man,

it's getting later and later. Where is this man? Where

is this man? They kept on until they were embarrassed.

Do you know why? They didn't know what they'd find inside,

don't know what to expect. Finally they said, we got

to do something. Things are getting serious. Found the key

opened the door that went in here. He was dead.

He Hood long gone. Sometimes we have a door that's

in front of us and we need to open it.

We're in the sheepfold and we've got a door. Be

thankful that Jesus is the door of the sheepfold, and

we're going to ask him about it. And we talked

to him and we asked him what shall I do?

And the Lord can give us directions. And there's sometimes

that we hesitate to the point that we're almost well,

I don't know if I should, I don't know. I

just don't know. And finally it's time to do something,

do it. And finally you say, well, I'll just do it,

and I'll do whatever the Lord wants me to do.

Uh huh. That's where you need to be. I'll do

whatever God wants me to do. Young people, do you

have a door in front of you that you're a

little afraid to walk through because God might ask you

to do something that you don't quite want to do

yet you know how it is? Yeah, yeah, you know,

been there, done that. We walk the road, still walking

the road, and we still get the doors. We don't

hardly know what to do, and it's embarrassing to not

get it done. Finally we get the door open. But

remember those are only doors of ours that are inside

of the door that Jesus Christ is for us. That's

what we look at when we say the going in

and the coming out. Paul, he looked at that to

the Corinthians, and he said, there's a door and effectual,

not an effectual door, but a door and effectual. Study

the word effectual, the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man.

Availeth much Yeah, adjective. The other one's more of an oun,

a door and effectual. It's effective, it will work. Paul said,

I've got this door in front of me. But he said,

there's so many adversaries. Yeah, if I do, there's some

people gonna hate me. If I do, there's some people

are gonna love me. Lord, what shall I do? I know?

And Paul said, there's a lot of people against us,

but there's a door and effectual ahead of me. I'm

gonna do it. Pray for me the door of opportunity.

How about finding pastures? Go in and out and find pasture, sustenance.

You won't die, He'll see you through. Do you ever

hear people talk about the perlect gates? You know where

the perlect gates are. The gates are a pearl, and

that's what that comes from, the pearly gates. But there

is no night there. It's always in the day and

the gates always open during the day, the gate of

heaven will be open. That's what is waiting through Christ,

and Christ will see you through. It's not just a

matter of salvation, and it's not just a matter of

going in and out. But it's a matter of that

it will work. That Jesus is the door, and he

is the one that we enter by, and he's the

one that gives sustenance to arrive. It's sufficient, sufficient grace,

sufficient mercy, sufficient strength, sufficient forgiveness. We could go on.

Then we have the words. When they get to the

door and the little virgins they wanted in, they said,

open the door. No, the door shut. Jesus said, there

are times and people are going to come, and he's

going to say, I never knew you. If you're in

Christ and you are going in and out, you will

find the pastures that will lead you so that you

never have to fear the words I never knew you,

because you know him. And so rest in assurance. Do

you know Jesus? Does Jesus know you? You're going to go

to have it? Oh? I don't know. Yes, you do. Well,

there might be a lot of things come between. Now

I understand that take them one step at a time.

That's the way we have to do it. We get old, yeah,

we get older, and we still work with those things.

It's the coming through contentment. Don't be a little Paladdin

that's always looking for a hole to slip through. If

you do, you'll find out that the way back is

much harder than what you thought. Just don't try it.

Just don't do it. Be content can't you try anything new?

Sure you can try things new, But when you get

to the edge and say, well, you know, I'd like

to try something new for I think it's going to

make Dad a little bit upset, But anyway, I think

I'll do it. Hold on a second. Now, find out

what the Lord wants you to do. Find out what

the fold of Christ is about the lordship of Jesus Christ.

You can do things new, but under the lordship of Christ,

knowing him more and more, quit looking for ways to

get around the door of the sheep. Just don't do that.

Seek to grow in him. Jesus is the door. And

then you read in Revelation through the gates into the city,

and there it is the door, and Jesus is the door.

I thank God again this morning for his Holy Spirit

that he sent to talk to my lot so I

could hear him knock and I could answer, so I

can go back and I can knock. Who knocks first?

Sometimes we say the sinner knocked first. Just remember the

sinner never knocked first. Now God knocked first, and then

we knock. Friends, keep on knocking. The door is still there.

The door is ready to open, and the doors of

heaven will always be opened. May the Lord does it.