Jesus Is: The Door - Pastor Susie Gamez | Midtown Church Sacramento

Has anybody else in this room ever prayed for open doors?

Open doors.

Have you ever asked God to open doors of opportunity for you?

It's not a trick question.

There's no right or wrong answer, but I asked this question because it's common for people to ask of God to open doors.

It's common to ask God to confirm his will or give us direction through open doors.

Or in some cases, through shut doors, through closed doors.

As a family, Marcos and I, along with the kids, are actually praying through some things right now.

And by faith, we're trusting God.

We're trusting that if certain doors are open, that God will give us wisdom and discernment to know if those doors have been opened in accordance with his will.

And that if certain things are not his will, perhaps God will close those doors or open other doors.

These open and closed doors are metaphoric, of course, but it's a strong metaphor because we know that doors can determine our destiny.

Ultimately, God determines our destiny, but you know what I mean by that, right?

Like open and closed doors, these can determine our destiny.

Going through this door versus going through that door can have life-changing effects that alter the entire course of one's life.

There's a movie from 1998 starring Gwyneth Paltrow called Sliding Doors.

Has anyone ever seen that movie?

Maybe you've heard of it.

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

The movie tells us the story of two parallel scenarios, two parallel universes.

Where in the first scenario, Gwenth Paultro, she's rushing to get to the subway train.

So she's trying to make it through the doors of that subway train.

And a series of events happen.

Like there's a kid who doesn't move out of the way quick enough.

And so she gets there a split second too late, and she doesn't make it through the sliding doors of the subway train.

So she has to wait for the next one.

In the second scenario, things happen just a little bit differently.

And she gets there a split second sooner.

So she's able to make it through the door.

So she gets on that subway train.

And as you see these two stories play out, you see that her life plays out dramatically different ways depending on which door she ends up going through.

Before my parents moved the family from Toronto on the east coast of Canada where I was born to Vancouver on the West Coast, I found out later that my parents had contemplated perhaps moving to New York instead.

So instead of moving to Vancouver, we could have moved to New York.

Now, um, when I was younger, we took a lot of road trips from Toronto to New York.

It's probably like an eight to ten hour drive.

Um, but when I was younger, I wasn't old enough to appreciate the city.

I do remember also on one of those long road trips taking a detour and going to Boston.

And um my parents decided that we should go to Boston because we should visit Harvard.

At a young age, he they had us um sit on the steps of Harvard and they took a picture, and um they blew that picture up to an 8x10, framed it, and put it on the wall.

And this was their low-key way of trying to manifest something for my brother and I.

It didn't work.

But you know, later when I went back to New York when I was in college, I fell in love with the city.

I love New York City.

Um, and and I couldn't help but start to wonder how life would have played out differently.

How different a person would I, how different would my personality be?

Like, how different would my life have been if instead of moving to the North Shore of Vancouver, my parents moved to the Bronx, where a lot of our family was.

Like if I grew up in the Bronx, I for sure would have thought I was a rapper.

But instead, I grew up in Vancouver, Canada.

So I wonder how things might have turned out differently.

Like if my parents actually never even moved from South Korea to Canada, how would my life have been different?

What if four years ago we decided to stay in Long Beach?

What if four years ago we decided to go to Chicago instead of Sacramento?

How different would things be?

You know, there's a human tendency to mentally replay the what ifs in life.

What if I decided this?

Or what if this happened instead of this?

And I'm not saying that it's entirely bad to do that, but don't get caught up in like the the the black hole that it can send you into.

You know, it can kind of send you into a spiral.

We don't want to get caught up on the what-ifs, but we do want to take into account that which doors we walk through are important.

These are important decisions.

Which doors we walk through can determine our destiny.

And change the trajector trajectory of our lives even through eternity.

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

God is the door.

I know we already prayed, but can we pause and pray again for a second?

God, we ask that as we go into your word, you really would open up the door of our hearts.

Help us to see how you want us to see, hear how you want us to hear, and help us, Lord, just to be open to how you want to deposit truth into us today and how you want to ex how you want us to experience you more deeply.

So Holy Spirit, please we ask that you would give us guidance, that you would give us wisdom, and a good deposit would be made so that our roots would go deep and good fruit would come forth.

So God is the door.

Have you ever heard God described this way?

The door?

It sounds a little strange, but in the Bible, Jesus actually does say, I am the door.

Maybe to help you understand what he means by this, we should read it in context.

So go with me to John 10.

If you have your Bibles, you can turn there, or you can turn with me there, uh, or you can look on the screen and you'll see in John 10, starting in verse 1, it says this.

Can I get there too?

Hold on.

It says, Very truly, I tell you, Pharisees, this is Jesus speaking.

Very truly I tell you, Pharisees.

Anyone who does not enter in the sheep pen by the door, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.

The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

The doorkeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.

He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has brought them, when he has brought out all his own, and when he hold on, sorry.

I need better glasses.

I'm gonna read from up here.

Um, but to the to him, the door okay, truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up by 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 which he was saying to them meant.

So Jesus said to them again, Truly, truly, I say to you, 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 and kill and destroy.

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

Amen.

Next time I'll try to memorize it, I'm sorry.

But you know, I do know what the next verse says.

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

I am the good shepherd, which is probably a better known description of who Jesus is.

More widely used than the door.

The good shepherd is actually one of my favorite ways to describe who Jesus is.

Um, but today I want to hone in on the idea of Jesus as the door.

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

But it's actually very, very important.

I'll also say this, however, in order to understand Jesus as the door, you do need to hold the image of the Good Shepherd in mind to make sense of the door.

So in John 10, verse 9, Jesus says, I am the door.

John 10:9

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

I am the door.

Today we're diving deeper into the questions, what does this mean?

I am the door, and why is it important?

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

Now, this might seem like an obvious statement, but but let me say it like this: Sheep that are led by a shepherd.

I want to emphasize that they are sheep that are led by a shepherd, not driven by a shepherd.

There are some places where sheep are driven like cattle, where the sheep handler might use physical force or herding dogs to push a flock of sheep forward.

They drive or they push from behind or from beside the sheep and they drive them forward this way.

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

These sheep follow their shepherd because they know their shepherd, they trust their shepherd, they know their shepherd's voice, and they listen to his voice.

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

And during the day it was common practice for sheep to be led out into the pasture.

So they they eat grass, right?

So they'd be led out into these open fields, and sheep would often intermingle with other sheep from other flocks.

So there's different sheep of different flocks and different shepherds.

And these sheep are scattered all around in the pastures.

And you know, during the day they they'd they'd chew the grass, they'd say ba to one another.

Sheep really do sound like that, actually.

They say ba that way.

And um, yeah, they they're just intermingling, they're enjoying the green pastures throughout the day.

But at nighttime, they somehow know to go back to their shepherd.

They go back to their own sheep pens where their shepherd will guide them into.

And how do they do this?

You know, sheep have this reputation for being dumb, but they know how to listen to their shepherd's voice.

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

So all their shepherd has to do is make a sound, a distinct sound, unique to that shepherd, but because the sheep have walked with their shepherd, they know how to recognize their shepherd's voice.

So all the shepherd has to do, the shepherd doesn't have to go out there and hook them all in.

The shepherd just has to call for his sheep.

And the sheep know what direction to go in.

They know how to find their sheep pen because they know to follow the sound of their shepherd's voice.

And at nighttime, they rest in a sheep pen that looks like this.

There's a sheep pen that the that the shepherd works on throughout the day.

It'll come, don't worry.

Sometimes it takes time for the sheep pen to be built.

But this is a really nice sheep pen.

This one is built up real nice.

It's got rocks stacked on top of each other.

Sometimes the sheep pens are like branches, but branches that are um are stacked on top of each other and and provide good shelter.

So this is a good, sturdy sheep pen.

Now, if you notice, when the shepherd calls for a sheep, there's an opening, and the sheep will go through that opening to find rest at nighttime.

If you also notice, there is no door.

Or is there?

Because if there was no door, what would keep predators from pouncing on the sheep at nighttime?

Or what would keep a little sleepwalking sheep from wandering outside the pen at nighttime if there was no door?

It looks like there's no door, but in actuality, there is a door.

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

So the shepherd was the door for the sheep pen.

There was a door.

Nothing could enter into that sheep pen except through the shepherd, and nothing could get out of that sheep pen except through the shepherd.

So the people of Jesus' day understood this analogy because they were familiar with sheep and shepherds and sheep pens.

So when Jesus says, I am the good shepherd and I am the door, they understood that a good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.

But they didn't know that Jesus would literally lay down his life and demonstrate the full extent of God's love for his sheep when he laid down his life on the cross.

But notice that Jesus doesn't describe himself as a good shepherd, he is the good shepherd.

He's not one good shepherd among many, he's the good shepherd.

And likewise, he's not simply a door, he is the door.

He is the door, which takes us to our first point about the importance of Jesus being the door.

Jesus is the door of salvation, the door of salvation.

When Jesus says that he is the door and not simply a door, it mirrors what he says a little bit 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.

Pastor Otis preached about God is the truth a few weeks ago, and he looked at this passage.

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

No one comes to the Father except through me, which is one of the cornerstone beliefs of the Christian faith.

It's a core tenet of our faith.

It's also one of the most controversial, you could say.

Jesus is the only way.

No one can come to the Father except through Jesus.

Some will say, actually, many would say, that this claim sounds audacious, even arrogant, maybe even conceited.

Now I've heard some people say that okay, fine, maybe Jesus historically you can prove that he he lived and that he was a good man, he was a good teacher, he had lots of followers.

But Jesus isn't the way, Jesus is simply a way.

Earlier this week, I came across a clip of a conversation between uh two influencers who identify as followers of Jesus.

But what they were saying really troubled me because, you know, in a discussion on this passage, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

One guy says this verse, and the other guy responds by saying, I don't think Jesus said that.

I don't think Jesus said that because that doesn't sound like something Jesus would say.

And then he goes on to say, in fact, the whole book of John is problematic.

I was like, you know what?

That doesn't even make sense to me because I'm like, yes, of course he had an agenda, right?

The writers had an agenda.

John, the whole book of John, the point of it, the agenda of it, is to prove that Jesus is the Son of God, and that all who believe in him, the way, the truth, the life, the good shepherd, the door, will have eternal life.

And it's real dangerous when we start inserting our opinions where I don't think Jesus would say that.

It is written, it has been canonized in scripture.

There are some core tenets of our faith, and this is one of them.

So when I hear this discussion between these two believers, and one of them says, I don't think he said that, I would, I was shocked.

And listen, I I'm not much of a pearl wearer, um, but you know that phrase, clutch my pearls.

I felt like this was a clutch my pearls moment.

Because it fundamentally shifts whether you truly believe that Jesus is who he says he is if you cannot believe this passage of scripture.

How can Jesus be who he says he is if this is not true?

So to me, this was a clutch my pearls moment.

Um, you know, my pearls might be fake if I were ever to wear them, but this is truth.

This is a fundamental truth about who Jesus is.

He is not a way, he's the way.

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

He is not a Lord, he's the Lord.

He is not a king, he is the king.

And he's not a savior, he's the savior of the world, the one who created the heavens and the earth.

To who there is no beginning and no end, the alpha and the omega.

This is what this whole series has been about.

Our God is so big that every week we could preach about who he is, and it would be inexhaustible.

But he is not simply a God, he is the God.

And yes, he is incomprehensible, but we must land on this truth that he is not just a good shepherd, he is the good shepherd.

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

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

Maybe it doesn't sound loving, it sounds exclusive.

Maybe it sounds even harsh.

But when Jesus says that he is the way, that he is the door, no one comes to the Father except through him.

Yes, it's exclusive in that Jesus is the only way, but it's incredibly welcoming because anyone and everyone is welcome.

It's an invitation that's given to the world, it's given universally, but it's exclusively through Christ.

This is why it's important to know that Jesus is the door.

No one is so good that they can save themselves.

No one is so good that they are not in need of saving because all fall short of the glory of God.

All of us have sinned and we are in need of a savior.

But on the flip side of that, too, no one is so bad that they cannot be saved.

The gospel is so far-reaching that there is no sin and there is no divide so big that Jesus can't reach across and invite you into the sheepfold.

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

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

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

Jesus is also the door of protection.

He's the door of protection.

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

At night, when the sheep lay down asleep, and the shepherd lays down for the night, 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.

We have a shepherd, a good shepherd.

The good shepherd knows us, loves us, and watches over us.

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

And that means that we won't be excluded from trials, we won't be exempt from attack, we won't be immune to moments where we feel scared.

A few nights ago, our youngest son, MJ, he um woke up in the middle of the night with the kind of scream that you hear in horror movies.

So it's like three o'clock in the morning, and we hear this.

And so I go running to the room.

Marcos catches up eventually, but I go run.

No, no, I'm just saying, there's mama's instinct that just got me there faster than him, okay?

Um, he'll be here in next service.

Maybe I won't say that part, but I just I got there sooner than him, okay?

So we get there and um I'm like, MJ, are you okay?

Okay, so Marcos did pray with me though, okay?

So he prays over MJ and he's like, okay, you know, let's let's give him peace.

We stayed with him at his bedside until he finally fell asleep, right?

And so in the morning, I'm packing the lunch and he's eating breakfast, and I said, MJ, do you remember what dream you had last night?

Like you woke up screaming last night.

Do you remember what happened?

He goes, Yeah, I remember.

He goes, Mommy, can I say something though?

He goes, you know how like you pray that, like, you know, I rebuke you Satan in the name of Jesus, and you know, uh, you pray that Jesus will watch over me and protect me and he's with me, and he's like, Yeah, that's good and all, but I I don't know if that always works.

What do you mean?

And he goes, Well, remember.

A few nights ago I had another bad dream.

And we prayed then too, but I still had another bad dream.

So I said to him, You know what, MJ?

Just because you get scared sometimes, that 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 just because the enemy tried to come for you, it didn't mean that God didn't protect you.

Just because you walked through that valley, it doesn't mean that he didn't guide you.

Just because that season lasted longer than you wanted it to last, it doesn't mean that he didn't guide you as the Good Shepherd.

Just because they lied on you or they got messy, it doesn't mean that God wasn't with you and He didn't protect you.

Just because that door that you wanted to open at that particular time didn't open, it doesn't mean that God wasn't sovereign and wasn't protecting you.

Just because that door shut, maybe that was God's protection over you.

Maybe that door shutting was God's protection over you.

And as bad as you wanted it to open, maybe that shut door was for your protection.

Maybe God did not allow that thing to happen because God and his sovereignty knew that that was not good for you, and that was his protection over you.

Maybe that closed door is God's protection.

So some of us might try to stop trying to pick the lock.

Listen, we won't be okay, you got an amen in your spirit over that, okay?

We won't be excluded from trials, we won't be exempt from attack.

We won't be immune to the moments where we feel scared.

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

Psalm 91, one tells us that whoever dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

And in my favorite scripture about the Good Shepherd, Psalm 23, it tells us that even though we might walk through seasons or situations that feel like we're walking through a dark, scary valley.

So dark, so scary that it feels like the shadow of death is breathing down your neck.

When you remember that the good shepherd is with you, you can fear no evil, for he is with you.

His rod protects you, and his staff guides you and keeps you close.

So they'll comfort you.

Because he is the good shepherd.

He is the door of your protection.

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

John 10 9 again says, I am the door.

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

Pasture represents nourishment.

It represents provision and rest.

It represents fulfillment, contentment, and satisfaction.

Sixty years ago, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, anyone know who they are?

Y'all on the front know who Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are?

Okay.

Well, um, they're they're the two front men of a little-known band called the Rolling Stones.

Okay, so they wrote a song to them together called I Can't Get No Satisfaction.

So here, two guys, part of the most successful bands in the world, even to this date, they're one of the most successful bands ever in the world.

They write this song called I Can't Get No Satisfaction.

And they wrote this song from a place of profound personal frustration.

They felt a profound sense of alienation and a deep sense of unfulfillment with modern life.

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

And you know what?

The list doesn't even have to be so profane.

Achievements and accolades that are deemed good and even holy can't satisfy.

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 how our looks, how our life looks on the outside to other people.

Our aptitudes and our abilities and even our best efforts of having a good attitude, just grin and beard and have a good attitude.

This won't satisfy a restless soul.

Because only Jesus, the door of provision, can satisfy our deepest hunger and our deepest thirst.

And he invites us to drink of the well, find satisfaction in his presence.

And this is the declaration of King David, who used to be a shepherd boy when he wrote Psalm 23.

So Psalm 23 was written by King David when he was king, but he remembers what it was like being a shepherd boy.

For years, he was the one who tended the sheep.

He was the one who had to fight off the wolves and the lions and did they have bears?

He had to fight off the predators.

He knew what it was like to be a shepherd boy.

And he and he writes about who God is to him with endearment and love and a sense of protection.

And he says, The Lord is my shepherd.

The Lord is not just a shepherd.

Yes, he is the shepherd, but he's also my shepherd.

The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want.

Some of you know this.

Do you know what I shall not want means?

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Another way to say this is the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.

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

Now notice he says, I have everything I need, not everything I want.

So he's confessing, I have everything I need.

And maybe he doesn't have everything he wants when he wants it, but he knows it's a confession.

The Lord is my shepherd, and because the Lord is my shepherd, I know that I have everything that my soul needs to be taken care of.

I know that in my shepherd, everything that my soul needs is in him, is in his presence.

And I know that I'm prone to wander.

So I know that I need to stay close to my shepherd so that I can hear his voice.

I need to stay close to the shepherd so that I can know his voice.

To the ones who are like me and Marcos who are asking right now, maybe seeking and knocking and asking God, is this the door that you're gonna open for us?

God, would you open this door?

Maybe you're in that season like we are.

Maybe you're asking the question, why aren't these doors opening?

Or should I even keep trying to knock on that door?

Should I accept it as a closed door and move on?

Did I go through the right door?

Did I do I go through that door?

Do I go through this door?

Throughout our lives, there's gonna be many things that are gonna have us wondering.

But we don't have to wonder and wander aimlessly.

Because when we stay close to the shepherd, you can also hear his voice.

So read the word, study the word, meditate on the word, memorize the word so that you will know what his voice sounds like.

If you're wondering whether decisions that you have to make are really led by God, spend time in prayer, spend time listening, but listen primarily through the word.

The scripture is a lamp unto your feet, a guide unto your path.

And he gave it to us as a gift so that we can know his voice.

I know oftentimes at the end of a conversation with Pastor Rich, who has such a gift for shepherding people well, he's been shepherding for longer than I've been alive.

At the end of a conversation with him, he'll often say this, and he doesn't even know he's saying it, because we've talked about this.

He'll go, Oh, that's so great.

You know what?

You'll know what to do.

You'll know what to do.

And he says that to be encouraging.

You know, it those words are confidence building and affirming, but he doesn't say that so that I'll trust my own wisdom more.

When he says that, I'm always reminded of what it says in Isaiah 30, 21.

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

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

We've talked about how sheep have great hearing because they can distinguish the voice of their shepherd from another voice, right?

But did you know that sheep also have a keen sense of seeing?

They have great vision.

Well, they have great vision to an extent because if you've ever looked at a sheep real close, their eyes are actually kind of located on the side of their head.

So sheep have great peripheral vision.

They have a 360 kind of range of vision.

But the odd thing is they can't see what's right in front of them.

They can't see what's straight ahead of them.

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

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

They have to turn their head in order to move forward.

And they need to have ears to hear the voice of their good shepherd saying, This is the way, walk in it.

They have to follow the voice of their shepherd to know which way to go.