10-04-2026 - I AM THE DOOR - John 10:1-10
Updated: 3 days ago
MESSAGE BY PASTOR DANIEL PARK
FROM BETHANY BAPTIST IN RICHMOND, BC.
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I invite you to pray and make this prayer personal. Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, Almighty God,
We come before You as a community, lifting up our hearts in unity for our brothers and sisters who are walking through seasons of deep need. You are the God who sees us. Lord, You are Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals. We ask that You lay Your restorative hand upon everyone in this group
(Vicky O, Nancy R, Tere G, Stevie A, Sócrates D, mamá de Sara H, Margarita G, Rosy Ch, Patricia L, Lina J, Manuel D, Silvia H, Magda-, Miguel H.L, Manuel D.H, Alicia G. Margarita G, Brianda M, Alejandro M, Natalia M, María Elena C, Óscar N.D, Luis Carlos V. Laci N, Alicia R. Jesse R. Kristine Tantoco.)
Lord, trials and exhaustion can heavy the spirit. For those experiencing doubt, spiritual dryness, or weariness, we ask for a powerful outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. Remind them of Your unchanging promises.
Lord, You have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. We lift up those who are paralyzed by anxiety, dreading the future, or overwhelmed by their circumstances.
We lay all these requests at Your feet, completely trusting in Your perfect timing and Your sovereign will. Bring wholeness to this group—body, mind, and spirit—so that we may stand together and testify to Your goodness.
In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray.
Amen.
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We have 2 I AM statements of Jesus in quick succession and also closely related to each other
This also shows how they are all related
Sheepherding in the European context is actually quite different than in the Near East - to this day
Unlike Western shepherds who drive the sheep, often using a sheep dog, the shepherds of the Near East, both now and in Jesus’ day, lead their flocks, their voice calling them on
That such a shepherd goes ahead of his sheep and draws them constitutes an admirable picture of the master/disciple relationship
The sheep follow simply because they know his voice; by the same token, they will run from anyone else because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice
Likewise, even the statement that Jesus is the Door cannot be taken in that literal sense of a barrier as we are used to
The Gate is a person - Jesus
Not a inanimate barrier
But the door as a passageway AND exclusive access point of the gospel - the Good News
1. The Messenger is the Message
Jesus as the Door of the sheep first means that He is how the sheep can access the sheepfold
Jesus is the source of the knowledge and the one who guides His sheep
And the Good Shepherd leads His sheep in a way that is loving and intimate
This shepherd is not raising sheep to turn them into profit down the line
The Good Shepherd is raising and caring for His sheep because they are His sheep
Through the Door and with the Shepherd, the sheep can rest and shelter in the sheepfold, though they are in the middle of a hostile desert, surrounded by predators
The Shepherd leads His own voice, walking closely and staying close by His sheep
And the voice calls each sheep by name
The sheep know the voice of the shepherd and through that voice and how He calls them each by name, and knows absolute peace in their lives.
I was reminded of another worship song from the 90s…
This time written by Tommy Walker
A song called, “He Knows My Name,” which goes…
I have a Maker, He formed my heart
Before even time began, My life was in His hands
I have a Father, He calls me His own
He'll never leave me, No matter where I go
He knows my name, He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls, And hears me when I call
He told the story behind this song, a time when we was leading worship in a country in Asia
And a little boy came up to him and introduced himself and then ran off
Later the boy came back and asked, “Hey, what’s my name?”
And Tommy Walker replied back, “Yes, I know your name!…”
The boy flashed the biggest smile saying, “We’re friends right?”
“Yes, we are..” And then the boy was gone again
Later, Tommy found out that the boy was an orphan, and realized that his joy came from the affirmation that someone knew his name and called him by name
The little orphan boy just wanted to be known.
As do we all
Jesus, the Door and the Shepherd, leads His sheep with the message and good news of salvation, providence and life that is abundant
This message and good news is ONLY through Jesus
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved”
Jesus, is the only way
BY HIM, is the only possibility to experience the kind of life that can be lived abundantly
So the messenger is Himself, the Message
The Person of Jesus, the Son of God is the good news that has come and made known to all
2. There is Only One Door
Jesus is the Door and the Good Shepherd, as He is the messenger AND the message
Only Jesus can BE both
Long before Jesus was born, a lot of Old Testament writers wrote about the coming of a Messiah who would save His people
A lot of these prophesies were only understood in hindsight after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension
You have to remember that there is pretty much 0% chance of a fraudulent fulfilment of these prophecies
They were specific, and the writings were preserved and maintained meticulously through generations so no one could say that things were added later on
For any 1 person to fulfil 8 prophesies, the odds estimated to be 1 in 100 quadrillion
1,000,000 is Jeremy Harper. It took him 89 days to count to one million. He counted for 16 hours a day. He started counting on June 18, 2007 and ended on September 14, 2007.
1,424 hours.
An academic used this analogy to describe the chance of one person fulfilling 8 prophesies
Imagine we mark 1 coin drop it somewhere in the state of Texas, cover the entire state of Texas two feet deep in coins, and having a blindfolded person pick the exact coin on the first try
Thing is, there are 300-456 Old Testament prophesies of the Christ, the Messiah fulfilled by Jesus
Only Jesus is the Son of God
But only He is also the Son of Man
The true and better Adam, the firstborn of humanity
V.8. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
V10a. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
Only Jesus is the bread of life
The Light of the World
The Good Shepherd
The Door
The Resurrection
The way, the Truth, and the Life, the Vine.
Only He is can dare say and claim that He is ALL of this
The idea that all beliefs lead to salvation is absolutely flawed
First of all, the idea of “salvation” is so different for different religions
And the means of salvation are so different
Jesus Christ and the gospel is fundamentally unique
Every other faith system I studied during my investigation was based on the “do” plan. In other words, it was necessary for people to do something—for example, use a Tibetan prayer wheel, pay alms, go on pilgrimages, undergo reincarnations, work off karma from past misdeeds, reform their character—to try to somehow earn their way back to God. Despite their best efforts, lots of sincere people just wouldn’t make it.
Christianity is unique. It’s based on the “done” plan—Jesus has done for us on the cross what we cannot do for ourselves: He has paid the death penalty that we deserve for our rebellion and wrongdoing, so we can become reconciled with God. Lee Strobel, “The Case for Christ”
As far as I know, there is only 1 other religion in the world that teaches undeserved salvation, that requires something like faith - Shin Buddhism BUT, as far as I can tell - in my somewhat limited study - that “faith” is not grounded on much concrete evidence
In the end, “faith” in Shin Buddism is another form of work you have to achieve - because is it not based on anything other than your self-awareness and effort.
My faith is in Jesus Christ
The Son of God
Who was born to a virgin in the land of Judea
Who died on the cross to pay of the sins of humanity - the price all humanity should have paid
But after 3 days, God raised Him from the dead
He ascended into heaven and is now with the Father, preparing a place for God’s children
And will return for those who believe
This truth has been passed down through generations, preserved in the scriptures
Jesus is the only door, the only Truth
Anything that claims to be true while rejecting Jesus does not give blessing or life, but takes it away - like a thief or robber
So anyone that says they are teaching truth apart from and without Jesus, is a thief who is robbing you of having and living life abundantly
There is only 1 fully believable door to life - and His name is Jesus
3. To Go in and Go out
Jesus is the DOOR to a reality and existence where we may have life and have it abundantly.
What is having life and having it abundantly?
NLT says, “rich and satisfying life”
NIV translates to “have life, and have it to the full"
From today’s passage it is clear that it’s like when a sheep is living with a good shepherd
Who leads with His voice and by name
Leading his sheep to an absolutely safe existence even while living in a harsh and hostile environment like the desert
To be able to live like that and go in and out and find pasture whenever the sheep pleases
To go in and go out is an Old Testament expression often used in political and military contexts to refer to leadership (for example, Deut 31:2, paraphrased in the NIV as “to lead you”),
But it is also used elsewhere in a more general sense to refer to the entirety of one’s daily activities and life
We enter by Jesus into this full and abundant life
Our existence, to the minute daily comings and goings, are lived in Jesus, through Jesus
So now for Jesus’ sheep, we live according to Galatians 2:20,
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Living by faith in Jesus means following Him to find safe, lush pasture (10:9b).
This thought parallels 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The image here is a flock of sheep in a threatening desert.
Food and water are scarce.
Predators are everywhere, and they know the sheep are vulnerable.
Jesus’ image is that of well-fed sheep whose shepherd knows how to lead them to pasture and water daily, and who at night gives them safe rest in the sturdy walls of the sheepfold.
These are sheep that flourish and are content, thanks to the skill of the shepherd. Psalm 23 describes this sheep’s life in full (“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want” 23:1).
Similarly Psalm 118:20 describes this gate and our entry: “This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.”
You are here today because you have been called, by name, by the Good Shepherd, who is Jesus
To come and enter His sheepfold through the door, which is Jesus
And to live in the absolute safety and contentment
Life that is not just surviving
Life that is more than something you put up with
Life that is worth it
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