I am the Gate - Signs& Sayings | Lukundo

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Morning out of the privilege of continuing in that series. And so if you remember the seven signs and the sayings as it says in John 2031 are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah,

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the Son of God,(...) and that by believing you may have life in His name.

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So the signs are there to point to who Jesus was that we might believe in Him and have life in His name. And likewise the seven sayings where Jesus refers to that title God reveals Himself to Moses as I am and seven times in John's gospel he uses I am and what he puts in after it is significant in revealing who He is.(...) And so the purpose is not just to to point to Jesus for the sake of pointing to Jesus but so that we can know Him more deeply, that we can understand, that we can commune, that we can fellowship with Him. Not just know about Him but actually know Him. And so this morning we're in John chapter 10

John 10 · chapter mention

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and we're going to look at that saying where Jesus says I am the gate or door depending on the translation gate or door.(...) But to really understand(...) what he's saying in chapter 10 we're going to start reading from chapter 9 just so we can flow with the story a bit more. So we'll go from John chapter 9 and verse 13. Feel free to grab your bibles or read along with me on the screen.

John 9 · chapter mention

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They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. So Jesus has healed a blind man and they're bringing this man to the Pharisees.

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Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath.(...) Therefore the Pharisees also asked Him how He had received His sight. He put mud on my eyes the man replied and I washed and now I see.(...) Some of the Pharisees said this man is not from God for he does not keep the Sabbath.

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But others asked how can the sinner perform such signs? So they were divided.(...) Then they turned again to the blind man. What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.(...) The man replied he is a prophet.(...) They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. Is this your son? They asked. Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?(...) We know he is our son the parents answered and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now or who opened his eyes we don't know. Ask him he is of age he will speak for himself.(...) His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.

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That was why his parents said he is of age. Ask him.(...) A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. Give glory to God by telling the truth they said. We know this man is a sinner.

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He replied whether he is a sinner or not I don't know. One thing I do know I was blind but now I see.(...) Then they asked him what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered I've told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?(...) Then they hurled insults at him and said you are this fellow's disciple we are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses but as far as this fellow we don't even know where he comes from.(...) The man answered now that's remarkable. You don't know where he comes from yet he opened my eyes.(...) We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.

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Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a blind a man born blind. If this man were not from God he could do nothing.

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To this they replied you were steeped in sin at birth how dare you lecture us? And they threw him out.(...) Jesus heard that they had thrown him out and when he found him he said do you believe in the son of man?(...) Who is he sir? The man asked. Tell me so that I may believe in him.(...) Jesus said you have now seen him. In fact he is the one speaking with you.(...) The man said Lord I believe and he worshiped him.(...) Jesus said for judgment I have come into this world so that the blind will see and those who will see will become blind.

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Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and say this what are we blind to? Jesus said if you were blind you would not be guilty of sin but now that you claim you can see your guilt remains.(...) Very truly I tell you Pharisees anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the sheep listen to his voice.(...) He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out and when he has brought out all his own he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him because they know his voice but they will never follow a stranger. In fact they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.(...) Jesus used this figure of speech but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again very truly I 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 through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.(...) I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.(...) Amen.

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And so John kind of continues in this theme of seeing and not seeing. We see a man who's healed of his physical blindness but there's also a spiritual blindness that becomes healed progressively.

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And so the man who is healed from blindness at first when they ask him who healed you it's a man they call Jesus and then it's a prophet and then well actually he comes from God and then when Jesus confronts him and asks do you believe in the son of man which is a messianic title that he would have understood from the book of Daniel he was saying do you believe in the Messiah the one God has sent and he's like well who is he and Jesus says it's me and he does and as his eyes are now fully open his response is to worship because he has seen who God is he has acknowledged him and therefore he worships and he becomes a follower which is different to other people in the scripture we've already seen like Nicodemus who saw but then didn't worship and follow he's gone all the way through and he's gone on this journey from not seeing to fully seeing who Jesus is and responding to him whereas the Pharisees on the other hand are claiming that they're not blind but they haven't gone on this same journey even though they've seen the same things they've seen the miracle happen but they keep questioning and doubting and they're stuck in their own ways and they're refusing(...) to see and so Jesus continues and he's addressing the Pharisees at this point in chapter 10 and he uses the language of sheep and the shepherd which again would have been so familiar to the Jewish people because in the Old Testament when God speaks of leaders and people and particularly God as the leader of his people he refers to a shepherd and the sheep and so he speaks in Ezekiel saying the the the shepherds who have not done a good job of leading his people because they so care they so much more care about themselves than they do about the actual sheep and God promises that one day I will shepherd my people I will be the good shepherd who will look after them who will treat them well and I will send myself in the line of David and Jesus comes and he is the good shepherd and we'll talk more about that next week but today I want to focus on the gate but when they hear the language of sheep and shepherd so they know he's talking about leadership and and sheep basically they would only respond to their own shepherd's voice not because they like I don't know they just wired that way so if you had a bunch of sheep in a sheep pen and different shepherds would come to get them out and they would whistle on their flute or they would call their particular names or sing their particular names it's really interesting actually so the sound of the flute to call the animals I think for cows it's quite like a strong one and then for goats it's like a kind of but for sheep it's gentle she makes me think about how God deals with us as sheep he's really gentle with us anyway so they would recognize and it would go automatically it's kind of a bit like when there's a group of children around and someone starts crying I'm like is it mine okay no it's not mine I'm good I don't have to go and respond no but it takes a village so if your child is crying I will I will do something

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don't worry but it's instinctive it's it's it's oh yes that's my shepherd so I'm going they recognize his voice and so by saying by referring to sheep and shepherd and and the fact that the sheep hear his voice and they know him Jesus is pointing out that the reason this man has responded to me is because he is a sheep and he's recognized a shepherd he hasn't listened to your voice because you are not the shepherds you are a stranger and so he hasn't responded to you so he's calling them out already but they still they don't see it and interestingly that word that to hear and to recognize and to know means to see with the eyes and to perceive and so this whole theme John again he wants us to see to recognize for our eyes to be open to see who Jesus is so that we can follow him and have life in him and so they don't get it they still don't understand and for verse six it says Jesus he uses figures of figure of speech and in verse seven he just tells them straight I am the gate I am the gate I come through the gate and I am the shepherd and Jesus didn't have any problem mixing metaphors up neither did the writers of that time so we don't have to stress ourselves trying to make everything fit nicely how is he the gate and also walking through the gate just hear what he's telling you don't don't try and make it all fit in our 21st century minds just hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying as Jesus uses his metaphors he's not trying to neaten up he's just trying to reveal who he is and he is beyond our comprehension and so it's it's it's it's it's it's sheerly by the Spirit of God that our eyes are open and that we can see what he is saying and who he is and so he says I am the gate I am the door I am the opening that word in the original it just means an opening whether it's a door or a gate a space that is the entrance to a place and sometimes depending on the style of the sheep pen this particular sheep pen was more built up there isn't an actual door but there is an opening and what would happen is the shepherd would sometimes lie down in that space to protect the sheep and so he was like the actual door but Jesus the significance that he's trying to point out here is that him the door is the door to salvation because in verse nine it says all who come through me will be saved and doors are a really interesting space as you read through the scripture and they're really interesting there's there's so much about them and when Jesus says(...) come through me and be saved what he is saying is that through this door and in this door is life

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life is in the door in me and so if you go back through scripture Cain and Abel in the garden of Eden humanity had sinned and they were kicked out of the garden Eden represented life Eden represented the goodness and the fullness of the life of God and outside was not life and we find out in scripture that when Cain and Abel brought sacrifices they brought them to the door of Eden that's where they brought the sacrifices to meet with God at the door

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in the Exodus story actually before that the tabernacle and the Exodus happens before but in the tabernacle(...) there were doors there were gates and the altar of sacrifice was at(...) the door and so in the tabernacle in the temple it represented life and that was where God was outside was not and so to come to that space to come into it you come to the door and there is sacrifice at the door to come and step in to life

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in the Exodus story the the Lord is rescuing his people

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and he says make a sacrifice take the blood put it on the door inside the door there is life outside the door there isn't if you stay inside you'll be alive if you stay out you won't

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and then Jesus comes and Jesus says I am the door but I'm also the sacrifice at the door who shed my blood for you so that you could come in and have life

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he is the he is the door he is the blood the sacrifice and he is the good shepherd as it goes down to say who lays down his life for the sheep and so in the door in Jesus is life and this is what he has been saying from the garden of Eden from the very beginning he is life he is the very door to life and he paid the sacrifice all by himself all we have to do is go through that door

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thank you Lord Jesus we just want to thank you

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just thank you

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this door isn't a one-off experience of course we come to him and if you have never come to that door if you don't know that door you can today whether you're in this room or you're watching online you can come to that door for the very first time and he will give you life true life there's no other way in any other way will just come and steal destroy there's only death but through him there is life

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but it's not a one-time experience because another thing we read about doors in the old testament is that there were places of encounter there were places of encounter and opportunity so Jacob has this dream in Genesis chapter 28 he has this dream and there's a ladder going up and down and there are angels going up and down into heaven

Genesis 28 · chapter mention

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and he wakes up and he says in chapter 28 and verse 16(...) it says when Jacob awoke from his sleep he thought surely the Lord was in this place and I wasn't aware of it

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he was afraid and said how awesome is this place

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this is none other than the house of God this is the gate of heaven God encounters him and he calls it the gate the entrance there's an encounter there with God in Exodus 33 from verse 9 to 11 it says as Moses went into the tent the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke in Moses and whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent they all stood and worshiped each at their entrances of their tents again God comes at the gate at the door the place of encounter is where his presence comes to meet with his people and we read many times in the old testament that the people would gather at the entrance of the temple and that's where the Lord would come and speak to them doors are places of encounter and then in the new temple the the temple that Ezekiel prophesied to come Ezekiel 46 and verse 3 on the Sabbath and new moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of that gateway

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again at the entrance there's an encounter

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in Revelation 3 and verse 20 here I am I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with that person and they with me Jesus is saying the door is a place of encounter but I am the door so Jesus is the encounter

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he is the encounter the signs are all wonderful and he provides and he heals and he gives food but they are signs because the real encounter is him it's him and so he comes and he says I am the door I am the place where you experience God I am the fulfillment of life and there is life only found in me and therefore you must come to the door to me when I think about encountering a person let's say Judith because it's our day it's a week really two birthday week but when I come into Judith's presence to encounter Judith I know she'll probably make makeup of tea because that's what she does she'll make sure I'm okay and she'll give me some great advice because that's who Judith is and in her presence that's what happens(...) but if I only came to Judith because of what she gives me and because of what she does I would miss out on the actual encounter that Judith is and so let's put it this way when I'm in Judith's presence(...) for long enough she will ask me the right questions

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that I don't really want her to ask because she knows there's something going on in me that I'm not saying that's what happens when I'm in her presence and I've not come there just because I wanted something but if I'm there long enough that's what will happen because she's prophetic she's intuitive and she loves me

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when we come to Jesus just come to him for who he is so much more happens than we ever can think dream or imagine that we think we want or we need or we know or don't know because he is the encounter not just give me this give me that Lord how about we come to him and say Jesus what's on your mind

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Jesus God said how can I do this and you know and Sodom and Gomorrah without first telling Abraham what I'm going to do

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and he went and told him because he just knew how to encounter God to be with him he is the encounter not just the stuff that we think we want or need and if we only ever go to him

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for those things we miss out on the fullness of who he is

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we'll see part of him we'll see glimpses but we don't continue on this journey of fully seeing him you know we'll never stop doing that I wonder if that's why some of the heavenly creatures are covered in eyes because they're just seeing God all the time and every time they see him they say holy holy holy because that's the response when we see God we worship when we truly see him not just for what he has done but for who he is the response is worship and that only happens when you spend enough time to stay in his presence and be there and recognize him as the door as the life as the way as the truth as God God of the universe who decided to come down in flesh so that we could experience him(...) so that we can have life and so when we worship and whatever that looks like and we get tired why do we get tired we have to ask ourselves that why am i tired what am i looking at because for all eternity we're not going to get tired the eternal life starts now because eternal life this abundant life that the shepherd came to give is knowing Jesus that's what he says eternal life is knowing

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Jesus is seeing Jesus

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and so he is the door not for just the one time

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before encounter over and over and over and over again when he says to the woman at the well if you you know drink of this water and you will never thirst again he is the water he's saying come and encounter me and when he speaks about being the bread of life he's like i am the bread of life come and eat me come and encounter me look at me top the water(...) i am the encounter i am the answer i'm the solution

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and i will provide for all your needs because i'm good i can't be anything else even if i tried

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but we have to learn like mary did to choose the one thing that is really important that is to sit at his feet(...) because he is the door he is the encounter

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guys do you want to come up

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so

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we were created and designed for unceasing fellowship with Jesus

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when we talk about prayer and we talk about a week of prayer and fasting coming up and the different prayer meetings we have they're all incredible the Paul tells us to pray without seizing not because it's a chore and something we have to do but because that is what we were designed to do you were designed for unbroken fellowship with Jesus(...) at every moment and every point of the day

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that is what you were designed for and that is what sin takes away from us

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but in Jesus we are restored to that to being with him to seeing him for who he is and the more we see him the responses to worship because there are no words that can fully encapsulate who he is and the more you see him in scripture the more he blows your mind with the fact that he he always has been and he always will be and that is just so much to take in and so my response is you're holy(...) you're beyond anything that is earthly

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and I was designed to encounter you

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so far that we pray this morning that you would open our eyes again

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may we not be like the Pharisees who weren't religious people Pharisees were not people on the outside of the church(...) the Pharisees were in the church they didn't see

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they didn't see so lord we ask that you would open our eyes

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oh god that we just see you Jesus

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not for what you can do Jesus but just for who you are

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and you're seeing you there is life

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so come holy spirit come holy spirit we pray