• I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:6-15) The father or Abraham, Isaac & Jacob – Jesus is I AM (John 8:54-58)
• I AM the Bread of life (John 6:32-36)
• I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12)

I AM THE DOOR (GATE):

John 10:1-9 (ESV) – 1 “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. 2But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

DEFINED:

Greek: thýra (thoo’-rah) – a portal or entrance (the opening or the closure, literally or figuratively):—door, gate.

Hebrew: pethach (peh’-thakh) – an opening (literally), i.e. door (gate) or entrance way:—door, entering (in), entrance (-ry), gate, opening, place.

OBSERVATIONS FOR APPLICATIONS:

1. THE DOOR OF… YOU

Genesis 4:7 (NIV) – If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Revelation 3:19-20 (NIV) –  Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

• We all have a ‘door’ that leads into who we – a threshold in which decisions are made and belief is built.

2. THE DOOR OF… DELIVERANCE

Exodus 12:21-23 (NIV) – Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. 24“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.

• There is a ‘door’ that serves as the identifying marker of your life.
• What is displayed on your doorposts? Signs? Flowers? A wreath? Blood?

3. THE DOOR OF… THE CENTER OF YOUR LIFE

• Ancient cities had literal gates to control access into them, serving as the “strategic center of an ancient city.” As such, security at the gates was usually heavy, because once the gates were broken down, the city lost its key defenses.

• The city gate in Israel was the locale of commercial and legal transactions, and were extremely important in the life of the people for social, administrative and business contact. It was here that kings as well as city elders sat to administer justice. (Deut. 21:19, 22:15; Ruth 4:1; 10-11; Prov. 1:21; 22:22; 31:23; Josh. 20:4; Job 29:7)

• The city gates were not only a place where the marketplace was located but was also the center of the life of the city. They functioned as the center of the public life, for it was the place for meeting others and for assemblages. (Joel Kamsen)

• Just like the literal gates in the time of Israel, we have gates in our lives that serve as our “city center.” It is where we are taught and learn, we observe and decide, we engage and discover, we process and proceed through life and all of its engagements… it is where we decide what we are and whom we are…

… with this in mind, Jesus says that HE IS THE DOOR. HE IS THE GATE. Therefore:

• Jesus offers to be the barrier unto sin and the open door to acceptance. Is he for you?

• Jesus offers us the doorway unto which we make our life’s decisions. Is he yours?

• Jesus offers protection from destruction and through him and his offered bloodshed on the doorposts of lives we can receive deliverance and a marked identity. Is he yours?

• Jesus offers to be the center of life. Jesus is to be the strategic center of all that we do. He is the security and defense against outside attack, the means and method in which judgment is administered and justice is given, the way in which provision is acquired, business is done, social status is obtained, relationships start, built and last, where needs are met, where the king is put on display – he is the king! – where wisdom is shared the truth is preached, and life is lived. Jesus is the gate. Jesus is the door. Jesus is to be the center of life. Is he the center of yours?

Matthew 7:7-14 (NIV) – 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. 13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

For Small Group Discussion: Did you hear anything new or challenging in this weeks’ message?

Opening Question: What door (literally or figuratively) do you regret entering?

Main Point: Jesus protects His followers as shepherds protect their flocks from predators.

Main Scripture: John 10:1-10

Questions:

Head

• What does it mean to “enter through” Jesus?
• We are told that the audience did not understand Jesus’ message. What do you think He was trying to communicate?

Heart

• What are some ways that the enemy has tried to “kill, steal, and destroy” in your life or in your family?
• A gate is meant to keep things safe. How does Jesus protect you, or how has He in the past?

Hands

• What does it look like for you to have abundant life?
• How can you grow in expressing abundant life?

Additional Scripture: Revelation 3:20, John 14:6

Tips and Resources: The Way of the Shepherd by Dr. Kevin Leman