well good morning Mission Grove Church. How are you guys doing this morning? Okay. Like one person clapping is doing well but it's okay, let's let that be. Um and so um we are walking through a brand new series that we just started this last week called I am and we're talking about the most talked about figure in all of history, jesus christ himself, but if jesus is the most talked about figure in all of history, the question is what did jesus actually say about himself? And so he made seven claims in the gospel of john that are called the I am statements that are actually descriptive statements that actually shed light and help us understand who he is. And so last week we talked about how jesus is the light of the world and how darkness leads to guilt and shame but light leads to grace and salvation. And today we're gonna actually talk about the least talked about I am statement out of the seventh and it's where Jesus actually calls himself the door or in some translations, he calls himself the gate. And so I you know when you hear light of the world or bread of life it's like yeah, alright this is awesome. I want more. But when you hear the door, what comes to mind right? I don't know um what first came to my mind was I don't know, knock knock jokes. I don't know, I'm not, don't worry, I'm not gonna go into knock knock jokes right now but but think about like what, what comes to mind when you hear the word door? Maybe think of movies. Maybe think of life. Um Maybe you think of the fact that there is plenty of room on that door for two people in the movie titanic. Just saying right, if you think of that, come on. There was plenty of room on that spot. Um Maybe you've learned in recent years that love is an open door. Um And through a okay, I'll let that one go. Um So um or maybe you think of, I like the movie Monsters inc right? With all the doors. That was pathway in. It was a lot of fun. Um Maybe you're thinking of jim Morrison and the band, the doors right? And you have to break on through to the other side, but I don't know. Um But my personal favorite is I actually love really The Chronicles of Narnia. And so I picture that walking through that door as the kids walked through the door um into that in that room, into this adventure. And so I love this idea of just going through the door and entering an adventure. And so that's what we're gonna do this morning. And so um okay, I lied. I do have one knock knock joke for you this morning. Okay, we are talking about the door. So this is the one week that we will do this. Okay, so, but you've got to respond with me knock, knock open. Let's open your bibles To john Chapter 10. I was really bad but it's the only one. So Um open, go ahead and open up your bibles to John Chapter 10 and we're gonna actually read this together. Now the context here of this story is that Jesus had just healed a blind man and the religious leaders of that day didn't know how to handle Jesus healing this man. And so actually in response to this man being healed and his site being restored, he actually is kicked out of the temple kicked out of the area because they didn't know what to do with him. And so in response, Jesus kind of response back and actually begins here in chapter 10 verse one and he starts off by saying truly truly I say to you now another translations have the word amen when you have the word amen at the end of a passage, what you're saying is that you agree with this so that we believe this, that's why when we pray, we end our prayer saying amen in other words, you are um praying to God and then you end it by saying I believe this or you end up by saying let it be. But when you put the words truly truly or you know very truly or amen on the front end what you're saying is hey listen up what I'm about to say to you, it's really important, important and I have the authority and the know how to prove that this is true. And so listen to me. And so we talked a lot about authenticity in church world that like you want to be authentic, you want to be real and that is true. But in this case jesus is speaking not just with authenticity, but he's speaking with authorities is is truly truly I say to you, so he's saying amen, listen up. What I'm about to say to you is not only true but important. And so he says this truly, truly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheep fold by the door, but climbs in in another way that man is a thief and a robber, but he who enters the door is the shepherd of the sheep to him. The gatekeeper opens the sheep, hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out when he has brought them out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice, a stranger, they will not follow, but they will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers. Now, if you start to feel a little confused about the story, it's okay because notice in verse six, it says this is a figure of speech jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. And so he's talking about this picture. And so we're gonna actually take two weeks in chapter 10. And so we're talking about how jesus is the door this week, we're starting in verse 11, jesus actually calls himself the good shepherd. Um and so we're gonna break that down to, they actually go together, and so he's describing this concept of a good shepherd and how the, the sheep really know his voice and that he can come into the entryway and they don't quite get it. And so jesus actually gives a secondary illustration that kind of builds off the first, at first, he's saying the shepherd comes in, the person guarding the gate says, okay, I recognize you can come in, he goes in, there's different flocks, different folds, but the sheep recognize his voice specifically. Um and come to him, I kind of picture it like when I go to the gym once a year and uh and I have a child care, their mountainside fitness, and so when I go to pick up my kids, when I walk in and I go Chloe and there's, there's like 30 kids in there and they're all having a blast. Now my boys are playing smash brothers. And so they pretend like they don't know me right, they kind of turn like, and I know they know me because they're playing their game, and as soon as I call it Jackson carter, they go like this, like they act like they don't hear me, but then their shoulder somehow turns purposely away from me because they're trying to finish the game and win. But Khloe and I love that she's still at the stage is that it doesn't matter where she's come. As soon as she hears my voice, she just comes bursting through like kicking Children out of the way like daddy's here and like like comes sprinting and she comes running up and it's awesome. Well she simply hears my voice because she is my own and she comes and connects in the same way. In this passage, he's saying that the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd And come to him and so they don't, it's not about um you know they hear other voices but those voices are strangers and so they hear the voice of the Shepherd and then actually come running to him and so that that connection there. And so this is all the setup. Now it's averse really verse seven through verse 10 which is we're gonna really gonna hone in on. And so jesus again says to them truly truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them, I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and he will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes to only to steal and kill and destroy I come that they may have life and have it abundantly this incredible passage, we're going to spend the rest of the morning here, but this idea that jesus says truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door now, it seems kind of confusing until you actually understand a little bit more of context of shepherding back in that day. Some commentators point out that in some cases when the shepherd is leading sheep, when a shepherd is leading sheep, because sheep don't have that natural instinct to find home on their own. And so when he's leading sheep and they come to a place for the evening, they come into a fold or a pen or a spot where that's actually on all sides is either rock or sticks or bushes or something to keep other animals out, or maybe I'll hire wallet, keep thieves out from stealing animals, but then there was one opening out front, But what's interesting is that this opening at times actually did not have an actual gate. And so what the shepherd would do is that the shepherd with his own flock would actually stand or stay or sleep at the gate itself, and so he would become the gate, the shepherd would become the door. And so his audience would understand this picture, and so that jesus himself was the shepherd of jesus was the door protecting the sheep. And so then he says, not only that, he says that the thief comes to kill and destroy, but I have come, so that you can have life and have it abundantly Now the word life is actually a word Zoe life, which means a life of fullness. It's not simply existence, but it's a life of fullness and vitality. And so when he says I have come, he doesn't say I have come. So that you can simply exist. What he's saying is, I have come, so that you can have a full life of complete vitality. I have come so that you can have Zoe life, but not just Zoe life, but life more abundantly. That same word abundantly is found Paul uses an Ephesians chapter three verse 20 when he prays to God, who can do far more abundantly than anything we could ask or think to the praise of his glorious name and in his church. And so this this prayer of abundance is a prayer of meaning. It's a prayer of more. And so what he's saying is I have come not only to save you, but to give you a full life of abundance and of more vitality than you can ever imagine. The same picture is found in John Chapter one verse four when he says that in christ in him was life and the life was the light of men which we talked about last week. And so this idea in him was the fullness of our existence. And the meaning for which why we're here, That's pretty cool, right? And so he says I am the door. Those that are mind can come in and then but notice they don't just stay in, that they come and go. And so it's not just about safety, but it's about vitality, an adventure and freedom and purpose. So if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. That the meaning of jesus being, the door simply put is this, that in jesus, we find security and significance in jesus. We find security and significance. Let's let's spend the rest of the time breaking down these two concepts. First, Security, you see security is not found in your situation, but in your savior. Security is not found in your situation, but in your savior. So Jesus promises both eternal security, but then also protection in this life. He's saying that all those who enter through me will be saved. This idea of salvation. This idea of having eternal life comes through believing in jesus christ alone. Now, whatever your background is whatever religious belief, whatever I just want you to know that we are so glad you are here, you are welcomed, You are loved. We want you to explore your faith. We want you to ask questions we want, we're so glad you're here and it's because we love you and because we are here and we want to speak truth in love that I'm here to say that the only way to heaven is through jesus christ alone, that's why he claims to be the door for when man could not reach up to God God reached down to man and that through living a perfect sinless life, died on a cross for your sins and for mine and then rose again on the third day. In fact the last I am statement that we're gonna talk about in this series is that I am the resurrection and the life and so we're gonna talk about that what this means. But for today's sake, the understanding that jesus is the door means that he is the entrance or the gateway to salvation. Probably my favorite sports experience was uh with my brother um who was actually, he's home sick today, but normally he's here setting up, um, he's a big guy usually setting up and yes, he's a little bit taller than me. He likes to point that out and everyone points out, hey, your brother is taller. He's like, yes he is and he loves that. Anyway, um, so he was here visiting and we were gonna go to a son's Warriors game and so he bought tickets and he was gonna buy tickets, turn around and sell them and then um, and then kind of off the profits if we were gonna gonna get seats and then go to the game well for whatever reason the tickets didn't sell and so we're like, well I guess we gotta go to the game and so I've never gotten to sit like super close before. And so we got to go like we're talking like row three row four and we didn't know what to expect. And so this is like warriors at their best. And so we're like, man, this is great. And so we go in and we walk in and we're in the arena, the main big open area. If you've been talking stick arena, we're walking in. Normally there's the escalator that goes up to where we normally sit right or in the entryway to where you have restaurants. And so um and then there's a person with a rope just like a single door and we're like, ha they're like, oh yeah, you get to go here. Like is it safe? I mean it's just like an old dude with a beard and a rope, like this doesn't seem safe. We're like okay. And so we go down and we didn't know this because we hadn't done this before. But when you go down this tiny little door, it's, it's basically like going to Narnia because you go down and you walk in underneath the seats, there is endless food everywhere and it's awesome. And so we go down and we walked down and it's like before the game, my brother, I looked at each other and like he's okay, he's 66, I'm 65, we can eat okay, I'm just gonna be honest with you and we see endless food and we're like eyes are like this and the greater down at the bottom of the stairs like first time, huh? Like what gave it away? And we're going around and I didn't realize that there was a special door for this completely. I've gone two suns games for the past six years that I've lived here, but I didn't realize that there was a different door. I didn't realize there was a better way that we can hopefully go back to sunday. So, um, but that was great. We went down, we had food and it was a great experience. And but it was so cool to see that we were walking one way. But really once we went through this one door, our experience completely changed and see, jesus here is the door is the entryway that through that is security, but you have to understand that security is is not found in your situation. He's not saying that if you become saved, if you become christian, then you will never have any issues. It doesn't doesn't happen that way. In fact, the writer of the of this gospel, the one who wrote this tradition shares that actually he was he had written the Gospel and he was preaching. And so the leaders of the time, we're afraid that people were going to respond to him. And so tradition has it that they actually put him in a in a pot of boiling oil to kill him. They say we're gonna kill the movement. And so they put john the writer here into a pot of boiling oil, but he's not burned, he actually stands up and starts preaching from the boiling pot and they're like, what? We can't kill this guy. And so because they are fearful of that into the tradition, they actually isolated him to this island of Patmos, we said, okay, we can't kill him, but we can isolate him and remove him. And so we'll keep him away from everything. And so then actually it was from that island that he ultimately wrote the book that we have called revelation. And so here's this guy, He's not saying that it's not like security comes with like your life is gonna be awesome and great at all times, it's not in your situation, okay, But it's in your savior, here's what I mean, like when I lived in florida and my wife and I lived in florida and we had our first son Jackson, and we had a pool in our yard and we had those little screens over top because I never understood that until I moved to florida. And that florida has like a trillion bugs. And so, um, and so everyone's got a screen over the pool. And so we had this pool and it's great and we love it. And so we had a shallow end and a deeper end, shallow and a deeper and now I could walk across fine, my wife, not as much, but but anyway, our son was learning to swim and but he was terrified of swimming and he didn't want to swim. And so he would actually just cling to me like just like like choke hold my neck right? But we do that when we're even on the step and we're in the shallow end and that was because he couldn't even touch the ground. But what I found interesting is so I would be holding him in the shallow end and then I start to walk to the deeper end and he would cling tighter, cling tighter, cling tighter, tighter and like daddy, no, no deep end, the shallow end. And one day I was like Jack buddy, I hate to break it to you, but your feet can't touch in the shallow end either, I'm still holding you. So what's the big deal? And the idea was his perception was okay, the deep end is not safe, but the shallow end is meanwhile he couldn't stand in the shallow end. And so it really wasn't about the depth of the water, it was about the height of the father that really made the difference. So whether I was in the shallow end or in a deeper end, I'm still holding my son and I'm not going to let him go. And so it's not his perception of what's shallow and what's deep, it was about clinging to the father in the same way jesus is saying, look, I will provide protection the thieves will try to come over on the sides on the walls, but you're not gonna know their voice, You're gonna know my voice, I got you. There's security, so there's eternal salvation. But there is protection. Now, some of us are in shallow world situations where we think, man, okay, I got this. Let me tell you something. You don't you don't. Whatever situation in right now, I can promise you, your feet are actually not touching the ground and that you need jesus just as much as you do in your successes as you do and your failures, because there's not a single person in this room whose life would not dramatically change with a text or a phone call, I don't mean this in a bad way to scare you. But it's reality check is that you don't have this that even on our best days, we need the gospel to sustain us and hold us. But guess what though? Because we clean to God in the shallow end, then what happens in the deep end? The same, That means whatever deep waters, you're in, the love of jesus is deeper still and that you can actually, whatever is around you, it doesn't matter because you have the holy spirit inside of you. And so whatever circumstance, maybe that's financial, maybe it's relational, maybe it's health. Maybe it's worried, maybe it's doubt however deep of water that you're surrounded by because over and over again, we see stories where fishermen were terrified for their lives, but yet jesus is found in the boat taking a nap. Why? Because he knew they were going to be okay. The size of the storm does not matter when you have jesus in your boat. So whether in a shallow issue or a deep water issue, the security comes not in your situation, but in your savior and you can cling onto him. So how do we do that? Let me just offer 33 ways, three practical ways for for help us to to clean to him in difficult times. Number one enter his presence, enter his presence. Um, if you're seeing Chloe our little, she runs around, right, She's even run into service a couple of times and just like daddy. So she runs um so sometimes she runs for me in the neighborhood and uh, and it's, it's great. Um, it's not stressful at all. Um, but she'll run for me and she'll turn the corner and then be like, daddy, where'd you go? I'm like, I've been here the whole time, what do you do? Whatever you were the one who ran away. And so it's, you're like, oh, hi daddy. And then like, she's like, as if she didn't do anything in the same way. Sometimes I think we do that with jesus. We try to run from God we're sprinting away from him, we're turning the shoulder like my kids do when I pick him up from the gym, like I don't hear him, we turn the shoulder and we're like God, where are you? I don't hear you like no step one for security in your life is again not your situation but enter his presence. Well how do you enter his presence and community and worship in church in his word? The majority of the time, the will of God is going to be found in the word of God that we can come to him continuously to enter his presence. But secondly, we want to hear his voice, we want to hear his voice, I want to recognize what it is that God is saying, you know his name, it was commonly quoted name around christmas time as immanuel, which means what God with us, he is present here, your security is not your situation, but it's in your savior, I don't know your situation, I don't know what's coming around the quarter, but I promise one's coming and I promise you that whatever it is, God's love is deeper and his love is real and it is here and you can find it and you can hear his voice and you can know him personally because in the last thing there is just to stay close to the shepherd sheep really don't have defense mechanisms, what are they going to do ah got him right, you don't, you don't have sheep as mascots for sports teams, We got the fighting sheep, right? The closest thing we have are the rams. We know they're not very good. So I'm actually just jealous because they made it so close but and my good friend Greg sitting here front row so, but no notice that you know everything like everyone is like a bear or a wildcat or a falcon. Like would you really be that intimidated? Like Alright guys, we've got a tough game plan, We're going up against those sheep. It is really wooly. They come at you like, you know, like, I don't know, maybe you could name the little giants the sheep. I don't know, but like this is not, they're not intimidating. Okay, We're not intimidating. Let's let's just realize that we're sheep. But the advantage of being a sheep is that we have the shepherd and so we can draw close to him. Have you ever gone to a new place with a child and it's super crowded. All right. And they're scared. And what do you do as a parent? You say? Good luck. See you lt should be grateful. No, no. What do you say? Hey, hold my hand, hold my hand, hold my hand. The reason you can have security and God is because he's there as a shepherd team. I'm here, hold my hand, your security is not your situation, but in your savior and you can do that and experience that security by entering his presence by hearing his voice and then staying close. Let's see, safety is not the end. All you didn't grow up playing make believe like, hey, we're going to be safe, right? No, you're a superhero, Put a cape on. You want an adventure. You want to go because we have this desire for more. Safety is, is, is necessary, but it's not the end goal. We want more. That's why I love this verse 10 cause he didn't just promise us security. He promised us significance. If you're taking notes, write this down. That significance is not found in your product, but in your process. It's not found in your product, but in your process to understanding that jesus calls you to a deeper life. It means that he changes your perspective, this Zoe life, this life of vitality, this life of purpose and abundance and more is not meaning more stuff. I had a student in when I was a youth pastor in another state and her name was Katie and her family was going through an extremely difficult time. Uh, in fact, in a time of transition, we're in someone else's house mattresses on the floor. Um, and but she really wanted to come to church. And so her process was my connecting point rather than getting bitter towards God, I got better with God. And so she would ride her bike over 2.5 miles to church on Wednesday nights and it's florida and it's hot and it's humid hot, right? So she would come though every week, 2.5 miles, boom, riding their bikes to church and come and serve and connect. And then she came and then one day she came to me and was like, yes, john, I'm so excited, I got my first job and I'm thinking good for you, Katie, you know, you can provide a little bit, you can, you know, help your family out, you can buy something. And then her next line left me speechless. So he goes, john, yes, I got my first job. Like that's awesome, Katie, Finally, I can sponsor a child through compassion at the moment the preacher was preached to, it's not the product, it's not how much you have, it's the process and riding her bike to and from she had this attitude of thankfulness and that her purpose changed her life, her Zoe life of abundance or Zoe life of meaning was that she's going to live not for herself, but for others. So how do we live this Zoe life? I think three things help us do that to have an abundant life. Number one is to change your, why change your, why? Why do you do things? Let's just say somebody is laying bricks, Someone is a mason, okay, same job or someone could say, I'm building the house of God, same job different. Why you're not just changing a diaper parents, you're raising a son or daughter of God. You're not just working on a spreadsheet at your business, but you are bringing light into this dark world and bringing hope into every single conversation that you have. The waiter that you meet, the neighbor that you talk to, the friends of the family member, how you speak, how you love, how you serve changes when you understand that everything you do is for the glory of God, and you're helping usher in his kingdom change your life. But secondly, you got to win the battle of this versus that. Win the battle of this versus that. Here's what I mean, that there are times for being honest with ourselves. I think we all fall into this category that we are looking for that. Well, they have that car, they have that spouse, they have that job, they have that house, they have whatever that is and I'm stuck with this. Yeah. Their kids are calm and obedient and respectful, and my kids are wild animals, right? I don't know like we have this, right, whatever your this versus that and we find ourselves, Well, if I had that, if I had that money, if I had that promotion, if I had that and we get lost and we missed the opportunity for this, this right here, this moment, this season, this conversation is significant. That matters. If you understand at this moment matters, you can have a life of abundance, you gotta change your why win the battle of this versus that. And the last thing about finding significance, not in the product, but in the process is find meaning in the mundane, find meaning in the mundane. There's a lot of work that goes into putting on a church service from driving a trailer to unloading two chords and set up to um teaching kids to hanging signs to putting signs out the day before all these things to putting chairs online into every little thing. If one given task was left by itself, that would be pretty mundane, right? But everything is sacred. That means that chair that was set, that you're sitting on right now was done for the glory of God and was done so that you could hear his word, the band practice and came so that we could worship together. There are people not just watching kids, but teaching them to make a difference. And our kids ministry, because it matters, you matter. This matters every moment matters and we can lose sight because we are tired and we are exhausted. But it's in the mundane, it's in the normal, it's in this mess that jesus came down, word became flesh and he made claims like I am the door enter through me and you will be saved and you can go to and from not because you're trying to get away, but because you have freedom and I have come so that you can have life and life abundantly, you can have life of vitality. Life to the fullness. Life of meaning. You can have joy. You can have peace. You can have love. I don't know the situation for me personally, God knows the situations, I don't know the waters that you're swimming in that I can promise you that your savior is stronger, He is better. He is bigger and he changes everything. Because your security is not found in your situation. It's found in the savior. And your significance is not found in your product. You might be thinking, man, I wish I had more money, I wish I had this. I thought I'd be further along. I thought my relationships would be further along. It's not in the finished product. It's in the process itself because it's not about what you do, but who you become and we are becoming men and women of Godly character ushering in the kingdom because he is the door and in jesus we find security insignificance, I can tell you outside you will not find it. But in him you will find everything. Let's pray dear heavenly father, we thank you for your son. God, we thank you that he can make a claim that he is the door. That through believing in him, we can be saved. That our sins can be forgiven. We can have eternal life, but God also that we can have abundant life May the goal of our life not simply to be safe, but to have a life to the fullest expression of your glory. We love you God, you love us deeply. May we be changed by that love? Will we be surrounded by your love and understand that every moment, every struggle we have the mundane things of life matter to you that we matter to you. I mean we sing of your life right now, it's in your son's name. We pray.