Speaker 1: 1st Baptist, baptist El Dorado, will you join me now in listening to our sermon from this week?
Speaker 1: John, chapter 10, verse 7, begins like this so Jesus again said to them truly, truly, I say to you I am the door of the sheep.
Speaker 1: All who come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
Speaker 1: I am the door.
Speaker 1: If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
Speaker 1: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
Speaker 1: I've come that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Speaker 1: Let's pray together.
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus, by your spirit, would you speak now.
Speaker 1: Speak, as only you can Speak through your word.
Speaker 1: I just pray that we would see you and be transformed by you, our good shepherd.
Speaker 1: Help us, lord, in Christ's name, amen.
Speaker 1: Well, I don't know how often you spend time probably not much thinking about doors, about doors you don't think about them.
Speaker 1: You've probably walked through at minimum 20 or 30 since you've woken up this morning Doors at home, your front door, your garage door, your car door, the door to the church.
Speaker 1: You've walked through many this morning, but you probably haven't thought about them that much.
Speaker 1: The reality is there's probably doors that are famous to you, that you know exist but you don't even realize just how famous they are.
Speaker 1: I've got a few pictures of a few doors.
Speaker 1: The first one, the doors of the White House there, and next, 10 Downing Street.
Speaker 1: You've got the prime minister.
Speaker 1: Next you have the large maybe you've walked through these those large gold doors of the state capitol.
Speaker 1: Even within fiction there's doors that are famous that maybe you think about the hobbit door here.
Speaker 1: Next we have a door that we really hope stays closed.
Speaker 1: Any fan of 90s television you know this next door to a certain apartment.
Speaker 1: And lastly, only for the children.
Speaker 1: You know what this last door is and you know what it's from.
Speaker 1: But doors come to mind often as we see them.
Speaker 1: One of my favorite stories about doors is Ed Orgeron.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you thought Ed Orgeron would come up in a sermon, but a few years back, when he was fired from LSU, he tells the story that the AD let him know that he was being fired, but also let him know there was a $16.9 million buyout.
Speaker 1: His next words were what door do you want me to go out of and when do you want me gone?
Speaker 1: And I don't blame him for that.
Speaker 1: Jesus says today I am the door and out of all the doors.
Speaker 1: We think about all the doors that are in our lives.
Speaker 1: Do we think about Jesus being the door, out of all the names we have for Jesus?
Speaker 1: We just sang a song that announced so many names for Jesus.
Speaker 1: When we think about the Prince of Peace, king of Kings, lord of Lords, do you ever stop and say Jesus, you are just the door.
Speaker 1: It may not come to mind that much, but I want us to see this morning just how powerful it is that Jesus is the door.
Speaker 1: In John 10, verse 1, it begins this way Truly, truly, I say to you he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
Speaker 1: These are harsh words by Jesus.
Speaker 1: If you try to get in by another way, then through the door to the sheepfold, you are a thief and a robber.
Speaker 1: Well, who's he talking about in this moment?
Speaker 1: Well, he's probably talking about some individuals that are standing right there around him.
Speaker 1: In chapter 9, we see this full story of Jesus healing a man that was born blind.
Speaker 1: A miraculous story.
Speaker 1: He reaches down into the mud, puts it on this man's eyes.
Speaker 1: It's kind of a strange encounter.
Speaker 1: But now this man can see, and this should be a celebration, a good thing.
Speaker 1: Everybody should be happy.
Speaker 1: But there's a few people that are not happy, and they are the Pharisees.
Speaker 1: And the Pharisees they're these individuals.
Speaker 1: They are the religious elite.
Speaker 1: They are the high and holy, impressive ones, and they would love for you to know just how impressive they are.
Speaker 1: They want you to know just how well they keep the law, not just the law as it was given in God's Word.
Speaker 1: But here's what's even more exciting some extra laws they just made up for themselves because, you know, maybe God didn't give us enough.
Speaker 1: Let's add a few more.
Speaker 1: Let's add a few more rules that we can keep, because if I can keep rules, then I can also keep score, and if I can keep score then I can win and I can be the most spiritual and I can be the most religious.
Speaker 1: That's what the Pharisees were all about.
Speaker 1: And suddenly Jesus heals, a man that was born blind.
Speaker 1: And Jesus' first issue is this he did it on the Sabbath, and a good Pharisee knows surely he shouldn't have done it on the Sabbath.
Speaker 1: But even more, jesus made the mistake, really, of just upsetting the status quo.
Speaker 1: The Pharisees love things going a certain way and they love being the religious authority.
Speaker 1: And now, suddenly, if there's a new rabbi in town not even that, if there's a new rabbi in town that actually has power, the ability to heal a man born blind, all of a sudden, what if all these people go to him for their spiritual questions and not us?
Speaker 1: Jesus is pretty harsh here For you Pharisees that are trying to get in by another way, by your rule keeping, by your impressive religion and also heaping these laws and rules that God did not give upon other sheep.
Speaker 1: You're a thief and you're a robber Verse 2.
Speaker 1: A thief and you're a robber Verse 2,.
Speaker 1: But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Speaker 1: Look at verse 3.
Speaker 1: To him the gatekeeper opens.
Speaker 1: The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Speaker 1: When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice.
Speaker 1: A stranger they may follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.
Speaker 1: The sheep follow the shepherd because they hear the shepherd's voice.
Speaker 1: Reading different commentators about this passage they talk about in this day.
Speaker 1: There would be in some smaller villages a communal sheep pen Right there in the middle of a town, the communal sheep pen, where at the end of the day, multiple shepherds would bring their flock into this communal pen and all the sheep would go into this one communal pen.
Speaker 1: And guess what?
Speaker 1: That way we only had to pay one individual to watch them overnight and he would stand at the door.
Speaker 1: He would basically be the door and so that no one can get in and no sheep can get out, and they would all come together.
Speaker 1: But they wouldn't have to, you know, tag or label their own sheep, because here's what they would do.
Speaker 1: Those shepherds would wake up the next morning their own sheep, because here's what they would do.
Speaker 1: Those shepherds would wake up the next morning, the door would open, they would step inside the sheep pen and just by the sound of the shepherd's voice, the sheep would know to come and their sheep would know to come, and the other sheep would not come because they're waiting on their shepherd.
Speaker 1: And right here in this moment, this is exactly the idea that Jesus is getting at that.
Speaker 1: The true sheep of the good shepherd know the shepherd's voice, they know him, they respond to him and they can be led out by the good shepherd, knowing his voice.
Speaker 1: But I want to ask you a question Do you know the shepherd's voice, his voice?
Speaker 1: But I want to ask you a question Do you know the shepherd's voice?
Speaker 1: If we know Christ Jesus and we are the sheep of his flock, do we know, hear and respond to his voice?
Speaker 1: And maybe a better question is is how in the world do we do that?
Speaker 1: Because you know this we live in a world of noise, don't we?
Speaker 1: We live in a world of volume, and not all of it is bad.
Speaker 1: Actually, some of it's amazing.
Speaker 1: I love to hear the sound of my family's voices.
Speaker 1: I love to hear the sound of you all singing and worshiping in this room.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of sound and noise and volume that I wouldn't trade for the world, but you and I both know we live in a world that there's a lot of sound that probably doesn't need to be there.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of voices competing for my attention.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of volume that infiltrates my life that I quite honestly let in on my own.
Speaker 1: There's just a lot of sound in our world.
Speaker 1: So, in a world filled with sound, how do we hear the shepherd's voice?
Speaker 1: How do you hear the voice of God?
Speaker 1: I want to tell you you hear the voice of God through the word of God.
Speaker 1: I heard a preacher once and he said something that I think is so true for all of us.
Speaker 1: Wouldn't it just be nice if we could hear the audible voice of God?
Speaker 1: Wouldn't that?
Speaker 1: Have you ever thought about that?
Speaker 1: Wouldn't that just help everything?
Speaker 1: If he could just come, you can call me on the phone or step into the room and just let me hear the audible voice of God.
Speaker 1: For you students, maybe getting close to college and you're deciding between two universities, wouldn't it be nice if God just called you and spoke out loud that you are supposed to attend, you know blank university, and then we could just say thank you, lord, I'm going there and case closed.
Speaker 1: Wouldn't it be nice to hear the audible word of God?
Speaker 1: And then that preacher said this if you want to hear the audible word of God, all you have to do is just read the Bible out loud.
Speaker 1: Just read the Bible out loud.
Speaker 1: Another preacher, a little more bold, said it like this that sometimes people say Taylor, I think God is speaking, god has told me something specifically and the preacher said okay, just tell me chapter and verse so I can follow along.
Speaker 1: But I want to tell you this morning God speaks through his word and God speaks also this according to his word.
Speaker 1: God speaks in alignment with his word.
Speaker 1: And so if we say this morning and maybe you do say and have said in the past and should say that, taylor, I felt God speaking to me, I felt God leading me in a certain direction, or maybe you felt that nudge from God to do this or go that way or do that, I would completely affirm that, so long as it is in line with the word of God.
Speaker 1: And so if we think about it this morning, maybe you say this Taylor, I feel very clearly that God is speaking to me and telling me that you know, I've got this neighbor that doesn't know the Lord and I feel that God is speaking to me and just telling me that you know, I've got this neighbor that doesn't know the Lord and I feel that God is speaking to me and just telling me that I need to just invite Him over, have Him over for dinner.
Speaker 1: I need to just befriend this individual, talk to Him about Jesus, form that relationship so that I can more and more share the gospel with Him.
Speaker 1: I would tell you this that sounds a lot like Matthew 28, 19.
Speaker 1: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.
Speaker 1: I would say this I think God is telling you to do that.
Speaker 1: If you say this, taylor, I feel called to work with a certain ministry in town, god's speaking to me.
Speaker 1: He said go help the call the fostering ministry in town.
Speaker 1: Go help Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center.
Speaker 1: I feel called to work with them.
Speaker 1: I would say this James 1, 27, for this is true religion to watch after the orphans and widows.
Speaker 1: I think God's calling you in that direction.
Speaker 1: Now, if you tell me this, taylor, I've always been a giver, I've always been a tither, but God's speaking to me and he's telling me to take my giving to the next level and take my generosity to the next level, and I've devised a plan to do that.
Speaker 1: I call it generosity, others call it fraud, some call it embezzlement.
Speaker 1: But just know, you're about to see some tithes come into the offering plate that you haven't seen before.
Speaker 1: I would tell you this Well, one, I don't see your ties.
Speaker 1: I do want you to know that.
Speaker 1: Illustration purposes only.
Speaker 1: I would say this hey, praise God for your desire to serve, praise God for your desire to give, but I don't think God's calling you to do it that way.
Speaker 1: He has not spoken to you because his word says just the opposite of that.
Speaker 1: You're not going to steal, you're not going to do these things.
Speaker 1: That is not God, because God speaks according to his word, by his word, and I want to tell you God speaking in any way that is contrary to his word is an impossibility.
Speaker 1: It cannot happen.
Speaker 1: It will not happen Because God has given us his word and God speaks through his word.
Speaker 1: And once again, verse 5, the stranger will not follow.
Speaker 1: They'll flee from him, for they do not know the voice of the stranger.
Speaker 1: I had a professor in seminary, dr Lyle Dorsett, just one of the best guys that maybe has ever lived, and at his home and he would invite students from once a semester over to his home for dinner and in the basement of his home he had a World War II museum.
Speaker 1: I don't know where you were expecting that sentence to go, but that's where it went.
Speaker 1: In the basement of his home he had a World War II museum, and I know right now what you're thinking.
Speaker 1: I mean by that is that down in the basement he had one room with one bookshelf and there were a few pieces of World War II memorabilia.
Speaker 1: That's not what I mean.
Speaker 1: I mean the square footage of probably our reception hall down here by the parlor.
Speaker 1: He had uniforms and helmets and rifles and memorabilia like floor to ceiling all over and people would come from all over to see Lyle Dorsett's World War II museum that was just in his home and he told this story in class one day and I've seen it, I've been in there.
Speaker 1: He told this story in class one day.
Speaker 1: He said this that often people will mail him different pieces of World War II memorabilia, historical pieces, and in their mind they're saying that you know, it's been in my attic, it's been in storage or it just kind of sits on our shelf.
Speaker 1: Wouldn't it do much better being shown off in Dr Dorsett's museum?
Speaker 1: And so they will send it to him.
Speaker 1: And he said this that often he will look at it and he will inspect it and he'll have to give kind of a tough telephone call back to the individual and he'll say this I looked over it and the reality is I think this is actually just a replica, it's not the real thing.
Speaker 1: Or he'll say you know, it's a cool item but it's actually not from that era, it's actually from a different time in history, and he'll have to kind of give that call.
Speaker 1: And he said this, and this is what he told us in class.
Speaker 1: He said I have spent my whole life studying World War II memorabilia and I've studied it so close that when something fake comes across my desk, I can spot it from a mile away.
Speaker 1: Do you know the real thing in such a way that when the fake thing, when the evil one's lies, when the voice of our world and our culture comes to you, that you can spot it from a mile away?
Speaker 1: Why?
Speaker 1: Because you know the voice of the shepherd, because you know his word, because there will be times when the evil one comes and he will tell you.
Speaker 1: He will say how do you think you could be forgiven?
Speaker 1: How do you think you can, you can have this relationship with him?
Speaker 1: How do you think God could forgive your sins?
Speaker 1: I know he could probably forgive their sins, but but your sins where you've been, what you've done, who do you think you are to be used by a holy God?
Speaker 1: Because I know your past and I know your history.
Speaker 1: And in that moment, if you know the voice of the shepherd, then all you have to do is open this.
Speaker 1: First John, 1.9,.
Speaker 1: If I confess my sin, he's faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me of all unrighteousness.
Speaker 1: And so the evil one will just have to take it to the top, he'll have to go to headquarters and figure it out up there, because God has already spoken and the good shepherd has already given you a good word and you know the voice of the good shepherd and therefore you will not fall for the enemy's lies and deceptions, because you know the shepherd's voice.
Speaker 1: Do you know the shepherd's voice?
Speaker 1: Have you spent time in the word of God?
Speaker 1: He continues, verse 6, this figure of speech Jesus used with them.
Speaker 1: They didn't understand what he was saying to them.
Speaker 1: The Pharisees didn't understand what Jesus was talking about.
Speaker 1: I wonder how many times the Pharisees heard a story of Jesus.
Speaker 1: And then finally, on the way home, it clicked.
Speaker 1: I think he was talking about me there, but in this moment it hadn't clicked yet.
Speaker 1: And so Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you verse 7, I am the door of the sheep.
Speaker 1: I am the door of the sheep, all who come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
Speaker 1: I am the door.
Speaker 1: If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
Speaker 1: There's our I am statement of the day.
Speaker 1: I am the door, the door.
Speaker 1: And so if you want entrance into the sheep pen, if you are of the flock of God and you come into the pen, there is one way in and it is through the door.
Speaker 1: Now there are still thieves and robbers among us today, and that is a harsh term, because often these thieves and robbers are very kind people, nice people, smile on their face.
Speaker 1: I, you know, I love many of these people.
Speaker 1: They're good people.
Speaker 1: But so many out there in our culture, in our world, want to tell us that there are other ways, and we've heard of these other ways that if I can just do enough good work, surely I can get into the sheep pen.
Speaker 1: If I can just maybe do more good than I've done bad, or at the end of this thing, you know, all people are going to be saved, or all roads lead to God.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter how you get there, so long as you get there.
Speaker 1: There's always been talk of other ways to get to the Father.
Speaker 1: But you and I both know there's some exclusivity in the claims of Jesus.
Speaker 1: He doesn't say I am a door, I am one door among many.
Speaker 1: I am the door and Jesus is the way in.
Speaker 1: And if you come in, what do you find?
Speaker 1: You find pasture, where the Lord is my shepherd.
Speaker 1: I have everything I need.
Speaker 1: He leads me beside those still waters to that green pasture, so as we, the flock of God, come under our good shepherd's care.
Speaker 1: That's life in the pasture of our good shepherd and that's how you get there, the door.
Speaker 1: But I want you to see verse 10.
Speaker 1: The thief Jesus is clearly here talking about now the evil one.
Speaker 1: We're not dealing with just Pharisees.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 1: This is Satan, the evil one.
Speaker 1: What's his goal?
Speaker 1: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
Speaker 1: I want you to think for a minute what is Satan's desire for your life?
Speaker 1: What does Satan want with your life and for your life?
Speaker 1: What is his goal for your life?
Speaker 1: Because sometimes we sell it just a little bit short, like some idea that Satan's main desire in life is just to inconvenience me in some type of way.
Speaker 1: And he wants to do that, sure, or cause me just a little extra stress.
Speaker 1: So maybe I don't treat those around me as well because I'm a little bit under stress and he wants that for sure.
Speaker 1: Sometimes we can make some jokes about it and we've all made them and I'm not mad at anybody that has but we stub our toe or spill coffee on me and you know we'll say not today, satan, I don't want that today We'll make those jokes.
Speaker 1: But seriously speaking, what is Satan's goal for your life?
Speaker 1: I just want to tell you it's your destruction.
Speaker 1: What's Satan's goal for your marriage?
Speaker 1: It is to destroy it.
Speaker 1: What does he want for your family?
Speaker 1: He wants to crush it.
Speaker 1: What is Satan's desire for this church?
Speaker 1: That it would be left in rubble after controversy and conflict and division has infiltrated our midst.
Speaker 1: What does Satan want for everything that God deems good?
Speaker 1: Destruction.
Speaker 1: I want you to know that and I want that to lead you to keep your guard up.
Speaker 1: I want that to lead you to walk in step with the Spirit, because there is a very real enemy out there that wants destruction for everything that God loves.
Speaker 1: That is his desire.
Speaker 1: He comes to steal and kill and destroy.
Speaker 1: I come that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Speaker 1: We contrast that with the goal and the will of the good shepherd.
Speaker 1: The thief wants to destroy, but the good shepherd says I want you to have life and have it abundantly.
Speaker 1: And you know this.
Speaker 1: I pray and I'll tell you this that if you want that abundant life, the only way to have it is through the door and into the good pasture that our good shepherd provides for every one of us.
Speaker 1: But I want to ask this question we say this, speaking of destruction can Satan destroy our marriages, our church, our families, all these things?
Speaker 1: Yes, he sure can.
Speaker 1: Of course he can.
Speaker 1: It happens all too often.
Speaker 1: But I want to ask this question Ultimately, spiritually speaking can Satan destroy me?
Speaker 1: Can Satan destroy you?
Speaker 1: What do I mean by that?
Speaker 1: Can Satan destroy the sheep of the good shepherd's pasture?
Speaker 1: Can Satan do anything to remove the sheep from the good shepherd's pen?
Speaker 1: Mainly this can Satan remove you from the father's hand?
Speaker 1: I think about movies and TV shows sometimes, that this same scenario seems to always happen Law and order.
Speaker 1: Any movie with crime scene, with an investigation, anything like this, it always happens.
Speaker 1: Let's say some crime occurs and there's a crime scene with an investigation, anything like this, it always happens.
Speaker 1: Let's say some crime occurs and there's a crime scene happening in a small town, somewhere, and local law enforcement is doing a great job, they're on the case.
Speaker 1: But you know, then with the plot of the movie we find out that's not just some little crime in a small town, it's much bigger than this.
Speaker 1: And suddenly the national crew comes through.
Speaker 1: The FBI arrives, the national team comes and in the movies they're not always the kindest people.
Speaker 1: They look at local law enforcement and they would always say we'll take it from here.
Speaker 1: They look at local law enforcement and they say this is now above your pay grade, the big one.
Speaker 1: This is no longer within your jurisdiction.
Speaker 1: You need to move along.
Speaker 1: It happens in every movie.
Speaker 1: I want you to think about something that when the evil one comes to the shepherd to try to take the sheep from the pen, to try to remove you from the Father's hands, the voice of the good shepherd says one thing in return this is outside your jurisdiction, you are not welcome here and you have no hold on the sheep of my pen.
Speaker 1: And the good news is this that if you are in Christ Jesus and you are a sheep in the pen of the good shepherd, where he is there, you will be also.
Speaker 1: That's what Luther said.
Speaker 1: So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this I admit that I deserve death and hell.
Speaker 1: What of it?
Speaker 1: For I know one who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf.
Speaker 1: His name is Jesus Christ, son of God, and where he is there, I shall be also.
Speaker 1: If you are in the Father's hands, then you are in the Father's hands.
Speaker 1: And when Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within upward, I look and see him there, who made an end to all my sin, because no power of hell, no scheme of man can ever, what can ever, pluck me from his hand.
Speaker 1: This is the good news of being a sheep in the care of the good shepherd.
Speaker 1: This is the good news of knowing that Christ Jesus, and him alone, is the door.
Speaker 1: This is the good news of having a good shepherd that if, quite literally, he is the door of the sheep, then he literally looks at the accuser and says this that if you want to get to them, you have to go through me.
Speaker 1: And you don't get through him Because he's the door and he takes care of his sheep.
Speaker 1: Maybe this morning you want to enter through the door and he takes care of his sheep.
Speaker 1: Maybe this morning you want to enter through that door for the first time To know that you are a sheep, one of his pasture.
Speaker 1: I'd love to talk to you about that.
Speaker 1: Maybe this morning you know Christ Jesus for yourself, but you just need for this morning to be encouraged by the fact that you are his.
Speaker 1: And this morning you're here this morning for no other reason than to just hear the gospel once again that because the good Savior went to the cross for you, went to the cross for you, died for you, rose for you, that you are in his pen, both now and for eternity, the sheep of his pasture.
Speaker 1: How does Psalm 23 end?
Speaker 1: That I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Speaker 1: That's what our shepherd Lord Desires for us.
Speaker 1: Let me pray for us.
Speaker 1: I'll be down front after If you'd like to respond in any way.
Speaker 1: Please, as we worship, come see me.
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the door, that we are the sheep Of your pasture, thanks for how you love us, how you care for us, how you never Forsake us.
Speaker 1: Lord, if there is one this morning that needs to enter through that door.
Speaker 1: Would he or she come Not come to a pastor, though, they talk to me, but really come to you.
Speaker 1: That's what it is.
Speaker 1: Would they come to you this morning?
Speaker 1: I'd love nothing more than to talk to them about Jesus this morning.
Speaker 1: I'd love nothing more than to talk to them about Jesus.
Speaker 1: So, lord, as we worship, would we see you as the good shepherd that you are, see you as the door that you are, and rejoice in you.
Speaker 1: We ask this in Christ's name, amen.
Speaker 1: Would you stand now as we continue in worship?