Jesus is the Door - Pastor Susie Gamez | Midtown Church Elk Grove

I wonder has anybody, if you're like me, has anybody else prayed for open doors in their life?

Has there been a season, maybe right now you're praying for some open doors?

You know, it's not a trick question.

It's not a wrong, wrong request to make of God.

Um, it's very common for people to ask God to open doors.

Um, it's common to ask God to confirm his will or give us direction through open doors, and sometimes even through closed doors.

Uh, we as a family have been praying through some things right now, and by faith we're trusting God that if certain doors are open, that God will give us wisdom and discernment to know if those are the doors that have been opened in accordance with his will, and if certain things are not, that this is also in accordance with God's will.

Uh Amber was preaching to us before one of those songs today where she was saying, has anybody ever, you know, felt felt like their worship was she didn't use this word, and I'm sorry if it's like graphic, but I I use this uh analogy sometimes.

Do you ever feel spiritually constipated?

Right?

Because sometimes it feels like some things are blocking your worship.

And I feel like she was alluding to that.

Are there things in your life that right right now feel like are blocking you from really going into the presence of God, going in and worshiping God for who God is because you're you're you're preoccupied or or the enemy's really just trying to distract you or steal your joy?

I mean, it's common to go through seasons of that, and and and we want to push through.

We want to worship because God remains the same.

Even when we change, even when our circumstances change, God remains the same.

And so God is always worthy of worship.

But then we go through seasons of life where when we're saying, God, help us to remain faithful when it seems like circumstances feel frustrating because I want certain doors to open.

But God, sometimes it feels like you're closing doors.

Nevertheless, you're worthy of my worship.

And we pray, Lord, let thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Before service today, we had Jessica pray for us, and she was praying that.

She said, Lord, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

But we have to be okay with God's will, even when it doesn't line up with ours.

Um, so as I talk about open and closed doors, these doors are metaphoric, of course, but it's a strong metaphor because we know that doors can determine our destiny.

I mean, ultimately, of course, it's God who determines our destiny, but you know what I mean by that, right?

Like which doors you go through can determine your destiny.

Uh, going through this door versus that door can have life-changing effects that alter the entire course of a person's life.

There's actually a movie that was based on this idea.

So there's a movie from way back in 1998 starring Gwyneth Paltrow called Sliding Doors.

The movie was based on this premise that seemingly minor everyday decisions or happenings can fundamentally alter the course of a person's life.

So the movie tells the story of two parallel scenarios.

So you see one scenario where she's running to catch a subway train.

And so she's trying to get through the door of the early train, or that that train that she's trying to catch, right?

But you know, little minor things happen, like a kid gets in her way, and she just by like a split second misses the train and does not go through that door into the train.

In the second scenario, things play out a little bit differently.

Like the kid moves out of the way just in time for her to get down the stairs and she makes it through the train, train doors.

So then for the rest of the movie, you see how her life is, it plays out differently depending on whether or not she makes it through that train doors.

Because, well, I won't give away the movie, but but her life dramatically changes.

Like her life plays out differently based on whether or not she makes it through those train doors.

Um before my parents moved the family from Toronto on the east coast of Canada to Vancouver on the West Coast, I found out later when I was older that they had considered perhaps moving to New York instead of Vancouver.

Now, when I was younger, we had taken a few road trips down from Toronto to New York.

It's about a 10-hour drive.

Um, and and we had lots of family down in New York.

But whenever we went, I wasn't old enough to appreciate New York City.

Um, I do remember on one of those trips also taking a detour to Boston.

And my dad had this idea that he would have me and my older brother sit on the front steps of Harvard.

He took a picture.

My parents took that picture, blew it up into an 8x10, framed it, and put it on our wall.

And I think they were trying to like not so low-key manifest something for us.

Like, here's a vision for where you could end up.

It didn't work.

Um, but, anyways, later when I was older, when I went back to New York, um, I fell in love with the city.

Uh, and you know, I I couldn't help but start to wonder how would life have been different if when I was almost seven years old, my parents moved the family to the Bronx, New York, where the rest of my family was.

Um, instead of Vancouver, Canada, how different a person would I have been?

How different would my have my surroundings have had have made my life circumstance?

Like, okay, if we moved to the Bronx, I probably I for sure would have grown up thinking I was like destined to be a rapper.

You know, the birthplace of hip-hop, right?

But but instead we moved to Vancouver, Canada.

And I'm grateful for the life that we had, but I want I started to wonder how would life have been different if we ended up in New York instead of Vancouver?

You know, I think even just four years ago, I wonder how things might have been different if we stayed in LA.

Or if we moved to Chicago instead.

How different would life have been if we had made different choices?

There's a human tendency to mentally replay the what-ifs in life.

You know, what if this happened instead of this?

What if I made this choice?

What if I went through this door instead of this door?

And and you know, sometimes it's fun to kind of think about the what-ifs, but if it starts to make you spiral, if it takes you down like a hole where it's just like it becomes full of regret or like it dissatisfaction, that's that's not a good thing.

There's a lot of what-ifs that could play out in our life, but ultimately we also recognize that God in his sovereignty.

If we're if we're faithfully wrestling through life's decisions and we're trusting in God's sovereignty, like we can be at peace.

All can be well with our souls.

Um, but life is full of doors.

And today, as we wrap up our series on the God is series, uh, I'm gonna be talking about how God is the door.

God is the door.

Um, I know it's kind of a weird phrase.

I'm curious, has anybody ever even heard of God described this way?

God is the door.

It sounds a little strange, but it's in the Bible.

Jesus actually says these words.

He says, I am the door.

But maybe it'll help to hear it in context.

So turn with me to John 10.

John 10, starting in verse 1, says this.

Now, actually, I realized that the the version of the Bible that I brought with me to read from is a little different from what I had in the slides, so I'm gonna read it off the slides.

But you can read it along with me on the on the slides, or you can open it up in your Bible app, or if you've got your Bible with you.

But starting in verse 1, this is the NASB.

It says this.

Truly, truly I say to you, and again, this is Jesus speaking.

He says, Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.

But the one who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.

To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.

Jesus told them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things what the things which he was saying to them meant.

So Jesus said to them again, truly, truly, I say to you, excuse me, I am the door of the sheep.

All those who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the door, if anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.

I came so that they would have life and have it abundantly.

Now, if you keep reading, Jesus goes on to say, I am the good shepherd.

Now, many of you have probably heard Jesus described in this way.

I am the good shepherd.

It's probably a better-known description of Jesus, more widely used than the door.

And, you know, the good shepherd is actually one of my favorite ways to describe the character of Jesus or who Jesus is to me.

He is my good shepherd.

I've got a whole t-shirt that reminds me of the fact that he is my good shepherd.

Now it's a very endearing way to relate to who God is.

But today I want to hone in on the idea that Jesus is the door.

A description not as widely used and not as well understood either.

But it's very important.

I'll also say this, however, in order to understand Jesus as a door, you first need to hold the image of Jesus as the good shepherd in mind as well.

So I'll explain this a little more.

In John 10, 9, Jesus says, I am the door.

If anyone enters by me, they will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

I am the door.

We're diving deeper today into this question.

What does this mean and why is it important?

In this passage, the people of God are likened to sheep under the care of a shepherd.

In biblical times and in this culture, sheep were led by a shepherd.

It seems like a very obvious statement to make, but I want to emphasize here that these sheep were led by a shepherd.

They weren't driven by a shepherd, they were led by a shepherd.

There are some places in the world where sheep are driven like cattle.

So they're driven by a sheep herder or sheep dogs who might use physical force to herd the sheep or to push a flock of sheep forward.

They drive or push from behind or from beside to make the sheep walk forward.

Now, leading the sheep, on the other hand, involves walking in front of and not forcing the sheep forward, but leading so that the sheep follow.

Y'all get the distinction here, right?

There's something very tender and very loving and familiar about a shepherd who will lead his flock versus a shepherd who will herd or drive the flock, right?

Now, these sheep that know how to be led by a shepherd, they follow their shepherd's voice because they know their shepherd.

They follow their shepherd's voice because they trust their shepherd's voice.

And they listen and obey their shepherd's voice because they stay close to the shepherd, because they're close enough to listen, because they're close enough to trust, and they stay in the care of their shepherd.

So therefore, these sheep are being led by a shepherd because they've submitted themselves to the leadership of this sheep.

Now, in biblical times, the sheep described in John 10, these sheep, they were led by a shepherd.

During the day, however, it was common for sheep from different flocks to go out into the pastures.

Do y'all know what sheep eat?

Grass.

I know, I was like, is that a trick question?

Grass, I think.

They go out into the into the pastures and they eat grass.

Now, sheep from other flocks would all be let out into these green pastures.

And sheep, all mixed up, all different flocks, they would they would just they would go and graze all day.

Um they really just like they just eat and they go b- uh and they just just wander the pastures.

But at nighttime, their shepherds would call them into their pens, right?

Uh now the shepherd, if they were led by a good shepherd, wouldn't have to go and hook them in with their with, you know, they've got that little staff, right?

That's they didn't have to hook them in and go and chase every one of them down.

All the shepherd would have to do is from where they were at, trying to lead them into the sheep's pen, would just have to call out.

And these sheep would be able to recognize their shepherd's voice.

There would be different shepherds at different sheep pens calling for their sheep.

But you know, sheep have this reputation for being dumb.

They're not so dumb, though.

They know how to distinguish their shepherd's voice from another shepherd's voice.

And their distinct shepherd's voice, uh, their their shepherd's distinct call would be all that they needed to be able to be led back into their sheep's pen.

So they would be able to distinguish sounds from afar and go to the pen that their shepherd was at, and they'd be led into a sheep pen that looks something like this.

Now, this one's a nice sheep pen.

Is it is it on the screen now?

Y'all can see that?

So this one's a nice sheep pen.

The shepherd would take a lot of time to sack up these rocks, or sometimes if if they didn't have rocks, they'd they'd use like like thorny branches, like they'd use something to protect and keep the sheep in the pen.

Now, if you notice, there's a an entryway there.

There's an entryway that the sheep would be led into the pen through.

But there is no door.

Or is there?

If there was no door, what would keep predators from pouncing on the sheep at nighttime while they were asleep?

If there was no door, what would keep a little uh sleepwalking sheep from wandering out in the middle of the night?

It seems like there is no door, but there is a door.

For this reason, the shepherd himself would lie down across that opening, becoming the door for the sheep.

The shepherd himself would lay down through that entrance at the door and make sure that anything that comes into the sheep pen would have to go through him.

And anything that tried to go out would have to go through him.

He became the door.

So they understood when Jesus said, I am the door, he is the door because he's a good shepherd.

Nothing goes in, nothing comes out without the protection and the guidance of the good shepherd.

The people of Jesus' day understood this.

So when he says, I am the good shepherd, they understood that a good shepherd would lay down their life for their sheep.

What they didn't recognize is that Jesus, the ultimate good shepherd, not just a good shepherd, but the good shepherd, would lay down his life for all his sheep when he went to the cross.

This is what the Good Shepherd, this is what the door did for them.

So that's my first point.

Jesus is the door of salvation.

He's the door of salvation.

Now again, Jesus says he is the door and not simply a door.

And it mirrors what he says a little later in John 14, 6, when he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

This is one of the cornerstone beliefs of the Christian faith.

Jesus is the truth, he is the life, and he is the way, and no one comes to the Father except through him, the door.

Some will say, actually, many would say that this claim can sound audacious, even arrogant or conceited.

I've I've heard some argue that Jesus, Jesus isn't the way.

Maybe he's a way.

Like, okay, fine, I can I can submit that maybe Jesus actually existed, that he was a historical figure, but he wasn't oh he wasn't the way, he is a way.

And I can respect that people want to follow him, but for him to say that he is the way, that sounds that sounds a little um audacious.

But remember, this is a cornerstone belief of the Christian faith.

I I was listening to um a conversation between two Christian influencers, two people who identify as followers of Jesus, but the conversation that I listened to actually really troubled me.

Because this here's part of the clip that I listened to, here's how it went.

The guy reads this passage and he says, Well, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

And then the other guy goes, You know what?

I don't think Jesus said that.

So I was like, What?

And then and then he goes, I don't think Jesus said that because that doesn't sound like something Jesus would say.

So I keep listening and he goes, in fact, you know what?

I think the whole gospel of John is actually really problematic.

I'm really troubled at this point.

And he goes, you know, it seems like when you when you read the book of John, it's like it's like John has an agenda.

And so at that point, yeah, I'm laughing because I'm like, of course he has an agenda.

The agenda is to prove that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus is who he says he is, that he is the Messiah, that he is the Christ.

That is the whole point of the book of John.

So yes, he has an agenda to actually prove this very point that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him.

So this is the very agenda of the book of John, so that all who believe in him, the way, the truth, the life, will have eternal life.

So when I hear this discussion between two believers, and one of them says about a core tenet of truth, I don't think that that's what Jesus said.

That's your very first big problem.

And listen, I don't wear pearl necklaces very often, but you know that term clutch my pearls.

Like when I heard this conversation, I was clutching my pearls that I wasn't wearing.

I was clutching my pearls because here's the thing if I were to wear pearls, they might be fake, but this is a truth that we have to stand on.

This is not fake, this is truth that we have to stand on.

He is not a way, he is the way.

He is not a truth, the he is the truth.

He is not a lord, he is the lord of lords and king of kings.

He's not a king, he is the king, right?

He's not a savior, he is the savior of the world.

He is not a good shepherd, he is the good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep.

No one else in history has ever done that.

No God has ever laid down his life for his sheep and then came back to life and verified that he is who he says he is.

So this is something that we must stand on.

He is the good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep that he loves, and Jesus Christ is the door through which we are saved.

I get why this might be, it could be a difficult pill for some to swallow.

Because some would say this doesn't sound that loving, but it is.

Some might say that this sounds exclusive, maybe even harsh, but when Jesus says that He is the way, He is the door, no one comes to the Father except through Him.

Yes, it's an exclusive statement in that Jesus is the only way, but it's incredibly welcoming, it's incredibly kind, it's incredibly inclusive because it's for anyone and everyone.

It might be hard for some to admit, but no one is so good that their works will save them.

No one is so good that they are not in need of a savior.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, according to Romans 3.

No one's good works are so good that they're going to be able to save themselves.

But at the same time, no one is so bad, no one is so far gone that they can't be saved.

The gospel is absurdly exclusive, but it's also radically inclusive.

This is the good news.

And this is why it's so important to know that Jesus is the door, he is the door of salvation.

But what else does this mean for Jesus to be the door, and why is it important?

It's important because Jesus is also our door of protection.

He's our door of protection.

Remember, a good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

At night, when the sheep would lay down to sleep, and the shepherd lays down for the night as well.

He lays down, but even as he rests, he is the door of protection.

The shepherd is the barrier between the sheep and the wolves.

John 10 10 tells us that the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy.

The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy.

But the shepherd comes that we might have life and have life abundant.

We might have life and have life abundant.

Now don't get this wrong.

This isn't even in my notes, but I want to I wanna riff off of this for a minute, okay?

That we might have life and have life abundant.

Don't get it twisted that this is a promise of uh a solely prosperous life that will be without suffering and struggle and pain.

We know that in this lifetime, because Jesus even said that.

He said, in this life there will be hardship, there will be pain.

He went through pain, he went through grief, he went through hardship.

But God was with him.

That was the promise.

An abundant life is in God's presence.

Abundant life is in eternity, the promise of eternity with God, and that's true abundant life, right?

Where we will never have lack again, where there will be no more pain, no more, no more sickness, no more sorrow.

When we are in the presence of Jesus, that is the ultimate picture of abundance, that is the ultimate picture.

Promise of abundance.

But the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy and will do anything he can to take away from that promise of abundance life, to take away from your focus of the fact that God's presence is with you, even when it feels like life is a struggle.

The enemy wants to come and kill, steal, and destroy, but we have a shepherd, a good shepherd, the good shepherd who knows us, loves us, and watches over us.

And at the same time, there is a real enemy who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.

We will not be excluded from trials.

We will not be exempt from attack.

We won't be immune to moments where we feel scared, frustrated, angry, lonely, confused.

A few nights ago, actually, this was last week at this point, our our youngest MJ, he uh he's eight years old, and um he woke up in the middle of the night, and he woke up with one of those, it was like a horror movie scream.

So, so we we at like 3 30 in the morning, I wake up to ah and so I go run into his room, and um yeah, I I immediately knew that he was probably having a bad dream.

So I go to his bedside and I was like, Hey, MJ, what's going on?

And um, and he's like, Oh, I had a bad dream, I had a bad dream.

And so Marcos and I just pray for him, and then um we wait for him to fall back asleep.

He he went back to sleep pretty easily, but goes back to sleep, and in the morning I have a conversation with him.

So he's eating breakfast, and I asked him, I was like, MJ, do you remember waking up in the middle of the night and you woke us all up?

I was like, Do you remember you had a bad dream?

And he goes, Yeah, I remember.

And then he goes, You know, mommy, I I know when you when you when you you and daddy pray for me, you pray things like, you know, you'll you'll you'll help me know that God is my strength and my protector, and and you'll be like, I rebuke you, Satan, in the name of Jesus, and it you know helps me to know like you know, God's in charge and all that, right?

Um he goes, but you know what?

I don't even I don't know if that always works.

So I was like, Oh, well, tell me more.

He says, Well, I don't know if that always works because remember, like a few nights ago I had a bad dream too.

And even you know, when I had a bad dream then, you you prayed for me and you prayed the same thing, but then it happened again.

I had another bad dream, so I don't know if it works.

So I told him, you know, just because you get scared sometimes, it doesn't mean that God didn't protect you.

Just because you get scared sometimes, it doesn't mean that God didn't protect you.

And I think an adult version of this is just because the enemy tried to come for you, it didn't mean that God didn't keep you.

Just because you walked through that valley, it doesn't mean that God wasn't with you, that the good shepherd didn't guide you and wasn't alongside of you.

Just because that season lasted longer than you wanted it to, doesn't mean that God wasn't with you and that he didn't care for you and that he didn't protect you.

Just because those things happened to you, or those things that you didn't want to have happen that you wouldn't have chosen for yourself happened to you, doesn't mean that God didn't protect you and guide you.

And just because those doors that you've been praying for to be opened never opened, it doesn't mean that God didn't protect you, that God wasn't sovereign, that God didn't answer your prayer.

Because sometimes doors remaining closed and sometimes even doors having to shut are God's protection over you.

We have to recognize the sovereignty of God, we have to recognize the goodness of our shepherd.

Sometimes those closed doors are the answer to prayer that God and his love allowed for us not to walk through.

Just because these things happen, it doesn't mean that God doesn't love you, wasn't with you, and didn't protect you.

We will not be excluded from trials.

We will not be exempt from attack, we won't be immune to moments where we feel scared.

But when we stay in the shelter of Jesus, the good shepherd, the door, he is our protector, he is our door of protection.

Psalm 91.1 tells us, it's one of many other scriptures that tells us scriptures that describe his goodness and love and his protection over us.

It says that whoever dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty, Almighty.

Whoever chooses to dwell in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

If you need rest, go and dwell in the shelter of the Most High, and in his shadow you will find rest for your soul.

And in my favorite scripture about Jesus, God, the Good Shepherd, Psalm 23, it tells us that even though I might walk through a season or a situation that feels like I'm walking through the darkest, scariest valley, where it feels like the shadow of death is breathing down my neck, I remember that the good shepherd is with me and I won't have to fear evil.

I will fear no evil because your rod, which protects me, and your staff, which guides me, will give me comfort.

This is how I know that my good shepherd is good.

He protects me, he guides me, he's with me, even in the darkest valley of the shadow of death.

And because he is the good shepherd, he lays down his life and he is the door of my protection.

Lastly, Jesus is the door to provision, the door of provision.

He says, I am the door.

If anyone enters by me, they will be saved, and they will go in and they will go out and find pasture.

Jesus is the door of protection and keeps us in his care and protects us from the one who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy.

But he also lets us out to find pasture.

He lets us out to find pasture.

So pasture represents nourishment, provision, and rest.

It represents fulfillment, contentment, and satisfaction.

Sixty years ago, I feel like a couple of you might know the answers to this question.

Do you know who um Mick Jagger and Keith Richards is?

Okay, so uh for the younger ones in here, uh, they're the two frontmen of a band, a little known band called The Rolling Stones.

Okay.

Now, 60 years ago, they wrote a song called I Can't Get No Satisfaction.

So the two frontmen of what is still considered one of the most successful rock bands of all time, not just rock bands, but like musicians, two of the most successful musicians of all time, they wrote this song from a place of profound personal frustration.

They wrote this song when they felt so extremely alienated and they felt a deep sense of unfulfillment with modern life.

So, what this tells us is that fame, fortune, sex, drugs, and rock and roll can't give you the satisfaction that your soul seeks.

None of these things that these guys had at their fingertips could have satisfied their souls.

And you know, the the list doesn't even have to be so profane because we we also do get it twisted sometimes, because even things like achievements and accolades, achievements and accolades that can be deemed good and even holy, those things in and of themselves can't satisfy us because satisfaction is not in our works.

Outward appearances and adoration and affirmation from other people won't do it either, because satisfaction isn't in our looks or what life looks like to other people from the outside.

That's not where satisfaction comes from.

Our aptitudes and our abilities and even our best efforts of trying to have a good attitude at all times won't satisfy a reckless soul, a restless soul, because only Jesus, the door of provision, can satisfy the deepest hunger that our soul seeks for.

We've been talking about sheep and shepherds, but you know, there's another psalm that talks about as the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you.

We're like sheep who need a shepherd, and we're like deer that are looking for water, but we often drink from the wrong wells.

We look for the wrong springs that won't satisfy the deepest thirst and the deepest hunger of our souls.

And all along, Jesus, the good shepherd, has been there beckoning for us.

But some of us have so much other noise that we've tuned out the voice of the shepherd.

Some of us have so much other noise and keep ourselves from hearing the voice of the shepherd.

If you want to hear the voice of the good shepherd, you know what you gotta do?

Turn down the noise.

Turn down the other noise that keeps you from being able to hear the voice of the shepherd that wants you to drink deeply of the well that he provides, wants you to experience the joy of salvation, the joy of being provided for, the joy of being protected.

Turn down the noise.

The declaration of King David, who used to be a shepherd boy.

He's the one who wrote Psalm 23.

He wrote it when he was a king, but he remembered what it was like to be a shepherd boy.

And and he knew because he himself was a shepherd, how much work and love and care it requires to be a shepherd.

So this is why he starts the words, starts Psalm 23 with the words, the Lord is my shepherd.

And again, we've been talking about how Jesus is not just a good shepherd, but the good shepherd.

But think about how personal and how loving these words are.

That King David remembers who God is, and he says, The Lord is my shepherd.

The Lord of Lords and King of Kings is, not was, not going to be, is right now my good shepherd.

When he says that, he says, because he is my good shepherd, I shall not want.

Do you know what that means?

In other translations, this is here actually what it really means is that because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.

I have everything I need.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

I have everything I need because the Lord is my good shepherd.

Now he didn't say, because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that my flesh wants.

He says, Because the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

I have everything that my soul needs.

I have everything I need because the God of my salvation, the God of my provision, God my protector, God my my good shepherd, my door, my good shepherd gives me everything I need and I shall not want.

He's so good to us.

And we need to listen for his voice.

Now oftentimes at the end of a conversation with um Pastor Rich, who Pastor Tyrone a few weeks ago shouted out saying he's he's he's such a faithful man, he's been pastoring longer than I've been alive.

But Pastor Rich, who has such a gift for shepherding people well, you know, if you've ever had a conversation with him, um, he doesn't even know that he does this because it just kind of comes out, but he he affirms so much.

And oftentimes with Pastor Rich, he'll he'll go, That's great.

You'll know what to do.

You'll know what to do.

And it's affirming and it's encouraging, but I don't think he says that to puff us up, like, oh, you you know what to do.

What I'm actually reminded of whenever he says that is the words of Isaiah 30, 21.

Isaiah 30, 21 says this whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, This is the way, walk in it.

Whether you turn to the right or the left, you will hear a voice behind you, in front of you, beside you, among you, saying, This is the way, walk in it.

That's the voice of the good shepherd who wants to guide you and lead you.

Can I tell you one more thing about sheep before we end?

We've talked about how sheep have great hearing because they can differentiate sounds, they can distinguish their own shepherd's voice from another shepherd's voice.

But did you know that they also have great vision?

They have great vision to an extent.

Because if you've ever really looked at a sheep, their eyes are located on the side of their heads.

Okay, so they have great vision looking this way.

They have like a 300-degree field of view, but they can't see what's right in front of their faces.

They can't see right in front of them.

So, in order for a sheep to be able to walk forward, you know what they have to do?

They have to turn their head to the left or to the right.

And they have to listen for their shepherd's voice to know what direction to go in.

They have to listen for their shepherd's voice and go towards that voice.

Now, you and I have such a gift in the word of God.

If you don't know what the shepherd's voice sounds like, it sounds like what's in the words of this text right here: the bread of life, the lamp unto our feet, the guide unto our path.

This is the primary way that God speaks to us through the word of God.

So if you're praying for open doors or maybe even shut doors right now, see that it's in alignment with the word of God.

If you want to know what your shepherd's voice sounds like, well, take time to be in the word.

Meditate on the word, memorize the word, know the word so that you can know the shepherd's voice and stay close to the shepherd.

He wants to guide you, he wants to lead you, and he wants you to stay close.

Yes, he is a good shepherd that will go after the stray one.

He'll leave the 99 and go after you, but we don't have to be somewhere out in a ditch.

We don't have to be that sh sheep waiting for the shepherd to come save us in the ditch.

Stay close to the shepherd so that he can guide you and lead you because he is a good shepherd.

Now, my prayer for us is this let's let's let's close a prayer.

God, I know that there are different groups of people in this room right now, all one body under the headship of Christ.

But God, I pray for my brothers and sisters here right now.

Ones who are like me and Marcos right now that might be praying for wisdom and discernment about choices that need to be made.

Those of us who are knocking on doors saying, God, are you going to open this door?

I'm knocking, I'm seeking, I'm asking.

God, give us patience and perseverance.

God, give us obedience not to run ahead of you.

God, give us the wisdom to not think that we know better than you and be foolish.

But God, we we want discernment.

We want to hear your voice.

So give us ears to hear your voice, good shepherd.

Help us to know which doors to walk through.

Help us to know which doors you're saying that door needs to stay shut.

God, if some of us are out there trying to pick locks, God, tell us to stop.

But God, if you're telling us, if you're inviting us to keep seeking and knocking, Lord, we're gonna wait for the right doors to open.

And God, we also want to thank you for the doors that you've shut, the doors that you've closed, the ways in which you've protected us without us even knowing sometimes, Lord.

We want to continue to trust and obey and know that you are a good, good God.

I pray also for those of us in this room who may never have opened the door fully for you to come into their hearts.

Revelation 3.20 says that Jesus, you stand at the door and you knock, and you're waiting for us to open up that door.

So if there's anyone here who has never opened up that door and asked and invited you to come in and and and fellowship with them for all of eternity, God, I pray that that brother or sister would not leave here today without coming and being prayed for so that they might be able to enjoy eternity with you.

And for those of us that need courage to walk through certain doors, Lord, guide our steps, determine our paths, and Lord, give us the courage to put one foot in front of the other, following the leading of our good shepherd's voice.

God, we thank you for your goodness and your sovereignty.

Go with us as we leave these doors and go about our day, but for your glory and for the good of your people.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.