Church Requel
The One Door
Jesus is THE WAY to salvation and to God. This is a stumble or wonder statement. Some people stumble over the claim. Others wonder at it.
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Church Requel
2 Marion Ave, Mansfield, OH 44903, USA
Sunday 11:00 AM
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The One Door - John 10:7-10
Today we come to a teaching from Jesus that has caused many a potential Christ-follower to stumble and frankly, many an actual Christ-follower to wonder. Let’s get right into it.
#1 - Jesus is THE WAY to salvation and to God.
“Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep… I am the gate;
whoever enters through me will be saved.” John 10:7,9a
Jesus makes the bold claim that He is the gate (as well as the gatekeeper!) for all who want to enter into the sheep pen of those men and women who claim to be in the care and protection of God. He is quite clear in His proclamation. “Whoever enters through me will be saved.” Some people look at this and focus on the exclusivity of it. The ONLY way into the sheep pen is through Jesus. But perhaps we should also focus on the openness of the statement. WHOEVER enters. In other words - the invitation is extended to all, not just to an exclusive group. Still - Jesus is quite clear that He is the only gate.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Jesus could not have been plainer in His language or meaning. He states that He is the way. Further, there is no other way to God the Father except through Him. How do we handle this? Some people - both within the family of Christians and outside the family - really struggle with what appears to be the exclusivity of it. How could anyone say He is the only way to God? Surely there must be multiple ways, right? What about those who lived before Jesus? What about those who never ever hear the Name of Jesus or the gospel good news that comes with the truth of Jesus? What if you’ve grown up with another faith/belief system? This is definitely a stumble or wonder situation.
I don’t claim to have all the answers. This much I do know. We don’t have to stumble. And it’s ok to wonder. But this doesn’t have to shake our faith. Most of my life I’ve grown up under the pastoral leadership of people who would tell me that I just have to accept the truth of it because this is Jesus and He is quoted in the Bible. Don’t ask too many questions. Just accept this on the basis of faith. Maybe this is good advice.
Yet on the other hand i have told you many times that it is ok to ask questions. It is ok to say that you struggle with your understanding sometimes. That God accepts your honest questions and that God wants you to exercise your mind as well as your faith, right? So how should we think about this?
Let me try to give you a couple of ideas that have been helpful to me. If this is helpful also to you… then great! If it’s not at all helpful, then feel free to discard my ideas and continue searching for helpful ideas of your own. (And please do share with me along the way!)
First it’s a good idea to not own every single theological problem along the way. This isn’t a bailout on the mind-faith dilemma but some problems are more God’s problems than our own. The only person who I am responsible for is me. Not you. Not the person who lived before Jesus. Not the person who has never heard of Jesus. Just me. And frankly that’s a big enough problem for any one of us to own. Maybe my focus really should be more on being thankful that I do know the gospel and that I do know Jesus and that because of Jesus I do know God the Father. Focus on what I know rather than on what I don’t.
Second, no one else can talk about this other than Jesus. Either I believe He really is Who He says He is, or I don’t. If I do believe He is the Son of God, then there is a certain authority that comes with Who He is. Someone Who comes from Heaven. Someone who knows God. Someone who can speak with authority about things and life that goes beyond our own experience. If I wanted to explain to the fish in the sea that there indeed is life beyond the sea, it might be difficult for the fish to believe or accept when all they have ever known is the sea. But I would have authority since I come from beyond the sea.
Third, there is a difference between explaining how things are - from a factual standpoint - and elevating exclusivity to an individual or class of people. I am my father’s son. You are not my father’s son. I could further state that I am only one of two individuals in the entire universe who can state - with scientific DNA proof - that I am my father’s son and you are not. But what of it? You are your father’s son or daughter and I am not. Jesus is stating fact here. There is one way to have the DNA of a Christ-follower. It’s in the Name. Christ. Jesus. He is the way. If you have entered through the gate of Christ, then you have the DNA of Christ. If you have not entered this way, then you do not. Simple statement of fact.
Fourth - and finally - this is a matter of perspective. It matters where we are standing when we read this and are trying to understand it. If we are standing on the outside of the sheep pen and are wanting to enter, Jesus says to us whoever! That’s exciting news. There is no exclusivity in whoever. All may enter in. There is a lot of people included in whoever! On the other hand if we are standing inside the sheep pen looking out, all we can see is Jesus. We know our past. We know our mistakes. We know that on our own, there was no way we were ever going to know God in His perfection, in His righteousness. We know there was no way we would ever deserve to be in the sheep pen! All we can say is thank you Jesus. It’s all Jesus! Jesus was our way! We enter through His gate. Jesus was our only way!
One illustration that has often helped me is this - On the outside of the gate there is a sign with these words from Revelation: “Whoever will may come.” This represents the free and universal offer of the gospel. By God’s grace, salvation is for everyone. On the other side of the gate, on the inside looking back, is this sign from Ephesians: “Only through Jesus - chosen before the foundation of the world!” Perspective!
Let’s leave the world of theological debate and get into some practical advice for the Christian…
#2 - Want to be a good Christ-follower? Be a good CHRIST-LISTENER!
Maybe a more personal and poignant question we should be asking ourselves is this: How do I know I am a Christ-follower? This issue of the assurance of our salvation is something we all struggle with at one time or another. I am here today to reassure you about your assurance! God does not want you to struggle in this. He wants you to know for sure that you are in the sheep pen. So how can you know?
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him [the gate enterer], and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” John 10:3
When you are wondering which side of the gate you are standing on, ask yourself this question: “Whose voice am I listening to?” Are you listening to Jesus? Have you learned to hear His voice? Here’s another good indicator: Are you following His voice? When you hear Jesus tell you one thing, do you obey that one thing? If He says go in this direction and not in that direction, do you indeed go in this direction and not that one?
There is an intimacy to the relationship with Jesus. Did you pick this up? Jesus says “he calls his own sheep by name!”Jesus knows your name. It’s very personal with Him. He knows you. And He wants you to know Him.
I know some of you struggle with this. How do you know you are listening to Jesus and not just inside your own head hearing what you want to hear? Let me give you some pastoral help with this. You need to know that there is a BIG difference between hearing and listening. Some of you - when you hear me talking about listening - you’re thinking hearing. You wonder if you can actually hear Jesus speak to you or not.
Listening is different. (Ask any spouse! Or mother!) Listening is actively hearing. Listening is putting up the antennae of your spiritual God ears. Listening is stopping everything else to hear God speaking. Listening is God-focused hearing. Listening is practiced God hearing. Listening is the other half (and less practiced half) of prayer. It’s the “here I am Lord… Speak, I’m listening.” And perhaps just as important: “Speak - I will hear and obey!”
Listening is also the ignoring of all the other channels you hear…
“All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.” John 10:8
Did you know that you have a spiritual enemy who wants to steal away your relationship with God your Father? (If only he could! - But he can’t!) The devil and his evil demons can come to you in many forms, but all of them are merely thieves & robbers. They all are shout for your attention! They all want to distract you from the true voice of your Shepherd Jesus. They all want you to follow them instead of your Shepherd Jesus.
They could be the voices of the media shouting for your attention… trying to anger you… trying to frighten you. They could be the voices of the envious relative or friend, who don’t like the attention you are giving to your faith in Jesus. They could be the voices of social media making you feel like your life isn’t as good as everyone else’s. But worst of all these could be the voices inside of your own head that tell you are not good enough to deserve to be a Christ follower. Get over it! After all, it’s true. You’re not good enough. But then neither am I. None of us are. But Jesus loves us anyway! Jesus calls to us - by name - anyway!
So we actively listen to the voice of the One True Shepherd Who loves us and asks us to follow Him. We also actively STOP LISTENING to the voices of the thieves and robbers who only want to destroy us. Listening is both the activefocusing upon the voice of Jesus and the active ignoring of the other voices. How are you doing here? Maybe for you, the real sermon today is more about tuning into Jesus and the tuning out of everything else. I promise you there are real benefits!!!
#3 - Three BIG BENEFITS to being a listening Christ-follower:
#3A - Life with Jesus brings FREEDOM.
“They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” John 10:9b
Sometimes we get the wrong idea that being a Christian is all about being “penned up” within a legalistic set of do’s and don’ts. Nothing could be further from the truth. When we are a listening Christian, we possess a great deal of freedom. Notice what Jesus says about his sheep: They will come in and go out, and find pasture. That’s not penned up. That’s the exact opposite. That’s roaming the pasture and finding rest. Finding the good land. Experiencing freedom!
#3B - Life with Jesus brings PROTECTION.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” John 10:10a
When you find that freedom of the pasture, you also experience the protection of the shepherd. Your spiritual enemy (in many forms) wants only to destroy you. But Jesus promises you protection. Shepherd-watched pasture means that the Shepherd is watching out for those enemies who want to harm you. Are there boundaries? Of course! There are places you should not go. There are places that are not pasture - too dangerous. Not protected. But within the pasture (within the God-given boundaries), there is freedom and protection.
Thank God for His boundaries. Thank God for His protection. There is freedom with boundaries!
In 2006 Mississippi State University conducted an experiment. The study followed two groups of preschool-aged children The first group of children went to a playground without any fence. The kids were asked to play as normal. The second group of children went to a different playground, but with a fence installed around the outside. They were also asked to play as normal. In the first group all the children huddled around the teacher, fearful of leaving out of her sight. The second group exhibited drastically different results, with the children feeling free to explore within the given boundaries of the fence.
God gives you - His beloved children - boundaries. Not because He wants to restrict your freedom. Rather, because He wants to give you more freedom combined with His protection.
#3C - Life with Jesus brings FULFILLMENT.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10b
With freedom and protection come fulfillment. Jesus wants you to have life to the full! When you wonder if it’s ok to enjoy life, to celebrate life, you need wonder no longer. God loves you! He loves you like His own kids… because that’s what you are! His kids! He wants nothing but the very best for each one of you.
And so like any loving parent, He wants you to have freedom. He wants to protect you within the boundaries of what He knows is good for you. And He wants you to explore all these good things to find what makes you the happiest.
Within these few verses we find the original story of humanity - Adam and Eve in the garden. God loved them. God gave them freedom. God gave them boundaries. God wanted nothing but the best for them. God wanted them to be fulfilled. In the end Adam and Eve chose to do the one thing that violated their boundary and as a result hurt them horribly.
The gospel in one sentence is this: Adam and Eve’s story doesn’t have to be your story! Will you choose God’s freedom? Will you respect God’s boundaries? Will you follow the voice of your Shepherd Jesus and as a result have life and have it to the full?
Today we come to a teaching from Jesus that has caused many a potential Christ-follower to stumble and frankly, many an actual Christ-follower to wonder. Let’s get right into it.
#1 - Jesus is THE WAY to salvation and to God.
“Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep… I am the gate;
whoever enters through me will be saved.” John 10:7,9a
Jesus makes the bold claim that He is the gate (as well as the gatekeeper!) for all who want to enter into the sheep pen of those men and women who claim to be in the care and protection of God. He is quite clear in His proclamation. “Whoever enters through me will be saved.” Some people look at this and focus on the exclusivity of it. The ONLY way into the sheep pen is through Jesus. But perhaps we should also focus on the openness of the statement. WHOEVER enters. In other words - the invitation is extended to all, not just to an exclusive group. Still - Jesus is quite clear that He is the only gate.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Jesus could not have been plainer in His language or meaning. He states that He is the way. Further, there is no other way to God the Father except through Him. How do we handle this? Some people - both within the family of Christians and outside the family - really struggle with what appears to be the exclusivity of it. How could anyone say He is the only way to God? Surely there must be multiple ways, right? What about those who lived before Jesus? What about those who never ever hear the Name of Jesus or the gospel good news that comes with the truth of Jesus? What if you’ve grown up with another faith/belief system? This is definitely a stumble or wonder situation.
I don’t claim to have all the answers. This much I do know. We don’t have to stumble. And it’s ok to wonder. But this doesn’t have to shake our faith. Most of my life I’ve grown up under the pastoral leadership of people who would tell me that I just have to accept the truth of it because this is Jesus and He is quoted in the Bible. Don’t ask too many questions. Just accept this on the basis of faith. Maybe this is good advice.
Yet on the other hand i have told you many times that it is ok to ask questions. It is ok to say that you struggle with your understanding sometimes. That God accepts your honest questions and that God wants you to exercise your mind as well as your faith, right? So how should we think about this?
Let me try to give you a couple of ideas that have been helpful to me. If this is helpful also to you… then great! If it’s not at all helpful, then feel free to discard my ideas and continue searching for helpful ideas of your own. (And please do share with me along the way!)
First it’s a good idea to not own every single theological problem along the way. This isn’t a bailout on the mind-faith dilemma but some problems are more God’s problems than our own. The only person who I am responsible for is me. Not you. Not the person who lived before Jesus. Not the person who has never heard of Jesus. Just me. And frankly that’s a big enough problem for any one of us to own. Maybe my focus really should be more on being thankful that I do know the gospel and that I do know Jesus and that because of Jesus I do know God the Father. Focus on what I know rather than on what I don’t.
Second, no one else can talk about this other than Jesus. Either I believe He really is Who He says He is, or I don’t. If I do believe He is the Son of God, then there is a certain authority that comes with Who He is. Someone Who comes from Heaven. Someone who knows God. Someone who can speak with authority about things and life that goes beyond our own experience. If I wanted to explain to the fish in the sea that there indeed is life beyond the sea, it might be difficult for the fish to believe or accept when all they have ever known is the sea. But I would have authority since I come from beyond the sea.
Third, there is a difference between explaining how things are - from a factual standpoint - and elevating exclusivity to an individual or class of people. I am my father’s son. You are not my father’s son. I could further state that I am only one of two individuals in the entire universe who can state - with scientific DNA proof - that I am my father’s son and you are not. But what of it? You are your father’s son or daughter and I am not. Jesus is stating fact here. There is one way to have the DNA of a Christ-follower. It’s in the Name. Christ. Jesus. He is the way. If you have entered through the gate of Christ, then you have the DNA of Christ. If you have not entered this way, then you do not. Simple statement of fact.
Fourth - and finally - this is a matter of perspective. It matters where we are standing when we read this and are trying to understand it. If we are standing on the outside of the sheep pen and are wanting to enter, Jesus says to us whoever! That’s exciting news. There is no exclusivity in whoever. All may enter in. There is a lot of people included in whoever! On the other hand if we are standing inside the sheep pen looking out, all we can see is Jesus. We know our past. We know our mistakes. We know that on our own, there was no way we were ever going to know God in His perfection, in His righteousness. We know there was no way we would ever deserve to be in the sheep pen! All we can say is thank you Jesus. It’s all Jesus! Jesus was our way! We enter through His gate. Jesus was our only way!
One illustration that has often helped me is this - On the outside of the gate there is a sign with these words from Revelation: “Whoever will may come.” This represents the free and universal offer of the gospel. By God’s grace, salvation is for everyone. On the other side of the gate, on the inside looking back, is this sign from Ephesians: “Only through Jesus - chosen before the foundation of the world!” Perspective!
Let’s leave the world of theological debate and get into some practical advice for the Christian…
#2 - Want to be a good Christ-follower? Be a good CHRIST-LISTENER!
Maybe a more personal and poignant question we should be asking ourselves is this: How do I know I am a Christ-follower? This issue of the assurance of our salvation is something we all struggle with at one time or another. I am here today to reassure you about your assurance! God does not want you to struggle in this. He wants you to know for sure that you are in the sheep pen. So how can you know?
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him [the gate enterer], and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” John 10:3
When you are wondering which side of the gate you are standing on, ask yourself this question: “Whose voice am I listening to?” Are you listening to Jesus? Have you learned to hear His voice? Here’s another good indicator: Are you following His voice? When you hear Jesus tell you one thing, do you obey that one thing? If He says go in this direction and not in that direction, do you indeed go in this direction and not that one?
There is an intimacy to the relationship with Jesus. Did you pick this up? Jesus says “he calls his own sheep by name!”Jesus knows your name. It’s very personal with Him. He knows you. And He wants you to know Him.
I know some of you struggle with this. How do you know you are listening to Jesus and not just inside your own head hearing what you want to hear? Let me give you some pastoral help with this. You need to know that there is a BIG difference between hearing and listening. Some of you - when you hear me talking about listening - you’re thinking hearing. You wonder if you can actually hear Jesus speak to you or not.
Listening is different. (Ask any spouse! Or mother!) Listening is actively hearing. Listening is putting up the antennae of your spiritual God ears. Listening is stopping everything else to hear God speaking. Listening is God-focused hearing. Listening is practiced God hearing. Listening is the other half (and less practiced half) of prayer. It’s the “here I am Lord… Speak, I’m listening.” And perhaps just as important: “Speak - I will hear and obey!”
Listening is also the ignoring of all the other channels you hear…
“All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.” John 10:8
Did you know that you have a spiritual enemy who wants to steal away your relationship with God your Father? (If only he could! - But he can’t!) The devil and his evil demons can come to you in many forms, but all of them are merely thieves & robbers. They all are shout for your attention! They all want to distract you from the true voice of your Shepherd Jesus. They all want you to follow them instead of your Shepherd Jesus.
They could be the voices of the media shouting for your attention… trying to anger you… trying to frighten you. They could be the voices of the envious relative or friend, who don’t like the attention you are giving to your faith in Jesus. They could be the voices of social media making you feel like your life isn’t as good as everyone else’s. But worst of all these could be the voices inside of your own head that tell you are not good enough to deserve to be a Christ follower. Get over it! After all, it’s true. You’re not good enough. But then neither am I. None of us are. But Jesus loves us anyway! Jesus calls to us - by name - anyway!
So we actively listen to the voice of the One True Shepherd Who loves us and asks us to follow Him. We also actively STOP LISTENING to the voices of the thieves and robbers who only want to destroy us. Listening is both the activefocusing upon the voice of Jesus and the active ignoring of the other voices. How are you doing here? Maybe for you, the real sermon today is more about tuning into Jesus and the tuning out of everything else. I promise you there are real benefits!!!
#3 - Three BIG BENEFITS to being a listening Christ-follower:
#3A - Life with Jesus brings FREEDOM.
“They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” John 10:9b
Sometimes we get the wrong idea that being a Christian is all about being “penned up” within a legalistic set of do’s and don’ts. Nothing could be further from the truth. When we are a listening Christian, we possess a great deal of freedom. Notice what Jesus says about his sheep: They will come in and go out, and find pasture. That’s not penned up. That’s the exact opposite. That’s roaming the pasture and finding rest. Finding the good land. Experiencing freedom!
#3B - Life with Jesus brings PROTECTION.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” John 10:10a
When you find that freedom of the pasture, you also experience the protection of the shepherd. Your spiritual enemy (in many forms) wants only to destroy you. But Jesus promises you protection. Shepherd-watched pasture means that the Shepherd is watching out for those enemies who want to harm you. Are there boundaries? Of course! There are places you should not go. There are places that are not pasture - too dangerous. Not protected. But within the pasture (within the God-given boundaries), there is freedom and protection.
Thank God for His boundaries. Thank God for His protection. There is freedom with boundaries!
In 2006 Mississippi State University conducted an experiment. The study followed two groups of preschool-aged children The first group of children went to a playground without any fence. The kids were asked to play as normal. The second group of children went to a different playground, but with a fence installed around the outside. They were also asked to play as normal. In the first group all the children huddled around the teacher, fearful of leaving out of her sight. The second group exhibited drastically different results, with the children feeling free to explore within the given boundaries of the fence.
God gives you - His beloved children - boundaries. Not because He wants to restrict your freedom. Rather, because He wants to give you more freedom combined with His protection.
#3C - Life with Jesus brings FULFILLMENT.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10b
With freedom and protection come fulfillment. Jesus wants you to have life to the full! When you wonder if it’s ok to enjoy life, to celebrate life, you need wonder no longer. God loves you! He loves you like His own kids… because that’s what you are! His kids! He wants nothing but the very best for each one of you.
And so like any loving parent, He wants you to have freedom. He wants to protect you within the boundaries of what He knows is good for you. And He wants you to explore all these good things to find what makes you the happiest.
Within these few verses we find the original story of humanity - Adam and Eve in the garden. God loved them. God gave them freedom. God gave them boundaries. God wanted nothing but the best for them. God wanted them to be fulfilled. In the end Adam and Eve chose to do the one thing that violated their boundary and as a result hurt them horribly.
The gospel in one sentence is this: Adam and Eve’s story doesn’t have to be your story! Will you choose God’s freedom? Will you respect God’s boundaries? Will you follow the voice of your Shepherd Jesus and as a result have life and have it to the full?