By Gene Price
Pastor, Tumbling Creek Baptist Church, Gleason
Focal Passage: John 10:7-15, 27-30
Jesus said, “I am the door.” A door basically is an entrance or an exit. When you walk through a door, you enter into one place and exit another one. When we walk through the door named Jesus Christ, we exit a meaningless life and enter into a meaningful life. What do we find when we walk through the door called Jesus?
(1) God will give me direction in my life. A flock of sheep with no shepherd is totally helpless. Sheep have no sense of direction and they wander aimlessly. They will stray from the flock and will lose their way. During World War II the English government knew that Hitler was planning to invade England so they asked each community to take down all the road signs which would cause the German army to lose their way. Today we can read His Word for guidance, we can talk to Him and ask for direction, and He promises that He will lead us to the place where we need to be (Psalm 23:2).
(2) God will guard me when I face difficulty. Jesus never promises that we will never face difficulty. The shepherd could not prevent the sheep from coming into contact with wild beasts, but the shepherd can protect the sheep that do come into contact with those beasts. Since Jesus is my Good Shepherd, nothing can touch me without His permission. If He does permit something to touch me, then it must be for my good. The apostle Paul went through much difficulty (II Corinthians 11:23-27) but he knew that God’s purposes would be served. Paul writes in II Timothy 4:18, “the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.” Our Good Shepherd is not like the hireling. The hireling ran when difficulty came, but our Good Shepherd was willing to lay down His life. Having Jesus as the Good Shepherd means that no problem I face is bigger than the God that is above me.
(3) God takes me to my final destination called heaven. Once you get into His flock, you are always in His flock. The creed of the Good Shepherd is: “No sheep left behind.” Sheep are helpless and defenseless but a sheep never worries. Why? It doesn’t matter what is going on around them, if they have the presence and protection of the shepherd they know that they are safe and secure. In Biblical times, the shepherd would sleep in front of the opening to the sheep pen. Nothing could harm one of the sheep because of the presence of the shepherd. The Good Shepherd starts out with 100 sheep and He ends up with 100 sheep. He never loses a single one. The good news is the door is still open. Jesus has other sheep which are not in the fold, but His voice continues to call others to come into the fold.
